Writing 101,Day Ten: Let the scene write itself

Assignment: Find a spot where you can sit and observe for at least twenty minutes.

“On Location”

I sat in my living room and watched the scene in front of me. There are no flowers, the maple trees are almost bare, the leaves still there, are quietly falling on the ground.

The hedge is trimmed to get ready for the snow that might show up any day. On the road cars:yellow, red , black and brown , are moving along at a steady speed.

Every few minutes Route two bus is whizzing past my house, the destination seems to be the mall, it will stop for a few minutes to pick up passengers, and will go past my house again to the opposite direction.

It’s a cloudy and cold day, I see men and women bundled up to stay warm.

Across the road the Memorial university parking lot is filled with cars. The parking lot is new, it used to be a large field with green grass. Now it’s converted into a parking lot.

There is still some greenery: it’s the slopes they covered it with sod, it’s not smooth yet ,there are patches of mud in places.

This is the scene, there is not much change, there are no animals, only some pedestrians walking along the pavement to get to work.

Like Wordsworth I gazed … and gazed, my thought wasn’t what wealth the show to me had brought. For me it was the reminder of a long dreary winter to pounce on us.

I looked out  my window what did I see?

Leaves falling quietly baring the trees.

Immediately the thought comes to mind,

How pitiful the trees look standing in line.

 

The humans are on their way to work,

In cars, trucks, cabs and on foot goes the jerk.

Still I look for something pleasant,

Maybe a kitten, a puppy or a cute infant.

 

Unlucky you, my  mind scolds me,

This is not the time for you to see

a kitten , a puppy  or anything cute.

For it’s cold outside you silly brute!

…………………………… 🙂

 

 

365 Writing Prompts: Ghostwriter

If you could have any author –living or dead— write your biography, who would you choose?

I’d choose Tagore to write the introduction, he is a Bengali like me,he’d be able to begin with an appropriate song, describing the places I visited foods I like, books I  read and songs that are my favorite.

I’d love to have Wordsworth write a small paragraph, explaining my love of nature.

The last part I’d implore Iqbal to complete, he was a Muslim, since our religion is the same he’d be able to explain my dedication for daily prayer.

These are the three authors I would select to write my biography. If there are any confusions writing it, Tagore will make it interesting by filling in the blanks with one of his remarkable songs.

If Wordsworth volunteers to get the blanks filled. It would be terrific, his wealth of knowledge of nature will fit in nicely to cover the spaces.

While I think Iqbal would do even better by covering the gap with his philosophy of human mind!

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2015/03/11/365-writing-pr…ts-ghostw

 

DP Daily Prompt: Seat Guru

You get to plan a dinner party for 4 –8 favorite writers/artists/musicians/other notable figures, whether dead or alive. Who do you seat next to whom in order to inspire the most fun evening?

This will be an interesting prompt for me to do. My guests are :Allama Iqbal,Jalal ud-din Rumi, Rabindranath Tagore, William Wordsworth, Hemant Kumar, Waheed Murad, Mohammad Rafi and Roger and Hammerstein.

Now the seating arrangement has to be special for my honorable guests.  I’ll put Allama Iqbal beside Rumi; Tagore and William Wordsworth would be comfortable beside each other;  Waheed Murad and Mohammad Rafi at his side will be awesome; Hemant Kumar the musician will fare well with Rodgers and Hammerstein the duo. Since all these are celebrities, I have decided to have catering service.

There is going to be some restrictions about food. I’ll ask for chicken and fish to be served, for beverage water is the best, it’ll keep everyone happy, for dessert I’ll order a few e.g cheese balls in syrup for Tagore and Hemant Kumar; Cheesecake for Wordsworth,Rodgers and Hammerstein; I’m hoping Waheed Murad,Rafi Iqbal and Rumi would love Persian dessert.

Dinner was a success, all the guests enjoyed the food served.  It’s time for tea or coffee, during this time the guests will be energized to speak to each other. There in the corner I can hear Rumi and Iqbal having a deep conversation,I quietly walked over, this is what Iqbal asked Rumi, “How could one make his journey towards immortality?”

This is what Rumi said, “It is like a  rebirth. Just as you arrive in this world through a birth, another birth takes you out of this world. However, this rebirth comes through the inner strength of Love. Remember, the essence of humanity is the power to see God: The body cannot hinder your flight once the power of true Love takes over the soul.”

I wanted to stay and continue to listen, but I am the host I must walk around and treat all my guests equally well. I went over to see if Tagore or Wordsworth needed anything, they didn’t even notice I was there, Wordsworth was explaining to Tagore what influenced him to write the poem “Daffodils”.

Suddenly I heard a heated dialogue between Waheed Murad and Rafi, they were discussing the song in Waheed Murad’s movie Armaan, Rafi was asking what exactly was the meaning of the song, my ears were ready to grasp the lyrics, Waheed explained it was not meant to be an ordinary love song, it talks about Love but in a different sense, between two states that were united once and split, but are trying to settle their difference spiritually. I couldn’t hear all of it.

Rodgers and Hammerstein called me, they were planning to play the music of “Edelweiss,” I was delighted I told them to go ahead, to my surprise the cast of the movie, ‘The Sound Of Music’, appeared and were ready to sing the song.

The dinner went well, they all enjoyed listening to the song. I had a great time!

https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/07/13/dp-daily-prompt-seat-guru/

 

Writing Prompt: Landscape 365 days, May 9th

When you gaze out your window—real or figurative — do you see the forest first,or the trees?

Where I live there are very few trees,recently my neighbor got rid of her one tree because of the worms. Now when I look out I see a patch of green grass and nothing else. My lawn at this moment has tree which only has bare branches,it’s not a pretty sight,hopefully in the next few weeks the temperature will go up and the leaves will make their way back to make the tree look half decent.

I’ll then love to gaze out my window and try to write a poem, imitating Wordsworth,until that time comes, I’ll think of Wordsworth’s poem, “I gazed and gazed but little thought what wealth the show to me had brought.”

Permalink: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/05/09/writing-prompt…5-days-may-9th/

 

DP Daily Prompt: Name that ……You! Post by Ranu

Garden “butchart gardens”, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am simply delighted to know,this prompt is all about our name. My name means ,”Garden”, I have no idea what made my parents choose this name. As far as I can remember the name was suggested by a very good friend of my parents.

Whether this name suits me or not, I really don’t know. My name is Chaman, it means ‘A Garden’. Let me define a garden. A garden is a beautiful place.There are flowers of every variety known to man. When one visits a garden,the sole purpose is to sit and take in the beauty of it and think of pleasant things. Poets visit gardens to get inspiration for their poems.Wordsworth,Tagore,Iqbal and others have written volumes about it. I love poetry and the ones written, keeping the garden in focus gives me enormous pleasure.

Artists paint pictures of gardens and use incredible colors, to attract the attention of scores of people.

When I think of a garden,immediately a beautiful picture captivates my mind. The flowers,the birds,butterflies,children playing,elders sitting on benches taking in the beauty of the atmosphere,all in all it’s a picture of heaven on earth.

My mother always said a name effects a person’s personality.According to her, parents should choose names for their children carefully.

I do not know whether my name suits me. I know I am friendly,I treat people kindly,I have a smile on my face when I meet new people,I have a special affinity for children. I can interact with them for any length of time. When you think of a garden, children come to mind,they enhance its beauty by their sheer presence.

When we named our children,we wanted the names to be people friendly,in other words,they were growing up in North America,it should be easy for the people they come into contact with to pronounce their names.We did that except the youngest,we originally wanted to name her ‘Sonya’,our good friend kind of bullied us into changing it to,’Fatima’. Her friends butchered the name,some called her,’Fat e ma’, and wondered why her parents did not name her,’Skinny ma’,because she was so thin.

I have read poems where the poet says, ‘What’s in a name’. I think it’s important to choose names wisely for our children!

DP Daily Prompt: Rolling Stone Post by Ranu

Nomad (Photo credit: ElDave)

I remember the saying,” A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss”. If I am given the opportunity to live a nomadic life.I’d certainly want to try.The best place I’d choose would be,keeping in the tune with  the song,’O give me home,where the buffaloes roam and the sky is not cloudy all day. A home on the range where the deer and the antelopes play.’

It is not difficult to decide.I have seen and lived in cities,while they have their charm,life is complex and full of stress. A nomadic life can help to look at my innermost self. I’d like to spend my time studying nature.It will provide the experience,Tagore had when he wrote those beautiful poems and songs. I feel blessed,I can read and understand him and appreciate his hard work that he left behind for us to enjoy.

When I leave for a life,which is carefree and rejuvenating,to me it will be heaven on earth. I am certain I will not miss my home base. I’d be busy talking to the variety of animals,I’d come in contact with.For once I’d get to see nature and learn to appreciate it. The absence of city life cannot and will not be an issue. I’ll think of Wordsworth and his poem,”I wandered lonely as a cloud . That floats on high o’er vales and hills, when all at once I saw a crowd,A host of golden daffodils.”

It will give me an occasion to feel Tagore’s poetry, “We play with the golden dawn,we play with the silver moon”. I ask , “But how am I to get up to you?” They answer,”Come to the edge of the earth lift up your hands to the sky, and you will be taken up into the clouds”. These are the moments I will treasure. I’d love to give nomadic life a try.