हिवाळा

   आज तो गार वारा जाणवला

कारण, धुक्यातून हळूच

 हिवाळा बहरुन येत होता     

हिवाळा, ऊन्हा पावसाच्या वाटेने

इथे पोहोचत होता

हिवाळा, हवेत हळूच

शहारा देत होता

हिवाळा, खुप दिवसांनी

मला जवळ घेत होता

                       - खुशग्नी सावंत

                  

नभी दाटलेल्या मुक्या भावना त्या

तुझी हाक येता न आवरे तयांना

किती काळ तिने उन्हात भिजावे

बरसत्या सरींनी भिजू दे धरेला

                     - खुशग्नी सावंत

आजीच्या सुरकुत्या

आजीच्या सुरकुत्या

वेड्याप्रमाणे मी

त्या सुरकुत्या मोजत

होते.

आयुष्यातील कितीतरी

गोष्टी

मोजता येतात.

प्रत्येक सुरकुती आपला

प्रवास सांगते;

बालपणातील निरागस

चेहरा,

तरूण वयातील ते

बेफिकीर जगणं,

प्रौढ वयातील संसार

सगळा

त्या सुरकुत्यांनी झाकला

होता.

आता फक्त उरलं ते

म्हातारपण

जे ह्या सुरकुत्यांनी

दिसतं.

आयुष्य जगण्याचं

समाधान

ह्या सुरकुत्यांनी दिसतं.

                    - खुशग्नी हरि सावंत

ह्या चंद्रास सावळ्या

ह्या चंद्रास सावळ्या

ह्या चंद्रास सावळ्या

विचारता आले मला

का त्याच्या जागी दिसला

तुझा हा चेहरा मला?

दाटला आता अंधार इथे
चांदण्यांचा आधार मला
पाहता तळ्यात एक
हास्य तुझे मिळे मला

काळ चालतो जरा
न जाणवे कसे मला
हरवले त्या स्वप्नी
वेड लागले मला

न जाणवो हा दुरावा
भेट दे तू मला
न सोडता साथ तुझी
नात्यात जुळू दे मला

                    - खुशग्नी हरि सावंत

Lantana Camara

Sunday, March 04, 2018

Ghaneri

During the many walks around my hometown back in rural North-Eastern Goa, I got acquainted with a lot of flowers. This time I decided to blog about the neglected Ghaneri flowers that grow along the roadsides. These flowers have a foul odour to them, hence the local name Ghaneri which means smelly or stinking.

These lantana shrubs grow up to 2-3 meters in height and stand upright, sometimes leaning on other plants for support. The leaves are small, oval shaped with a somewhat rough texture. The flowers, tubular in form, bloom in many dome-shaped heads and range in colours from yellow and orange to red and pink The shrubs when in bloom are a delight to the eyes.

Ghaneri (Lantana Camara)

Butea Monosperma (Palash)

Sunday, March 04, 2018

Flame of the Forest

Palash (Butea monosperma)

I spent the summer of 2017 at my cousin's place in Sindhudurg, Maharashtra. I have a lot of good memories attached with that place. One of them were the evening walks. We used to walk a distance of four-five km and back. It is a rural area and all there was to see were trees -- lots of them. I remember one perfectly. The orange canopy of the flowering tree glowing like a fire in the evening sun and breeze, cast a shadow on the road. My6 cousin said the flowers were called Palash. I picked one up from the many that had fallen on the road. Here is some more information that I managed to gather.

The Palash flower grows on a medium-sized deciduous tree whose growth is very slow. The flowers are bright reddish orange. The flowers are used to make colours on the festival of Holi as per tradition. It is also used as a dye for fabric. The benefit of having a Palash tree near your house is more than just visual gratification. The flowers give off a smell that attracts mosquitoes which use the flower's fluids to lay eggs. These eggs, fortunately for us, never hatch, and mosquitoes can get stuck in the fluids and die.

Little Bell

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Ipomoea Triloba

It was in summer holidays that we cousins had gone for a small walk. On the way, this Little Bell along with her family  was dancing with the wind and attracted my attention. And that's another beauty added to my album. Turns out Little bell is a small herbaceous twiner, found on grasses and fine-tipped. In India, the flower color is light pink with a deep red-violet. They all have their signature bell-shape blossoms in common. These cheery little bells grace plants for long periods of time, generally starting in late spring and continuing through summer. Interested in their varieties. Bell flowers are a diverse group of plants that come in many sizes and varieties.Nature is blessed with these Morning glory family.