Unexpected surprises that natures springs up on us are always the best. Yesterday I had to travel across the city on some errands and I wasn't expecting to enjoy the trip. I woke up late and I had to leave the house as it was without doing the things I usually do in the morning. I hate starting the day in a chaotic way like this, but it couldn't be helped.
There were so many things on my mind and a call from my son meant there was a last minute change of plan as well. We had to go to the university to do some errands for him as well. Being late means just one thing in Bangalore, being stuck for hours in the city traffic. A drive that would have taken us under an hour now took us almost two hours. As usual nature came to my rescue, the road where traffic was moving at snail pace happened to be the most scenic sight I have seen in a while.
We had just driven on this road ten days ago and there was nothing unusual about it. What had changed in such a short span of time? The whole view of the place. There were lavender morning glories everywhere on that one long road. It was as if a lavender haze had filled the city. My eyes almost popped out of their sockets as we drove past them. There was no way I could take pictures because of the traffic at that point in time.
Honestly these scenes I saw drove away that feeling annoyance that I felt towards myself that morning. This annoyance that I felt was gnawing within me, I felt guilty about making the hubs drive in this crazy traffic, but now in a moment everything had vanished and a feeling of absolute joy filled my heart. Emotions are finicky things, they change from moment to another at the sight of some flowers.
Our errands were finally done by 11.30 am. It was blazing hot now as the Indian summer has already begun. We quickly grabbed some breakfast before we drove back home. The traffic had eased out a bit and I decided to get some pictures of the beauty we saw all around us. This three kilometer stretch of road known as the Inner Ring road was a sea of flowers.
This is just wild morning glory which has grown on its own. No one tends to it or protects it. The whole stretch of this road and in some place even the side walks have been taken over by the lavender Morning glory vines.
Electric poles, street lamps trees and wire fencing in this area were now garlanded by morning glories. they trailed like over the fences like they have been trained by human hands. They waved about prettily in the wind. What surprised me the most was even though they showed slight signs of wilting the flowers looked comparatively fresh even by midday.
The sun was harsh and the lighting wasn't very conducive for photography ( nor was the traffic) as each time I took a picture a vehicle that passed by made the vines wave and flutter around. I still decided to stop and walk about half a kilometer just to get some images of the scenes around me. Here where was another elderly gentleman trying to take some cuttings from the morning glory. I also grabbed a piece of the vine hoping to grow it in a planter.
Blue, pink and purple are my favorite colors. When nature decides to paint the streets in any of these colors I can but stand and gaze in awe. I wish these flowers will last much longer and one of these days I can g there early enough to get some fresh images.
I remember a couple of years ago when our neighborhood wasn't as crowded as it is now there was a blue haze all around us. Blue morning glories filled the place. Now these flowers don't seem to exist. Concrete jungles have covered up these open spaces which were once a sea of blue. My dogs and I used to enjoy chasing after the grasshoppers and dragonflies there.
Small things that many city dwellers around me fail to notice are enough to make my heart swell with joy. Most people I know live a life chasing after happiness, but for me happiness is all around, it is deep within. A tiny flower is the magical key to open my heart to the sea of happiness around.
As these thoughts were going through my head I noticed the hubs started showing signs of impatience, the traffic behind us was picking up once again and it would be dangerous to drive as slowly as we were.
Just before I got into the car I noticed a different kind of tree. It had tiny pink flowers and bees of all kind were hovering over them. I didn't have much time to investigate, I grabbed a couple of images hurriedly before I hopped into the car.
I am so grateful that the hubs always lets me jump out of the car and have my fill of the nature around me. I feel so blessed by the love that surrounds me not only from people but also from nature.
Thank you for time, I hope you enjoyed this beautiful morning with me.
Hope to see you soon in another post.