‘A FALLEN TREE‘…sounds really sad. Even more sad if it falls on your roof. This year’s monsoon was raining ‘trees’ in our cantonment.

I have a saying by Ruskin Bond hung in my portico ‘Blessed is the house upon whose walls, the shade of an old tree softly falls’.   I never realised God was paying such close attention to my musings. But He was. He decided to bless my house, not with a mere shadow, but with an entire tree…

Thus the tree fell on our roof,
Sound made us take to our hoof,
Thought at first it was a goof,
But the waterfall inside was proof,
That it was not just a spoof.

Just like Soldiers regale us with, stories of valour & bravery at the drop of a ‘chat’…the soldiers wives too follow march. We too have many a story up our sleeves( finding sleeves these days might be a problem though ). During rains, our soldiers automatically go into ‘flood control’ mode inside their homes too ( part of the Army survival training undertaken by the MES for the officers & wives ) and cut streams & ponds ( where the roof has leaked ), in which we army wives dutifully add depth & ripples by growing lotuses & farming fishes. So to be honest…..a fallen tree was not an unfair deal……..it was in all fairness a fair steal.

So, trying to make the most out of a ‘fallen’ situation, saw the creation of this rustic looking(you guys can pretty it up with a coat of varnish) table, mirror & clock. These were cut out from the tree….which laid down it’s life on my roof (‘fallen’ has a negative ring to it, & trees don’t have one negative bark in them…….don’t you guys agree? ).

A table for my fables ….

A sturdy mirror to get me all ready ……

A clock ( carved a niche for itself inside a chunk of wood ) to tell me when to stop blogging & get on with my slogging…

I hope the wood worked wonders on your mood.

When the time comes & it’s our turn to fall, fall like a tree ( not on my roof top, if you can help it ). A tree is as useful fallen, as it is standing. We too can be useful fallen if we pledge our ORGANS. ONE can save up to EIGHT lives if we donate our organs. Say YES to ORGAN DONATION, my friends…… rise high after the fall.

Hmm…..c ome to think of it…….. ‘All’s well that ends well’…… ring a bell?

Prints are forever in fashion. Why me, a 101 Dalmatians too will vouch for it. And for these prints, we go to any lengths, let it be sprinting after a Tiger or emptying a ‘mint’. Surely, if this scene doesn’t change, our grandchildren will be watching Tigerassic Park where they will get introduced to ‘extinct’ tigers in a big, or do I say, the dinosaur way. Save Tigers……& while you are at it, save Leopards, Zebras, Crocs, Deers, Bears……and the rest.

Prints too are a girl’s best friend, apart from everything that’s ‘in trend’( a trend in vogue is a friend indeed). Here too, we Army brave-hearts’ better-halves are at a loss. The only mint we have access to is peppermint & the only tigers we can get our hands on are our  husbands  ( can’t de-skin them, now can we ?). So, how do we manage to get some ‘beautiful prints’ on our accessories, without paying a king’s ransom?

This is where our humble ‘flex‘ makes its appearance. Bless the soul, who gave birth to flex…must ve really flexed some muscles.

Flex does have its limitations though, as far as we ladies are concerned. They are not allowed ( untouchability, taking the global name of ‘racism‘ still exists) into our Shrines (wardrobes & shoe racks) ‘coz of their plasticky texture, but then they do come real handy in beautifying our bags, cushions, file covers……..& much, in less ‘kharch’.

I got some Ravi Varma paintings printed on flex. Raja Ravi Varma is that great blue blooded South Indian painter who died long before getting acquainted with Size Zero or Rujuta Diwekar……hence his paintings showcased beautiful saree clad ‘full figured‘ Indian ladies. He has received high acclaim & recognition for his depiction of scenes from the epics of Mahabharata & Ramayana.

Reproduction of his art is found mostly in all homes of Kerala. It has a place in my home too.

Got the pics of Ravi Varma’s ‘Maharashtrian lady’ & ‘Lady holding a fruit’ printed onto flex . Stitched & glued them onto an old shoulder bag & an existing plain velvet purse respectively, giving them a bohemian look- The Coy & the Beautiful.

 I let his ‘Contemplating lady’ & the ‘Mother & Child’ steal a moment, on my cushions.

 Print mania….. like Sachin mania…..will stay-nia hearts for ‘centuries‘ to come, right??