Love Spiced with Curry Leaves

 

Sigmund Freud: “We are never so defenseless against suffering as when we love.”

A bit scary warning by the great reader of mind! Isn’t it?

Well, suffering and love happen to be defined almost synonymously. Most often heartbreaks, anxiety, depression and tears are the recurring speed bumps on the so called love-road. These appear inevitable because the way love has been defined in human relationships, it draws its sustenance from our needs, to fill up our vacuums, by taking something from the other. It's more of dependence, and less of sharing.

We try to love people in the same way we like our things. Suppose you have a chair in your room. Now you have every right to keep your permanent expectations from it because it cannot move of its own will. You can position it at the place of your liking and expect it to be there till you change your mind. Unfortunately, this very expectation crosses over from the lifeless to the sentient beings around. But then the living beings have their free will, they move, they change, they evolve. This change appears a betrayal against the fixed pole of our expectations. No wonder we feel pain.

We just presume relationships to guarantee love. We try and exclude others from the shower of our caring selves, taking it to be a duty for the exclusive people in our life, who are in turn duty-bound to not only reciprocate but return it with full interest. No wonder, we develop sharp edges to our persona in the effort. It hurts as much others as it does to our own selves.

There is a silent language of love and care in nature. Learn from it. It will broaden the horizons for you to spread yourself. And mind you, more space gives freedom only. It opens you up. The seed of compassion in you needs certain nurturing. It’s a matter of some practice. Learn from nature. Observe the love tales going on unsung around.

For example, I enjoy the love spiced with curry leaves.

Love is spiced with curry leaves. Love, love, love on the small kari patta (curry leaves) tree. The tree with aromatic leaflets adds a delicious aroma to various curries. It further adds taste to the precious moments of this tiny bird couple, a cute pair of oriental white eye, tiny, 8-9 cm, olive green birds with a distinct white eye-ring and yellowish underparts.

They pollinate flowers as they visit for insects, make a soft nasal cheer and love to bathe in dew and water on the leaves. What a beautiful summary of the feathered life! If we cannot spot godliness in such things, I have doubts about we getting it in mammoth size and forms.

In the afternoons, I spray water on the small tree, and they usually come and take a rubbing bath against wet leaves, prancing around, twitching their square tails, flapping their greenish-yellow coats. Then they peck and cuddle each other with their slender, pointed, slightly curved bills. Love is never enough. They raise their little heads in supreme abandonment, while the partner is busy cuddling the fur with its beak. Goosebumps, all pleasing and tinkling!

Let there be wars, hate, jealousy and bigger human issues around. Here they are, etching out a tiny, colorful love tale, with small dreams of a nest in their beautiful white-ringed eyes. They really love this afternoon bathing by the way. I have to spray water so that they don't miss it.

There are more important things to attend as well. After the lovey-dovey moments, they hunt gregariously among the foliage for insects and take sips of nectar from the over-blooming sadabahar flowers around. And of course in between are their softly jingling conversational notes, possibly taking birdie jibes at human follies of wasting time and energy in unnecessary hassles, while all that is needed is just to be in league with Mother Nature and get uncountable showers of happiness by default, as a rule of nature.