In the garden of joy by Rekha Jad

This winter overstayed it's welcome,fed up of dreary ,gloomy overcast days with sun hardly showing  ,the spring was gladly recieved.With the vibrance of spring in air,I too press a pause button on my humdrum days and squeeze out some 'me' time to wake up andsmell the roses.

In a jiffy,I am on the swanky,elite roads of Lutyens amidst the honking and hollering of zooming cars and screeching brakes  ,I enter the nearby sprawling lush urban jungle,the iconic Lodhi garden. The cacophony I experienced outside comes to a grinding halt  just at the entrance.The tranquility is bewitching.There is a comfortable silence interrupted only by monotonous chirping of birds and a clattering hiss of winds through leaves of the tall  lofty trees.

The tall,shady blooming trees of Arjun,Neem, silver oak,Kusum and the spiritual Ashoka seem to greet you  with veneration.  As I step on the walkway,the edging and bordering by bloom of vibrant orange nustartiums on both sides spills boundless beauty. 

This city garden is a hotspot and epicentre for morning walkers and fitness junkies but even at this sunny afternoon , I find people huffing and puffing on the joggers track in spiffy athleisures, This love,vim n vigor for healthy life is really appreciable.

Few steps ahead ,I find myself treading the primrose path literally (not the Shakespearean one).The cheery primrose primulas seem to be  chasing away the winters dreariness.The bold and vibrant flowers in  variety of sizes and colors brighten up my day instantly and spark a joy within .  This amazing ,aromatic blossoming is too pristine and a sight to behold. Lush scarlet Salvia borders the track graciously with it's saucy red spiky flowers.The exotic violet and yellow pansies bloom in the heart of the sprawling garden.The austere candytufts forming a decorative backdrop for vast foliage of poppies,calandula,Kale ,zinnias and phlox. This colourful spectacle fills me with bliss ,happiness and positivity. I take a detour to the beautiful lake teeming with lotuses and team of geese ,frolicking in the waters and few goslings honking around in the nearby Rose garden.  The twittering of sparrows, whistles of parakeets,trills of Ibis  make my sojourn a musical one and engulf me in waves of rapture.

As I tread towards the masoulem , a pre wedding photo shoot  is going on on the steps of Sheesh Gumbad.The couple wearing trendy and groovy outfit s with equally grand backdrops and cameraman patiently tutoring them the correct angle,pose and positions.They are making best efforts to make their wedding album perfect. Why not? A soulful ethereal pre-wedding event demands celebration . On the other end of the garden, an amazing maternity shoot is going on,for a soon to be proud mother who is boldly flaunting her baby bump in a beautiful diaphanous yellow saree. Like the yore days,no effort to hide the protruding belly under layers.Pregnancy and motherhood are significant milestones in a woman's life,why not celebrate?

What is the most encountered  sight is young couples walking with hand locked ,or a canoodling couple far from the maddening crowd,in unalloyed bliss.sometimes I think the rechristening from lady Willingdon park  to "Jodi" garden would be appropriate,because of the burgeoning couples you find there

Trailing through the gorgeous Vista of Royal palm trees and evergreen sturdy canopy of Bamboo trees,I encounter one more photoshoot of a one year old adorable baby ,creating memories to be cherished when the child grows.There can not be anything sweeter than this special moment! Why not celebrate? Sweetness added by skittering  and singing mynas with their musical backdrop.

The somber tombs stand in stark contrast to this quaint,soothing paradise,despite the marvellous architecture and craftsmanship,I find it eerie and spooky with unkown graves buried underneath ,getting spookier with occasionall fluterring of pigeons.Though death bieng the ultimate reality and rest everything transient,I prefer to come out into the lively, exuberant and exultant ambience to take away my worries and slacken my nerves.

These humble greens and celebration of life have hidden wellness powers,making our lives happy and positive.After all happiness is a choice to have a feel of pleasure and positivity.We can choose it everyday,rather than become a hostage to circumstances.

We must not squander any opportunity of seeing anything beautiful and feel it with heart.we need not have any occasion to be happy,simply sitting in a sunny spot  and admiring the bounties of nature,exquisite and ravishing trees,the alluring birds  cheerful flowers or watching people counting their blessings by celebrating their eventful milestones in the journey of life.More we appreciate and become mindful,the more joy we get and retrospectively we realise these small  moments were the real big things.So celebrate your achievements and accomplishments,big or small .They are our real  victories.sieze every moment, savour every bit,live life to fullest.

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We may have not much to live by,but we have enough to live for!!! Handsome Devanand rightly croons the magical words of  legendary Sahir ludhianvi in the movie"Hum Dono" Har fikr ko dhoonve me udaata Chala gaya,mein Zindagi ka jashn manaata Chala gaya"