Temple of Bare Naked Ladies
Every day I wake up 15 mins before my alarm, just to make sure the scream doesn't ruffle The Mr's dreams.
Hmm...the above does sound romantic but it ain't the truth.
Most days I do wake up before my alarm but mainly to switch it off lest it drills a big hole in my head. But some days I am so sleepy, I just lie half-awake waiting for that familiar but frustrating tone, to signal the start of another busy day.
But ofcourse, I don't get out of the bed immediately. Please! I don't heed to commands from living beings, why would I change that rule now for an alarm clock?
From 5.45 to 6.15 am, I lie in my bed wondering if there is a loophole in the time and space continuum which would let me sleep till 9.30 and yet be present for the 10 o'clock team meeting. By the time I realize my groggy greycells are not going to crack that problem, it is 6.45 am. I jump out of bed, make coffee, finish my shower and get ready in 15 odd mins and then spend another 5 mins in pulling The Mr away from the bed.
Finally we leave the house 2 mins later than the scheduled time and barely make it to the Lowell station with a minute to spare to board the train. And trust me, I need a medal just for that. It's one thing to make me climb flights of stairs at Egmore station but another when you make me do the same in the Land of Escalators. Seriously! why can't the darn train rumble away from the track closest to the door?
Anyhoo, me digressesses.
After some 50 odd minutes in the train, with my nose buried in a book I reach North Station where there is a mad scramble of feet, ipods, laptops and bags to reach the T before the next person. Another 10 odd minutes later, I am inside the Red Line on my way to Harvard Square.
I am not really a huge fan of winter. But as you cross the Charles river, and glance at the few skyscrapers peeking out of the early morning mist, you do appreciate the grey landscape. Some evenings when I leave early, I can catch the Charles river whispering naughty secrets to the Boston skyline, making her blush a beautiful pink hue, that slowly dissolves into the wintry darkness.
The best part of the day ofcourse, is when I cross the big black wrought iron gates and step foot into the courtyard of the temple - Harvard Yard. What you experience inside the gates is a world different from that outside. Students shuffling between dormitories, brown squirrels scampering around in a game of Catch, the not-so-occasional Oriental tourists clicking zillion photos of the yard in their digital cameras and the quintessential fitness freak jogging in 20 deg F. And standing guard over these subjects are The Trees.
Something in the manner those trees tower over the space, their empty branches reaching out to the heavens in a silent prayer, makes me want to just close my eyes and pray with them. For everything and everyone. In the 5 minutes it takes to walk across the yard, I manage to forget the chores I have left behind at home, the work I have in store at office and the tiring commute which brought me there in the first place. Coz for those 5 minutes, the world belongs to me and The Green Priestesses.
If I am lucky, like I was yesterday, I could see the trees forming a beautiful silhouette with an inky blue sky as the backdrop. A picture so surreal(to use the an adj overused by Americans) your mind registers it only as an aberration of Nature.
And then the day ends.
Hmm...the above does sound romantic but it ain't the truth.
Most days I do wake up before my alarm but mainly to switch it off lest it drills a big hole in my head. But some days I am so sleepy, I just lie half-awake waiting for that familiar but frustrating tone, to signal the start of another busy day.
But ofcourse, I don't get out of the bed immediately. Please! I don't heed to commands from living beings, why would I change that rule now for an alarm clock?
From 5.45 to 6.15 am, I lie in my bed wondering if there is a loophole in the time and space continuum which would let me sleep till 9.30 and yet be present for the 10 o'clock team meeting. By the time I realize my groggy greycells are not going to crack that problem, it is 6.45 am. I jump out of bed, make coffee, finish my shower and get ready in 15 odd mins and then spend another 5 mins in pulling The Mr away from the bed.
Finally we leave the house 2 mins later than the scheduled time and barely make it to the Lowell station with a minute to spare to board the train. And trust me, I need a medal just for that. It's one thing to make me climb flights of stairs at Egmore station but another when you make me do the same in the Land of Escalators. Seriously! why can't the darn train rumble away from the track closest to the door?
Anyhoo, me digressesses.
After some 50 odd minutes in the train, with my nose buried in a book I reach North Station where there is a mad scramble of feet, ipods, laptops and bags to reach the T before the next person. Another 10 odd minutes later, I am inside the Red Line on my way to Harvard Square.
I am not really a huge fan of winter. But as you cross the Charles river, and glance at the few skyscrapers peeking out of the early morning mist, you do appreciate the grey landscape. Some evenings when I leave early, I can catch the Charles river whispering naughty secrets to the Boston skyline, making her blush a beautiful pink hue, that slowly dissolves into the wintry darkness.
The best part of the day ofcourse, is when I cross the big black wrought iron gates and step foot into the courtyard of the temple - Harvard Yard. What you experience inside the gates is a world different from that outside. Students shuffling between dormitories, brown squirrels scampering around in a game of Catch, the not-so-occasional Oriental tourists clicking zillion photos of the yard in their digital cameras and the quintessential fitness freak jogging in 20 deg F. And standing guard over these subjects are The Trees.
Something in the manner those trees tower over the space, their empty branches reaching out to the heavens in a silent prayer, makes me want to just close my eyes and pray with them. For everything and everyone. In the 5 minutes it takes to walk across the yard, I manage to forget the chores I have left behind at home, the work I have in store at office and the tiring commute which brought me there in the first place. Coz for those 5 minutes, the world belongs to me and The Green Priestesses.
If I am lucky, like I was yesterday, I could see the trees forming a beautiful silhouette with an inky blue sky as the backdrop. A picture so surreal(to use the an adj overused by Americans) your mind registers it only as an aberration of Nature.
And then the day ends.
posted by Kumari at 11:18 AM
4 Comments:
Awh! Its the same story everywhere!
PonC you professing in Harvard?
Very well written as usual :-)
Shirsha: :) Tell me about it!
Me: Sigh! I wish. But am one of those invisible people who help their software run - QA Analyst :)
Wow, that's one hell of a commute. And I curse every time I have to rely on the commuter to get from Waltham to Porter. And I only do it on weekends for entertainment...
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