I was fascinated by fairy tales as a kid and devoured them by the dozens.But there was one thing I never did understand. Many of these stories had this innocent little kid who is lost in the forest, more often than not, by the evil designs of a wicked stepmother. When the child wanders around the forest, s/he comes across menacing-looking trees which (to the child) seem to have a life of their own, and which wave their arms and make eerie noises, and scare the child stiff. I found it funny that anybody could be scared by a tree. To take things further, the imaginative artists drew dark, frightening trees, which actually had eyes and a nose and a mouth. I scoffed at it all the time - please, there couldn't be trees like those in reality!
Until last month. On a weekend walk in Lalbagh, I came across this tree - and I could have sworn that it has eyes and a nose, and even a mouth with a grimace. If I had been a child and had seen it in twilight, I am sure I would have fled the scene. Mr Andersen, Messrs Grimm, and all you noble fairy tale writers, I apologize for having doubted you. You knew exactly what you were saying!
26 comments:
The moment I opened the page and saw the pic, I thought 'this looks like it has a face' and then I read your post!!
i always believed in fairytales ... lol
He he.
BTW, Do you always have a camera handy, on your walks?
Wow! That tree really does look like it has a face. And I have to agree that the writers sure knew what they were talking about:)I am always fascinated by how a writer, especailly of childrens' books, can describe normal everyday things in such a wonderful way. See, I'm getting lost even trying to describe my feelings about that..sheesh.
Anumita, Wow ;) I wonder if people who look at that tree everyday think so too!
Abhinav, sometimes it is definitely nice to believe in them :D
Viky, mmm.. not always.. If it is a brisk walk, I avoid it as it slows me down! But otherwise, yeah, I like to have a camera around (though I forget to take it most of the time).. you never know what gems you find in unexpected places!
Travel Plaza, isn't that so? I always think that writers of children's books are very very talented. They have to say it simply, but in the most graphic way possible... whew!
Indeed they were right :) And certainly your tree has a great big scowl on its face!
I thought as much. Else you wouldn't miss the gurdwara park, would you? Unless photography was prohibited, of course.
Shyam, :) and to think that it has nothing to scowl about - it overlooks such a beautiful place :D
Viky, you are very well-versed with my blog, arent' you? :D I am flattered :) -- Oh I did not have a digicam at that time... and even if I did... the thought of photographing that place never really crossed my mind - it was a very ordinary park, really - just that even a little green was so rare there...
it was really cute watching trees talk and walk in the lord of the rings. hahahah :)
in that movie, trees say that their language is so complicated and elaborate that they have to talk a lot to convey a very simple thing. that is the reason they usually don't talk. they talk only if it is really necessary to talk. spooky... :P :P
Hmmm...it seems tht lot of people here like fairy tales....yea....then u all shld catch Shyamalan's new flick LITW.
:)
Inder, heh heh.. that's interesting.. haven't watched LOTR :)
Harsha, is Shyamalan paying for the publicity? :) On your blog, on others' blog.... :D
LOL!
The tree surely looks eerie! :)
I have to be. Its my hideout at the workplace. I know every nook and corner of it. :D
And don't be flattered, young lady, keep up your guard instead. One small mistake, and you get a public rap on the knuckles.
And yes, your spellchecker seems to be doing a good job. Keep it up. ;)
Adi :D
Viky, Err... emmm... you'll get my blog blocked at office
And "young lady"??? I am so flattered! :D
And thanks for reminding me... I have to turn spellcheck on ;)
Ewww...Creepy!!!
Talking of trees, your post reminded me of one of my favorite books (or rather book series) - Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree series. I just used to love them when I was a kid!
Ah, then you will have to email your posts to me ;)
Did you not mention in the other post that thirty was beckoning you fast. Well, thirty is no age to be called "unyoung". Remember Jeetendra and the Revital ad?
Your master spell-checker is already on, in this part of the world.
Ranjit, Strangely, though I read loads of Enid Blytons, I never did read the Faraway Tree series! :) Btw did you know that Enid Blyton is not stocked in children's book shop any longer (at least in the UK), coz her books are supposed to be politically incorrect?
Viky There you go again. You know my blog better than I do :D
And err.. I am not that close to thirty either ;)
ROFL at master spell-checker :D
As a kid when i used to sleep on our terrace in summer, i used to do the same things with clouds.I used to make shapes out of clouds and i could see everyone there. I could see the gods who were the characters of mahabharatha tht i used to watch in TV.
:D
Ha, how we love to antropomorphise trees, sun,moon, cars,potato smileys, clouds, animals and look for human features everywhere.
Some Flickr photos on antropomorphised things :
http://www.flickr.com/groups/humanlike/pool/
Your post brought back memories of lalbagh , weekend trips there, childhood , fairy tales and C-type garden near the watchman's booth. You remember we'd play jack and the bean stalk there .. a thin, frail tree there would always be the bean stalk ..
Yeah, actually he is.
By making gud quality cinema..... ;)
The tree looks scary? I think it looks "lively" :)
Maverick, Clouds are just perfect for finding shapes, aren't they? :)
Viky, :)
Raj Plus, Human features... and God's features too! How many Ganesha potatoes have we heard of!
Thanks for the link! :)
Chitra, You remember Jack and the Beanstalk? :D :D That was so much fun!
Harsha, Ha ha :D
Shark, :) :) Great! Let's leave you there at night and see ;)
i don't remember this tree, but lovely post :) the lalbagh walk was really fascinating. i've never looked at trees in so much details. they have so much history and character, and they're all so distinct from one another - truly beautiful!
Anita, I really want to take that Lalbagh Walk you talked about! It sounds so interesting! :)
Post a Comment