Kashi

May Heaven keep the grandeur of Benaras

Arbour of this meadow of joy;

For oft returning souls -their journey's end.

In this weary Temple land of the world,

Safe from the whirlwind of Time,

Benaras is forever Spring.

Where autumn turns into the touch of sandal

On fair foreheads,

Spring tide wears the sacred thread of flower waves,

And the splash of twilight is the crimson mark

of Kashi's dust on heaven's brow.

The Kaaba of Hind;

This conch blowers dell;

Its icons and idols are made of the Light,

That once flashed on Mount Sinai.

These radiant idolations naids,

Set the pious Brahmins afire, when their faces glow

Like moving lamps..on the Ganges banks.

Morning and Moonrise,

My lady Kashi,

Picks up the Ganga mirror

To see her gracious beauty,

Glimmer and shine.

Said I one night to a pristine seer

(who knew the secrets of whirling time)

'Sir, you will perceive

That goodness and faith, fidelity and love

Have all departed from the sorry land.

Father and son are at each other's throat;

Brother fights brother.

Unity and federation are undermined.

Despite these ominous signs

Why has doomsday not come?

Why does the Last trumpet not sound?

Who holds the reigns of the final catastrophe?'

The hoary old man of lucent ken

Pointed towards Kashi and gently smiled.

'The Architect', he said, is fond of this edifice

Because of which there is colour in life.

He would not like it to perish and fall.'

Hearing this, the pride of Benaras soared to an eminence, untouched by the

wings of thought.

(From Pawan Varma's Ghalib: The Man And His Times)

Saugat

Media Artist

604.725.9263

Saugat's Blog 

Wall

Walking around my neighbourhood I came across this fence of a house.
First by the texture and then through the waist height window I could
peep in. The lawn was like a miniature playground with toys, tricycle
and a small bench.
In this world where we are racing to raise our walls higher than the
other here was a wall which was becoming transparent inside out. The
child inside or the pet inside that lawn could also see outside. New
reality.

Sailing into a Reality.

" if someone dreams alone it is just a dream but a dream shared together, it is a start of a new reality"

The sun rises alongside the west shore of Kootenay Lake where the crews of the four boats spent the first evening of the 2.5-day journey.

Four sailboats started sailing from Nelson along the Kootenay lake, British Columbia. A popular pastime in Nelson but on March the 5th 2009 it became a lot more than just another sail trip to sailor David Oosthuizen and his crew. David and few other sailors volunteered to transport grains from Creston to Nelson for the members the local Grain CSA using sailboats. This maiden voyage intended to reduce dependency of local food on fossil fuels was documented on board by radio host, journalist and fellow food lover Jon Steinman from Deconstructing Dinner for full story in Audio.

Jon Steinman (right) records the journey on board the boat of David Oosthuizen.

Grain CSA is an experiment started when Matt Lowe of West Kootenay Ecosociety during a Local Food challenge for a month realized there wasn't any grain grown locally. Following the model of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) an experiment was launched to create a local grain market in the middle of the mountains of BC.


Matt teamed up with Brenda Bruns from Wildsight, Creston and gathered number of farmers, processors, bakers and eaters, to see if it was possible. Creston area farmers commit to growing five types of grain and 200 member shares issued between the residents of Nelson and Creston each of 80 pounds value for the first year.

Next came the idea of making the process less dependent on fossil fuel and in came the local Kootenays sailing club members to transport the grain from the nearest harbour from Creston farms. The team along with Jon on board sail away into 56 hour journey to get grains for their community. Their confidence had a fragrance of flowers yet to bloom. Their journey was a journey into the past due to absence of power engines yet not guided by the stars or mercy of nature. The team kept in touch with mobile phones, computers and used GPS for navigation. Many lessons were learnt along the way when grain bags while loading almost went down to the depths of Kootenay lake.

Bags of grain at Kuskanook harbour and Farmer Drew Gailius standing at Kuskanook harbour alongside grain grown at Full Circle Farm.

Result was way more than expected their were proud local farmers with their produce alongside excited community members eager to participate. People all around the world are looking for freshest, tastiest and most nutritious product available. As one of the farmers involved in the project put to words we all are looking for clear evidence of value they can connect with.

A chain of enthusiastic volunteers help unload grain from the sailboats docked in Nelson.

Matt Lowe carries grain from the dock in Nelson.

Photo Source: Deconstructing Dinner.

Young Looks Back

The month of March has always been special apart from celebrating my
birthdays inside an exam room or yearly festival I am always
surrounded by spring. Vancouver this year has a bit of winter left.
While looking into whatever I can gather of my last three decades I
have lost quite a bit of childish wisdom and yet retained my dreams. A
sudden connection between a moment of clarity in the past to a moment
in the present. Two rare occasions yet same in the sense of vastness
called life. I recently had an opportunity of a similar journey.
In our imperfection lies the key to our eternal connections.