Saturday, January 20, 2007

wisps of fog

It was 8 in the morning and i started pacing about with a plate of upittu. Gosh! i was running late. What had happened to me? i faithfully presented myself at the kitchen for breakfast at sharp 7:45. Well, no i was five minutes late. The uppittu was really hot, and i had to remind mother to put shredded coconut and pickle into my lunch box. And above all that, i had to return two books to the college library. Realising that classes start at nine on Saturdays, i slowed down a little. Ate my breakfast in peace, slightly annoyed at the absence of the day's newspaper.

After having put the books in a plastic bag, and after having packed my lunch, i left my house. Turning back to look at my house, to see if C was standing in the verandah, i for a moment forget that she always left the house a little early on saturdays. She had left for school.

Walking on the mushy road, i had to skip a bit to avoid the dirty, muddy water. Holding proof to the borewell dug yesterday, the road showed huge amounts of viscous looking murky water of different shades. Flies, had already started accumulating near it. Shifting the weight of the plastic bag form one hand to the other, resting it for some time on my shoulder, i walked towards Hudson Circle.

I crossed Huson Circle in a leisurely manner, and reached the bus-stop. I'd made it right, on time. Once again, i told myself that college will start today. It was okay for me to miss a bus, the main reason behind me missing a bus, is that the bus never stops at my respective bus-stop, though the stop is listed in the schedule. Upon realising this, i usually dole out expletives.

Something caught my eye during the wait. I couldn't see the buildings beyond Hudson Circle, on the other side. Fog had accumulated, partially blinding the view. Pushing my spectacles up against the bridge of my nose, i focussed again. The presence of the fog was confirmed. Playing with the fog, i shifted my position, to overcome the effect that the fog created. Having realised that i walked in the middle of the fog, filled my heart with sheer joy. Once again, i saw the fog. My bus came, and i got into it. Thankfully i found a place to sit. I continued to stare outside the window. While the passing structures, trees, looked mysteriously clothed in fog. The weight on my hand, and on my shoulders melted into oblivion.

The Vidhana Soudha appeared, and the edifice looked beautiful with the fog attempting to hide it from public view. Made of grey-white stone with a soft-cottony white fog highlighted the grace of the mighty structure.

I reached college. Some friends and i started chatting. A came in, saying that she drove her bike at a high speed. Shivering in front of us, she started to warm herself. I said that the Hebbal lake looked awesome with dense fog above it. Fog wrapped the entire water surface, which was simply not visible.

Cold air blowing around me, with no warm clothing on, i realised that my cold(a successful one at that), received new impetus for it's continuation, in a surprisingly obliging host.

9 comments:

Shiv said...

Mouna,
I literally had uppittu, walked with you to bus stop,saw mighty Vidhana Soudha..Thanks for makin me remember those foggy mornings of Bengalooru..

Isn't fog like a thin sweater which all the buildins & trees wear? Sweater has such a layer it makes everything look very beautiful.

Oh..You & Cold..
eh bandhan tho pyaar ka bandhan hai :D

mouna said...

shiv,
me and cold, a meandering relationship, one that is affectionate, afterall it visits me once in a year or so. :)

Srik said...

If I see at Hudson circle tomorrow early morning, a girl with spectacles and a running nose, I'll assume that its SK.
Am I getting wrong here?

Prashanth M said...

never fond of Uppittu... but love to roam around on foggy morning...

these days Bengalooru is becoming like Delhi...

@Srik,
Me too was thinking the same...

mouna said...

srik,
add 'cough' to that list, btw do u travel around Hudson circle frequently?

prashanth,
me too, never liked uppittu. but unfortunately, as it can prepared easily, thus am subjected to it often. banglore's weather is so indeterminable.

btw, do u pass Hudson Circle as well?

Srik said...

Yes, I do. My office is opposite Karnataka Bhavana, JC Road!

And, tomorrow morning I'll make it a point to search for a girl with microscopes to her eyes, a big clothe squeezed to the nose, a muffler covering the head(?), a plastic bag in hands(;)), looking out for a BMTC bus :D...!

Oh! Thats a lot many clue to find you SK. Let me see you tomorrow ;)

mouna said...

srik,
ha ha, your description of me is pretty exagerated, high hopes, indeed! of all things, i make it to the bus-stop in time?

The 'Ekaangi' said...

too much fog can mean high pollution levels...but i really don't want to become an environmentalist...

fogs...dew drops...yeah...that reminds me of my P.U. college...as I sat in the bus at 6-45am...watchin the wet leaves...a radio playin some retro numbers...an old man sipping hot coffee...newspaper guys arranging the supplements...milk-men everywhere...bangalore can be such a different and a beautiful place...the 6am bangalore we see today was similar to the normal situation of bangalore some years back...very few vehicles...very few ppl...was almost like a hill station

mouna said...

suhas,
i too enjoy the same, to sit in the bus, with soft music playing, and to have some nice greenery to go by u.