It is a sunny morning but the sky is overcast with what seem like light rain clouds. There was a light drizzle in the early hours of this morning.
The sparkle of light as seen on the drops of rain still on the flowers…
…the sun’s rays of light reflecting off the drops of rain that heavily dot the leaves is evidence of the sun making a grand appearance in the sky soon.
It has been a sunny, but wet several days. But the weather hardly deters me from my daily 15 kilometer (km) walk.
15km walks are long walks, even though my walks are fairly brisk. There are perks to it besides keeping fit and helping reduce weight.
Aunty Vimala and her daughters have decorated their house with beautiful lights and other decorations in preparation for Diwali (1), which is tomorrow.
Diwali is The Festival of Lights, celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains all over the world.
While on my daily walks, I meet with many of my neighbours along the way. Last evening for instance, I met with “MacGyver” Tan as he was just getting out of his car after coming back from somewhere. He moved very slowly, as though in pain. He told me that he had been through a surgical procedure on his stomach two weeks ago. We wish him a speedy recovery.
The Tudor community is considered young. MacGyver, Zul and I were amongst the earliest to move in when the houses were ready for occupancy. I have seen Zul’s, McGuyver’s and Sharifah’s children grow up – all of them are very pleasant and respectful – in fact all the children of Tudor and those who have become young adults, are very courteous and friendly.
There are times when I pass by a house in road C; there is a lady who plays beautiful classical music on the piano. The tone of her piano has a brilliance about it, so much so that the classical pieces she plays, which are not the usual ones you may hear, are beautiful.
We’ve got quite a few musically talented people in our community. Ian, a talented violinist, who has just completed his IGCSE; has performed with the National Youth Orchestra. We met on a couple of my walks. He is a bright, young gentleman. His younger sister is a cellist. If I am not mistaken, she wants to teach the cello. Wow! I think Tudor might be able to form a string quartet. Looking forward to that possibility.
There are times when I walk pass a house when I see Geeta, with a dainty, shallow basket hanging from one hand; pluck little white flowers from one of her many flower plants. She and Subee have transformed the curb to a garden of paradise. I am attracted to vibrant colours. Their garden has so many different colour flowers and plants. Both Geeta and Subee get great pleasure from the work they put into their garden.
There is a beautiful, tall overflowing fountain of white bougainvillea that greets everyone at the junction of road A. It is very pretty.
In our community, there is sort of a plant exchange “programme”. Jeannie gives plants or cuttings of plants to neighbours on her morning or evening walks and gets different plants back in return.
As the festival of lights is just hours away, Jeannie and I, together with our daughter; would like to wish all our Hindu, Sikh and Jain community a very Happy Diwali!
NOTE
This is the third episode of the Tudor-ian series. More to come. You can read up on the other two essays:
THE WALK IN TUDOR
THE GARDENS OF TUDOR
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- Diwali is a significant festival in Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism. Wikipedia
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