April....in a strange land.....

The branches of the tree are just few inches away from my first floor balcony. I stare at it as I sip my tea. I marvel at the large, green and brown leaves that sway with the warm winds. I slowly shift my gaze towards the blue sheet at the pool that glistens with sunrays. Two small heads plop in and out of the pool, their happy squeals cutting the silence beneath the trees. In this month of April, I am far away from my home town, in a dark continent, in West Africa. Same blue sky of my home town is above me, but, here I am surrounded by healthy, green, clean, fresh air, and a sweet fragrance. The birds sing a happy song. So close to the nature, I should be swinging with joy. I am but only for few hours. I am spoilt by my electronic world and I miss the glossy patterns of bytes and words. I take two hours to complete my work which would normally take only ten minutes in my home town. Slow internet connection drains me out and I wait patiently, furiously pulling the strands of my hair. There is shortage of power at all times of the day; luckily for me, most of the houses have transformers that run on petrol or diesel. My mind drifts to the village home, just few miles away, and I see the discomfort of a native in this primitive land. The weather is too hot and my inspiration has no wings. Is April the cruelest month? I feel sad, but momentarily. Glow returns with the radiance of smiling faces around me. An idle chat of poetry and song, a game of cards, a fancy cuisine or drives through the green winding roads towards the beach shifts my moods and I am happy once more. But, driving through those lonely roads, I am reminded of the armed robbery through the streets that are more common now and I cup my ears to hide the reflections of the stones that dangle through my ear lobes. My heart stands still till I see the familiar secured gates of my holiday home. Safe, once more, I take a chance to enter my virtual world. I am home away from home This April is the cruelest month It is not, or is it?

Visit to Beauty salon in Lagos

One of my cousins was leaving for USA,so she decided to have a make over, to get a new look after her trip to Lagos. She wanted to do streaking and blow dry....we went to the salon, where the owner was a male hair style artist. The salon was full of beautiful paintings covering all the bare walls. There were Indian magazines on the magazine racks. Salon was quite expensive. For dyeing and blow drying my cousin paid about one hundred US dollars whole my couin who did streaking and cutting hair paid almost one hundred and sixty US dollars. It is quite expensive if we compare the rates with India, In Mumbai I normally pay Rs1000 (about 25 US dollars)for dyeing my hair, and that too in a good salon.