MEYCODE

An idyllic hamlet with the bounty of nature.

- Dr Elsa Lycias Joel

In that lush-green remote village called Meycode, known for its artesian aquifers, animals and birds seem to read human minds, especially my mother's.

Crows either wake her up or wait for her at her doorstep and caw in different intonations when they do and don't get what they expect.

Seven sisters go a step ahead; fly into the house to eat savouries spread out for them in newspapers.

As they eat, they chirp loudly, taking their turns or sometimes in unison. Or do they know my mom named her house 'Sangeetham' which means music! Is that why these birds sing aloud and plants dance in praise just like King David! My mother listens to them as if her schedule is part of their itinerary.

I won't be surprised if Geetha Lycias Joel turns out to be another Aileen Fisher.

Mynas join the seven sisters often. It's a sight to behold! During rainy days they fly in together, act erratically, peck away squirrels and pretend like they completely lost it.

Another animal in the scene is the cat that acts nasty with the birds.

That's when the cane comes out of my mom's kitchen.

My mother just doesn't get the fact that an obligate carnivore surviving on human food will definitely have a craving for meat.

Watering her small garden that has all the herbs, creepers and shrubs is what my mom enjoys the most, more than teaching English, counselling or managing the church library. While watering she counts the number of newborn fishes, water lilies in her mini pond and realises her garden is a heaven for glow worms, snails, butterflies, dragonflies, humming birds and birds of prey too.

Blessed with a green thumb, a matrilineal genetic my mom has an unusual supposedly disposition, yearning to grow all that Margaret, her grandmother had in her garden.

Even if the garden doesn't look aesthetically pleasing due to a lot of plants growing here and there, it's a near carbon-copy of Margaret's.