Making Time to Smell the Flowers

An overflowing schedule with meetings to attend, taxes to file, places to visit, people to call, doctors’ visits, repair work in the building we live in, all threatened to contribute to a solid sense of overwhelm. Sometimes when life gets a little too hectic for its own good, it is good to stand back and take stock. It is perfectly okay to slow down and take mini-breaks.

And I did.

A couple of days ago, what with the heat freaking us out and just not being in the mood to do anything, my son and I decided to watch a movie. You’d never guess which one! We finished lunch and settled down to watch – drumroll – The Ten Commandments (1956) a movie special to me on various counts. I love it for its sheer grandoise-ness. Then, it is associated with a lot of fun memories. My son was fascinated to hear that when I was in high school, I saw the movie thrice in three years. We had a movie theater right opposite our school and this movie would be aired as a morning show. The school would make a block-booking at the theater and the entire school would be shepherded to the theater to watch the movie. It is a three-hour plus show and by the time we came out of the theater into the sunlight, we’d be in a daze, feeling real strange as our minds would still be full of the movie and take its own sweet time to return to reality.

So it was such fun to relive all those moments and we thoroughly enjoyed the movie. There’s something about watching a movie when you are sixteen and then watching it with your sixteen year old son. Heh!

Not satisfied with that little break, we decided to continue the happiness and took off to the park. And not just any park. We’re lucky to have a fabulous botanical garden that’s half an hour away. 240 acres of lush green in the middle of the city open to the public with a small entrance fee – it was glorious spending the morning there. The last time we went there was when Vidur was four years old. Yes, yes, shame on me!

So anyway, the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens is a major tourist attraction. Even though the weather was super-warm, it was lovely to roam the grounds there taking in nature’s beauty.

A day at the Lalbagh

The garden was originally commissioned in 1760 by Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore, and later finished by his son Tipu Sultan who imported trees and plants from several countries. There are thousands of species of plants and trees that are hundreds of years old. Huge flower shows are held in January (Republic Day) and August (Independence Day) and this draws massive crowds. It houses the Department of Horticulture on the premises. Depending on the season, they also have fruit markets. Right now, there’s the Mango “mela” in progress featuring every variety of mango you can think of, direct from the growers.

Entry is free from 6 am to 9 am and 6 pm to 7 pm which is the time when joggers and walkers crowd the place. From 9 am to 6 pm, the entry fee is a mere Rs.10/- per adult and free for children 12 years and below. If one wants to take pictures, then a Rs.50/- fee for the camera is totally worth it. I mean, who wouldn’t want to take pictures? I certainly wanted to. I particularly love to photograph trees. There’s something so solid and serene about them!

As we enter the Lalbagh, there is a beautiful floral clock. Reputed to be very accurate. And themed after Snow White and the seven dwarfs.

Here’s Snow White’s cottage. Hey, come to think of it, I didn’t see Snow White!

This is a statue of the Maharaja of Mysore, Sri Chamarajendra Odeyar.

Even the dustbins in Lalbagh are charming!

The glass house in Lalbagh is the venue for the annual flower shows

There is a rose garden, but that was closed to the public. We could walk through the Japanese garden though – which had lots of bonsai trees.

The cactus garden was also closed. We couldn’t enter but I found this entrance so cute!

This is a special feature of the Lalbagh. That monument is a great vantage point to see for miles around. Quoting from the Wikipedia

A geological monument for the peninsular gneiss formation is also a tourist attraction at the gardens. This monument has been designated by the Geological Survey of India on the Lal Bagh hill which is made up of 3,000 million-year-old peninsular gneissic rocks.

When we returned home tired but happy, I realized we must do this more often. To get away from overwhelm, we don’t have to overthink. Just pick a place nearby and enjoy a day, or part of a day off. Makes a big difference. Forget the “some day” attitude. Work is important, but so is relaxation. It refreshes the mind and helps tackle things more enthusiastically. So really, it is a win-win situation no matter how you look at it.

I have learned that there’s no such thing as “I don’t have the time”. When we want something badly enough, we make the time for it. It is as simple as that!

I am ready for the week. And I am not guilty that I have a couple of outings planned for this week.

What about you?

How are you renewing yourself?

Linking up with one of my favorite bloggers, Unknown Mami for Sundays in My City.