We drove into the vastness of the Blue, a few weeks back..... The firmament in it's true rich color brightening up our minds while the playful giant whites stretched in pieces and toured all over, taking us for a wild ride in the open.
(The picture put up here is one of those captured, is of the drive)
(The picture put up here is one of those captured, is of the drive)
It seems to be the dream of each of the gorgeous cacti that grew in the wilderness that stood tall and high in groups and in solitude. An absolute get away spot for the busy minds. The sun was up and strong shining over the clouds which enriched the whites and highlighted the grays impregnated with moisture waiting to pour heavily in manners.. that a canvas can't produce with paints and brushes... Such is the power of our Mother Nature.... The well metalled highway stretching through the undulating topography guided us through the bosom of Kenya..... At the fringes of the island of Mombasa...
The thorny green patches of different shades quenched the thirst of the rusty soil that added color to the frame. Low sand dunes of grayish green hue fenced the road where the land looked naked and served as the natural embankments to the few small concrete settlements and hatchments.. The soil of which were held tight by the trees of similar kinds, to retain moisture for their survival.. All along the drive it seemed as if the frames that my eyes captured were repeating itself... There was monotony as humans have left it undisturbed ... ....As our car sped past by at about 100kms an hour, locals clad in contrasting bright attires were seen walking in ones and twos, every 5 or 10minutes, completely nonchalant by the forlornness and unblemished by the heat... Sight of umbrellas is a rarity. Nature has fortified them all to endure the abandonment........
'Jumbo !'.....they smilingly greeted waving at each other as they walked passed by.... they were complete strangers ... but I guess the high spirit within them makes it all easy to combat such harsh conditions ... It is a part of their life and such a sight is very common in Kenya...There were herds of goats (guess getting ready to turn into delicious fillets packs in the meat market), carelessly grazed across the sparse crops of malnutrition greens, and when I looked around to search for the shepherd... I saw her sitting right in the open, breaking bricks and stones relentlessly - guess, she was making the best use of the time she had at her disposal- may be to gather those broken pieces for her home....
The thrill and excitement of such exploration grew in our hearts as we ventured further into the semi arid regions. Kenya's geography is marvelously varied. Diversity exists at all corners as we shifted our gaze all around the 270 degrees of the wild open and the wonderment made the drive all the more intriguing... there was pin-drop silence within us... as for me, everything that I saw came straight out of the Geography text books .... And related every bit of what we had learnt to what I saw. Lucky to be able to see with my naked eyes to remember all my life, for now my understanding of the climatic condition that prevails here and it's co-relation to the natural vegetation and habitats couldn't have been more profound, for my real life experience made it all obvious.
Such sorts of barren stretches are all over the place in and around our home here.... a few sectors bound by cemented walls, to mark the ownership of their respective land owners…… I thought to my utter dismay - that, when they have so less to live on, then why not try and use those lands that they own, to grow vegetables for their kitchen, and some of which they could sell in the 'boga' (vegetable) market to make themselves economically more sound?...... On the contrary the locals set the bushes on fire to burn down the under-growths only to make it even more barren! .... It was devastating to see how the fertility of the soil was been subjected to such fire and heat, (not to forget the already existing hot weather conditions)…only to make it even worse and infertile??!!... When asked - I was told that they had to keep them all clear, as they fear that the thick grasses would become the ideal place for the extremely poisonous Mamba snakes to begin its habitation putting our lives at stake...
It's been about a month that the first bout of rainy season has set in, which is called the ‘winters’ in Mombasa.... AND to my surprise, I saw all the barren lands miraculously covered by a thick carpet of healthy thick green grasses all around...... It almost happened overnight……… It is unbelievable. ..........Thus, it is the Mamba snakes which is not letting the super fertile soil to nurture the vegetation and for the life to grow and blossom to its best!!..... The vast stretches that appear barren to us are extremely rich in minerals and if cultivated on, can produce harvests beyond comprehension...
I wish to go on the drive again, through those semi-arid regions to see if they have turned lush green and transformed into lovely meadows under the enormous roof of the Blue sky and then I am sure the superb cloud patterns would have a frolicking time admiring the Earth below, enjoying the marvels of nature and it's ‘true colors’ from a bird's eye view...
If only I had the Aladdin’s magic carpet, I would have taken pictures of the same and celebrated Mother Nature’s magnificence and bounty over the miseries, that are more apparent as, we, humans have left it undisturbed, un-toiled, untilled and unexplored....
If only I had the Aladdin’s magic carpet, I would have taken pictures of the same and celebrated Mother Nature’s magnificence and bounty over the miseries, that are more apparent as, we, humans have left it undisturbed, un-toiled, untilled and unexplored....
