Show me the green!

(Just beautiful how the sunlight was filtering through)

















(That tree trunk looks like it has a face on it. Creepy and cool at the same time. Don't you think so? I imagine it to be an imprint of the ghosts of old medical students of the college, come back to haunt the college or maybe just share their great wisdom with some fresh minds.)





(The arecaria tree outside my apartment building - sitting amidst a few random green bushes)

Just some random snaps I took from my Black berry right after I came out of my final exam. Yes, right after. I was simply overjoyed and ecstatic on that day... bursting with excitement and brimming with that all-candy and sticky toffee goodness! It was an amazing feeling. If you have ever given medical exams and 'lived to tall the tale', you would know what I mean. Medical exams are never ending... just go on and on and well... on. You have to study till the very last moment if you want good grades and wish to develop great concepts. The pressure is always on, expectations always high and sleep always far out of reach. So, naturally, I was over the moon when my last OSPE (practical paper) finally ended. It was like a new beginning. A breath of fresh air after a month long (or more than that) captivity, shackled to my study table night and day, with no companions whatsoever, except for my fat books with their itty-bitty font size, the occasional biscuit crumb, the line of ants going to that biscuit crumb, and the not-so-friendly neighbourhood mosquitoes/draculas flying in for a bite or two. :S Can you imagine a worse scenario?

So I'm sure you understand how absolutely crazy I felt at the mere 'thought' of freedom when my exams finally ended. Was just ready to dive into the sea (read: ocean) of non-study activities and creative learning - painting, baking, photography, writing, etc; something for which you just don't have time during normal college days with all the assignments, study schedules and handwork that we dentists have to do (I mean seriously. Making partial dentures isn't exactly a walk in the park!). So I did dive right into the sea of creative learning. Indeed. Out came my camera and the clicking began. I started my photo taking as soon as I came out of the exam hall - I realized I had never really noticed the plants outside my college. They were amazing and I started my photo taking mania with them. I have a feeling they thought I had lost it. And honestly speaking, I did feel a little crazy with all that adrenaline coursing through me.

The plants were just lovely models - very cooperative and docile. Stayed put throughout the photo shoot and gave me their best side. The sunlight was filtering through the leaves, illuminating some of them while leaving others in green shadows. It was simply beautiful. I couldn't believe that I had walked right past these same plants throughout the year and never really noticed them. They are at the front gate of my college, and although I always enter from the same gate, I never really appreciated them as much or noticed them as much as I did that day. Very pretty and full of green pigments. And I don't think many people notice them. We all are always so busy in our daily college activities, chit-chatting with friends and studies that we walked right past them without appreciating their beauty and silent presence. May Sorton was right when she said:

"Flowers and plants are silent presences.
They nourish every sense except the ear."

Anyway, the lesson I learned: never ignore plants and greenery no matter how small they may seem or how insignificant. Seek out the green and love it. And by that I don't mean money! Go for the natural green instead and surround yourself with it.

P.S. Just so you know how I felt at the last day of my exams: the song 'spirit-you can't take me!' just sums up the feeling of the internal fight between my creative side and the side that drags me to my books! As you can see, I prefer freedom and creativity :)