Pictures of peace
1: Four silent readers turn pages in a public library.
2: Every evening, an elderly lady stands by her balcony window watching people pass by.
3: A gardener tends to a sick plant, checking the underside of its leaves for illness.
4: On her way to work, Priya who works on the tenth floor sits down for five minutes at Mount Mary steps to catch up with her friend who works on the fifteen floor.
5: Your mother falls asleep in the backseat of your car, with her mouth open and her head bobbing slightly.
6: Two middle-aged women lift the ends of their salwar, and laugh a touch self-consciously as they walk into the sea in Candolim beach. Invariably, a big wave crashes around their feet and they hold hands, squealing.
7: A good meal eaten in silence, after a long, tiring day.
8: Sometimes, her father would hum softly as he drove her to her tuition classes in the evening. She likes to remember him like that.
9: I have an image of myself at twelve years old, cycling down a tree-lined street in Trichy Cantt., unbothered and alone.
10: In an old but clean kitchen, a shaft of evening light falls on a shelf full of glass jars creating a moment of simple beauty.
