MUSIC SATURDAY - FIORILLO

“Everyone who plays the flute should learn singing.” - James Galway

For Music Saturday, some music by Federigo Fiorillo (baptised 1 June 1755 Brunswick, Germany, died after 1823), who was a mandolinist and composer, who wrote thirty-six caprices for violin, also called études. Fiorillo’s father was Ignazio Fiorillo, a Neapolitan, who also played mandolin. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Ignazio was appointed conductor at the Court Opera House at Brunswick and settled there, where his son, Federigo, was born.

Federigo’s early musical education was superintended by his father. He inherited his parent’s love of the mandolin and obtained complete mastery over it, able to show mastery of delicate nuances of tone of which it was capable. As a mandolinist he performed at most of the royal courts of Europe, but the resources of the instrument at this period were limited, as was also the demand for mandolin players. He was compelled to devote his attention to other stringed instruments, principally the violin and viola.

In 1780 he travelled to Poland, and in 1783 he was conductor of the band at Riga for two years. Two years later he was playing the violin with success at the Concerts Spirituels in Paris. While in Paris, he published some of his first compositions, which were well received. In 1788 he made a visit to London, where he played the viola in Saloman’s quartet. Fiorillo made his last public appearance in London in 1794, when he performed a concerto for the viola at the Antient Concert.

After leaving London he went to Amsterdam, and from there to Paris in 1873. Music historian Philip J. Bone felt that the “thirty-six caprices for the violin, rank equally with the classical studies of [Joseph] Kreutzer and [Pierre] Rode, and, apart from their usefulness, are not without merit as compositions... they have been edited by innumerable violinists of repute, and [Louis] Spohr wrote and published an accompanying violin part to them.” Fiorillo’s other compositions include concertos, duos, trios, quartets, and quintets, for stringed instruments.

Here are six quartets for Flute, Violin, Viola and Cello.

Quartet VI In E Minor 0:00

Quartet IV In F Major 10:14

Quartet V In D major 22:48

Quartet I In C Major 34:01

Quartet III In G major 45:16

Quartet II In A Major 1:00:11

They are performed by Ensemble À L’ Antica with Luigi Lupo (flute), Rosella Croce, Lucar Ronconi and Rebeca Ferri.

FOOD FRIDAY - CHEATERS' DATE PUDDING

“Your face makes my soul want to eat chocolate pudding!” - Andy Milonakis

We have been having some cooler weather in Melbourne the last few days, with some rain, making it resemble Autumn. As we had muffins left over from a couple of days ago, we used them to make this dessert last night, as the temperatures fell…

Cheaters’ Sticky Date Puddings
Ingredients, for the puddings
4 large sultana muffins, crumbled
50g chopped dates
40g butter
Butter, for greasing
For the sauce
70g brown sugar
60g butter
100 mL double cream
1 tbsp brandy
vanilla ice cream, to serve

Method
Heat oven to 180˚C.
Mix the crumbled muffins with the melted butter and chopped dates.
Divide between 4 buttered ramekins (or one baking dish).
Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes until warmed through.
Meanwhile, place the sugar, butter, brandy and cream in a small pan and gently heat together, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Pour the sauce over the muffin mixture and serve warm with ice cream.

Add your own favourite recipes below, using the Linky tool:

HAPPY HANUKKAH!

“Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.” - Buddha

The festival of the Hanukkah is one of the most popular and joyous of the Jewish festivals.  It commemorates the rededication of the Temple in 164 BC, after the armies of Judas Maccabaeus (the “Hammer”) had routed the forces of Antiochus IV.  On that occasion, there was a miraculous relighting of the perpetual light in the Temple in Jerusalem.  The ritual oil that kept the light burning had run out and only enough was left for one day. However, miraculously, the light kept burning for eight days.

To commemorate that event, candles are lit in synagogues and homes.  The menorah is the special candelabrum used for this ritual. One candle is lit every night in each of the seven nights of the festival.  While the Hanukkah lights are burning parties are held, games are played, gifts are exchanged and various other entertainments and plays are featured.  This is as close to Christmas as the Jewish faith gets! Tradition limits work only during the time that the Hanukkah candles are lit.

The Hanukkah celebration revolves around the kindling of a nine-branched menorah, known in Hebrew as the hanukiah. On each of the holiday’s eight nights, another candle is added to the menorah after sundown; the ninth candle, called the shamash (“helper”), is used to light the others. Jews typically recite blessings during this ritual and display the menorah prominently in a window as a reminder to others of the miracle that inspired the holiday.

In another allusion to the Hanukkah miracle, traditional Hanukkah foods are fried in oil. Potato pancakes (known as latkes) and jam-filled donuts (sufganiyot) are particularly popular in many Jewish households. Other Hanukkah customs include playing with four-sided spinning tops called dreidels and exchanging gifts. In recent decades, particularly in North America, Hanukkah has exploded into a major commercial phenomenon, largely because it falls near or overlaps with Christmas. From a religious perspective, however, it remains a relatively minor holiday that places no restrictions on working, attending school or other activities.

Hanukkah in 2015 started on Monday, the 7th of December and will continue for 8 days until Monday, the 14th of December. Note that in the Jewish calendar, a holiday begins on the sunset of the previous day, so observing Jews began to celebrate Hanukkah on the sunset of Sunday, the 6th of December.

Happy Hanukkah!

POETS UNITED - COLOURS

“The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love colour the most.” - John Ruskin

The theme this week for Poets United is "colour".

Here is my contribution.

In Foreign Lands

When faint twilight of late evening
-Violet-coloured-
Cries out my plangent woe,
My heart will every time go back
To Greece to die.

Each dusk when my emptiness awakes
-Grey-hued-
And sinks its sharpened claws deep into my breast,
My heart flies out
To Greece to die.

When foreign-speaking songs
-Uncoloured-
Fail to reach my soul, and whose alien language 
Cannot communicate with my heart, it goes
To Greece to die

Each day when the morning sun rises
-Jet black-
It chills my shallow, failing breath,
And my heart can’t stand it, it escapes always
To Greece to die.

When envious eyes
-Green-tinged-
Look at me with hidden malice,
And closed minds can’t embrace me, my heart comes
To Greece to die.

And each time my heart trembles and dies
-In blue caerulean-
High up in Attic sky, from death it’s roused, revived,
Only to be forced to leave its country yet again
And in a foreign land be killed each lilac-tinted evening.

TRAVEL TUESDAY #4

“My favourite country is Finland because once you get to a certain point, you can drive for hours without seeing a single person. I love peace and quiet - something I don't get very often.” - Christopher Lee

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel!

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest us!

Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only. Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Please link your entry using the Linky tool below:

Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. Helsinki has a population of 626,305, an urban population of 1.2 million (31 December 2013), and a metropolitan population of 1.4 million, making it the most populous municipality and urban area in Finland.

Helsinki is located some 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia, 400 kilometres (250 mi) north east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 388 kilometres (241 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities. The Helsinki metropolitan area includes the urban core of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen, and surrounding commuter towns.

It is the world’s northernmost metro area of over one million people, and the city is the northernmost capital of an EU member state. The Helsinki metropolitan area is the fourth largest Nordic metropolitan area after the metropolitan areas of Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo, and the City of Helsinki is the third biggest Nordic city after Stockholm and Oslo. Helsinki is Finland's major political, educational, financial, cultural, and research centre as well as one of northern Europe's major cities.

Approximately 75% of foreign companies operating in Finland have settled in the Helsinki region. The nearby municipality of Vantaa is the location of Helsinki Airport, with frequent service to various destinations in Europe and Asia. In 2009, Helsinki was chosen to be the World Design Capital for 2012 by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, narrowly beating Eindhoven for the title.

The city was the venue for the XV Olympic Games 1952 and the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest 2007. In 2011, the Monocle magazine ranked Helsinki the most liveable city in the world in its “Liveable Cities Index 2011”. In the Economist Intelligence Unit’s August 2015 Liveability survey, assessing the best and worst cities to live in globally, Helsinki placed among the world’s top ten cities.

MOVIE MONDAY - Z

“That government is best which governs least.” - Henry David Thoreau

One of my strongest childhood memories concerns the early morning on the 21^st of April of 1967 when we were living in Athens. We were awakened by the noise of tanks rumbling on the city streets outside our windows, punctuated by a few distant shots being fired now and then. We rushed to the window and saw the soldiers and tanks marching on the street below and as we turned the radio a blare of military marching band music was enough to realise our worse fears. A coup had been staged by a group of colonels of the Greek army and the democratic government was deposed. The king had been put under observation in the palace. Within a few weeks the country was under the fist of a military dictatorship...

I remember this very vividly today, even though I was only nine years old at the time. I am thinking of how many more such dictatorships are in place around the world. Central and South America have had a string of such juntas to contend with and each new coup brings with it arrests of dissenters, torture, murder, destruction. Tyrants and dictators never seem to be in short supply and the trail of destruction they leave behind them scars a country and its people for decades after they are deposed.

The situation in Myanmar has only just started to resolve itself following the first free elections for 25 years. These polls are the first openly-contested election held in the country since 1990, which was annulled by the military government after the National League for Democracy’s (NLD) victory. The poll was preceded by the 2010 General Election, which was marred by a widespread boycott and allegations of systematic fraud by the victorious USDP.

On 11 November 2015, chairperson of the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, called for “national reconciliation” talks with incumbent president, Thein Sein, commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Shwe Mann to be set for a later date. All accepted her invitation.

On 12 November 2015, incumbent President of Myanmar, Thein Sein, who has led political reforms during his tenure, congratulated Aung San Suu Kyi and her party on his Facebook, promising that his current government will “respect and obey” the election results and “transfer power peacefully”. Commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, also took to Facebook to congratulate Ms Suu Kyi, vowing that the Tatmadaw will co-operate with the new government following the transition. This was after a meeting conducted within the Tatmadaw’s top ranks.

US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated Suu Kyi on her victory and praised Thein Sein for his organisation of the election. Suu Kyi also received calls from French President François Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But what has all this to do with Movie Monday, you may ask… Read on!

The novel “Z” byVasilis Vasilikos is a novel based on fact and centres on the assassination of Grigoris Lambrakis, a left-wing politician and dissenter during the early 1960s. Vasilikos has written a fictionalised account of the assassination, but it is thinly veiled and the work of fiction describes actual political realities and historical events that can be seen for what they are by anyone familiar with the actual events.

Although Vasilikos is not writing history, he is intent on setting the record straight. A record that was whitewashed by the right wing governments in power after the murder and also of course by the military junta that came in power in 1967. It is a powerful novel and despite it being based on actual events, it is not a simple “newspaper report-type” documentary, it is a worthy work of fiction that obeys the rule of engaging narrative fiction.

The novel was made into an equally famous movie (“Z”) by Costas Gavras in 1969 and it starred Yves Montand, Irene Pappas and Jean-Louis Trintignant. The film is an excellent adaptation of the novel and is a great thriller. An added bonus is a fantastic soundtrack by Mikis Theodorakis, a Greek composer who certainly had his own personal bitter experiences as a political prisoner to draw inspiration from.

The film was nominated for a large number of awards, including an Oscar for Best Picture, (winning the Oscar for Best Foreign Film). It also won the Golden Globe award for Best Foreign Language Picture, and is named best picture by the New York Film Critics Circle Awards and National Society of Film Critics Awards. The film was also nominated for a Golden Palm award at the Cannes film festival. The film was banned in Greece as was the soundtrack during the Colonels’ rule. The film ends with a list of things banned by the Junta which include the peace movement, strikes, labor unions, long hair on men, mini-skirts, the peace symbol, the Beatles, Sophocles, Tolstoy, Aeschylus, Socrates, Eugene Ionesco, Sartre, Chekhov, Mark Twain, Samuel Beckett, free press, new mathematics and the letter Z, which pronounced as “zee” means 'he lives' in Greek...

ART SUNDAY - BURNE-JONES

“Love does not just sit there, like a stone; it had to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.” - Ursula Le Guin

For Art Sunday I am giving you the painting of one the British Preraphaelite painters, Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833-1898). He was one of the leading painters and designers of late 19th-century England, whose romantic paintings using medieval imagery were among the last manifestations of the Pre-Raphaelite style. More long-lasting is his influence as a pioneer of the revival of the ideal of the “artist-craftsman,” so influential to the development of 20th-century industrial design. This is his “The Hand Refrains” of 1875-78, which is one from his “Pygmalion” series of paintings.

In Greek mythology, Pygmalion was an accomplished sculptor. His relationships with the opposite sex were less than fortunate and it seems that no matter how beautiful the women who modelled with him were, their hearts and souls were lacking in beauty. He determined to create his ideal in womanhood by making an ivory statue. He put his heart and soul into the creation of this masterwork and imbued it not only with his ideal beauty, but also all of the imagined virtues that his ideal woman should have. Upon finishing this wondrous statue, which he named Galatea (“milky white”), he fell in love with his own creation. He spent all of his time contemplating it and adorning it with roses, pining and sighing, melting away with unrequited love. Finally, in desperation, he prayed to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, to deliver him form this miserable existence.

Aphrodite brought the statue to life in answer to his prayers. True enough, Galatea proved to be intelligent and compassionate, beautiful in soul as well as in looks, softly-spoken but independent, erudite and artistic like her husband. Their daughter Paphos gave her name to the city of Paphos, the centre of Aphrodite’s worship on Cyprus. The myth was the inspiration for many artists and writers.

George Bernard Shaw’s play “Pygmalion” is a light-hearted take on the legend. This play of Shaw is a comedic masterpiece, by far his funniest and most popular play (first performed in 1913). It was claimed by Shaw to be a didactic drama about phonetics, and its antiheroic hero, Henry Higgins, is a phonetician, however, the play is a humane comedy about love and the English class system. Higgins trains an uneducated Cockney flower girl so that she passes off as a lady, in both manner and speech. It also examines the repercussions of the experiment’s success. The scene in which Eliza Doolittle appears in high society when she has acquired a correct accent but no notion of polite conversation is one of the funniest in English drama. Pygmalion has been both filmed (1938), winning an Academy Award for Shaw for his screenplay, and adapted into an immensely popular musical, “My Fair Lady” by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe (1956; and the film version, 1964).

The legend of Pygmalion is an interesting philosophical proposition about love and how we view the beloved. The creation of an ideal image with which we fall in love and the subsequent search for that ideal in life is widespread in myth, legend, literature, drama and of course in real life. When we fall in love we fall in love with the image of the ideal that is projected onto the victim of our affections. How closely that real beloved corresponds with our mental ideal of the beloved, may have something to do with the long-term success of the relationship. The situation of course is made more complex when there two people in love with each other, rather than one lover and one beloved. Attainment of one’s ideal in love may be seen as an allegory of the soul attaining a heavenly state of ideal bliss.

MUSIC SATURDAY - JOHAN HELMICH ROMAN

“Many people spend more time in planning the wedding than they do in planning the marriage.” - Zig Ziglar

Johan Helmich Roman (26 October 1694 – 20 November 1758) was a Swedish Baroque composer. He has been called “the father of Swedish music” or “the Swedish Handel”. He was the leader of Swedish Opera through most of Swedish Opera’s Age of Liberty.

Roman was born in Stockholm into the family of Johan Roman, member of the Swedish royal chapel. The family name “Roman” may be derived from the Finnish place name Rauma, since Johan’s ancestors lived in Finland. The boy probably received his first music lessons from his father. He joined the royal chapel in 1711 as violinist and oboist. Around 1715 the King granted Roman permission to study abroad, and the young composer spent some six years in London. He almost certainly studied under Johann Christoph Pepusch, met Francesco Geminiani, Giovanni Bononcini, and, most importantly, George Frideric Handel, whose music made a lasting impression on Roman.

Roman returned to Sweden in 1721. He was soon appointed deputy master of the royal chapel, and six years later he became Chief Master of the Swedish Royal Orchestra. Roman’s life during the 1720s was full of organisational activity which led to much improved standards at the chapel, and, in 1731, the first public concerts in Sweden. Roman’s only work published during his lifetime, a collection of 12 sonatas for flute, violone and harpsichord, appeared in 1727. In 1730 Roman married, but his wife died just four years later.

In 1734 the composer left Sweden to visit several European countries—Austria, England, France, Germany, and Italy. He returned to Stockholm in 1737, bringing back a wealth of music by various composers for the royal chapel to perform. In 1738 Roman married again. In 1740 he was elected a member of the newly established Royal Academy of Sciences.

Roman’s successful career took a turn for the worse in early 1740s. The composer’s greatest patron, Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden, died in late 1741. In 1742 Roman’s activity was greatly hindered by health problems. In 1744 Roman composed one of his finest works, “Drottningholm Music”: A large orchestral suite for the wedding of the Crown Prince Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Ironically, it was due to Adolf Frederick's and Louisa Ulrika's efforts that Roman’s career suffered. The new crown princess had different tastes in music, and her husband set up a very strong competing chapel. Finally, Roman's second wife Maria Elisabeth Baumgardt died in 1744, leaving the composer with five children.

In 1745 Roman retired from his post as leader of the royal chapel due to deafness, which had progressed rapidly during the previous years. He settled in the parish of Ryssby, on the estate Lilla Haraldsmåla, near the city of Kalmar in south-east Sweden. Apart from a single visit to Stockholm in 1751–52 to direct the funeral and coronation music on the accession of Adolph Frederik, Roman's last years were dedicated to translating European theoretical treatises into Swedish, and adaptation of sacred texts into Swedish language. He died at Haraldsmåla in 1758. His work has never been forgotten, for already nine years after his death the Royal Academy of Sciences held a commemorative ceremony, where Roman’s achievements were documented; copies of Roman’s works are found in manuscripts from as late as 1810.

Here is Roman’s best-known compositions, the “Drottningholm Music”, or “Music for a Royal Wedding”. It consists of a collection of 24 short pieces ranging in length from about one to six minutes. Roman wrote this music for the wedding in August 1744 of the Crown Prince Adolf Frederick of Sweden and his bride Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. Their wedding took place at the palace of Drottningholm (hence the modern title). The festivities lasted four days. The pieces of the “Drottningholm Music” were apparently selected and arranged as befitted the occasion. Roman also kept eight pieces in reserve. These pieces are known as the Suite in D major, sometimes referred to as the Little Drottningholm Music, or Shorter Drottningholm Music. Both are modern terms invented by Swedish conductor and musician Claude Génetay.

FOOD FRIDAY - STUFFED TOMATOES

“I love judging food by its smell and feel and taste. The healthiest tomato isn't always the perfect one that's been covered in pesticides.” - Sheherazade Goldsmith

We cut the first zucchinis from our garden today and as we had bought some delicious ripe, juicy red tomatoes from a farmers’ market, we made this dish, which is a traditional Greek “everyday” Summer dish. It’s a great dish as it can eaten hot out of the oven or alternatively at room temperature, or even chilled if the weather is very hot. Grated parmesan cheese can added optionally (either in the last stages of cooking or when the meal is served.

Serve with crusty bread and a chilled rosé wine.

DOMATES YEMISTES

(Vegetarian Greek Stuffed Tomatoes)

Ingredients

6 medium ripe tomatoes

2 garlic cloves

1 large onion, grated

2 small zucchinis, grated

1/3 cup arborio rice

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley

2 tablespoons freshly chopped mint

2 potatoes, cut into wedges

Olive oil

Salt, pepper

Grated parmesan (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 190˚C

Cut the tops of the tomatoes, leaving one side attached as a lid carefully and scoop out the flesh, being careful not to pierce the bottoms. Season the insides with salt and pepper.

Purée the tomato flesh and any of the additional juices with the garlic in a small food processor. Set aside.

In a large skillet, sauté the onion over medium-high heat in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the zucchini and cook a few minutes longer, until the zucchini is just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook until pearly white, 3 minutes.

Carefully pour in the tomato mixture and add the tomato paste. Simmer until just thickened, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and season with 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, the parsley, and the mint.

Arrange the tomatoes in a large casserole dish. Spoon the rice mixture into the tomatoes until just shy of full (you might have a little extra depending on the size of your tomatoes). Cover with the tops.

Put the potato wedges in between the tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil. Pour 1/2 cup vegetable stock around the tomatoes. Bake in the oven for 1-2 hours, until the tomatoes and the rice are cooked. About 10 minutes before removing from the oven sprinkle generously with grated parmesan cheese, if using.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

Add your favourite recipes below, using the Linky tool:

THE DIFFERENTLY ABLED

“My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn't prevent you doing well, and don't regret the things it interferes with. Don't be disabled in spirit as well as physically.” - Stephen Hawking

The third of December is International Day of People with Disability, a United Nations sanctioned day that celebrates progress in breaking down barriers, opening doors, and realising an inclusive society for all. Disability organisations, businesses, governments and the community come together at events across the country to mark the occasion and celebrate the achievements of people with disability.

Each year the UN announces a theme. The theme for 2015 is: Inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities. There are also three sub-themes this year:

Making cities inclusive and accessible for all;

Improving disability data and statistics;

Including persons with invisible disabilities in society and development.

The annual theme provides a frame for considering how people with disability are excluded from society by promoting the removal of all types of barriers; including those relating to the physical environment, information and communications technology (ICT), or attitudinal barriers. This has been occurring since 1992 when the General Assembly proclaimed December 3rd as the International Day of Disabled Persons.

Today, the world population is over 7 billion people. More than one billion people, or approximately 15 per cent of the world's population, live with some form of disability. 80 per cent live in developing countries. Factors which place people with disabilities at higher risk of violence include stigma, discrimination, and ignorance about disability, as well as a lack of social support for those who care for them.

Additionally, the disabled face many barriers to inclusion in many key aspects of society. As a result, people with disabilities do not enjoy access to society on an equal basis with others, which includes areas of transportation, employment, and education as well as social and political participation. The right to participate in public life is essential to create stable democracies, active citizenship and reduce inequalities in society. By promoting empowerment, real opportunities for people are created. This enhances their own capacities and supports them in setting their own priorities.

Empowerment involves investing in people - in jobs, health, nutrition, education, and social protection. When people are empowered they are better prepared to take advantage of opportunities, they become agents of change and can more readily embrace their civic responsibilities.

POETS UNITED - VITALITY

“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.” - Chris Maser

This week Poets United has as its mid-week motif “Vitality-Energy”. This is perhaps quite apt as the vitality of our planet is being discussed yet again, this time in Paris…

The twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and the eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP) is taking place from 30 November to 11 December 2015, in Paris, France, under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Another talkfest? Another congregation of politicians to spout forth platitudes as they quaff their champagne and eat their gourmet dinners at the gala functions? Another lot of scientists vying for Nobel prizes at whatever cost? And meanwhile ordinary people try to demonstrate around the world, aware that what is being done by governments and scientists is not enough.

My poem below:



Vitality

The sun drips pure drops of golden energy

And forests green drink deep, slaking boundless thirst;

A wondrous transmutation in each viridian leaf

As chemistry’s vital soup mixes:

Radiant light, carbon dioxide and water,

To make a syrupy fluid sustaining life.

An endless cycle that for a billion years

Keeps all in balance, making our Earth a blue-green Eden;

Sunlight, heat, water, oxygen,

The molecules of life dancing tirelessly:

Sugars, proteins, fats, solids, liquids gases,

All in each cell admixed in right proportions.

And as we grow in numbers, and our pullulating masses

Consume, pollute, destroy, despoil and divest the earth;

A dismal transmutation in each and every place,

As human filth poisons air, sea, land, river and lake:

Lead, mercury, dioxin, DDT, sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide,

To make of our Eden, a toxic greenhouse.

A hundred years or so, were enough for man

To throw the delicate balance off kilter;

Ozone depleted, carbon heavy, oxygen starved,

Our planet marches towards destruction:

Species extinct, great forests felled, ice melting,

Climate disrupted, our vitality sapped…

Too late to stop?

Too far gone to reverse?

Too few that care?

Too poisoned to recover?

Yes, if we rely on politicians on a Paris junket to act,

And not on each and every single one of us, doing what we must.

TRAVEL TUESDAY #3

“India has an enthralling, uplifting civilisation that sparkles not only in our magnificent art, but also in the enormous creativity and humanity of our daily life in city and village.” - Pranab Mukherjee

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel!

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest us!

Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only. Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.

Please link your entry using the Linky tool below:

Udaipur is a major city, municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of the Udaipur district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is the historic capital of the kingdom of Mewar in the former Rajputana Agency. Maharana Udai Singh of the Sisodia clan of Rajputs founded the city in 1559 AD and shifted his capital from the city of Chittorgarh to Udaipur. It remained as the capital city till 1818 when it became a British princely state, and thereafter the Mewar province became a part of Rajasthan when India gained independence in 1947.

Udaipur is a very popular tourist destination. Known for its history, culture, scenic locations and the Rajput-era palaces, Udaipur was also voted as the best city in the world in 2009 by the Travel + Leisure magazine. A large number of palaces, temples, public buildings and other cultural, artistic and historic places to visit will be found in the city and close to it.

Illustrated above is Saheliyon-ki-Bari (Courtyard of the Maidens), which is a major garden and a popular tourist space in Udaipur. It lies in northern part of the city and has fountains and kiosks, a lotus pool and marble elephants. It was built by Rana Sangram Singh. There is also a small museum here. Sahelion-ki-Bari was created between 1710-1734 for a group of forty-eight young women attendants who accompanied a princess to Udaipur as part of her dowry.

The gardens are set below the embankment of the Fateh Sagar Lake and have beautiful lotus pools, marble pavilions and elephant- shaped fountains. These fountains are fed by the water of the lake gushing through ducts made for the purpose. Each water channel has its distinct sound and the mingling of these sounds complement the ambience of the place.