Why this blog is called "Gallimaufry".

gal-uh-MAW-free\, noun.

Originally meaning "a hash of various kinds of meats," "gallimaufry" comes from French galimafrée; in Old French, from the word galer, "to rejoice, to make merry"; in old English: gala + mafrer: "to eat much," and from Medieval Dutch maffelen: "to open one's mouth wide."

It's also a dish made by hashing up odds and ends of food; a heterogeneous mixture; a hodge-podge; a ragout; a confused jumble; a ridiculous medley; a promiscuous (!) assemblage of persons.

Those of you who know me, will, I’m sure, understand how well some of these phrases (barring the "promiscuous" bit!) fit me.

More importantly, this blog is an ode to my love for Shimla. I hope to show you this little town through my eyes. If you don't see too many people in it, forgive me, because I'm a little chary of turning this into a human zoo.

Stop by for a spell, look at my pictures, ask me questions about Shimla, if you wish. I shall try and answer them as best as I can. Let's be friends for a while....

9 August 2009

Ah, sunflower!

I've not done this before. Made three posts in one day. But, as Archie said to Mehitabel, wotthehell, my dear, wotthehell. Sunflowers deserve over-posting! A perfect beauty of a sunflower! A perfect excellent lovely sunflower existence!



I was reminded of Blake:
Ah Sunflower, weary of time
Who countest the steps of the sun;
Seeking after that sweet golden clime
Where the traveller's journey is done;

the Youth pined away with desire,
And the pale virgin shrouded in snow,
Arise from their graves, and aspire
Where my sunflower wishes to go!






Sunflowers are synonymous with van Gogh! D. H. Lawrence once remarked that "When van Gogh paints sunflowers, he reveals, or achieves, the vivid relation between himself, as man, and the sunflower, as sunflower, at that quick moment of time. His painting does not represent the sunflower itself. We shall never know what the sunflower itself is. And the camera will visualize the sunflower far more perfectly than van Gogh can. "



4 comments:

G S Pillai said...

Hi,

My first time here.

As you said, lets talk about many things and be friends for a while.

Regards

Geetali said...

Thank you, Bluebird for stopping by. This blog is my loving tribute to Himachal. Hope it will persuade you to visit, if you haven't done so already.

Flowergirl said...

Hi
First time here. Came here via Indiblogger.

Nice blog you have got. I love India will sound yet another phrase or statement, but I am crazy about India. I stop by any blogs that share the fragrance of Indian cultural soil.

I love flowers too..
cheers!

Geetali said...

Thank you, Flowergirl, for your kind words. Is your blog related to flowers by any chance, or are you a latter-day hippie? :)

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