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....

17 January 2010

Peddler of dreams

Got me a new job today -
catching sunbeams
and hawking them
to those in need:
the only requirement being
a hungry heart
and an outstretched hand.
~~~~~~~~~~




The Peddler ---

Lend me, a little while, the key
That locks your heavy heart, and I'll give you back--
Rarer than books and ribbons and beads bright to see,
This little Key of Dreams out of my pack.

The road, the road, beyond men's bolted doors,
There shall I walk and you go free of me,
For yours lies North across the moors,
And mine lies South. To what seas?

How if we stopped and let our solemn selves go by,
While my gay ghost caught and kissed yours, as ghosts don't do,
And by the wayside, this forgotten you and I
Sat, and were twenty-two?
Give me the key that locks your tired eyes,
And I will lend you this one from my pack,
Brighter than colored beads and painted books that make men wise:
Take it. No, give it back!


~ Charlotte Mew ~



4 comments:

Ann said...

I love environmental portraits, especially from somewhere so interesting and different to my own environment.

Melanie O. said...

I love the poem and the sense of giving freely to anyone who asks.

varsha said...

You are a catcher of sunbeams and a hawker of good cheer.Love the way your words take one to the hidden soul of the pictures.

Geetali said...

Thank you, Ann. India's such a treasure for the street photographer!

Melanie, yes, one feels an abundance in the soul these days.

Varsha :D thank you. We bring each other wellness in different senses, isn't it?

Related Posts with Thumbnails