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....

8 January 2010

A magic web with colours gay

What you see below is a temple I found in a place called Kunihar, not far from Shimla, thanks to my friend Dr. Usha Bande. Loved its psychedelic colours and the dizzy joy in the candy-coloured lines and dots. Ever so often, we seem to forget that religion is not just a space of solace, or redemption, but also of merriment, felicity and the celebration of God's benediction.





By the lamplight stall I loitered, feasting my eyes
On colours ripe and rich for the heart's desire —
Tomatoes, redder than Krakatoa's fire,
Oranges like old sunsets over Tyre,
And apples golden-green as the glades of Paradise.

And, as I lingered, lost in delight,
My heart thanked God for the goodly gift of sight
And all youth's lively senses keen and quick...
When suddenly, behind me in the night
I heard the tapping of a blind man's stick

~ Wilfrid Wilson Gibson ~



3 comments:

Vinayak Razdan said...

Totally psyc!

abhishekp said...

beautiful pics...
BTW dostoki mehfilse jaanese pehale phir milneka wada toh karna tha....
:-)

Geetali said...

Heyy, Vinayak, Happy 2010 and all that jazz.

Abhishek!Hi!!! Sorry. Didn't see any point in dramatic exits. I do miss your one-liners!

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