A beautiful muslin red bordered mustard scarf
Hooded her black braided hair and-
Veiled her chubby, rosy cheeks
A lovely bluish green blouse with-
A flared floral ghagra (long skirt) she wore
Black beads cascaded down her chest
A dazzling stone studded ring on her finger –
White bangles around her wrists adorned her hands
A pretty sharp nose she had
With a momentous earnest expression-
Engrossed in her work she sat
Beside the hot earthen stove
Blazing with fiery wood
It’s outer off white walls stood in contrast to-
The inner charred ones chock-a- block with-
Yellowish orange dancing flames and –
Red hot coal on a bed of ash
The brownish patch on the kitchen wall
The black griddle resting against it behind the stove
Every little thing enhanced the simple kitchen
Her face flushed with the heat
Rhythmically her bangles chimed
As she doled out the vegetable
Enthralled in her cooking
Surrounded by assorted vessels
Oblivious she was of-
How very attractive and elegant she looked!
~Anuradha .S. Bannore
Vadodara, India
A nice description of the Village Belle!
Very often, being in the kitchen is very much considered an affair so simple and casual!
But focus and involvement in making the dishes, combining love and affection in the task, make it divine for sure!
a really attractive village belle with enhanced poetic charm
Thanks Shri O K Shivagnanamji & Ms Diwakar for your appreciation of my poem. It’s true we in general take cooking as a simple work & are completely ignorant as to how much love & labour it takes to cook a meal because anything cooked as a burden & hatred is no less than poison.