Tearing the mist on Island Bay is a song from Aandhi and another from
Jism after a hearty dinner of alu mutter (pea and potato) made exactly
the way mom made them. Mom is fine. I took the train to Wellington on
Friday the 13th after Lemona's mom dropped me. I finally left my
karmic connection with Hamilton. No drama, no sensitive staring at the
green moon river, no nothing. Cambridge was a respite but then the
marriage party started coming and I had booked the train journey that
started 10 minutes late with a one-woman army who was the ticket
person, the coolie, the station master and turned into our tour guide.
The train though small was on the posh side with a panaromic window
that showed the brown rail-tracks over bridges and fir trees and
national parks but then Friday the 13th showed its true colours after
I got the sandwich on a discount in the train cafetaria. The lady was
nice to me. On our tracks a train had derailed and thus both the
trains on either side were stuck. One from Wellington to Auckland and
another from Auckland to Wellington and thus the passengers were
exchanged through an in-between bus journey and Wellington train went
backwards literally. So I had my back to the engine like the rest of
the gang. Not very comfortable but besides the usual horses, sheep and
cows and I was bored and had missed my bus to Napier and thus would be
stranded in Wellington in a backpacker but luckily my ticket was valid
to Wellington and I finally found my flatmates number and texted her
and after texting the other flatmate organised that I could keep my
luggage there over texting since I was supposed to arrive in
Wellington on 24 but they were good…the flatmates I had never seen.
My luggage posed additional problems as it was too much and I could
not move my stuff to the taxi stand nor bus stand. Luckily, the hot
train staff gave me a ligt to island bay and my flatmates picked me up
on a warm night in winter outside a Malaysian Satay restaurant. The
house is on a hill and has the most stunning views and Fi gave me
blankets, a hug, lots of smiles and thus I got to stay in the sleepout
like Karin and Campbell go away for two months on 24th.
On the first day in the most golden sunshine, I walked to the shops
and walked to my Arts School. It is the most breathtaking place on the
planet. Imagine Xavier college in the Amazon jungle. The entrance has
a thick foliage and then you see an old building that looks like a
church and is probably haunted and has the nation's best designers,
carvers, clay model, painters and illustrators teaching there. I sat
there for two hours and then walked back on the pedastrian pathway on
the edge of the mountain with white railings and across the second
hill is my house. When we stand on clear days you can see the whole
Island bay and all the houses on the slope that leads up and today it
was misty and planes did not fly and we went to shop in Pak N Sav and
initially the mist felt cold and it lifted and became sunny again. I
went to the library and after a month of not working and travelling
and resting in colourful cambridge; am bored and ready to start any
job.
By the way they are going to read my poem on radio.
It is 10 pm and I am thinking of the best part of the train journey
over the straight right angle cliffs over white river rafting river.
That was the best part of the journey…otherwise a headache induced
by salted peanuts and backward movement