मर्ढेकरांची कविता: शिशिरागम: उत्तरवारा म्हणाला ...Fallen leaves aren’t waste—they’re a valuable resource and a reminder of mortality.

 मर्ढेकरांची कविता हे पुस्तक मी १९७० च्या दशकात विकत घेतल्यापासून मला श्री बा रानडे यांचे 'शिशिरागम' ला लिहलेले प्रास्ताविक विलक्षण आवडत आले आहे ... माझ्याकडच्या आवृत्तीत ते असे दिसते :

 आमच्या सोसयटीत जीर्ण झालेली पाने खूप पडत असतात आणि ती लंब्या झाडूने साफ करत असल्याचा आवाज अगदी कानात बसला आहे... 

परवा (ऑक्टोबर १६ २०२५)  WSJ मध्ये एक लेख वाचला 'This Fall, Let’s Stop Fighting the War on Leaves' लेखक Alexander Nazaryan. अमेरिकेतील पडलेल्या पानांची जी स्वच्छता केली जाती त्या बद्दल तो लेख आहे.  

"Every autumn, as leaves turn from green to auburn and float to the ground, we turn into a nation of outdoor undertakers. There will be raking, and pile-making, and paper sacks stuffed with leaves, arrayed along curbs like defensive bulwarks. Lawn care crews (derisively known by serious gardeners as “mow, blow and go” for the mostly perfunctory services they perform) will descend on suburban streets, and leaf blowers will roar from coast to coast... America’s war on leaves made no sense to me then, and it makes no sense to me now. The National Wildlife Federation calculates that we throw away 35 million tons of yard waste a year, which is apparently enough to fill the Empire State Building 135 times. And it isn’t waste at all, but rather, an “incredibly valuable habitat for wildlife and nutrients for plants.”

"Fallen leaves aren’t waste—they’re a valuable resource and a reminder of mortality.... 

“Touch grass” has become a common refrain in the digital age, a reminder to the terminally online to go outside and experience the real world, if only briefly. Whatever else leaves are, they are real. As they change color, wither and flame out, they remind us of the beauty of life, and of life’s impermanence.

A drop of existential awareness may even make us a more humane society. After all, we too are leaves, facing inevitable autumn. Do you really want to spend your time on Earth arguing with trolls online? A carpet of leaves teems with color and life, an ocean of reds and browns. Don’t worry about the spiders. Dive right in." 

 artist: P C Vey