"She smells raw mangoes
and chrysanthemums,
what a combination!
how exotic"
enamored city boy mused aloud,
kissing his newfound lover
a village belle,
under the shade
of a chattering peepal*
a rendezvous, so elating
he could never imagine.
"They didn't pay me much
to pick the mangoes, still not ripe;
had to pluck flowers in the afternoon,
for decent wages"
she candidly told.
*Peepal-Peepal or Bo-tree is of Indian origin, which Hindus and Buddists consider a sacred tree(perhaps for the tremendous amount of oxygen it pumps in to the atmosphere).It's under one such tree Buddha attained enlightenment (and it was called Bodhi ).Travellers will take rest usually under the peepal to recharge energies.Its an essential temple tree.