We are such collectors of things

In the name of Allah the most gracious, the most merciful.

Also 15 August 2014



Tin collection

I did mention that I met an old friend and her daughter in Masjid on Eid morning, yes? As I looked at my bag lying on the floor, I remembered something that she said. When we had greeted and hugged and quickly got to know what we were each busy with and children, she commented that she did not know it was me, she was more interested in my bag that I put in front of me in Saf, besides we were busy with Takbir. And we both laughed when I said this bag is probably the only bag I currently possess, I’m not generally a bags kinda person and she said “me neither”. Phew! was I relieved ne, most women love their bags. I used to be a pocket person – what more would I want to carry around. But I humour my daughters and this was a gift from a dear friend when she went to Madinah.

Come to think of it. I admire many people and their love for bags and matching shoes, for their jackets. But I am just not inclined that way. In fact I tried the bag thing and seemed to forget it in restaurants, in the car or at someone’s house. It is so liberating to have nothing slung over my shoulder, but I try. Shoes I love but a pair of Toms for walking, gumboots for the garden, a good pair of boots for the winter, some neutral pumps and a pair of sandals – all flats and I'm good to go. I don’t think Allah gave me legs to totter on but to walk briskly. Hey, but I love those high heels that women manage to sway on, just not for me – two of my daughters wear the highest ones.

So some people collect shoes or bags or kuffiyahs or whatever makes them happy. I know, I used to collect old silver earrings now I have a tin full of odd ones. My friend collected beautiful stockings so wherever friends are in the world they would know what to get for her, smart girl. I used to collect antique furniture of magnificent rose woods and mahogany and beech and birch and  birdseye maple, I love the smell of wood. then one day sunny day, Abu and I decided we had become a tad bit materialistic so we sold them for rather cheaply and gave the rest away. I cried. He had bought me the most exquisite Parisian Ships Chest and teak and oak wardrobes, rosewood kitchen cupboards and a long farm table, but I made peace with it. Its almost like a lightness of the soul.

I continue to collect novels of which many were gifts. We gave away more than 2000 books in Sudan to the students at the Jami’ah. And then I collected vases and tried the small smoky glass bottles like in the book by AS Byatt – ‘The djinn in the nightingales eye’, rubbed it but no genie appeared ha ha. But I gave them away too as we travelled. I always had an affinity and love for tins. The old ones, Chinese tea tins and biscuit tins. It’s that thing us people who enjoy flea markes – we see the potential in things. So I would come home and scrub them down and dry them out and store spices such as cloves and vanilla pod and nutmeg and mace in them. Whenever I moved I would give them to a friend and where ever I am I would start again.

And I have a thing for elegant old silver cutlery. I polish them with Bingo soap and display them in an old silver ice bucket. Oh and do I love beautiful table cloths – damask ones and hand embroidered cotton ones from Madagascar and to go with them vases for flowers. I still have my books but alas every time I think I have the entire Isabel Allende collection, one goes missing. The last book my brother in law gave me was a Thousand Splendid Suns and someone borrowed it and did not return it, and I can’t put my finger on who it was. I collected all of Kahlil Gibran’s books and my Love letters is no longer on the shelf, neither my copy of The remains of the Day by Ishiguro. So much for collecting things. The thing is that sometimes we invest so much emotion in it, don’t even talk about spending money on it and it just sits there anyway.

So now I collect seeds, the heirloom type. I make an effort to also dry seeds from fresh organic fruits and get friends and family to post me seeds. I did in fact collect them to share because it can be really expensive and even chemically treated. Whenever a crop is done I leave a few to seed and catch them and dry them out in little brown bags and then I place them in sealed container for the next season. And I use my tins to store them in too. Sometimes I forget to label them ha ha and so we play a guessing game is it cabbage or cauliflower seeds?  And I plant them anyway!

It’s a wonderful thing to enjoy something and after a while you end up having amassed a small collection but it gives one even greater joy to have given it away and knowing that someone else is now enjoying and benefiting from it.

Later

Plant food and take a walk on the flea market.

Yasmine