Where daffodils bloom

I had the privilege of experiencing the enchanting Lake District in the United Kingdom, in the heart of which nestles the famous Dove Cottage, in which William Wordsworth wrote some of the greatest poetry in the English language, during the eight years that he lived there. Cuddled between a rocky hill popularly known as the Old Lady at the Piano, and the Grasmere Lake, this little nook is a splendid retreat. Wordsworth, who lived in Grasmere village for fourteen years, had described it as "the loveliest spot that man hath ever found" As a connoisseur of poetry myself, I felt enchanted as I walked around the house and the neighborhood. It is a sight that cannot be described in words, one that naturally inspires creativity, romance and poetry. The low hanging clouds that kissed the hill, the pleasant breeze that blew from across the lake, the sight of flowers, and call of birds, created a magical ambience. Today, the neighborhood also houses other buildings, which in Wordsworth’s time did not exist, and I realized what a pristine view William Wordsworth would have had from his window – as if witnessing a live painting of the lake, the hill and the grasslands.

Published in the Assam Tribune, Sunday Reading, 12th Feb 2017

As a connoisseur of poetry myself, I felt enchanted as I walked around the house and the neighborhood. It is a sight that cannot be described in words, one that naturally inspires creativity, romance and poetry. The low hanging clouds that kissed the hill, the pleasant breeze that blew from across the lake, the sight of flowers, and call of birds, created a magical ambience. Today, the neighborhood also houses other buildings, which in Wordsworth’s time did not exist, and I realized what a pristine view William Wordsworth would have had from his window – as if witnessing a live painting of the lake, the hill and the grasslands.

It is believed that in 1799, William Wordsworth came across the Dove Cottage accidentally while walking past with his brother John and his fellow poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. William and his sister Dorothy moved in soon thereafter. Three years later, William married Mary Hutchinson, and three of William and Mary’s five children were born there. Dorothy Wordsworth continued to live with her brother’s family. It is in this house that Dorothy wrote the accounts of their life and experiences in Grasemere, which were eventually published in 1897, decades after her death, as the famous Grasmere Journal.  

There is also a pretty little garden within the Dove Cottage premises. Wordsworth had described the garden as “the work of our own hands”. The garden still bears flowers, plants and vegetables. The Dove Cottage and the garden are managed by the Wordsworth Trust. One of the placards in the garden read, “I shelled peas, gathered beans and worked in the garden till half past twelve. – D.W August 23^rd, 1800. ”. It must have been an excerpt from Dorothy Wordsworth’s accounts. The sight of garden and Dorothy’s verse set my imagination rolling about the sights and sounds of the times when the Wordsworths lived there.  

I also visited the Wordsworth Graves, where William and his immediate family members, including his siblings, wife and children, are rested. The graves are located in a corner of the churchyard of the famous St Oswald's Church, a few hundred metres away from the Dove Cottage. While the sight of the graves grounded my soaring emotions, reminding me of the finiteness of human existence juxtaposed against the infiniteness of nature, the sight of the Daffodil Garden beside the graves, filled my heart with pleasure. The Daffodil Garden is situated between the Oswlad Church and the River Rothay that flows by on its course to the Grasmere Lake.  “The Daffodils” by William Wordsworth has been one of my all-time favorite poems. I have grown up reading and reciting it. As soon as I saw the Daffodil Garden, my mind rushed to my childhood days when I used to fondly recite the poem. I did not see any daffodils as I had visited Grasmere in Autumn, and the daffodils bloom in Spring, but I could vividly imagine how resplendent the garden would look in spring. I couldn’t help but recite aloud, “… and then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the Daffodils.”

While my soul hummed William Wordsworth’s “The Daffodils”, my mouth uttered Bhupen Hazarika’s, “Xopon sohoror moromi xorotor xuworoni xonali” (golden memories of an endearing autumn in a dream town). Perhaps, the beauty of nature has ever inspired the best of human words. The visit to Grasmere was, indeed, an endearing autumn memory of a dream town that will remain etched in gold in my mind. The daffodils loomed in my imagination, and Wordsworth’s classic poem kept echoing in my mind, as I left Grasmere, only longing to return, and next time in spring.

“… A host, of golden daffodils; 

Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”