Hindi essays and me..

Hindi was never my strong point. Particularly Hindi essays. The painful things we had to write in school, could really murder any sane, normal person. So, here I was, a poor, innocent thing, waiting for the topic to be revealed in all its glory and to begin writing on it.

So, Mrs. M walked into the class, scowled at us, and wrote the topic on the board. Now, I maintain to this day, that I never intended to do what I did. The topic said, "Aap bus mein kahi jaa rahe ho aur kisi ki jeb kat gayi. Aapne kya kiya..." ("You are in a train and someone's pocket got picked. What did you do?")

I assumed that jeb(pocket) means jeeb (tongue) and that's where all the trouble began. Now, I always knew that Mrs.M was not the nicest person around, but I never thought that her imagination could run THIS wild.

Totally disgusted with her and the topic, I settled down to write about it. I have never had to think as much as I did for that one!

So the final composition was truly worth a listen.

The story was "I was in a bus with this guy sitting in front of me. He was very hungry. So, he pulled out an apple and a knife from his bag. He began cutting it and eating the apple. When suddenly, he put the knife in his mouth and cut his tongue. Oh my god! His tongue was bleeding and thankfully, I had the presence of mind to call an ambulance. He was admitted and my presence of mind saved the day.''

And yeah... I got one and a half out of ten for this masterpiece :D

Just one and a half, considering the amount of laughter I brought into Mrs.M's life.. x-(

Makku and Gingu... or Brindle and Himal??

I read this in the newspaper... It is just MAKKU GINGU!!!! Totally them !!! Jug Suraiya ki jai! :D

Me and Himal

by-
Brindle Suraiya

Woof! I’m doing this column on Jugfellow’s behalf because this is something you’ve really got to hear from the dog’s mouth. I’d always wondered why, in human speak, the phrase ‘a dog’s life’ meant something unpleasant and undesirable. I’m a dog, and ever since I adopted Bunnylady and Jugfellow a while ago, I’ve had a pretty good life. I’ve got the two of them well trained to do what humans have been put on this planet to do: love and pet us dogs, feed us, and – most importantly – take us for walks. I’m glad to report that my adopted humans have always fulfilled all these functions quite admirably. And life for me was one long tailwag. Till one day they went and did the UNMENTIONABLE. They went and let a…i can’t bring myself to use the word… a CAT into the house. Not a full-grown cat, but a juvenile member of that species, what’s known as a kitten. Ooh, what a little oogie-woogie it is, cooed Bunnylady, picking up the wretched creature from the pavement where it belonged and stroking it. I was appalled. I’ve long known that Jugfellow is congenitally soft in the head and generally prone to strange and unaccountable behaviour. But i’d always assumed that Bunnylady had more sense. But here she was, holding this cat in her hands and saying: He’s so sweet, and round, and soft, and white, let’s call him Himal. Round and soft and white? Was the damn creature an animal or a sweetmeat? Why not just call him Rossogolla and be done with it. And were they actually bringing the wretched beast into the house, my house? I couldn’t believe it. They were. Look, you’ve got to understand about dogs and cats. You know India and Pakistan, right? Well, dogs and cats are like India and Pakistan. Dogs – all dogs, everywhere and anywhere, including in Pakistan – are Indians. Cats – all cats, including those in India – are Pakistanis. I’ll tell you about my first encounter with a cat, a big, mangy, fleabitten tom, oozing malice and treachery from every pore. I was little more than a pup in those days, and quite innocent of the ways of the catty world. So i bounded up to the monster and barked at it, whereupon – according to the rules – it was supposed to run up a tree and hiss down at me from the branches. But the freaking psycho did a Kargil on me: instead of running up a tree, with a bloodcurdling screech it scratched me on my nose. The scar was visible for weeks. Mortifying. After that, i learnt to ignore cats. All cats, of whatever shape, size, age or gender they might be. They represented an untrustworthy and malevolent life form which could never be relied upon to play according to the rules of the game. Stab you in the back, first chance they get. Or rather, scratch you on the nose. No. Cats were very definitely felines non grata, so far as i was concerned. That is until those two loonies i’ve adopted took Himal in. It’s just been a few weeks, but already he’s become quite gross and fat, the amount he eats. And from my bowl too, when i’m not looking, though he’s got a bowl of his own (from which i snaffle the odd morsel when he’s not looking, tit for tat. Or cat). But worse, much worse is to come. At night he snuggles up to me and sleeps with me in my basket. And all day he keeps mewling and purring and trying to entwine himself around me. I think he thinks i’m his mother, for crissake. Horror of horrors. Anyway, i’ve managed to avoid his revolting attentions for the past couple of hours. Wonder where he is, and what he’s up to. Hope he hasn’t got into any trouble, or hurt himself, After all, he’s still very young. Oh dear. A mum’s worries are never done. Hell’s bells. What did i just say…?

Heaven on Earth: Kaas!

The sanyasi with a smile!


A HUGE carpet of flowers. Blue flowers, yellow flowers, white flowers, pink flowers. You name it, it's got to be there! :-)
Welcome to Kaas. 110 kms from Pune, virtually in Satara, this place is just stunning! It comes to life around September each year and lasts only for a short while, only to come back to life the next year.
We left home for this heaven by around 5 a.m, and hit the road! For those of you who are late risers, the world looks VERY beautiful at 5 a.m! We reached the plateau in about 3 hours and boy oh boy was it beautiful!!! Red rumped swallows and malabar crested larks flitted about in their pretty, flower filled home. The collared dove gave it plaintive call. A mongoose crossed the road for us and I literally ran after it, but to no avail. :-(
This place really deserves a visit every year, right after the monsoons. It is EXTREMELY biodiverse!!! You find en number of reptiles, birds and amphibians over there!! Many of the plants and flowers found here are endemic. I'm sure all of you have heard of the "Valley of Flowers" in the Himalayas, where a myriad wild flowers bloom every August. Well, Kaas is like a miniature Valley of Flowers, and is, indeed, called the Valley of Flowers of Maharashtra! I have fallen in love with this place and will visit it every year for sure!!
However, it is very unfortunate that we do not even let a place as beautiful as Kaas retain its glory. It has been littered very badly.

Here are a few pictures which are more eloquent that the words! :-)

Freedom!!! That's what comes to my mind when I clicked this pic!

The end of the valley and these pretty flowers mark the beginning of the cliff

This is what Kaas is all about!

The malabar crested lark in its flower garden!

Too busy, buddy?

If you have voted today, hats off to you!! Thank you for acting as a responsible citizen! If you haven’t, read on.
So, how many times have you said the clichéd statements of “arey..is desh ka to kuch nahi hoga”. Or, “chalta hai re…”? Unfortunately, I’m going to write exactly what comes to my mind, and this is uncensored.
I was on the way back home and I heard that only 40% of the population had turned up at the voting polls. Our so called “developed” state had a lower turn out than Arunachal, a state that is considered small and of not too much consequence. “I was at work” is not an acceptable excuse! It was an off, with multiplexes and all other sources of entertainment shut. So, boy oh boy, wasn’t it a perfect opportunity to laze around at home! Well, that’s definitely what it looks like!
Well, we DARE NOT complain about how Pune’s potholes make you feel like you are in hell or about how our government is corrupt – because we don’t deserve to talk about it. If we are too busy to spare time to have our country running, I wonder what could be more important!
I spoke to one of my friends who said that there were 13 people at the polling booth. Most of them were “aathvi paas” and only one chap was a B.Com. (my friend was shocked when she heard that he was a B com grad!) And for all you know, half of them had been bribed to vote for some nasty candidate.
Anyway, this piece of news ruined my day… I can’t wait for the time I get to vote and act responsible.
This also raises a major question for us – Do we deserve to be a democracy or do we deserve to be ruled over?

Cheetahs in India again?

I sat open mouthed, unable to say a thing when I read the news. Unfortunately, it was not anything positive. It was about re-introducing cheetahs in India.

I feel that this would be a very irresponsible step on our part. I do not think the cheetah has a very bright chance for survival, considering –
a) We do not have a prey base that can support an additional predator. Had we been in the Jim Corbett era, when jungles were abundant and healthy, teeming with prey, it would have been possible.
b) We have been proved incapable of conserving our wildlife effectively and thus, the cheetah will have very bleak chances of survival.
c) Our priority at the moment is the conservation of the indigenous tiger. Why are we deviating from it?
d) The money we will be investing in the whole cheetah experiment can be better utilized by trying to save the flora and fauna that is indigenous.

I hope we find answers to these questions before we go ahead with what seems a rather imprudent step!

Birding at home!

One morning, I set out for what was originally a casual walk with Makku. We walked along, Makku strolling about with me keeping a keen eye on him since he was not on his leash and he has a habit of running away on his own for jaunts in the neighbourhood. As I did so, I suddenly noticed a very beautiful bird flying in and settling down on a neem tree which was close by. Excited at this find, I observed the bird carefully and noticed that it Woodpecker. I couldn't find out which one though. This cute little chap sat on one spot, as if in a trance. I ran back home with Makku to fetch the camera, and thankfully, the woodpecker was sitting right there, still his apparent trance! Later, I had it identified as the Yellow-fronted Pied Woodpecker.

We then walked into what used to be a beautiful grassland, I saw an ashy crowned sparrow lark staring into my face with an angry scowl. Unfortunately, this beautiful place has turned into a dumping ground for construction debris. It makes me very sad to see this patch of land where mongooses used to roam around in the state that it is now. The only advantage I saw of these debris was that the larks love to be there! As we moved on, a hoopoe dug into the ground, looking for insects with a very determined look on his face. The coucals gave their weird, loud call and a shikra flew in circles above me. The golden oriole, which was making a nest in my neighbours house, flew past; the attractive colours being more prominent now!

Then happened one of the craziest experiences I have ever had!! Makku and I sat down under a gulmohar tree, looking at various birds while Makku took a short nap. A bunch of rock-bush quails crossed into the bushes. The lapwings cried “did he do it?” as they flew above. Then things got increasingly confused. A short, ugly looking bird ran across. Instantly, almost like a reflex action, I screamed “baby lapwing!!” and ran towards it. I looked in every possible place for it, but I just couldn’t find it! It was like it had disappeared with magic! Just as I was going to give up, and I was moving ahead, I noticed that had I taken another step, I would have stepped on the “baby lapwing”!! My excitement knew no bounds. However, I have to say that the chick was no cute looking, cuddly baby. It looked rather weird but its eyes were just adorable!! It looked at me with this expression of “What on earth are you?”

All in all the day was a LOVELY one, with me coming across these varied birds, each one unique in its own way. My only hope is that this pristine habitat must not be destroyed. Unfortunately, the deterioration has begun, what with people burning their garbage and endless numbers of houses coming up. Lets cross our fingers and hope that the birds thrive!

Ranthambhore Magic!!

The peacock sat atop the Fort. It looked majestic... The forest has a charm about it that I just cannot put into words!
We were on our first trail in the national park and I was thrilled to bits! The feel of the forest, the smells, the sounds... it was beautiful... We moved about in our canter, with all the campers sitting relatively quiet, seemingly in shock at the beauty of the place. We saw tonnes of birds, right from peacocks and quails to honey buzzards and spotted owlets!! The most amazing part was when I stood in the canter with a few crushed biscuits in my hand. And, to our amazement, rufous treepies and jungle babblers SAT ON MY HAND AND ATE IT UP!!!! It was superb!

Well, this is the part where the big cat makes his first entry... NO, not a tiger, but his smaller cousin, the elusive leopard. This animal is truly the ghost of the jungle. The guide located it with the help of nothing but alarm calls of a peacock!!! That was too much to believe!! The majestic animal walked in the thickets, about 50 metres away from us and slowly disappeared into a cave. That was my first ever wild leopard!!! And how I loved the experience!!! We were totally charged after this encounter and sat more alert than ever.
That evening, on our second trail, there was not too much that we saw... But I got to see a crocodile!!! Stunning animal!!! We also saw a LOT of birds.... spurfowls, common kingfishers, yellow footed green pigeons, long billed vultures, "dirty" (painted) storks, and many many more!!
We then had a full fleged visit to the Ranthambhore fort. Stunning place.... The intricacies of the fort really amaze me. We got a wonderful view of the Malik Talao and infact heard a lot of alarm calls too!!
That evening was one of the most magical ones I have ever had.... The magnificent lady came out of the bush, right before us and we were wonderstruck. It occured to me that THIS IS THE ANIMAL WE ARE TRYING TO SAVE!!! She had an aura about her... And just left us in total awe of her. How can one actually kill this animal? She literally posed for us. She sat, she yawned, she growled, she panted and gave us every possible pose!!!
The magic does not end here. She had two cubs with her, who, unfortunately were far off. But I did see one of them.
This was truly one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had... Also because I realized how important it is to raise a public opinion that we NEED TO SAVE THE TIGER TO SAVE OURSELVES!!!

Veer Dam

23rd Feb, 2009.

I'm excited!!! Its the day I get to see demoiselle cranes and bar headed geese!!

We wake up perfectly on time and leave home at the scheduled 5 30 a.m. The drive to Veer was fun.... It was just behind home and the usual route.... We saw a lot of birds en route... It seemed to be "grey hornbill day"... I must've seen about 15 of them that morning!!

The CRAZY thing that happened was when, as we drove, I spotted what seemed to be "obese black kites"... Not 1, but 4 of them. What they turned out to be was something UNBELIEVABLE!!! STEPPE EAGLES!!! Having clicked some snaps of it, we proceeded to the "dharan".

As we drove, a happy family of 4 grey francolins crossed the road... They look adorable!! The dam is beautiful.... It makes you feel at peace... Unfortunately, the demoiselle cranes and the geese seemed to have returned to their respective homes.. :-(

I have no qualms about it because of the other amazing birds we got to see as compensation!! There were eurasian marsh harriers fighting a pair of drongos. I love that bird!! Its the most handsome, brave bird ever!!

We then saw openbill storks, standing like in a trance, shelducks, ibis, black headed gulls and many other birds!!

Somehow, the bird that caught my fancy was a kestrel that kept roaming around there. That bird is amongst my favourite!!! :-)

Getting back home was the last thing we wanted to do... Veer has claimed a special place in my heart after this visit... What's funny though, is that we stay at exactly and hour's drive from it, and we didn't know about it!

On the way back, Ma and I went and got a couple of dry sunflowers with the intention of planting them at home. That we ate it all up is a different story!!On the way back, the steppe eagles were still there!!! That was the most wonderful birthday gift I've ever got.. or could ever hope to get! :-)

As for Veer, here I come again in a little while!!

Bhigwan - Bird paradise!

Amidst a lot of excitement, I got another opportunity to visit Bhigwan - and boy!! It was AMAZING!

A two hour drive to the place with plenty of music by Indian Ocean made it awesome! :)

Bhigwan has something about it... It makes you really happy!

Bhigwan is about 95 Kms from Pune on the Pune-Solapur highway and is the backwaters of the mighty Ujani Dam. It is a sanctuary for migratory birds, including the greater flamingo.

We got to the "juna pul" and the view that awaited me was too good... Openbill storks, moorhens, glossy ibis, black ibis, black necked ibis, spoonbills, shovellers, coots, warblers, spot billed ducks, shelducks, painted storks, wooly necked storks, grey herons, purple herons, cormorants and a lone darter was what I spotted in about 10 minutes!! The place is just teeming with life!!

You can't hear yourself at this place!! All you can hear is "Cackle cackle quack quack" :)

After about an hour, we decided to go to the neighbouring village called Kumbhar Gaon, which is the other end of the massive Bhigwan Lake.

This was one mesmerizing place!! There were more birds than there were at the "juna pul".

This place holds a special place in my heart though. After 3 visits to this place, I got to see the most graceful and beautiful birds on Earth - the greater flamingo. My mother has now got her tag as the "genius" stuck on to her after the way she spotted them at a great distance!!

I have no word to describe those birds.. They can just keep you transfixed!

All in all, this was one of the most exciting and lovely experiences I've had, and has helped me grow as a birder!!

P.S - Sorry for the average picture of the flamingos, but they were far off!