Why do relationships die? I’m sure I can’t tell you why. The sweetness, the joy… They turn sour, by and by. One person seems to stop Loving another; a sigh Of sadness, a teardrop… A wariness, a fear… Happiness in each other Turns to an attempt to smother The fact that it feels No longer the wonder That it was before. Before things go under… Perhaps there’s time to shore Up the weak spot, and retrieve The magic…but life’s not fair Or kind, or just. Is there hope in the air.. Or is it just dust?

We were five of us on the trip to Bandhavgarh, in Madhya Pradesh,over the past week….in alphabetical order, Karthik, Manjula, Nitin, Sharmila, and YT. Manjula and Sharmila had never seen a tiger; so naturally (with Bandhavgarh being a tiger reserve), the focus was on sighting the big cats.

On the Kollegal-Malavalli trip, that was such a great outing, I sighted several interesting things apart from the birds.

We set out to go to Gulakmale.our plans changed as we got into the Lions’ car..and it turned out to be a memorable day of excellent birding, and much else besides.