He who knows, and knows he knows… He is a sage: Seek him. He who knows, and knows not he knows… He is asleep: Wake him. He who knows not, and knows he knows not… He is a child: Teach him. He who knows not, and knows not he knows not… He is a fool: Shun him.
Words of wisdom
August 8, 2017
Look carefully.....
August 2, 2017
Look carefully at your mother…she’s the person you will probably become. Look carefully at your daughter…she’s the person you probably were. And both of you, look carefully at the grand-daughter…she’s probably going to be more than both of you.
Two Malkohas and an unknown Owl Valley School, 300717
August 2, 2017
The fifth Sunday of the month, when it occurs, is an occasion when the “bngbirds” umbrella birding group of Bangalore does not have an organized bird walk; it’s time for most of us to earn back some brownie points, or at least get out of the doghouse, by attending to home,families, and other social commitments.
Butterfly id-ing Expertise levels
July 29, 2017
Butterfly id’ing, expertise levels.
- Playschool: Pwetty yellow buttefwy.
- LKG: Emigrant.
- UKG: Common Emigrant.
- School level: Oriental Lemon Emigrant.
- Undergraduate: Catopsilia sp ,Oriental Lemon Emigrant.
- Master’s degree: Catopsilia pomona,Oriental Lemon Emigrant.
- Doctorate: Catopsilia pomona pomona, Oriental Lemon Emigrant.
- Post-doctoral research: Catopsilia pomona pomona Fabricius, 1775, Oriental Lemon Emigrant.
Post-processing of digital images
July 29, 2017
Post-processing of photographic images: I’d divide this into two broad categories: image enhancement, and image manipulation.
Blr-Pollachi-Anamalai-Top Slip, 100717 and part of 110717
July 20, 2017
Adnan and Sarrah, who are two of the most impressive young people, with unbounded talent only matched by their humility about those talent, invited me along on their trip to the places mentioned above, and I jumped at the offer…such great places to visit, and such great company to do the trip with!
The Nano graveyard....
July 15, 2017
We went on a nature/birding walk to Kalena Agrahara today, and skirted the lake at IDBI Bank Layout. I was amazed to see several Nano cars parked, and rusting in the monsoon weather.
The blanket comes to life, 080717
July 8, 2017
Sometimes a blanket is quiet…
Morning walk, 080717
July 8, 2017
The morning walk, in cool, cloudy weather, is a great joy.
Multilingual humour
June 28, 2017
What do you call a bee that comes from America?
T G Halli, 260617
June 27, 2017
A last-minute decision, and six of us, including a birder from Noida, Delhi, who will be moving to Bangalore in a while…off we went, in the predawn dark, to T G Halli Reservoir.
Livelihoods Driving others
June 23, 2017
Every now and then, a glimpse into lives very different from our own, brings us up sharply against alternate realities.
3rd Sunday outing, Turhalli, 180617
June 21, 2017
It was still rather cloudy and overcast as several of us met at Vajrahalli Gate, on our way to the Turahalli Forest Trail, where a few more nature lovers from the nearby areas also joined us.
Passiflora incarnata at the Butterfly Festival, 170617
June 17, 2017
Today I volunteered for the very first Butterfly Festival in Karnataka.
Jaipurdoddi trip, 110717
June 12, 2017
What started out as a plan with 3 people rapidly developed into an outing with 15 other people! It was a very enjoyable outing to Ragihalli and then to Jaipurdoddi.Here they all are, at the MCS (Mandatory Chai Stop) where the group meet each other.
AshOni sonkEt (distant thunder), 070617
June 8, 2017
Bhoochakra gadde or Kandamool, being sold in Bangalore, 070617
June 8, 2017
I found an interesting root being sold on vendor’s cart.
The beauty of the Baya Weavers Shani Temple pond and Gulakmale lake, 030617
June 3, 2017
Email to the bngbirds egroup:
Half the year is gone...
May 31, 2017
It seems as if I was welcoming The new year only yesterday… Here I am, at the beginning Of the sixth month. Time seems to seep past me Like a silent, wet flow From a leaking tap Rather than elapse In clearly marked segments. Time slowly settles In deepening wrinkles on my face In accumulated dust In babies whom I cannot recognize From my last visit. It peeps at me from obituary columns. It winks at me from old photographs. It bewilders me and fogs my brain When I stop thinking of what was, And try to think of what will be. The dim veil of the past, The curtained future.. As I contemplate them, Each second of the present Slips away, forever, from me.
Gulakmale and Thotti Kallu (T K) Falls, 280517
May 29, 2017
A life lesson, and offer of help...Mysore trip, 240517
May 27, 2017
Everybody can dance…
Plastic in my lifestyle
May 24, 2017
I like to think of myself as green, but apart from plastic bags, here’s a partial list of the things I use and see around me , which have plastic in them…the list goes into the hundreds each day. I started with the morning and moved through the day:
Blue-banded Bee, Blr, 210517
May 22, 2017
Are those enough B’s in the subject title?
Visit to Kolkata, Jorhat and Kaziranga, 7-130517
May 19, 2017
We visited Kolkata
Thirst
May 15, 2017
I thirst… Not for love, money or Even happiness. I thirst for water To quench the parched earth To bring green to the brown To bring fresh hope to those Who raise crops and food for us. I need water To fill the pots Of each slum-dweller Who puts her (it’s never a he) Vessel in a long line of colours, Waiting to drink, wash and live. I have had enough of grishma ritu. I want varsha…not just the odd shower Or thunderstorm, but a steady, Cloudy, drumming season That will replenish the depleted Plateau,that we live on And call home.
Floral carpets, NF, May 2017
May 2, 2017
Yellow small flowers
The river
May 1, 2017
Rush,rush, rush… Around me, the seconds flow past The minutes fly The hours march, The months creep slowly. I hardly feel the year’s progress Into the lap of what-has-been. I live in the present… That’s a conondrum As with every ticking second My present becomes the past. As I sit here, writing, My heart starts the next beat. I take my next breath. I am not what I was When I first thought of writing this. What a relentless river Time is.
Nandi Hills, 220417
May 1, 2017
Venkat, Varun, Shanthala, Kedar, Akansha, Nitin, Janhvi, Padma, Vidhya, Ramaswamy, Nandi Hills, 220417
Govind
April 22, 2017
Should I wait For it to be exactly six months Since you decided To change the plane of your existence? Do I not remember you Very often, never mind what date Or day, or time it is? When two of my friends Had surgery recently To remove growths You come to mind Whenever I lift a camera I often see you, Before I see the scene in front of me. When I see good planning And crisp execution You slip into my thoughts. When I laugh at jokes I recollect how you used humour to heal yourself. The determination that got you through so much, The travels all over the world The staunch affection… You are there in every thought I have About such things. Time will flow past: Six months may turn into years. My friend, you are always here Where it matters. In my heart, and in my memories.
Making a home in the city, 190417
April 20, 2017
Visit to Shivamogga, Mathur, Kudli, and Sakrebailu, 080417 to 100417
April 19, 2017
Kiran Kannappan and I went to Shivamogga to help conduct a summer camp for 85 rural children, under the aegis of
Doresanipalya Forest Research Station, 160417
April 18, 2017
It was still very pleasant when several of us met up at the Millennium Avenue gate of DFRS, and Harish led us, literally, up the garden path.
Superdog, 160417
April 17, 2017
As I returned From an outing, back home I chanced upon this sight Of a superhero on the roam.
Mr Mathrubhootham and airline travel, 150417
April 15, 2017
Dear Sir/Madam,
Haircut, 130417
April 13, 2017
Snip, snip, snip, go the scissors and bits of my hair fall (the best kind of hair fall there is.) I relax and close my eyes. Will this end well or will I look like Raggedy Ann? I don’t know, but I am content to leave it to fate, and the hairdresser. The lady in the next seat, with her hair in a made-of-dye-cap, smiles at me. Snip,snip,snip…every haircut is a calendar, measuring out the time in the length of my hair. Short hair has been a great thing for me; I learnt how to swim, I didn’t have to put up sweaty hair in a perpetual bun….with a light heart, and a lighter head, I walk home. Snip, snip, snip…a half hour more out of my life, but gone in serenity and peace.
Colourful buses....
April 11, 2017
One of the things that interest me very much is the wonderful colours of the buses that ply on our roads….the mofussil (sub-urban) buses, and those that connect the various towns of our State.
Morning walk back home, 050417
April 5, 2017
This morning’s walk back home: Women dotting freshly-washed front yards with rangoli in the making. The carpets of Honge, Copper Pod, and mahogany flowers on the roads. The smell of onion cooking as a lady makes morning palya at a mobile cart. Walkers with their morning filter kaapi, exchanging notes and spreading newspapers. Sunlight filtering through the trees, haloing the head of an old man as he walks with difficulty but determination. No school buses or sleepy-faced students. Milk packets and newspapers on mopeds,being distributed. A young girl stopping for a minute in front of a small shrine, her eyes closed over her hands folded in prayer. Cut watermelons making red stars. I reach my home, content, looking up at our resident bulbuls as their burbling song pours liquidly over the lawn.
How food is cooked on a massive scale
March 28, 2017
Having seen for myself the deteriorating quality of food on trains on the Indian Railways, I watched this interesting documentary on IRCTC:
4th Sunday Hessarghatta kere, 260317
March 27, 2017
Email to the bngbirds egroup:
Yediyur Lake, 250317
March 25, 2017
Email to the bngbirds egroup:
Home-maker, Doresanipalya Reserve Forest, 120317
March 12, 2017
We saw a White-cheeked Barbet, idle, and free.
Raindrops
March 12, 2017
Inside her little box of an apartment Lies the elderly woman, While I tell her about the rain That is wetting the roads Outside. Confined to her bed, She cannot even move To the window, without help, To look at the few drops Falling from the sky. The plants she has in pots Cannot feel the rain, either. All they can get Is the “filtered water” Whenever the sullen maid Remembers them. The woman is able To have a roof over her head… But some simple joys, Like savouring the raindrops Which wet that roof, Are beyond her, Small deprivations Can sometimes be big ones.
I reflect...
March 7, 2017
What if the reflections Of faith and belief, in my soul, Are different from yours? I might see a temple in the glass; You might see a church spire. Should we then fight And argue and shed blood Over what is right and wrong? Surely, all these paths and reflections Lead but to the innermost soul Where resides the Force, the Being That we believe in…both you and I.
Blooming in Lalbagh now...010317
March 2, 2017
Several blooms to delight the senses!
Forms of poetry and verse
March 2, 2017
My friend Janet asked for 10 prompts about which she would write haikus.
Life, age and health
February 28, 2017
In all this debate about organic and diet and exercise and longevity, I find that aging seems to have become a kind of terrible thing that must be avoided at all costs. Anti-wrinkle creams, hair dye, anti-aging serums…People seem to forget what the alternative to aging really is :D
Another walk, 230217
February 23, 2017
Another walk from my daughter’s home to mine. It’s never the same… this time: my usual lane completely dug up by an excavator, with pedestrians inching along the trash-filled edges; boiled corn and peanuts being readied in pushcarts for the evening; lots of people sipping tea or filterkaapi at the darshinis; a young couple, completely engrossed in each other across the handlebars of the young man’s scooter; an old lady peering up into a lime tree to see if she can pluck some fruit; a man cutting a blind boy’s fingernails; an old man in a car looking sourly at the two-wheeler antics of the youth in front of him; maids returning home at the end of their working day; the ironing lady getting piles of clothes ready; jacaranda blossoms, and mahogany leaves, piling up and swirling at my feet in the breeze… the walk just goes past in a flash.
To live without love
February 9, 2017
Who will drop loving kisses On the cheeks of motherless children? Who will hug them, tease them, scold them, Dance with them, sing to them, Tickle them, cuddle them, laugh with them? Children need food and sleep… And so much more, to thrive. I sing two little children to sleep. Tears fall from my eyes as I think Of every child without parents in this world. The refugees, the orphans, the lost children…. Surely the greatest cruelty in our world Is to let children live…. without love.
The Valley area, 050217 Email to bngbirds egroup
February 7, 2017
Hi everyone,
Compare and contrast, 2017
February 2, 2017
Contrasting, in my mind, the tennis match that happened between two men, recently in Australia, and the US Presidential election process over the past year.
Lovely lyrics...
January 19, 2017
Just love the lyrics of a jewellery ad, which is something I never thought I’d say!
Minnal Shaffer, 190108
January 19, 2017
In front of the waving grasses in an urban park Facing the calm waters Lies a small brick, upon the ground, That carries your name. O dear one, my firstborn’s firstborn, You went away before you even came into this world. Souls of great ones, our scriptures say, Do not have long to spend on this earth. Coccooned within your mother, You had very little time. But you were here long enough For us to love, remember, and cherish you. You remind us how every live birth, Every normal child, Is nothing short of several miracles. You were a lightning flash that touched our lives; But,like lighnting, you had great power To open our eyes to the fragility of life. Your home in our hearts is eternal, As is that of every being whose lifespan is small.
lagOri, Kaikondrahalli kere, 080117
January 8, 2017
We often lament about our children using tablets and X-boxes all the time…but I find, often that even our urban children are quite in touch with the traditional games of childhood.
Birding on the first day of 2017, Ramnagara
January 2, 2017
Just four of us: Jayashree, Padma, Ramaswamy and I…went to
Just two leaves left on the daily calendar....
December 29, 2016
I look at my daily calendar, And feel a sense of closure When I see that there just two leaves left To tear off, with the passage Of each day. It then occurs to me That it’s only we humans Who seem to thus divide Time Into comparments, and mark Endings and beginnings. Time flows continuously in Nature: The days, nights, weeks and seasons Follow each other at the same pace. If I can let go of my need To compartmentalize Time, I need not think of what’s ending And what’s beginning. But, perhaps… Taking stock of my life At regular intervals Is not a bad thing to do. So yes, I will tear off the two leaves Left on my daily calendar. I will hang up a new one, And watch the progress of the new year: See it slip past, day by day, Much as the old one went, And the ones before that.
Creating the look, 251216
December 28, 2016
On Christmas Day, I went to the 4th Sunday outing of BngBirds, which I had organized this month at Hoskote Lake. It was foggy, and I got some mist-erious shots:
The Torch Ginger, IIM-B, 231216
December 24, 2016
In defence of non-excellence
December 21, 2016
I read something, nearly every day, on the desirable quality of excellence. In whatever I do, I am told, I must strive to excel. I must hone my skills at that particular activity until I am excellent at it.
Memories are made of this....
December 18, 2016
Many years hence, we’ll gently look back On fading, black-and-white memories… Of seeing many birds, of the winter sunshine, Of the drive on roads with many trees….
Captivity over freedom Grey Francolins, Jigani Lake, 181216
December 18, 2016
Something strange on the 3rd Sunday outing to Jigani kere today.
Veena Stores, Malleswaram, Bangalore, 171216
December 17, 2016
There are some eateries in Bangalore which have become quite renowned.
Top fun...no electricity required...and its a lot of fun Blr, 131216
December 14, 2016
I decided to show K2 how tops work, and I wondered if I still had the old skill. The first two tries did not work, but on the 3rd attempt…
A beautiful song in AbhOgi thanga ratham vanthathu veedhiyilE
November 24, 2016
Mysore visit, 171116
November 18, 2016
We drove down to
maNi, and karan C....
November 18, 2016
मेरा देश बदल रहा है।
The Humminbird Hawk Moth, Pangot, Uttarakhand, 041116
November 15, 2016
India does not have Hummingbirds, those tiny creatures of the light and air that so delight those living or visiting abroad, especially the western coast of America. Our smallest birds are our Sunbirds and Flowerpeckers.
Some images from my trip to Delhi-Sattal-Pangot. 011116 and 021116
November 10, 2016
To see more photos, click on one photo and it will take you to the entire album on Flickr.
Why I had my camera repaired and not replaced
November 10, 2016
I had a conversation with a friend who asked me, “Why do you spend Rs.3.5K on repairing your camera instead of getting a new one?”. My response:
Mukesh Ambanis woes
November 6, 2016
YOU THINK MUKESH AMBANI DOESN’T HAVE PROBLEMS. ….
The other women in MS life, and some of my interaction with this famous Carnatic musician
October 27, 2016
My friend Jayasree Thiagarajan sent me
Upon viewing a Chloropsis
October 27, 2016
I go thinking that I’ll see a nice bird, that’s the Beliefbird;
I finally spot a bird that others have seen five minutes ago, that’s the Reliefbird;
There’s one bird that’s the highlight of the morning, that’s the Chiefbird;
There’s one that I fail to see, that’s the Griefbird;
There’s the bird that steals my heart, that’s the Thiefbird;
I spot a bird for just a few seconds, that’s the Briefbird;
The bird that poops on my head, that’s the Mischiefbird….
Lalbagh Walk for Divya, 25 Sept 2016
September 28, 2016
I was requested by Irina Ghose and Gopal to conduct a nature/birding walk at Lalbagh for their daughter Divya, who was celebrating her birthday.
The empty room
September 26, 2016
How the monsoon breeze blows Into this empty room! Bereft of the person, It’s just memories that blow Into my mind. The laughter, the tears, the hopes, the love… The past echoes In this cleared, and cleaned room As it awaits another shell To be brought in, and then sent On its way to rejoin the elements… The soul has already merged into eternity.
The Fan-throated Lizard, Ragihalli, 170916
September 20, 2016
Aravind, Sharmila, Raji, Tarachand and I went to Ragihalli
Kaikondranahalli Kere walk for the Foundation School, 100916
September 15, 2016
Bithi Agrawal, seen here with one of her school’s buses
Lottie does gymnastics, 130916
September 13, 2016
Today K1’s doll-or-friend-or-whatever, Lottie, did some gymnastics. She was, apparently, the last competitor.
Bird photography tourism
September 13, 2016
Another day, another picture of the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher from one of the organized Shoot-the-Kingfisher tours with hundreds of likes. One of these tours has a rule that “members shall not move from the position assigned to them when shooting the kingfisher” ..or words to that effect. Charges are several thousand rupees from point X, which seems to be about 2 miles away from the bird’s home.(You have to get to, and from, point X at your own cost.) Each “Oh Dee Kay Eff” photo must cost lakhs, if you add the cost of the equipment. But, ofkose, all those likes are worth it!….Bird photography tourism at its best.
Fruit salad, by K2, 110916
September 11, 2016
Savitri
September 3, 2016
I see you moving in haste To get the next thing That will ease your husband’s pain Just a little bit. Night and day, you manage so many things: Your job, your suffering in-laws, parents, and others. Your household, visitors.. Your own pain, that you do not talk of. You show him a smiling face, always. You did all this through the years, Twenty years ago; For the past eight months, With less and less to sustain your hope, You have continued to be a rock of support To your ill spouse…cocooning him in your love And selfless care. Yet, you’ve also found time To visit other friends during important times In their lives.Your generosity, your large heart, The incredible amount of hard work… I cannot even begin to be like you. I can only admire the wonderful person you are, And be intensely grateful that you are my friend Since that first day I saw you, as a bride… You learnt music from me, but you have taught me So much over the years. I truly believe that, like Savitri, You would bargain with Yama For the life of your spouse. Your name means victory… You are victorious over the many petty thoughts And failings which the rest of us have. My dearest friend…you are more than I can ever understand. I wish there was a way I could take some of your pain and your tiredness. But I stand near you, helpless…and just watch you suffer. Beloved friend, you are the sister I never had… I wish I could take away your difficulties And give you the life of happiness that you deserve. Life…has not been fair to you: And yet, you never complain, but go about each day Coping, managing…and smiling when you can.
The lamp flickers....
August 24, 2016
I get the news That a life, once vigorous, Is ebbing. I do not know how long The tide will remain And when the waters, receding, Will take the light with them. The skies darken, But there is no beauty from the stars; Instead, there is the gloomy Overcast darkness of heavy clouds overhead. Helpless, powerless, I remain Distant: no amount of my love Can let me experience what that ebbing life And those who are part of the family Are going through now. I move… Like a pendulum, from worried grief, To acceptance of what must be. A life of trying to think positively Does not allow me to let go of hope altogether. Perhaps, something will work? Some herb will stem the irrevocable tide Of galloping illness? Hope, hopelessness: if I swing So uncontrollably between these two, I can only imagine what those who are close must be feeling. On top of everything else lies guilt: Did I do enough when I could? Is there anything I can do now… Which I am not doing? Why am I healthy, when my friend lies there With health leaching out? My mind tosses and turns, It seeks peace only in meditation. Let me let go for a while…and try and sort myself Find inner peace in the midst of the turmoil. Life and death are, and will be, eternal mysteries. Let me not try and solve them, Eroding myself in the effort.
Painted Grasshoppers, Valparai-Bangalore Road, 150816
August 19, 2016
On the road back from Valparai, my friend Manivannan spotted, in a small empty lot near the place where we stopped for our evening chai,
The Common Banded Peacock, Road to Valparai, 130816
August 17, 2016
One of the unexpected sights on our journey to Valparai was that of this
The Mottled Wood Owl, Lalbagh, 120816
August 12, 2016
Every now and then, the “experts” start fussing that the
Kalyan, 100816
August 10, 2016
Tiny little voice, from a fever-flushed face on the sofa, over and over again: “Two wittle dicky birds, sitting on e vol. One is named Peter, one is named Paul. Fly yeway, Peter, fly yeway, Paul! Come back, Peter, come back, Paul!” Me, my heart melting: “Shall I laptop you?” Tiny voice (with great decision): “NO! GO YEWAY!”
The Red Velvet Mite, CWLS, 310716
August 3, 2016
On a visit to Cauvery Wild Life Sanctuary (CWLS) on Sunday, we found a
Puns....
August 1, 2016
Fun with puns….
Some six-footers....
July 28, 2016
A variety of insects can be observed in the gardens and plants around us.
Jaipurdoddi, 250716
July 26, 2016
What can be better than a meandering path through the hills, amongst greenery, under monsoon skies?
Iridiscence
July 24, 2016
How would I look, if my body gleamed With the sheen of metal?
The last pages of my notebook
July 22, 2016
From a friend.The last page of my notebook…
Jaipurdoddi 3rd Sunday outing of the Bird Watchers Field Club, 170716
July 21, 2016
Email to the bngbirds egroup:
My memory (I wrote this on March 5, 2007)
July 20, 2016
Inspired by a friend, who, in response to my saying I would like to meet her, gently reminded me that we already HAD….
How macro photography is done, 170716
July 19, 2016
While we are out looking for birds, I find everything interesting, and this Sunday, when I led a walk in Jaipurdoddi, I spotted a
Traditional games chaukA bArA (dAya kattAm), 180716
July 19, 2016
As I led the birding-nature walk for the 3rd Sunday outing, we walked through the village of Jaipurdoddi, adjacent to the Jaipurdoddi Reserve Forest. Walking through such settlements gives me glimpses into lives that are so different from mine…but now and then, there are elements that formed part of my own life, too.
Baya Weavers and their woven nests, 170716
July 19, 2016
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K1s progress with Hindi Blr, 110716
July 11, 2016
She first looked at the Hindi alphabet in March of this year…and I think her progress (while handling so much that is new and tough) is excellent. Here she is (as usual, in the car!) reciting a Hindi poem about a bird:
The culture of opacity, and the decencies of debate
June 29, 2016
We recently had a debate on a birding group I belong to.
The Booda, 270616
June 27, 2016
I give him pieces of apple to eat. He shoots me with his tiny forefingers, with what he thinks is a gun noise. I have to slowly wilt, with my tongue out, on to the chair he’s standing on. He then gives me a “Vitamin K2 kiss”, and I instantly revive with a “whoosh” sound. Repeat 843 times.
Losing a driving licence (painful) ..and getting one again (VERY painful)
June 24, 2016
Day before yesterday (22nd June, 2016) my driving licence (along with many other cards and quite a lot of cash, but that’s another story) was stolen.
The aptly named Indian Paradise Flycatcher
June 21, 2016
Whenever I go to a wooded area while birding, one of the birds that provides a special delight is the
Hotel Karnataka Kingsley Jegan Joseph
June 21, 2016
On a dark desi highway, cool wind in my hair Warm smell of parottas, rising up through the air Up ahead in the distance, saw a lorry headlight My eyes grew squinty and my sight grew dim I had to stop for the night There she stood in the doorway; Wearing nariyal tel And I was thinking to myself, “I’d like Pav Bhaji or maybe some Bhel” Then she brought me the menu, but current went away There were voices from the bathroom door, I thought I heard them say…
My FP Tips (not the same as Q Tips)
June 18, 2016
I notice that every well-known (and sometimes “world-famous in Jayanagar”) photographer likes to talk about his/her genre of photography. There’s art photography, creative photography, soul photography (no, I am not talking Kirlian here!)…so here goes, let me tell you about MY kinds of photography!
Kalyan, Kallubhai, K2, The Booda, Booda-pest, Didu, and other names....
June 17, 2016
Machan, Ragihalli, 120616
June 16, 2016
It would be nice to climb above The level of the ground; To sit amongst the boughs and sway With the breeze’s sighing sound.
Monsoon
June 9, 2016
The air cools rapidly, and the light dims as boiling, heavy clouds boil over the landscape. The breeze builds rapidly into a wind, whipping up the summer dust, lashing the palm fronds into a frenzy. The first huge drops splash upon the parched ground.
K1 is in Aradhana Academy.....and why we are very happy about it
June 9, 2016
Aradhana Academy is not on the list of “elite” schools of Bangalore. But here’s our experience.
Thoughts about childhood
June 7, 2016
Everyone talks about the wonderful days of childhood, and wants to be a child again. But just think about it. One has no control over anything in one’s life…where one lives, what one eats, right down to the small details…everything is decided by Somebody Else, even if that person is the child’s own parent.
Ragihalli/Jaipurdoddi, 220516
June 7, 2016
Email to the bngbirds egroup:
Victory to thee....Bangalore, 250516
May 25, 2016
I’d just asked them to listen to this stirring anthem of ours, and they’d got the first line, when I left to return home.
Anekchidiya, Ragihalli/Jaipurdoddi outing, 220516
May 24, 2016
Mohit Aggarwal has started
Checkered Keelback and Fish Breakfast, Lalbagh, 200516
May 23, 2016
At the lake in Lalbagh, one can often find the water snakes called
Mausam..monsoon...
May 20, 2016
Shy as a young bride, the monsoon hints at her presence,but does not actually come right in. I, the lover of Varsha,as enamoured as any infatuated swain, ardently wait. The grey will turn a richer hue, the clouds will boil and scud across the sky, the air will cool magically….the life-giving drops will patter upon the parched earth, and grishma ritu will lose her hold, at least for a while….
Jewellery Repair...craftsmen on Jewellers Street, Bangalore, 150516
May 17, 2016
I’ve written earlier, in
Transcendental Meditation...and sales techniques
May 17, 2016
I have a friend who completed the course to teach transcendental mediation. He seems extremely impressed by it, and he’s someone whose thinking processes I respect. Therefore, though I had tried learning the meditation many years ago (I found the initiation very lackadaisical and superficial) I decided to take up the offer he made, to teach the first five people who responded to his FaceBook post, for free.
Find Nature in a public park....
May 12, 2016
One doesn’t have to visit distant forests or wildlife sanctuaries in order to find the beauties of Nature…a visit to the local park will do just as well. Here’s what I did on a recent morning visit to Lalbagh.
A poem about parents
May 12, 2016
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Silence and screams
May 8, 2016
Do not be angry If you are met With silence from another. You may not know what screams Echo in the silence of that person’s soul. Screams, not uttered,unheard But no less a torment To that other one, Who cannot, through those screams Hear your words, or sounds. I wish we could speak and hear From soul to soul, heart to heart, Instead of from mouth to ear, and ear to mouth.
Friends and acquaintances....
May 6, 2016
I’ve been musing on the way we interact with other human beings, all through our lives. Of all the relationships we have, those that involve love (and especially, romantic love) are praised to the skies in all our cultures and literature, and held in high esteem.
Musing on migration
May 5, 2016
I just flew back from St.Louis to Bangalore.
The games Kalyan plays, 200416
April 23, 2016
It’s very difficult to get videos of Kalyan, as he’s too fast for me, and the ambient noise with two children is always too high!
SLAS/FPF 1st Sat bird walk, Forest Park, 020416
April 19, 2016
See what happens when I procrastinate…Mark does all the work for me! See his account of the bird walk, at the bottom of this blogpost.
Three activities, STL, 250316
March 26, 2016
Whenever LJ “opens”, I rush to make a post. I miss so many things in the meantime…
Common birds, at home and in Forest Park.... 16 and 180316
March 19, 2016
Having reached St.Louis in response to an appeal from Ye Daughter (the call came on Wednesday, the ticket was bought on Friday, and I was here just past midnight on Wednesday!) I decided to peep out at the birds that were coming to the front yard as I could not sleep, on the 16th; and on the 18th, I had two hours to walk to Forest Park, walk around the Prairie area, and walk back.
Reconciliation...
March 12, 2016
A tanka written by
Another rare visitor to our country..GKVK, Bangalore, 02,03,04,050316
March 10, 2016
I had one rare visitor…my friend Abhijit Menon-Sen (AMS) who is building a home in Lweshal, in Uttaranchal, in the lap of the Himalaya.
Organizing an outing
March 7, 2016
Many people say, “Let me know when you go somewhere, I’ll join you”. So I call up or message people.
To NRIs in distant lands...
March 1, 2016
NRI Poem ना इधर के रहे ना उधर के रहे बीच में लटकते रहे
ना India को भुला सके ना videsh को अपना सके NRI बन के काम चलाते रहे
ना हिन्दी को छोड़ सके ना अंग्रेजी को पकड़ सके देसी accent में गोरो को confuse करते रहे
ना Christmas tree बना सके ना बच्चो को समझा सके दिवाली पर Santa बनके तोहफे बाँटते रहे
ना shorts पहन सके ना सलवार कमीज़ छोड़ सके Jeans पर कुरता पहेन कर इतराते रहे
ना नाश्ते में Donut खा सके ना खिचड़ी कढी को भुला सके Pizza पर मिर्च छिड़ककर मज़ा लेते रहे
ना गरमी को भुला सके ना Snow को अपना सके खिड़की से सूरज को Beautiful Day कहते रहे
अब आयी बारी Mumbai/Pune/Delhi जाने की तो हाथ में mineral पानी की बोतल लेकर चलते रहे
लेकिन वहां पर………….
ना भेल पूरी खा सके ना लस्सी पी सके पेट के दर्द से तड़पते रहे तिरफला और डाइज़िंन से काम चलाते रहे
ना मच्छर से भाग सके ना खुजली को रोक सके Cream से दर्दों को छुपाते रहे
ना इधर के रहे ना उधर के रहे कमबख्त कहीं के ना रहे.
Passport renewal application online....
February 29, 2016
Today Mr R, 88 years old, and I, applied for a renewal of his passport online. We had to apply for him and for Mrs R. He’d already downloaded the application form for himself, fill it up, save it as a .xml file. What we did: we registered his name, and got an authentication email, where we clicked on the link to activate the account. Hah, sounds simple, doesn’t it! This took about 2 hours. (“This ‘copy the letters and numbers in the image’…is that an ‘I’ or a ‘1’ ? Is that a zero or an ‘O’? Is that a J or an I?…and so it went.)
Tears for a dead puppy
February 25, 2016
I see a dead puppy. Crushed, upon the road. Hit by a speeding car.. Or van, or bus….
UFO (Under the Fly Over) Silhouettes, Jaaga and BDA, 260116
February 25, 2016
One of the results of building flyovers to ease traffic in our city is that the spaces underneath them are often a kind of wasteland. In an effort to address this,
Bird walk for the residents of Royal Residency, Madivala lake, 210216
February 24, 2016
When Vaibhav called me to come and guide the residents of a gated community on a bird walk in Madivala kere, I was very happy to do so. So off we went to the kere at 4pm. I first got a photo of him with the bird board that
Hindu Temple architecture in south India
February 22, 2016
In south India, we are now used to the
The Literate Woodpecker
February 18, 2016
Exchange on the Mobirds egroup:
Baevu, 130215
February 17, 2016
I enjoy visiting resorts which, apart from their purpose of hospitality, are created with any eye to detail and perfection, and which aim to use vernacular architecture with traditional touches.
Campus Bird Count IIM-B, 13 and 140216
February 16, 2016
The
OUAT
February 10, 2016
Pretty, lively, and young; A head full of dreams A prattling tongue; Once Upon A Time.
Mantling, Kaggalipura Kere, Karnataka, 070216
February 10, 2016
I’ve often watched raptors (that’s birds of prey) zoom in on land or water and catch their prey, which they then take to the nearest roost and devour, with great promptness.
Kaggalipura, Bannur and Harohalli kere, 06 and 070216
February 10, 2016
Having realized that the Bar-headed Geese, our winter visitors from When we birders realized that the
How we travelled and what we ate on our trip to Kaggalipura Kere, 060216
February 9, 2016
Aravind, Mallika, Prem, Raghavendra in one car, and Honne Gowda, Pavitra Kumar, Shilpa, and I went in two cars to look at the
Nettru Illaatha Maatram Ennathu( what is this change, that wasnt there yesterday?)
February 3, 2016
The music, the instruments, the lyrics, the lovely voice of Sujatha Mohan, the beauty of Revathi and the scenes she is in…everything comes together in this song. I often think of the late 50’s and 60’s as the heyday of Tamil film music, but songs like this are jewels!
Biodiversity Heritage Site Nallur Tamarind Grove, 300116
February 1, 2016
Having read
Silhouettes JaagaDNA/BBMP UFO (Under the FlyOver) event, Hebbal Flyover, 260116
January 27, 2016
I’d responded to a request from JaagaDNA (one of the 3 arms of
Yamini All-night music festival at IIM Bangalore, 250116
January 25, 2016
It was very pleasant to sit on the lawns of Bangalore’s premier management institution. In the gathering dusk, people drifted in and took their seats. The stage was well-lit.
Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia started the evening off with sweet notes from his “bansuri”, with the lilting evening raga, Madhuvanti.
One can truly say that, with his flute, he literally breathes his music! For the audience, also, the composition in raga Yaman that followed, and then a bhajan, breathed relaxation and serenity into them
The poetry of Kannadasan (Ananda Jothi, 1963)
January 25, 2016
I am, personally, an agnostic. I do not know if there is a God, or not…and am of the opinion that I may never find out. But I enjoyed the lyrics of this song, with deep meaning, from the very old movie (1963) Ananda Jothi (Flame of Happiness…named after the names of the leading characters in the movie.)
Shivanahalli trip, 230116
January 23, 2016
Power...
January 22, 2016
We went to attend the Bird Marathon (so called because the total length of all the transects put together is the same as that of a marathon) at Kaiga.
How to organize a group outing for the Bird Race (170116)
January 18, 2016
Every year, I feel touched and happy that many people would like to go with me, as a single group, to take part in the annual Bangalore Bird “Race”. Last year, we were 34, this year, the number was less, but still large enough to merit a lot of planning.
Mushrooms...Natures umbrellas
January 6, 2016
Right now, the rains are a distant memory, but it wasn’t long ago that we felt our city was just soaking in water…and though we didn’t have the major deluge that Chennai had, we too had our share of dampness and moisture.
The joys of youth....Hulimangala, 201215
December 24, 2015
After having attended the 3rd Sunday outing at Turahalli, Gurjeet Singh,Mohit Aggarwal, Tarachand Wanvari and I decided that Tara should also be able to see the Demoiselle Crane, and off we went to Hulimangala. While we were there, I found that many young lads still delight in the simple pleasures of life.
Record sighting of Demoiselle Crane, Hulimangala kere, 131215
December 15, 2015
At the last minute, on Sunday morning, I convinced 20 other birders that instead of going to Valley School, we should bird along the Kaggalipura-Bannerghatta stretch, and then go to check out Hulimangala. And there, at nearly the end of a long birding outing, we saw a migrant which has never before been sighted in the Bangalore area…the
What happens to them?
December 3, 2015
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Landmarks...how not to give directions
November 27, 2015
Circa 2006:
Three poyums by KTB, 251115
November 26, 2015
Here are three poyums (well, I’m sure that’s the way she’d spell it!) by KTB on a single sheet of paper,with her trademark spelling. The erth, the “gordon” (garden), and bees…
kArthikai deepam, mAri amman and savAri amman temple, HAL 2nd Stage, Blr, 251115
November 26, 2015
It was by sheer chance that I happened upon the sight. I’d gone to see “Court” at Max Mueller Bhavan, and the house was not only full, there was no way to enter! So my friends and I went to “Murugan Idly Shop”, and then walked back…and along a lane leading from the road on which we were walking, we saw a blaze of light.
Though we were initially hesitant to walk in with our footwear, we found others doing so, and then went right up to the temple.
We found the ground alight with lamps.
Nearby was a newly constructed kalyani, 
which was also set about with lamps.
The two goddesses of the temple, Mari Amman and Savari Amman had their Utsava Moorthis out in replesendent procession:
I took a quick shot of one of the idols inside, through the thronging crowds.
Prasada was being distributed. As we watched, the event wound down, with the lamps slowly flickering out. We resumed our walk towards our bus stop, facing the beautiful full moon.
Muthanallur Lake Morning of the Booted Eagle, 221115
November 25, 2015
Email to the bngbirds egroup:
The Gay Pride Parade, Bangalore, 221115
November 23, 2015
For many years, I’ve missed this event in Bangalore as I was always out of town. But this time, when my friend
The process of choosing songs for a concert
November 20, 2015
Disclaimer:
How KTB is shaping up....
November 19, 2015
Anjana Mohan 47 mins · St. Louis, Missouri, MO, United States ·
Ramnagara Religion and birds, 141115
November 17, 2015
It was a cloudy, misty day, but enough friends were enthusiastic about a birding/nature trip.
Religion, colour and divisions...
November 11, 2015
Got this from Vishwa Prakash…
Can you spot the Kingfisher? Muthanallur kere, 081115
November 11, 2015
On the 8th of November, Ajit, Kumar, Kumuda and I went to Muthanallur lake (beyond Kaikondrahalli lake). They’d visited earlier this year and the lake was bone-dry,and filled with trash. Well, trash was still around, but the lake had plenty of water…and plenty oflife!
Thrilling ahimsa (non-violence) Bannerghatta, 071115
November 7, 2015
I went to meet the participants in the latest Naturalist Training Program (NTP) at JLR Bannerghatta.
Bannerghatta Zoo area, 051115
November 6, 2015
Email to the bngbirds egroup:
Gulakmale with the Bird Photography group, 011115
November 3, 2015
Email to the bngbirds egroup:
The butterfly, 021115
November 2, 2015
When did you grow up, my little baby? The tears that I wiped, The messes I cleaned, The questions I answered, The little body that I rocked Through sleepless nights… When did this adult Emerge from her girlhood? Herself a mother of two today, Balancing work, home and much else, Thinking for herself, compassionate and caring… The little worm that emerged from my body Who was a pupa which I could not peer into For a while as she went abroad…. She’s truly emerged as a beautiful butterfly Who, being happy herself, delights others.
Deepa-ja, 021115
November 2, 2015
“Deepa-ja” translates to “Born of Deepa”.
KTBs tiny first performance
October 6, 2015
https://www.facebook.com/anjana.mohan.790/videos/10207928304988337/?pnref=story
Beauty and time
September 29, 2015
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, goes the saying.
Recession
September 29, 2015
The recession has hit everybody really hard.
My neighbor got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.
CEO’s are now playing miniature golf.
Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen.
A stripper was killed when her audience showered her with rolls of pennies while she danced.
I saw a Mormon with only one wife.
If the bank returns your check marked “Insufficient Funds,” you call them and ask if they meant you or them.
McDonald’s is selling the 1/4 ouncer.
Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America.
Parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children’s names.
My cousin had an exorcism but couldn’t afford to pay for it, and they re-possessed her!
A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico.
A picture is now only worth 200 words.
When Bill and Hillary travel together, they now have to share a room.
The Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas is now managed by Somali pirates.
And, finally…
I was so depressed last night thinking about the economy, wars, jobs, my savings, Social Security, retirement funds, etc., I called the Suicide Hotline. I got a call center in Pakistan, and when I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited, and asked if I could drive a truck.
Instead of the usual sunbath...Turahalli, 270915
September 28, 2015
I’ve often seen lizards, agamas and geckos bathing themselves in the rays of the sun.
Galibore outing, 230915
September 28, 2015
Email to the bngbirds egroup:
Happy Birthday, dear friend
September 17, 2015
I see you so often wishing everyone else, so affectionately…
Lalbagh, 130915
September 16, 2015
Drama of death and dismemberment
September 16, 2015
As we meandered through Lalbagh on Sunday (2nd Sunday outing of the Bird Watchers Field Club..we didn't stay with the group very long, though!)…we came upon this jumping spider, which landed on the ground by us, on a long thread of silk.
Manchanabele and Savandurga, UGS outing,060915
September 9, 2015
Email to bngbirds egroup:
A dozen compliments that are not.
September 9, 2015
“You looked so good back then! I can hardly recognize you!”
Monsoon
September 4, 2015
The air rapidly cools. The wind blows, and the smell of the waiting earth Fills the air, as The first heavy raindrops fall. Soon (monsoon) it’s a heavy downpour Washing the dust off the leaves, Muddying the roads… My heart swells with emotion As I come out of my home To stand in the street, Face turned up to the clouds Letting the rain soak my face. The monsoon touches a place deep in my heart. My longing for the rain, too, is washed away. I think love is like the monsoon; Little acts of affection Nourish the yearning heart Wash away the pain of many small hurts, And make joy bloom into smiles Of pure, deeply-felt joy.
50 shades of green. Thotti Kallu Falls, 300815
September 1, 2015
The perfection of creation
August 31, 2015
I decided to take a close up of a dragonfly:
Oorvasi, and Koopsie, STL, 230815
August 24, 2015
Here’s the original song:
For luck, maybe?
August 23, 2015
When he comes down to breakfast/ Be it eggs, or toast/ He hopes it’s good, and so/He has his fingers crossed! STL, 200815. (I really don’t know why he does this so often.)
Power and light, STL, 140815
August 22, 2015
We worship power, but we need to see the light, too!
What would happen?
August 21, 2015
Would you light up my life In many glowing facets? Would you turn bits of my days To gold? Or would being with you show me The holes in the fabric of my existence, The black doubts That riddle my mind? Would I shine Or would I feel the shadows When I’m with you?
Walk around a pond, 120815
August 16, 2015
A wanted to take K1 and K2 to play, and so we went to
Sarada Lakshminarayanan, my mothers younger sister.
August 15, 2015
Letter to my cousin, Guru:
Thoughts about financial hardship
August 13, 2015
Discussions about hardship and privilege (of the financial kind) remind me of the story about poverty, written by one little girl from a well-to-do family. “Everyone in the family was poor. The father was poor. The mother was poor. The children were poor. The butler was poor. The maid was poor. The gardener was poor.” It took me quite a while to realize, coming from India, that a family could be dirt poor in the US while owning a car, a TV set, and a phone. These material possessions spell prosperity in India.
Parthasarathy Vilas a recent video, and some nostalgia
August 12, 2015
My nephew (cousin’s son), Rakesh Raghunathan, is a very versatile person; he is, amongst other things, the “sutradhar” for “SuttralAm suvaikkalAm”, a show that travels through Tamil Nadu, showcasing the different cuisines.
What lies behind the facade?
August 12, 2015
Siblings have fun, STL, 050815
August 12, 2015
There’s love and sharing in our family
Mist on a mountain, 070815
August 9, 2015
Danny Brown, Brenda Hente and Barb Brownell helped me see more of the natural Missouri, by taking me to ‘s
About Robert Shaffer, who turns 100 on Sep 13, 2015
August 7, 2015
I’ve written about Bob Shaffer before,
You can touch the sky...
August 5, 2015
You may be a weed Sprouted from unwanted seed But you can survive Indeed, flourish and thrive And try to touch the sky. Dreams can be big, and high.
Light on silk, Forest Park, 010815
August 2, 2015
I loved the light on this silken web:
Construction and destruction The Arch in St.Louis turns 50
July 30, 2015
For every arch that’s carefully built
Why I like FaceBook
July 25, 2015
At well-past-eight, with the setting sun The day’s work and outings are all done. How nice it is to take a peek At what my friends have done, all week. There may be those who’ve moved the earth There may be those who’ve just proved their worth In simple, everyday, tiny deeds. News about you is just what I need. Thank you, my friends…each shared word Through my eyes, in my heart is heard. I’m off to sleep; the world does not end Nor sets the sun on a place without a friend.
Music
July 22, 2015
Music is the sound of children’s laughter. -Deepa Mohan
The tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth....150715
July 22, 2015
She was happily playing house
Dont worry..be happy
July 21, 2015
All this worry that we’re not eating, sleeping, living right….here’s a quotation that Shobitha Kedlaya cited on a wellness group I belong to, and find increasingly uncomfortable….
Tamil magazines Illustrators of old
July 20, 2015
I grew up with my mother buying and reading a lot of Tamizh magazines.
Food and morality
July 16, 2015
Here’s
Song of angels the alphabet, STL, 130715
July 13, 2015
I was just walking in, saying something else, when I heard two sweet young voices raised in song. I instantly pressed the “record” button.
Purple Martin Event, Forest Park, 090715
July 11, 2015
Visit to Milwaukee, 250615 to 300615
July 6, 2015
It was great to visit my nephew Nagraj (aka Praveen), his impressive wife Nithya, a foodie who blogs
Family visit, 02 to 050715
July 6, 2015
We had family visiting us from Ocala, Florida.
Thoughts about, devotion, faith....and crowds and the place of influence in religion
July 6, 2015
My friend had posted, asking if anyone had any “contacts” to enable a darshan of Lord Venkateswara at Tirupathi on a certain date.
Birds, and words about them
July 6, 2015
I’ve interspersed these commandments with pics of commmon birds that I took on my ramble in Milwaukee on the 29th June, 2015, many on a single large conifer, where this squirrel was taking her nesting material, too!
What kind of Calopteryx? Wehr Nature Park, Milwaukee, 260615
July 1, 2015
Names…are so tough.
Cedar Waxwings, Wehr Nature Park, 260615
June 30, 2015
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In the evening of life....
June 30, 2015
The sun sinks westwards. The lights come on. The day’s work may be done… But the evening’s work is just begun. Very soon, we will be gone. But while it lasts, we can choose To savour the moment, its pinks and blues.
Watching a family of Killdeer
June 26, 2015
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A visit to a Gurudwara, 210615
June 24, 2015
Not being familiar with the customs and rituals of a place of worship, and a religion different from one’s own, often inhibits one from visiting such places. But when our friends Laxmichand and Vandana told us that they were visiting the
Peregrine Falcons Urban and Suburban St Louis, and Alton, Mo., 13 and 160615
June 18, 2015
It’s been two occasions that I’ve been given great opportunities to watch the fastest birds on earth.
A tale told by KTB...
June 14, 2015
KTB: “I’ll tell you a story, instead of you always telling me one.”
Wellness (why is it no longer plain old good health?) and diet...
June 13, 2015
Email to my friend Mayank, who posted about some “cereal-free porridge” made by someone.
Major de Light....
June 11, 2015
I took her to the public library, and she cuddled up to the teddy bear in the children’s section.
KTB and her spelling, 090615
June 11, 2015
I am thrilled with KTB’s creative spelling. In a country where “unnecessary” vowels were deleted from words like “colour” and “favour”, this girl goes out of her way to “olsoe” do her own thing on words!
Circus Flora, 2015 A Summer on Second Street
June 10, 2015
Dawn Kimberling and I volunteered for
SLAS/FPF Bird Walk at Forest Park, 060615
June 10, 2015
The first Saturday of June dawned pleasant for the bird walk…and clear.
Traditional games old memories
May 31, 2015
KTB had International Day at her school a while ago, and as part of the Indian display, her mother decided to display a game that she calls “guttE”
i-Bunny, the ear Bunny 290515
May 31, 2015
In the grass across the street
Red Foxes....and others. Winfield, Missouri, 20 and 220515
May 28, 2015
Email to the Mobirds egroup:
Play with Play-Doh, 260515
May 27, 2015
Father, children and Play-doh. Judge: D. Pama. The father won in the Realism category with some realistic Peas In A Pod and some Blueberries (he comes last in the Original Shapes category. as he seems content with rolling things into balls. ). The daughter won in the Creativity and Color category.P Her creation was a Salute To Play-doh. She also recited: “Oh, Play-doh, never leave me, I know why/ I’m sad when you leave. Because I cry/ I love you and you love me.” It was a riot of colour. The judge has never before seen a Play-doh creation celebrating the material itself! The son won the Drama category, pretending to eat the “boopies” (er, NOT poopies) as he terms blueberries. He also won the Devil Can Be Angelic When He Likes category. Mother won in the Absent Because Of Study Upstairs category.
A doctor who makes house calls at home...and her assistant, St Louis, 240515
May 24, 2015
Why apps for IPhones get developed before those for Android phones
May 20, 2015
I was wondering why iPhones had apps developed for them first, instead of Android phones, though there are many more of the latter. June asked the question when a new app was announced for eBird on the iOS. Kevin Wehner responded: Here’s an excerpt from an article on that topic: Developing iOS apps means ensuring they work nicely on a small range of iPhones and/or iPads: generally 6-8 different devices depending how far back the developer wants to go. On Android, it’s a different story: nearly 12,000 different devices out there in the hands of people, with a wider range of screen sizes, processors and versions of the Android software still in use. Many developers’ lack of enthusiasm for Android is down to concerns not just about the costs of making and testing their apps for it, but also the resources required to support them once they’re launched, if emails flood in about unspotted bugs on particular models. Full article
Monthly bird walk, Forest Park Forever/St.Louis Audubon Society (FPF/SLAS) 020515
May 14, 2015
The first Saturday of every month, SLAS, along with Forest Park Forever, organizes a Beginners’ Bird Walk, and the 2nd of May was a great day, when a huge number of birders (54, according to Amy Witt!) met up in the morning, at Kennedy Forest, the wooded area at the southwest corner of Forest Park.
Rob(I)n...thats the eye of the Robin...and its nest-under construction
May 7, 2015
Here’s the Robin, probably the most common bird in North America:
The great magician, Non Sensini, 040515
May 5, 2015
Yes, I know children are magic…but here is KTB with magic:
Forest Park and Randy Korotev, 300415
May 5, 2015
Email to the MObirds egroup:
A child asleep.....
May 3, 2015
Hair like corn-silk Long-lashed eyes,shut in sleep. Tiny body, curled into my lap. Is this the destructive imp Who’s broken the window blinds, Smeared cake all over his high chair, Who’s peeled a banana Then eaten it sideways, All mushy in his hands? His new words, Often parroting his older sister, But getting clearer all the time… They whisper themselves in the ears of my memory As I look down on the little waif, The glow of whose halo of innocence Sheds its gentle light on me As I sit in the dark room Having sung, and rocked The little one to sleep.
Kalyan kissing Kavya and trying to put on his pants, 010515
May 3, 2015
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Jenga, and earthquakes.....
April 30, 2015
KTB is now the right age to enjoy simple card, board and concept games. For her birthday, this year, she was given the game of
KTB has a birthday party, 260415
April 28, 2015
Though her birthday is on the 29th, the party happened on Sunday, the 26th.
Two images from travel....
April 28, 2015
I saw this cute little monster at St.Louis airport:
Hopping the pond...again, 210415
April 23, 2015
Left home, winging through the pre-dawn skies.
Free enterprise..flight and airport
April 22, 2015
I was sitting in Detroit airport, waiting for my flight to St.Louis. I heard this announcement: “Due to overbooking, we are looking for volunteers who are willing to go to St.Louis tomorrow. We will give $600 Delta vouchers (one year validity) and hotel accommodation if you are from out of town.” A family was awaiting my arrival in St.Louis, so I thought about it.
Heritage, Architecture, Classical Music....and Birding INTACH World Heritage Day, 180415
April 19, 2015
On Saturday the 18th April, 2015, my friend and I decided that the “bandh” had died down, and we went to the Bangalore Fort to attend a photo exhibition,
TBUC (Tiny Bundle of Utter Cuteness), STL, 180415
April 17, 2015
Where the endangered species are...
April 14, 2015
My friend Sharbari sent me
Clouds and rainbows
April 13, 2015
I was sitting in the waiting room of the eye clinic. I’d just been told that I was one of the few people who suffer complications as a result of eye surgery. My cloudy vision, I had been just informed, might, or might not, improve over the next few months, after which, the alternative was more (and possibly not effective) surgery. I was feeling sorry for myself.
A birder looks back A K Raju, 130415
April 13, 2015
A K Raju, wildlife photographer, writes about this image:
Cataract surgery complications Wait and See, 100415
April 10, 2015
My darling A,
Vaishnavite Priest, Melukote, Karnataka, 050415
April 9, 2015
My fried Uma, on seeing this photograph of a priest in the temple town of Melukote (that I visited last Sunday) said, “A poem might be written about him.” So…here it is….
Moonset, and Sunrise, 050415
April 7, 2015
There was a blood moon, but we missed the eclipse, and sighted it as it was about to set:
Cataract surgery + laser surgery update, 060415
April 6, 2015
So…one MORE visit to the eye clinic to find out why I am misty-eyed at the end of 3 weeks after cataract surgery. Apparently, as a result of the surgery, some separation of the vitreous humor from the retina has taken place (in both eyes.). Either I will have to live with it, or the vitreous humor might “shrink” and my sight will improve “in a few months.” So much for the clinic counsellor’s blithe words, “No risk madam! Absolutely no risk!” The retinal tear in my left eye, accelerated as a result of the surgery, has been “stitched” by laser surgery. What are the chances of its occurring in the other eye as well? Cannot be estimated.
Sunrise, 030415.
April 6, 2015
Cheap flights...in prose and verse
April 3, 2015
This one definitely made me think of
Make LiveJournal Live Again
April 3, 2015
LJ, for me now consists only of a handful of friends, and it’s just sheer persistence that keeps me going, especially since it doesn’t even “open” for me most days. But here’s an appeal from the LJ team:
A Silver Lalbagh Walk, 280315
April 2, 2015
Surgery How does one describe pain? And how much information is too little or too much?
April 1, 2015
I am slowly getting over the “mild discomfort” that the laser/retina specialist warned me about yesterday before starting laser surgery . The discomfort was so mild that I had to stop her several times to recoup my forces, and take deep relaxing breaths…to bear the next bit of “stitching”. (The anesthetic was on my cornea…the laser was working on my retina, directly on the nerve layer.)She also added, once the surgery was done, that I would have “deep pain”…thus proving that very different words will be used by a doctor before, and after, a surgical procedure! My heart goes out to those who are chronically ill, in pain, and who need surgery.
Moral of the story...do not neglect any symptoms...
March 31, 2015
Apparently, as a result of cataract surgery, for people who’ve had short sight (myopia) retinal degeneration (this vairety is called a lattice tear, see
A rose by any other name...
March 30, 2015
Increasingly, it doesn’t matter to me whether it is Podalangapriya, Pijiyoni pooponcarum, or Pseudoplantus iknowmoreii. Enjoyment does not need classification; only sharing does… to some extent. Extreme precision can, sometimes, become intellectual snobbery.
Its a tie....
March 29, 2015
“Is your dog well tied up?”
Spring in the Valley, 290315
March 29, 2015
Email to the bngbirds egroup:
Sunrise, 260315
March 27, 2015
A FaceBook post by Gopakumar Menon Weight and See
March 25, 2015
‘Six kgs excess,’ said the lady at the check-in With a charming, engaging smile ‘Would you please pay by cash, rupees As the card will take quite awhile?’
Nandi Hills trip, 200315
March 20, 2015
Email to bngbirds egroup:
Concern vs. Intrusion
March 18, 2015
There seems to be some particular joy in assuming that I will break the medical “rules”after my cataract surgery. and go out/ cook/walk a tightrope….generally, do something before I am cleared for it, and then making judgmental remarks about it, without finding out whether I am allowed to do it or not. (Or, if I say the doctor has cleared it, the reply is, “Doctors will say such things, but you must be careful.”)
While we debate in our ivory towers....
March 13, 2015
Was “India’s Daughter” a good documentary? Did it deal with a matter that is sub judice? Was at least one of the convicted rapists paid for his interview? Should the defence lawyers be banned?
Cataract surgery, 12 and 130315
March 12, 2015
Fact: I had the cataract removed from one eye (with laser surgery) on Thursday, 12th March, 2015.. The other eye, Friday, 13th March, 2015. Reasonably painless procedure.
Cataract surgery, 110315
March 12, 2015
Had the cataract removed from one eye (with laser surgery) today. The other eye, tomorrow. Reasonably painless procedure. Typing is automatic on my laptop keyboard…but reading is still problematic, about 7 hours after surgery, as the eye that was done still seems to have a not-very clean plastic sheet over it. The other eye was already giving enough fuzziness through my spectacles to make me want to go to the eye surgeon.
The birds of Bandhavgarh
March 10, 2015
Though it poured for 3 days of our stay in Bandhavgarh, we still saw a lot of interesting things on our safaris, and within the grounds of Nature Heritage Resort where we stayed. I’m just going to put up the birds that I was able to click (my friends Karthik, Manjula, Nitin and Sharmila, who were all carrying DSLRs, definitely got more, and better shots!). Let me start with the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, a flaunty beauty which was a lifer for me.
Violence against women...
March 10, 2015
If one thought that violence against women was something very recent…here’s a song which justificaties drunken violence against women: it says, “Ithu thAn iyarkkaiyin niyathi” (This is the law of Nature). Vannakkili was a 1959 film. The song makes me cringe
Waning...
March 7, 2015
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?
Bandhavgarh Lets start with the stripes....030315
March 6, 2015
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.
Sands and stone....the heritage of Karnataka, 220215
February 25, 2015
On the Kollegal-Malavalli trip, that was such a great outing, I sighted several interesting things apart from the birds.
The quarrel, Kollegal-Malavalli trip, 220215
February 25, 2015
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.
The geometry of life, 220215
February 24, 2015
KTBs life, and art, goes on...
February 24, 2015
Here are some specimens of KTB’s art, and her life with her sibling, my precious Kallubhai aka The Booda..
Birds in the air near and far
February 23, 2015
Though an aero-show concluded last week in Bangalore, I’d like to share other air shows I attended!
Putting on a good face Kaiga, 150215
February 20, 2015
As we finished our birding transect and came back towards the backwaters of the Kali river, in the Virje area, I found this figure in the courtyard of a little home.
The official gatherings at the Kaiga Bird Marathon, 14 and 15 Feb, 2015
February 19, 2015
As birders, it was a very warm welcome that we got from the people at NPCL (Nuclear Power Corportion Limited) when we met at Kaiga, for the Bird Marathon.
Kaiga Bird Marathon14th pre-event, and 15th Feb 2015
February 19, 2015
Let me start with the iconic bird on the area…the Malabar Pied Hornbill.
Kaiga Bird Marathon visit, 13,140215
February 18, 2015
LJ has not been opening up at all for me for the past few days…but just now…I must have said the LJ equivalent of “Open Sesame”….
Lalbagh walk with PC, 100215
February 12, 2015
It was a lovely sunrise at Lalbagh.
The electricity company, my bank and me...Pas de Troix,or How I Pass (or Piss) My Time
February 11, 2015
ear Sirs,
Not Swan Lake, but Goose Lake. Hadinaru kere, 07 and 080215
February 10, 2015
I looked up the Wiki entry for the
Freedom ...a matter of wires
February 9, 2015
Do they not look delightful Perched upon the wire, Chatting together Against the sky?
Human beings on the Sira outing, 010215
February 5, 2015
We were a nice round dozen this time…
How a single photograph can lead me to so much Sira, 010215
February 5, 2015
On the way back from Sira, I just clicked this message on the back of a truck as it intrigued me…
Outing to Doddkere, and Kaggaladu Bird Sanctuary, Sira, Tumkur District, Karnataka, 010215
February 5, 2015
Harvestmen...or Daddy Long-legs Sira, Karnataka, 010215
February 2, 2015
Most of us shudder at the sight of spiders,but they are really fascinating creatures. Did you know that most spiders are solitary…and cannibalistic? Many female spiders eat the males after mating!
A different perspective
February 2, 2015
Thanks to Anjana for this.
Aaru-maNi kuruvi...(the 6 oclock bird) CWLS, 240115
January 29, 2015
Read More
Kalyan turns two, 280115
January 28, 2015
He started out life as a small dash on the pregnancy-test kit. He was a peanut in his first scan, then he became Thupples, slang for “thappalai” or frog, because he looked like a tadpole….all while he was inside his mother.
Lying down Trees, Galibore, 240115
January 27, 2015
As we walked along the campus of Jungle Lodges and Resorts (JLR) Galibore, on the banks of the Kaveri in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, I found something rather intriguing.
CWLS/Galibore outing, 240115
January 27, 2015
We (Ashok Sengupta, Nitin Achari, Prashanth Bhat, Rama Warrier, Rohit Girotra and I) left while it was still dark:
Bangalore Bird Race, 180115 Organizing a group 6 teams, and how the day went
January 23, 2015
The Bangalore Bird “Race” is an annual event, where teams of birders scour the quadrants of the city and its outskirts (up to 60 km radius) and try to spot as many birds as they can, until sundown. Since last year (2014), the “race” is just a race against time; the competitive element has been removed.
Memories...of two cities
January 22, 2015
A friend, Vasu Ramanjuam, living in the US, posted on a mailing list:
Gulakmale (yes, again) 10 and 110115
January 20, 2015
On the 10th only 3 of us went there, but we did find quite few other birders. We were able to meet and exchange notes.
KTBs interpretation of segregation
January 20, 2015
A has been talking to Kavya about Martin Luther King and the problem of racial discrimination.
Anklets, Bheemeshwari, 070115
January 15, 2015
Sunset and Sunrise on the Kaveri, 06 and 070115
January 14, 2015
No one...
January 14, 2015
No one hunts for a job any more. They explore options. No one does a job anymore. They work in spaces. No one is creative anymore. They think out of the box. No one is a spoilt child anymore. They only have developmental issues. No one is shy any more. They only have social anxiety. No one is interesting in something any more. They are into it. No one talks to anyone anymore . They engage with the others. No one does something from now on. They do it going forward. No one feels something any more. They have emotional experiences. No one agrees with you any more. They hear you. No one understands your point of view any more. They can see where you are coming from. No one dislikes what I’ve just written. They give me analytical feedback.
Chikkala Siddappa Jaatre, 06 and 070114
January 14, 2015
We went to the Cauvery Wild Life Sanctuary (CWLS) for a volunteer initiative…crowd management at the Chikkala Siddappa Jaatre (pilgrimmage). This is the largest jaatre in the Cauvery Wild Life Sanctuary (CWLS).
Gulakmale, 040115...the Bluethroat
January 5, 2015
20 of us went to Gulakmale again on the 4th, and as I am off to the Kaveri for a couple of days, starting early tomorrow, I’ll only talk of one of the highlights of the outing….the sighting of a
Nandi Hills, 301214
January 3, 2015
When Jaysingh Morey from Mumbai requested my company to Nandi Hills, I was also able to invite Kiran Kashyap and Gayatri Rao along.
Gulakmale again, 010115
January 2, 2015
The monochromes of the Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Nandi Hills, 301214
January 1, 2015
In the mist, this beautiful fellow
kolE basavA, 281214
December 29, 2014
Other things I enjoyed on the Gulakmale trip, 271214
December 29, 2014
As we climbed to the tank bund, I saw these puppies rolling around in the gutter. They were squealing and rolling around! One looked up at me curiously as I clicked.
Purple Umbrella, one, not as per request. 251214
December 28, 2014
The Reindeer’s grandfather was visiting Cochin, so her mother asked for an ethnic umbrella (The Reindeer specified purple.)
Gulakmale/Thottikallu trip, 281214
December 28, 2014
Email to bngbirds egroup:
The last few leaves.....
December 25, 2014
I tear off the leaf of my daily calendar.It’s a habit that’s a long-standing one… for many years, I always asked my sister in law,
Al Literation
December 25, 2014
A friend said, “More than a decade ago, you’d produced a list of ‘Arab’ words, beginning with ‘al’….let’s have the list again!”
Two outings with Savithri Singh, 23 and 241214
December 25, 2014
Email to the bngbirds egroup:
The Red-breasted Flycatcher, Nandi Hills, 241214
December 24, 2014
This morning, I went with Savithri Singh, her son Kartik and his friend Karuna, Brinda, and Sharmila, to Nandi Hills.
Using others homes, Road to Galibore, 201214
December 22, 2014
While birding on the road to Galibore, Karnataka,on the banks of the Kaveri, in the Cauvery Wild Life Sanctuary (CWLS), we obseved some abandoned nests of the Baya Weavers.
Things that tickled me
December 20, 2014
I love spotting funny signs..and here are a few!
Terroristscan they be so barbaric? Yes, they can....
December 17, 2014
Obviously, I’ve been musing on this phenomenon of terrorism. War, in itself, is a form of terrorism; it’s always the innocent pawns who get slaughtered while the King and Queen look on from their safe fastnesses.
Celebrating life, 101214
December 17, 2014
I just posted about the death of children, so I must definitely post about the celebration of life and a return to good health.
On the death of children....
December 17, 2014
A most unusual young man....Rajdhani Express encounter, 131214
December 15, 2014
I always meet the most interesting people on train journeys (another reason why I prefer them to quick-yet-painful plane journeys in India.)
Economic development and its dependencies different lifestyles
December 15, 2014
Visiting any large city,and observing the different worlds that co-exist, is always a thought-provoking experience. Gurgaon is no different.
Another unexpected hunting scene, Gurgaon, 131214
December 13, 2014
I have made
Thoughts on landing...
December 12, 2014
What does a wasp feel When it’s about to land? Does it feel a sense of relief To alight on the leaf? Will it land on toe or heel? Will it fly off, or will it stand Still, for a while..? I wonder all this…with a smile!
The heights a job can take people to.....Gurgaon, 111214
December 11, 2014
I went for a walk today, and was awed by the size of the highrise buildings all around me in Gurgaon, Haryana…now a suburb of Delhi, the capital.
Hoskote Kere (Lake),071214
December 10, 2014
Since Snehasis could not join our group for Skandagiri on the 6th, I wanted to take him to a birding spot that he had not visited before.
Suburban Gardening...and God
December 10, 2014
GOD AND ST. FRANCIS DISCUSSING LAWNS GOD: Francis, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there? What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect, no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But all I see are these green rectangles. ST. FRANCIS: It’s the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers “weeds” and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass. GOD: Grass? But it’s so boring. It’s not colorful. It doesn’t attract butterflies, birds and bees, only grubs and sod worms. It’s temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there? ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn. GOD: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy. ST. FRANCIS: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it-sometimes twice a week. GOD: They cut it? Do they then bale it like hay? ST. FRANCIS: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags. GOD: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it? ST. FRANCIS: No Sir. Just the opposite. They pay to throw it away. GOD: Now let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow. And when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away? ST. FRANCIS: Yes, Sir. GOD: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work. ST. FRANCIS: You aren’t going to believe this Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it. GOD: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to enhance the soil. It’s a natural circle of life. ST. FRANCIS: You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away. GOD: No. What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter and to keep the soil moist and loose? ST. FRANCIS: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves. GOD: And where do they get this mulch? ST. FRANCIS: They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch. GOD: Enough. I don’t want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine, you’re in charge of the arts. What movie have they scheduled for us tonight?” ST. CATHERINE: “Dumb and Dumber”, Lord. It’s a really stupid movie about….. GOD: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.
KTBs first recipe, 271114
December 3, 2014
While in Florida, KTB’s mother says, “she wrote a wonderful recipe at Thanksgiving that I wanted to share. She did this entirely on her own, and we applauded her effort and the whole family got to exclaim. This was her longest single writing effort, and we were thrilled at the confidence level that allowed her to get through a full effort like this, which is a level of focus we haven’t observed before….This translation should help.”
The road, the river, the birds, the beings...Galibore trip,221114
December 3, 2014
The road…
Valley School and Vaderhalli Kere, 021214
December 2, 2014
Email to bngbirds:
Turahalli Day, 281114
December 1, 2014
For some years now, we’ve been celebrating
Another lifer..and perhaps a record sighting, Nandi Hills, 271114
November 28, 2014
Email to bngbirds:
A movie of my favourite haunt Bannerghatta, zoo area, 261114
November 28, 2014
Instead of the pictures, this time I decided to try and make a movie, and here goes:
Nandi Hills, 271114
November 28, 2014
Email to the bngbirds egroup:
BWFC 4th Sunday outing to Kaikondrahalli Kere 231114
November 24, 2014
The Weight of Words Book Bonanza, Jayanagar 4th Block
November 20, 2014
A few days ago, Amith Kumar introduced me to a rather unusual bookshop in Jayanagar…“Book Bonanza”.
The things that Go Wrong during a long absence.....
November 19, 2014
- Gas disconnected. For “my protection”, I am locked out of my connection if I do not book for 180 days since the last booking. I am consuming less, and so I should be praised, shouldn’t I? But no…I get locked out instead.. I have to give a letter of request, a proof of address, and a proof of id. Several visits to reactivate it, and waiting for the cylinder to be delivered.
The Panchalinga temple, Begur, 161114
November 17, 2014
Sometimes a lot of the hard work is done for me!
Chidiyon ka pinjra, Ranga Shankara, 151114 Theatre review
November 17, 2014
I was going to write a review, but found that
Email to the bngbirds egroup 3rd Sunday outing, Hulimangala, 161114
November 17, 2014
Hi Everyone,
Childrens Day at Bandipur, 141114
November 17, 2014
As wildlife volunteers, Kumuda, Siddharth and I went to Bandipur to help celebrate Children’s Day with about 150 children from three local schools: Hangala, Mangala, Bheemannabeedu.
The elephants at Bandipur, 141114
November 15, 2014
After the Children’s Day event, both the children and the volunteers were taken on a safari by the Karnataka Forest Department, and we were, on three occasions, given a big treat.
The Tricky Part, Ranga Shankara, 111114
November 13, 2014
Here we are…Janaki, Nayantara and YT…at Ranga Shankara, where we watched an excellent play,”The Tricky Part”, a solo performance by Martin Moran, who also wrote the book and the play.
Smiles and tears
November 12, 2014
Usually, they work well together… But,sometimes The mind and the heart Go their different ways. The mind calmly accepts That all is well, and that Technology can keep me in touch. But the heart Pines, and longs, and yearns… Reason crinkles the eyes in a smile; Emotion squeezes tears out of them.
Buttering, Arikere Reserve Forest, Sunday, 091114
November 12, 2014
Though highly jet-lagged, I decided not to miss the buttering outing, and joined Rohit Girotra and the buttering gang at Adigas; after breakfast, we went to the Reserve Forest. Here are some of the interesting things I captured on camera:
The flight home, and the chores after coming back.....
November 12, 2014
Home to home, the journey took 41 hours. Very tiring; and though I managed to get an empty seat next to myself on both the long journeys (Detroit to Paris, and Paris to Bangalore), there was a lot of turbulence, bad service, terrible food (especially Paris to Bangalore, which is an Air France flight) and noisy co-passengers, so jet lag is still killing me. So I’m alternating the sights I captured with the chores I am doing.
On different orientation.....
November 7, 2014
A thread about cross-dressing, trans-genders and homosexuality prompted a friend to write the following mythological/religious reference on a mailing list:
I must be careful...
November 5, 2014
A lesson I have learnt from the moon.
Sight words, and art, 041114
November 5, 2014
A drew “sight words” (words that need not be spelt out but just recognized) in this drawing, and asked KTB to look for them.
Speaking at the St.Louis Audubon Society Annual Dinner, 011114
November 5, 2014
I was quite thrilled to be invited to speak (with a few photographs and videos) on the topic of “My experiences with birding in St.Louis” at the St. Louis Audubon Society (SLAS)which jcompletes 100 years of existence in 2015.
Under the Ash tree, 251014
November 1, 2014
Under the Ash tree swing the little one, and I.
On the surface, and under it
November 1, 2014
Little holes in the heart
October 27, 2014
Medical science tells us That we can, indeed, live With little holes in the heart I know this to be true.
Pumpkin Farm, 191014
October 22, 2014
D and I took the children to a pumpkin farm, while A studied for her exams.
RocknRoll Half-Marathon, 191014
October 21, 2014
This run had a great slogan:
Train Show, Kirkwood, MO, 171014
October 15, 2014
We’d already had a marathon Lego session in the morning:
Memories, and feelings
October 13, 2014
How to take the sting
Out of sad memories?
The fires of fall
October 12, 2014
Fall is a time when red seems to appear everywhere, amongst the green.
Two very different destinations
October 12, 2014
We pay a lot of homage To success. I’ve been watching a music video. I see the packed halls; I see the roaring cheers. It makes me think about the road to this place, Success… The gigs in small towns, the half-empty places, The wondering if, after all, One has the staying power That, allied (or not) to talent Could reach that elusive goal….Success. The road that leads to Success Can often curve, imperceptibly, Into the blind alleys of Failure, too. Success and Failure are like the two faces Of Janus; one looking forward into the light, The other, fading into the dimness, the darkness, Of oblivion, sinking away into the numbers That are described, in racing parlance, As “also-rans”. The efforts that lead to Failure Are no less than those that fetch up at Success. I feel for those who end up at the wrong destination….
Tower Grove Park with Edge Wade, 071014
October 9, 2014
Edge drove down all the way from Columbia to take me to Tower Grove Park, and it proved to be an enormously rewarding outing.
Forest Park Forever/St.Louis Audubon Society, Bird Walk, 041014
October 8, 2014
It was a nice chill morning as I set out early to Forest Park.
Blood Moon, and Total Lunar Eclipse, 081014
October 8, 2014
Some images I took, though half asleep:
Two common birds, STL, 071014
October 8, 2014
Here is a spattering of Starling wings:
Memories of Pujo
October 3, 2014
L Shankar, and his double violin
October 2, 2014
Read More
Tower Grove Park with Allen and Lois Smith, 300914
October 1, 2014
I got a very affectionate email from
Children are art
October 1, 2014
Children are…A R T.
Beauty defies time....
October 1, 2014
Coming Out, 270914
September 29, 2014
Some people have trouble coming out of the closet.
Experiments with light, 190914, Forest Park
September 27, 2014
I went and met Danny Brown in Forest Park, and spent a contented morning. There were no new birds, but I was trying out shots in different light settings.
Scrap of life, 160914
September 27, 2014
It’s amazing to see what tiny scraps of feathers have song, and life, in them. Sitting on a twig, with his ratty little tail,this little bird still called loud enough to get my ear.
Riverlands Bird Sanctuary, with Edge and June, 230914 (Part 2 Confluence nature trail)
September 26, 2014
When we finished at the dam, and had our coffee (thankfully, they didn’t say it tasted odd!) Edge suggested we go to the Confluence Point.
Riverlands Bird Sanctuary, with Edge and June, 230914 (Part 1 Birding)
September 25, 2014
Edge Wade and June Newman, two birders whom I hold in high esteem and have long wanted to meet, planned on a nice birding outing for me, to Riverlands Bird Sanctuary, on the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. I felt instantly comfortable with them…it made for a lot of enjoyment! I am very grateful to them for the lovely outing.
Life and death...and thoughts
September 24, 2014
ஜென்மம் நிறைந்தது சென்றவர் வாழ்க சிந்தை கலங்கிட வந்தவர் வாழ்க நீரில் மிதந்திடும் கண்களும் காய்க நிம்மதி நிம்மதி இவ்விடம் சூழ்க
Retirement
September 23, 2014
We are having a discussion on retirement, with someone asking for thoughts from others. Various points of view, and tips for managing one’s life after one has quit one’s corporate career, were given. I decided to add this:
Bubbles, 160914
September 18, 2014
We played with bubbles last evening.
Reflections on Krishna Jayanti (Janmashtami)
September 16, 2014
A friend on a mailing list had talked about Krishna, and said:
A light breakfast, Forest Park, 140914
September 16, 2014
After I caught sight of the Osprey fishing in the Grand Basin in Forest Park, my friend Danny Brown pinged me, and we arranged to go to Forest Park again on Sunday to try our luck.
The children....
September 16, 2014
I am an Unashamed Worshipper at my grandchildren’s feet. Here’s KTB’s rendition of a sunflower:
A mornings birding in Forest Park, 130914
September 14, 2014
I started in Kennedy Forest:
Ghastly Hindi jokes about celebs
September 14, 2014
Pankaj fell in love Pankaj married Pankaj divorced Pankaj udaas
Coming home from the hospital
September 11, 2014
Derek felt unwell over Sunday and Monday, with fever, nausea and stomach-ache. On Monday evening, the doc told him to have a CAT scan the next day, and on Tuesday, the scan confirmed that he had appendicitis. An appendectomy was performed on Tuesday night, and though he had a lot of pain this morning, and afternoon, he was able to come home by 5pm or so. Here was his update just before leaving Barnes-Jewish Hospital:
The complete Indian National Anthem
September 11, 2014
Though not greatly impressed by the self-conscious “I am a star singing” rendition of the singers…it’s still a very beautiful poem, and very rarely does one hear all the stanzas sung (just like many other national anthems, I suspect!)
Swinging (like a spider) through summer....
September 3, 2014
KTB explaining about the two Spidermen that she’s drawn:
Drawing, chatting, and playing house, STL, 270814
August 29, 2014
KTB’s drawing is improving apace; here she is, explaining who the people are (her friends, Ananya and Aditi, along with Teddy Naryanan, who was given to her mother by her mother’s uncle in 1988…and Pinky Bear, who was a gift from KTB’s great grandmother.)…and how they are sleeping:
Walking into the sunset, 250814
August 28, 2014
KTB Art and writing, August 2014
August 25, 2014
Boodi Ma’s writing and art are progressing very well, now that she’s started kindergarten.
Children, STL, 230814
August 25, 2014
When I say my grandson is de-lightful, I mean it!
I, me, myself
August 22, 2014
I do not know who I am. I seem to be an uneven mix Of so many persons; Someone’s daughter (Though that person Is now, several years, In the past tense) Someone’s sister (Also in the past) A friend to several people, The wife of one man To whom I gave several decades Before that, too Slipped into the past. I am the butt of many jokes The object of scorn to many; Yet others regard me with affection. I too have given my heart, For life: I am the mother of one, The mother-in-law of one, And the grandmother of two. I feel, though, that sometimes One person in me predominates Over the others. What I would like to be Is a complete person: An amalgam, a balanced mix Of these people who live And breathe within me. But I seem to be more Like a Ferris wheel Where first one person, And then another Rise to the top, and the others Sink below into unheeded Oblivion. Where is the singer? The theatre critic? The writer? The quizzer? The lover of languages? Where am I? Who am I? I am mixed, indeed…and do not know.
Time
August 20, 2014
The days pass by Like small notes Slipped under the door To someone who will come home Only later. Later is a time that arrives Almost at once; And the moment that makes up the present Becomes the past, with each tick Of the clock; Living only in memory. Existing only in chronicles and history. Life slips away In the leaves, torn daily, From the calendar That mark the inexorable passage Of time…and our lives upon this earth.
Summer, and surgery, 190814
August 20, 2014
Even if school has begun, summer evenings are fun times.
Scientific experiment, STL, 170814
August 20, 2014
DnA suddenly decided that there would be a scientific experiment for the education and edification of KTB, and they chose one that involved baking soda, vinegar, a glass bottle, and a balloon.
Safety and security, STL, 170814
August 19, 2014
Yesterday I went to
Nature at a bus stop, St.Louis, 120814
August 13, 2014
Here’s the patch of “weeds” at the bus stop where we wait, to send KTB off to school, and get her back again in the evening.
House Sparrows having a mud-bath, Forest Park, 110814...and others
August 13, 2014
Sparrows mud bathing:
The Green Heron, Forest Park, 100814
August 11, 2014
It felt good to be out, after a killer few days, walking in Forest Park. I strolled on(thanks to two fractured big toes,and a sprained ankle, my walking is only strolling these days) towards the Prairie area, and the stream.
I wish Id stayed in the Jumbo Hostel Stockholm, 050814
August 10, 2014
As I took the bus to the Ibis Hotel (near the Arlanda airport) from Stockholm Central, I saw what I thought was a parked and exhibited Jumbo (Boeing 747).
Pleasanter stuff back with my family.....
August 9, 2014
KTB starts school on Monday, 11th August, 2014; she will attend Wilkinsons School, where she will also participate in a program for gifted children (but will be most of the time with ALL children.)
Unpleasant experience with Department of Homeland Security at Minneapolis-St.Paul, 6th August, 2014
August 8, 2014
Dear Sir/Madam,
Chakra and yantra, 040814
August 5, 2014
When
The Lusted Weekly of India....
August 4, 2014
I was looking at a Facebook post, made by Viju JB,of a very old photograph, of a couple, taken at their wedding. This suddenly put me in mind of an old English magazine that was very much a part of our lives…the
Roxen Lake, Linkoping, Sweden, 290714
August 3, 2014
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My article in Silver Talkies
August 2, 2014
Anno Domini is not inimical to birding; indeed, it’s a great hobby for the silver years.
How the truth is stated....
August 2, 2014
An attractive young woman on a flight from Ireland asked the Priest beside her, ‘Father, may I ask a favor ?
NCF Excellent work in Valparai on resolution of elephant-human conflict
July 29, 2014
When we went to Valparai in April 2014, I was able to meet Ananda Kumar, and of course, I know Ganesh Raghunathan quite well (though I’ve never been able to meet him at his “workplace”!)
The weather in Sweden
July 28, 2014
I was a bit worried about the weather when I was packing for Sweden and other Scandinavian countries. My friend, who lived in Sweden for many years, told me, “Sweden has two seasons: July/August, and winter.”
When Im gone....
July 27, 2014
When I’m gone…when my time is done.. Let me rest my weary head.
The Nordic Cosplay Championships, 24 and 250714, Linkoping, Sweden
July 26, 2014
I did not know, until now, about
Creatures, and verse...
July 24, 2014
I got a well-meaning email saying that my photography was getting “worse and worse” and explaining all my faults. Now, I am a HCP..Hopelessly Content Photographer, who posts SMS (Shamelessly Mediocre Shots). So…I thought, what if my photography was verse instead of worse? Here goes…I saw all these in Scandinavia.
Birding and bubble algae, 210714
July 24, 2014
I took this pic of a Northern Shoveller in a pond:
Microbes can be angry words
July 23, 2014
My friend Pallavi Singh wrote on FB:
The sadness of peace
July 21, 2014
There is a peace At the beginning, Before things happen; The peace of the not-yet. There is a peace while in the centre of action, The peace that takes a break In the middle of the whirlwind. There is, too, the peace That is the aftermath of war And toil, and struggle: This peace is not always happy. This may be the peace of death, of regrets Of waste, of what might have been. Is this sad peace, the deteritus of destruction, Always welcome? Is peace always better than war? Peace…without serenity, without prosperity Is just the cessation of foul acts Without the hope of its continuance. Peace can often be Tears in a widow’s eye A maimed limb, The passing of what was good and happy In a life lived just a while ago. Peace can the quietness Of the broken body of a girl, Mauled bestially, and left to bleed. Peace can be the loneliness In a home when one partner has walked out. Peace can be the quite of a crash site Where people are looking for bodies. Peace…not welcome when it’s just a piece Of conflict, pain and sorrow.
And, in St.Louis.....200714
July 20, 2014
I had a lovely video chat with my daughter, and the added bonus (bonii!) were:
The wildflower bouquet, 080714
July 18, 2014
Glimmingehus Castle, Skane, Sweden, 040714
July 16, 2014
Broken-wing behaviour, Copenhagen, 060714
July 16, 2014
Broken-wing behaviour (or
Ales Stenar, Sweden, 040714
July 14, 2014
“Ale’s Stones (or Ales stenar in Swedish) is a megalithic monument in Skåne in southern Sweden. It is a stone ship, oval in outline, with the stones at each end markedly larger than the rest. It is 67-metres long formed by 59 large boulders, weighing up to 1.8 tonnes each,” says the Wiki.
Tomelilla and an old church, Sweden, 040714
July 11, 2014
I’ve been wandering around a good deal, and have got back to good internet connectivity. Here are two of the very interesting places I visited in the Skane area of Sweden, thanks to
LJ ( and SO) meet,030714
July 9, 2014
What better way to observe the eve of American Independence Day than by meeting two Americans who are now independent of their country? It has been a long time in the planning, but I finally met up with
Conversation on the colour of eyes, 080714
July 9, 2014
A: My beautiful brown eyed sweetheart… K: Nnnyyy, I want blue eyes… A: But why, you have lovely eyes K: But everyone pretends they are chocolate and tries to eat them A: But if you have blue eyes, then people will pretend they are blueberries, and try to eat them too. K: No, Madison says that blue eyes are water, and no one likes to have water that much, so I want blue eyes.
The departure
July 2, 2014
Two musicians at the Friluftsmuseet (Open-air Museum), Gamla (Old) Linkoping, 280614
June 30, 2014
It was a wonderful experience to go to Gamla Linkoping (the old town of Linkoping), where heritage buildings have been brought in and re-built with every possible care. There are several museums, housed in these old buildings, that visitors can walk into. In the whole area, many people who are in period costumes walk about; and today, when the local newspaper was pushed into the mail slot, I found out a bit more about two musicians whom I met there.
Life, and letting go......
June 28, 2014
I am Sweden for a few weeks; when I went around a jumble sale yesterday, I had no cash whatsover, and even if I had some, I knew I would only be accumulating junk that would be of no use to me or the person I am staying with. This allowed me to go around the sale area without buying anything.
Interesting sculpture...and roundabout dogs....more questions Linkoping, Sweden, 230614
June 27, 2014
As I came by bus into Linkoping, I caught sight of this very large hoop adorning one of the roundabouts:
Meanwhile, The Booda is growing up....
June 26, 2014
Here are a few pics clicked by AM ….whether it’s video games or board games, our little fellow is involved…..!
Linkoping Cathedral, 200614
June 26, 2014
After looking at the Midsummer’s Eve celebration, I realized that the
Midsummers Eve, Linkoping, 200614
June 25, 2014
Though I’d asked Prashanth in the morning, he mistook the midsummer’s eve Maypole dancing to be taking place on the next day; at about 4pm, he realized his mistake, and we set off to the place where it was taking place.
The Community Laundry System, 190614
June 24, 2014
Since PC told me there was a free community washing and drying area, I’d asked him to book it for a date after I’d arrive, and show me how to do it; I could then do the laundry in my free time as long as I was visiting (my standard operating procedure whenever I sponge off someone for any length of time.)
Meanwhile, I find wheels....230614
June 24, 2014
Yes, I know I have plenty of Linkoping posts to catch up on, but a couple of days ago, PC and I had been to “Biltema”, where he buys a lot of cycle stuff. I’d looked at a folding bike (with longing) and at the price tag (with revulsion…at 2190 SEK, the revulsion was strong!)
A walk in Linkoping, 170614
June 24, 2014
We started with the Linkoping Station.
Eurasian Tree Sparrow feeding young one, Roxen Lake, Linkoping, 210614
June 22, 2014
As PC and I walked to Roxen Lake, I suddenly saw this beautiful sight…a
Bus ride from Goteborg to Linkoping, 150614
June 19, 2014
It was to be a 4-hour bus ride to get to Linkoping (by the way, the latter is pronounced lin-show-ping and the “shoping” is similar to the modern English “shopping”…there were markets which then grew into these towns/cities .) Linkoping, the wiki entry tells me, was founded in 1287!
Picnic Lunch at Goteborg, 150614
June 18, 2014
It was Sunday, and I was leaving for Linkoping in the afternoon….so we decided (after clearing up a lot of ticketing mess) to go for a nice ramble, with a picnic lunch.
Windows, doors and architecture in Goteborg, Sweden, 150614
June 17, 2014
The past few days, I’ve been enjoying windows, and doors, and buildings…along with friends, and their friends!
Another walk in Goteborg, 130614
June 16, 2014
Advik put on the new anklets I bought for him, and looked more of a laddu than ever:
Goteborg walkabout and tramabout, 120614
June 15, 2014
Sumana gave Advik his food:
Wedding bells for Alex and Claire...Circus Flora, St Louis, 120614
June 13, 2014
Wow…Ruth…thank you for sending me this link.
Sumana and Deepaks garden, Goteborg, Sweden, 120614
June 13, 2014
I’m just going to say it with flowers…!
Journey to Scandinavia, 110614
June 13, 2014
I started from Bangalore International Airport, which looked beautiful in the middle of the night:
Bade Miyaan Deewane Play Review, 080614
June 9, 2014
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बड़ा महत्व है....
June 6, 2014
ससुराल में साली का बाग़ में माली का होंठो में लाली का पुलिस में गाली का मकान में नाली का कान में बाली का पूजा में थाली का खुशी में ताली का——बड़ा महत्व है
Interesting People
June 6, 2014
I find almost everyone I meet interesting! Whether it is a random encounter or it turns out to be a long-term friendship..from one end of the spectrum to the other, I rarely meet people whom I actively dislike (though it happens, of course.)
Raise Your Voice, Not the Sea Level World Environment Day, Screening and Discussion
June 6, 2014
World Environment Day, 050614
June 5, 2014
Does it move? Kill it! Does it sting? Squash it! Does it grow? Cut it down! Done with it? Throw it out of your window! Need to go somewhere? Take the car! Have some money? Consume more!
A birthday card....STL, 310514
June 5, 2014
KTB drew these for her father’s birthday…
Bannerghatta with Rosita and Mark All the Feet, 030614
June 4, 2014
Rosita called and invite me to go with her and Mark to his yoga teacher, Rama’s farmhouse in Bannerghatta, and I immediately said yes.
Love in the time of technology
June 2, 2014
There was a time when palm leaves And birds, too, were used To communicate between lovers And ensure that their souls fused.
Day 7, VTP, Kudremukh Sat, 240514
June 2, 2014
Saturday, 240514, Day 7
There was an early-morning “Malabar Whistling Thrush” walk, the highlight of which was the sighting of the Blue-eared Kingfisher.
Sarath made a presentation on the tiger, the facts and figures of this charismatic animal. There were several inputs from VMR, regarding recent findings and theories.
VMR then talked about the Wildlife Protection Act and its ramifications, enforcement, and otherwise. Rather than a dry disposition, he showed the participants the other side of the Act…the ways and means that poachers and traffickers adopt, and the measures the Forest Department takes to counter them. The Forest Department is hobbled by limitations such as jurisdiction; the poachers are not limited in any such way. He showed the photographs of sandalwood being smuggled, especially “Rakta Chandana” or Red Sanders, as well as other trees like teak and mahogany. He mentioned how Red Sand Boas were trafficked for as much as Rs.20 lakhs each, during the Bellary mining boom. Other trees such as Durvasane mara, Saptarangi Selicia chinensis, were also being poached.
VMR talked about poachers-associates/ Carriers/ Middlemen and buyers, and the nomadic people..Pardhi, Bawaria, Bahelia, Banjara, Kalbelia, Kanjar, Sapera, Gujjars, Bangala…central to northern Indian tribes, called Khanabadosh, who are repeat offenders. The Bawarias rule now; they are from Panipat in Haryana.
Day 6, VTP, Kudremukh Fri, 230514
June 2, 2014
The “official” account:
Day 5, VTP, Kudremukh Thu, 220514
June 2, 2014
The official account:
Day 4, VTP, Kudremukh Wed, 210514
June 2, 2014
The official account:
A morning with children Valley School, 010614
June 1, 2014
Email to the bngbirds egroup:
Bhagavathi Nature Camp, Kudremukh, Karnataka, 18-240514
May 31, 2014
The
Meanwhile, in STL....
May 31, 2014
I’m busy posting about my Kudremukh program, but when The Boods intervene, they take priority.
Day 3, VTP, Kudremukh Tue, 200514
May 31, 2014
Day 3..My official account:
Volunteer Training Program(VTP) , Kudremukh, Day 2-190514 (Monday)
May 31, 2014
Here’s my account of day 2:
Volunteer Training Program(VTP) , Kudremukh, Day 1-180514 (Sunday)
May 27, 2014
We (the budding volunteers of the VTP) reached Kalasa in the pre-dawn light:
The flowers of my life, and my hope for travel....
May 27, 2014
My daughter just posted this on FB…so I cannot resist sharing the flowers that fill my life with beauty, colour, fragrance and sometimes a lot of peskiness…
My superchild...
May 25, 2014
Her FB update:
Kudremukh Batch of the Volunteer Training Program, 18-240514
May 25, 2014
The Scorpion, Kudremukh, Karnataka, 210514
May 25, 2014
As we went around the grassland landscape during the Volunteer Training Program, Kiran spotted this large Scorpion, and I took a short video of it as we slowly passed in our vehicle. The creature was on the banked slope of the hill, and it was both rainy and late evening.
Garbage Clean-Up Casa Ansal, 170514
May 17, 2014
The residents of Casa Ansal, in J P Nagar 3rd Phase on Bannerghatta Road, have been suffering from the shifting of the trash area from the Mini-Forest area to their southern wall, where it was both an eyesore and a major health hazard.
The abandoned house, Valley School area, 130514
May 14, 2014
In several years of visiting the Valley School area, I’ve passed this abandoned house so many times…but it was only yesterday, when we did “waiting” birding instead of “walking” birding, and when Mark went into the house to explore, that I also decided to walk around and in it.
Two kinds of birding...
May 14, 2014
The
KTB singing Let It Go
May 12, 2014
AM has shared this on FB, so you do need an FB account to see
The Hoopoe, Valley School, 110514
May 11, 2014
The
When summer blooms...
May 9, 2014
The
Wildlife Volunteers Training Program (VTP), Kudremukh, Karnataka, 18-24th May /25th-31st May, 2014
May 8, 2014
Rescue and Release Bronzeback Tree Snake, Devarayana Durga State Forest, Tumkur District, 010514
May 5, 2014
Warning:
Email to bngbirds about Valley School, 030514
May 4, 2014
Thomas Job, his friend (and first-time birder) Sushil Nahar, and I went to Valley School, and we were certainly rewarded beyond our expectations!
Wonderful morning at Valley School, 030514
May 4, 2014
Thomas Job and his friend Sushil Nahar, who was coming on a birding trail for the first time, picked me up, and off we went, to Valley School.
Heritage hits the dust...
May 3, 2014
I went to Langford Town, and was saddened to see another beautiful heritage home hit the dust on Oleff road.
Rescue and Release The Slender Loris, Devarayana Durga State Forest, Tumkur District, 010514
May 2, 2014
I’ve been lucky enough to spot the
The moon and the star
May 2, 2014
Would you...?
May 2, 2014
Harley Estates, Sakleshpur, Karnataka, 24,25,260414
May 1, 2014
Amith, Deepak, Sachin and I went to do a bird census for some friends, on their coffee estate in Sakleshpur. I must say, I didn’t expect such a dream list of birds at the end of April!
Quick visit to Hulimangala, 300414
April 30, 2014
On the spur of the moment, my friend Rosita Sequiera came by with her son Mark and picked me up, and off we went; I wanted to show her the magnificient trees of Hulimangala.
tErE mEre sapnE ab Ek rang hain
April 30, 2014
One of my favourite melodious songs, from the movie
She turned five...
April 30, 2014
Yesterday, April 29th, was the day Eli/Biddli/Boodi Ma/Beedool turned five.
Hatworks Boulevard, Cunningham Road, Bangalore, 140414
April 28, 2014
Since my friend Uma is shortly to relocate, we decided to meet up and do some gallivanting as well, and almost at random, wound up at
Semma kadi (PJs in Tamil)
April 28, 2014
Untranslatable…so I am just leaving them as is.
The Rock Eagle Owls of NICE Road, Bangalore, Karnataka, 260414
April 27, 2014
I’ve always been drawn to owls, and the
Four videos from Valparai
April 23, 2014
I got the Orange-headed Thrush singing:
Lion-tailed Macaques, Valparai, 18-200414
April 21, 2014
On Good Friday, Anjali, Gopal, Rohan, Tharangini, Yeshoda and I went to
Bannerghata zoo area with Chandu, and David Frye, 120414
April 17, 2014
Am mad about Am....
April 15, 2014
The Camp Elephants at Bannerghatta Zoo, April 2014
April 15, 2014
Eco-volunteers Meet, ThoughtWorks, Koramangala, Bangalore, 120414
April 12, 2014
The first meeting of Eco-volunteers (those who took the Volunteer Training Program, or VTP), was held at ThoughtWorks, Koramangala, Bangalore, on 120414.
Wildlife Documentaries from the past
April 11, 2014
I was dozing off in a fit of heat-induced somnolence from somewhere out of my dull brain came the thought of my mother…and her love of wildlife documentaries. She was far, far ahead of her times…she had Salim Ali’s bird book with her, though she only watched garden birds..and we often went into the jungles of West Bengal and north India. In a time when wildlife was plentiful, she enjoyed reading about it and going to watch it. I still remember the trips we used to make to places like Betla Game Sanctuary in Bihar, where we saw magnificient tigers…
News about The Boods, from STL
April 8, 2014
On the 31st of March, the siblings had water fun:
Sunset, Fire and Outer Space, 050414
April 8, 2014
As we waited for dusk, so that the Slender Lorises would become active, we were treated to the sight of a beautiful sunset.
When trees shade the roads...
April 8, 2014
As I boarded the bus to go and meet my friends (we were going to Nagavalli, in Tumkur District, to sight the Slender Loris, aka kAdupApA), I saw this artwork silhouette of a tree on the bus:
Visit to Nagavalli to see the Slender Loris, 050414
April 8, 2014
Gopal called me and asked if I’d like to go to Nagavalli village, in Tumkur District, where there is a colony of
Hoskote kere, 050414
April 8, 2014
Since David Frye, of Detroit, Michigan, had contacted Chandu to go to Hoskote, Thomas, his son Aakash, and I also joined in from south Bangalore.
Theres a special glow on your smiling face today...
April 4, 2014
Dancing in the park, 200314
April 4, 2014
There is a park close to KM’s apartment where children are charged Rs.5 each for entry (adults get in free)..this goes, I think, towards maintenance of the playground equipment. At one edge of the small park is a stage, and children can dance to the music. Both the Boodi and the Booda had a great time there, in spite of recurrent fever and fretfulness.
Ode to Forest Park What Ive owed to Forest Park
April 4, 2014
Eliot Miller sent an email on the Mobirds mailing list, concluding about Forest Park, “Can’t wait to get back there again!” That brought the words tumbling out…
Logic
April 2, 2014
We excrete, and then call those who clean the excreta, untouchables. We rape, and then ostracize the victim. We sit apathetically, and complain about the state of the nation. We kill animals, and then pay high prices to see them. And ….we pride ourselves on being logical and rational beings.
Lattu Traditional tops
April 2, 2014
Playing with tops is a boy’s sport in India.
A foot...and four hands in summer....
April 1, 2014
I got two images at Bannerghatta, which I liked…
The persist-ant...
March 31, 2014
Scurrying across the path I saw this little ant. It bore a heavy burden, Its legs were all aslant.
Not sweet dreams
March 29, 2014
I do not like the places I go to, in my dreams. My sadness at separation From the beloved children Is, while being worked on, Hidden deep in my heart. The sorrow of the end Of more than three decades of marriage Lurks there, too, In the dark crevices of my heart The wrongs I have done: the hurts I have caused The many things I could have done better…. All these are not, as I thought, Dealt with, and forgotten. They hang, with sharp little burrs, In my subconscious mind. Perhaps this is why I rarely dream; Because, when I do, I go to these places. I feel, once again, What I do not want to feel. That I thought I’d discarded… No, I just seem to have buried them Beyond the reach of my everyday thoughts. They come out, and mock me. Sadness, loneliness, regrets: They once again assail me. I wish they would not. I do not like the places I go to, in my dreams.
Banjaran, and name-bracelets, India Gate, Delhi, 260314
March 27, 2014
First my daughter had two Banjara girls, whom she asked to thread together various name beads for all of KTB’s friends at Urban Sprouts, the daycare back home:
A walk and a climb in Highrisegaon, 260314
March 26, 2014
Yesterday I was far too knocked out by the migraine, but this morning, I did wake up in time to leave for my walk by 5.45 am. It was the lovely “ushat kAlam” ..the pre-dawn darkness slowly glowing into ambient light.
An enjoyable evening of folklore and childrens theatre, 230314
March 24, 2014
Shes learnt other lovely songs, too....
March 23, 2014
After I left, she’s been learning more songs at Urban Sprouts, her day care….
A heritage doctor, 180314
March 20, 2014
I first visited Dr H Suresh’s clinic in 4th T Bl ock in Jayanagar, in 1979, when my daughter was 6 months old. She’d been having severe diarrhoea for two weeks, and I was at my wits’ end as I was staying with some friends and desperately worried about her health.
The Morris Minor, Woodlands Hotel, and a wedding, 190314
March 20, 2014
As we entered the Woodlands Hotel just off Richmond Circle, to attend a wedding, our attention was riveted by this little gem, parked in the campus:
The Holi Full Moon
March 18, 2014
The full moon of
How The Booda grew up before our eyes...
March 17, 2014
Amazing what a difference hair makes to the appearance of a person…even when that person is just 14 months old!
The first haircut, 160314
March 17, 2014
AM writes:
QuizFamiies,090314
March 14, 2014
The children have arrived, not too well, but we managed to take them to our monthly family quiz meet.
Lungi dance in Bangalore, 130314
March 13, 2014
N arrived this morning, and both Boodi and Booda had a great time dancing to the
A giant of a palm tree Kanakapura Pipe Road, 280114
March 10, 2014
On the way to Sundaghatta, I suddenly was struck by a truly majestic, dead tree!
Birds and other beings at Ganeshgudi a video by Rana and Sugandhi
March 9, 2014
Something I’d like to share with all of you is this wonderful video by a couple who are good friends, Raghunath Belur and Sugandhi Gadadhar. The audio for this is a percussion “conversation” between two Indian musical instruments that often form a part of a classical Carnatic music concert. Apart from the great visuals, they have very creatively incorporated this percussion passage, which, in my language (Tamizh) we call a “thani Avarthanam”. After the flute,you hear the
An interesting afternoon with Paul Fernandes, Silver Talkies, and Suchetadhama, 070314
March 7, 2014
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How to identify artists
March 7, 2014
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The Purple-rumped Sunbird, Sundaghatta, 280114
March 5, 2014
In Sundghatta, we stopped the car to watch a few birds, and as usual, these beautiful little
Vasu on methods of teaching
March 4, 2014
Methods of Teaching
Oral Communication...aka Gossip Chennai, 260214
March 4, 2014
Some photos of the family and by the family....
March 3, 2014
Here’s The Booda, all dressed even when there was nowhere to go…
Sunset, Bilekkal Temple, Sundaghatta (Kanakapura) Karnataka, 280214
March 2, 2014
I was with my friends, at the edge of the valley:
The Bilekkal Temple, Sundaghatta, Karnataka, 280214
March 2, 2014
I went with N C Mohan and Raja Bandi to do a recce of the area around his farmhouse, and by sunset, he took us to a point nearby which was called “Bilekkal”. This is a corruption of “Bili Kallu” or white stone…
A few trees that are entwined with Hinduism...
February 28, 2014
As I wandered around the kalyANa mantapam (festivity venue) at Chromepet, it struck me that there are so many trees that are inextricably entwined with Hindu rituals and customs…and I was lucky to be able to photograph some of them, right there. I am giving the Tamizh names and the link to the Wikipaedia entries about them, too.
Thoughts about homosexuality
February 28, 2014
A response to a somewhat intolerant email on the topic. My response:
sadAbhishEkam celebrating a mans entering his 80th year
February 28, 2014
My childhood friends, Rajamani and Savithri, celebrated their sadabhishekam on the 26th of February, at the Sankara Matham, Chromepet.
Excellent exercise for people of any age...
February 27, 2014
EXERCISE FOR PEOPLE OVER 60..indeed, any age..
Three wishes...and no more
February 24, 2014
I wish we were like birds, with the ability to fly.
World famous in Jayanagar D
February 24, 2014
That’s a local saying, gently ribbing anyone who is getting their names in the news or talked about…it’s literally come true for me!
Reading poetry in solitude....
February 24, 2014
These words occurred to me:
Hosakote kere, Karnataka, 230213
February 23, 2014
Puttenahalli Lake, 220214
February 22, 2014
Peace and quiet
February 22, 2014
I thought it must be lovely to rest, with the winds from the field blowing one’s way, the sun shining around, and open to the elements:
Brothers bucket bath
February 19, 2014
I’d posted
Visit to Galibore, Cauvery WLS, 150214 Life...and death
February 19, 2014
She’s beautiful, the Goddess Kaveri:
Life in the balance. Galibore, 150214
February 19, 2014
Maps on the internet...
February 18, 2014
Google maps, google maps, Where have I been? On my way to my destination, The whole world I’ve seen. When there is, to journey’s end, A short road, straight and true, Google maps ensures that I Travel an extra forty-two…
JLR Explore Cauvery WLS Bird Census, 100114
February 18, 2014
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Big Bird Day, Bannerghatta forest area, 160214
February 17, 2014
18 of us went together to cover the areas of Ragihalli, Bannerghatta Zoo area, Valley School and Vaderahalli Lake, to document the bird species and record their numbers. Here’s the photo that I took:
When sight begins to falter...
February 17, 2014
I’ve been having sudden flashes of “light” at the periphery of my vision; as I’d received a warning from my opthalmologist, in 2012, to go to him if ever it happened, I went immediately.
The Malkoha, Galibore, 150214
February 16, 2014
The
Suchi Govindarajans wit
February 14, 2014
Happy Something Day! July 22, 2013 at 10:34am This Mother’s Day, Brether’s Day, is all getting too much I say. Only last month, on June 15th, my cousin brother called me at the ungodly hour of 6.00 am.
Udupi Temple Complex, Karnataka, 090214
February 13, 2014
Having participated in the Manipal Bird Day, my friends Prabhakar and Savita
Love is all around
February 12, 2014
Pushcart vendor, Manipal, 090214
February 11, 2014
I first saw the pushcart in the evening glow.
Burial Customs
February 10, 2014
On my visit to Manipal, Karnataka, walking in the Saralabettu area while participating in the Bird Day, I saw this scene:
How Airtel helped me...
February 8, 2014
Since yesterday, the internet on my mobie has not been working. Several calls to tech help etc did not help. I am doing a night bus journey tonight, going to Manipal, and returning by night tomorrow. I thought I ought to get the problem rectified.
Some bird behaviour, Nandi Hills, 070214
February 8, 2014
Our visit to Nandi Hills provided me a great opportunity to watch several birds’ behaviour. I found that several birds, such as the Orange-throated Thrush, or this
Email to bngbirds Nandi Hills, 070214
February 7, 2014
Kamal Hari Menon was kind enough to take me along to Nandi Hills, and it turned out to be an awe-inspiring morning, on so many different levels.
Two mothers and a baby, Nandi Hills, 070214
February 7, 2014
I often notice that two, and sometimes three, female Bonnet Macaques join together to care for a baby. This morning, at the Nursery area in Nandi Hills, I watched these two females. The one on the right is the “actual” mother; you can see the afterbirth, still, around her tail.
Simple truths
February 7, 2014
SIMPLE TRUTH 1 Lovers help each other undress before sex. However after sex, they always dress on their own. Simple Truth: In life, no one helps you once you’re screwed.
Mysore, and the way back to Bangalore, 010214
February 6, 2014
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A few of my favourite photos...
February 6, 2014
I just saved them on Flickr, so putting them up here for me to view Later, When I’m Too Old To Do Anything Else.
Family....
February 5, 2014
Here’s the family, on vacation in Hawaii:
Harassment by autorickshaw driver and police constables, Gavi Gangadeshwara Temple, Basavanagudi
February 2, 2014
After getting her car stuck in dug-up areas of Bangalore roads, my friend KV yielded the wheel of her car to me. We were going to visit the Gavi Gangadeshwara Temple in Basavanagudi.
The Asian Open-bill Stork, Puttenahalli Lake, 280114
January 29, 2014
The
The HSBC Bird Race, 190114
January 27, 2014
This time, HSBC got into a lot of controversy just before the annual event, with people accusing it of “greenwashing”, covering up less than green business practices by sponsoring “green” events (though how the Bird Race is a green event, promoting the driving of cars all around the cities where the events are held, is beyond me.)
The Missed Call
January 27, 2014
I don’t know if any other countries are as innovative as India is, when it comes to “lateral application” of technology. One of these lateral applications is that wonderful
Cattle in the landscape, Vaderahalli lake (vadErahaLLi kerE) 260114
January 27, 2014
Our eyes pass over cows and bulls, we are so used to them being around that we sometimes see them but don’t notice them at all!
Wildlife Photography Have you panned it yet?
January 24, 2014
If you can write a post criticizing wildlife photography, please do. It’s the Flavour Of The Moment. Even the most mild and qualified criticism will do. Adopt a holy, halo-over-head “I feel so bad when I see evil wildlife photographers” pose.
I dont know my date of birth...my bank knows better
January 23, 2014
As usual, I cannot log into my Vijaya Bank account. So I call up tech support (VNET Banking.)
Deepas Principle of Organizational Competence
January 21, 2014
All rights reserved. I am going to fluff up this one simple sentence into a 700-page book and mint money and become a Concept Guru.
Thyagarja Aradhana (thyAgarAja ArAdhA)...a music festival to venerate a saint
January 21, 2014
Today, 200114, is, according to the Hindu calendar, Bahula Panchami, and this is the day that
In a lighter vein Top establishments in India
January 21, 2014
Top 13 establishments in India…
Bangalore Bird Race, 190114 Of Flycatchers, Kingfishers.... and Thrushes
January 20, 2014
As the sun came up,
Nature Feature 2, The Alternative
January 17, 2014
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Suchitra Sen beauty, talent, and haunting songs
January 17, 2014
Movie stars…are often known for their beauty, and less often, for their histrionic talent.
malEy mahAdhEshwarA temple, MM Hills,Karnataka, 120114
January 15, 2014
Payment for contributors practices by magazines
January 9, 2014
An e-magazine has a schedule of payment whereby, if someone contributes, they will pay on the 5th (or whatever date) of the following month. This is already not a very contributor-friendly practice, because it could mean anything up to 4 weeks of delay in payment. But very well, contributors accept this.
Together in the wilderness
January 6, 2014
KTBs drawing, 050114
January 6, 2014
This is going to be an unabashedly proud-grandma post.
Ramnagara, Karnataka, 040114
January 6, 2014
It was a wonderful visit to Ramngara, with Abhinandan, a birder from Calicut, Amith, and Mani.
Composition in red, Ramadevara betta, 040114
January 5, 2014
A wonderful sight at Ramngara, 040113
January 5, 2014
Abhinandan, Amith, Mani and I went to Ramnagara yesterday…and though we could see only one Long-billed Vulture, the sight filled us with happiness, because it was a female…sitting on a nest!
More bank woes...
January 3, 2014
Visit 1 to a new branch of this bank, which is closer than the one where I have an account (no. X). This branch is 2 months new. So, expecting excellent service, I go in. I say I want to move account no. X to this branch. I also want to open a new account. This is on Friday the 27th of December.
Code of Ethics for Birders Text from the American Birders Association Code of Ethics pdf
January 2, 2014
Everyone who enjoys birds and birding must always respect wildlife, its environment, and the rights of others. In any conflict of interest between birds and birders, the welfare of the birds and their environment comes first. Code of Birding Ethics
- Promote the welfare of birds and their environment. 1(a) Support the protection of important bird habitat. 1(b) To avoid stressing birds or exposing them to danger, exercise restraint and caution during observation, photography, sound recording, or filming. Limit the use of recordings and other methods of attracting birds, and never use such methods in heavily birded areas, or for attracting any species that is Threatened, Endangered, or of Special Concern, or is rare in your local area; Keep well back from nests and nesting colonies, roosts, display areas, and important feeding sites. In such sensitive areas, if there is a need for extended observation, photography, filming, or recording, try to use a blind or hide, and take advantage of natural cover. Use artificial light sparingly for filming or photography, especially for close-ups. 1(c) Before advertising the presence of a rare bird, evaluate the potential for disturbance to the bird, its surroundings, and other people in the area, and proceed only if access can be controlled, disturbance minimized, and permission has been obtained from private land-owners. The sites of rare nesting birds should be divulged only to the proper conservation authorities. 1(d) Stay on roads, trails, and paths where they exist; otherwise keep habitat disturbance to a minimum.
- Respect the law, and the rights of others. 2(a) Do not enter private property without the owner’s explicit permission. 2(b) Follow all laws, rules, and regulations governing use of roads and public areas, both at home and abroad. 2(c) Practice common courtesy in contacts with other people. Your exemplary behavior will generate goodwill with birders and non-birders alike.
- Ensure that feeders, nest structures, and other artificial bird environments are safe. 3(a) Keep dispensers, water, and food clean, and free of decay or disease. It is important to feed birds continually during harsh weather. 3(b) Maintain and clean nest structures regularly. 3(c) If you are attracting birds to an area, ensure the birds are not exposed to predation from cats and other domestic animals, or dangers posed by artificial hazards.
- Group birding, whether organized or impromptu, requires special care. Each individual in the group, in addition to the obligations spelled out in Items #1 and #2, has responsibilities as a Group Member. 4(a) Respect the interests, rights, and skills of fellow birders, as well as people participating in other legitimate outdoor activities. Freely share your knowledge and experience, except where code 1(c) applies. Be especially helpful to beginning birders. 4(b) If you witness unethical birding behavior, assess the situation, and intervene if you think it prudent. When interceding, inform the person(s) of the inappropriate action, and attempt, within reason, to have it stopped. If the behavior continues, document it, and notify appropriate individuals or organizations. Group Leader Responsibilities [amateur and professional trips and tours]. 4(c) Be an exemplary ethical role model for the group. Teach through word and example. 4(d) Keep groups to a size that limits impact on the environment, and does not interfere with others using the same area. 4(e) Ensure everyone in the group knows of and practices this code. 4(f) Learn and inform the group of any special circumstances applicable to the areas being visited (e.g. no tape recorders allowed). 4(g) Acknowledge that professional tour companies bear a special responsibility to place the welfare of birds and the benefits of public knowledge ahead of the company’s commercial interests. Ideally, leaders should keep track of tour sightings, document unusual occurrences, and submit records to appropriate organizations. Please Follow this Code and Distribute and Teach it to Others
2014, and all the others
January 1, 2014
My friend Vasu Ramanujam’s post on the New Year:
Im RICH (part 2)
December 31, 2013
I received a loving email (which made it past the spam filters!)
2013....looking back
December 31, 2013
A fairly eventful, momentous year. Some moments brought a tear. Many brought a smile. Each phase lasted a little while.
Snake Temple (nAga dEvathA devasthAnA), Hennagara Kere, Karnataka, 301213
December 31, 2013
While on the birding trip, we visited the large Hennagara lake, and Prashanth, who lives in Jigani and seems very knowledgeable about the area, pointed out he nAga dEvathA temple at Hennagara Kere (lake).
The Marsh Harrier, 28 and 301213, Karnataka
December 31, 2013
Oh…apparently it is now called the
Zainabs Okra/Bhindi/Ladys Finger recipe
December 30, 2013
Recipe for sour lady finger curry: 1). 200 grams lady finger, washed and chopped into small slices. 2). Half an onion - finely chopped 3). 5-7 pieces of Kokum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garcinia_indica) soaked in warm water. You can add more kokum depending on how sour you want the curry to be. I usually like it very, very sour. 4). 2 tbsp rice flour 5). 1 tsp red chilli powder 6). 1/4 tsp turmeric 7). 2 tsp coriander and jeera powder . Green masala made with coriander leaves, ginger, garlic, green chillies and jeera. About 3 tbsp of green masala. 9). Salt to taste
Hosakote kere, birding and nature trail, 281213
December 29, 2013
My email to the bngbirds egroup:
Black wings...and ruby eyes, 271213, Hosakote
December 29, 2013
The
jeenA...aur peenA...
December 26, 2013
भरी महफ़िल थी । हम सब मिले । दोस्तों की कमी न थी । पुरानी यादों में दिल रोया पर आँखों में नमीं न थी । हॅसते हैं हम , और अपना काम किये जाते हैँ । जाम पीते हैं कुछ लोग महफ़िल में; हम अपने आँसू पीए जाते हैं ।
What is my definition of age?
December 26, 2013
On an FB post of mine (which is where, now, all the interesting conversations and debates happen for me….LJ is a closed door), someone asked me, “What is your definition of age?”
batAO, dOstOn, kyA karE? /Tell me friends, what would you have done?
December 25, 2013
sAmnE manzil thI.. peechE thI AwAz uskI.
Chaalis Saal Baad (CSB) Class Of Seventy Three, IIM-A (COSTIIMA) Ruby Jubilee Reunion, 12-151213
December 25, 2013
My arrival at Ahmedabad…sunrise on the 12th morning:
Makalidurga and Nandi Hills, 221213
December 23, 2013
Let me start with a beautiful bird…
Another appearance by the Nanjunda Moth 211213
December 21, 2013
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The Sun Temple, Modhera, Gujarat, 141213
December 20, 2013
The problems of travelling by Indian Railways
December 19, 2013
Six-footers in Ahmedabad
December 18, 2013
I clicked all of these in the “wilderness” area of Atma Santulan, my friend Kalpana Raval’s 5-acre estate. She allowed me to wander all over the place…and I had a wonderful time. Even though the sprawling house was full of treasures, the garden was a place I could hardly tear myself away from. She’s got wheat and vegetables growing in one part; she’s retained a kind of unkempt, natural wilderness in another; large lawns on two sides of the house, and an office, where she, her son Nikunt, and sister-in-law, Dharmishta, practice law.
How a lot of my time goes...
December 18, 2013
List of things/services broken, or locked, or stopped, when I returned after a 9-month absence:
The Black Ibis
December 18, 2013
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Ahmedabad...and St.Louis....
December 13, 2013
I took the train to Ahmedabad, and am attending KM’s IIM class Ruby reunion (It’s called CSB…Chaalis Saal Baad).
Nature Trail to Valley School, 081213
December 9, 2013
Email to bngbirds egroup, about the Eaglenest WLS trip
December 5, 2013
On a tour organized by Geetanjali Dhar’s IT Nature Club, ten of us visited Nameri (a morning’s birding) and Eaglenest Wild Life Sanctuary (WLS) at Lama and Bompu Camps.
The only four videos I took on the trip to Eaglenest WLS, 301113
December 4, 2013
Here are two videos of a
Biodegradable containers on a very long train journey
December 4, 2013
I was away in the foothills of the Himalaya, very far away (the journey from Bangalore to Guwahati alone was 2992 km, and passed through 8 states…Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Assam!) and came back with such a variety of experiences.
The Caterpillar of the Tailed Jay, 161113, Puttenahalli Lake
November 19, 2013
No one would believe that watching a worm would be a learning experience, but so it was, at Puttenahalli Lake, where I went with Chandu and Kamal.
3rd Sunday Outing, Shivanahalli, 171113
November 18, 2013
An email to the egroup of the Bird Watchers’ Field Club:
My contribution to Missouri birding
November 18, 2013
Here’s an email from Edge Wade of Missouri Birds:
The Shieldtail...again, 161113
November 18, 2013
Some time ago, in Bannerghatta, I’d sighted the
Found a new, simple recording site...
November 18, 2013
I will no longer be able to record at Muziboo, the site when I had an account and where I had recorded some songs. So I recorded this small song for KTB at Vocaroo:
The people whom the birds bring me in touch with
November 16, 2013
I wrote to the MObirds listserv, mentioning a piece of doggerel that I’d written about birding.
The sun through a shade...
November 14, 2013
Train of thought....
November 14, 2013
Bathing beauty, Nandi Hills, 081113
November 13, 2013
Among the several migrants that we saw in Nandi Hills last week, this
The difference between constructive guidance and harsh (and public) criticism
November 13, 2013
Two people posted photos of very common birds on the birding egroup, and asked for ids.
Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary Wings and Six Feet
November 7, 2013
On our visit to the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, several birds thrilled us through the day.
Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary trip People, and the scenery
November 6, 2013
I was given a sudden, late-night query: Would I like to visit the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary?
KTBs nonsense Indian singing
November 6, 2013
AM writes to a friend, who says she’s had a quiet Deepavali:
A lovely song, well sung
November 5, 2013
Listen to my very talented nephew, Rakesh Raghunathan:
Ragihalli, 021113
November 3, 2013
What could be a better medicine for severe jet-lag and symptoms of serious withdrawal from one’s grandchilden (who, as the miles slip away behind the aircraft, progressively become the best-behaved, most ideal children of all time)? A visit to my favourite haunt!
How I overdosed on the Indian Silverbill, 011113
November 3, 2013
When you’ve been fasting, you tend to break your fast…and overdo it! I’d not seen anything of Indian birds for a longish time now, and when we went to
Celebrating Karnataka
November 1, 2013
November First is the date on which
Views from windows , 28 and 291013
October 31, 2013
What to do when stuck into a window seat on an airplane? Take photos…these are views of St.Louis, Atlanta, Paris, dusk, passing-over-Iran at night…
My experience with Air France is bad, but there are others who are worse off...
October 31, 2013
For several years now, I have taken Air France flights, and in that time, their service has deteriorated very sharply.
Surreal day
October 28, 2013
A surreal day……a series of happenings. First, having to repack my bags dumping several things, at the airport, because they were ONE kg over the correct 50 kg weight.
Our natural and supernatural creatures
October 27, 2013
Our witches need a break, too!
Decay
October 26, 2013
Ek nagm
October 26, 2013
Ek bachpan kA zamAna thA, jismE khushiyOn kA khazAna thA;
Field Notes Guided Walk in Forest Park, 201013
October 23, 2013
On Sunday, the 20th of Oct, I went on
Museum of Contemporary Art, St.Louis, 181013
October 22, 2013
These are four short videos I look of the work of
Indian Percussion Instruments
October 21, 2013
I met
Field Notes, organized by the St.Louis Beacon, 18, 19, and 201213
October 20, 2013
I decided to go to the opening event of
How one sees it
October 19, 2013
The Hindu piously said To the fez-adorned head: “Even if it is Bakrid… Does not the slaughtered goat still bleed?”
Five moments that set me laughing....
October 18, 2013
Cyclone Kalyan, 171013, STL
October 18, 2013
Achari Baingan, St.Louis, 171013
October 18, 2013
How I followed this recipe (with some variations).
Families, and distances
October 17, 2013
I squeeze his little body to me In an involuntary cuddle. I smile at his sister in the morning. We enjoy our time together, giggling and cuddling. I’m leaving a happy family To go on with their lives While I pick up the threads on mine, Across the world. Why, then, should separation Be such a heart-wrenching ache? Why should I mar moments of happiness, When I am watching brother playing with sister, With thoughts of not being able To see the minutiae of daily life In their home, and share them? All too soon, I will be back with them; I am sure that the bonds will remain strong And I can take up where I left off. Let me take an aspirin To cure my aching heart… Let me not dwell on the days That we will have to spend apart.
Navaratri Golu in St.Louis, October 11,12, 13, 2013
October 17, 2013
We visited a few homes for the golu, and I was most impressed by the collection of dolls the ladies seem to have acquired over the years:
azhagAna poNnu nAn
October 15, 2013
I suddenly remembered a song I’d heard in my infancy…after months of not wanting to learn new songs, Kavya is suddenly keen again, now!
Navaratri Golu conversation
October 13, 2013
“Hi, A!” “Oh…HI, B! Sorry, I just didn’t see you in the crowd. This is my fourth golu visit this evening, you know, things are so hectic…so how ARE you? My, you’re looking just gorgeous!” “Oh, thank you! Is your saree a new one?” “It’s just a simple one I picked up on my last visit to Sun-Dry Silks, they have such a unique collection!…Oh, hi, C! You haven’t aged a bit!” “Hi, B..and A is here, too! Have you brought your adorable children? Oh yes, there they are…such beautiful princesses. How they’ve grown! It’s been a while since we’ve met.” “I know! It’s just one mad whirl, you know? How are your daughters doing?” “I have two sons, A. They are doing fine, thank you!” “Oh, yes, I’d forgotten…one of them is doing medicine, isn’t he? Such intelligence, after all, they are your kids!” “Oh, I don’t know….well, we MUST get together soon…muaaah! I’m in a rush, I have to pick up my younger son from practice, so bye…!” “C always seems in a bit of a rush, doesn’t she? I don’t know how she juggles so many things, B..I’d never be able to do it, A, I’m sure!” “Oh, you and I are just simple people, not career women…we take more pride in our homes and keep everything nice and organized. C doesn’t need to bother with all that.” “I do agree. A..did you get the number of the Hispanic couple who come do the house cleaning?” “I’ll get it for you the next time, I don’t seem to have it on my mobile. Oh, my, I just LOVE your jewellery…C wears more traditional designs, you know…” “She’s not into jewellery at all. Some of us are just different…she’s quite casual about her cooking, too.” “How I wish I could be like her! My husband and children want everything just so, and I really slave over the dishes…our children are at a growing age, they do need the best nutrition possible…” “I did notice that C’s younger son is a little short…” “Oh, well, nothing that can be done about it. Tell me, how do you manage to remain so slim?” “Ha, ha, there’s really nothing to it…I asked C also if she’d like to join my gym, but she’s so busy that she doesn’t have the time for it.” “Is that the new gym, Fat2Fit? I just LOVE the way they make the exercises fun. Next week will be my fourth day!” “I also tried to suggest a good nutrition consultant to C.” “Oh, just tell me the name and number, I would love to have some good advice for my hubby! I think it’s his metabolism, I just can’t get him to lose weight. He has no time, with his business taking up all his energy. Poor C, life must be tough for her….” “I can imagine, and she must have been so disappointed when her younger son didn’t get into Wonderful Academy…they say it’s the best school in town.” “I can vouch for that, the children are enjoying it so much! It’s nice when your children are gifted! My little one won third prize in the kindergarten art contest!” “That’s incredible! Wow, I’m sure she gets her talent from you. C’s children are so natural…they don’t get all formal-mannered, it’s nice to see a change.” “Oh yes, we can never hope to emulate her easy-going attitude to life! Even with a husband not doing too well, she never complains. Well, it’s been great running into you…we must meet up for a coffee or something one of these days.” “Of course! Let me take down your mobile number. Ciao, catch up with you soon!”
Funnel-web Spiders
October 13, 2013
A glance at a bush can sometimes take one world-wide.
What do you do if youre four years old, and go to the Seal/Sea Lion show at the St.Louis Zoo?
October 12, 2013
It’s not given to everyone to watch the Sea Lion show sitting on their 91-year-old great grandmother’s lap!
Bird Watchers Field Club of Bangalore outing details and birding guidelines
October 12, 2013
The Bird Watchers’ Field Club outings are as follows, each month:
Right angles, 290913
October 11, 2013
When the angle is right The photograph is good. When the image is of right angles, Seen, and reflected, That’s a right-angled, right-angled image!
Navaratri (Nine Nights) Festival over the years...
October 9, 2013
I used to have small “golu” every year, until my daughter left home. By that time, it was difficult to set it all up by myself, without anyone to appreciate it, and even worse to put it away…so I gave up the yearly practice. (My golu dolls still lie in a trunk in the attic of my flat.)
Paul Fernandes, and Old Bangalore
October 9, 2013
Click
The inventor of the digital timer....and other things...
October 9, 2013
Vince Eitzen was DS’ grandfather. Marilyn, his grandmother, left for Florida today…and was talking about her first husband (he was the first of her 3 husbands.) He must have been an amazing guy…
Its supposed to be Spiderwoman...061013
October 9, 2013
Lenticular Mural, by Rufus Butler Seder
October 7, 2013
At the Sea Lion Sound , an award-winning exhibit at the St.Louis Zoo,
Which one do you like the best?
October 7, 2013
I find that I take the shots, but am often not able to decide which is the good shot and which ones can be discarded.
Happy Birthday, <LJ user=prashanthchengi>
October 6, 2013
ondrA, vEyrA? (together, or apart?) A tamil (tamizh) poem
October 5, 2013
orukkAl, nIyum nAnum nam iruvarin uravu needitthu nilaikkAthO?
Tu...aur mein (You and I)
October 3, 2013
galtiyon se juda tu bhi nahin, mein bhi nahin. donon insaan hain, khuda tu bhi nahin, mein bhi nahin.
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness...
October 2, 2013
Sunlight, and thoughts
October 1, 2013
We’d gone for “lunner” or “dinch” to the Boathouse at Forest Park,and I looked out of the enclosed seating area at people who were sitting outside, at the edge of the water.
Two videos from Forest Park, 280913
October 1, 2013
Here’s DS trying out an
How demanding can a baby be? STL, 270913
September 28, 2013
The a-door-able baby...
September 27, 2013
Why is he rushing to get that door?
Sudden access....
September 25, 2013
Do not be put off by any short-and-terse comments I am making on your LJ post.
A short but enjoyable stint of birding in Forest Park, 220913
September 25, 2013
I got an email from
The Blue Jays, Forest Park
September 24, 2013
I was walking to meet Eliot Miller and his girlfriend, Sarah, both of whom are postdocs in bird science; Eliot is studing at UMSSL, and called me over to go birding with them.
Thoughts about Indian marriages
September 23, 2013
When a couple move from love tomarriage..they begin to navigate the thorny thickets of social customs, unspoken expectations, implicit equations, and the general interaction of personalities…marriage in India is not to one person but to the immediate, and extended, family…and is more complicated than any corporate management job!
Colours....and thoughts
September 23, 2013
On the water, St.Louis Symphony Orchestra, Art Hill, Forest Park, 140913
September 22, 2013
The seasons
September 21, 2013
Kucch nagmE (some poems)
September 21, 2013
Thanks to Santosh Oak for these.
KTB gets creative....
September 20, 2013
It’s most enjoyable when children develop their own personalities, and give their own spin to things!
Playing children
September 19, 2013
We adults had events all chalked out…we’d go boating in Forest Park. We finished our activity, the children did enjoy it…but while we were waiting for our cars, KTB and her friend Ananya ran around the grass, playing so happily…
thOppikaraNam
September 19, 2013
Happy Birthday to <LJ user=pondhopper>
September 18, 2013
The Wood Duck...a triumph of conservation
September 16, 2013
I made post of the beautiful
Wood Duck Male
September 15, 2013
Boat House, Forest Park, 140913
Peeping Tom
September 14, 2013
He raises his head above the crib
Jigsaw Puzzle, 100913
September 13, 2013
Life…is fitting together the pieces And making sense of it. Your parent’s there to guide you If the pieces don’t fit!
Visit of the Least Flycatcher, 120913
September 13, 2013
I went out to the backyard, it was cloudy, today. I thought I’d send the usual Starlings flying away. Perhaps a Robin, and a Sparrow or two…. But the birds that I saw…were something new.
As the baby grows....
September 12, 2013
Dil hoom hoom karey, from Rudaali
September 12, 2013
How the hummingbird feeds
September 10, 2013
For a superb video, please
The blood group must be your motto.......B+ .
September 9, 2013
There’s nothing the matter with me, I’m just as healthy as can be,
1st Saturday Bird Walk, Forest Park Forever/Audubon Society, 070913
September 8, 2013
I left for the birding outing as the sun came up.
Rhyme schemes...should one follow rules?
September 7, 2013
I wrote:
All in the days work for a firefighter...
September 5, 2013
AM had come home from the De Baliviere garage, where the installation of the new fare-boxes is under way. As she spoke on the phone, she looked out of the window, and in the conservancy lane parallel to our home, she noticed a fire in a dumpster:
Two insects in the backyard
September 4, 2013
I was just about to drive off, when, outside the open garage door, I noticed a lot of fluttering on the bush in the corner between our backyard and our neighbour’s…
A poem on the human anatomy
September 2, 2013
A Poem on the Human Anatomy
Peregrine Falcons at Wash U School of Medicine, 310813
September 2, 2013
The crescent moon and the attendant star were still bright when I took the Metrolink train to Central West End Station:
Im still laughing
August 31, 2013
Originality....
August 30, 2013
If you think you’ve thought of it Someone’s thought of it before; Someone’s thought, and said, and written it Earlier…nothing’s new anymore!
Cars in India....my memories
August 29, 2013
A very enjoyable chat with
Little Booda, seven months old....
August 29, 2013
Our little fellow is now 7 months old; he is our very own creepy-crawly at home, starting to get around to near where he wants to go.
Vatsalyam, 240813
August 28, 2013
Lone Elk Park, 240813
August 26, 2013
…And here’s the Lone Elk!
ShEr
August 23, 2013
The piquant and witty observations of “shEr”
Thoughts on a feather
August 23, 2013
Whether it’s aground or on a wing
Degree Coffee...a forward sent to me by a friend, K R Narasimhan, 220813
August 23, 2013
As I got it, spelling mistakes and all.
Friend on FaceBook? No way....
August 23, 2013
I got a message from Flora Williams, and since I wasn’t able to guage whether it was “genwine” or not, I replied, and asked her for more details. Now…you evaluate, from her reply:
One of my favourite creations
August 22, 2013
This cartoon, which I drew when in college, proved to be so popular that I must have drawn dozens in the notebooks of my friends, teachers, and college mates…decided to draw one and send it as a greeting card to someone today.
Evenings, smiles and memories
August 21, 2013
Open sesame
August 21, 2013
Suddenly, I was able to see, and comment, on friends’ posts. And ofkose, it’s closed up again..but I peeked into several lives, and minds, and my dear, dear friends, it’s good to know you are all doing those interesting things!
My baby...the grown woman
August 20, 2013
She sleeps in exhaustion, my little one.
A quiet, happy, peaceful, hard-working morning
August 20, 2013
I decided to make mooli (radish) parathas. Ofkose I didn’t photograph most of the donkey work…the grating of the mooli, the mixing with the spices, the draining of the mooli water, the kneading of the dough, and the rolling out the parathas…I’ve just photographed the parathas being cooked on the tava, with oil and a touch of ghee (lower that cholesterol!)
STL Crane Project, Art Hill, Forest Park, 180813
August 19, 2013
I read about the
Silicone for health...
August 17, 2013
Love and mushrooms...
August 16, 2013
I went to the Farmers’ Market with my friends Divya and Chinmay, who’ve just arrived in St.Louis, with their son, Siddhartha. I love mushrooms, and I saw a nice lot of it there. But AM had told me they are not everyone else’s favourite, so…since I love my daughter, I came home without buying them
Playing Games Together
August 15, 2013
Here we are, playing “Go Fish”, a set-making game..
The genius of Lalgudi Jayaraman
August 14, 2013
Lalgudi Jayaraman was truly a musical genius, one of the top-class violinists I’ve known… and a very creative musician. He was a close family friend was a long time, and I was privileged to hear him practising when he came and stayed with us, and often saw the process of his creating some of his thillanas.
Memories are made of these....
August 14, 2013
Boarding the Treatment Train to the Terminus of Good Health
August 13, 2013
Life has a way of suddenly rearing up and throwing stink-bombs at you….a young friend of mine (25 years old!) has been diagnosed with a 2-cm hole in the heart, which, by virtue of its position, needs major surgery for closure (sometimes such holes can be fixed laparoscopically.) In the course of the diagnosis, diabetes was also discovered, and the path towards surgery has become further complicated. I feel miserable that I am so far away from this young couple at this time. However, the internet allows me to keep in touch, and I wrote to them, likening their lives now to a train journey….the Passenger Train to the Good Health Terminus.
Zafar Futehally, 190320 -110813
August 13, 2013
Here’s an email from Shyamal:
Gateway Arch, 080513
August 10, 2013
My favourite photo of the Gateway Arch; I took this when I’d gone with the TenToes Express to visit the City Garden.
Mother and child, The Muny, 030813
August 8, 2013
When the mother turtle Calls to her offspring…
Which way?
August 8, 2013
Four-footers and six-footers at Rockwoods Reservation, Wildwood, Mo., 040813
August 7, 2013
No words, just a list of some of the beautiful creatures I saw in Rockwoods Reservation:
Hummingbird, again...040813
August 5, 2013
We all went to Rockwoods Reservation, and Marilynn Motchan, who was baby-sitting her daughter’s German Shepherd pup, Benny, took us on a short trail and showed me a lot of plants. I also saw some wild mammals, but that’s for another post.
Wabash Railroad ride, 040813, Wildwood, Mo.
August 5, 2013
We heard about the
Forest Park Forever/Audubon Society monthly birdwalk, 030813, Forest Park, St.Louis
August 4, 2013
We gathered and walked out of the Visitors’ Center:
Madonna, and memories of the past...
August 2, 2013
Views of Alton and Grafton,Illinois, 270713
August 1, 2013
After we were done at the Lewis and Clark State Historical Site, looking at the old boat and the settler’s houses, we went to Alton:
Six months old, 280713
August 1, 2013
Where did 180 days go?
Prairie, Lewis and Clark State Historical Site, 270713
July 31, 2013
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Lewis and Clark Historical Center, Hartford, Illinois, and Alton, 270713
July 28, 2013
Ruth was kind enough to take me to the Lewis and Clark Historical Center, Hartford, Illinois, venue of the Hummingbird Festival. We were going to watch the
Jumping, cackling, whistling, and crowning
July 27, 2013
When people jump to entertain him, he cackles…
Canvassing for votes...I dislike it
July 26, 2013
Dear Blogger, Photographer, or anyone else canvassing for my “valuable vote”.
When melody is lost...
July 25, 2013
Paul Fernandes, and Old Bangalore
July 24, 2013
A set of beautiful posters, by
Soft as sin
July 24, 2013
“Soft as sin”, said the words Of Jonna’s haiku. The words imprinted themselves In my heart. Yes, I thought…sin is soft. The soft temptation that calls one In the darkness of the soul To do things against one’s conscience. The soft sibilancy of illicit love Whispering in one’s ears…lust. The soft delight of food that is eaten For sheer love of eating…gluttony. The soft, insistent wanting Of more than one has…greed. The soft sounds of sleep That is beyond rest…sloth. The soft heat that comes to a head In a burst of temper…wrath. The softness of a poisonous remark Made against someone…envy. Sin does not stride boldly Into one’s soul; It slides in, softly, Slinking in, with slime.. With unseemly haste, we surrender While our good selves sleep. “Soft as sin”….so descriptive. The sibilance of the Serpent Is in those words.
Two feet...and six...two red beings
July 24, 2013
I went to Forest Park for a shot walk, and was delighted by a certain red gentleman:
Guru Purnima.
July 23, 2013
September 5th is usually celebrated as Teacher’s Day in India, but a lot of people are thinking of their preceptors today, which is Guru Purnima. Here are my thoughts…
Nature Trail at Lost Valley and Busch Conservation Area
July 21, 2013
Devin Peipert picked me up at 5.15am this morning, and we went to the Lost Valley:
The sleeping angel
July 19, 2013
Throughout the evening, after she returned from daycare, she troubled me. Didn’t want to wash her hands or feet…didn’t want to start, or finish, her dinner…kept pushing me to see how far I’d go…I was exhausted by the time her father took her upstairs to brush her teeth and go to sleep. Between her and her baby brother, the noise level was enormous, too…
Why LJ is dead as a dodo for me
July 19, 2013
- Most of the friends who were on LJ have moved on.
- All the comments, debates and conversations have ceased. I find FaceBook a place where all this happens now.
- Some days, I am not able to even open LJ. If I do, I am sometimes not able to post. If I can, I am not able to see friends’ posts, or comment on them. Sometimes I can’t even reply to the rare comment that someone leaves on my post.
- I think that spammers are the only visitors I have. My stats have recorded 190 unique visits yesterday, 160 today. ONE comment, and 80 spam comments (in Japanese, mostly, nowadays.)
One creeper is enough for...
July 18, 2013
One creeper’s enough for several insects, as I found when I looked.
My very own GPS
July 17, 2013
Perhaps a little sexist…but I still liked it!
Colours, and KTB
July 17, 2013
The Pearly Crescent, Cahokia Mounds, 140713
July 17, 2013
What lovely common names butterflies do have! Amy Witt’s mother, Linda Witt, helped me id this little beauty that I followed for a while, forsaking the ancient civilization at Cahokia Mounds.
Birding at Cahokia Mounds, Missouri, 140713
July 16, 2013
Letter to MOBirds mailing list:
The Bundle
July 16, 2013
A head of fuzzy hair With a Mohawk, And a long Dennis-the-Menace cowlick. Silky, satiny, velvety skin. The most amazing, almond-shaped eyes That look at me with utter innocence. Pudgy little arms that fly up In an arc, when disturbed. The chubby cheeks of one who has Only food custom-made for him, By his mother..and Mother Nature. Dimples everywhere… On his knuckles, his cheeks, his chin, His knees, his toes…and his hips. Fatly little legs, and strong thighs That kick strongly. A rosebud mouth, a toothless smile. A round “O” of anger and a demand For instant attention. Little dumpling turnovers, Rolling along the floor. Drool, and often spitups, All over his round face. Happy cooing, like a pigeon. High-pitched whistling that seems To go beyond human hearing. Pees too often, poops Not often enough. This, then, is the bundle That my grandson is. Oh…I forgot to mention: Wrapped around his tiny little finger Is my heart, and those of his family. Can someone who cannot speak, Cannot walk…be so vitally important When we lived without him for many years? Yes…he can…and he is.
The American-Indian flautist, Cahokia Mounds, 140713
July 15, 2013
I went to Cahokia Mounds yesterday, with my friend, Ruth Hartsell, who is very kind-hearted and takes me to all sorts of interesting places! In so many years of visiting St.Louis, I’d never been to this World Heritage Site. It was well worth the visit, but I’m writing about an exhibition of native American (Indian is politically incorrect word now?) art and craft there, and I talked to this musician, who had several flutes for sale, made from Cedar and other woods…
What verb?
July 15, 2013
The princess...and the prisoner
July 15, 2013
It’s Sunday morning, and our little Pink Princess has come downstairs, decked in her tiara, two pearl necklaces…
Baby Beluga...the song, and for real
July 12, 2013
Many years ago, when I visited my cousin Harini, her young son Dushyant sang this song very sweetly:
Hares to fun and games
July 12, 2013
Blasts from the past...
July 11, 2013
KM’s cousin, Raju Srikumar, put up a lot of family photographs on FB, and I downloaded these….
Corporates, and outsourcing
July 9, 2013
How apt a sign for our times, when God is incorporated!
KPs first flight
July 5, 2013
I think I caught both his expression and his thought, on his first-ever flight…
Names that go together...
July 3, 2013
Some names from the past that just go together…Hall and Stevens (geometry), Wren and Martin (English grammar), Swan and Edgar (shopping in London), Lakshmikant and Pyarelal, Shankar and Jaikishen (Hindi film music) Viswanathan and Ramamurthy (Tamizh film music), Simon and Garfunkel (pop music)….
The strange things that happen to me...
July 2, 2013
I decided to see the first show of “Shrek”..the musical, based on the movie…at the Muny.
I stand alone....
July 2, 2013
3 generations in number plates
July 1, 2013
My daughter encouraged me:
Chasing away the Red-tailed Hawk
July 1, 2013
I’d finished my walk, and was coming home, when I suddenly looked up, and saw a Red-tailed Hawk being chased all over the sky by Grackles and Robins:
We work at our laptops...
July 1, 2013
Dad said he had some work to do… Sit on the porch, and on his lap Keep his computer and work… tap-tap-tap.
The Barn Swallow Babies Forest Park, 300613
June 30, 2013
I’d decided to go for a brisk walk. NO birding, I’d promised myself. But I knew it was a hollow promise when I slung my camera around my neck! (well, even without the camera,I’d stop for any interesting bird or other creature…I knew it.) Like an addict who’s determined to kick the addiction, I set off at a brisk pace.
A catchy song...from start to Finnish
June 30, 2013
Read More
The night before the Supermoon...
June 27, 2013
Every day origami
June 26, 2013
One tends to think of origami as a purely art form, for children to learn….and forget the fact that it’s very useful in daily life, too. You can take a piece of cardboard, shaped thus:
Hungarian Shadow Dance
June 26, 2013
I was moved watching this, and I hope you will be, too…
Varsha, Bhoomi, Prakriti
June 24, 2013
Sunset at the Muny, 170613
June 22, 2013
I went to the Muny to watch the opening night of the musical season, with “Spamalot”. It had been raining heavily all day…but as if in salute to the never-say-die spirit of the cast, the rain petered out, and we had the most amazing sunset colours, before the show began! I thought of
PRB...Post-Retirement Blues...
June 21, 2013
It strikes me that none of the management schools have any courses to deal with “after”….the years after one’s active career is over, the “vana prastha” that Hindu scriptures deal with. Ambition is great while it is applicable, but I find that very few people, who have been driven by their careers, can deal with life after retirement; indeed, to many of them, “retirement” seems to be synonymous with being “useless”. Shifting down the gears does not come easily, nor does finding other interests to occupy oneself with, particularly when one has not had the time to cultivate such interests in the hectic pace of one’s career.
The Robin Nursery, Creve Coeur, 160613
June 19, 2013
They may be the most common birds here, but babies are still fascinating….
Passenger aircraft from the past....
June 18, 2013
I was just musing on a few lines in a novel by Dick Francis, “Smokescreen”…“You can’t keep a good Dakota down. There were two of them …..sitting on their tail wheels and pointing their dolphin snouts hopefully to the sky.”
Circus Flora, 150613, St.Louis
June 17, 2013
Circus Flora, this year, put up a theme of “A Trip To The Moon”, based on Georges Melies 1902 film, Le Voyage dans la Lune.
What Indian advertisements have taught me
June 15, 2013
- Kareena has dandruff problem, Katrina has dry hair problem, Shilpa has hairfall problem and Priyanka has chip-chip.
Buildings, neighbourhoods, heritage...and thoughts
June 12, 2013
I take the same route on my walk every day, and the variations I make are now very limited, because time is a constraint (today KTB started yowling well before I got back, and ruined her parents’ sleep.) But I feel that every day’s walk is different..I see different things, or see the same things differently.
Baby Care
June 12, 2013
Don’t you know, little infant, As you push away that bottle, That this one ounce of milk (That you’re reluctant to finish) And the need to get it into you… Is the reason I’m here, Halfway around the world? Caring for you is… This tiny bit of milk, Washing bottles, wiping your tiny, Dimpled bottom, and changing your nappy. Bathing and then massaging you, And hearing you chortle with delight. It’s also watching you, as you sleep, With your pudgy little arms Slowly coming down to rest After flying up when you get disturbed. It’s my delight when you begin to coo; It’s my wondering when you will begin To turn over, instead of lying, curled With your tiny frog-legs up in the air. My home may be far away: But my heart is here, with you, In your soft skin, and your toothless smile.
More on scientific names....
June 12, 2013
I do understand the need for scientific names, but I also must add the caveat that they are not required by everyone; some of us ambling-along nature-lovers find some scientific names very off-putting indeed. How interesting it is, to tell a group of children, “See the Spittle-bugs!
Sometimes the attractions are closed...
June 12, 2013
I wanted to do the Miniature Museum, but here’s one review that I found very unsettling:
Science of the Circus, 080613, St.Louis
June 10, 2013
I’m on the mailing list of the
Science of the Circus Symphony birding
June 10, 2013
That subject title needs a lot of explanation :)
Diamond drops....
June 9, 2013
Diamond dew drops glisten In the morning sun The very light seems washed, and fresh… The rule of night is done.
Some memories
June 8, 2013
Kanian Chatterjee sent me a rendition of Robindro Songeet.
Names, knowledge, and elitism
June 6, 2013
I tend to notice an elitism about Knowing Names. I start out by looking at a beautiful bird, or a pretty butterfly, or a lovely tree. I then look up to the person who confidently identifies it for me. A Bulbul! I am thrilled that I have this knowledge.
Its never too early to spout nonsense at babies
June 6, 2013
Here’s KP, cooing and gurgling happily to the nonsense verse I am spouting at him:
Brown Paper
June 5, 2013
Yesterday, I was able to go to friends’ LJ pages, and comment, too..and it lasted for a while. Well, at least today I can open my own LJ page….!
FPF/Audubon 1st Saturday Bird Walk, 010613, Forest Park
June 4, 2013
This was supposed to be a walk to the Norman Probstein Golf Course, to see the gourds and boxes of the
Requiem for a marriage
June 3, 2013
Unexpected colour....
June 2, 2013
Milk…is white…and the job of feeding it to a baby every day (and the other care associated with it) can be bland and boring.
Theres a way of conveying things...
June 2, 2013
Instead of waxing eloquent and wasting words, some people have a great knack of conveying what they want to say, with great style.
Jellyfish, 270513, Chicago, Shedd Aquarium
May 31, 2013
On a recent visit to Chicago, I went to visit the famous
The moon in the clouds...
May 30, 2013
Here’s the moon in the clouds.
Visit to Chicago, 26, 27, 280513
May 30, 2013
DS’ mother, LS, asked, “So how was the great Chicago trip?” and the answer is….
Robins Nest
May 25, 2013
My own LJ is opening up, at last…I still can’t see friends’ pages, but this is a slight improvement…
KTB is creative
May 24, 2013
Here’s her own positive spin on “Jamaican Farewell”!
The Mantis Shrimp
May 24, 2013
I was listening to this song (OK, it must be pretty old hat for most of you,but I was listening to it for the first time:
The Bard and the birds
May 22, 2013
I went to see Twelfth Night at Forest Park. But it had not yet become dark. I went to hear some immortal words; But everywhere I saw the birds.
Bees and flowers....
May 22, 2013
I went to the U City Library, and was waiting..it was 8.45am and the library opens at 9am. I looked at the flowers along the wall of the building..and found the bees active…
The Gateway Arch
May 21, 2013
Sometimes,it’s more fun to see a landmark in unexpected places….
Patting the...back
May 20, 2013
At last, LJ opens up for a few minutes…let me rush to post.
Home birding
May 15, 2013
When housebound, taking care of a little baby, one can still enjoy a fair amount of bird-watching!
Every day is Daughters Day
May 15, 2013
I gave birth to my only child, a daughter, about thirty four and a half years ago. On that winter morning, of the second of November, the pain of childbirth made me a mother…it was Mother’s Day for me.
Punctuation of life
May 14, 2013
As one grows up, one discovers the discovery power of the question mark, then the exciting power of the exclamation mark. Then…the slower power of the comma…the sedate power of the semi-colon…and finally, the restful power of the full stop.
In memory of Akash
May 13, 2013
My friends Sujata and Ravi Dube’s son Akash passed away exactly a year ago, to leukemia. Akash had fought back spiritedly, and even organized a Terry Fox Run in Chennai. I think he conquered the illness with his outlook.
Wonderful words, by an unknown author
May 9, 2013
Six men were trapped by happenstance, in the bleak and bitter cold. Each one held a log of wood, or so the story’s told.
040513 Ist Saturday Bird Walk, Forest Park Forever/St.Louis Audubon Society. Kennedy Forest
May 5, 2013
Today’s Forest Park Forever/Audubon Society first Saturday bird walk was very rewarding for me. It was great to walk with experienced birders; I saw a variety of Warblers that would otherwise have been Anonymous Brown Jobs!
My grandson
May 3, 2013
He came into the world, a little scrap of a human being; he was “asked” to come into the world as further residence in his first abode would not be of benefit to him…so he was a smaller baby, at birth, than he might otherwise have been.
The joys of being a boy
May 1, 2013
Siddharth and Karthik came home to celebrate KTB’s 4th birthday, and were instantly up in the tree. KTB stood on the grass, advising them not to climb the tree as “you will end up in hospital!” she scolded.
Words of appreciation...
May 1, 2013
Here’s an FB message I got today:
4th Birthday
April 29, 2013
KTB’s fourth birthday is tomorrow, the 29th of April So we had a pool party to celebrate:
Audubon Society Bird Walk, 280413 Kennedy Forest, Forest Park
April 29, 2013
Here’s my email to Bob Bailey, who led the walk:
Interesting event...
April 26, 2013
I’d been to a fund-raising event yesterday, by the St.Louis Academy of Sciences:
Fast and slow trains
April 24, 2013
I was reading a few emails about travelling on faster and faster trains….I am wondering, apropos of this thread…is speed everything?
Fast Food Brand Name Nursery Rhymes
April 21, 2013
Children’s education includes fast food very early, these days! Here’s what she’s learnt at her daycare:
Outing to Dresser Island, 130413
April 17, 2013
My email to Mike Grant (in charge of birding/field trips, Audubon Society of St.Louis):
Where....?
April 16, 2013
When the ground is covered with snow, Where do the birds go? When the earth is soaked with rain, Where do the birds go for grain? When the sun bakes the fields with its heat, When the cracked earth burns our feet.. When the very air is hot and dry, Where do the birds go…and why? When the dusk deepens into twilight, When rules the darkness of the night… When no chink of light can show, Where do the birds go? We treat many people like the birds: When they’re with us, we have kind words. But when with us they are not, We do not give them a thought. Where do the people go? Where do the birds go?
Correcting a mistake....
April 15, 2013
Guide to Birds and Butterflies...
April 15, 2013
Birds of Missouri:
Dresser Island, 130413 American Pelicans
April 14, 2013
Will be uploading photos later, but couldn’t resist sharing this video of hundreds of American Pelicans soaring in the sky above the Mississippi:
Child Stroller Birding The Red-tailed Hawk with its prey
April 12, 2013
It really is worth taking along the camera, no matter where and when I go….I got ample proof of this when I decided to take KTB for a walk in Forest Park. I put her in her stroller, and entered the park at the History Museum, as usual, and was walking along the edge of the golf course towards the Grand Basin…when I suddenly saw a
The spell chequer...
April 11, 2013
Thanks to Deepa Vaishnavi, who posted it on her FB page:
Robert Bob Shaffer, a wonderful person to meet and know.
April 10, 2013
DS’ grandfather, Bob Shaffer, is 97…and he’s truly a gentleman of the old school…gentle and kind. He’s also a highly qualified man; he was the Dean of Indiana University (and my cousin met him when he…the cousin…was studying there!)
Do you want to meet a Very Important Person?
April 10, 2013
This guy is going to be a Future Rocket Scientist, because his clothes proclaim so:
Forest Park Forever/Audubon Society 1st Saturday Walk, 060413...and other things
April 7, 2013
I didn’t get the email informing me that the meeting point for today’s walk had been changed to
Childhood stories....
April 5, 2013
The perils of urbanization
April 4, 2013
Sumeet is a person with very interesting ideas, and in a recent conversation, he talked about his liking the following definition of independence by M K Gandhi:
Indian School Educationmainstream and alternate
April 2, 2013
The mainstream Indian educational system is, to my mind, utterly stultified. We follow an ancient tradition, but not ancient enough…we follow the old British school system, not our own Vedic (or any other equally old) kind of education. We place extreme stress on rote learning, and make only token concession to modern methods. In fact, it seems to be nothing but memorizing facts, and repeating it in the all-important examinations. Shakespeare and Euclid are not studied for knowledge, but to get a few more marks in the exam…and they are studied with “key books”.
How the temperature rises...
March 31, 2013
The weather may be cold, but our temperatures are not, down St.Louis way. We start like this…
Holi, St.Louis, 300313
March 31, 2013
Sometimes, the very air is charged with the colours of happiness.
Black and white, 240313
March 29, 2013
We say “black and white”…but it’s never just black and white. There are always the various shades of grey, the areas that are neither here nor there….but I can’t talk about fifty shades of grey any more!
Snow, and winter
March 25, 2013
Snow is supposed to be white; But many colours seen to hide in it. The snow catches the band of the prism: Indeed, it can even widen it.
Trash Bash, Mississippi-Missouri, 230313
March 25, 2013
Ruth Hartsell kindly took me along to the Trash Bash at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers…
Im RICH
March 23, 2013
I was trying to locate some bird photos on my LJ, and suddenly got a “site stat:
P N Krishnaswamy, 1917-2004
March 23, 2013
Recently, KP (that’s Kalyan Mohan Shaffer) seemed to look exactly, I said in an email, “like PiNK Mama”
Simple and ornate...
March 21, 2013
I’ve been recently seeing pictures of several places of worship…all of them very ornate and fancy, indeed. (The latest being a very grand Gurdwara in Dubai..
The colours of behaviour....
March 19, 2013
At KTB’s daycare, they never use the words “disobedience” or “bad behaviour” (or behavior, as it is spelt in American E.) But each child has a clothes peg assigned to hem, and depending on how the day has gone, the person picking up the child can see where the child has been…well…pegged.
Delightful finger rhyme...
March 18, 2013
Whats a weed? Whats a flower?
March 18, 2013
One blooming flower Takes many a weary (and expensive) hour But the first flower of a weed… It blooms at great speed!
Cloudbow..or ringbow...around the sun, St.Louis 150313
March 16, 2013
I made a movie, using one of Picasa’s features for the first time.
Those irritating tails...
March 15, 2013
We all receive them…emails with some text, and then a long, pompous, legal-sounding warning at the tail-end of the message. We’ve learnt to ignore them, by and large, but, once in a while….
The fruit fiend
March 14, 2013
We are very lucky to have a fruit fiend at home. Cherries, strawberries, kiwis, blueberries….and, especially, bananas…
The mist
March 11, 2013
This was the scene when I went to drop Boodi Ma at her daycare, a few days ago.
This business of Daylight Saving Time
March 11, 2013
This morning, when I woke up, I’d lost an hour. Permanently.
To Women Too Busy to Know its Their Day by Vasu Ramanujam
March 9, 2013
When a woman too busy to know Working in a parched field A wet construction site Or a sweltering factory floor Nurses a sick child
Shes a budding corporate honcho....
March 8, 2013
Kavya decided to play noughts and crosses on her dry-erase slate with her dad. She took the first turn, and here’s how the slate looked when she asked her dad to put down his first nought!
Our sheets have arms and legs...
March 6, 2013
Good design matters in the smallest of details....
March 6, 2013
I buy a certain brand of bra, which has adjustible straps, and a plastic doohickey to connect the bra to the strap.
The eternal skirmish...
March 4, 2013
One of my friends, on a mailing list, sent me this picture,
Forest Park Forever/St.Louis Audubon Society, First Saturday Bird Walk, Forest Park, 020313
March 3, 2013
When I went for the monthly bird walk today, I felt that I was not in the US, but in the country of Chile…the temperature was 0 deg C, but the wind chill factor brought it down several degrees below that! However, in spite of frozen fingers, I had a very enjoyable time!
Some politically incorrect Indian jokkus...
March 2, 2013
Q. What are Jokkus?
Wildlife equipment
March 1, 2013
I made friends with Kiran Srivastava at INW (I’ve still not met him face to face..the one time he visited Bangalore, I was out in Nandi Hills or somewhere.) He has a great sense of humour, liked this piece very much!
Colours of life, and love...
February 27, 2013
Here are the colours of a young life, that I snapped….
Chasing the devil out of the bottle
February 26, 2013
When a bottle of whisky is finished, we like to chase the devil out of the bottle.
The culture of outsourcing
February 25, 2013
I am trying to articulate a theory that I have…that one of the reasons we, as a nation, don’t accomplish things, is our culture of Letting Someone Else Do It. We always delegate whatever we can (and several things we should not) to others. Power seems to be equal to Not Having To Do Things Oneself. There are always Anonymous Minions to carry out our mundane tasks. (I receive requests from so many people on this mailing list to unsubscribe them or add on another email id!) We do not feel empowered unless we do not have to do things ourselves. What we forget is that if we don’t do it ourselves, the other person assigned the task of doing it, will not do it as well. This, to me, explains the shoddy, chalta-hai ulture that vitiates much of our industry and endeavours.
Big Bird Day, 240213
February 25, 2013
Here’s the officialese about the Big Bird Day:
Four hand photography...
February 23, 2013
This family wins, hands down…
Wonderful lyrics...
February 22, 2013
Once upon a flame...
February 22, 2013
Every friend who’s gone with me on the UGS (Usual Gang of Suspects) nature trails this year, has enjoyed the sight of the Pakshi Darshini (Eatery for birds)…
Just watch this...
February 19, 2013
I didn’t get it till the very end…see if you do!
Wood Duck....Forest Park, 170213
February 19, 2013
How much wood would a Wood Duck duck If a Wood Duck would duck wood? I don’t know how much wood he could… But he certainly looks good!
Terraces....
February 17, 2013
Terraces….I look at the houses around me in St.Louis, and this is one feature I miss…all these houses have sloping roofs, so that the occasional snow can slide off. However, in India, most houses and apartment buildings are topped by flat terraces, which have multiple uses, and which add to the rich texture of life in my country.
The House Finches are back YAYYYY
February 15, 2013
I had made
The imp-in-the-box....
February 15, 2013
We get amazin’ stuff from Amazon….
Lone Elk Park, and the Great Horned Owls at Forest Park,090213
February 13, 2013
After visiting the temple, Anjana acceded to my request to drive through Lone Elk Park (more than that was not possible, given a 12-day-old baby in the car, and the cold weather), and it was a good drive…as we were able to see
The bridge...of sighs, and being wise
February 12, 2013
There’s no one on the bridge now. The turgid, frigid water may be slow; But still, I watch it flow. I can remember how The earlier water felt How, before the melt The water iced my heart And tore it apart. Now the old days are gone . The time has flown. The bridge is empty: the water beneath No longer chills: My heart now is in an armoured sheath. I donn’t plumb the depths… or climb the hills.
Colour, and black and white..
February 12, 2013
Which photo appeals to me more?
The diaper change from hell...
February 11, 2013
How do we value our time?
February 8, 2013
I read this interesting article:
Two feet old...
February 8, 2013
Born on the twenty-eighth, just twelve days ago, You’d think his growth would be very slow. Au contraire. He has been fleet… He seems already to have grown…two feet!
The Song Sparrow
February 8, 2013
Another rare chance to be able to post to LJ…I really do NOT know why I’m not giving up…just cussedness, I think. My dear friends…I can’t read your posts any more, most of the time…I can’t even post to my own LJ….I can’t reply to your comments (though I can see them most of the time)…Oh well, I’ll continue as long as I can.
Different paths to the same goal...
February 5, 2013
Some of us use only our field glasses; Some take informative, educative classes; Some go with others and watch what they do; There are multiple paths to learning how to watch birds, too. A different path may be liked by each… Including the level each wants to reach.
Snow...and mortality
February 3, 2013
I woke up in the middle of the night To see a world swathed in silent white. The snow came down in a luminous cloud One little flake landed on my palm. And melted into water; no fuss, so calm. This is the way one should accept death…. The calm cessation of drawing the breath Everything stilled in the billowing cloud Where the angels’ white, is the white of the shroud. Melting, not into liquidity But quietly into eternity.
Rudyard Kipling...words that make sense across the centuries
February 2, 2013
Rudyard Kipling We and They “A Friend of the Family” From “Debits and Credits”(1919-1923)
PSG...Pseudo-Scientific Guff
February 2, 2013
Every now and then, I get internet forwards which purport to be “scientific” explanations of our “age-old culture” and “traditions”…The latest one is too good not to share; this is about how good it is to visit temples:
Grandchildren...
February 1, 2013
“Deepamma, will you sleep with me?” The soft voice is irresistible… As are the two tiny arms That twine themselves around my neck. I sing the soothing monotone Of a traditional lullaby That’s been sung to children for centuries. The arms slacken, the breathing deepens. The gentle curve of the cheek, the sweep of the closed lashes The slight opening up of the fingers in sleep. The soft rise and fall of her chest. I remember the day when she, too Was hardly more than a Peanut… I called her Eli (mouse) then… In the past three years, she may have often Slipped her arms around my neck. But it’s my heart that she has fettered. I kiss her, carefully, and think of her brother, With whom I will revisit these heavenly places… They send tendrils of love all around my heart, These two: for ever more, They have me wrapped around their tiny fingers. I am surely the most willing, the most happy slave! Grandchildren are even more joy-giving than children can be, I find.
Bird watching...
January 31, 2013
How, Madhavi says, some of us sight far more birds than others do…
Peanut-Kalyan, 280113
January 30, 2013
Children....
January 27, 2013
Dolmen in Bannerghatta forest...
January 27, 2013
Read More
Permanence and Transience...
January 24, 2013
On the banks of Kunigal Dodda Kere (big lake), I found the age-old temple of Someshwara, and on the gopura, which has stood for centuries, I found this already broken wasps’ nest:
enjoyed these very much
January 24, 2013
ANGRY NOTES:
A feel-good incident this time
January 23, 2013
I’ve been interacting, on FaceBook, with the MD of BESCOM (Bangalore Electricity Supply Corporation), Mr Manivannan (though our interaction is not mainly on civic issues..he’s quite a poet!). I have been getting the sense that he’s shaking up this behemoth and making them more accountable and user-friendly.
Some images from the Bird Race outing
January 23, 2013
It was great not to be in any kind of competitive mode, but to take a lot of people (and children) around, to show them as many birds as possible.
Bangalore Bird Race, 200113
January 23, 2013
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Im boiling over....
January 22, 2013
On Friday, 11th Jan 2013, a few of us were going for a birding trail, and we were waiting at the chai shop at Mantri Residency Apartments, on Bannerghatta Road, for a couple of others to arrive.
Three tests...with a sting in the tale
January 21, 2013
Had a hectic week and weekend…but before I write about it all, here’s something to make you smile!
The Mind Reader....
January 17, 2013
I think everyone who uses the internet must watch this:
Heroes, and feet of clay
January 17, 2013
The sadness we feel at the fall of heroes is less to do with their frailty, and more to do with our need to set up heroes in the first place. If we deify humans, they are bound to prove to be only human, after all….!
Sankranti Oota at Halli Mane, Malleswaram, Bangalore, 140113
January 16, 2013
Some of the BULBs (Bangalore Urban Lady Birders) decided to meet up for lunch at Halli Mane on Sankranti Day:
Everyone should see this...
January 16, 2013
Thippa Gondana Halli (T G Halli) Reservoir, 120113
January 14, 2013
Amith Arun Kamal Naveen Rashmi Rohan Roy Swethadri
Cough Syrup
January 10, 2013
Things haven’t been going well for me, and not only on LJ. Well, I suppose it’s really my fault. But that doesn’t make it easier to bear, and today, I felt pressurized and sick…and suicidal. But I posted a message on FB, and immediately, friends reached out, with messages and emails….and my friend Arun sent me this link:
In, and On....
January 9, 2013
These two prepositions were in, and on, my mind over the weekend.
Lasted all of four minutes
January 8, 2013
With not much hope, I clicked on “Friends entries”…and was astounded to see that the pages actually opened up, AND I could post comments! AMAZING! I could see my friends’ posts, and comment too! I rushed to comment on a few…and a few is all I could comment on. WHOMP! I suddenly got a blank screen when I tried to comment on
Black-crowned Heron....Bannerghatta, zoo area, 060113
January 8, 2013
A wonderful short video from a friend ....
January 5, 2013
Valley School, 050113, Saturday
January 5, 2013
My first birding outing of 2013….
The Tiger comes to town....Bangalore Fort, 22 and 231212
January 5, 2013
I’d been to attend a multi-media event at the Bangalore Fort.
The magic circle
January 4, 2013
Bannerghatta zoo area, and in the Zoo 301212
December 31, 2012
Hi,
Sloth Bears of Daroji...The Alternative
December 25, 2012
Read More
Donde esta Santa Claus?
December 25, 2012
It’s Christmas Eve…Silvesterabend…and here’s one of my favourite children’s songs.
4th Sunday outing of BWFC Muthanallur Kere, 231212
December 24, 2012
Hi, everyone
My child...and hers...
December 22, 2012
When my child sighs In distant shores… It brings tears to my eyes. She misses her child, But her separation is mild… A matter of a few hours.
Romancing the Wind...Ray Bethell
December 21, 2012
I found this incredible video and would like to share it with all of you…
Disney Bakery, BTM Layout, 181212
December 20, 2012
Read More
Where did I leave my purdah? Play Review
December 18, 2012
Click
How the December quiz went 161212, Sunday QuizFamilies
December 18, 2012
Click
3rd Sunday Outing of BWFC, Ragihalli area, 161212
December 16, 2012
No photographs!
Friends....
December 15, 2012
I’d posted in Facebook: “There are times…when I wonder whether people do like me..or are just too polite to tell me otherwise!”
Phobjikha, Scenery, 271112
December 14, 2012
We see, in Bhutan, a land full of prayer, in the form of wheels and flags that flutter in the breeze:
What could this dried fruit be?
December 13, 2012
In a small improvement, I can now post and comment on my own LJ,at least and at last…
A beautiful ghazal
December 12, 2012
A ghazal is, technically, Urdu poetry. But Hindi is very close to Urdu, and some of the most beautiful ghazals are from Hindi movies.
Rest, Ever rest, and Everest...
December 12, 2012
Deepak Edwin, one of my FB friends, asked, “Do you ever rest?” The answer is….
The train journey
December 12, 2012
I am still young-at-heart enough (or foolish enough) to love a train journey.
A revisit to an old entry
December 11, 2012
Click
Valley School, 081212, Saturday
December 10, 2012
Chandu Bandi, Job Joseph, and I went on a nature trail at the Valley School yesterday (071212, Saturday), and the Valley never disappoints. We managed to see 66 species of birds and several species of butterflies, and we were also able to observe many things at leisure, such as the courtship dance of one Coppersmith Barbet pair all over a couple of trees, ants tending to aphids, wasps laying their eggs on figs, and a wasp collecting mud for her nest..
Fingers of God
December 7, 2012
When the sun’s rays pierce the clouds, that effect is called the “Fingers of God”. Surely, I feel, God lays His (or Her) fingers on this magic country of the Thunder Dragon! No more words…just enjoy what I saw and want to share with you.
LJ and me...
December 7, 2012
Mostly, I am not able to see the “post to journal” button and cannot post. I cannot comment on my friends’ entries and sometimes, I am not even sure I am seeing them all. I am getting Japanese spam as well, nowadays. I am on the verge of quitting LJ…it’s only that I hate something getting the better of me…today I am able to post!
Prayers on the breeze...
December 7, 2012
In Bhutan, anything….a human hand, the water in the mountain streams, the sunlight, the breeze…can be used to “power” a prayer. Surely this establishes that prayer is an energy, a force….?
Housing in nature
December 6, 2012
The latest article in my Nature feature column in Citizen Matters:
I eyed her....
December 3, 2012
A damsel (a fly) saw a female spider; She looked very happy when she spied her. She opened her mouth wide, and then wider: And ate till the spider was inside her!
Pune.... intriguing sights
December 2, 2012
Pune has been a great place to wander around….I attended a reception; some circles become ellipses depending on the angle of the camera….
Bhutan, Day 2, 211112
November 30, 2012
This was a day when we left Paro, and travelled through Dochu La (La is a pass) to Thimphu, got some permits (which also allowed us to explore the main street of the little capital at leisure while we waited for the paperwork…Geetanjali got us special permission to go to Phobjikha, which is no longer allowed, to see the critically-endangered Black-necked Cranes)…..and on to Punakha.
Bhutan, Day 1, 201112
November 21, 2012
Have just a few minutes of wifi at the hotel in Paro, but I’ve put up a few photographs of our flight into Paro from Kolkata,
Spam on LJ....
November 14, 2012
On the advice of
Votzit?
November 14, 2012
I often post photographs in Facebook under the album, “Votzit”…and I ask friends to identify what’s been photographed. Since I loved the colours in my latest set, I am posting the set here, and I think you will not find it too difficult to find out the answer!
Dagadusheth Halwai Ganapati Temple and Fort, Pune
November 13, 2012
On my way to the bus terminus in Pune, I saw parts of this historic city that I’ve never seen before…
Wildlife rescue....
November 12, 2012
We have recently been having a discussion about wildlife rescue…and here are my two cents.
Bannerghatta zoo area, and Gulakmale, 101112
November 11, 2012
Words play is not the same as sword play....
November 9, 2012
A bicycle can’t stand alone; it is two tired.
Storm on the train, and Pune
November 6, 2012
On the train to Pune, I watched the effects of the clouds, sky, sunlight and storm as we sped past the landscape:
LiveJournal woes...
November 6, 2012
I am, most often, NOT able to post comments on friends’ blogposts. Forgive me friends, I’m not guilty of snootiness…it is increasingly rare for me to be able to post comments.
How banking works here....
November 6, 2012
I’ve returned from a memorable trip to the north of Karnataka and then Pune, and part of Maharashtra….but that’s not what I want to write about.
Some of the creatures of Dandeli and Ganeshgudi, 24 to 261012
November 2, 2012
The creatures we saw in Ganeshgudi, and Dandeli, came in all shapes and sizes. Some were on the ground, some on the leaves, some on the trees…but all of them were fascinating.
Light and shade
November 1, 2012
A beautiful video with a special touch
November 1, 2012
I’ve spoken before of my friend
The Tarantula
October 31, 2012
Those who are arachnophobic, SKIP!
One of my favourite songs...
October 29, 2012
Ganeshgudi Sunrise
October 29, 2012
The probability that I will understand....
October 27, 2012
I canNOT understand probability theories. I think that everything is just 50-50…either it will happen or occur, or it will not.
Colourful birds
October 27, 2012
The
Relationships...
October 27, 2012
Back from a great trip to JLR Old Magazine House, Ganeshgudi, Karnataka…but more about that later. A series of misunderstandings , and a song that my friend Pavitra Jayaraman sent me, set me musing on relationships, and how proper communication is vital…
A momentous year...
October 23, 2012
Mating, and metamorphosis
October 20, 2012
Navaratri...Dashera....Pujo...
October 20, 2012
Going around, visiting my friends and also checking out the condition of lakes, I got some images I’d like to share with you. No LJ cuts in this post!
The loving, bird-brained couple...
October 17, 2012
For the past several (I think it’s eight now) I have had a pair of Blue Rock Pigeons (these should now be called Blue Apartment Pigeons!) sitting on a strut on the ventilator shaft of my apartment building.
Friendships
October 16, 2012
How did all my friends Become so precious to me? We just started exchanging a few words. But more than words were heard. Through the words, like the string in a garland, Affection expressed itself, And mutual liking was established. We sought more opportunities to meet: We also exchanged more words online. Soon the bonds formed, They tightened as time passed. I do not know which friendships Will last the length of years Until the years themselves pass. Today, with the internet, There is no reason but apathy (And lack of time) To not keep in touch. My heart has room for many people But my life, and the daily grind, Does not. The days are like A kaleidoscope Where each day brings different friends, Or sometimes the same friends, Into view. Accepting this, I am able to have so many close friends Rather than trying to have An intense relationship With each one. Friendships…my greatest treasure. But I cannot count each gold coin every day! I accept that some coins might tarnish Or be spent. But the others that remain Fill the coffers of my heart.
Meanwhile, two weekends in St Louis....
October 15, 2012
Another busy weekend...
October 15, 2012
Weekends are my busiest time, and also the time I enjoy the most, as I am either taking out a group of children (sorry, that sounded as if I am some kind of Herod or mass murderer…I meant, taking children on an outing) or adults, or both, on nature trails, or going, myself, with the UGS (Usual Gang of Suspects…our group of friends).
Desolate, and isolated....
October 12, 2012
How to recycle envelopes
October 11, 2012
I’ve been doing this for years, and been reviled as “cheap”…but now recycling has become “cool” and here’s my how-to….
Daroji/Hampi trip, field trip report, 290912 to 021012
October 11, 2012
Several of us drove down to Daroji and Hampi, leaving on the 29th of September and returning on the 2nd of October, 2013. The group from Bangalore conisted of: Manjula Sridhar, Rama Warrier, Rohan Chakravarty, Santosh Bengaluru, Samrat, Tharangini Bala, and myself. We were very lucky to meet up with Dr Arun S K, Dr Nagraj C S, Pompayyaswamy Malemath, Samad Kottur, and Santosh Martin, all from Bellary. They made it a very memorable visit for us.
Childhood toy....
October 9, 2012
When there are power cuts for long periods, when money is an issue, children are happy with traditional toys, too. Here’s a video of a boy with a toy:
Plum-headed Parakeets, Hampi, 011012
October 9, 2012
I’ll just let the photographs tell the story:
History in a puddle....
October 7, 2012
Here’s the gopura of the Virupaksha temple, Hampi, reflected in rainwater:
Daroji and Hampi....Fur and feathers
October 5, 2012
We had a wonderful trip to Daroji, Kamalapur and Hampi, and of course, the highlight of the visit was the wonderful World Heritage site at Hampi, and the Sloth Bears at Daroji.
Whozit?
October 4, 2012
I look at the pile-up of emails. From my male friends, and females. Amongst the whole varied lot There is one precious one that I spot. Like a miser, I save it away To look at, later in the day When my regular work is done When I take a break from the run I savour this mail from my friend. It gives me joy without end. Who is this email from, so Blessedly dear? Wouldn’t you like to know!
Windmills, Bell and Votzit...
October 3, 2012
On our trip to Daroji/Hampi, we took the Chitradurga/Hospet route, and near Chitradurga, we saw the majestic sight of the windmills turning:
My first post for The Alternative
September 28, 2012
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Daroji beckons...and children
September 28, 2012
Off for 4 days to Daroji/Hampi, let’s see what we see! We are 8 of us (6 NTP members) and we’ll be meeting
Looking back
September 28, 2012
The memories locked in each heart Could bring so many joys.. It could take us back to golden times When we could be happy, and rejoice.
Animusic...
September 27, 2012
I posted on Facebook just now, “With so many interesting YouTube clips today, I am that ancient Chinese lady, Wat Ching.”
Railway Retiring Rooms....and key words...
September 27, 2012
I was looking for the amenities available to passenger in various Indian railway stations, and just could not find anything that told me what was available, especially in the way of staying at the station itself. I posted on FB, and promptly got a lot of excellent links from friends.
1946 Wedding....88, Royapettah High Road....
September 27, 2012
Thanks to my cousin, Ganapathi Vibhu, I got this amazing treasure…the invitation to my parents’ wedding!
Listen to the trains rhythm...
September 26, 2012
Junglescapes Amphibian/Reptiles Excursion, Tambdi Surla, Goa, 12-16 Sept,, 2012
September 25, 2012
The first Junglecapes non-profit wildlife excursion.
FOBi (Fecal Output of Bos indicus)
September 25, 2012
While I realize that the scientific names of creatures are a kind of Unique Identification, and very necessary, I feel that often referring to creatures ONLY by their scientific names, and not the common ones, is a form of elitism….I-know-this-scientific-term-you- don’t-so-look-it-up…..if all and Sundari start doing this, it can be a lot of Bos indicus.
How did I get a daughter like this?
September 24, 2012
Serenity is White
September 23, 2012
Seven colours of the rainbow Each vibrant, bright Melt together in light To a gentle,quiet white. I wish I too go This way.. Having experienced the colours of life Into white serenity dissolve my strife.. In my life..may peace hold sway.
Vernal Hanging Parrot
September 23, 2012
There is only one real “parrot” in India, the Vernal Hanging Parrot. (The others are Parakeets). We got to observe a lot of them at Nature’s Nest, Canopy Goa, at Tambdi Surla, and I got this video of one feeding off the Powder Puff blossoms:
An old temple...
September 23, 2012
Nature, to me, doesn’t exclude humanity..what’s created by humanity, especially in the past, is very fascinating, too. While in the Melagari forests, I went to take a quick look at the old Dabbaguli temple.
The Balance...
September 22, 2012
Can and cannot
September 20, 2012
You can see the sun, when you can bear the ferocity of it splendour:
Jane Austen, and the riddle in Emma
September 19, 2012
I was re-re-re-re-reading “Emma” by Jane Austen, and impressed afresh by her wit and observation…but this time around, I decided to google for the unfinished and unexplained riddle that Mr Woodhouse keeps referring to:
Happy Ganesha Chathurthi to everyone...
September 19, 2012
Read More
Theatre...and nature... forests, snakes and frogs...
September 17, 2012
A review of “An Evening with Anton Chekhov” by rafiki and TFA:
Happy Birthday, Donna
September 17, 2012
Temples and sarees...
September 12, 2012
It is the practice, at many temples to any goddess, to offer sarees as a votive offering to the deity. But when I visited the Melagiri forests, I saw this shrine that was actually constructed of sarees…
Morning walk
September 11, 2012
I wake up early, and I think it’s usually the most wonderful part of the day. Yesterday’s cares seem distant and behind me; the air, and my mind, are fresh and ready for today. It feels wonderful to stretch one’s legs, and walk…not much, just about 4.5 km….and it’s a great time to think one’s own thoughts, introspect, say a few prayers….
A few creatures from the Melagiri forests....
September 10, 2012
On Saturday, I went with fellow volunteers of Kenneth Anderson Nature Society (KANS) to the forests of Uganiyam, to check on four camera traps that have been set there. These cameras have been recording a wealth of wildlife…leopards, tuskers, boars, birds, deer…and I wanted to see Uganiyam, too.
Just some flowers...
September 7, 2012
On the visit to the Pais’ farmhouse, I enjoyed the various flowers they had in their garden. Here are a few…
Thoughts about marriage
September 6, 2012
I had made
Rhyme schemes...
September 6, 2012
My lover Woke me in the middle of the night With sweet words. At that hour, Sleepy, with only the light Of the moon upon my bed, I said…. Something that only my lover heard.
The Sting
September 5, 2012
In the same tub/sump where we found the two fieldmice, we saw this deadly beauty:
A mouse but no computer nearby....
September 5, 2012
Since I’ve not totally got back to (ab)normal after my “stag”gering accident, I cancelled my proposed trip to Honey Valley in Coorg…but couldn’t keep away from ANY outing altogether, so the UGS (Usual Gang of Suspects) got together, and we went to the Bannerghatta-Kaggalipura Road, wandered along the area where the Waterlily Pond is, and then went to the Pais’ farmhouse.
Pais Farmhouse, Bannerghatta, 020912
September 5, 2012
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INTACH Basavanagudi Heritage Walk, 020912
September 3, 2012
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Stag Paati.....
August 31, 2012
Last weekend, I had been to Masinagudi with friends, and on Saturday evening, something happened that I still have no recollection of.
Temples.....
August 30, 2012
A Temple to Death (this was the place of the Parsi Tower of Silence, where the dead were offered to the Vultures as part of Nature’s food chain):
Sacrifice...
August 29, 2012
On Id-ul-Adha, the Moon, too, seems to have sacrificed some of Herself:
Always two, never one
August 24, 2012
I got this lovely sight of two Thunbergia sp flowers together.
Fish for breakfast....
August 24, 2012
The Brahminy Kite Has a head that is white The rest of it is a lovely red-brown; He sat for an hour, at least, With this fish for a feast, As he pecked and gulped it all down!
Spam
August 21, 2012
I’ve started getting oodles of spam again. I do wonder how much longer I am going to last on LJ.
Dr Joseph George, Rest in Peace
August 20, 2012
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Down memory lane...
August 16, 2012
Been looking at old photographs…can you believe that one is me, and one is
The garden caterpillar....
August 14, 2012
This caterpillar seems To have a garden on its back. Green seems the watchword As it follows the track. Bright red flowers Bloom amidst the green; It’s one of the most lovely cats That I’ve ever seen!
The Long-horned Beetles....
August 10, 2012
At the NTP, we came out for a chai break to find it POURING with rain. (The monsoon always waits for the official announcement in the newspapers, that it is a failure, before unleashing its fury on the city.) We found this
Votzit?
August 9, 2012
Tell me what this is (it took me a while to work it out):
The Jungle Lodges and Resorts Naturalists Training Program, 090812
August 9, 2012
Photos from the Yercaud Trip, 220712
August 8, 2012
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150983116363878.435534.587058877&type=3
Mathematics, Freud, and me
August 8, 2012
Freud’s theory that bad experiences in early childhood may have a great influence on one’s attitudes in adulthood seems, certainly, to be true in my case, with many subjects. Having had very different exposures to different “subjects” in school, my attitude towards them differs greatly.
A brush with animals....
August 7, 2012
I’ve known many wildlife artists, and usually I think of them as people from urban centres, who paint and exhibit in the city. Surprisingly, what was in front of my eyes for a very long time, I had not really noticed…until Sunday, when I met this wildlife artist.
Snake in the grass....<LJ user=idahoswede> do NOT see this post
August 6, 2012
Once in a while, these phrases come alive….on Saturday, while we were watching a field of Egrets, we saw one…
Colours, and the wind
August 3, 2012
No access to the forest immediate implications for children
August 3, 2012
Two incidents have cut us off from the forests of Karnataka.
Purple and Orange
August 2, 2012
More about two, six ,eight., and a thousand legs....
August 1, 2012
I’d posted about
Home Building....290712, J P Nagar Reserve Forest
July 31, 2012
During the nature trail on Sunday, we were able to watch some
BFK
July 31, 2012
Baitu Filter Kaapi, that is….
A moving, sincere goodbye
July 28, 2012
My daughter works for the St.Louis Metro, and one of her colleagues, who was leaving, wrote this farewell message to those who work for public transport in a culture of private transport. My daughter shared it with me. I found it very beautiful, and would like to share it.
Material loss...
July 27, 2012
I went yesterday to review the play, “Moliere Tonight!” at the Alliance Francaise de Bangalore…. and blanked out in actually removing my trusty MLC (Canon SX30) from across my shoulder and leaving it on or near the seat I was sitting. I realized I did not have it, when I came home….and was very sure I’d get it back.
Monster, but not from outer space...
July 24, 2012
I always knew that snails retreated within their shells, and then slowly came out again…but I had never really thought about “how” until I saw this African snail on Saturday, and decided to video it close up….
Its been a few days....
July 24, 2012
…since I last posted, and goodness knows how I coped…but I feel happy to report that I have coped.
Lights in the sky....
July 20, 2012
We watched the Fourth of July fireworks from a friend’s apartment terrace:
The Preening Tailor....
July 19, 2012
Hearing a loud whistly call from a Lantana bush, I approached a wee bit closer and got the tailor:
How cycling can help....
July 18, 2012
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Magazines in my childhood
July 18, 2012
A thread on a mailing list to which I belong, started talking about old Readers’ Digest, and of course, I fell to reminiscing (why does one have to fall to think back? Can’t one maintain one’s balance?)
Religion and opulence
July 17, 2012
I was looking at photos of a new place of worship coming up somewhere in the world, and felt strongly….I feel contrary once again, and wonder, why do we have to invest the objects of our faith or reverence with so much opulence? Why must we decorate our gods with gold and diamonds? I very often find that devotees seem to appreciate the materialistic opulence more than the deity enshrined.
Beginnings and endings
July 16, 2012
Dawn approaches. But there is dusk in my heart. More than three decades later, We are moving apart.
Vasus Pessimism Poetry
July 10, 2012
Life Can Present Some Nasty Turns
Disneys Aladdin at the Muny, 080712, St.Louis
July 10, 2012
It was a wonderful production of the Disney musical. I was asked not to take videos, so I did not. There were “Ali” fez-es and “Jasmine” tiaras being given away, and a magician entertained everyone, before the actual show. In spite of the thunderstorm, it was a wonderful evening, as Dawn, Rani and I had dinner (I made mooli parathas, buttermilk and dal) and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly…our row (Z, the last one) was the only covered one!
Magic, Flying Carpets, and more....
July 10, 2012
Adult and baby....
July 9, 2012
I’ve seen many
Following the dentists instructions....
July 9, 2012
The dentist (or either parent) has apparently told her that she must brush her teeth after dinner, but she’s upgraded that to DURING:
Past, and reflected, glory
July 8, 2012
A friend wrote on a mailing list:
A thousand points of light
July 7, 2012
Fireworks, Fourth of July
July 7, 2012
Since many of the firework displays around St.Louis were cancelled due to the high temperatures and fear of fire, we figured that the display under the Gateway Arch was likely to be immensely crowded.
Potential
July 5, 2012
I am just below “good” in everything that I do. Writing,sketching, photography, music, quizzing, learning….and I am repeatedly told, “You can do so much better at x, y, z…why don’t you realize your potential?”
Developing forms of communication
July 5, 2012
!. Communication in the line of sight or hearing. Sign language, speech.
- Communication beyond the line of sight or hearing. Written language.
- Communication, instantly, by aural means,beyond the line of sight. Telegraph, telephone.
- Communication, instantly, by aural and visual means, beyond immediate sight or hearing, only one way. Television.
- Communication, instantly, as above, and conversation across the world. Internet, email.
- Communication, and conversation, as above, with photographs. Attachments, digital images, video/audio phone networks.
- Communication, and conversation as above. Blogs.
- Communication, and conversation, on a wider platform. Social networking sites.
Impending separation
July 4, 2012
I put her to sleep…I think she’s off And slowly slide from the bed… Oh no, she’s not, she raises Her curly-tangled head. When her arms go round my neck, A tiny voice whispers in my ear, “Deepamma, don’t go away!” I want to spend forever here…. Children are the sweet tendrils That wind themelves around your heart. It wrenches me, each time I have To tear myself apart.
Beauty everywhere...
July 3, 2012
To most gardeners, insects on their plants means bad news, and something that must be dealth with drastically.
Baths....
July 3, 2012
Sometimes, it’s a little girl who bathes…
Medical, matrimonial, or...?
July 1, 2012
The green light of leisure
June 29, 2012
New laptop
June 29, 2012
After my laptop and I went flying over a granite surface last January, in Chambal, my friendly neighbourhood laptop repairman, and my dear friend
Longing....
June 28, 2012
Do you want to see the face of true love?
Past, present and future
June 26, 2012
Creatures of the land, air and water...
June 25, 2012
While in Memphis, we also spent a morning at
Suryaasthamana
June 24, 2012
This post contains Sol
Confusion...
June 24, 2012
Two videos...one Tamizh and one Hindi...
June 20, 2012
A Tamizh transliteration of a song (Vennilava?…“is it the white moon?”)
Two children and an E- nest....
June 20, 2012
When Afreen and I went to watch the Men’s National Gymnastics Championships (the finalists get to the Olympics trials!), we saw this baby Northern Mockingbird:
Punctuation marks.....
June 19, 2012
It suddenly occurred to me that punctuation marks are such an important part of any written communication.
What do you do....?
June 17, 2012
When someone whom you’ve always talked to about your concerts, doesn’t even bother to react when you tell them you are singing, never calls, and is no longer bothered?
Rohan Chakravarty.....
June 16, 2012
I got introduced to
Something to smile about, and another concert in Memphis
June 15, 2012
Don’t have much to say, as life is very difficult right now…but when that happens, the best thing is to smile!
The Hula, and the Luau Party, 080612
June 13, 2012
How to do the Hula, as demonstrated by DS:
Of Kites and Coincidences....
June 12, 2012
D and I had taken KTB to Forest Park, and we found a beautiful kite up in the air, that we could see far away….
How we nearly missed seeing the transit of Venus
June 6, 2012
I had, with my usual memory, completely forgotten the celestial event that I could go and see, and after D and I picked up KTB, we took her for a picnic dinner at Forest Park:
Polyglot English...my prediction
June 3, 2012
My friend Saritha Rai writes in the New York Times:
Creatures of Flight
June 3, 2012
I had a wonderful morning, as great as any nature trail in my beloved Bannerghatta forest….in Forest Park, it was the monthly birding outing of the Audubon Society and Forest Park Forever. By now, many of the group are well-known to me, and since I call my Bangalore nature group UGS (Usual Gang of Suspects)…I feel I can call this group US (US Group!).
Romance between a vowel and a consonant...
June 1, 2012
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thistle
A weed...or not....
May 31, 2012
How to open the pantry door
May 31, 2012
How to play a memory game
May 30, 2012
First, the family assembles, having decided on a “staycation” for Memorial Day weekend:
Discussion about Marilyn Monroe....
May 29, 2012
One member of a mailing list I belong to started by showing a statue of Marilyn Monroe in the famous “billowing-up skirt” pose on a ventilation grating, being put up in Chicago. What was interesting to me about the photograph was that the head of MM was completely covered…but obviously, the men on the list took off in a different (northward) direction.
BioBlitz, Creve Coeur, 260512
May 27, 2012
I’d signed up for the
Dont miss a single part of this....
May 26, 2012
Akash Dube Always with us
May 25, 2012
Here’s a well-written account about
Sunlight on water...
May 22, 2012
As I walk in the morning, I often find the sprinklers on in various homes, and sometimes, in the early morning sunlight, they look utterly beautiful…
Share...dont share...the debate continues.
May 22, 2012
Recently, another unusual bird (the Oriental Pratincole) was sighted in Bangalore, and its location kept “secret” (that is, known only to the elite few!) for “conservation” reasons. Several of us, including
Secrets
May 19, 2012
This topic has been, well, on my mind for a while, and contrary to the title, I’d like to share my thoughts!
Nectar from flowers Macro
May 18, 2012
Yesterday, at Lewis Park, I was walking around, and thought I saw some mosquitoes….
Nonsense rhyme....
May 17, 2012
I learnt this nonsense rhyme as a child, and as part of my cultural heritage, I’m carefully passing on the nonsense to KTB, as well as the sense!
Mothers Day video...
May 15, 2012
Here’s KTB the Mother cuddling HER daughter (her name is Yaya Papa…papa is baby in Tamizh), changing her nappy by stripping her, and wishing everyone Happy Mother’s Day, at our behest…
Doing things
May 15, 2012
I do enjoy the wit wherever I find it, and on the Hasiru Usiru egroup, a civic citizens' forum that I belong to, S. Nityananda has posted, regarding car-free walking zones in Ahmedabad, which has been recently introduced:
<div>"at least something gets done in some cities. In Bangalore, we also do things… like deciding the dates for a preliminary meeting to discuss whether it would be advisable to consider deciding a date for discussing initial ideas for car free zones."
I'll probably be thinking about this at odd timed, and there will be an unexplained smile on my face!</div>
What I wrote to the birding group this morning...
May 15, 2012
How I miss the pre-monsoon showers in Bangalore! (But not too much, as weather.com tells me the high in Bangalore is 30 deg C, and it is 24 deg C in St.Louis…I propose to go for another long hike in Forest Park when I am done with housework!
Some of the very common birds I'd
The Brown-headed Cowbirds and their mates seem to be out, and the "treeeee!" call of the Red-winged Blackbird can be heard everywhere. Mockingbirds and the immigrants….the European Starlings with their bronze-green sheen, and the House Sparrows….are briging forth families. The American Robin (called Robin Redbreast in Britain) also has babies trailing along, chirping loudly for worms.
As I walk along Des Peres Creek, the Mallards and the Green Herons look up alertly at me in case I am coming to catch them. Several Kildeer are now to be seen on the grass along the banks…… A Snowy Egret quickly spears a fish, and takes it off. I go to watch the Great Horned Owls, but can see only the mother today….the other birds, such as the Common Grackle, also show their shining plumage, and as a bonus, I see the "Woody Woodpecker" Red-headed Woodpecker, at her nest:
http://www.facebook.com/media/
The migratory warblers (they arrive in St.Louis in summer; alas, Missouri is not a hot-spot birding location, but it's great for my level of ignorance!) show themselves here and there, and once in a while, I get a lovely video like this:
http://deponti.livejournal.
This kind of nature ramble is certainly not the stuff of National Geographic…but it's my morning "battery recharger", and I come home by 7am, ready to take on my daily duties, with a happy smile on my face, that lasts the whole day long. Just this morning, an elderly lady (er, I mean, MORE elderly than me!) smiled back at me and remarked, "It's so nice to see a smiling face early in the morning.)
I watch the mink family in the creek, which I've been following from last year:
http://deponti.livejournal.
I can't see any young ones now, I was very lucky last year, as my friend Danny Brown informed me!
Dear Subbu…thank you for inspiring me, with your descriptive post, to write this….and Zafar Saab, I want you to know that halfway around the world, when I joined the Audubon Society's monthly bird-watching outing (exactly like our Lalbagh outing) this time, there were THREE people who knew about you, and were awed to think that I knew you personally.
Thoughts on Mothers Day....
May 13, 2012
First of all, here's a post from one of the Grandmother's Day:
click here for it
….and here's the photo, one of my favourites….
Whether one is a mother from one's body, or one's heart (I've had a couple of children that I didn't personally give birth to, but who grew in my heart), caring for a young one is one of the most difficult, satisfying and frustrating tasks, in the whole world….
Our educational system.....
May 11, 2012
News report:
'The "portions" set for the exams were from "A" to "M" but the questions asked were about "T"…that was out of syllabus…several students said that if the letter had been "P" they would have done outstandingly well, pissed, sorry, passed with flying colours and even given a practical demonstration.'
(Thanks to Hari Menon for some of the above.)
Triangles
May 10, 2012
I loved the triangles that make up this image of the house opposite ours in St.Louis…..
A stalwarts words....52 years ago
May 10, 2012
I could not let this wonderful interview go into the mists of the Internet, so I’ve saved it on my blog. Those of you who are not interested in Carnatic music, wait for my next post!
Two videos of KTB singing Tamizh songs....
May 7, 2012
She’s always been fond of “pAttu pAdavA”, an old Tamizh movie song. So when she suddenly decided to put Wally the walrus to sleep (on top of a measuring scale, for some reason), I asked her to sing a lullaby and she sang the song instead!
KTB and her first bicycle ride
May 4, 2012
KTB’s paternal grandmother gave her a pedal-less “balance” bicycle. Apparently the idea is that the child will learn to balance without the traditional training wheels.
Journey to the USA....
May 3, 2012
Life-changing….that’s the right way to describe events in my life, lately, and part of the process is a journey to the USA, where I will stay for 2.5 months. I don’t want to talk about all of it now, but I’d certainl like to share one of my favourite parts of the awful, tiring trans-Atlantic travel…the View Out of the Window.
In the editorial of Birdwatching Magazine
April 28, 2012
I don’t even remember posting the video, but now…
On TV....
April 27, 2012
My dear friend, Gita Viswanathan, sent this link where her husband Vish, is featured on Bloomberg TV:
Rain
April 27, 2012
The sunlight streaming golden through the heavy clouds and the glittering rain and the Gulmohar’s fiery reds. Coolness in the air as the rain goes on. Slowly, the shapes of the scudding clouds change…..how I love rain.
Intelligence Quotient
April 24, 2012
I was asked what my IQ was and I replied that the IQ test I had taken was, to my mind, not a test applicable to all human beings, it needed a certain kind of culture and upbringing, and so I could not hold such a test as valid. I also intuitively felt that intelligence is of different kinds.
WHAAAAT?
April 24, 2012
I got this from Dinesh…
Ballet....Swan Lake
April 22, 2012
I’ve watched Swan Lake being performed at Chowdiah Memorial Hall in Bangalore, performed by the Kiev Ballet, many years ago, under the aegis of ICCR, Indian Council for Cultural Relations(which seems to be a moribund organization now.)
Prose and poetry....
April 22, 2012
Jerry Rao writing in the Indian Express:
Shoes...
April 21, 2012
To understand a person, walk a mile in their shoes, goes the popular saying.
Photography...pros and cons
April 20, 2012
I got this interesting, er, view on another list to which I belong:
Busy Fingers
April 14, 2012
It’s wonderful to see things of beauty growing from nothing but a length of string (or wool). Knitting, crochet and tatting have always held a fascination for me. I liked knitting, but thanks to my myopia, the other two were beyond me. But when I saw my friend Savita engaged in tatting while she was helping out at our friend’s sadAbhishEkam (80th birthday ceremony of her father, when vows are renewed) I could not help trying to document that….
Politics and politicians...both ARE jokes...
April 10, 2012
The problem with political jokes is they get elected. ~ Henry Cate, VII We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. ~ Aesop If we got one-tenth of what was promised to us in these acceptance speeches there wouldn’t be any inducement to go to heaven. ~ Will Rogers Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. ~ Plato Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river. ~ Nikita Khrushchev When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I’m beginning to believe it ~ Clarence Darrow Why pay money to have your family tree traced; go into politics and your opponents will do it for you. ~ Author Unknown If God wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates. ~ Jay Leno Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel. ~ John Quinton Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other. ~ Oscar Ameringer I offer my opponents a bargain: if they will stop telling lies about us, I will stop telling the truth about them. ~ Adlai Stevenson Campaign Speech, 1952 A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country. ~ Texas Guinan Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so. ~ Gore Vidal I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians. ~ Charles de Gaulle Politics is supposed to be the second-oldest profession . I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first. ~ Ronald Reagan Politics: [Poly “many” + tics “blood-sucking parasites”] ~ Larry Hardiman Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks. ~ Doug Larson Don’t vote, it only encourages them. ~ Author Unknown There ought to be one day – just one – when there is open season on senators. ~ Will Rogers
Passover
April 10, 2012
Steps and seat....
April 9, 2012
Conservation India...
April 9, 2012
A very enjoyable trip to Gir (even though often fraught wich too much eventfulness for my liking…being slapped on the head by an arrogant guard at the Somnath temple, and nearly missing our flight back to Bangalore because of an incompetent cab driver….made sure I could just about find time to check my email, and not post anything to LJ…but a recent photo of mine is on the Conservation India photo gallery (I don’t know if they accept all photos or not)..
Will you love me?
April 3, 2012
Naayaki naayakanidam irunthu piriyum pozhuthu sonnathu:
The Rain Tree
April 3, 2012
Why is it called “Rain” When it flowers in the hot sun? By the time the monsoon arrives The flowering is done.
Dwitheeya
April 2, 2012
The second day of the waxing phase (shukla paksha) of the moon is always very difficult to see, but this time, as we were coming back from Bheemeshwari (Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary) last Saturday (the 24th of March), we came to the small village of Muthathi, and found the villagers standing around, pointing at the western sky. When I asked some of them, they took the trouble to explain that this moon, after the Kannada New Year,was considered an auspicious sighting. So I too took aim and sighted the dwitheeya, or the second day of Chandra:
The innovation trap
March 29, 2012
Harish Bhat, who is a friend on Facebook, and posts a lot of interesting stuff, posted about
The Grizzled Giant Squirrels of Bheemeshwari Fishing Camp, JLR
March 28, 2012
The
The smallest bird...
March 28, 2012
…I’m not sure if this is the smallest bird in India, but it must be one of the smallest. It’s also a very common bird….but it’s so incredibly beautiful!
Day care and night care for children...
March 28, 2012
My friend, Saritha Rai, has started a new fortnightly column in the New York Times online-
Enjoyable...
March 27, 2012
SOMETHING TO OFFEND EVERYONE
KTB...and what she reminds me of....
March 26, 2012
KTB recently took part in a march against Cystic Fibrosis, along with the rest of her daycare, Urban Sprouts….here she is (from their newsletter)…
Letter meme....C
March 23, 2012
I usually don’t do memes, but I actually asked
Two algorithm songs.....
March 22, 2012
There are many of what I call “algorithm songs” in old tamizh film music….and this beautiful, melodious song from
Tere bina bhi kya jeena....what is life without you?
March 21, 2012
I’ve heard this song so many times, and liked it a lot, but somehow, it’s become so specially beautiful, and I’d like to share it….it touched my heart so deeply.
World Sparrow Day
March 20, 2012
Today is World Sparrow Day, and I too will be taking part in a panel discussion on the topic of these lovely, perky birds, that suddenly seemed to vanish from the Bangalore urban scene.
Birds in Lalbagh, 160312
March 19, 2012
This lovely
Dusk at Lalbagh...
March 19, 2012
I went to Lalbagh on Friday evening, because a friend wanted to try out the 300mm prime lens. I’ve not often been to Lalbagh in the evening, and was freshly amazed at what one can see and observe, in spite of many more people being there than in the morning.
Bannerghatta....again
March 18, 2012
I am amazed that less than 25 km from my home is a lovely forest…..and I am able to enjoy this treasure whenever I wish to! Will be posting pics a little later, when I get home this evening…..
The art of signs....
March 16, 2012
It’s been a while since I posted some of the photos from my sign collection, which I find easier to put up on Facebook…
Rain
March 15, 2012
It’s raining. The air around me has cooled. A refreshing breeze blows across The newly-wet earth, That gives off that incredible aroma. Leaves shed their dust, And will look green in the morning. The rain will pass: But the feelings ,,,, being refreshed In mind and spirit…will remain. Those…are the rainbows of the mind.
Two...no, three of my favourites...
March 15, 2012
Franz Lizst is a composer whose works (I mean, those that I know of!)I like…and one of my great favourites is this wonderful cartoon of Tom and Jerry, which uses Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, S.244/2, the second in a set of 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies…the others are, alas, not very well-known.
Cartoons and Caricatures....
March 14, 2012
Sridhar Comaravalli is someone I’ve got to know through FaceBook, and I enjoy his talent very much. It’s not easy to produce a cartoon every day, but he seems to do it with ease! I was very honoured when, recently, he posted this cartoon of me on FaceBook, from a photograph taken by the Indian professional woman wildlife photographer,
Stories in a Song Play Review
March 13, 2012
Read More
A love song ..one of my great favourites...
March 13, 2012
I find that lyrics that speak of the love between a man and a woman are very beautiful indeed, and in my language, Tamizh, it is as true as for any other language.
In not very fond memory....
March 12, 2012
I saw a very enjoyable update on Facebook, that says, “Dear Math (Maths, for us!)..I’m sick and tired of finding your ‘X’….just accept the fact that she’s gone. Move on, dude!”
Conservation India...
March 12, 2012
Read More
Will you still need me, will you still feed me....
March 12, 2012
KM turns 64 soon, but since he won’t be in town, we celebrated with coffee and cake….
Stuffed Barbet
March 11, 2012
Our trip to Bhadra was wonderful, because there was never any rush for time…we sighted, observed, and watched at leisure.
The Rules
March 11, 2012
Enjoyed these!
Bhadra...
March 10, 2012
The Bhadra property of JLR is one of their most beautiful. However, there are the minuses….eturning from a3 day trip, with hundreds of photos…..and a huge sense of relief that our boat did not (as it threatened to, for a few moments, after the boatman carelessly rammed into a submerged tree-stump)capsize during the backwater safari…..great company, lovely, leisurely sightings, and lot of happiness in my heart.
A lovely drive...
March 8, 2012
How beautiful it is to drive through the Arsikere area…. And see the roadside trees….the Neem, the Tamarind, the Mango….. And the varieties of Ficus, Peepal, Banyan, and others, sporting different colours of leaves, from the reddish copper of the new leaves, to the bright green, and then the darker green of the mature leaves. Even the exotics like the Rain trees, the Gulmohar, the Copper Pods, the Tabebuia aurea,, and the Jacarndas, are in full bloom now….
Shashti Abdha Poorthi Procession, Thirukkadaiyur, 211211
March 7, 2012
When a man in our community (Tambrams, or Tamizh Brahmins) attains the age of 60, he and his wife undergo a wedding ceremony again, this time with greater emphasis on the Vedic rituals, and the spirituality.
Anvithas happiness today...
March 7, 2012
An email from my young friend Anvitha Satish, whom I often exchange emails with…
Good Tidings
March 6, 2012
Everyone feels festive, and rather generous, on an auspicious day…and many people like to tap into this vein of generosity.
The abysmal state of even our private health care...
March 6, 2012
Am very sad…but also boiling with anger and helplessness. Someone from the family who’ve practically brought me up had come to visit Chennai from Kolkata, where she lives. Last night she was unwell…and was taken by ambulance to Malar Hospital, where she was refused admission because, they said, they had a doctors’ strike. After more confusion, during which critical time was lost, the ambulance had to take her to Royapettah Hospital…by that time, she passed away.
Chokkanaatha Swamy Temple, Domlur, Bangalore, 040312
March 5, 2012
I’d been to the Gavi (Cave) Gangadeshwara Temple earlier, and watched the wonderful phenomenon of the sun’s rays lighting up the lingam in the garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum)…but what I had not known was that there is (at least) one more temple in Bangalore, where the same phenomenon occurs…right now (UttarAyaN,the southern traverse of the sun) and between end of September and first week of October (DakshinAyaN…southern traverse of the sun.).
The Dream Dance...and the Bath of the White Beauty
March 3, 2012
Harish, Lakshmi, KM, Poornima, Sugandhi, Yash and I went to the JLR property called the Old Magazine House, at Ganeshgudi, near Dandeli, in Karnataka. KM and I have visited Dandeli many, many times, but have always stayed at the Kali River Lodge….and the Old Magazine House was a revelation. We’d stayed here once before, during the first INW meet; but in those days, my birding was in its infancy, and my photography, non-existent. I still remembered, though, what a bonanza it was for birders.
Gauri and her cubs, Bandipur, 040212
February 28, 2012
It was nice to see Gauri, the tiger who gave birth to four cubs….we saw three of the cubs, too. As usual, it was past sunset, and quite low light when we saw them, but I managed these videos…
Why is the Sambar watery? Bandipur, 040212
February 28, 2012
Sometimes, when I take a video, I get more behaviour than I bargained for….
Two videos.....from Nannaj, Maharashtra
February 28, 2012
Off to Ganeshgudi today, but after
Lovely to watch
February 28, 2012
Where do the colours reside?
February 27, 2012
Do black veils have all the colours in their hearts… As well as over their heads? Do their thoughts fly, over the skies, In blues and greens and reds? Or are they tied down, with strings attached, To the black of the veils? Will they soar, only when freed… When the power of the anchors fails?
Not just in Bangalore...
February 27, 2012
I've been thinking that this phenomenon was iconic to Bangalore….
These are our "autos" …auto-rickshaws, an inescapable, convenient, irritating, frustrating method of transport in our city.
The guy at the back IS pushing the one in the front, sometimes to a fuel station, sometimes until the auto in front starts its engine with the momentum. The foot is then withdrawn. I have never seen by what form of signalling the auto guy in front requests the help of the auto guy at the back…ESP?
I posted this on Facebook, and I now realize that every Indian city seems to have this great "auto-foot assist" method of aiding movement!
Love
February 26, 2012
"Journeys end in lovers' meetings", goes the saying…but journeys also start with lovers' partings! I watched two lovers (I don't think they were married) parting today, dealing with their joy in each other (no, I was not eavesdropping, they were in plain sight until the bus came to the bus stop!) , and their pain at parting…human emotion is so incredibly complex…I've not seen anything as sweet as the smiles they gave each other. Each smile was a kiss, and the moisture in the woman's eyes at the end, hurriedly wiped away, spoke poetry to me. Love, in joy, in pain, is a magical thing.
Test image uploaded directly from laptop to LJ
February 23, 2012
Wow, its nice to be back...
February 23, 2012
After weeks of difficulty, it feels so good to be back on LJ….and be able to comment on friends’ posts, too. Not having posted any funny signs here for a long time (I just add them to my album on Facebook, you can see my collection if you
The King has a meal,....<LJ user=idahoswede>, SKIP THIS POST
February 22, 2012
I have, of late, been going to the Bannerghatta Zoo to introduce schoolchildren to various animals and birds, but, of course, I never expected to see a wildlife drama straight of out of National Geographic while I was there!
A conversation from a mailing list...
February 21, 2012
There was a discussion about how pets Could affect the health of people, and it suddenly elicited this very string reaction from someone…
Revising my thoughts about Bannerghatta Zoo...
February 20, 2012
Here’s what I wrote to the wildlife/birding community yesterday:
Mothers and children...and couples...the Bandipur trip, 03 and 040212
February 18, 2012
I’ve always seen that Bandipur is one place where I find so many mothers with the children….whatever the creature may be. Here are a few mothers and children that I saw on this trip, with
How the days work gets fouled up....
February 15, 2012
Am sitting in the luxury of a Volvo bus, on my way to Indira Nagar….am two hours late, and am rather irritated by the way thing come apart here..
Bangalore Bird Race, 2012
February 14, 2012
The write up, published in an edited form on Citizen Matters, has been put on the India Bird Races blog:
Exclusion and inclusion
February 13, 2012
There have been two examples, recently, where people had to exclude others.
Laptop is back
February 12, 2012
Woohoo the relief of being able to TYPE properly again…!
More difficulties...
February 9, 2012
.Just when I thought I could start accessing LJ posts again, and comment, my laptop started giving trouble, and would not connect to the net at all. I am still not used to the two-finger typing on the blessed iPad…and in any case, for some reason, I am unable to upload any photos through it.
St.Louis goes to Seattle...
February 5, 2012
Recently, D,A, and KTB had visited Seattle (over the New Year weekend.) So here goes the “Lookit my family!” photos….
Feeling bad
February 5, 2012
Sometimes, I cannot put my finger precisely on why someone’s dealings with me make me feel bad….but in spite of assuming goodwill, I continue to feel not-good. Sensitivity is, sometimes, more important than practicality…particularly amongst friends.
Can you spot it?
February 4, 2012
Inverted comma-ization....
February 1, 2012
I do not often indulge in nostalgia, being a person who enjoys the vibrancy of the present as much as the glow of the past. But once in a while….
Access to information....
February 1, 2012
I posted to my birding egroup:
Origami with Krishna Panyam, Jaaga, 300112
February 1, 2012
I have had, as usual, a lot of interesting things to do…and one of them was the Origam workshop I attended at
Once again....
January 29, 2012
The Russian spam comments have started, once again, in force…and I am not even able to see anyone’s posts, much less comment on them. I just finished deleting 13 Russian spam comments.
Colour and photography....
January 28, 2012
Been gallivanting as usual….Lalbagh on the 25th morning, to Gulakmale on the 26th, to Bannerghatta JLR on the 27th, to volunteer with 48 children from Vidya Niketan, Bangalore…. it’s been a wonderful time.
One hundred years....Republic Day post
January 26, 2012
It’s been one hundred years since the
Mistakes nevers ends...
January 26, 2012
The Deccan Herald has been delighting me lately. Here’s a headline from the Spectrum section of the newspaper, 250112:
On the water
January 24, 2012
All over the windshield...
January 24, 2012
It’s all very well to decorate one’s car with the symbols of one’s faith:
The Lalbagh Republic Day Flower Show
January 24, 2012
To see my article on Citizen Matters,
Disincentives...
January 18, 2012
The gender-unspecific pronoun
January 18, 2012
Read More
Conservation and the human cost...
January 18, 2012
As a “conservationist”, I am constantly worried about human encroachment, and when I visited Pulicat Lake, near Chennai, I was happy that the backwaters had been preserved as a bird sanctuary.
The Bangalore Bird Race...my thoughts
January 16, 2012
Over the past few months, we have formed ourselves into an informal, very supportive and affectionate group of people, who always go on nature trails together. I organize the outings, taking care that as many people as possible get included. I call this group the UGS…the Usual Group of Suspects!….and we have a lot of fun on every outing.
Asthma....
January 13, 2012
Overlooking facts and hoping for the best is a human trait….both D and A have breathing difficulties, and, indeed, A could never live far away from her inhaler, when she was in Bangalore. But of course, I was hoping that KTB would not develop any breathing issues….well, reality supervened, and they had to take her to the doctors’ to help her breathe a bit better.
Arun turns into Prakash... a dentist into a doctor (from a film producer)
January 12, 2012
I got this leaflet with the newspaper a day or two ago (I think the reason why newspapers are delivered late is because the newsagents need time to insert all the various leaflets into each copy!)
The moon...
January 12, 2012
When I was about to go to my tent at JLR Bannerghatta, I looked up at the full moon, serenely riding the night skies.
From the heyday of Tamizh film music....
January 11, 2012
Here’s a video of a lovely song, from the movie
Wildlife rescue...its not black-and-white
January 10, 2012
Quite unusual for me to be off LJ for three days, as I subject myself (and the rest of you!) to the discipline of an entry a day. But it was a full weekend…Saturday morning, to Hessarghatta, getting back only by 3pm and then having visitors…Sunday morning, to Valley School, back at 1pm, and then off to JLR Bannerghatta (where neither mobile phones nor 3G seems to work) to volunteer for a nature trail with 49 students of Vidya Niketan, on an overnight camp. Got back yesterday evening, and was rather tired…and today all the home chores demanded attention, so had to turn down an invitation to go on an overnight visit to Chik Yelchetti for Junglescapes work.
The Winnie-the-Pooh squirrel
January 7, 2012
We had a wonderful outing at Hessarghatta today…16 of us…but this post is about something I’ve seen for the very first time.
Art and signs....
January 6, 2012
It’s been quite a long while since I posted some of my sign collection on LJ…I’ve got used to posting them quickly to albums on Facebook. You can see them;
KANS blog the official and the personal reports
January 5, 2012
The official report on the trip we conducted for the children of various Government schools of the Hosur/Denkanikotta area is on the Kenneth Anderson Nature Society blog,
Witty verse on English pronounciation
January 5, 2012
Via Yogesh Rao, someone whom I know through the cycling community:
A beautiful bird....
January 5, 2012
No profound thoughts are occuring in my cauliflower brain today (come to that, not in the past 57 years, some would say!)…so here’s a very beautiful bird that I photographed on the way to Kabini, on 140511…
A question, a poem and a song...
January 4, 2012
Our entire family (excluding us in India, of course) got together over New Year, and had a skiing holiday ( as I posted
Colour on our footpaths...
January 4, 2012
Our pavements and footpaths are full of people who are trying to eke a living in a city that they have moved into. Amongst these are the immigrants from Rajasthan, who make these ceramic artefacts:
Maidanahalli Sunset, 251211
January 3, 2012
The Maidanahalli Blackbuck Reserve, in Tumkur District, Karnataka, is famous for the critically-endangered Blackbuck:
Wonder Full Spill Chequer...
January 3, 2012
I have a spelling checker. It came with my pea sea. It plane lee marks four my revue Miss steaks aye can knot sea.
The second day of 2012, and I cannot resist...
January 2, 2012
Had a lovely day yesterday, wandering around the Bannerghatta zoo area..and was going to post about it, but I received two delightful photos that made me change my mind…..KTB apparently like “kating” a lot, and here she is with her dad.
The last day of the year, 2011
December 31, 2011
Is there anything special about the last day or the first day of the year? We ourselves calculate two different years, the Anno Domini and the Tamizh year…and I know several more….Parsi, Hindi, Bengali, and so on…I personally feel that it would be logical to begin the year in springtime, not in mid-winter…but a procession of Roman emperors saw to it that whether or not people have a white Christmas, in many parts of the world, they will have a white New Year.
Trip to Manchanabele Reservoir, 291211
December 30, 2011
It’s been quite a hectic time, as I’ve been doing some amount of volunteering and some amount of for-me nature trails, too. Last Sunday, 18 (yes!) of us went to
Conversation on architects, geniuses and morals...
December 27, 2011
On KM’s classmates mailing list, we are having a very interesting conversation. It started with Vasu, who teaches in Ohio, posting a link to Louis Kahn’s work, designing the IIM-A campus:
Sindhi School children outing to Bannerghatta zoo area, 241211
December 27, 2011
I was delighted to take 15 children of Sindhi School, Malleswaram, to my favourite zoo area in the Bannerghatta National Park. Subbalakshmi, a teacher in the school, enthuses the children and organizes nature trails for them entirely on her own initiative…the school does not take any responsibility. Even the van was hired by her! More power to her and may her tribe increase!
Missing someone after a hundred years?
December 27, 2011
How can you miss someone “day in, day out” after a hundred years?
Merry Chinmas
December 25, 2011
I got this lovely pic from
Barn Owl Rescue, Thirukkadaiyur, 211211
December 23, 2011
A very eventful and enjoyable week, travelling in Kerala and then Tamil Nadu, attending, first, the COSTIIMA (Class of Seventy Three, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad) annual meet, which was held at Cocobay Resort, Kumarakom, Kerala…and then the Shashti Abdha Poorthi (60th birthday) of Anand, KM’s close friend and IIM classmate (a friendship that dates back to 1971!) and Devika, at the beautiful temple of Thirukkadaiyur, seat of Amrita Ghateeswarar and Abhirami.
Still figuring out things....
December 16, 2011
The iPad2 is certainly better than its predecessor, but there are many things I am yet to learn how to do….that I do easily on my laptop. For example, I Have the photobucket window open ,but am not able to copy the HTML code from the photograph and paste it here.
Hanumath Jayanthi Jathre...
December 15, 2011
I am in a tearing hurry to catch the train to go to Kumarakom, Kerala, to attend KM’s annual IIMA class gathering…but for my niece and daughter, I’ve uploaded photos of the Jathre (fair) for Hanumath Jayanthi (birthday of the Monkey God)…
Childhoods Look
December 14, 2011
A part of my childhood that I loved, suddenly came back just now...
December 14, 2011
This whole morality thing...
December 14, 2011
I just saw something on Facebook (I suppose a friend sent the wrong link) which showed a photo of three girls smoking, and a series of comments about them being “bad girls”.
Separate charge for salt in a restaurant.
December 13, 2011
A friend of mine, Kiran Srivastava from Mumbai, went to Aromas of China in Mumbai, and here’s the bill he got:
Music, and the breast of the beasts...
December 12, 2011
“Music hath charms to soothe the savage beast”…though this is a misquotation
Post-birding drama, Lalbagh, 111211
December 11, 2011
Here’s what I wrote to the egroup of the Bird Watchers’ Field Club of Bangalore just now…
Nice to be written about, instead of writing about others, for a change
December 10, 2011
Nice to be written about, instead of writing about others, for a change!
Thinking of a feather...
December 7, 2011
Sunset, and a birthday
December 7, 2011
Today, it’s the birthday of a very dear friend….but since she’s in a very high-powered (and therefore busy) job, we met for coffee on Sunday.
Jugaad in Bangalore
December 6, 2011
“Jugaad” means, “innovation”, often thinking out-of-the-box. A mode of public transportation, with the engine of a tractor, has already taken on this name in several states of India.
Bannerghatta forest, quarry area, 031211
December 6, 2011
I really do not like to miss a single day of a nature trail at the weekend…and so it was that we were able to go out on both Saturday and Sunday! On Saturday, the group was relatively small….Hrishikesh, Rama (that’s Raama, actually :D ), Vaibhav, Vara and I. We’d thought of the Bannerghatta zoo area again, but since none of us had a time-bound return plan, I changed the venue to the quarry area, beyond the various residential layouts…a venue where I do not go (or take people) often.
LJ acting up
December 5, 2011
It’s taken me an hour and a half each time, with several tries, to get three entries up today…
Kavyas latest...from her dad...
December 5, 2011
DS writes:
Shadow Play...Calcutta
December 5, 2011
For many of us, Calcutta cannot really be written as “Kolkata” though, of course, that’s the way we say it in Bengali….and our memories of the city are of several landmarks and important things….
Whats wrong with LJ?
December 2, 2011
For the past two days, I’ve not been able to post; today, it took me six attempt to post something, and I am not able to comment on friends’ posts even when I can see them, which is not always.
Unalloyed joy....
November 30, 2011
Sometimes, happiness just looks out from a photograph….
Spiritual...
November 28, 2011
This time, the theme on the
Thrilling thing to happen at Portland, Maine....
November 27, 2011
This morning,
Pun Fun Time Again
November 27, 2011
Some old some new….
Two beautiful images from Portland, Maine
November 26, 2011
AM sent these lovely photographs of:
A book review, after a long time...
November 25, 2011
I used to review books for the Indian Review of Books, long ago, in Chennai. Then I gave it up, for what reason, I still do not know…but after a very long time, another book review of mine, which I had put up in Citizen Matters, earlier,made it into print in the Deccan Herald,
Thanksgiving
November 24, 2011
Eminent Birders in Bangalore, 061111
November 24, 2011
On the 6th of November,2011, I was privileged to be at a gathering of some of eminent birdwatchers of Bangalore. The gracious host was none other than the doyen of birdwatching in Bangalore,
KTB Developing language
November 24, 2011
AM writes:
Birthdays....
November 23, 2011
Today, the 23rd of November, seems to be the date of birth of a lot of people known to me. My dear friend Raji, my well-loved nephew Govind in New York, my cousin Jaishree in Whitefield….and Govind’s great-grandmother, too, who’s past the 95 mark, I think…this lady’s now no longer oriented to time and place, alas, and is being cared for devotedly by her daughter (Govind’s grandmother) who, herself, is in her late 70’s.
Two beautiful images from Danny Brown
November 22, 2011
I’ve mentioned
3rd Sunday outing of the Bird Watchers Field Club, 201111
November 21, 2011
It was a very enjoyable ramble over the slopes and through the scrub jungle (rather prickly at times, and on two occasions, very muddy as we waded through muddy streams). The location was Kasavanakunte, in the Bannerghatta forest area:
Puttenahalli Lake Walk, 191111, for some children from Magic Puddles.
November 19, 2011
I’ve been interested in, and involved with,
Parsi Tower of Silence in Bangalore
November 18, 2011
On my way to and from the Bangalore International Airport, one building often catches my eye:
A 51-year old, evergreen song that was a hit in Hindi, and in Bengali.
November 18, 2011
I am, right now, teaching two friend this Hindi song, that Latha Mangeshkar sang… “O SajnA” in 1960, for the movie “Parakh”:
Steps...drama as a corporate learning tool, 081011
November 18, 2011
I’d attended an audition by
Puttenahalli Lake Walk, 131111
November 17, 2011
When
Feathers between Dehra Dun and Dhanaulti, Uttarakhand,291011
November 16, 2011
Firstly, I must mention that going by all the signboards in this small town, we were visiting….U.K., which is the way the state, Uttara Khand (northern area) is referred to. Well….
Fun with Fur
November 16, 2011
Do I sound like one of those “Carry off the elite evening with this excellent sable coat” fashion types? Sorry, because the fun that I have with fur is in capturing it, not for putting it on, but on the original mammal!
Another bird for the April 1 Chucklist
November 14, 2011
A friend just sent me a message (probably typed on a tiny mobile keypad) that he’d seen a black naked oriole. He hurriedly corrected the ‘k’ to ‘p’ but I requested him not to, this bird seems far more interesting!
Nandi Hills, 121111
November 14, 2011
As usual, by consensus, Nandi Hills was agreed upon as the destination for Saturday’s birding trip, and 7 of us….Kannan,Nandan, Naveen,Poornima, Santosh,Sumeet, and I…left very early in the morning, so as to catch the sunrise at Nandi Hills.
Oho info
November 11, 2011
Today I am feeling lazy to write, but I was thinking of my “Oho” friend.
Trash Trail
November 11, 2011
I’ve been trying all yesterday, and up to now, to load some photos to Photobucket, so I can write about the Trash Trail I went on yesterday…but I think the internet connection is terrible, so I’ll write about it and you can see the photos (with the narrative) at my Facebook account,
A drink with a friend...
November 10, 2011
I received this delightful picture of GD-the-Boodi’s having a drink with a friend…
Talking about s&%t....
November 10, 2011
Seems strange to be posting after a few days’ gap…I usually make it part of my daily routine to post something to my blog. It sort of clarifies my thoughts, let me share my experiences, and is also good discipline for a champion procrastinator.
Wealth,power, space...and exclusive
November 8, 2011
Wealth and power…I’ve been thinking about them, and one of the ways of demonstrating wealth and power seems to be related to how much space one can get to call one’s own, and how few people one has to share it with. The more wealthy one is, the more space one seems to want…a large house, either a sprawling bungalow or a multistoreyed palace…perhaps several homes, spread out over the globe. And the next thing, of course, having acquired that space, is to prevent as many people as possible from sharing it….except the chosen few of one’s friends, and those who will help maintain that space. Only those invited can breach the walls…walls which are, very often, physical walls around the residences of the rich and the privileged, with security guards to ensure that the hoi polloi and the uninvited do not gain access. Telephone lines are private or unlisted, mobile numbers are not given out…the rich person is veiled in a shroud of his or her personal space, and inaccessibility is the mantra.
The eternal debate....
November 4, 2011
Photography…is it documentation, or is it art? Now that the enhancement or manipulation of images is in the hands of the photographer,in these days of digital photography, rather than the faceless “colour laboratory” that used to process film, the question arises with unfailing regularity.
The Rainbow Goat
November 3, 2011
On the slopes at the outskirts of Dehra Dun, we wandered along, looking for the sub-Himalayan birds that had been seen in such plenty in March of this year. While the others continued their search….they climbed down a steep slope that I had no intention of negotiating, with two cameras and a pair of bincoculars….my attention was riveted by a colourful vision that climbed up that same steep slope, and came up on to the road….
Puff, the Magic Dragon...Halloween
November 3, 2011
Here’s one of GD’s favourite songs:
A discount of HOW MUCH???
November 2, 2011
I have been posting most of the funny signs I’ve snapped on Facebook
The Crimson Sunbird
November 2, 2011
Apparently, the
Coming back....
November 2, 2011
It’s nice to go on holiday, and I can stay without the internet perfectly well…but it’s when I come back that it hits me that I do want, after all, to see what my friends have posted, what has been happening…and the backlog is just too much, sometimes.
Scaled-down spam....
October 27, 2011
What with inflation, even the spammerers have scaled down their operations, it looks like! Last week I had a enquiry (probably from someone’s hacked account) asking for suggestions for bed bugs “to go away from home” (sic). Just now, I got this:
Silence
October 27, 2011
On a mailing list to which I belong, the subject of silence came up….the list is of people who have studied at IIM, Ahmedabad and the architect of the campus, Louis Kahn, was a man who understood silence:
An architect
October 26, 2011
LS was a math major in college; after her sons were born and were in school, she decided to study architecture. A few years ago, she took the very tough 9-part licentiate exam and qualified to practice on her own.
Excellent blogpost
October 25, 2011
I wanted to write about the Urban Lakes workshop that I went on…but I found someone has done it much better than I!
Deepavali, Diwali, Dhan Teras, Kali Pujo, Lakshmi Puja...you name it...
October 25, 2011
We need a Lent for this staple diet.....
October 25, 2011
Staples. A “staple” is something that is supposed to be very good…it forms the main part of what we eat, for example. But another kind of staple…those ubiquitous little twice-folded pieces of metal that hold two surfaces together…seems to be taking over the world. They are so popular that a famous chain of stationery is named after them!
Schadenfreude
October 25, 2011
The Betel Leaf
The price of a cycle
October 25, 2011
Here’s a very witty piece written by one of the members of my ccyling egroup, on the theme of “What do you say when people ask you the price of your cycle?”
Ponderisms
October 24, 2011
Another internet forward that I enjoyed a lot, even though I’d read some of them before:
A debate
October 22, 2011
Today, I was asked to judge a debate on the theme, “Are Women Truly LIberated?” for the Inner Wheel of one of the Rotary Clubs of Bangalore.
A documentary, and my thoughts afterwards
October 20, 2011
Yesterday, as part of the
Some butterflies in the MICO Arekere Reserve Forest
October 18, 2011
Here are some of the common butterflies that one can see around us, right now. One of the good places to look for them is the Reserve Forest in the MICO Arikere Layout; but quite often, you will find these beauties in the gardens near you, too!
Im excited about this....
October 18, 2011
PNLIT (Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust), see the website here:
The flame in the reeds
October 18, 2011
We had gone to Gulakmale Kere (lake) a couple of weekends ago, and when we reached there, the reeds were on fire….
Excellent procedure
October 17, 2011
No racial profiling in Israel. Israelis are developing an airport security device that eliminates the privacy concerns that come with full-body scanners at the airports. You step into an armoured booth that will not X-ray you, but will detonate any explosive device you may have on your person. Israel sees this as a win-win situation for everyone, with none of this crap about racial profiling. It will also eliminate the costs of a long and expensive trial. You’re in the airport terminal and you hear a muffled explosion. Shortly thereafter, an announcement: “Attention to all standby passengers, we now have a seat available on flight 670 to London. Shalom!”
Adac
October 17, 2011
A great loneliness sits upon me. The world seems a vast desert tract Where exists no human being That I can call friend, I am alone…I cannot attract A single living thing To myself….I see Only a thorny path without end.
Steve Jobs,1955-2011
October 17, 2011
A lot of people impact the world in many ways…but some also have that elusive quality…charisma. One such, I think, was Steve Jobs.
Conversation on Philosophy
October 14, 2011
One of the things I did in college was to return my Economics books after a couple of months, and change my elective subject to Philosophy. The reason, then, was very simple; I found Philosophy interesting, and Economics less so. But…it meant that I had a liberal education before the term was invented…… it’s been a lifelong companion, this study (more often, musing) of philosophy. However, so many arguments for the different types of philosophy are compelling and acceptable, that i have come to being an agnostic. I do not know what is true (I suppose no one ever can know)…but though I do not like rituals any more, to me, agnosticism is not ……not knowing what to believe, but…willing to accept that any philosophical view may be valid, What I feel is…I simply do not know enough to embrace any one form of philosophy. And so often, philosophy shades into religion…so that, too, is a grey area for me.
Returns and exchanges....
October 13, 2011
I called them on Magic Jack, and we came on to Gtalk video….which, alas, had no audio at all. But meanwhile, D was organizing to donate some stuff to the Kidney Foundation, and this seemed to include a Kid, if not the Ney….
You might like reading about Pujo in Bangalore...
October 10, 2011
Read More
Post-processing....
October 10, 2011
Here’s something that I wrote to a friend, who’s just taken up photography:
LJ difficulties
October 9, 2011
I am finding it harder and harder to post here. Either I can’t post, or it’s too slow…and though my stats tell me that plenty of people are reading the posts, all I get is one…or two comments. The old days of exchange of viewpoints, and debate, seem gone for ever. And the spam…I am getting more and more and more spam, from faux LJ ids and others, too. Since I have so many people (presumably) still reading my posts, I don’t want to convert this to a “friends-only” blog, either.
Some more puns....
October 8, 2011
To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
Fowl Play....
October 6, 2011
I had decided that I would not go any nature trails this morning (Vijayadashami Day) as it was a holiday…but since KM suddenly announced that he was going for golf, I decided to join Rohit Girotra and visit Valley School.
Where I have and have not been....
October 5, 2011
I have been in many places, but I’ve never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can’t go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.
Navami of Navaratri...Saraswathi Puja
October 5, 2011
Today is the ninth day after the new moon, and it is the Navami of Navarathri, celebrated as Ayudha Puja or Saraswathi Puja…the worship of all our implements and gadgets, that we use the rest of the year.
Rainbows in a web....and preening in the rain
October 4, 2011
You have to watch this video carefully to get the effect.
Videos from Bandipur, 011011
October 3, 2011
What a binary date the 1st of October is!!
Traffic...and logic
October 3, 2011
I had a wonderful trip to Bandipur with a great group of friends…but of course this post is not about that! On the cycling group I belong to, someone had said that someone on a cycle had yelled at him (while he was in a car) to stop wasting petrol, and added a rather delightful word to quality the statement. Someone added that many people use the car to go to the shop down the road. My response: “ I am not disputing that there ARE EAC (Evil Anti-Conservationists) of the type you have mentioned above…..I am just saying, you cannot assume that everyone is of the car-for-crossing-the-pavement category! Eg, I often take senior members of our apartment complex, or student of a blind school nearby, for medical checkups and so on. They need to be taken by car, they are often frail and in bad health. At these times I will certainly not use the cycle, or ask them to do so. I may have a large amount of shopping to do, which I may not be able to do on the cycle. I will definitely use the car at such times. “Actually the increasing jams are having a good effect on our worthy citizens. I find so many people now saying, “We take the bus because driving and parking are such a hassle”….so every cloud does have a silver lining! “A great source of entertainment for me is…. let me give you one scenario. The lady of the household said they had gone to attend a wedding. “The traffic was so bad!” she exclaimed. “First my husband went to the reception in his car, he had to park so far away. Then I went with my driver in my car, and he had to circle around four times after dropping me. Then my son also brought his car and he didn’t find parking at all!”…. They never see that they ARE part of the problem. I was once advised, when I wanted to walk about 3 km to Marina Beach in Chennai, “The traffic is terrible…you will be unsafe..take the car.” The person saying it had no clue of the irony in his words….he was genuinely concerned for my well-being.” When people realize that when they are complaining about the traffic, they can try and do something about it at least on a few occasions, our snarls may start improving!
People-watching
September 30, 2011
I’m much entertained and educated at the various kolus that I visit. Little vignettes of life that I see in each drawing room seem as intriguing to me as the dolls decorated and arranged before us.
Singing at Navaratri, 300911
September 30, 2011
I sing…. I sing for all the worlds that I see Spread before me In weird sizes, small and large Plastic grass, papier maiche mountains, Men, women and children of wood and mud. I sing for the idols Of gods and goddesses…. I sing for the gods and goddesses themselves, Not just their figurines. I enunciate the Sanskrit words That describe their attributes…. …A funny thing happens. My eyes close, and I lose myself. Am I amongst the dolls in front of me? Am I at the feet of the god whom I praise? I do not know where I am…. I do know….I am in the music. In the notes, the voice, The melody that escapes from my lips. It is my soul, emanating with my breath. I am deep within myself, and everywhere outside me, too. I suddenly see the perfect, ineffable beauty That the composer of the song saw. I yearn for it…. But the song comes to a close. I open my eyes, the spell reluctantly broken. I see admiring looks, faces filled with friendliness, Happy at my singing, compliments flow from those around me. I’m glad I’ve given others this pleasure.. But it is I who have experienced the most joy. I sing….not for the world; I sing for myself. And that’s why the world likes my singing.
Kolu at Crystal, 290911
September 30, 2011
I decided to visit my friends Ganu and Hema, and their daughter, Janani, who’s recently come home for good, after having done her Masters’ degree at Pittsburgh. They always put up a lovely display for Navarathri:
Boodi Ma on a boat, 170911
September 28, 2011
Those of you who are not interested in photos of GD…pass on please, this post is nothing but.
Films and fashions...
September 27, 2011
I don’t know if it happens as often with Hollywood movies but Bollywood (Bombay or Mumbai, movie capital of India) certainly sets off fashions every now and then.
What I wrote, three years ago
September 27, 2011
I don’t know why my LJ suddenly opened at the same date, but it did, and
At the Supermarket, 260911
September 27, 2011
Obviously, I haven’t got too many images of GD to share, since I came back…but I just got a lovely one of her, with her special-sized trolley, at the store (I’d say this was Trader Joe’s)….
Life Under Foot, Turahalli, 250911
September 26, 2011
Even the shortest step on a nature trail can yield something fascinating to the observer. I was walking down the path at Turahalli, when I looked down:
Rolling through the SFO Bay....
September 26, 2011
We think of hard work only as something we do on our routine work, and something that is not fun…but occasionally the two come together.
Indian Eagle Owl, Turahalli, 250911
September 26, 2011
A round dozen of us decided to go to Turahalli, yesterday morning (we’d also had a great time at the Zoo area on Saturday morning…. more about that later!)
What I wrote to my birding egroup yesterday...
September 24, 2011
We’ve been discussing all sorts of birding here, but today I had the first-ever experience of post-birding birding.
The Ragigudda Anjaneya Temple
September 24, 2011
When I visited Bangalore in 1989, we stayed with some friends in Jayanagar 9th Block, and visited a small hlllock, on which stood a small idol of the monkey God, AnjanEyA (son of Anjana). His other names are Hanuman (He of the broken chin), vAyuputrA (son the Wind)…in fact his 108 names are something that I recite every day, as he is one of my favourite Gods!
Old and new, lasting and fleeting....
September 23, 2011
On the old, sits the new, like an interloper:
Brightening up our doorsteps...
September 22, 2011
I love rangOli and kOlam, the traditional art of door and floor decoration. Is it art? culture? tradition? hospitality?
I apologize (in advance) for inflicting this on you....
September 21, 2011
I got this forward from a friend:
A friend
September 20, 2011
When I’m sinking into the slime of despondency… Holding me from sinking deep. When I’m wallowing in the mire of self-pity Helping me out…but gently, so that I do not slip in further. When my heart is weighed down with sorrow Being near me, perhaps talking to me, perhaps not… And knowing which to do, and when. When I’m happy, Sharing my joy When I’m smiling, Knowing why, without saying a word. When I’m cranky and whiny… Putting up with me, patiently Then making me realize my lot is not half as bad as I think it is. Being a rock of strength. My friend…you do all these things for me. I thank you. I thank my fate, that I have so many dear friends.
Which image do YOU like better?
September 20, 2011
I just want to see what appeals more, visually.
The Invisibles....
September 19, 2011
Recently, someone posted that there are many people on the pavements of our city who are invisible to us for the most part…
Two curious creatures during the weekend...
September 19, 2011
There is such an incredible variety of creatures around us, it’s like having a treasure house surrounding us!
Bannerghatta-Kaggalipura Road, 170911
September 18, 2011
To find out what this
Happy Birthday, <LJ user=pondhopper>
September 17, 2011
Wishing Donna the very best for the years ahead!
Portrait in Purple
September 16, 2011
A life amongst the flowers….
Bengali verse, with punctuation
September 15, 2011
A brilliant piece of verse; Suhrita Majumdar Basak says it is a very old verse in Kolkata:
Momix in Botanica
September 14, 2011
DnA ….that’s
No updates? at ALL?
September 14, 2011
I just checked my friends’ page and there are NO new entries….is that possible, when all I have to do is to be absent for a couple of days and I find that everyone has made the most interesting, debatable and intriguing posts?
All these Days...
September 14, 2011
I got a message on my mobile phone, showing some AWFUL stick figures, and saying, “Happy World Tribal Day”.
Cycling...and dogs
September 14, 2011
On the cycling group that I belong to, we’ve been having a big debate about cycling…and dogs…rather the menace that many cyclists face from dogs. Though some of us were only advocating getting stray dogs in the city neutered, several people thought we were advocating killing the dogs, and reacted heatedly, saying that dogs have as much right to life as we do, and must not be exterminated. In one instance where a young boy had allegedly been bitten to death by dogs, they quoted a newspaper report that said that the boy had been murdered, and THEN dogs had bitten his body, and that covered up the murder (which I think is as horrible.)
The Deepest Sorrows
September 12, 2011
The deepest sorrows are those that one cannot share with any other person….they are the private wounds, that bleed into one’s heart and soul, opening up now and then, in spite of our best care….. for glimpses into one’s own personal hell.
How to go broke travelling from Kochi to Bangalore
September 12, 2011
I’d booked a flight on Cleartrip dot com, and they’ve been reminding me to book my “free” ticket. The reason for those inverted commas was that they said only the base fare was free, and the taxes (which usually amount to 3 or 4 times the base fare) was to be paid by me.
Asha Bhonsle
September 11, 2011
I watched two almost identical retrospectives on
The Praying Mantis, Valley School, 100911
September 11, 2011
We generally dress in our oldest, dull-coloured clothes to go on nature trails, because many creatures are sensitive to bright colours, and vanish as soon they see such colours moving around. In Nature, blending in with one’s surroundings is often the key to survival…what stands out is often what’s eaten, and also what could be dangerous.
Underwear messages
September 11, 2011
For those with kidney problems
September 9, 2011
Click
Just flowers, from Lalbagh.....
September 8, 2011
Instead of writing about Profound Thoughts and boring the bejeesus out of everyone else, I feel it would be better to post pictures of a few lovely flowers and inflorescences that I have seen lately!
Every day....
September 8, 2011
Every day, in the newspapers, there is one terrorist attack, which fills us with fear and sadness. I also realized that every day’s newspapers are the same…they contain:
Points to Ponder, as Readers Digest says
September 7, 2011
PONDERISMS · I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes. · Life is sexually transmitted. · Healthy is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die. · Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing. · Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to? · All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism. · How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire? · Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, ‘I think I’ll squeeze these dangly things and drink whatever comes out’? · If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests? · If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from? · Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster? · Why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the bottle? · Do you ever wonder why you gave me your email address?
A hymn that I love
September 6, 2011
All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all.
If only....
September 6, 2011
From an internet forward that I got:
When the day is over...
September 4, 2011
When the festival is over, Ganesha does not always merge with the elements and reach Kailasa as he is supposed to. He is often abandoned in public places:
What to eat, buy and do....
September 3, 2011
Promiscuity...what does it mean?
September 2, 2011
For my review of the play, “Amrita”, directed by the noted film-maker, M S Sathyu,
Birds....of a feather
September 2, 2011
Life has been hectic….and with a lot of power cuts, and an erratic internet connection, I’ve not been able to post at all. I sang on stage this evening, at our apartment Ganapathi Puja..and it felt deeply satisfying. I realize I’ve neglected my music…
The Missouri Conservationist
September 2, 2011
This is an excellent wildlife/conservation magazine, which I subscribe to in St.Louis…and of course, I thought of writing to them to appreciate them…and here’s my letter:
Tapena wine, feta cheese, honey goat cheese, cilantro sour cream cheese, and indian cheese 280811
August 30, 2011
KM had brought back a selection of cheeses from the US, so when some friends suddenly decided to drop in, out they came, along with some Tapena wine….
Bannerghatta Zoo area, 280811
August 30, 2011
Though I had planned to go on the Bird Watchers’ Field Club 4th Sunday outing to Sarjapura, several friends persuaded me to go to the Zoo area instead (which is, anyway, a great favourite with me!)…so off we went in the cool, cloudy, misty morning.
How the day gets hijacked...mostly MY fault
August 27, 2011
Today…was supposed to be a day of intense writing. Having watched the play, “Amrita, A Sublime Love Story”, at Ranga Shankara, I am supposed to do the research on Amrita Pritam (and her abiding love for the lyricist, Sahir Ludhianvi) and write the review for City Buzz. (I typed City Buss…!) Then, for Citizen Matters, I am writing about Priya Venkatesh’s trip to the South Pole…the first woman from Bangalore to have visited this continent.
What a beauty parlour can offer...
August 26, 2011
The morning newspapers
August 26, 2011
This was brought on by a discussion on Facebook, after I’d posted an observation, that the front page headlines of newspapers remain the same all the time… Vikram Hiresavi suggested I begin to get along without newspapers.
God and the priest
August 24, 2011
At dawn this morning, I was standing in front of the Raghavendra matth (religious centre), when the temple was opened, and I watched the priest:
Arranged marriage...a video...and my thoughts
August 23, 2011
Sharing the pavement...
August 23, 2011
Walking down Malleswaram, I saw this strangely moving sight….it shows that our footpaths are put to far more uses than the BBMP envisions…
Everyone identifies....
August 23, 2011
Not everyone is capable of starting a revolution, but sometimes, when one person stands up for a cause, many others identify with him.
A sense of humour.... my questions
August 23, 2011
On my Facebook page, I posted a joke that was sent to me by a friend, and
Expect the unexpected
August 22, 2011
On the roads in Bangalore, you just never know what you are going to see, and when. Yesterday, I was going into Arikere Layout with my friend Jayashree, on her two-wheeler…and….
JanmAshtami, 210811
August 21, 2011
There seems to be a little confusion as to which day JanmAshtami (the eight day of the lunar calendar, which, in this month, marks the birthday of Krishna) falls. Yesterday at my friend’s home, I was told it was yesterday. Today, when I visited my friends Hema and Ganu, she had just lit the lamp and made the little “foot marks” of the baby Krishna:
View of Malleswaram and beyond...
August 21, 2011
I visited the home of my friends on the 19th floor in Mantri Greens, next Mantri Mall (an incredible mess to get to on a Saturday afternoon), but got this lovely view from the terrace:
Memories of Forest Park...
August 20, 2011
Am off to Kalkere State Forest for the 3rd Sunday nature trail in a few hours,but meanwhile, was thinking of the many happy hours I’ve spent in Forest Park, St.Louis….
Migraine Auras, and Scintillating Scotomata
August 20, 2011
For more than a year or two, I have, at random times, had the experience of a brightly pulsating, geometric-design spiral “unfurl” within my vision field….
World Photography Day
August 19, 2011
I must have taken hundreds of photographs, but would like to share this image that a friend sent me, with all of you, for World Photography Day….
GDs favourite...
August 19, 2011
Not just flying the flag....
August 18, 2011
On Independence Day, I found that almost every auto had a Tiranga flying:
Short and sweet
August 18, 2011
Thanks to Sethu from Chennai for sending this along to me:
Monsoon...rain, and rivers, and waterfalls
August 17, 2011
Water is everywhere during the monsoon; one drives through it….
Uttara Kannada trip Vinuthas home stay, Gudavi, 130811
August 16, 2011
The trip to the land of the
Four Blue Mormons....
August 15, 2011
In Gudavi,at Vinutha’s home stay, we were thrilled to get this lovely sight of four Blue Mormons, fluttering together:
Thoughts on Independence Day
August 15, 2011
Celebrating one’s patriotism is not a matter of flying the flag on one day…it also means not littering, not breaking the rules, being polite and helpful to other Indians…EVERY day. Pride in one’s country should be a daily state of mind, not an occasional token statement. That minute of pride in the billowing Tiranga should extend into a lifetime of doing one’s best for one’s country.
Cannot post comments at all...
August 12, 2011
I’ve just caught up with everyone’s posts from the past few days, but I am unable to post any comments, and it is SO frustrating for a loudmouth like me. I want to comment on Trish’s lovely pics of chillies fried in olive oil, I want to tell Gilda how much I admire her paring down: I want to tell Arun that his poem about his daughter’s cycling is wonderful…and so it goes…but I can’t.
Tiruchirapalli, 100811
August 12, 2011
It was a jam-packed trip, and I managed to visit three temples and a hitherto unvisited cave temple, too….I’m off to Sirsi/Banavasi again later today and have just not had any time (a quick trip to the Bannerghatta-Kaggalipura Forest area with Rosita and her son Mark took away whatever little free time I had yesterday!)..so let me just post a few videos…I hope you don’t find them TOO boring…I love the train,which looks like a toy from the hill where I was standing, and driving through the gOpurams of the ancient temples!
Tiruchirapalli
August 9, 2011
Off to
Bomb Threat in downtown St.Louis, 080811
August 9, 2011
Yesterday, near the downtown area (very close to the Gateway Arch) where A works, someone spotted a small strolley, and it was treated as a bomb threat. (A took the two photographs from her office window.)
Ragihalli, 070811
August 9, 2011
Since I realized that the chosen destination for Rathika Ramaswamy’s workshop field trip (Jaipurdoddi) was unsafe, as a tusker had been sighted there, I suggested that they join us at one of my favourite places…Ragihalli, both the sheet rock area, and the koLA (pond)…the second being a destination that not many people seem to know about.
Upon the rocks, and under the clouds...
August 8, 2011
When two legs are not enough to take one everywhere, one resorts to four wheels….
The pages of history...the walls of a house...
August 6, 2011
I went to attend a wildlife photography workshop by Rathika Ramaswamy, for Pixetra…but that’s not what this post is about. As I walked to the venue, I saw this old house…
HP Unveils Non-Computer For Those Who Dont Need A Computer
August 5, 2011
HP Unveils Non-Computer For Those Who Don’t Need A Computer
City Buzz
August 5, 2011
I’m contributing quite regularly, nowadays, to
Hospital Visitors Menagerie
August 5, 2011
One would think that a hospital, being an abode of ailment, accidents, and amelioration, would be a sombre place, and one that could not, possibly, yield much in terms of entertainment. But no! Here’s the Hospital Visitor Multiple-Ring Circus! Behold the poor victim, The Patient (TP), lying hapless on hes (that’s her/his) bed of pain, with that pain sharply elevated by the following animals (except for the last-mentioned.)
A R Rahman
August 3, 2011
One of the most talented music directors to shine in the tamizh film industry’s firmament is the still-young
Telling stories....
August 2, 2011
I suddenly decided to read the Kenneth Anderson ombibus of stories again, and while reading “Tales of the Supernatural”, I paused while my mind went back to my childhood, and the days of being told horror stories.
Information...sharing it...and withholding it
August 2, 2011
On a birding/wildlife egroup that I belong to, someone had asked where the Mottled Wood Owl could be seen in Bangalore, and several people had replied, saying that they can be seen in Lalbagh. To this, there have been several responses of protests, saying that if locations are shared, harm may result to the birds/wildlife. The latest email, expressing this point of view, goes:
Satyam from NIgeria
August 2, 2011
I received this lovely forward:
Troubling questions....
August 1, 2011
I’d like your reactions to this:
LJ
July 31, 2011
Was there a good part about the LJ DDOS attack? For me, it was going out for two days, and not having to worry about how many interesting posts I’d missed!
Snake in the Grass
July 31, 2011
Insurance often a racket
July 31, 2011
Frankly, I must say that I feel insurance in India is often a racket with no accountability. When the premiums are being collected and the papers signed, all is gas and gaiters, but if the consumer suffers a loss and wants to claim insurance, it is incredible how the insurance companies try (usually successfully) to weasel out of the claim settlement.
Clouds....and colours
July 29, 2011
As we flew from Chennai to Bangalore, we almost immediately hit the rain-bearing monsoon clouds….first they were fluffy cotton wool fleecy:
The Dreamcatcher
July 29, 2011
In my cousin’s car, I found a decoration that I was curious about:
Upside Down...
July 29, 2011
Sometimes the world feels upside down, Sometimes a smile feels like a frown. But sometimes upside down is lovely too.. When you look into the water, at the view.
Glad to see LJ back...and Missouri Conservationist
July 29, 2011
Apparently the DDOS attack this time was particularly vicious, so it felt good, when I opened up LJ just now, to have my favourite blog back! LJ people, thanks for the work you’ve put in to stave off the attack.
Good Queue Design...
July 26, 2011
Good design is needed everywhere, not just in consumer products and clothes. In the early hours of the morning, after about 22 hours in the aircraft or at the gates of various airports, we had to jockey around, to join the various queues in front of the Immigration counters, trying to speculate which line would mean the least waiting time. Surely, a common queue, with the passenger at the head of the line going to the next available counter, would have been far more efficient (and, therefore,a better design) than these separate queues, especially when officials ask people to move from one line to another, which results in further chaos. Good design is people-friendly…but it always needs some imagination.
Red-bellied Woodpecker, Livingston, New Jersey, 230711
July 23, 2011
When watching the House Sparrow, Common Grackles, and Northern Cardinals at the bird feeder on my cousin’s deck, I suddenly found a
Moving on
July 22, 2011
A watch for visually challenged people...lovely design
July 22, 2011
I was very impressed with the elegance of the design of this watch:
Packing....
July 22, 2011
Packing is, I find, a very idiosyncratic process. I think each of us has a different way of packing! My way is to try and get some space where I can leave my suitcases, and keep throwing things into it; and then, at a suitable time (which I keep postponing, alas) I sit down and pack it all in properly.
An Amazing Piece of Furniture....
July 21, 2011
I’ve seen a lot of
A visit from the police
July 20, 2011
All the residents on our block got this email from the residents’ association (or whatever it is called!) a few days ago:
Wrench time again
July 19, 2011
I know I have to go back home, and in many ways, I am looking forward to it; there is a lot of work (and life) waiting for me back home. I normally have a fairly neutral frame of mind, accepting the fact that my child, her spouse, and their child live very far away from me…and that when they lead happy lives of their own, we are both fine.
Goldfinch, Forest Park, 160711
July 18, 2011
Early in the morning, I went off for my usual walk to Forest Park, and the weather was kind enough to allow me to wander around for two and a half hours! And one of the last things that delighted me was the sight of a beautiful litle
Car on fire....
July 17, 2011
We were driving down to Columbia, Missouri, yesterday, when a huge plume of black smoke alerted us that something was wrong:
Songs the Nations Sing
July 16, 2011
Sometimes I feel that patriotism, or its negative form, jingoism, causes a lot of strife in this world. We are , I think, now so interconnected that surely we don’t belong to just ONE country any more? I feel just as comfortable in Europe or the US or in Africa, because I do feel that people are the same everywhere…it’s just that customs may differ, and appearances. But the emotions and ties the bind us and the thoughts and ideas that move us, seem to be much the same all over the world.
A miss is as good as a mile...
July 14, 2011
Missed meeting
Rainbows
July 14, 2011
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, St.Louis, 130711
July 14, 2011
I was actually on my way to the Muny to watch the musical, “The Little Mermaid”, but this beauty stopped me in my tracks:
Another KTB post
July 13, 2011
We have at home, a reader of books…
Another Yellow Lotus...
July 13, 2011
When I posted about the
Malvika meets the owls...
July 13, 2011
The Great Horned Owls are some of the most stunning wildlife I’ve been observing in Forest Park.
The Yellow Lotus, Forest Park, 110711
July 12, 2011
This morning I took Malvika to see the minks, and we did see them, though they were not cavorting at our feet like they sometimes do…but the treasure of the day was happening upon a stand (or a float?) of
History beneath my feet....
July 11, 2011
History lives on in fossilized bones; In memories, written chronicles, inscribed palm leaves. It whispers in crumbling buildings’ ancient eaves; But it also echoes in cobblestones. As I walk on these bricks with a pensive tread; I muse on the hundreds of people, now dead, Who walked and rode their horses over stones like these. Their steps echo in my heart, across the centuries. The light on the street seems to shine from the past… Beyond my future, it seems, the paving stones will last.
Happy Birthday
July 9, 2011
Happy Birthday to
When conversations disappoint
July 9, 2011
I’d “e-met” someone through email, when I added him as someone belonging to a e-group that I moderate. I found that he had a sense of humour, was very atypical of his general demographic (I can’t be more specific), seemed to write well, and be interested in many unusual things. So, when I came to the US, I was looking forward to talking to him.
After the workout
July 8, 2011
When Amma
Spam on LJ
July 8, 2011
Why am I getting so much of spam comments on LJ? Makes me feel like quitting.
Another delightful baby....
July 7, 2011
Yesterday I posted the pictures of a little one at home…here’s a little one who came and unabashedly looked up at me in Des Peres Creek, in Forest Park!
Death of a Parrot...
July 7, 2011
“Hello, Senor Rod? This is Ernesto, the caretaker at your country house.” “Ah yes, Ernesto. What can I do for you? Is there a problem?” “Um, I am just calling to advise you, Senor Rod, that your parrot, he is dead”. “My parrot? Dead? The one that won the International competition?” “Si, Senor, that’s the one.” “Damn! That’s a pity! I spent a small fortune on that bird. What did he die from?” “From eating the rotten meat, Senor Rod.” “Rotten meat? Who the hell fed him rotten meat?” “Nobody, Senor. He ate the meat of the dead horse.” “Dead horse? What dead horse?” “The thoroughbred, Senor Rod.” “My prize thoroughbred is dead?” “Yes, Senor Rod, he died from all that work pulling the water cart.” “Are you insane? What water cart?” “The one we used to put out the fire, Senor.” “Good Lord! What fire are you talking about, man?” “The one at your house, Senor! A candle fell and the curtains caught on fire.” “What the hell? Are you saying that my mansion is destroyed because of a candle?!” “Yes, Senor Rod.” “But there’s electricity at the house! What was the candle for?” “For the funeral, Senor Rod.” “WHAT BLOODY FUNERAL??!!” “Your wife’s, Senor Rod. She showed up very late one night and I thought she was a thief, so I hit her with your golf club.” SILENCE……….. LONG SILENCE………VERY LONG SILENCE. “My new Ping G15 204g titanium head golf club with the TFC 149D graphite shaft? Ernesto, if you broke that driver, you’re in deep shit!”
In St.Louis....
July 7, 2011
In St.Louis, at the home of DnA, cushions sometimes have feet:
Venality in the IAS
July 6, 2011
I was watching this video, where an honest and committed IAS officer talks about the Service, and “babu”dom, and several people who realized their dreams:
Wild Flowers....Forest Park, 010711
July 6, 2011
The Coneflowers are blooming all over Forest Park, and for once, I thought I’d post just a single photo of their wild beauty:
Flowers in the Night Sky Independence Day Fireworks, 020711
July 6, 2011
There were fireworks at 9.15 pm scheduled on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of July at the Gateway Arch. We went on the 2nd….on the 3rd, rain resulted in the fireworks being cancelled, and on the 4th, we looked up at the sky at the fireworks everyone around us was letting off (private fireworks are permitted on the 4th of July.)…and enjoyed the flowers in the sky from home.
The difference
July 5, 2011
If it is “Manjunatha Stores”, selling cotton shirts, they will be Rs.200.
Something I certainly live by....
July 5, 2011
I found this at the bottom of the forward I got:
St.Louis Air Show, 020711
July 4, 2011
Life has been very hectic…visitors, visiting, travel, a lot of activities over the long (July 4th) weekend… well, one outing I enjoyed very much indeed was to the Air Show on Saturday, though the temperature was over 100 deg F, and felt like 100 deg C, sultry and stifling….
So much happening...
July 2, 2011
I was going to finish unpacking, the cooking and the laundry, and post about some of our journey home…but I have other things to look forward to, and that includes
My great-grand-daughter has arrived
June 29, 2011
We had three doctors in Ocala this time, so I cannot fault KTB for arranging to have her delivery here….
Games that we play....
June 29, 2011
Being a large family has some great advantages; playing games (alas, until 2 am each morning) is great fun and we don’t need any other form of entertainment at all!
A 4G photograph....
June 27, 2011
Derek’s dad Jim (who lives in Portland, Maine) and grand-dad Bob (who lives two hours away, near Daytona Beach, Florida…Jim’s visiting him for a week) drove over to visit us at Kumar’s place, and it was a memorable moment to see four generations of Shaffers on the couch:
Out of the aircraft window.....
June 26, 2011
I always love having the window seat, but on the flight from St.Louis to Orlando, I got only an aisle one. Yet, as I saw the sun sinking in oranges and reds, I started aiming the camera….and the gentleman in the window seat (the middle one was vacant, luckily!), a paralegal from Orlando, asked me if I’d like the window. I accepted with alacrity!
Ocala, Florida 250611
June 25, 2011
We got here very late and this morning, got up to find the house full of immediate and extended family….and it feels good to catch up with everyone again….some of my relatives I am meeting again after long years!
Visit to Principia College with Stephen Silha and Gordon Barnett, 220611
June 25, 2011
I’ve posted a lot of photos of the visit, to my Facebook album; you can use your FB account to view them
Anklet at the Bell Convention, 230611
June 25, 2011
We went to see the bells exhibited at the Bell Convention yesterday, because
Images with words....Forest Park, 230611
June 24, 2011
Today was overcast but there was decent light, and it was mid-morning when I decided to go for a long walk. I went to Danny’s Hide, by about 11.30am….but I could only see the mother mink swimming back and forth; once she had a crayfish in her mouth, but she dipped under water before I could get a shot of here.couldn’t stay very long though, had to leave.
Optimism
June 23, 2011
I am, in general, a happy person and prefer to believe that difficulties will sort themselves out, and when I see a random poster somewhere that says the same thing, I love it!
No way to convey appreciation
June 23, 2011
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Visit of Stephen Silha and Gordon Barnett, St.Louis
June 23, 2011
Prelude: Two snorers (KM and KTB), two yakkers (AM and HS), and one thrasher (KTB)= woken up from sleep and hopeless to get back!
The Japanese Beetle (no, its not a new small car)
June 22, 2011
I’ve been itching to use the macro on the S30, so when a
Ballet Dancer
June 21, 2011
Caution: this is an AWWW post and probably not of interest to anyone not related to KTB :)
The mink...at last....
June 20, 2011
This post is for
A delightful procession....and an unexpected sighting
June 19, 2011
Saw this duck-walk and was totally enchanted, this morning!
Storms, Colours and a lovely walk....
June 18, 2011
I went for a walk to the
So fur and no fur-there...the Mink
June 17, 2011
I truly do think That the semi-acquatic Mink Needs its own fur coat To keep afloat In chilly, bone-freezing water; If a modiste wants fur, Deny it to her: She mustn’t wear mink…or even otter.
Des Peres Creek and my first (lousy) photograph of the Mink...
June 17, 2011
Since that’s about the only useful thing I do all day (I don’t want to tell you about my cooking and the laundry!)…let me take you on this morning’s walk to Forest Park and the short stint at the Des Peres creek….
Fire and Ice
June 16, 2011
As we returned from the Taming of the Shrew, we were crossing the usual Fire Station (E30, that I have written about
Mulberries...and Cobweb
June 16, 2011
I never knew just what
Of scripts,language, and punctuation marks....
June 16, 2011
While reading a book this morning,(Georgette Heyer’s “Faro’s Daughter”,if you are interested!) I fell to musing on the various scripts in which our languages are set down. I’ve learnt English from early childhood, and it took me, therefore, a while to realize that its script is most quirky…..compared to the orderliness of the scripts of most Indian languages.
The Taming of the Shrew Shakespeare in the Park, 2011 130611, Forest Park
June 15, 2011
Here’s the 1950’s set of the play:
My extremely originally-worded blogpost
June 14, 2011
At this point in time, I am sort of figuring out what to write, man. At the end of the day, all said and done, I want more people, you know, to check this out, like, for original language. I don’t want them to think I’m being majorly cliched, and so on and so forth.
Shakespeare in the Park, 130611
June 14, 2011
We went to watch
The Bear, the Octopus, and the Bunny
June 14, 2011
Jeddy Narayan is a bear of somewhat ancient vintage; he’s the only bear I know, who has moved from Europe to Asia to America.
Suddenly realized...... )
June 12, 2011
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N L Naryanan, 1921-2011
June 11, 2011
N L Narayanan, or N Lakshminarayanan, to give him his full name, was my uncle….to be precise, my mother’s younger sister’s husband. He was known to the family as “Ambi” (a dimunitive of “thambi” or younger brother, being, as he was, the youngest of three sons). (My own father, in another Thanjavur variation of this nickname, was “Ambu”….though he was the eldest child!)
Out in the morning....090611
June 10, 2011
Since the days are so hot, and there is no relief, the only thing I can do is to go for my walk very early in the morning; I leave at 5.30am. This morning, I also thought I’d look in at the Mink Hole, as Danny calls the waterfall area. So it was a two-hour walk.
Some more smiles....
June 8, 2011
Each of these made me smile.
A forward thats quite backward....
June 8, 2011
Here’s the forward, first:
This problem of colour....
June 8, 2011
I’ve been speaking to an Indian friend of mine (we were LJ friends before we met face-to-face) and this friend’s choice of spouse is being heavily criticised by the parents…on the basis of that person’s “not being fair”. No, not “fair” as in “fair and kind and just”…it’s just that the intended spouse in dark-skinned. There seems to be no worry at all about what sort of a person this intended spouse is going to be….it’s as if a fair skin automatically brings with it intelligence, wisdom, and a loving personality!
Hardly knew it....an earthquake
June 8, 2011
According to the news report
Forest Park, 050611
June 6, 2011
This morning, I decided to go and meet
Some signs that I got as a forward...
June 6, 2011
I got these as a forward from a friend, I’m posting them without comment!
The Red-eared Sliders in Forest Park
June 5, 2011
It was almost exactly a year ago that I posted about
Priya Venkatesh..the Polish Woman....
June 5, 2011
I call this dear friend of mine, the Polish Woman, because…she went to the South Pole recently…something that not many of us are likely to do.
Common Birds in Forest Park, 020611
June 4, 2011
I’ve posted all the pictures from my long walk to my Facebook album, which (if you have a Facebook account) you can see if you
Jefferson City, Missouri, 300511
June 3, 2011
On the way back from the Lake of the Ozarks, we had a brief halt at
HOW much?
June 3, 2011
Are you aware that a bottle can contain more than 100%?
The Bangalore I moved into....
June 1, 2011
This morning, as I walked in Forest Park, I inhaled the heady scent of the magnolia blossoms, and though I am not a nostalgic person usually, the scent evoked memories of what I call the “pre-IT Bangalore”…the sleepy, lovely city that we moved into, in 1988. One of the loveliest memories from those days is that of inhaling the scent of the Sampige trees as I walked, and cycled, in Cubbon Park…
Memorial Day Eve Fireworks, Lake Osage, 290511
June 1, 2011
We watched a lovely firework display as part of the Memorial Day eve celebrations at Lake Ossage:
The hike and the return home, 300511
June 1, 2011
On our last day at the Lake of the Ozarks, Memorial Day, we decided to go on a short hike…the hike had to be short because of two reasons….several things (including a very late night the previous evening!) made a very late start, and it was rather hot and humid.
Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, 28 and 290511
May 29, 2011
We’re spending this (Memorial Day) weekend at the Tan-Tar-A resort in the Lake of the Ozarks:
Back to the Owls....
May 28, 2011
I’d wanted to go and renew my acquaintanceship with the
Messages....
May 28, 2011
I found these three “message rocks” in front of KTB’s daycare:
Very useful....
May 28, 2011
Sometime’s it’s not the car….
How to say no....
May 26, 2011
I’ve been having conversations with a couple of friends; one is waiting for a response on the personal front, and another, on the professional front. And a feature that strikes me as common to both these processes of waiting is the way a “no” is communicated.
Kabini Mammals and Others 14 and 150511
May 26, 2011
The creatures of Kabini…well, the large ones are what I am talking about here (remember the yellow-thighed tarantula that I photographed in
A new one... from Pushpa Hayley
May 25, 2011
Ascroft .Pushpa
Hi,I just came back from oversea trip to Scotland.I am Miss.Pushpa.A.Hayley,I work with Avocet Mining PLC in UK as assistant senior supervisor.We may not know ourselves for now but it is my heart desire to take vacation leave from our company to visit India for the first time because my father originally came from New Delhi in India and my mother from Indonesia.It is no longer a news that Asia is developing so fast and catching up with developed countries with a lot of tourist attraction centers,it gives me so much joy because I want to witness it and be part of it.
Walks in Forest Park....
May 24, 2011
Though I am usually up at 3.30am, I carry on with my walk to, and in, Forest Park…
Birds of Kabini, 14 and 150511
May 24, 2011
This trip to Kabini was a real bonanza in terms of birds; we sighted a 103 or 104 species of birds in the two days that we were there, and also got to observe a lot, rather than just looking and passing on.
Surgery Financtomy
May 22, 2011
The Weary Traveller
May 22, 2011
An article I wrote in October or so...
May 22, 2011
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What I wrote to Ameen Ahmed, two years ago...
May 19, 2011
I just got a reply from Ameen Ahmed, who was very active on the wildlife front in the Tumkur area before he joined WWF (that’s NOT the World Wrestling Federation.)…he said he’d drafted a reply to me but suddenly spotted it only now!
Spots...and stripes...
May 19, 2011
No, we didn’t get that “apex of sightings” (according to the Artificial Heirarchy of Jungle Sightings, developed by wildlife tourists)…no stripes. But on two of the three safaris we went on, we spotted spots. Here’s Panthera pardus, giving us a profile pose, nonchalantly:
Crisis of Civilization A Journey with Tagore Play Review
May 18, 2011
You can read it
How to underpay a freelance writer
May 18, 2011
- Suggest a rate of payment when that author starts writing for you. For five years, never increase the rate, during which time period, the cost of living has shot up incredibly. Compare the price of petrol between 2006 and now, in India…or the cost of, say, tuvar dal.
Hardly any time...
May 17, 2011
Had to go to Chennai for some Orrible Essential Paperwork and got back just now. My laptop was not able to pick up on the cable internet in Chennai.
Kabini, 14 and 150511
May 16, 2011
It was an incredibly eventful trip,apart from the stupendous variety of sightings and observations we had at Kabini….what events, you ask?
My daughter, when she was very young...
May 13, 2011
I suddenly thought of the things that delighted me when my daughter was young..
Two Years Old....
May 13, 2011
The photographs of KTB were sent by the other grandmother, who’s called “Nanna” and who lives in Portland, Maine. The grandparents had come over for her second birth anniversary (I had been there the previous two April 29’s!) and I enjoyed the photographs they sent…
A morning with the Spotted Owlets....
May 13, 2011
It was an NTP outing…. I accompanied Radha and Shreeram to Lalbagh this morning.
Verse...and Re-Verse
May 12, 2011
Someone whom I’ve yet to meet face-to-face, but who has impressed me with his many-faceted skills, wrote this and emailed it to me!
Artificial Heirarchy of the JungleThe Tiger Fixation
May 12, 2011
I do understand that the tiger is an icon of the Indian jungles, and it is endangered, probably critically so. It’s always been the dream of the wildlife enthusiast, and the wildlife photographer, to get a sighting, and a good photograph, of the tiger.
The Play-doh Fiend
May 12, 2011
Just Look Up... Book Review
May 11, 2011
To read about this book on trees, click
Dentists....
May 11, 2011
Another Sumin Post
May 10, 2011
“Sumin”, as my young daughter used to say, is what I do regularly in the summer. Sumin is such a great all-round exercise; and if there is a pool in your own apartment building, like I have, you don’t have to brave the city traffic to get to the pool, either. A quick change of costume, and there I am, ready to slip into the pool (this is a nice way of ssying that I am still afraid to jump in!).
Bird Watchers Field Club 2nd Sunday Outing to Lalbagh 080511
May 9, 2011
Sometimes one does not have to see many species of birds (or animals or insects) in order to feel very satisfied with a nature outing. And it is fun to meet up with so many like-minded people.
A huge compliment on Mothers Day....
May 9, 2011
I forgot that
Can you believe this? It took me a while to....
May 7, 2011
Read
Hulimangala, Nature Trail, 070511
May 7, 2011
It was a baker’s dozen…Alexis,Chandu, Fauzia, Gopal,Hrishikesh, Neha,Priyanka, Neha, Sushil,Tharangini, Vaibhav, Yash, and I…who went to Hulimangala this morning (070511). The sun came up as we stopped near the magnificient stand of trees….
Articles on Kalyan Varma
May 6, 2011
I met
Livelihoods on the Pavement
May 5, 2011
Our pavements (or footpaths or sidewalks) are very interesting places. No bland stretch of tiles or cement for us; we have a rich variety of life teeming on our footpaths (indeed, I often think they are called footpaths because the local Government makes them a foot higher than the road…so they are not meant for the easy use of pedestrians, but for people to earn their livelihoods on space-without-rent!)
Why is it so hard....
May 4, 2011
Why is it so hard to have unalloyed joy? I went for a walk to do a lot of chores, and was actually singing under my breath, I was so happy. The sun was out; after the rain, everything was washed and free of dust… I was enjoying myself.
Past, Present and Future...
May 3, 2011
Here’s a nice image of the past and the present, juxtaposed…
Why this post in particular?
May 2, 2011
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Osama bin Laden, d.2011
May 2, 2011
It’s taken 10 years, but Osama bin Laden is dead, killed in Pakistan.
Lovely, light-hearted song...
May 2, 2011
Thank you
The Small Hours...
May 2, 2011
I get profound, earth-shaking thoughts and insights at 2.45 am in the morning. By 6 am, they are gone, and I have nothing to write about!
Paradise Lost
May 1, 2011
I was musing on humankind’s relationship with Nature, and it struck me forcibly that humankind’s need to dominate the environment is the source of much of the problems our planet faces now. Ohter animals, and humanity, in days gone by, were part of the environment, and accepted it as such; they have (had) no need to tame what was around them. But humankind…has become different. We need to tame the trees to manageable proportions, we need to tame plants to give us food, we need to tame animals to do our work for us…and we need to tame the forces of Nature to do our bidding, too. Development, to us, is not the sustainable path of use that can be cyclically replenished, but the “let’s take more” model that lands us in difficulties. We don’t want certain animals, and birds, and insects, and organisms, near us, or in us…. we work to eliminate them. We want others for our own short-term needs (or just desires)..and in the process, almost eliminate them. We want a particular thing and don’t seem to count the cost of getting it by eliminating others. We build a pyramidal model of dependence, and are surprised that it is not sustainable. We break the interconnected web of existence…and exclaim when it floats in tatters around us.
Diatoms
April 30, 2011
Though the bird count at the Bannerghatta Zoo area was on the low side today (this seemed to be more of an “audio” than a “visual” day, with many more birds being heard than seen!)…we did see a lot of interesting stuff as usual. Here’s one:
It was actually an Indian royal wedding today...
April 29, 2011
I was tickled pink to get this after watching the Will Kate (Yes, will she? was the question!)…wedding…
Nandi Hills...the creatures...
April 28, 2011
Sunday’s trip to Nandi Hills was particularly satisfying, as Kannan had his wish for the Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher fulfilled..really FULL filled! Here are two poses by the beautiful bird:
Highways in India...
April 28, 2011
I feel that highway driving in India has always been hazardous, and it continues to be so. Earlier, highways were single-lane roads, and it was, obviously, dangerous having the oncoming traffic, and the oncoming headlights, coming at you under all kind of conditions…night driving, rain, and so on. One slip on the part of an oncoming vehicle could mean disaster, no matter how careful one was as a driver.
A beautiful wedding....
April 27, 2011
I attended a lovely wedding today; here are the happy couple, exchanging garlands, a ritual signifying one soul in two bodies:
A childhood favourite....
April 27, 2011
I don’t even remember how, or when, I learnt this song. I think I learnt it by osmosis! I didn’t know that it was a movie song, and I didn’t know the movie. I just suddenly decided to google for it….and there it was…in Asha Bhonsle’s lovely voice.
Nandi Hills...the people and the scenery....
April 26, 2011
Having had to postpone our trip to Nandi Hills due to torrential rains on Saturday, we decided to make the trip on Sunday morning, and Anand, Kannan, Priyanka, Sushil, Vaibhav, and I left at 4.30am on Sunday morning.
Tailorbird......home decor, Nandi Hills, 240411.
April 25, 2011
We had a very productive and enjoyable trip to Nandi Hills on Sunday; the trip was postponed from Saturday, when it poured buckets. On Sunday, too, we did contend with very low light for the better part of the morning…but Nandi Hills never disappoints.
No need for bachelors to marry....
April 25, 2011
Why go to all the expense of getting married, when easier solutions are advertised at the top of Nandi Hills?
Valley School, 220411
April 23, 2011
Kannan had wanted me to take him to Valley School, but earlier, there were too many people coming, so we went to Ragihalli instead. But this Friday, though it kept raining pretty heavily, Chandu, Kannan, Jayashree and I set off….. the rain actually made several things more beautiful…look for example at these lovely berries, dripping diamonds!
Where to wash your hands....
April 23, 2011
This was sent by A Madrasi in Missouri…
Urdu Verse....
April 21, 2011
Unki gali se guzre..ajeeb ittefaq tha Unho ne phool phenka..gamla bhi saath tha.
Durga on the Lion...
April 21, 2011
Durga, the slayer of the Buffalo-demon, Mahishasura, appears astride a lion:
Unexpected Scrap from the Distant Past....
April 20, 2011
This morning, KM suddenly took out a disintegrating scrap of paper from his wallet and said, “Write this down for me on a stronger piece of paper.”
Words in a huddle, sorry, puddle, sorry, muddle....
April 20, 2011
On the cycling mailng list I belong to, we are having a discussion about how “peddle” is often being used instead of “pedal”…so here’s my usual erudite, serious contribution:
Mangoes...Unripe
April 19, 2011
One of the pleasures of the summer is certainly….mangoes! From the most unripe to the most ripe, we can enjoy mangoes in a variety of ways…and with unripe mangoes, we can make a variety of pickles.
How long?
April 19, 2011
Often, I come across topics of great interest to me…but if the article or write up is very lengthy, I find that I start skimming towards the end, and perhaps (though I don’t like to think so) missing important points. So I was wondering…how long should write ups and articles be?
Amphibians......
April 18, 2011
Frogs and toads…their new scientific names are quite horrific. Gone are the simple old days of Rana and Bufo. Now, Seshadri the Frogman informs me…. there are names like Fejervarya, Philautus which is now Raorchestes…..! and then, he says, there is Nasikabatrachus (nasika=nose batracha=frog meaning pig nosed frog!)
Seeing a bird for the first time....
April 18, 2011
As we wandered along the edge of the half-dry Dodda Kere (Large Lake) in Anekal, my friend Chandu suddenly stood stock-still, gazing intently into a thicket of reeds at the water’s edge. “Hey!” he called, in a carefully pitched monotone, “I think I’m seeing a crake here, come over!”
3rd Sunday Outing of Birdwatchers Field Club Anekal Lake, 170411
April 17, 2011
Geetanjali had mandated a bright and early start, but of course all of us arrived at intervals, so each us seemed to find our own way down into the semi-dried Anekal Lake bed, and moved around to try and spot the birds.
Ragihalli, 160411
April 16, 2011
Let me begin with this lovely
An observation
April 16, 2011
If a friend tells you, “All my other friends are shit, you are the only nice one,” you may be sure that you are going to join the shit-list shortly thereafter.
Elephants Together
April 15, 2011
Here is one of the magnificient beasts that I saw in Kaziranga….
KTB and the Ambulance.....
April 14, 2011
At
புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துக்கள்
April 14, 2011
புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துக்கள்!
Tree-dwellers of Kaziranga....
April 13, 2011
No, I’m not referring to the birds here! There were two creatures that my friends were very eager to see….the
Pun-jab....
April 13, 2011
Thanks to Vittal for these!
High as a Kite....
April 12, 2011
…and that subject title is literally correct, as when I was taking these photographs, a Black Kite soared past on the thermals at eye level.
The Water Buffalo, Kaziranga Western Range, 030411
April 12, 2011
The Asiatic Wild Buffalo, found is Assam, is the species from which all buffaloes here are descended…or related to. And we had one lovely scene in Assam, when the Wild Buffalo proved how it could easily become the Water Buffalo that we are used to everywhere, in our country!
Posting on LJ....
April 11, 2011
Posting on LJ at the usual times has become nearly impossible. I am unable to post, unable to open friends’ posts, and if I finally do, I can’t comment.
Girl Children...
April 11, 2011
On a mailing list that I belong to, we’ve been having a discussion about the increasingly skewed sex ratios in India (there are less females to x no. of males than there ought to be.). Someone then wrote:
Scientific names...
April 11, 2011
Scientific names are a very valuable id tool, and that the unique names mean that they won’t let anyone get confused.
Desire Society, and the Cuckooshrike.....
April 10, 2011
Priyanka, one of the people who volunteers regularly at the
The Challenge....
April 8, 2011
We first watched this magnificient tusker cross the jeep path in the Kaziranga Central Range:
Ive volunteered.....
April 7, 2011
I read in Citizen Matters about
KTB
April 7, 2011
She’s halfway across the world, and occasional “skyping” is the way I keep in touch. But I love the anecdotes that make their way across the ocean….
Some butterflies in Assam....
April 7, 2011
When we went to Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, on the last day of our (well, Gopal and I….Vinay and Yash are still not back!) trip to Assam, butterflies were certainly not on my mind. I wanted Gopal to see the Hoolock Gibbons, and perhaps some of the other macaques.
Autostereograms
April 7, 2011
Many years ago, KM’s brother bought us two books, where unexpected 3-D images would “pop” out of the printed mass of patterns on the page.
Finally, my laptop is back...
April 6, 2011
…But I am still stuck with some pics on my iPad, some on the HP tablet, and some on this one…collating all of it is going to take a while, and I hope I have the patience to Get A Round Tuit!
Rage...
April 6, 2011
At 8.30 pm on the 4th of April, I took the BIAS Vayu Vajra (BIAS 12, to KuVemPu Nagara)nfrom the airport to my home.
City Buzz Blog
April 6, 2011
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It IS.....
April 5, 2011
Found this lovely name on a restaurant signboard on the way back from Kaziranga…
Nimishamba Temple, and Ranganathittu, 290311
March 31, 2011
Yesterday, thanks to
Honest sign....
March 31, 2011
I enjoyed seeing this at Nandi Hills:
Silhouettes The Spinning Dancer
March 31, 2011
Was thinking about silhouettes after
Chumma jusht for no reason....
March 31, 2011
I do love playing around with my camera, and I enjoy the reddish morning light…so, instead of doing my morning chores, I used my foot, a beanbag, that lovely light, and my MLC…
Simplwasity...
March 29, 2011
That’s the past tense of “simplicity”….
An Utter Pain....
March 29, 2011
Losing one’s mobile…and trying to get a duplicate SIM card…is an Utter Pain.
Work...
March 28, 2011
It’s funny…I’ve always enjoyed writing, but recently, after contributing regularly to Citizen Matters and latterly to City Buzz, I have begun classifying this as “work”. I suppose it’s not so much being paid for the writing (the pay is PEANUTS!) but the fact of having to finish within an externally-set deadline, that makes it “work”.
BWFC, 4th Sunday Outing to Sarjapura, 270311
March 27, 2011
One may go to see the birds, but everything is interesting and awe-inspiring, so I like to call these “Nature trails”, rather than birding outings.
Beauty routine....
March 26, 2011
She primps…
God....and animal worship
March 26, 2011
If God is great….
Some more one-liners from an internet forward
March 25, 2011
[1] Regular naps prevent old age, especially if you take them while driving.
Ramakrishna Mission, Shivanahalli
March 25, 2011
The Ramakrishna Ashram, Shivanahalli, updated their website, and it’s
Proud as a.....no, two....
March 25, 2011
Architecture...
March 25, 2011
Architecture….can be just solid oblongs of colour…
Two posts from this time, last year....
March 24, 2011
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Never Trust A Cricketer...
March 23, 2011
NEVER TRUST A CRICKETER
Pamphlets with the newspapers...
March 22, 2011
Read More
Sun Kola
March 22, 2011
While we were waiting interminably (3pm to 5.30pm!) for a bus from Dadigal village to Denkanikotta on Saturday, Geetanjali decided to try out a “local” drink…
Watching old movie videos...
March 22, 2011
I know that it is the lovely music that makes me go to Youtube to revisit old hits….but since I was (and am not) a regular movie-goer, I’d never seen most of the movies that these songs are from, and so I also like to see the visual part of the song.
Some more signs...
March 21, 2011
On our way around Mathigiri,and Denkanikotta, I spotted a lot of interesting stuff….
I disagree...
March 21, 2011
One of the great things about good friends is that you can disagree with their views and not have it affect the friendship at all….in fact, in some ways, it seems to strengthen it!
3rd Sunday Outing, Bird Watchers Field Club, 200311
March 21, 2011
The 3rd Sunday outing, this time to the Hulimangala area, was a very enjoyable one, with a huge stand of majestic trees that were truly breathtaking to see…and which we must enjoy before the “development” of our city wipes them out. However, squinting up into the trees to see the birds meant that birding was,literally, a pain in the neck!
Shooting of a Movie...
March 18, 2011
Yesterday, at the mall near my home, I watched the dance sequences of a movie being shot…all through the day.
Some of the trees flowering in Bangalore.....
March 17, 2011
As you go around the city, don’t forget to see the flowers of spring and summer, in all their glory…..here they are:
The leaves of spring...
March 17, 2011
Feels like summer, but some of the trees think it is spring….
The rest of the sentence...
March 16, 2011
These sentences are supposed to have been completed by first graders…whether that’s true or not, I enjoyed them!
After Reading a Poem
March 16, 2011
Words… Have the power to move me. They are birds That beat their wings In my heart…. The song each bird sings Can be a balm…or a dart That may make me think…and improve me.
Lovely words.....
March 16, 2011
A Dream Within A Dream Edgar Allan Poe
Cubbon Park, 150311
March 15, 2011
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Wall for rent
March 15, 2011
Others may build garden walls, but you can rent them:
One of Biddles favourites....
March 14, 2011
For many months, KTB used to listen to this song every day…let me post it before a copyright violation takes away this one, too, as happened to “poo pOla poo pOla pirakkum”…
A grim war.....
March 14, 2011
A group of NTP members…Radha, Shreeram, Tharangini, and I…decided to bear off our Guru-G, Karthik, to Valley School on Sunday morning, and one of the highlights of the trip was a desperate battle that we witnessed.
Valley School, 130311
March 13, 2011
Alas, I have to agree that it’s FAR simpler to post photographs (hi res, too!) and write the narrative on Facebook, than it is to post the pics to Photobucket, caption them, copy and past to LJ, and then write the text!
The Hijdas of Bangalore...
March 12, 2011
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Moving out,moving on....
March 12, 2011
When, in a relationship or a business partnership, is it a good time to move out? The answer, I think, is never…is there ever a good time to announce that you are done with something that was good, but isn’t (at least, to you) any more? No time is a good time. Such an announcement is always greeted with surprise, dismay, anger or even emotional (or organizational) blackmail (or sops in the form of increased pay or perks)….but I have yet to see many instances of the party of the other part taking a breakup on any kind in a good and mature spirit, accepting that yes, indeed, the time has come to move on.
Kisses...
March 11, 2011
The butterfly kisses the marigolds…
Crows....
March 11, 2011
Crows are so intelligent, they can read English….
Flash...and Sunlight....
March 10, 2011
The morning sun pours directly into our front balcony, so I often lower the “chick” (bamboo screens) to lessen the glare.
D and GD are leaving tonight...
March 9, 2011
My life will go back to its ordered ways, after the hurricanes and chaos…..there will be no one to grin impishly at me…no one to ask me not to cook as today is “Bhavani Chats” day or “Nagarjuna Chimney” day…..no one to eat up the bread upma that’s been a favourite from her childhood….no one to cuddle on my lap as the milk gets drunk…..
A less welcome sign of summer...
March 9, 2011
The Golden Trumpet and Jacaranda flowers may be carpeting the ground as a sign of summer… .but another sight, that is full of colour, but that is far less welcome, is one that’s started staring me in the eye:
Basavanagudi....Gandhi Bazaar...
March 7, 2011
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The Bedsheet Demon
March 5, 2011
Here’s a pic of my daughter, calmly and peacefully asleep.
Time Out
March 4, 2011
When KTB does something naughty (oh, yes, she often does something knowing perfectly well that it is not acceptable!), she is not smacked, but told, “Time out!”….which means, she must go to a corner and stand there with her face to the wall.
Time Out
March 4, 2011
When KTB does something naughty (oh, yes, she often does something knowing perfectly well that it is not acceptable!), she is not smacked, but told, “Time out!”….which means, she must go to a corner and stand there with her face to the wall.
Very still...and never still....
March 4, 2011
Waiting for a religious discourse to finish, I saw this gecko stuck to the roof of an under-stairs toilet…waiting with infinite patience, stock-still, for some creature to get within reach….
Every minute is KTB time...
March 3, 2011
I have so many profound and important observations on life and philosophy to propound…but from the minute her eyes open, KTB is my not-so-benevolent dictator. On her tiny feet the whole time she’s awake, she keeps us on our feet, too. All those lovely, dreamy, vaseline-tinted pictures of the tiny tot playing peacefully and deocorously with her toys while the fond grandmother watches with immaculate make up ….ha, ha, ha.
Flowers and worship....
March 2, 2011
I was watching a scene in an old devotional movie (ThiruviLayAdal) and it struck me….why are flowers so universally used in worship? What is the connection? Is it just their appearance, or were only fragrant flowers chosen at first, and flowers without them added later?
Feels great
March 2, 2011
An unexpected compliment is quite the best one! I got one, four-and-a-half years later, for
A thooLi in Luz, Mylapore...
March 1, 2011
Some time ago (well, in 2009, as a matter of fact) I’d posted about the
Sunset, last day of February 2011
March 1, 2011
The sun dips down in the evening, It paints the cars in gold…
Biddli, Iddli....and the bakery
March 1, 2011
KTBs first full day here...
February 26, 2011
Yesterday her fever seemed better, so we had a new maid:
What???
February 26, 2011
When I take D and GD, and all 3 generations of us women go promenading in Luz, Mylapore, what do you think catches our eye?
It IS a mess...
February 25, 2011
What does one say when one travels through two states, and finds that plastic seems to have taken over the landscape, and the economy, as well?
KTB....
February 25, 2011
KTB and her mother’s flight arrived one and a half hours late, and we barely had a few hours of sleep…but this morning, she walked into our home and hearts again…
Gulkand
February 24, 2011
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Freshly grinded coffee...
February 24, 2011
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An auntie I like....
February 24, 2011
The arrival of
What can these bugs be?
February 23, 2011
On a tree-trunk in J P Nagar, I found these rather beautiful bugs:
Our gods and goddesses are enlightened...
February 22, 2011
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Karnataka Best Float in the 2011 Republic Day Parade
February 22, 2011
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February 3rd Sunday outing to Shivanahalli Ramakrishna Ashram, 200211
February 22, 2011
It was quite a large group that met up in front of my home, and we all proceeded first to the Ragihalli sheet rock area. It was still pre-dawn, the time referred to by the ancients as Usha….but the lights in the valley were twinkling, and the dawn was approaching:
This ones for another friend..
February 22, 2011
“
An LJ Friend whose work I admire
February 21, 2011
When I have something to write about, it so happens that something else, that I hit on by chance, suddenly clamours for a post!
Delhi Drivers Licence....guidelines....
February 19, 2011
Is it bad English, or evolving English?
February 18, 2011
It started with a friend, MM, making this update on Facebook:
Parts of C and Ns visit, 08, 09, 100211
February 17, 2011
The Rabdi Shop
February 17, 2011
As we passed Agra, our driver, Gajendra Singh, told us about a shop where the
Abhishek...my istomaak is eking...
February 16, 2011
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Mother...daughter...mother...daughter
February 16, 2011
I wanted to post this yesterday, but today will do.
Can you spot the world-famous landmark?
February 16, 2011
I’m sure all of you are tired of seeing the artistic, wonderful photographs of world-famous landmarks….tarantaraaa, ladies and gen’mun, here are the DM SMS of one of them!
Arti for the Ganga, Haridwar
February 16, 2011
We went to Haridwar to meet
Article on the Aero Show
February 15, 2011
I’ve started sending articles to a new Bangalore-based weekly magazine, “City Buzz” (it’s only print, alas, not online…I don’t know why!)
Unexpectedly.....Birds in Rishikesh
February 15, 2011
Rishikesh is a town that I visited for KM’s sake; he wanted to enjoy the peace of the Akhandashram for a day, and we decided not to travel to Devprayag but have a relaxed time at the ashram.
mOkshA
February 14, 2011
Nirvana (nirvANA) is a word often used in the West, in the sense of “Heaven”, but it actually means “release”…release from the cycle of rebirths that human beings are supposed to be in bondage to. Moksha is the shedding of the chains of attachment, of release from the accumulation of karma, that finally frees the soul to become one with the Great Soul, the ParamAtmA….
Lots more signs on the recent trip....in English and Hindi
February 14, 2011
I clicked several interesting signs on the recent trip, especially while on the road between Delhi,Agra, Haridwar and Rishikesh…..let me start with the ones in Hindi first.
Whats in the photographers mind?
February 13, 2011
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but I find it utterly fascinating to know what, exactly, is in a photographer’s mind as s/he clicks. Each of us would have very different thoughts in our heads….there could be:
The Bangalore Aero Show videos, and pictures on Facebook
February 11, 2011
I’ll be posting the photographs on Facebook, but here are some wonderful aerobatics at the Airshow at Yelahanka, today:
Proud to be an Indian...the Bangalore Aero Show, 110211
February 11, 2011
The Aero Show has got to be the most “ungreen” event I’ve seen…thousands of litres of aviation fuel being guzzled up, and thousands of litres of petrol being guzzled up for people to go and see the spectacle of the aerobatics….
YASP (Yet Another Sunset Photograph)
February 11, 2011
Children at play....
February 10, 2011
Memories...Me, Wildlife, Music, Sarees...
February 10, 2011
I think this was 1975.
Lalbagh....080211
February 9, 2011
How could I let C and N go without dragging them over at least a little of Lalbagh? So off we went, as the sun rose:
Hint and a Bull Dog.....
February 8, 2011
Yesterday, at Barbecue Nation, I spotted this very diplomatic drink:
With Carbon (C) and Nitrogen (N),07 and 080211
February 8, 2011
It’s been a busy couple of days, with
Withholding information
February 7, 2011
A asked B where a lovely photograph was taken, and B said, “Bangalore outskirts”. A then asked why the information could not be shares, and B said that the locations were deteriorating, and asked A what A was doing about protecting the location and others like it.
Visitors....swAgatham
February 6, 2011
Keoladeo National Park,Bharatpur, 250111
February 5, 2011
It’s such a relief to have the Photobucket links working again….so here’s how we started our trip to Bharatpur. On the 24th, thanks to theBangalore smog, our flight to Delhi took off an hour and a half late..which meant that by the time we drove from Delhi to Bharatpur, and checked in at the
Kissing, and kissing ones ass, er, nilgai
February 5, 2011
It WAS a Photobucket problem, not a problem of this little tablet…and today Photobucket is working well…so, let me start with the Bharatpur images.
More problems with posting pictures...
February 4, 2011
Though I’ve posted the first days pics easily to Facebook, I am having problems with either Photobucket or this tablet laptop….I did post two pics to my Photobucket account, but I am not able to click on the HTML code link that is given under each picture, and post it to LJ as I usually do. I don’t know if this is a problem with the site or the computer I am using…but the net result is that I am unable, still, to start writing about the Bharatpur/Chambal trip, and I have so many photos that I want to share with everyone!
Dhurries and Chairs...
February 2, 2011
KM has kindly given me his old tablet to use until I repair/replace my poor laptop…but my photographs are still on his laptop, so while I wait to transfer them here and post them, I am free to mull upon other things.
Pain and Withdrawal....
February 2, 2011
The ankle has been diagnosed as a severe sprain and some tendon tear, and will take its own time to heal.
Home
February 2, 2011
Feels good…but so many things have to be repaired…broken airbag, broken suitcase, broken laptop and (hopefully not broken) ankle…will have to figure a way to take the pics off KM’s laptop and post them…I am so happy with the trip…but it’s already receding into the distance as I get ready for the arrival of my brother in law, of
In Delhi, briefly....
January 29, 2011
Drove to Delhi from Chambal, and by the time we’d dropped off some of the members of our group and meandered through the BJP Rally, we were dog-tired, and didn’t even think of any shopping or visiting. Am at a friend’s home, and we’re taking the early morning train to Haridwar.
Catching up....
January 29, 2011
I can live perfectly well without the internet…but catching up later is MURDEROUS!
Wonderful time in Chambal, too...
January 28, 2011
I’m really so happy with what I’ve seen…it’s not only the birds. Gharials, jackals, civet cats…ancient forts, camels crossing the Chambal river at a ford…chai in mud “kulhad” pots, huge-turbanned and saree-veiled women…a hundred temples on the banks of the Yamuna, criss-crossing between Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan…the stark ravines of Chambal, bringing vivid images of the dacoitss, some of whom are still active…awesome sunrises and sunsets, some on the river, some in the mustard fields….
Many lifers today....
January 25, 2011
Bharatpur hasn’t disappointed….we saw so many birds that were new to me, and the day was studded with highlights….I must thank Geetanjali for this lovely trip. I have so many photos, that I can’t post with this slow net connection (yes, I’ve pinched KM’s Reliance card again)….and will probably delete most of them by the time I get home….
To a set of IIM(A) MBAs...who are senior managers...
January 25, 2011
When any member of this egroup changes an email id, there is NO way I,as the moderator, can know about it, unless informed about it. Don’t send me an email saying, “X’s email id has changed, and he isn’t getting the egroup mail any more, why haven’t you subscribed him on the new email id?” How on earth am I to know that he has a new email id, leave alone what it is?
Mist in the morning = missed in the evening
January 24, 2011
We’d specifically booked by the am flight to Delhi (which meant leaving home at 4am) to ensure that we could drive down to Bharatpur and do an evening birding session…alas, the best-laid plans of mice and men!
A Gujrati Wedding....Ankit and Ruthvi Shah, 230111
January 24, 2011
We’ve been spending a lot of time at a neighbour’s wedding festivities.
Packing for a trip...
January 23, 2011
…is always fraught with difficulties. One can never really visualize, sitting in one set of atmospheric conditions, how cold or hot it will be in the other place. The pleasant chill of Bangalore is something I don’t even consider as winter, so I tend not to pack really warm clothes at all…then I have to remind myself how it will be in the open forest, and in the foothills of the Himalaya…and say, yes, I must take my jacket and shawls…warm socks…etc, etc, etc
Bannerghatta Zoo area...and the bandh...
January 22, 2011
Jai and Nayan wanted a quick trip to the Bannerghatta Zoo area, so I went along….here’s my highlight of the day, a
Railways...Booking Blues....
January 21, 2011
I have never been able to find any semblance of good logic or design in the Railways’ booking procedures. There was a time, prior to the Internet, when one had to stand in different queues for even and odd dates. This meant that if you were going, say, to Chennai on the 2nd, and returning on the 3rd…you had to join two queues!
Some old puns, some new ones...
January 21, 2011
- The fattest knight at King Arthur’s round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
Web of Light..Mini Forest, 190111
January 20, 2011
When I go for my morning walk around the Mini Forest, it’s often dark, and so it’s easy to see the magic of the cobwebs that the spiders spin, to catch the insects that are drawn to the light….
Bangalore Bird Race, 150111
January 20, 2011
We certainly had a wonderful time at the Bird Race, and we certainly never had any expectations; our ranking, after all, would depend on how many birds the other teams saw! Here we are, early in the morning:
My write-up...the Bangalore Bird Race, 2011
January 19, 2011
I received this great email from Srihari, who was one of the hard-working co-ordinators of this year’s Bird Race:
Someone made me laugh about his heart attack....
January 18, 2011
There is nothing that cannot be faced with a little humour, as this wonderful account by Dr Kishore Shah, a renowned Gynecologist practicing in Pune, proves. I got this as a forward…but it’s too good not to be documented!
The Demise of the south Indian Brahmin Cook
January 17, 2011
For some time now, many of my “Tambram” friends who have ageing parents or relatives have been having major problems trying to get a brahmin cook…or, since they generally want to get women cooks…. in the parlance of old, “shamayalkAra mAmi”. Alas, I have not heard of a single instance where they have been successful.
Sunlight and shadows, Bannerghatta, Zoo area Crocodile Pond, 150111
January 17, 2011
Had a wonderful time at the Bangalore Bird Race 2011. When one has great birders and one indefatigable driver on one’s team….it’s easy!
Pongal...Sankranti......
January 15, 2011
As you enter our home, my kOlam greets you:
Bannerghatta Zoo area, 140111
January 14, 2011
I so thoroughly enjoyed myself on our trip to Bannerghatta Zoo area today….we were FIFTEEN of us! (Names follow, where they belong..in the mammals’ list!)
Bangalore Bird Race on Sunday....
January 13, 2011
…last time we did quite creditably, but
Chandus Stork Sighting....
January 13, 2011
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Christmas and New Year Lights at the Bangalore Club
January 12, 2011
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I want a story for this....
January 12, 2011
I found this a few days ago in the Mini-Forest:
Strides of Hope
January 12, 2011
Bangalore friends…do register for
TII..Totally Irrelevant Info
January 11, 2011
I have 777 emails in my inbox.
Junglescapes meeting at Navadarshanam, 100111
January 11, 2011
We had the
Lalbagh bngbirds outing, 090111
January 11, 2011
I decided I’d attend the Lalbagh outing this meeting (though I was missing a lovely trip to Maidanahalli that all my friends seemed to be going on! …and of course, when I arrived at Lalbagh, the mist was still upon the waters of the lake:
When you add colour, add some letters, too
January 11, 2011
Different looks....at Lalbagh, 09011
January 9, 2011
Sometimes it’s a white and extraordinarily weird look:
Wedding Anniversary....
January 9, 2011
On Jan 9, 2005,
Magnanimous Saree
January 9, 2011
Valley School, 080111
January 8, 2011
It started out as three people…Naveen, Nandan and I, going to Valley School; but the minute I realized that more people could go…I ensured that more people DID! So finally, it was 8 of us who had piping hot coffees at Park View, before going off to a misty morning at Valley School…..here IS the misty morning:
Hmmm.....
January 7, 2011
Starlings at Otmoor....
January 6, 2011
I found this video on the LJ Of
In which seat would you rather be?
January 6, 2011
If you are going on a bus journey (BUS, mind you, NOT plane)…would you rather be a
New Units of Indian Currency, Invented by Prithvi Haldea
January 5, 2011
My friend has invented new units of Indian currency. Here’s his email:
Such a selfish species
January 5, 2011
I was listening to both Hindi and Tamizh old movie songs (B4U and then Jaya TV) and one thing struck me…..why do we think all of Nature seems to be for our benefit, and subservient to us?
Big relief....
January 5, 2011
Have been trying not to be worried over KTB’s surgery, to remove her badly infected adenoids….but am vastly relieved now that it’s over, and it went well. The surgeon’s report was that the adenoids were badly infected, her ears were “quite abnormal” in terms of infection, and must have been affecting her hearing.
Manchinabele, 020111
January 5, 2011
After a very long time, we had a local BULBs (Bangalore Urban LadyBirders) outing (it was beginning to seem as if they went only on international trips!), and we decided to go to Manchinabele Reservoir.
Still feeling very down...
January 3, 2011
Our mutual friends arrived from Chennai, and things have been both hectic and very depressing…went this morning to the neighbours’ place, and the body was taken to the crematorium after performing some of the last rites (the son usually performs the rest at the crematorium and then consigns the mortal remains to the flames.)
How the day can change...
January 2, 2011
Had been to Manchinbele with the BULBs, and it was a very enjoyable outing. On the way back, however, I got the news that some neighbours of ours, who live three doors away, had a major setback..the husband, who was 65, collapsed after a massive heart attack, and passed away. The wife is nearly 60.
Biligiri Rangana Temple, 281210
January 1, 2011
The
K.Gudi, BR Hills, 27,28 and 291210
January 1, 2011
It was lovely to be able to introduce our family to the forests of Karnataka, even though the driving had them scared stiff at times…people from the US can’t cope with unruly traffic…they are too used to ruly conditions :)
Let 2011 Rock
January 1, 2011
Found the year written on a rock in B R Hills:
Higher than the Palace....
December 30, 2010
From BR Hills, we came back via Mysore to enable my nephew to see the Mysore Palace. The crowds thronging the Palace were incredible, and I didn’t really want to go inside and get pushed around
Crested Serpent Eagle...the dry-wing look
December 30, 2010
When, from the safari jeep, I first sighted this Crested “Shirt Pant” Eagle, I couldn’t even understand what I was seeing…took me a few seconds to realize that the bird had its wing open this way!
K. Gudi Camp....
December 27, 2010
This time, I must say, I am rather disappointed with the K.Gudi camp of JLR. They have (for the first time) hiked up prices for the holiday season…and yet, there is just a trickle of water coming from the taps in the bathroom, and there is no hot water….
Shivanahalli, Camp Gee Dee,Bannerghatta Forest Area, 261210
December 27, 2010
I was going to strictly stay at home, and do my packing and preparation for the trip to BR Hills tomorrow. So naturally, when Gopakumar called and asked if I would come with (alphabetical order)
A friend, face to face....
December 25, 2010
Makalidurga...the places and people
December 25, 2010
The trip to Makalidurga was also full of interesting sights that had more to do with people and places….
Makalidurga, 241210
December 25, 2010
Chandu, having been looking at the lovely village of Makalidurg (mAkaLidurgA) from the train on his way to and from Hyderabad, decided that it would be a likely spot for Nature/birding trip, and Anil, Prashant, Vittal and I (all from the NTP group) enthusiastically joined him, and off we went, early on a very misty, chilly morning!
Dawn
December 24, 2010
Waking up at 4am used to be part of the bad ship I N S Omnia. I could neither go back to sleep, nor could I do anything “useful and productive”.
Hollywood Photographs
December 23, 2010
My friend Vishwas and I went to see an exhibition of Hollywood photographs at
The Barn Owl
December 23, 2010
We used to have five Barn Owls roosting in one of the ventilation shafts of our apartment building, several years go. Residents complained about their constant chirring all night, and the fact that half-eaten rodents were dropped in the basement. So the building association set some poisoned meat for them and one of the Owls died. I then explained to as many of the residents as I could meet, how the owls were actually controlling the rat population in the neighbourhood. As compromise, we blocked off the entrance to the ventilation shaft with a wire mesh. The residents were happy with this solution, I was happy that the owls would not be poisoned…but sad that I couldn’t see these beautiful birds.
Valuables....
December 22, 2010
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A verse that just occurred to me...Negotiation
December 21, 2010
I’m having a conversation with
Had a few Christmassy minutes to waste....
December 21, 2010
On the twelfth day of Christmas, <img src="http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif" height=17 width=17>deponti sent to me...
Twelve <img src="http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif" height=17 width=17>raviks drumming
Eleven <img src="http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif" height=17 width=17>asakiyumes piping
Ten <img src="http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif" height=17 width=17>sunsons a-leaping
Nine <img src="http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif" height=17 width=17>dammitimmads dancing
Eight <img src="http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif" height=17 width=17>haricools a-milking
Seven <img src="http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif" height=17 width=17>brainzs a-quizzing
Six <img src="http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif" height=17 width=17>srinirams a-writing
Five <img src="http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif" height=17 width=17>skthe-e-e-ewimps
Four languages
Three books
Two cryptic crosswords
...and an art in a poetry.
I want this job....
December 21, 2010
Since
Basavanagudi, 201210
December 21, 2010
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Bharata Natyam.....Dressing up and Photography
December 20, 2010
Our niece is getting her brochure done, for her aragEtram (maiden public performance) next year at Florida. Someone came to do her makeup and after she was dressed, a portfolio of photographs was made at a studio in Basavanagudi.
The 3rd Sunday Bngbirds Outing, Jigani Lake, 191210
December 19, 2010
The 3rd Sunday bngbirds outing to Jigani Lake drew quite a good response, and we were happy to see the crowd that collected in front of the tea-shop at Jigani! (Geetanjali and Subir have a great knack of including a handy tea-shop in all the Bannerghatta outings!) The tea-shop was particularly welcome on this cold morning, and we all then parked near the lake, and walked partially around the perimeter.
More signs....
December 18, 2010
If you want to be a road-user, you must put sefty first and spelling last:
Valley School....181210 One image, and a link to the other pics.
December 18, 2010
This tiny nymph was an incredibly beautiful sample of the lovely things we saw at Valley School today….
Valley School...the Spiders
December 18, 2010
This post is dedicated to
Elephant Trail Survey, Gottigere, Bannerghatta National Park
December 17, 2010
I’d registered for this Survey, and am off to the Forest Dept Office at Gottigere shortly….will back with the tales (if not the tails and trunk)….and on Sunday, the 3rd Sunday bngbirds outing to the Bannerghatta area, this time to Jigani Lake.
Charlie Chaplin....The Boxing Match
December 17, 2010
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Clock...
December 16, 2010
I like
Nonsense verse of Edward Lear, and Ogden Nash
December 16, 2010
These are two people whom I hold in high regard, for their mastery of the language…
Friends, and the unexpected things they bring into your life....
December 15, 2010
I never, ever, play video games, so I have zilch knowledge about them. But recently, Chandan posted (on Google Buzz) about loving this piece of music which is the theme of a video game called Civilization:
Little details....
December 15, 2010
Most traditional village houses have niches on both sides of the front door, where lamps may be set in the evening. Sometimes,
Senior Citizens Park.....
December 14, 2010
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Photography challenges...
December 14, 2010
Photography is one of the most enjoyable things that I am learning. I think my photography had its first roots in wanting to “save the moment”….and being able to look at the scene again…the pictorial version of Wordsworth’s “emotions recollected in tranquillity”.
The kids
December 14, 2010
When we say “kids”, we generally mean human children, and often forget the ACTUAL kids! Here are two kids that I photographed at Pulicat Lake:
The devotee....
December 13, 2010
AS we drive on the Bangalore-Chennai highway, there’s always something to interest, amuse and entertain…and sometimes provoke thought, too. I passed this devotee:
My kApi
December 13, 2010
On a mailing list I belong to, someone asked:
Pulicat Lake, 121210
December 13, 2010
Google GPS, on our friend Raghavan’s i-Pad, gave us the WORST possible route to Pulicat Lake….we were practically off-roading, through roads that were completely broken donw in areas, winding through lorry container terminals and piles of plastic trash….but it was a hilarious trip because of that….and the sunset was lovely:
Where Ive been for the past two days....
December 12, 2010
Bundle...
December 9, 2010
Some bundles…are more precious than others….
If you are not polite on the road...
December 9, 2010
If you are not polite on the road, you are a….
Tibetan Mandala at Google
December 9, 2010
Ragihalli, 081210
December 8, 2010
This morning, Shreeram and I went with John Callaghan, who’s visiting from Milton Keynes, UK, to Ragihalli. Unfortunately, we had a very late start and that meant that sightings were quite low….but we still managed quite an interesting time!
Diamonds
December 8, 2010
Tamizh Brahmins, or Tambrams, are very fond of diamonds, and women are usually aglitter with them during any festivities.
Gulakmale...other-than-the-birds, 041210
December 7, 2010
Gulakmale was also cloudy and misty on Saturday morning, with the sun making an ineffective effort to pierce the clouds:
Distinguished Alum Award...Nominations
December 7, 2010
KM’s IIM-A class (they call themselves COSTIIMA, Class Of Seventy-Three, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad) has been asked to nominate some “distinguished” alums from amongst themselves. Earlier, they were told they could not nominated their own batchmates, which made sense to me, but now, apparently, they’ve been told they can.
Why I have started detesting ilai shAppAdu
December 6, 2010
There was a time when I used to like our traditional “ilai shAppAdu”….the feast on a banana leaf. But lately…..
Gulakmale (pronounced guLakmalE) 041210, NTP
December 6, 2010
Once again, four of us NTP’s got together…this time it was Shreeram (who came back home at 11pm the previous night!), Hrishikesh, Tharangini and I….and Shreeram took us to Gulakmale, beyond Valley School, turning off from Kanakapura Road, and taking various lefts and rights that I didn’t keep track of.
I am taking the trouble to type this..see why
December 5, 2010
A new “newspaper” called “Bol Bangalore Bol” was delivered to my doorstep today and I started to read the astrological section, and suddenly realized that I HAD to save this for posterity.
Gulakmale, 041210
December 4, 2010
You’ve heard of the expression, “Frog in one’s throat”, haven’t you? Well, that’s what this is going to be, shortly!
Cow rescue
December 4, 2010
You never know what will happen on a nature trail. Today four of us went to Gulakmale, and we….rescued…or should I say excavated….a cow.
Photographs from the wedding I attended, 021210
December 4, 2010
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School kids...really
December 4, 2010
When we took the Hosur schoolchildren on a nature trail (you can’t go at 10.45 am and call it a birding trail!), I looked across the hills and saw this…
Still gathering my thoughts, which are scattered...find out why...
December 3, 2010
Yesterday, I had the incredible experience of feeling that I was going to die in the next few seconds.
Awards, a compliment....and my thoughts...
December 2, 2010
For several years now, I’ve been moderating the egroup for KM’s class from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. The group calls itself COSTIIMA (Class Of Seventy-Three, IIM-A.) The class strength was 120. (I am NOT an alum…it’s just that when I realized that the children of the alums had already started an egroup for themselves, and these people hadn’t, I started one for them!)
Mountain bikers vs. Roadies
December 1, 2010
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A lovely walk in the rain....
December 1, 2010
Having reached Chennai and found the weather very un-sunny…cloudy and quite cool….I decided to walk along
More from my cyclists mailing list
November 30, 2010
M wrote about a fall he had, when his helmet cracked, and in the process, saved his head.
Ragihalli/Shivanahalli....the places,people, and plants, 2711110
November 30, 2010
Hrishikesh, Prajakta, Tharangini and I (that’s alphabetical order!) formed a nice NTP group on Saturday. Here they are:
Ragihalli/Shivanahalli,..the birds, 271110
November 30, 2010
When Hrishikesh, Prajakta, Tharangini and I went on the road to Ragihalli and Shivanahalli, we started out with dark, overcast skies, and a complete lack of birding activity..to the point where we started wondering if we should just turn tail and go back home! But our first stop, near a temple, was rather productive; surprisingly, we found a lot of yellow birds together: White-eyes, Ioras, and the
KANS Outing with Children of Titan/Sishya Schools, Hosur, 281110
November 29, 2010
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Two circles of creativity....
November 29, 2010
Creation of anything is wonderful; sometimes it’s done with silk:
An unusual Kolu
November 29, 2010
The Navarathri festival is over, but Meera of Citizen Matters took me to see an unusual kolu display, which was dismantled only last week:
Hiding...
November 28, 2010
PENINSULAR ROCK AGAMAS
Ragihalli/Shivanahalli..the Butterflies and Insects, 271110
November 28, 2010
I emailed the latest members to have taken the Naturalists’ Training Program, about going on a birding trip. Alas, of the 17, only 3 were able to come; but we had such a wonderful time, we left at about 6.45am…and got home only past 3pm! I’ll post about the 58 or so species we saw…but right now, I’ll show you some of the flutter bys….
Winning a million pounds is old hat....
November 27, 2010
Here’s the latest:
The Death of Love
November 26, 2010
Today, the young woman of the couple I’d talked about met me for a while. She is not over her pain in the least…but hope of a reconciliation are receding to the point of non-existence. She feels that if there had been an actual other woman, she might have been to bear it better, rather than feel that her husband just lost interest in her. Today she talked about their early days together, when he’d said they’d be friends forever. And she wept for what had been. The husband now says he is not even particularly interested in divorce; but she says that a marriage without love is truly ended.
How Nature makes her jewellery...
November 25, 2010
Nature’s creatures spin the silk Right across the leaves: The magic spans the twigs, the grass: Over the seeds, and sheaves.
If.......with apologies to Rudyard Kipling for the title
November 25, 2010
If it is on, I must turn it off.
Iddly....or Idli ....
November 25, 2010
The background:
How to end a birding trip
November 24, 2010
…with the
The Business Standard Crossword Again....
November 24, 2010
Do you want to buy boys?
November 24, 2010
On the way back from the station on Monday morning:
Malabar Pied Hornbills, Dandeli, 20 and 211110
November 24, 2010
Dandeli has several varieties of
Dandeli...the beings (except the Hornbills)
November 23, 2010
Dandeli is a great place for birds; small wonder then, that even after missing all the thrushes that are common there, like the Orange-headed Thrush, the Blue-capped Rock Thrush and so on, we still wound up with a bird count of well over a hundred!
Dandeli....the places
November 23, 2010
Our trip to Dandeli began with a lovely sunrise:
Information and Knowledge....
November 22, 2010
I made
Can anyone tell me where this argument is specious?
November 22, 2010
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A wonderful ending to the trip...
November 22, 2010
While birding at Dandeli, I realized that that the moon was nearly full:
Learning has no age.
November 19, 2010
I laugh when I am told that I am “very active for my age”…because I have a different frame of reference
The Soliga Podu (camp, or settlement), 141110
November 19, 2010
The Soligas were semi-nomadic in nature, but after the Biligiri Rangana Sanctuary was created, they settled down more or less permanently, and Skanda of ATREE took all of us to visit a Podu, or settlement.
Thapa, JLR K.Gudi, BR Hills....
November 18, 2010
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BR Hills...the beings
November 18, 2010
The living creatures we saw were quite varied. Though the safari organized by the Forest Department was a little disappointing for the children (who of course had their hearts set on a big cat sighting!) they did enjoy whatever they did see, and were quite curious to know things.
VGKK, and the childrens meeting....
November 18, 2010
The high point of the visit of the Valley School children to BR Hills was, to me, their meeting and interacting with the Soliga children at
Shivanasamudra Falls, 151110
November 18, 2010
I must say we had a really good driver on the Valley School BR Hills trip; on the way back, on his own, he suggested that we visit
Stepping into Moms shoes....
November 18, 2010
It’s one of the most delightful stages of childhood….literally stepping into one’s parent’s shoes. One may do it later in life, figuratively, but right now, it really does mean stepping in….and finding it a tough balancing act!
Gorukana, BR Hills...the people
November 17, 2010
VGKK has recently opened a resort, and it’s called
ATREE, BR Hills
November 17, 2010
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A pic after a looong time...
November 17, 2010
This was taken last month….talk about an air-head!
Perfect Solution to the Overpopulation Problem
November 17, 2010
Valley School/ATREE trip to BR Hills, 12 to 151110
November 16, 2010
Day 1.
Life, and death
November 16, 2010
We looked into a kind of moat around the Gorukana resort reception, and on the petals of the lotus flowers that the staff had floated in it, was a lot of life:
Searching for things at home...happens to ALL of us....
November 16, 2010
In the following narrative, I am not sure how Mukesh plans to drive to work from the 3rd floor…but….on with the story!
B R Hills....
November 15, 2010
It was an intense experience, on many different levels. Interacting with 21 children; watching scientists in the field; seeing how tribal people in the forests are living today, and how they are bettering themselves with a lot of help; seeing a swank resort, and seeing the huts of the tribals that the resort will help; going on a safari with JLR in the morning, and with the Forest Department in the evening; coming back via
Weekend plans....
November 11, 2010
Going with 23 children from the
Facebook Exchange....
November 11, 2010
Enjoyed
Another lovely song...
November 11, 2010
When do I know something really well?
November 10, 2010
When I know something, I should be able to explain it, clearly, to a set of people who know nothing about the topic. If I can do so, without talking down to them, yes, I know that topic well.
Ant-Mimicking Spider
November 10, 2010
One gets to see things in the most unexpected places. I went to see a 11-day-old baby, and I found this…Prashanth pointed it out to me in a plant that was in a flower-pot!
Why do we have this forward complex?
November 10, 2010
Why am I subjected to a daily barrage of forwards?
Nice to see people doing their jobs well....
November 9, 2010
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Doing a new cryptic crossword...but not liking it
November 9, 2010
I do try to learn new things, and recently, when
Bannerghatta Quarry Area...the creatures, 071110
November 9, 2010
The quarry area is where I sighted my first Egyptian Vulture in south Bangalore, so it’s always with eagerness that I go there. This time, of course, the lowering skies and the drizzle made it impossible to see too much, and I was able to photograph even less…but it was beautiful, nevertheless, to get some creatures on camera!
Bannerghatta, Quarry area, 071110
November 8, 2010
I’ve often spoken of the quarry area of Bannerghatta Forest; this is an area beyond the settlements of Nisarga, Nandanavana, and Pride Vatika Layout. A road, pretty horrible in patches, snakes along the hillside, through areas that have been quarried for the granite that Bangalore is famous for. The motorable road sort of peters out before a small village, and there’s a mango orchard there, and a little running rivulet. It’s a great place for birding, and on Sunday morning, Chandu, Krupakar, and I went there again.
My thoughts on the Ranga Shankara Theatre Festival, 2010
November 8, 2010
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Such a tiny beauty....Ladybird with Raindrops
November 8, 2010
You can’t get anything more delicately beautiful than a tiny Ladybird…with raindrops on it!
Valley School 011110
November 6, 2010
Another quick sneak to Valley School; we were disappointed to find that the Study Centre gate was locked. However, here are some of the interesting things I saw…
Fire and Light
November 6, 2010
Celebrate the festival of light; Light up your heart’s desire.
Festive Wishes
November 5, 2010
Woh (the other woman) relationships...
November 4, 2010
I found
Basic Halli, 30 and 311010
November 4, 2010
In alphabetical order, Ashwini, Kiran, KM, Vineet, Vittal and I went to Basic Halli to participate in the Bird Survey that Anand had organized. As we were gathering to get into the car, I looked up and had my first migrant sighting for the day, the
Adding to Shyamals Chucklist of Birds....
November 4, 2010
I had made
No comments
November 3, 2010
I enjoy having feedback and dialogue as a spinoff from my posts; I do like communicating with people, and exploring points of view other than my own.
A tiny mystery....
November 3, 2010
At Bilkal Rangaswamy Betta, someone picked up a tiny little caterpillar and gave it to me.
Basic Halli...the scenery
November 2, 2010
I’m writing an article on Basic Halli for Citizen Matters (weekend getaway) but would like, meanwhile, to share some of the scenery…
The Vasantha Vallbha rAya swAmi temple, Vasantapura, Bangalore
November 2, 2010
Tbanks to Karthik and Priya….and especially to Karthik’s mother,Smt Saraswathi…. I visited this wonderful old temple yesterday.
Very hectic weekend...
November 2, 2010
This was a long weekend for most people because of Rajyotsava (State Founding) Day…and even by my standards, it was a hectic weekend! But I was surrounded by friends…what more can one wish for!
Ragihalli/Shivanahalli, 301010
October 30, 2010
It is an amazing thing for me to forget, even with my famous memory….but I did manage to forget my SD (memory) card on the MLC this morning. I had been to the Manipuri folk theatre in Ranga Shankara yesterday, and had downloaded the pics…and left the card in the card reader!
Vijaya dashami and worship
October 29, 2010
I’d posted this pic of a cycle, all decorated and worshipped on Ayudha Puja (Navami, ninth day of Navarathri) day, and taken out and used proudly on Vijaya Dashami (tenth and final day):
One known, two unknown...
October 29, 2010
Last Sunday,Krupakar, and his wife Pooh (Poonam), Vittal and I all went for a short, gentle trip to Bannerghatta Zoo Area.
From the film Fanaa...an exercise on the internet
October 28, 2010
I got this gem from the film “Fanaa”, and used Quillpad to write it out in Devanagari script:
Exercise your brain....
October 28, 2010
zarA sI Ahat
October 27, 2010
Priya Rajvansh…a beautiful woman.
Euphemisms....
October 27, 2010
Some more from my cycling egroup
October 26, 2010
Member A:
Im actually....
October 26, 2010
From my jokes email list...
October 26, 2010
A man goes out and buys the best car available in the US or Europe, a 2001 Turbo BeepBeep. It is the best and most expensive car in the world, and it runs him $500,000. He takes it out for a spin and, while doing so, stops for a red light. An old man on a moped, both looking about 90 years old, pulls up next to him.
Wood you like one of these?
October 26, 2010
Do you want a Lumber Belt?
Theru kootthu (street theatre)...performance by Kattaikuttu Gurukulam at Ranga Shankara, 231010
October 26, 2010
I put up a post of the performance
Other creatures at Kabini....
October 25, 2010
We were lucky to sight a huge variety of creatures at Kabini…one of the most stunning being the
Voice Transcription, sorry, West Chester Ocean....
October 25, 2010
I’d left a message on my daughter’s voice mailbox that I enjoyed my birthday because of my friends…. I love my friends’ company.
Kabini....Rajiv Gandhi National Park 18 and 191010
October 25, 2010
When one goes to Kabini (we usually stay in the beautiful JLR resort), one goes into the
Wonderful friends
October 23, 2010
Throughout the day, friends called up….some came over home to wish me in the little time I had at home…and their affection has touched me so deeply….I was moved to tears at one point when two of them walked into my home with a cake that had lighted candles on it!
Kabini...some of the birds
October 22, 2010
We sighted an impressive 108 species of birds in the 2 days at Kabini….let me start with a visitor to our shores, which does an amazing feat of travelling, the
Birth...and death....
October 21, 2010
I came back from Kabini and learnt that my friends had a baby girl…and this morning, two neighbours of mine (two brothers who occupy flats on the same floor) had to decide that their ailing father, who was past 85, was now solely dependent on life support, that his life was not worth prolonging, and had to decide to “pull the plug”.
The Great Cormorant
October 21, 2010
One of the birds we saw on the backwater boat trip on the Kabini backwaters is the
PujO, KOlkAthA, 2010
October 21, 2010
I got to see these beautiful images of pujO at Kolkata this year:
Kabini Skies
October 20, 2010
The clouds over Kabini were so beautiful that sometimes I stopped looking at the birds or mammals or insects…and looked at them instead.
Tusks and Trunk....
October 20, 2010
We saw this beautiful tusker (probably about 35 years old)…on the banks of the backwaters of the Kabini, as we took our evening boat ride yesterday…
3rd Sunday bngbirds outing, from Ramakrishna Ashram, Shivanahalli, into Bannerghatta Forest 171010
October 17, 2010
Today’s outing was both more interesting, and longer-lasting, than I had anticipated. I’ve been to the Ramakrishna Ashram several times, and we’ve always just walked a little past the campus and come back. So today I was very surprised to be able to go for quite a longish trek up hill and down dale!
The insect-eating plant, Shivanahalli, 171010
October 17, 2010
I’d gone with Girish and
Navarathri...
October 16, 2010
It’s probably difficult for people from other cultures to think of a festival that goes on for ten days…but that’s Navarathri (literally, nine nights.) Today is the ninth day, which is dedicated to Saraswathi, the goddess of learning, and is also Ayudha pujA day, where the implements and gadgets of everyday use are worshipped.
Ashoka Pillar, Jayanagar....
October 15, 2010
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Hessarghatta, 091010
October 14, 2010
The BULBs outing last Sunday was enjoyable….
Why is it more funny?
October 14, 2010
Why is it more funny when one writes about disliking things, rather than about liking things? I was having a mailing list conversation about the kind of ladies who come to Carnatic music concerts and keep talking, and I described them as VTM’s (Vaira Thodu Mamis)….here’s what I said:
Bannerghatta Zoo Area, 121010
October 14, 2010
Apart from the sighting of the
Wildlife.....
October 13, 2010
‘Be very quiet!’ said the father to his son. Father and son went birding together for the first time. The father said: ‘Stay here and be very QUIET. I’ll be across the field.’ A few minutes later the father heard a blood curdling scream and ran back to his son…
The vendors on our streets....
October 13, 2010
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Sometimes, an extra s......
October 13, 2010
If you are a General Motors fan, but you don’t want a car but a green animal alternative, what do you drive?
Sighting of the Day....Shieldtail
October 13, 2010
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Why are birds like clouds?
October 12, 2010
I got this lovely formation:
Experimentation and Understanding others point of view...
October 12, 2010
Pancha Bhootha...
October 11, 2010
In the Hindu religion, we have the concept of the
Wish you the very best....
October 11, 2010
Today (well, it’s JUST about today in St.Louis),
Natures Jewellery
October 10, 2010
A lovely trip to Hesserghatta, which once used to be the lake that was the water source for Bangalore, left me satisfied ….and though the lake (well, an almost-dry lake-bed now, compared to the full lake I’ve seen two decades ago) is known more for its raptors, one of the creatures that enthralled me was this
A walk that saddened me....
October 9, 2010
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Ram.....
October 9, 2010
another forward that I got…
Carl Barks
October 9, 2010
I never knew anything about how comics were created…but the work of Carl Barks was always outstanding, even amongst the excellent Disney artists…I’ve laughed and enjoyed the stories and waited for the next comic book….
Capturing the Clouds
October 9, 2010
I love photographing photographing photographers ….
Found this in a joke email....
October 8, 2010
Maybe its kind of a joke, but do you know that 10.10.10 (this Sunday) in binary is 42 in decimal? and 42 is the Ultimate Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything!
Post of the Past...
October 8, 2010
“We can hardly see the red post-boxes these days!”, I recently read someone ruing….so
Chik Yelchetti, Bandipur, and a mini NTP Life-Under-Foot Ramble
October 8, 2010
As part of World Wildlife Week, Junglescapes organized a meeting with the DCF, Mr Narayanaswamy, on the 6th of October, and early in the morning, a few volunteers from both GE (who is strongly supporting the work in Bandipur) and Junglescapes left for a visit to the villages of Chik Yelchetti and Lokkere.
Flowers as a business....
October 7, 2010
We stopped on the way to Bandipur to buy flowers for the Forest Officers, and I got these photographs. I think the there is a real contrast between the hard-headed business sense that’s required to survive in a small business, and the light touch required to handle flowers to make garlands and bouquets out of them….
Clouds....
October 7, 2010
I spoke of the clouds that had been lifted from our hearts, with a cardiac infection having been ruled out…but there are clouds which are wonderful presences in nature….yesterday, at Chik Yelchetti and Lokkere villages, in Bandipur, we watched the changing forms of the clouds in the monsoon sky….
The Cloud Has Passed....
October 7, 2010
Though the symptoms (painful rash, sore throat, fever) that made the docs suspect endocarditis, have still not gone, the mitral valve infection has been ruled out, tests have shown that D’s heart and lungs are in excellent shape, and he’s come home from the hospital…YAYYYYYY!
Illness..and the reaction to the news
October 5, 2010
D has been ill for a few days, and yesterday, when he went to the doctor with a rash in addition to his cough, cold and fever, one of the doctors felt that he could hear a murmur in the mitral valve, and so admitted D to the hospital to rule out a bacterial infection of the mitral valve (I have not heard of such bacterial infections in the heart before…but live and learn.) A is juggling the hospital, her work and KTB’s day care..and they are awaiting the results of various tests.
Swamijis, Spirituality, and Stress
October 5, 2010
Today, a friend of ours asked us to come over for a one-on-one meeting with the Swamiji who has been giving lectures at his sisters’ place. Let me give the facts about this Swamiji:
Bannerghatta Zoo area, 031010
October 4, 2010
I was very happy to have my friends Abhijit, Ammu and Hassath over from Delhi. AMS has been an unfailing source of help with my faltering steps in birdwatching, and has never once laughed at the mistakes I keep making!
Personal best
October 4, 2010
My baby ran her 3rd half-marathon….and her timing was 2 hr 3 min 58 sec. This is her personal best….
Want to make money from photography?
October 2, 2010
No, this is not a how-to-make-great images tutorial. (I charge heavily for that!) But if you want to make money from photography, here is my tip, given for free….
Cycling list update...
October 2, 2010
The
Two Realities...
October 2, 2010
I went “Aaaaah!” when I read
Someone needs a cycle...
October 1, 2010
…and sent this…
Chip on ones shoulder....
September 30, 2010
What would you eat if you are a sentry or in the Army and don’t like your job?
Bannerghatta Zoo Area, 300910
September 30, 2010
Krupakar (a fellow-birder who lives three doors away from me)suddenly sms-ed me at 10.30pm, because he was given an off day for the Ayodhya verdict. (He’ll have to slog it out on Saturday.)It was too late to ask anyone else…so off we both went!
Language Elitism...or Snobbery.....
September 29, 2010
On a mailing list that I belong to, I received an article about “techno-literacy”…
What someone wrote to my daughter....
September 29, 2010
She’s running the half-marathon this coming weekend…and quite often, she suffers from feelings of inadequacy (completely discounting the fact that she has a full-time, demanding career, and child of a year-and-a-five-months)…so she loved getting this email from someone:
Sarjapura, 260910
September 29, 2010
Friends had invited us to their farmhouse, and it was a very pleasant afternoon, with all of us singing old Tamizh and Hindi songs, with the occasional Carnatic krithi thrown in. Of course, I wanted to visit the little water body nearby, and see if I could spot some birds…and as I was thinking about it, I saw a Red-necked Falcon fly overhead.
Responding to friends on the net...
September 28, 2010
A friend of mine recently taxed me with never responding to her. This surprised me, because I consider myself very good at replying to emails. “I haven’t received a single email from you!” I said. “I’ve sent SO many!” she cried.
thOraNa panthalilE....
September 27, 2010
This is my favourite song, describing the wedding of Sundareswara and Meenakshi (Shiva and Parvathi) at Madurai….
Hope lifts up...
September 27, 2010
Four of us went to Jaipurdoddi at Bannerghatta Forest area again, yesterday morning; thanks to a late start and deadlines to get back home, we hardly had any time there, but still, this was one of the beautiful things that we managed to capture on our cameras….
Chik Yelchetti Flora and Fauna
September 25, 2010
We saw a variety of creatures on our trek near Chik Yelchetti, and into the forest area; I’m giving the bird-list at the end, but here are some of the living things that I C-on-C (Caught on Camera):
An internet forward that I liked
September 25, 2010
SIGN IN A BUSINESS WINDOW, IN FLORIDA!
Writers Block You and me and baby makes three
September 24, 2010
Madheswara Home Stay, Chik Yelchetti, Bandipur
September 24, 2010
I’ve joined an organization called
Bandipur...the scenery
September 24, 2010
Here are a few views of what I enjoyed…this one’s for
Six-Spot Ground Beetle
September 23, 2010
I had seen the Six-Spot Ground Beetle for the first time on the
Oh, Shit.....the Dung Beetle
September 23, 2010
Shit..is not a dirty word in Nature. It’s as much a part of the environment as a beautiful flower, and has a lot of uses in the ecosystem. Traditionally, we’ve always used dried cowdung (politely called cowpats) as fuel, and my aunts used to consider the dung of temple elephants as a curative for cracks in the feet. “Panchakavyam” or the five products of a cow, included its dung, for medicinal and ritual purposes.
Doing excellent work....
September 23, 2010
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Bandipur....
September 23, 2010
It’s one of my favourite places, but yesterday, I went not to the JLR property, but to a home-stay in a village in the interior. It gave me a different perspective of the place…not just the forest I usually see, but the forest in conjunction with the lives of the villagers who live on its fringes.
A wedding some time ago....
September 20, 2010
I suddenly discovered a post of mine, describing a
Doorways....
September 20, 2010
I love photographing doorways….apart from being, literally, the way into an interior or an exterior, they are often gateways to another way of life…
Some signs I enjoyed...
September 20, 2010
How do Veg Mills grind?
Meeting people....
September 19, 2010
Meeting people…it’s something I love to do, and this weekend has been fantastic for it!
My memory....
September 17, 2010
I got a call from the car-door repairer, who had come to fix the automatic window-opener on my neighbour’s car. I went down to the basement, and took the car to the outside parking lot to get it done. While I was there, I received a couple of calls to do with an article that I am writing.
Bears, and others at Daroji/Hampi
September 17, 2010
The Sloth Bears, of course, are the stars of the Daroji Bear Sanctuary….
Advertisement Observation
September 17, 2010
The more plinky the music in the advertisement (eg the tinkling notes of the piano in a jewellery ad)…the more expensive the product being advertised.
An artisan and his work....
September 16, 2010
Here’s a stone-work artisan at Hampi, at the entrance to the Mango Tree Restaurant:
Lalbagh with the Amstutzes,160910
September 16, 2010
It was lovely to meet the Amstutzes this morning, and have a look around my favourite park….
Good morning
September 16, 2010
Of course it’s a good morning…I am off to Lalbagh with
The Birds of Daroji
September 15, 2010
Yes, Daroji is a sanctuary for Sloth Bears, but we did get to see quite a variety of birds, and while I upload the other pics, here are the various birds that got into my camera lens….
Farmhouse in Hosur....
September 14, 2010
I went with
Unusual temple
September 14, 2010
In the state of Karnataka, temples to the Monkey God (called AnjanEyA or the son of Anjana, or Hanuman or the One with the broken chin) are very common, but on our drive from Hospet to Daroji, while we were waiting at a railway crossing, I noticed an unusual temple:
Feathers, and colours...
September 14, 2010
Everywhere, in the Daroji Bear Sanctuary, peacocks were strutting about in full breeding plumage, and they were dropping their feathers here and there, too:
The fear of getting involved....
September 13, 2010
We had a lovely trip to Daroji and Hampi, and during the trip we had a sudden problem. Four of us were birding along the Tungabhadra high-level canal, when we found a group of youngsters (who had been busy taking each others’ photographs) rushing across the road, where one motorcycle lay, hit by another. They brought one of the men and laid him under the shade of a tree. Uma immediately went to see what was wrong (she is a dentist) and checked his pulse, which seemed to be steady;
The pseudo-old....
September 9, 2010
I just read someone’s blog, where there was much lamentation about turning 25, and having a “quarter-life” crisis.
nAgE gowdana pAlyA
September 9, 2010
…I bet very few of my birding friends know that that’s the area where Valley School is!
Prisha
September 6, 2010
Prisha made my birding outing even more joyous than usual.
Chemistry....
September 6, 2010
I went (at a very odd hour) to drop KM at the airport, and decided to catch up on some sleep when I got back.
Good to know...I am practising this...
September 6, 2010
Post from someone in the cycling egroup....
September 4, 2010
“…rode to Pearl Valley where the monkeys stole what little food that we had carried.Went to the hotel that opened at 10:30 and had breakfast.Came out to meet the RVCE group that had just arrived,and to find that our bikes had been butchered by the monkeys.
Every time theres a change...
September 3, 2010
Technology…..keeps on happening; ways of doing things keep changing. And we always have the people who insist that the old way of doing that thing is, without doubt, the better way.
For Asakiyume....
September 2, 2010
Read More
Sights on the Chennai-Bangalore highway
September 2, 2010
Whether moving or stationary, some things have the power to bring my trusted MLC out to record them….instead of just me enjoying these things, I can share them with others, too.
Facing Death....
September 1, 2010
The list of places I wouldnt want to eat at...is growing...
September 1, 2010
I won’t eat
Sometimes, the name makes total sense...
August 31, 2010
One of the common dragonflies around this area is called the Granite Ghost.
Offer removed....
August 31, 2010
In response to our protests against
I just sang a beautiful poem by Asakiyume
August 30, 2010
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Profound statement....
August 30, 2010
Sometimes a simple notice can, by virtue of a small alternation, become a statement of a profound truth.
The Human Camera....
August 30, 2010
I receive several internet forwards every day, and many of them are forwards that I have received before…but occasionally I see something that rivets me; here’s one such video that I received.
The responses....
August 28, 2010
I had
50% off if you dont sight a leopard...and children, smoking, and drinking allowed....
August 27, 2010
Dear Sirs,
What....? Why...?
August 26, 2010
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Rain and shine, B R Hills, Karnataka, 120110
August 26, 2010
Rain and shine are a part of life…each has its own beauty. Varuna and Surya both alternate, in doing their appointed duty.
Where we were on Friday, 200810
August 25, 2010
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Why I was down....another look, and I am up again
August 24, 2010
I was looking through my photographs, uploading to the web albums, and deleting by the dozen, when I saw this:
What friends are for....
August 24, 2010
Was sitting at my laptop, feeling uncharacteristically blue…missing daughter, grand-daughter, and the lovely feeling of being able to care for them actively (instead of seeing them passively on Skype, which I must say is the next best substitute) ….it was lovely to get a ping on Gtalk from Chandan ….just a few words, chatting with him about photographs, and mist….meant that I “mist” my little ones much less than usual!
Lovely song from Stree
August 23, 2010
Giant Wood Spiders....
August 23, 2010
This is the time of year when Giant Wood Spiders appear to hang huge in the air, pendant on gossamer strands of silk, waiting for unwary prey.
Parikrama Foundation, Sahakar Nagar...birding outing to GKVK, 210810
August 22, 2010
We’d decided that we would take the children who belong to the Nature Club in the school run by Parikrama Foundation, birding in the GKVK (Gandhi Krishi Vikas Kendra, or University of Agricultural Sciences.) campus.
Kayaloram Resort, Alappuzha, Kerala
August 21, 2010
I do love staying in resorts which have maintained the traditional idiom in architecture. I enjoyed staying at the
Being contrarian to a contrarian....
August 21, 2010
Someone I know just announced a photography workshop, and to underscore the fact that this workshop will be different from, and probably diametrically opposite to, conventional workshops, this quote by
The houseboat experience...
August 20, 2010
I’ve only stayed on a houseboat in Kashmir before, so I was looking forward to our stay on one in Kerala. Overall, though, the experience was not as delightful as it should have been; the main factors being the somewhat tacky houseboat we had, and the high cost of the rental. Apparently the owner of the houseboat said that we’d have to take the entire houseboat (it was a two-bedroom one) and KM agreed (I wouldn’t have!) But the second room was not even cleaned…and our room was small, cramped, and the little cockroach I saw scuttling along didn’t come under the heading of wildlife!
Nature..and Mythology
August 19, 2010
Indian mythology is replete with the most interesting tales…interesting, that is, in terms of the behaviour of the humans, gods and demons that are the characters in the tales. And a conversation today, with Karthik gave me two parallels between Nature and mythology!
Not people like us....
August 19, 2010
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/blogs/show_entry/2273
Signs on the water....
August 19, 2010
As usual, some signs struck my eye in Kerala, too, and I snapped quick shots as I passed….
Birds, Butterflies and others, Alappuzha, Kerala
August 18, 2010
Post dedicated to Karthik
One of the differences...
August 17, 2010
You know you belong to a different (and earlier) generation …if you don’t think that Maggi is a great all-time meal/snack to have.
vaLLam kaLi (58th Snake Boat Race), Alappuzha (Alleppey), Kerala, 140810
August 17, 2010
KM had been wanting to see the “Vallam Kali” (Boat Play…the Alleppey, or Alappuzha, Boat Race) in Kerala, for many years, and made all the bookings before springing a surprise on me that I was glad to go along with!
Some valid points about birding
August 17, 2010
Geetanjali sent
Two lanterns...
August 16, 2010
Here’s what I think typifies Kerala; caught between the old and the new….the architecture is traditional, but it now used only in “resorts” and hotels….the old hurricane lamp is now lit by a CFL element….and it may not work half the time…yet there is a sense of peace.
58th Nehru Memorial Boat Race....the practice
August 15, 2010
We’ve just returned from a trip to Alappuzha, in the neighbouring state of Kerala, to watch the famous (58th year!) Snake Boat Race in the backwaters…it was a lovely trip, though rather expensive (Kerala is very tourist-conscious, spelt F-L-E-E-C-E!)
Galibore, 070810
August 11, 2010
It was,ultimately a dozen of us who went to Galibore on Sunday….turned out to be a very enjoyable day, though the heat factor made us tired and we returned home earlier than planned.
The Chloropsis....
August 10, 2010
The Chloropsis..the first time I heard this word I thought, “A bird word that sounds absurd!” But the name’s because its body is a lovely, leafy green. Because of this, the Chloropsis is not easily seen.
Ancient Light Photowalk,Malleswaram, 010810 Part 2 Nandeeswara Teerttha
August 10, 2010
For the Nandeeswara Temple, that was excavated in the early ‘90’s, and which I personally believe to be part of the Kaadu Malleswara complex, let me begin with the brass lamp that the priests use to show Arathi for the ShivalingA:
Ancient Light Photowalk, Malleswaram, Bangalore 010810 Part 1 KAdu MallEswarA Temple
August 10, 2010
Here’s
JLRNTP-1, 06,07,08 August 2010
August 9, 2010
It was very enjoyable to go and meet the participants of the latest NTP, which happened at Bannerghatta over the weekend. Chandu and I set off, and it seemed that hardly a few kilometres from my home, the Karnataka Forest Department had decided that the forest had begun, though we were still in the middle of a lot of apartment buildings:
Hectic and enjoyable weekend....
August 9, 2010
Having seen, and enjoyed, “Elling” at Ranga Shankara on Friday evening (I walked alone to Ranga Shankara, but was joined there by Priya and Janaki, who seemed to get along like a house on fire!), I struggled with a recalcitrant internet, lost my entire review, finally re-posted it….
Another sketch...
August 6, 2010
This one…there’s a problem. KM id’d it SO wrongly that I was startled, so I asked another friend to id it…and she too did not id it instantly. Only my Indian friends can id this person (think old-timer,belonging to a famous family)….and tell me what is wrong with the sketch.
Dealings with Tradespeople....
August 6, 2010
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/blogs/show_entry/2235
The Non-Prodigal Son
August 5, 2010
I was having a converstion with Chandan and it struck me…how much the law-abiding have to bear.
Bannerghatta-Kaggalipura Road, Forest Area, 310710 and 010810
August 4, 2010
I was lucky enough to go to the same area in the Bannerghatta Forest…on Saturday, approaching it from Kaggalipura, and on Sunday, from Bannerghatta. On Saturday, the
Some more mammals at Bannerghatta....
August 3, 2010
On Sunday, 8 of us went birding, and after having had our fill of the Baya Weavers, and other birds, at the pond, we walked up the gentle slopes to the BhavAni temple and the kalyANi….and on the way, we saw how elephants can “hide” (sorry for the pun, just couldn’t resist it!) in the bamboo thickets….
Domestic babies....
August 3, 2010
On both Saturday and Sunday, I wound up in the same area. On Saturday, Rohit and I explored from the Kaggalipura end of the road, and since we missed the turning that Chetu had told me about, we wound up back at the pond on the road about 5 km from the Bannerghatta junction.
The Nokia trip to the Shivanahalli Ramakrishna Ashram, 240710
July 30, 2010
Just when I had decided to take Sunday very easy (always a fatal thing to do!) Chandu called me up with a too-good-to-be-true plan… two busloads of volunteers from Nokia were going to the Ramakrishna Ashram at Shivanahalli, to do some tree-planting (well, sapling planting!) there. And before that, Chinmayi, one of Chandu’s friends, wanted a group of volunteers to introduce the group to birdwatching.
A morning in Bannerghatta, on the Kaggalipura Road
July 30, 2010
Last Saturday, none of the BULBs (or anyone else) was free, so Sangeetha and I decided to go to Bannerghatta…. this part of it:
My name..rocks....
July 29, 2010
Do you remember that a certain Vinu had etched my name in the snow at
The importance of choosing a name....
July 29, 2010
A rose by any other name will smell as sweet, wrote the Bard (or words to that effect, before some literal-minded reader corrects it!)…but no, I think it’s very important to choose names properly…
Kabini....insects, plants and others
July 29, 2010
Though I know hardly anything about butterflies, some did catch my eye and lens this time….a lifer for me was the
Kabini...the scenery...
July 29, 2010
This was the park we went to visit:
House Sparrow behaviour....
July 27, 2010
HOUSE SPARROWS
Kabini...the mammals
July 27, 2010
The mammals….my goodness, what a great variety of mammals we saw, given the fact that we went one day and came back the next!
Kabini....the birds
July 27, 2010
The birds we spotted in Kabini, on the way there, and on the way back, were numerous…
How to handle it?
July 26, 2010
What do I do when someone gives me a gift of surpassing hideosity (well, I just invented that word, but surely you see its meaning) and extreme uglifism?
Kabini...Spotted in the forest....
July 26, 2010
Well, though I am always lucky with tiger and leopard sightings, there are enough people who are not as lucky, that I should devote a post to this graceful, sleek beauty.
White Lotus
July 25, 2010
Most of my photographs are part of my narration…but sometimes…I like to take one that tells no story, that just shows something incredibly beautiful….something that just IS.
Sunbird attacks itself....
July 23, 2010
Yes, yes, I know, the leopard post is due….
Do not drive a two-wheeler without helmets...
July 23, 2010
And
Mother Spider Wasp, organizing food for her children...yet unborn
July 22, 2010
Yes, we did have a nice leopard sighting at Kabini (photo and video will follow)…but to all of us, the real highlight of the trip was the wonderful drama that unfolded before our eyes…and at our feet! It was Life Under Foot at its riveting best.
Monkey Puzzles...
July 22, 2010
To see three very different Monkey Puzzles,
This business of names....
July 19, 2010
I do wish that parents, when, at the font or in front of the sacred fire of the Ayushya hOma, or whatever ritual it is that other religions follow….would give more thought to this whole business of naming their progeny.
The 3rd Sunday bngbirds outing, Kalkere State Reserve Forest,Bannerghatta, 170710
July 19, 2010
As Sesh mentioned (already!) on Facebook, it was a record turnout for the 3rd Sunday bngbirds outing, at Kalkere, on Bannerghatta Road. I thought we might be 70, but Sesh’s tally was 120!
Spotted in Jayanagar
July 16, 2010
At my eye doctors’ clinic, in fact….that’s why it’s out of focus, I had my eye drops in!
Why Im finding it hard to be an activist....
July 16, 2010
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When things end...
July 15, 2010
A friend of mine (who does not read my blog but didn’t mind my posting about it) is quite devastated. Things had not been going well with her marriage for a while….but the couple had drifted into a mundane routine of daily life and work, which passed for normalcy.
An image that I like....
July 14, 2010
KTB was sitting (or rather, standing) on the back seat of the car, and her parents were out buying stuff, so I decided to photograph her from outside.
KTB....
July 13, 2010
When she can no longer be in my arms, she flows out of my fingers…
Strange frame of mind....
July 12, 2010
I am, of course, missing the little miss quite intensely. In the rush of leaving for the airport, we could not find the cover of her feeding bottle…and when I suddenly found it a little while ago, the tears rushed unbidden to my eyes, and my arms ached..physically ached…to hold her little body, put her on my lap again, and drop fond kisses on those curls and that bright little face….
The bngbirds outing at Lalbagh
July 12, 2010
Yesterday I did realize how much I had been missing my life in Bangalore; I went for the bngbirds outing, and
Ear-Piercing...the Update
July 10, 2010
I’d posted about our
The Youngest Birder
July 10, 2010
It was a delightful suprise to this clicker
What noise does a menagerie make?
July 9, 2010
If you have lions and tigers and hippos and giraffes and birds and snakes, all not getting along together…that’s friction-powered….
When i-everything is there...
July 7, 2010
When I have an i-phone and an i-pod and everything else i-canthinkof, I develop…
Ear-Piercing...the procedure, or the cries?
July 7, 2010
I am up against another instance where I have to examine afresh something that I have taken for granted, and not thought much about at all.
Very hectic...very chaotic
July 6, 2010
When there is a baby in the house, and the parents are having a “working holiday”…in India, at least, life is very chaotic, because one is juggling callers, domestic help, and the baby’s routine, and outings and visits that have to be made in the very limited time that is available to the parents.
Ayushya hOmam...and drishti parihAram....
July 5, 2010
The
More signs of the times....
July 2, 2010
I was intrigued by this “head meat”
Would you like to have this in hot weather?
July 1, 2010
The wannabe biped
June 30, 2010
She has accidents….
Two images from Chennai
June 30, 2010
One of the places that typifies Pondy Bazar, in Theagaraya Nagar (no one EVER calls it that, it’s only referred to as T.Nagar! More about initial names for areas later)….is
Technology-challenged Senior Citizen
June 29, 2010
An internet forward that I thoroughly enjoyed…
Marina Sunrise
June 29, 2010
The Marina Beach in Chennai is east-facing…so the early bird gets the…photograph and the sunrise!
Arrogance
June 29, 2010
Arrogance is a quality that often hides itself under a cloak of false modesty, so that it takes a while to know that there is, indeed, a sense of superiority at work.
AS Wedding, 240610
June 28, 2010
IF..you want to see the snaps of the wedding that we all attended…
The Bride
June 27, 2010
Brides…always..ALWAYS…look incredibly beautiful. They are not looking back at the life they are leaving…they are looking the life they are entering, and this gives them that wonderful glow.
Soon...
June 26, 2010
Came home to broken pipes in the kitchen (no water, but no flood, either, thankfully!), no maid, a house that’s been solidly neglected for about a year…and the baby unerringly finds the dirt!
The mystery ..solved...and made uninteresting
June 26, 2010
The drive back from Chennai solved the mystery of the
Chennai to Bangalore 250610
June 26, 2010
It was another enjoyable drive, with KM hogging the driving for the most part as usual. He is very creative about why I shouldn’t drive…“You had a headache in the morning.” “You may get a headache after driving.” “The traffic is dense, so I’ll drive.” “The traffic is very light now so I can get the pleasure of driving.” “The car is behaving well, so I’ll enjoy driving.” “The car is misbehaving, so I’d better drive.”… and so it goes…I got to drive only for an hour, and the rest of the time, had to sit by:
Some more signs....
June 25, 2010
Why would someone post this in a wedding hall?
Petawrap...and double-tailed devils....
June 24, 2010
My nephew has started a fast-food initiative, called
Gajalakshmi in Pondy Bazar
June 23, 2010
Just as one gets tired of the relentless crowds and the enervating effort of shopping in an impossibly crowded thoroughfare, where the pavements have been encroached upon by thousands of vendors and pedestrians have to jostle and push to move even a few inches….
Happiness in Blue and Pink.....
June 23, 2010
Blue…
It would have to be a VERY hot day in Hell...
June 23, 2010
It would have to be a VERY hot day in Hell before I become thirsty enough to drink Sri Lala’s juices….
Butterflies, pouring past...
June 22, 2010
We drove from Bangalore to Chennai, and from the outskirts of Hosur, till we crossed Vellore, we had so many butterflies…yellows, tigers, and others (we were driving too fast for me to id them properly) … for more than four hours, I watched them flying across the road. We were heading west to east, so the direction of the migration was south to north,I guess. Here’s a short video I took when the car had halted:
Tripping over with happiness....
June 21, 2010
Just got the news…
IHHAH.....
June 21, 2010
That subject title is, “I Hate Heat And Humidity”. Why on earth would anyone voluntarily live in a place where one feels hot, sticky and uncomfortable all the time?
What diet does a road follow?
June 21, 2010
Though we have so many traffic accidents, Anna Salai is committed to vegetarianism:
Architecture, old and new....
June 21, 2010
Disclaimer: All photos taken from a fast-moving car, so blur and shake are part of the deal!
When you have a baby around, you spot these things...
June 21, 2010
WHAT are they asking us to use at night?
The incredible upside down building on the Bangalore-Chennai highway
June 20, 2010
Yesterday, while driving down, I saw a building where the windows seemed upside down…so my attention was caught, and as the car neared it, I realized that it was not just the windows, but the whole building that was upside down.
The problems of friends....
June 18, 2010
It’s a great honour, when friends repose confidence in one, and share their troubles…and this has the added benefit of showing one that what one considers one’s own difficulties are often far less in magnitude than that of one’s friends, which they often face with so much courage and determination.
Thousands of things to do....
June 18, 2010
DnAnK are already in the air, and we are having to postpone going to Chennai to receive them….there’s still a lot to do and organize here….I hope I get everything done so that we can leave at least tomorrow, and I can be reunited with KTB….wonder how she will handle the Chennai heat when in St.Louis, she perspires if the temperature crosses 25 deg C!
Can-Teeny
June 17, 2010
I guess not even having a spouse in hospital will keep me from being interested in unusual things, and here’s my observation about the canteen in the nursing home:
When a helping hand is a helping foot....
June 17, 2010
This, my non-Bangalore friends, is a typical image of my city….
Tiredness...
June 16, 2010
Have, frankly, wasted the day that should have been spent doing a lot of pending jobs…spent most of it in the hospital for tests for KM, and then…back home and utterly zonked out for 3 hours, at which point working hours were over, and the jobs have been postponed to tomorrow.
Valley School, Sunday, 130610
June 16, 2010
It was an amazingly warm welcome I got from Madhavi and Garima as we set off with some other male co-opted members of BULBs (BULBs being, Bangalore Urban Lady Birders!)..at my request, we went to Valley School. In terms of birding, it can’t have been anything much; we even failed to sight the Scops Owl that ought to have been the highlight of the outing…but….it was so, so, so satisfying to be traipsing the paths of the wooded areas, walk over the stream, listening to the old familiar birdsong….it was peace for the mind and balm for the soul….!
How we got out
June 15, 2010
This evening, the “main” doctor finally came and announced that the elevated levels of urea and creatinin in the blood test were indeed due only to the infection and the medication, and added, jovially, “I don’t keep healthy patients in my hospital, you can go home”.
Still there....
June 15, 2010
Every afternoon and every evening our hopes of returning home from the hospital are dashed by the fact that some test results are less than ideal, and when KM is anyway in the nursing home, those tests might as well be further investigated. This afternoon we waited for the results of the scan taken in the morning….
Living Creatures in Shivanahalli Ramakrishna Ashram....
June 15, 2010
KM’s scan is over, and he seems quite OK, but we have to wait for the doctor’s arrival and his verdict that we can, indeed, go home and resume our usual-abnormal life….but meanwhile, KM’s laptop and his Reliance card means that I can use my time to document the various life-forms we saw at Shivanahalli…
Not great...
June 14, 2010
While coming birding at Valley School with the BULBS, called KM to check how his GI infection was….and it was worse than I had thought….by the evening, he hadn’t had enough fluids and was severely dehydrated, and he is now in the hospital, at the receiving end of a upturned bottle-and-tube….it’s been a nasty two days (I am home to pack some dinner and some other stuff for him)…my own sore throat and chest congestion are not making things any easier.
Birding 101 in Ramakrishna Ashram, Shivanahalli
June 13, 2010
My friend Chandu had introduced me to a couple (recently interested in birding) who live a few doors away, and since I was jet-lagged, with a thousand urgent things to do, of course the best thing was to go off birding early on Saturday morning! Krupakar, Chandu and I (Poonam wasn’t able to get up that early!) set off in the misty gray morning, and changed our original plan of Valley School to the Ragihalli/Shivanahalli area; and as Chandu had been to the
Photographing photography
June 11, 2010
I enjoy documenting other photographers doing their stuff….
Monsoon Showers... and other things in the air.
June 11, 2010
It’s raining quite heavily as I sit, sleepless, typing….and the memories of the journey home unspools through my mind…. Bangalore’s summer monsoon has begun, and it’s
Home...
June 10, 2010
Got some very nice aerial photographs (
hamsafar (fellow travellers)
June 8, 2010
Living things in Shaw Nature Reserve.....
June 8, 2010
Though we didn’t, obviously, spot any earth-shakingly rare species at the Shaw Nature Reserve, what we saw kept us happy and going for a long time! Let me start with this image of the delightful
Mona wants to meet me....
June 8, 2010
I got this just now in my inbox:
Shaw Nature Reserve, 050610...scenery
June 7, 2010
I met Malvika and Casey, who are both biologists, and we realized that we had birdwatching interests in common…so last weekend, with Malvika’s mother Neelima, we went to the Shaw Nature Reserve.
Crayola....
June 7, 2010
I first heard this lovely song on October 3, 2009, in Philly, when my friend’s daughter Priya, and Mark got married, and her very talented younger sister and her fellow-singers sang at the wedding.
Journeys..
June 6, 2010
Packing after a long sojourn is, in a way, like preparing for death. Don’t mistake me…I mean no morbid undercurrents, though yes, taking leave is a bit sad. But to know that one will not be in a certain place any more, means that one has to take stock of one’s belongings, make one’s adieus, and make plans for some amount of continuity and some amount of cold-storage of relationships, and the unavoidable breaking off of some.
Yard Sale
June 6, 2010
These three glass bottles were a dollar total…and I bought them mainly because of the lovely picture they’d make….
The Red-eared Slider in Forest Park
June 4, 2010
Today the weather was muggy, but somewhat cloudy, so I decided to go for a long ramble in Forest Park (I start Biddly duty again tomorrow, and won’t have time for such a long ramble again, perhaps, before I leave)
Delightful Denizens of Shaw Nature Reserve.....
June 3, 2010
In the very short time I had at the Reserve (I hardly walked about half a mile from Bascom House!), I snapped these….
Shaw Nature Reserve, 310510
June 3, 2010
We decided to celebrate D’s birthday by going to
Two Raptors at Shaw Nature Reserve
June 3, 2010
On Saturday, it was D’s birthday, and we decided to go to Shaw Nature Reserve (imagine, DnA haven’t been there in 10 years of living here!)…and though it was a short visit, it was wonderful. As we drove in, I got this beautiful
For <LJ user=dakini_bones>
June 2, 2010
A Buddhist Monk asks his teacher: “Master, Is it alright if I use Email?” The Teacher: “You may… as long as there is no attachment.”
Courage....
June 2, 2010
Courage… Is not only standing up to ravening lions In the jungle.. How often does that happen in one’s everyday life? Courage is… feeling sorrow A dreadful emptiness of one’s heart, Which brings tears springing swiftly to one’s eyes… Which saps the energy to do anything… To battle that inertia, Digging deep to find the wellsprings of strength To go on with one’s life; To know(not just think) that whatever sorrow it is, There is nothing that some man or woman has not faced before. And probably handled better than one has. To reassure oneself that this sorrow, this emptiness Has been felt by others, Who have faced it And moved on, vanquishing it in doing so. To reason, therefore, through that cloud of sadness That this sorrow will pass.. (Knowing that others have borne a burden Does not make it any easier for one to bear) To take strength from the knowledge That one is not alone, And to go on without complaint… To even try and laugh about the pain that cuts into one’s heart… That is courage. I hope I have it.
Growing up...
June 1, 2010
So many thoughts crowd my mind as I sit here…it’s incredible…I have no baby to see to, no little, enquiring mind to entertain, no little body to pat back to sleep, no cereal to mix…
Profound Truth
June 1, 2010
Would you....?
May 31, 2010
Well, I wouldn’t go for a long drive with this driver:
On my jokes page today...
May 31, 2010
MACinTrash Jokes :)
Shakespeare in the Park
May 31, 2010
Every year, one of Shakespeare’s plays is staged in Forest Park, and indeed, a special area called “The Glen” is now set aside for this purpose. Last year it was “Merry Wives of Windsor” which I don’t really care for very much…so I just went along, had a look at the excellent stage sets and costumes and came home.
In the garden
May 30, 2010
The LILY has put forth the first blossom:
Rainbows...indoors and out
May 29, 2010
The raindrops bloom with Indra’s bows:
Gift Coupons...
May 28, 2010
Gift Coupons are one marketing idea that seems to be always good…whether they are used or not!
A Play Written By A Group....
May 27, 2010
We’d gone to attend
I got tagged....
May 26, 2010
The Wedding Expenses....
May 25, 2010
Summer is setting in, and it’s time for weddings, and of course, a lot of young couples choose to get married in the open air, in the beautiful environs of Forest Park. A wedding is an expensive affair, because one has (or two have, or the families have, or the bride’s parents have) to pay for …..
One Vegetable Ive not taken to...
May 25, 2010
I’ve never eaten
More living things....
May 25, 2010
After photographing the RED-TAILED HAWKS’ nest, I walked back, trying to decide where to have my picnic lunch, which, in the heat and humidity, , had started weighing heavily on my shoulder….but as I walked, I stopped thinking about it, for this lovely yellow water lily greeted me:
Red-Tailed Hawk Home and Children
May 24, 2010
I went to photograph the Red-tailed Hawk nest that
Like to have mesmerized food?
May 23, 2010
We went to another Ethiopian restaurant, just for a change from
Well say anything to get on the Green bandwagon...
May 23, 2010
Rash Driving...Driver Unhurt
May 23, 2010
We may be revoking her licence….
How to spot a Hummingbird
May 22, 2010
I’ve never before seen a Hummingbird in Missouri, and when I’ve seen them in California, they were always at about my height, visiting the flowers….so my first sighting of one of these birds high up on a tree in Forest Park, was a bit of a surprise!
Two Signs....
May 22, 2010
…and they are not “+” and “-“!
Analysis of Failure
May 22, 2010
I’ve been prompted to think about this by the fact that a company which has been doing wedding catering was, a few years ago, at the top of the list that people recommended, and everyone wanted them to cater for the weddings in their own families. From this position, I find that today, no one wants to use them at all. There were several incidents I myself noted at weddings, which gave me a signal that things were deteriorating.
Really.....
May 21, 2010
All of us have heard of
Wildflowers....
May 20, 2010
I am afraid that I don’t know the names of the flowers I’ve photographed, and am not really interested in very long scientific names…however, if someone could id them for me, that would be great… A rose by any other name smells as sweet, so here are some of the flowers that delighted me in Torrey Pines:
Torrey Pines Nature Reserve
May 20, 2010
Torrey Pines
Birds of San Diego, 100510
May 20, 2010
From VV’s garden, I could see this tree which seemed to have
Made me laugh
May 19, 2010
Why would Mercedes, of all car-makers, call one of their models this?
La Jolla Cove,San Diego, 090510
May 18, 2010
After going to Mt.Solidad on Saturday, and to the Coronado Beach on Sunday, V took us to La Jolla while V, N, and A went home…and we were just amazed by La Jolla.
The Bird and The Flower...
May 18, 2010
Just uploading my photographs from San Diego…and I loved this photograph of a gull looking thoughtfully at a flower at La Jolla Cove…
Coronado Beach, San Diego
May 17, 2010
The Coronado Beach at San Diego is really beautiful, though we could not spend too much time there…
Photography...
May 15, 2010
Taking pictures is a popular pastime, as never before, after the advent of digital photography. It’s now so easy to take pictures, and the results can be seen instantaneously, too.
Aerial Photography
May 14, 2010
I enjoy taking photographs from aircraft:
The Seat
May 13, 2010
Stargazing...
May 13, 2010
Last Friday, I finished Biddly-duty early…at 10 past 6, I left for the long walk (well…walk would take about 45 to 50 min, but I wanted to amble, looking for birds on the way, so that took me an hour)…to the St.Louis Planetarium for
Visit to Ranoush.....
May 13, 2010
While D’s mom was in St.Louis to help celebrate KTB’s birthday picnic, we decided to walk around the Loop, and had dinner at
Strawberries
May 11, 2010
Our neighbour’s front garden has wild strawberries:
Two images and a Wotzit from San Diego
May 10, 2010
San Diego has been an amazing visit….I never knew that with two one-year-old babies, so much could still be packed into two days…thanks to
Games People Play
May 7, 2010
I wonder why Google and Yahoo find it necessary to do dozens of rounds of interviews before hiring someone…if the hirer just sits down for an evening of board games, or card games, with the “hiree”….that will surely tell them all about the person.
Friendship and rejection
May 7, 2010
A post I liked very much....
May 7, 2010
Went to my Google Reader after a long while, and wanted to share
The Indian Educational Caste System
May 6, 2010
Here’s
Star-gazing..hopefully in the actual open air as well as in the Planetarium....
May 6, 2010
I’d been on the
Flight of the Cardinal
May 6, 2010
No, it’s not some high Church official absconding, it’s only the local bird….
Balloons...
May 6, 2010
Balloons are a child’s delight, and it is a delight to buy them for a child, too. I got two for KTB, and here is KTB herself, on her date of birth, with her Nana, and the balloons:
Two Feet....
May 6, 2010
Feet are one part of the human body that take a lot of punishment, and are often not rewarded for all that work. They bear the weight of our bodies for much of the time, convey us from place to place….so it’s nice to see a pair of legs, and feet, and toes, that are well-cared for…
Forest Park...some life forms...and one lifer...
May 5, 2010
A couple of trips to Forest Park got me these….this
The Tech Childs Tee....
May 3, 2010
Wings of Spring Trolley Bird Tour, 01 May 2010, Forest Park
May 3, 2010
The day started with a lot of clouds through which the sun was deciding whether to peep or not…
Street Photography...
May 1, 2010
Read More
Biddlys Birthday
April 29, 2010
Can you imagine, it was just yesterday that
Powder Valley
April 28, 2010
Last weekend, we went to the Powder Valley Conservation Center….
The Ross Sisters, 1944
April 27, 2010
My paunch felt fatter and I felt even more klutzy than usual after watching this…
Volunteering for some birding at last....
April 27, 2010
Finally, I got to know enough people, and I was told that I did have enough knowledge about the common birds of Forest Park, to volunteer for
Life and Death
April 26, 2010
The housefinches…..the hailstorm lashed the garden of course, and the babies have not survived, I think. I can’t see any activity, nor have I seen the housefinches flying in and out as they normally do. I haven’t the heart to go and see….because I know that this is what has happened. I don’t want to come face-to-face with certainty….I’ll let it sink in a little. The nest hasn’t fallen out…I can still see its edges.
The Belly Dancers at Earth Day, Forest Park
April 26, 2010
A was a belly dancer for many years, and was very good at it, but finally, the pressures of work and approaching motherhood made her set aside this art form. However, this afternoon, when we went to the Earth Day festivities at Forest Park, we ran into several of her belly dancing friends, who said they were going to perform at the Pavilion….
Doubly Beautiful....
April 25, 2010
We had a hailstorm, and watching the storm moving in was awe-inspiring. Within a few minutes of the hailstorm beginning, the tornado siren went off, and we had to go to the basement to wait until the all-clear blew again.
With thanks to Shyamal
April 25, 2010
Read More
Murphys Clouds...
April 24, 2010
Amd going for
Apparently, no problem....
April 23, 2010
You can support bears on the one hand, and guns on the other….
Reading
April 22, 2010
Reading…is such an amazing thing, when you think about it. Just imagine a series of marks giving one information, passing on ideas, firing one’s inspiration, evoking strong emotions, tickling one’s sense of humour, arousing one’s imagination, eliciting memories…reading may give the same information to every reader, but the pictures it evokes in one’s mind, the thoughts that it brings about, the imagination that it results in, is different to each person who reads!
Lovely...
April 21, 2010
DnA had both taken the day off, and just now they suddenly decided to go to
Bag of Rice
April 21, 2010
Do you want to see a live bag of rice?
Playground Blues
April 21, 2010
Squirrels
April 21, 2010
I took KTB to the playground, And there in a hollow on a nearby tree, Two very beady eyes Were looking out at me!
Impermanence...
April 21, 2010
Thoughts of how impermanent things can be, have been in my mind very much lately.
Some more birds....
April 20, 2010
I’m a pioneer at one form of birdwatching…I’m probaly the firste SPB, or Stroller-Pushing Birder, in the world!
Housefinches....
April 19, 2010
Read More
Happy Birthday to....
April 19, 2010
From....to....
April 19, 2010
: Not all of us can drive
The first Irises...
April 19, 2010
In their unfailing annual miracle, the dead garden suddenly started looking green and bright, and the irises grew tall, put forth buds, and began to flower.
Unbelonging to Hinduism...?
April 17, 2010
On a mailing list, we’ve been having a very interesting discussion about how to “unregister” from Hinduism, when there is, in general, no “registration” process involved.
Red, Green, and Blue...
April 17, 2010
The RED is the leaves on the Japanese Maple tree:
Shes already got her four-wheelers...
April 17, 2010
Since she only had a couple of four-wheelers (strollers), she tried
Fire and water
April 17, 2010
Sometimes even water is on fire….
From the tax return form...
April 17, 2010
I thought D was kidding when he read it out, but no…it was really there in the tax form…
The Silver Cloud
April 16, 2010
We are often told, when something is designated as the best of its kind, that it’s the
putthANdu vAzthhukkaL )
April 14, 2010
Many of us celebrate our New Year today…Vishu, Poila Boisakh, Tamizh PutthANdu, and so on… here is the hope that the New Year brings fresh beginnings of joy, hope and happiness!
Housefinch update
April 14, 2010
Here’s Mr LHS:
Teaching...
April 13, 2010
The best form of teaching is not just imparting information, or even letting the student synthesize that information into knowledge…it is communicating the love of that knowledge to the student, so that forever after, the student loves learning more about the subject and is always ready to learn. How few teachers actually accomplish this!
Here again
April 12, 2010
Almost exactly a year ago, I made
Animal at the front door...
April 12, 2010
I’ve known what
Some common hedgerow plant...
April 11, 2010
Tulips
April 11, 2010
There are the tulips that I brought home:
Dealing with death...
April 9, 2010
I just read an account of the memorial service for my young friend, and there seems to be one major difference that strikes me, between the way this community (I think they are Syrian Christians, but I don’t know!) and mine, speaks of those who are gone. And…I like their way better. To me, talking affectionately of a person with his strengths and weaknesses is a great way to celebrate his memory. . it is holistic….it includes all of the person, “warts and all”. I am not comfortable with the Tambram way of elevating the departed soul to boring, no-faults sainthood; I feel it’s not honest, though done, perhaps, from good motives… but while “speak no ill of the dead” is a good tenet to follow, if taken to extremes, it’s just not credible. When I tried to talk about how my mother had been very irritable (the consequences of her many and major illnesses) I was shushed down and told not to be disloyal. Does loyalty mean that one’s eyes must be firmly closed, or that all faults should be cremated along with the person? I happen to think not.
Heres a lovely fraud that I got in my inbox just now
April 8, 2010
from Gmail mailboxveritymember@gmail.com to support@google.com date Thu, Apr 8, 2010 at 5:59 PM subject Your Gmail Account
hide details 5:59 PM (1 hour ago)
Due to the congestion in our Gmail servers,there would be removal of all unused Gmail Accounts.You will have to confirm if your E-mail is still active by filling out your login info below after clicking the reply button, or your account will be suspended within 24 hours for security reasons.
Housefinch update
April 8, 2010
I don’t often go near the nest, and this even means not stepping out on the porch as the Housefinches fly in and out….but yesterday I did peek carefully and…
Shoots Buds and Leaves )
April 8, 2010
…with apologies to that famous book, it’s finally Spring, and the bare trees and bushes are bursting forth…just including the photographs that I could not resist taking, on my walks; I don’t know the id of most of these, and would appreciate help!
Mr and Mrs
April 7, 2010
Here’s the Mister:
Sometimes...
April 5, 2010
Sometimes, right up in the sky The blue, and the fleecy white Are overcast.. We don’t know why….
A story through licence plates...
April 5, 2010
Once upon a time, a young man had the good
Touch of the past....
April 5, 2010
I walk past the Delmar Station building almost daily, and found that it had
Sssssuddenly, a Sssssnake in the Ssssstreet
April 5, 2010
We were driving back home, and had turned into our street when D braked suddenly, saying, “Oh, I hope I didn’t run over it!” …when he backed up, we found that he hadn’t.
The April Audubon/Forest Park Forever Bird Walk, 030410
April 4, 2010
The day started with rain, it was sunshine when we met and started the walk, it turned cloudy and cold enough that I counted my fingers when I got back from the bird walk, got sunny and pleasant again as I walked down the Loop to the Farmers’ Market and came back….wow, talk about changeable weather! But I was on my feet non-stop for 5 hours, and I really enjoyed the morning.
Daughters and cars...sooner rather than later....
April 4, 2010
As soon as she was shown where the steering wheel and switches were, with Dad proudly documenting the process….
The Bubble
April 4, 2010
We forget that life’s a bubble…..
Am I getting better at iding birds? No, Im getting verse...
April 3, 2010
An email from one of the expert birders of Bangalore, about the difficulties of id’in birds, had me breaking out into a verse rash again:
Green Baby
April 3, 2010
Every Monday, the recycling people come and take our stuff..newspapers, cardboard, bottles, tins…and any other things we might want to recycle…
Shocked
April 2, 2010
I can’t find the words.
Black Panther Video
April 1, 2010
I think it’s probably MORE difficult to get video footage of the Black Panther than it is to get of the Clouded Leopard, which has the big bucks and the big cameras of NatGeo following it!
Nothing Much...
March 31, 2010
I was musing on my day today. Looking at it from one perspective:
House Finch Houses )
March 30, 2010
Here’s one of the females (well, this one is Mrs LHS!) with nesting material…
Great Horned Owl...Baby out of the nest
March 30, 2010
My friend Madhusmita and her husband Kusi came over to visit:
The Memphis Temple Concert, 270310
March 30, 2010
I’m sorry, I was so tense going into the temple, that I didn’t take any of my usual “surroundings” photographs that I usually do. And then, of course, I handed over the camera to D to take some shots (and I must say, half of the time I was in the temple, I seemed to be eating…the dinner on the 26th evening was Tamizh cuisine, the lunch on the 27th was Andhra cuisine, and dinner that day was Kerala cuisine….I didn’t waste a scrap of food, it all went to waist instead!)
Faith and Rationality....
March 29, 2010
…The two…just don’t mix, I think. Faith, by definition, is the act of believing in something from the heart; the brain has nothing to do with this. And so I often find that attempts by rationalists and people of faith to find common ground are doomed even before they start.
Went faaaar better than Id hoped...
March 28, 2010
The concert went so incredibly well that I am amazed and grateful. I got a standing ovation from the audience, and was asked to sing about 40 min longer than I had budgeted…and I got two requests, one for a song that I couldn’t remember the words to, alas, and one for a rAgA (hamir kalyAN) that I could oblige.
Baby and Birding
March 26, 2010
I challenge Mr Audubon, or Mr Salim Ali, or any of the expert birders I know, to do birding the way I do it…while pushing a baby stroller with an active baby in it!
Why?
March 26, 2010
Why has Google permanently disabled Picasa’s email-photographs-directly feature?
I took this picture for a friend...
March 25, 2010
I went for a walk, and the setting sun made me think of
The world on a truck...
March 24, 2010
We went for a short walk and found this truck, with so many things on its hood and its roof:
Its common knowledge...
March 24, 2010
This is to illustrate the good old saying….
House Finches update
March 22, 2010
This morning there was another outbreak of hostilities…I watched, riveted, as the male birds spiralled up and down in a welter of feathers, beaks and claws..but now, things seem to have been amicably resolved.
The House Finches...in front of the house
March 22, 2010
The
The caught kite
March 21, 2010
The tree branches looked up at the colourful kite, and since it was winter, and the world was white, black and grey, they wanted some colour for themselves…and they caught it and kept it!
A concert coming up...
March 21, 2010
I’ve been asked to give a concert for 1.5 hours next Saturday, at Memphis, Tennessee, at the temple as . I’m thrilled, and have accepted; and have sent my photograph, and a short writeup to them, too.
Fungi....
March 21, 2010
We went to Tilley Park last weekend…and I feel that in the damp weather, the trees miss having dresses of green, so they deck themselves up with frills:
The Grandchild
March 19, 2010
She looks at me through my son-in-law’s eyes Under my daughter’s eyebrows. She’s got her great-grandmother’s rosebud mouth Under her maternal grandfather’s nose.
Stuff of my childhood...
March 18, 2010
As I look at the multiplicity of the products on the supermarket shelves, I think back to the various products I’ve seen around me in my childhood…I wonder if readers abroad are familiar with some of the brand names…
Cant find the video from the movie...
March 18, 2010
I wanted to listen to my favourite romantic song from “The Sound of Music”….”Something Good”, sung by Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer…but am unabe to find the original video clip anywhere…can someone help me?
Complications...
March 16, 2010
Sometimes, life brings on a whole lot of complications all at once. One minute, you’re coasting along in relative ease, and peace…and within a few minutes, you get some news that has you worried, concerned how to cope with it…and sometimes the various …difficulties, for want of a better word…seem to be a knotted ball of twine, where you don’t know which thread to start unpicking first…you only know that this unpicking is going to be a long-drawn-out process, and it might not unpick the knotted ball at all…
Meeting Mark, and a pro wildlife photographer....
March 16, 2010
I suddenly had time free on Sunday, and since I’d got an email from Mark that he was meeting a wildlife photographer,
I looked as I walked....
March 16, 2010
And as I looked, I found some of the signs of Spring..most notably, on a crack of the pavement (sorry, sidewalk!), I found this dandelion blooming:
The Blue Jay
March 16, 2010
Today was a bad day for Julius Caesar (though my blog will show 16th March …India time..it’s only the ides of March here still)…but it was a nice day for me!
Hows business in a Vacuum Store?
March 14, 2010
Great Horned Owls.....
March 14, 2010
Since I had time to spare and could go off to see the Great Horned Owls, of course Murphy’s Law mandated that it was a grey, rainy day, and that photography would be quite tough…but first I managed to spot the lady whom Mark has christened Sarah, sitting, not very far from the nest:
Im lucky....
March 12, 2010
I wonder what my life would have been like, if I had been an ambitious person…life would certainly have been very different. I wouldn’t have been happy to be what is now called a “stay-at-home mom” (now it is unusual enough that this term has been coined…)..I’d have tried to juggle my job, managing the household (yes, it was ONLY the woman’s job in our marriage. The spouse was the provider, and wasn’t around very much, being in a job that entailed leaving home at 7am every morning and returning past 9pm, working 6 days a week, and being out of town at least 10 to 15 days a month, which took care of two Sundays out of four.) In my “job” scenario, he either wouldn’t have been able to do that, or there would have been a lot of friction….there was never any question that his job (our bread-and-butter) came first. And even when he was at work, he could often not be contacted on the phone (no mobile phones those days!)
Two kinds of reflection
March 11, 2010
One reflection:
Google is now a verb...in this beautiful song
March 11, 2010
What lovely lyrics….! Thanks to
Some randomly interesting things...
March 10, 2010
As I go on my walks, several discrete things catch my attention, and if I have the MLC with me, so much the better!
Young Couple...Walking along the Path of Dreams
March 9, 2010
Half an Hours Birding in Queeny Park
March 9, 2010
Great Horned Owls, Again, Forest Park
March 9, 2010
Having gone on the
The St.Louis Audubon Society Bird Walk, 6 Mar 2010
March 8, 2010
For a long time now, I’ve been meaning to go for this first-Saturday-of-the-month bird walk for novices, that’s conducted by the St.Louis Audubon Society in Forest Park. Alas, either I’ve not been able to go, or on the two occasions that I did make it, the rain ensured that not even the volunteers turned up! Well, this time I knew that the weather would be a mild minus 5 deg C, with bright sunshine, and I could already see at least one bird…
The Red-headed Woodpecker (Immortal Verse Dedicated to Uma)
March 8, 2010
It’s a common bird….woodpecker’s the word….
An internet joke that I enjoyed...
March 7, 2010
Taking care of your wife:
Sunset
March 7, 2010
Ravi Chandra...
March 7, 2010
I went for my usual morning walk, and on the one side was the sunrise:
Some birds in Forest Park, 2802 and 010310
March 5, 2010
It’s nice to be able to walk through Forest Park in the late mornings or early afternoons at weekends (on weekdays, I must finish a brisk walk before 8am, when I begin Nanny duty, and KTB comes down like an angel from above!)….I haven’t seen any but the common birds, but they are quite beautiful:
The American Pelican
March 5, 2010
A wonderful bird is the pelican… His bill can hold more than his belican. He can take in his beak Food enough for a week… But I’m damned if I see how the helican!
Thank you...
March 5, 2010
I got so many supportive messages in reponse to my post of self-doubt and uncharacteristic negativity…and
Zero....
March 4, 2010
I seem to think no “useful”, profound thoughts….am not out to change the world, except in the areas where it impinges where I live…I want to walk, not take the car, live simply… but I don’t see the need to change everyone….I don’t have a powerful job (I don’t have ANY job!)…I seem to be always contented with small pleasures, small joys….I have no great achievements to look back upon….suddenly, I’m wondering if I’m missing something in life…
No photos...
March 3, 2010
Since yesterday, none of the photographs I’ve uploaded to my Photobucket account have shown up there…don’t know what’s wrong, and don’t know how to rectify it, either!
The Passport Photo
February 28, 2010
Now that KTB (Kavya-The-Biddles)’s other documents (er, birth certificate, and what else I don’t know) have arrived, we decided to get her passport photo as step 1 of applying for her passport. (Step 2 involves both parents and child going personally to the Post Office and submitting completed forms.)
The first buds
February 28, 2010
Forest Park, and the Zoo
February 25, 2010
Last Saturday afternoon, DnA decided to take Biddles for her first visit to the Zoo….
Sometimes shes just like her nAni (maternal grandmother).....
February 24, 2010
…and that’s when she does this…
dil hoom hoom karE....
February 24, 2010
Another of my favourites based on rAg bhoop (mohanam) is by Bhupen Hazarika from the movie “rudAli”…in which the erstwhile teen idol Dimple Kapadia (who was responsible for the wet dreams of a generation of young men who are more than middle-aged now) gave a very sensitive performance indeed….
Some of the birds at Thattekkad, 08,09,100110
February 24, 2010
The Thattekkad visit was excellent in terms of birding, but we had some less-than-happy experiences in terms of our accomodation, because of our bird guide. As a bird guide, Mr.Eldhose is excellent, and showed us a great variety of birds. He is very knowledgeable; for example, he said that the Indian Pitta was earlier coming out at 6pm, now it was coming out only at 6.20pm…and lo and behold, at 6.20pm, there the bird was, responding to his call!
an old movie song about a babys arrival
February 22, 2010
After ages, a conversation with
Another peace-filled image...
February 22, 2010
Here’s the view of the Periyar (periyAr, meaning, big river)…the Dr.Salim Ali Bird Sactuary in Thattekkad is situated on the banks of the river.
Mylapore is great...but so are other places
February 21, 2010
jyOthi kalash cchalkE
February 21, 2010
Thank you,
Kadubu
February 21, 2010
One of the dishes from Mangalore cuisine that I like is
Mother and Child....
February 21, 2010
We went to the Zoo today, as the weather was a balmy 4 deg C after a long spell of seriously sub-zero temperatures. One of the images that’s stayed in my mind was a mother
When its winter...
February 19, 2010
When it’s winter, even waterfalls freeze:
How important spelling is...
February 16, 2010
A birder friend has been doing excellent work archiving birdwatching material, and in the middle of all the serious stuff, I found that:
Not quite plagiarism...but.....
February 14, 2010
One of the members of
Serenity....
February 14, 2010
Photographed this peaceful scene in Thattekkad….
Winter Scenes in Forest Park....
February 14, 2010
It was lovely to see the sun’s rays pouring through the snow-clouds:
An Excellent Design for a county like India...
February 12, 2010
Click
Im no fan of summer...but.....
February 12, 2010
When the temperature drops…..
The Family Doctor
February 12, 2010
I am not greatly given to mourning the passing of time…to me, in general, the present is as interesting and good as the past was. Things change, and what seems to us to be deteriorating is actually only evolving, I feel…
The NTP2010 Meet
February 10, 2010
Since the dates and the convenience of lots of members of the NTP fell into place, we had the 2010 meet at BR Hills on the 13th of January,2010….
Sun,Rain,Snow...and just Water, sometimes
February 10, 2010
I am amazed at how the quality of the light changes….when the rain threatens, it’s dark and everything gets tinged with grey, as when we were leaving for our safari on the first day of the NTP meet:
Another Biddly Post ..those who arent interested...S-K-I-P
February 9, 2010
Sometimes, while my memories are in Karnataka, the wildlife at home strikes a chord…and I see this picture of happiness:
Some Mammals...and Others.... on the NTP2010 Meet, K.Gudi camp, BR Hills
February 8, 2010
Well, this post is NOT going to be about that mythical animal, the SIT (South Indian Tiger)….but as far as the other mammals went, the NTP meet had nothing to complain of….
Some of the birds on the NTP 2010 Meet at K.Gudi, B R Hills
February 8, 2010
I think we were all totally agreed that the NTP meet at the
The Crested Serpent Eagle
February 5, 2010
On the trip to K.Gudi (Kyatharayanagudi, if you want to know) property of JLR, for the NTP 2010 meet, one raptor we all saw frequently was the
Two days in Kolkata...
February 4, 2010
On the way to Assam and Arunachal, and on the way back, Geetanjali and I spent a day (well, most of it) in my beloved hometown….
Howrah Bridge and the Railway Station....
February 3, 2010
Read More
What do you call this verb usage?
February 2, 2010
I’ve been noticing, as part of the evolution of the English language, that verbs are being used in ways different from what I have been used to.
Friendly Neighbourhood Bird....
January 31, 2010
I know I shouldn’t be photographing the American Robin and the European Starling…but …
First Raptor in St.Louis this time.....
January 31, 2010
I have thousands (well, quite a few!) posts to make. Visits to Kolkata, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Thattekkad in Kerala, B R Hills in Karnataka…field trips reports are clamouring to be made, photographs yelling to be uploaded…
What people say....
January 30, 2010
What happens if you have moon hair?
What happens to all the batteries?
January 29, 2010
More and more and more, we want to be “wireless”. We want to be free of those umbilical cords that tie us to a power source, that provide the energy to their dependent children, the multifarious gadgets of our society. So…we go in for batteries.
Biddling...the verb (present continuous)
January 29, 2010
As GD’s nickname started out with “Biddly”..then became “Biddles” and even worse, “The Biddles”…DnA have assigned a verb to a form of locomotion unique to her…they call it “biddling”!
Winter Colours
January 28, 2010
Where’s the greenery gone from the trees? Where are the flowers that I saw? Will they all come back with the touch of the spring breeze? Will they all return with the thaw?
The scene in St.Louis
January 28, 2010
If anyone has any doubts about there being a difference in temperature between Bangalore and St.Louis….
Sitting in Atlanta....
January 27, 2010
Sitting in Atlanta airport, waiting for my flight to St.Louis…and marvelling at the technology which allows me to be online, communicating with every one…this, when I do not have a proper cord to allow me to recharge my laptop, and when I do not have a mobile phone that works in the US…I used Magic Jack to call up my daughter to say I had touched US soil safely.
Turahalli, 240110
January 25, 2010
I just could not resist the chance to go birding to Turahalli with Garima on Sunday…and was so caught up with shopping and packing that I actually forgot to take either the 20D or MLC2! It was a change to go up the slopes just swinging my binocs in a carefree way, and asking
Birding in the Mist
January 25, 2010
I love this old pavilion at Nandi Hills, and I enjoyed the misty light as my friends birded/took photographs there:
Death of a Butterfly
January 25, 2010
In Thattekkad, I was walking along (trailing well behind the others as usual)…when I saw this butterfly (Karthik tells me it is a LARGE YEOMAN) flitting past, and then …a dramatic sudden death befell it.
If the Yoga doesnt work, you can also try Glissades
January 24, 2010
Lalbagh...
January 23, 2010
I realized that I haven’t been to Lalbagh at all…so this was my first visit in about 9 months! I went to see the Republic Day Flower Show display, but that was more or less as usual…but what I loved was the sight of my favourite giant silk-cotton tree, with these three Rose-Ringed Parakeets having breakfast with a dove:
Spotted Elephant
January 22, 2010
We’ve all spotted elephants…but have we spotted spotted elephants?
Communication
January 22, 2010
The window has to be open, The equipment in place. There has to be a friendly smile Upon the person’s face.
A Bengali meal...and hospitality
January 22, 2010
When I visited Geetanjali’s in-laws in the Uttarpara area of Kolkata, as we began our Assam/Arunachal trip, they were very warm and welcoming, and I felt instantly at home. Mashima (which would be “mother’s sister” but a common way of saying “aunt” as a form of respect) provided a typical Bengali meal…well, I can’t call it all that typical because it didn’t have fish….here it is:
The Simbu...a modern form of torture
January 21, 2010
Read More
All those stories of graceful landings....
January 20, 2010
When I see a bird in the air, I imagine it gliding smoothly to a landing..but recently (in Dibru/Shaikowa) I got evidence that birds, too, have their problems….
In the middle of the chores....music and peace...
January 20, 2010
While doing several chores, and getting stuff organized for my departure, I suddenly decided to listen to the video of “Kannamma” that my nephew Rakesh Raghunathan had sent me a little while ago.
Other things on the Bangalore Bird Race....
January 19, 2010
Apart from the birds…there was a lot to the Bird Race Day….one of the most striking was my view of the rock patterns at Ramnagara:
Team Black Stork in the Bangalore Bird Race
January 19, 2010
Without Electricity
January 19, 2010
We’ve been having a discussion about the possibility of having a totally nomadic life today, and it made me think of how important electricity is in the lives of most of us…we can’t get along for even a short while without it!
I cant stand..
January 18, 2010
People without any sense of humour, who always try to take the joy out of other people’s lives. Just when you are enjoying something, they will come along and say how foolish it is or how wrong it is or something like that. The colour goes out of your joy unless you are very careful.
Bird Races and Birding....
January 18, 2010
I had to cancel my trip to Chennai because of some unexpected (though with Murphy’s Law I ought to expect the unexpected!) developments with regard to the finishing up of the root canal….but I’m getting really busy with preparations for departure now, I am not finding the time for even proper email, can you beat that!
House Sparrows.....a real delight
January 16, 2010
This morning, I went to Ragihalli with Shashi and Shalini, my NTP friends ….and we watched this delightful episode….
Been travelling a lot...
January 15, 2010
Had just one day in Bangalore after returning from Thattekkad, and I went off to B R Hills.
Rules for Writing Well...
January 15, 2010
With thanks from Chandan
Disappointment...and Failure....
January 11, 2010
I’ve just had quite a disappointment, and am trying to put it in perspective. I’ve organized a reasonable-sized event, only to have one of the high priorities of that meet drop out, at the last-but-one minute…and I have done all I can to reverse the situation.
Spinning Fantasies....
January 7, 2010
There they sit, the two children of the hills of Namdapha:
Beavis and Butthead
January 7, 2010
I have asked
Ageism, but NOT everywhere
January 5, 2010
Here I am, quoted in the Indian Express by Saritha Rai, a journalist whom I respect.
Making jalEbis
January 5, 2010
This is for (a) my non-Indian friends, but it’s for (b) my Indian friends too…jalEbis, as (b) and many of (a) know, are sweets, made of flour batter that has been fermented, fried and then dunked into hot sugar syrup. Which of us have not fallen for the jalebis at weddings, hot off the syrup kadAi….?
When were they modern?
January 4, 2010
I was mightily tickled by this one:
The Idle Horse of Magori Beel
January 3, 2010
In Dibru/Shaikowa, we stayed on the banks of a water body called Magori Beel (beel is lake) which connected to the Magori river. As we went around looking at waterbirds, I saw this horse all the time:
Oh, even sarees have them?
January 2, 2010
I thought only males possessed a pair, but apparently sarees have them, too….
I wasnt even looking for the butterflies....
January 2, 2010
I realize that Namdapha must be a sort of butterly heaven during the season…because I went out of season, I wasn’t even looking for any, and yet I just could not resist clicking some of the common ones!
Health, Happiness, and Peace of Mind to Everyone...
January 1, 2010
Wotitiz.....
December 31, 2009
The answer to the
Another wotzit.....
December 30, 2009
Just got back home…and it feels wonderful!
Back in Gauhati....
December 26, 2009
It’s been a very memorable trip, and I am back in Gauhati,Assam, for the long journey to Kolkata, and then the long journey back home.
In Tinsukhia, on my way to Miao in Arunachal Pradesh
December 21, 2009
Yes, there really IS a place in Arunachal called Miao (there’s also a place called Ziro)
Sitting in Guwahati, in an internet parlour
December 18, 2009
Not being savvy enough to have the net on my mobile, I am sitting in a seedy internet parlour in Guwahati, having gorged on momos for lunch….had a lovely day visiting Dakshineswar in Kolkata yesterday…will be out of touch for the next two weeks as I visit Dibru-Shaikowa and Namdapha…back on the 31st.
When someone in kindergarten is pushed into post-graduation....
December 14, 2009
Karthik called me and told me that since I had made a record sighting of the
One of the most common birds, and one of the most beautiful, too
December 14, 2009
Here are two views of the
Just Happy...
December 12, 2009
I think I am the happiest and probably the luckiest person in the world. I have general good health (forget the occasional blips…everyone has them), great family, wonderful friends, the ability to be comfortable with who I am, and what I can achieve, the ability to learn (albeit, very slowly), I like people and am perennially interested in them….all this is incredibly good fortune…yes, I do have a fortune in my mind and heart…and it may long after Thanksgiving, but I do give thanks.
Dental/Mental Torcher
December 12, 2009
I walk with dragging feet (and my infected molars and gums) into the large hall where several chairs are placed, and approach the nearest white coat diffidently, with my dental records card. I am hoping that this person will say, “No, we can’t see you now,” and I can go home in peace.
Sheer luck...
December 11, 2009
Today I was told that the sighting of the Black Stork, that I posted about
Birds over the last weekend....,and one very unusual sighting
December 10, 2009
Since I was able to go birding to Bheemannakuppe kere on Saturday, and to the Ragihalli sheet rock/pond area on Sunday, I’d better combine the two for my field report…
Creatures at Bheemannakuppe Kere
December 10, 2009
Yes, I am getting to the birds, but yesterday’s tooth extraction was particulary bad. My wisdom tooth had an extra root, which apparently curved deep into the jawbone…it took 45 minutes to extract it, and yesterday evening was one of the most ghastly I have spent so far….
Missing the little miss...
December 9, 2009
There’s no one to take photographs of The Biddles regularly now….or to take videos….
Internet Forwards
December 9, 2009
Oh my, when I get a forward…I seem to get it from ALL directions. (right now, for some reason, it’s Shashi Tharoor’s speech at TED Mysore.)
Hair Care...
December 7, 2009
We had done some birding at the Ragihalli sheet rock area and had come into Ragihalli village, to visit the pond. (yes, yes, I will post the actual birds-and-other creatures pics soon.)
Hmmmm.....
December 7, 2009
Yesterday I was chatting with my friend
Sun playing truant at Ragihalli
December 6, 2009
I saw, on the bngbirds egroup, that someone called
The Black-Winged Kite
December 6, 2009
The
Squeaks Wedding
December 4, 2009
Here’s the radiant bride:
The Knife-Sharpener
December 4, 2009
Going Slow May Not Really Be the Best Thing...
December 3, 2009
On the way to visit the Jayamangali Blackbuck Sanctuary, we were negotating a badly dug-up stretch of highway, and I found this notice:
Words on the Chennai Photo Walk
December 2, 2009
How many of us can so easily get Gold Medals or afford a Rolex?
Bargaining...
December 1, 2009
In
AchAri in Chennai
November 30, 2009
In the heart of
Disappointing....
November 28, 2009
Organizing events is not something I do regularly…I do hope it’s something I do well…!
The invisible people...
November 27, 2009
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/blogs/show_entry/1583
Heres someone who already has a time machine...
November 27, 2009
Everywhere, the glare of the sun blots out the stars...
November 27, 2009
The sunrise on the Marina today was lovely, as usual…
To All My American Friends....
November 26, 2009
What on earth....???
November 26, 2009
Birds and other creatures at Manchinabele
November 25, 2009
We were pretty lucky with our sightings and observations on the Manchinabele trip on the 21st of November; apart from the
102 years old..not a happy post
November 25, 2009
Yesterday, I went with my friend G, to visit her maternal grandmother, PattammAL…..she’s now 102 years old.
Manchinabele (or Manchanabele)....
November 25, 2009
I took the morning off, last Saturday after some more dental torture work, to go with the BULBs, and visit
Some more signboards...
November 24, 2009
I had showed you Romance Tailors in Mylapore:
How to Kayak in Bangalore....
November 23, 2009
…you use an
Harassment by security personnel on public roads.....
November 23, 2009
I wish I had a Chennai magazine like Citizen Matters to post to…but I don’t, so my blog will have to do.
Wishing them every happiness...
November 23, 2009
Tawny Eagle, Dark Morph Manchinabele,211109
November 22, 2009
Bangalore is getting dried to death...
November 22, 2009
Another lake has disappeared…
Overpopulation....
November 22, 2009
It seems to me that overpopulation lies behind most of the troubles we face in India today…the over-burdered, groaning, decaying infrastructure of our cities…the rampant corruption as high demand chases low supply..the wildlife-humankind conflict…the greed, and the need to make money quickly…road rage as everyone tries to get past quickly….
Self-Esteem
November 20, 2009
Our Indian culture seems, to me, to be excellent at one thing…keeping down the sense of self-worth in individuals who are meek in nature to begin with.
Two beautiful examples of old Chennai architecture
November 19, 2009
In Chennai…
A few things that made me smile
November 18, 2009
One, while waiting at Central Station, Chennai:
Navigational Methods for Politicians
November 18, 2009
We want to find our way through a city? We buy maps, we look up Google maps, or… we ask for directions. Especially in India, we do this as we stand…or park…in the middle of the road, generally getting the person with the lowest IQ in the area, who either gapes at us or confidently gives us wrong directions.
I am, of course, missing this....
November 17, 2009
http://forestparkowls.blogspot.com/2009/11/peregrine-falcon-lecture-at-st-louis.html
Why this perpetual You Cant attitude?
November 17, 2009
Hunger and Happiness....
November 17, 2009
Happiness…is getting something to eat when one is hungry.
Enjoyed writing this about my INW friends...
November 16, 2009
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/1543-bengaluru-photographers-to-shoot-leonid-showers
Sights, Buildings and Thoughts in Mylapore....
November 16, 2009
Very long post, read only if you have some leisure.
A LinkedIn update
November 15, 2009
Read More
A profound observation, and window-cleaning
November 15, 2009
You know you’ve spent too long abroad, when….you sit in Chennai and find yourself trying to calculate what time it is in Bangalore!
Statues on the Marina.....
November 14, 2009
Read More
During my morning walk...
November 14, 2009
I will be documenting that morning walk of mine…yes, I did take along MLC2 yesterday.
Two recipes for mAngA-inji (mango-ginger, which is different from regular ginger)
November 13, 2009
A friend of mine asked for mango-ginger recipes after my mango-ginger rice last week was a hit. Mango-ginger is available everywhere now and my friend Mythreyi had given me some, so I made some more.
No bland food here....
November 13, 2009
What Kolkata meant to me....
November 13, 2009
Amrita Bazar and Ananda Bazar Patrika …and of course the prim-and-propah Statesman…all delivered by flight to upper-floor flats, rolled up and thrown with practiced wrists, by cycling delivery boys
My father and progress in the seventies...
November 12, 2009
My father…I’ve never written about him, for some reason. Like all caring and resposible fathers…an amazing guy. Born to easy affluence as the son of someone who was the Financial Advisor to the Government of India, and who earned an OBE, or Order of the British Empire, he really enjoyed a princely lifestyle, shuttling between Delhi and Shimla,going to the best schools..and he decided to study Electrical Engineering at the
Wheat Grass
November 12, 2009
One of the things I have been introduced to lately, is
90+.....
November 11, 2009
She’s known to us as …simply…Dadda…which was my sister-in-law’s childish way of saying “dAdi mA” (paternal grandmother).
Morning Walk...and mental images...
November 11, 2009
The weather finally let up a bit today, and I went for an hour’s walk; went down to Luz, down Katcheri Road (or Cutchery Road), down Santhome High Road to the Marina, along it and back through Sir Radhakrishnan (earlier Edward Elliotts) Road.
Articles I wrote for Citizen Matters
November 11, 2009
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/author/31-deepa-mohan
Mist Photography....
November 10, 2009
We thought the mist on the hills would prevent us from spotting birds. It didn’t. We thought it would prevent us from photographing birds. It did.
The Rain.....
November 9, 2009
It was raining in Bangalore. It is raining in Chennai. Well, it held off long enough for me to take a long walk last evening, but this morning it’s pouring again.
Whether the weather co-operated.....
November 7, 2009
The Nandi hills trip was wonderful…but from this video, you can get an idea of how it was for birding….
Fifteen Days of Steady Pain...
November 6, 2009
It’s difficult not to sound whiny, but the past fifteen days, as the gum infection has been steadily drained and dried, have been quite murderous. I have now learnt to ask for fresh local anaesthetics as the first injections wear off…but still the deep pain has been quite unbearable sometimes…and being alone in the house is NOT very nice. To be unable, at times, to get up, and yet to know that I have to drag myself to the kitchen for even a drink of water, has been very hard.
They follow him around
November 5, 2009
If
The Buck Stops...and Runs...at Maidanahalli
November 5, 2009
Read More
LOTS of birds...
November 5, 2009
Non-birders… please exkoos, as they say here.
More Sirkeer Malkoha
November 4, 2009
I’d posted about my first photograph of the
All those rhyming friends...
November 4, 2009
We were waiting at the watchtower in Maidanahalli for the appearance of the endangered Blackbuck…and I was looking around.
Our own wildlife...
November 3, 2009
I left St.Louis, to come home and do some wildlife trips…but I did not realize that we were going to have our own wildlife there…
Sunset and moonrise together...
November 3, 2009
It was an amazing sight, as we returned from Maidanahalli, to find the sun setting to our right,
Hospital Notes
November 3, 2009
I’m sure not all of them can be genuine, but I’m still laughing hard anyway!
The Jewel Bug
November 2, 2009
I had named our women’s birding group the BULBs (Bangalore Urban Lady-Birders!), and yesterday we went to Maidanahalli (no, I will not call it Maidenahalli as if it is the home of the critically endangered Homo sapiens virgensis) to see the blackbuck…and on the way, lots of things made us stop and stare.
The Journey Continues...
November 2, 2009
The path lies ahead, intriguing, interesting…unknown.
Halloween....
November 1, 2009
Some more light ....
November 1, 2009
We often speak of “shedding light on the subject”…the coming of light is also associated with acquiring knowledge and dispelling ignorance. “tamasO mA jyOtirgamaya” is part of our daily prayers.
Light..and lights
November 1, 2009
Insomnia seems to have become a permanent friend…but I had a great day yesterday (early morning birding, some torcher, afternoon play and a lovely time with friends) and I am looking forward to my trip to
Tees for unfortunate illnesses...
October 31, 2009
I’ve shown you tees for autism
R nR
October 31, 2009
She climbs a tree and does NOT scrape her knee....
October 30, 2009
I went to the
A nice piece of verse....
October 29, 2009
Where can a man buy a cap for his knee, Or a key to a lock of his hair? Can his eyes be called an academy Because there are pupils there?
A walk that I participated in, and another that I didnt...
October 28, 2009
While in St.Louis, I
Cannot think of anything...
October 28, 2009
I went to get the next bout of dental treatment done…after the injection and the infllicting of a fair amount of the usual pain, the power went off, I sat for 45 minutes and came out without having today’s quota completed, but with almost as sore a jaw as usual.
One of my favourite things
October 27, 2009
When I was young, the musical “Sound of Music” captivated my romantic heart, and I soon knew all the songs by heart, even the less known ones:
GDs first rudeness.....
October 27, 2009
Hm, as a fond gramma I hope this was only accidental and not deliberate…
Communication.....
October 27, 2009
Butterflies Flutter By....
October 26, 2009
On both my visit to Bannerghatta, and to Turahalli, Galibore, and Ramnagara, I noticed a wide variety of butterflies flitting along in their various colours. Of course, the time of day (mid-morning) was not ideal to photograph them, as that is their nectar-gathering time and so they were most restless, and would hardly settle for more than a second or two anywhere.
The Sirkeer Malkoha
October 26, 2009
Though the bird sightings on our Saturday trip were very sparse, I was thrilled to have a good sighting of the
The Paddyfield Web
October 26, 2009
We stopped, arrested by the green of this paddy field:
Turahalli, Galibore,Ramnagara
October 25, 2009
I had a wonderful trip to Turahalli, Galibore and Ramnagara with
Shikra to Sunbird at Bannerghatta....
October 24, 2009
A quick trip to the Bannerghatta National Park (around the Zoo area) with
Finding pleasure during a lot of pain
October 22, 2009
My trusty (and not yet rusty)
Is this lady really leaving me and going off?
October 22, 2009
Aircraft Cabin Design
October 21, 2009
I want to meet some designers. The ones who design an itsy-bitsy whimsy of cloth and call it a bikini and sell it for four-figure prices? No. The ones who shape the way stage props are used? The man who printed the words “designer hankies” on a batch of six pieces of cloth and put an obscene price on the carton? Not in the least. I want to meet….the people who design aircraft seats…in cattle class.
The Clark Bridge
October 20, 2009
The
The Miss that I Miss the Most
October 20, 2009
We may be American, but that doesn’t prevent us from growing a little Chinese pigtail….
What...and where...is home?
October 20, 2009
Can’t decide where “home” is. Home is supposed to be where the heart is, but my heart seems to be in two places now…I have never spent more than 6 weeks away from Bangalore before, and my heart seems to have put down another set of roots, without weakening the first set in any way.
Fall...Colours....
October 18, 2009
Just this one tree will give my Indian friends an idea of the colours of the leaves during the fall season:
Inflation and Recession
October 18, 2009
Inflation is when a dollar buns cost 4 dollars!
Ethiopian food
October 18, 2009
I found, when I went to Tanzania and Egypt, I realized that African food is quite similar to Indian food.
Greetings...
October 16, 2009
With the internet at one’s disposal, sending greetings is a very easy thing to do.
Why....?
October 16, 2009
Why… Do I want to try To be the official scribe As the cyclists pedal furiously Across the hills? Because… Through the course… I’d able to describe All I’d experience, and see. The wheres, the whens, the hows, and the whys… The thrills, the chills, the spills As the bikers sail across the Blue Mountains…trying adventure for size… Take some pictures: videos, too! I could see their dreams With my eyes, and write How they climbed slopes and forded streams; How they exchanged anecdotes, Danced together, sang some notes…. I’d share their points of view; Record their moods, both heavy and light Every little incident; The pedal that fell off, the wheel that bent: The final push, the incredible thrill, Of conquering distance with one’s will…. Click their faces, as they passed The victorious finishing line at last… Have, at the end, a memorable journal Of the cyclists’ efforts diurnal. I want to be the Official Blogger(if you please) Of the 2009 Tour of the Nilgiris!
Beauty....
October 15, 2009
One of my great favourites by
Have you seen Ranklin at his rinting ress?
October 15, 2009
Well, here
Diaspora
October 14, 2009
Urban Wildlife....
October 13, 2009
These two squirrels were just having fun….
The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
October 12, 2009
Madhu just took me to the very beautiful
Cold and Foggy
October 11, 2009
The mornings have,quite suddenly (with a couple of days of heavy rain) turned very cold; yesterday,since it was the weekend, I waited until there was some light before I set out for my walk. I’m glad I went out when I did, or I’d have mist this:
The ground and the sky....
October 11, 2009
Under my feet were mossy tiles:
wildlife in Philly...
October 10, 2009
Wolves:
Stainless Steel Planes, Giant Women, and More...
October 10, 2009
Just outside the
Buildings in Philly...
October 9, 2009
Here’s the view from my friends’ home:
McSquirrel
October 8, 2009
I want a story for this.....
October 8, 2009
Both days, on my way to Valley Green Inn in the Wissahickon area, I saw this poster:
Lines at Philly Airport
October 7, 2009
No, I am not talking about long lines of passengers taking off their shoes as if they were visiting a temple, shedding mobile phones and cash and laptops and jackets. I am referring to the lines that this view from one of the airport corridors made:
Votitis.....
October 6, 2009
The answer to
The Spider at Valley Green Inn
October 5, 2009
On Saturday, a sudden change of plan resulted in my forgetting to take MLC2 when I went to attend the wedding; and there, I found the bride’s uncle, after the ceremony, taking pictures of a huge spider with a large egg-sac. I watched it, of course, but felt bad that I couldn’t take photographs.
Votzit?
October 5, 2009
Just back from a very enjoyable trip to
Facebook is SO irritating...
October 1, 2009
I often look at, and sometimes post photographs to, the
Ability, Disability....
October 1, 2009
Read More
Renewal of Gym Membership...
September 30, 2009
From:Jeff Peters Date: Wednesday 8 April 2009 10.22am To: David Thorne Subject: Membership Renewal
Its time to go home...
September 30, 2009
…for several reasons, some even more intense than others….one of them is the abcess that is growing into a kind of polyp from a badly-done root canal….luckily, it can wait until I get home, but it must be attended to immediately….
Fun in the most unexpected places...
September 30, 2009
I look around…I can walk many a mile, I find I’m never bored; Not in sunshine, not in rain, I can find beauty in a drain.
I also want a grant...
September 28, 2009
Why is no one giving me a grant for
Images from Creve Coeur Lake 260909
September 28, 2009
As a birding outing, the visit to
The Cashew Moon
September 25, 2009
Balloon Race Forest Park 190909
September 25, 2009
I went alone to Forest Park to see the launch of the balloons, and it was a trip well worth it, to see these colourful globes rising serenely and majestically into the cloudy,overcast, intermittently rainy sky. I’d been afraid that the wind would cross the 10-miles-an-hour limit beyond which the launch would be aborted, but it didn’t happen….
Just wondering....
September 25, 2009
Call it the Housewife Syndrome (not having enough to do, so engaging in such thoughts):
Common Raptors in Forest Park
September 24, 2009
I went off by myself for an evening walk, and though the Great Horned Owls flew off too fast for me to get a picture, I did manage to get two raptors in the deepening dusk.
Forest Park Balloon Glow, 180909
September 24, 2009
Last Friday, we went to see the
I think she can still see us...
September 23, 2009
There are times when it rhymes...
September 23, 2009
Multitasking
September 23, 2009
Sometimes one wears many hats…and sometimes one takes them off, too..
Moved to tears...
September 22, 2009
KM gave me a great gift recently…he recorded several episodes of “Rangoli”, a program on
Kavya/Biddles/Eli/GD/Chubbins.....and quilts
September 21, 2009
The more I love someone, the more nicknames that person has…
Navaratri in the New World
September 21, 2009
Though I couldn’t quite summon up the energy to put up any kind of Golu for A, we did visit the home of A and M, who are expecting their first child shortly…the golu was really cute!
St.Louis Symphony Orchestra at Art Hill, Forest Park 170909
September 20, 2009
Read More
Great stuff...
September 18, 2009
Yesterday I went to listen to
Puddle....
September 17, 2009
I just liked what I saw, so I photographed it…this was while waiting for
Thank you <LJ user=anirudhc>
September 17, 2009
It’s so rewarding to visit friends on other blogs too…today, from Ani’s blog, I got this:
Near the Art Fair in Clayton....
September 17, 2009
While we were walking to the Art Fair, I saw this building that can rival equal glass-and-chrome monsters that are now coming up in Bangalore:
Great Horned Owls at Forest Park
September 16, 2009
First: There’s some problem and my photos taken on the 30D are not downloading, so these pics are from my trusty MLC2, and it was VERY low-light, remember…so forgive the grains in the pics…!
I enjoyed this song....
September 16, 2009
While listening to children’s songs, I came across this one:
My recipe for Chai, for <LJ user=inspirethoughts>
September 15, 2009
- IF you want masala chai:
Quitting jobs...
September 15, 2009
Several of my friends have quit their jobs lately…each for a different reason…to pursue another interest, because the job is not to their liking, to pursue higher studies, motherhood, marriage, a better job….
Twilight Images fromForest Park
September 15, 2009
Here are some photographs I like…
Some more number plates....
September 14, 2009
The Cancer Trail
September 14, 2009
Great Design thats not immediately appealing...
September 14, 2009
Would you think something that looks like this would be useful for a small baby?
Wonderful Sunday....
September 14, 2009
Went to see the
The Buddha.....
September 13, 2009
I was struck by the grace and serenity of this statue of the Buddha at the Art Museum:
Some more birds...some common, some not....
September 12, 2009
I was in Forest Park with the Gangue members when I spotted this bird:
Whats ethical?
September 12, 2009
A and I were discussing Charles Ponzi….she had read about him on
The Ambassador Factor
September 11, 2009
I often look at innovative products on the net, for example:
Sale
September 10, 2009
I still cannot understand why there was not a rush for this counter at Walmart yesterday…
Family Wedding...
September 7, 2009
It cannot have been an easy thing to organize a traditional Indian wedding (with the essentials of a
The Call of the Unknown
September 4, 2009
The path leads away…out of sight. Green and inviting, it beckons… Says, “Leave your daily life, Come with me…you will discover something new Unexpected,surprising,intriguing….” Are we able to answer the call? Or we do turn our backs on it? Or…do we pretend we didn’t hear at all?
Innocent Sleep
September 4, 2009
Her eyes tight shut, She sleeps, her mouth in a beautiful bow; Is she dreaming? What do babies dream about? I don’t know…
A couple of hours in Kirkwood, Lake Tahoe...220809
September 3, 2009
As I said
Forgiveness
September 2, 2009
It’s hard enough to forgive others, but forgiving oneself is the hardest of all. I feel small, rotten, and utterly miserable. Can’t yet forgive myself. Why did I do such an idiotic thing? I don’t know. I spoilt my own peace of mind.
Lotoes....
September 2, 2009
Sometimes, toes can be as beautiful as lotuses….
It wasnt ME....
September 2, 2009
I couldn’t use gmail or gtalk, and was– of course– wondering what I was doing wrong…and then DS posted me this:
Fallen Leaf Lake and the Glen Alpine Trail 200809
September 2, 2009
Having not had much success with hiking the previous day, we decided that we would make a more concerted effort to find a trail that would accomodate a perambulator (or a stroller, as it is called here.)
vaLai kAppu or vaLai Adal (putting on bangles for an expectant mother)
August 31, 2009
Approaching motherhood Colours one’s life, one’s thoughts. So it’s fitting That one’s hands and wrists Are filled with colour, too; The rainbows that the little one will soon bring, The good wishes that friends pour into one’s life, And the prayer that the baby will be healthy and happy.
Drongo Cuckoo? Or a Drongo?
August 31, 2009
For some birding friends of mine who, looking at a non-typical tail on a Black Drongo, id’ed it as a Drongo Cuckoo:
Butterfly in our front garden
August 31, 2009
Of course, as usual, I haven’t been able to find a match, so there’s no id, but I am sure some kind reader will tell me what it is….
If youre feeling tired....
August 30, 2009
If you’re feeling tired And you want to park your butt What do you do if the ground is wet And all the parks are shut?
How to spot a bird
August 30, 2009
First, you look at the scenery.
Superb Jugalbandhi
August 28, 2009
Thanks a million to
Emerald Bay,Eagle Falls Trail, and Inspiration Point 190809
August 27, 2009
We did, finally, manage to drive out for a bit of exploration; first, in the Lake Tahoe Basin
Lake Tahoe
August 27, 2009
GD took the two flights (St.Louis to Phoenix, and Phoenix to Reno) very well, and was, in fact, quite playful on the plane:
Not even in this..... (
August 26, 2009
Here I go again.
The Marvellous Toy by Tom Paxton
August 25, 2009
I’ve been collecting songs for The Biddles, aka GD…and here’s one of her father’s childhood favourites that I like too…
The Hummingbirds....
August 24, 2009
You have come to a mountain resort to celebrate a family wedding. Since it’s an Indian wedding, there’s a lot to do. There is also a grand-daughter to be taken care of while your daughter also goes and helps out. The entire family has arrived and are looking forward to spending time together.
Six-Footers at Glen Falls Alpine Trail
August 21, 2009
Today we hiked up the Glen Falls trail….and I just have the time to post these three images:
Stellers Jay in Emerald Bay and Eagle Falls, Lake Tahoe
August 20, 2009
A more detailed post about the incredibly beautiful Lake Tahoe area in California will need more time than I have right now…but here are a few photographs of the
Thunderstorm...
August 18, 2009
I guess I used the words
Biting the Dust
August 17, 2009
Isn’t this a lovely photograph of shadows and light and angles?
Images around the house...
August 17, 2009
Temperatures in the high 90’s, and GD-sitting duties, mean I am housebound most of the day…but I can still prowl around the house with the S10! All these images have been taken from within five feet of the house…
Waqt Nahin...
August 16, 2009
har khushi hai lOgOn ke dAman mEin, par Ek hansi kE liyE waqt nahin. din rAth daudthi duniyA mEin zindagee kE liyE hee waqt nahin.
Why is this?
August 15, 2009
Here’s what
Cyclone Warning...
August 15, 2009
We get these weather maps when cyclones are about to hit….and indeed, we HAVE been hit by Cyclone Kavya, and our lives will never be the same again!
More than clothes tags...
August 14, 2009
…Even more than
Intelligent Conversation
August 13, 2009
Through the day, I am generally alone with The Biddles, as we call GD. Conversation is, of course, of a high intellectual standard. She and I discuss disestablishmentarianism, and go from aardvarks to zygotes…she was one of the latter recently, so she has a lot to say about it.
Kitchen Murder... and Kitchen Wildlife
August 13, 2009
One job in the kitchen that I really hate…. chopping cabbage…I tend to slaughter it….
Even MORE so if that cabbage is red and gives me pink fingers…the process becomes even closer to a killing!
Then why do I do it? I think, "If I hate it so much, how much will another person also dislike it, especially after coming home tired from work, with a baby to feed several times at night!" and I find I can do it after all….
That said, I just love that knife in (one hate to be balanced by one love!) in the picture. When one has a very sharp, good knife, one may fear for the length of one’s fingers….but food preparation is a doddle…well…everything except cabbage, I mean! Cabbage…somehow the chopping sort of multiplies as you cut it in slices, you know what I mean? I slice and chop, slice and chop, slice and chop..then there are the big bits to slice and chop yet again…
I want to know how each of YOU tackles this chopping-cabbage task….
Oh, and we also often have leopard bananas in the kitchen…want to see them?
That banana stand, I am sure, is from
IKEA
…you can also see some ordinary bananas waiting to be hanged, until they are either eaten…or spotted!
And the flowers? I love flowers, I get them whenever I can. The home always has at least 3 vases of flowers!
OK, I stopped the chopping because of an intense desire to share all this with you lot…must finish murdering that cabbage and wash my hands before GD wakes up!
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Images of Summer....
August 12, 2009
Some images that struck me…these were in
Rajanikanth
August 12, 2009
More Rajani one-liners…some of them are priceless…who thinks them up?
The Segway Tour in Forest Park
August 12, 2009
The
Nearly died of worry myself....
August 10, 2009
I got an email from a friend in Chennai, I quote verbatim:
chinna pApA enga chella pApA
August 10, 2009
A song that I heard on my parents’ old record player on the 78RPM records….
Modern Materials...
August 10, 2009
Mrs Bird: I really like these new materials one gets nowadays….the nest is so much sturdier, and it will be more comfortable for the babies too…
Is it the harmonium?
August 9, 2009
I was listening to his beautiful, sad song from “Dil Ek Mandir”:
Lightning...
August 9, 2009
It’s so difficult to get lightning on a camera…because it’s as fast as lightning…! But here’s an image that’s amazing, see it
At last, a working video of parakkum panthu parakkum
August 8, 2009
So many of the songs I look for on YouTube say, “removed due to terms of usage violation”, or “embedding disabled by request”….but finally, I got my “badminton song” (MGR, Saroja Devi), where the rhythm is that of the badminton ball being “pock”ed by the players…
The Moon
August 8, 2009
Television and Prayer Bag
August 7, 2009
Now I defy all of you to make sense of that caption (all except
An open letter to all the airlines
August 7, 2009
Dear Airline Management Solomons:
Jagjit Singh... ghazal....
August 6, 2009
From his latest album, “Inteha”…
Gooooood answers....
August 6, 2009
In
Picnic in Forest Park....
August 6, 2009
It’s lovely to have a large park so close to home…so it’s also easy to pack a picnic lunch and go off on a Sunday, and look for a suitable spot:
Looks...
August 5, 2009
Beauty is but skin-deep, I often like telling myself..mainly because my beauty seems to stop short of even my epidermis. The closest claim I can lay to beauty is when my friends, who see photographs of me when young, exclaim (with great surprise in their voices) “You look good in a PHOTOGRAPH!” or “You looked good when you were young!” I don’t mind the words, but I am NOT happy at the surprise in their voices!
Totally senseless, JFF (Just For Fun) Post....
August 5, 2009
As I said earlier ,
Love and Limbs...
August 5, 2009
Love sometimes goes hand in hand….
The Dome Spider
August 4, 2009
I once posted an image of a three-tier dome web on INW
Bed and Breakfast in Jail....
August 3, 2009
Remember
Have you seen....
August 2, 2009
Have you seen people praying with their feet?
Every day is Friendship Day, for me...
August 2, 2009
Apparently it was Friendship Day a day or two ago (actually, all these days can be called Greeting Card Day or Help Archies or Hallmark Become Rich Day)…to me, every day is a day in which I revel in the friendships that sustain me.
What did we order for the baby?
August 2, 2009
We went and had Chinese food for lunch today…what do you think we ordered for GD?
Touching Base Again....
August 1, 2009
It was interesting, earlier this week, to have
Castlewood State Park,Missouri
July 31, 2009
On Sunday, DnA decided to treat me to a short (short because of GD) hike in Castlewood State Park….and the Park reminded me SO much of the Bannerghatta area that I go to with Geetanjali and co, that I was quite homesick for a bit! One great plus was that there was NO plastic, and one great minus was that there were NO little chai-stalls giving hot little thimble-chais, so delicious and giving us that hot-mouthful boost…
What do you do?
July 31, 2009
What do you do, if you have politically or socially incorrect views?
I wish we had these...
July 30, 2009
I was reading today’s St Louis Post-Dispatch; I always look at the events section, because I often get to go to very interesting events because of that! (That’s how I knew about the glass-blowing event.)
With thanks to Chandan
July 28, 2009
Sandalwood has been a close friend for some time now; he is a childhood friend of
Fuss
July 28, 2009
Today, most unusually, Biddles fussed, and fussed, and fussed…I think the milk was NOT to her liking….I have not had a minute all day, and I am tired! So..no write-worthy thoughts occur to me, except the attraction of that bed upstairs…but she’s smiling up at me so sweetly and cooing…
Glassblowing...a demonstration
July 28, 2009
I’d read in the paper about the
The Importance of Being Third
July 27, 2009
I’ve been watching the Tour de France every day, and watched
Choice...what does it mean?
July 27, 2009
I walked back with today’s New York Times, and the front page had
Im rich Im rich
July 24, 2009
I thought Gmail never let anything like this get into my inbox, but today someone managed to give me the good news, in spite of those evil people at Google who filter out all such good fortune!
Do Animals Have Ethics?
July 24, 2009
Watch this video:
Uh,Oh...
July 23, 2009
On an egroup to which I belong, someone had typed, “XYZ gets invited too the ABC event”. And someone found fault with that…here’s what the second someone said:
Why are Tamizh film songs so badly posted on the net?
July 23, 2009
I wanted to get the song, “kaNNan varuvAn kathai solluvAn” from the movie “PanchavarNa kiLi”, on the net. No luck. All I get are interminably boring conversations between some vague music fans..when I try the YouTube, I got this:
Some more stuff from my walks.....
July 23, 2009
As I walk in Forest Park, so many images fall on my mind’s eye, and only a few of them are on camera. This post is mostly for myself, to look at later and recreate those magical evenings when the light melted into the purple dusk, the air held a hush, and I felt totally at peace….
A Leaf Is A Calendar, But Sometimes....
July 21, 2009
I have always found it interesting that in India, leaves are red and lack chlorphyll when they are young and new; whereas in the US, it is the dying leaves that turn glorious colours. But whichever way it is, leaves act as calendars…if you see a picture of your American friend, with multi-coloured leaf-filled trees in the background, you know it is the fall season there.
Forty years since we landed on the moon....
July 21, 2009
I remember being stuck to our old “Murphy” valve radio, listening with all my being, as the words from the first man on the moon came through…with an important word deleted.
Three birds in about eight minutes....
July 20, 2009
Today, I was a little homesick, and I didn’t get up in time for my morning walk… so I decided that I would spend some time in Forest Park as the weather was just lovely. I packed a couple of sandwiches and some tomato juice, and after tramping around…
The Muny, Forest Park...and the great people Ive met there
July 20, 2009
Read More
OK, <LJ user=beast_666>....
July 18, 2009
Here are some I took a couple of days ago in Forest Park…first let’s have the decals:
Awake and Asleep...
July 18, 2009
Presenting Big Chief Half-Indian…complete with “Head….Dress”!
This phrase...
July 16, 2009
I have seen only Indians using the words, “your end”…as in “What’s happening at your end?” or “Hope everything’s OK at your end”.
From the Air...
July 16, 2009
I really love taking photographs while the aircraft is in the air; one can get some remarkable effects with light, the clouds, and the sun and moon. Here are a few that I got while going to LA and returning to St Louis. However, I realize that the aircraft window adds a blue filter to the photographs, and I don’t know how to compensate for it.
Posting in the future...
July 16, 2009
I post something at 6am U.S. Central Time, and (since my LJ dates my post with IST) it’s dated 4.30pm ….11.5 hours into the future! Wow, if I’m existing at both 6am and 4.30pm simultaneously, that’s surreal…
That word...
July 16, 2009
I have come to dislike the way the word “authentic” is used. Nine times out of ten, it means the exact opposite of what it’s supposed to mean. When one says that the stage settings are very authentic, or that someone recreated an authentic ambience in a restaurant, we mean that the fake looks like the real…
A way with words...
July 16, 2009
These are supposed to be written by kids at school; I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I enjoyed them…
Incident on American Airlines Flight 1716
July 16, 2009
I was on American Airlines Flight 1716, from Los Angeles to St Louis, non-stop, on the 13th of July, 2009.
We are the influential ones...
July 14, 2009
I went to the Cypress College Theater to attend the arangEtram (first stage performance) of my niece, and on one of the stage doors, what do I see but this..
Some more number plates or licence plates or whatever they are called in this country....
July 11, 2009
I took these as I took my morning wlk:
Some common insects..
July 10, 2009
A macro lens makes you look at the insect world…with fresh eyes. I may never take the kind of wonderful pictures that
Creve Coeur Lake, 080709
July 10, 2009
Last Sunday, DnA’s running group went to Creve Coeur Lake…here’s a view:
For <LJ user=amoghavarsha>
July 10, 2009
To a dear friend who’s taken the rough with the smooth….
Biggest, smallest, fastest, slowest....
July 9, 2009
Why are we so obseesed with “ests”?
Granny Song
July 7, 2009
Art and Sculpture
July 5, 2009
It’s very enjoyable to see a lot of art and sculpture as I walk around (before or after Forest Park, I walk around the University City area.)
Murphy is my companion
July 4, 2009
Yesterday,I wanted to see the fireworks at the Gateway Arch, but knew that Biddles would not like the noise, so DnA told me that there was a vantage spot at the top of the steps of Washington U. So we decided to have Chinese food and then go there. Some friends also joined us.
For my American friends on July 4th
July 4, 2009
I suddenly decided, if I could make “kOlams” for our festivals, why not one for Independence Day?
Sunset in Forest Park...
July 3, 2009
The sun starts dipping towards the west…
The awful insincerity of advertising...
July 2, 2009
I cannot understand the fact that advertisements are now totally associated in our minds with fiction…we treat them as a form of entertainment, and often remember ads even when we don’t remember the products they are supposed to be promoting.
Buildings and birds...
July 2, 2009
Here are two snaps that I like; they are both of birds on buildings, but it’s the photographs that I like…
Its bug season...
July 1, 2009
The fireflies put on their light-without-sound show every evening, and yesterday, one of them got into the house. I did a catch-and-release, but before the release part, I took a photograph:
What she was actually thinking...
June 30, 2009
Two months old today....caution, AWW post
June 30, 2009
Where does her appeal lie? In her cheek, or in her eye? Can someone tell me why I feel so strong a tie As she listens (wide awake) to my lullaby?
I got all straight As....
June 29, 2009
On LJ, as on other social networking/blogging sites, “friends” need not always be friends, I heard someone say. But for me, that doesn’t work. Friends have to be friends. Most of my LJ friends are actually people whom I have met face-to-face, whether before or after they have become my friends on LJ. And many, whom I have not met, I email or call on a personal basis!
Milan
June 28, 2009
What will they do When they meet again? Walk quietly in the park. Let the silences speak. Hold hands in the dark. Let happiness wash off the pain Of separation. Shed a few tears. Trembling, emotional,weak, Speak of their fears That their meeting would be too Tough after the preparation. Find each other the same. Whisper each other’s name. Experience a little bliss As they exchange a kiss. Let one’s joy pour into the other’s heart Erase the pain of having been apart.
I walked today...
June 28, 2009
…well, after my usual morning walk, I came back with the papers, and read in the St Louis Post-Dispatch that there would be a walk to help defeat ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease …the most famous person suffering from this disease is Stephen Hawking , which shows how important it is to find some treatment or cure for this disease.
Guided walk in Forest Park
June 26, 2009
Having walked all over Forest Park when I read in the local newspaper that there would be a guided walking tour in the Park, I could not miss the opportunity
Michael Jackson, 1958-2009
June 26, 2009
http://www.z100.com/cc-common/news/sections/special/michaeljackson/
Squirrels....
June 25, 2009
I know squirrels are extremely common animals, and are sometimes regarded as pests, but they are so interesting to watch!
Downy Woodpecker
June 25, 2009
Sometimes I don’t need to go into Forest Park at all, to see interesting birds…it so happened that this morning I decided to take along MLC2 (the weather seemed Not Rainy and Not Too Humid) and it was great, as I saw three DOWNY WOODPECKERS jumping around on a tree-trunk, on the Metro Rail bank, near a bridge that I was crossing…..I managed to get a FP (Foozly Photograph) of one:
The Amstutzes at El Portal
June 24, 2009
Folks..meet Karen of Crane Creek, El Portal, Yosemite National Park.
Another Country in Forest Park
June 23, 2009
We were driving through Forest Park when I realized that this was a bird I was familiar with, but hadn’t seen before in the US:
Gardening...some original thoughts
June 22, 2009
Gardening, said my daughter, cannot be called a creative or green pursuit.
My baby and hers
June 21, 2009
Images from a walk
June 21, 2009
I have stopped taking MLC2 out with me on my morning walk these days….it’s summer, and I have to leave really early to get back before the temperature rises to uncomfortable levels, and I don’t feel all that safe to be carting it around. But a few days ago, I did, and here are some random things that I caught…
My brother...and Ananda Shankar
June 20, 2009
My brother was a very talented mridangam player, and if he had put his mind to it, he could (I’m not saying it because he was my brother) have become one of the top players in Carnatic music…but he was too easy-going for that.
Technology....
June 19, 2009
Incredible, the way technology allowed us, sitting in the porch of a house in St Louis, to watch, live, the annual ceremony for my brother…we saw the puja, the food being served on plantain leaves, several of the guests stepped over and said hello, and they were able to see Eli, too….
A few more lousy shots of birds in Forest Park
June 19, 2009
I got what I thought was another Black-Crowned Night Heron, but no…it was the YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON .
One year ago...
June 19, 2009
My thoughts are, more than ever, back home today…because in Chennai it is tomorrow… and a year ago, I drove down to see a bundle of clothes .
Motherhood...and Motherfood....
June 19, 2009
I realize that half of humanity will not empathize with this post; but “parenthood” is NOT the same as motherhood.
Floating Lights...
June 19, 2009
Remember my post about fireflies ? Well, here’s the video version…
More Human Beings on the Yosemite Trip...and two bridal veils....
June 18, 2009
While talking about human beings at Yosemite I completely forgot to talk about the fact that Yosemite seems a very popular spot to get married in! Just like my post about photo shoots in Forest Park, we saw this beautiful bride having a photo shoot while we were walking:
Human Beings at Yosemite
June 17, 2009
Well, one does also document the human presence at all points….! Here are a few images of the most successful mammal (in terms of breeding and presence) on earth…
Scenes from Yosemite....
June 17, 2009
These images truly took my breath away; I do love the mountains and the streams, The springs and the snow. With all the trappings of men, These scenes are yet pristine and clear. It takes me to when the rivers’ flow Was not dammed and broken. In my dreams I take the unfrequented ways Filled with flowers, Nature’s token Of benison for creatures here. It was not a time when Man had left his mark on the lands, Or wandered over the country in large despoiling bands. These images make me sleep… And dream of Paradise that’s still ours to keep. Nature’s not kind, but always fair; Those who are the fittest can survive… Breathe the free, pure air, Flourish, and thrive.
Plants and flowers of Yosemite
June 16, 2009
Thanks to Karen, I was able to id some of the wildflowers that grow in the Yosemite Park; they were so varied in colour, shape and size!
Other creatures at Yosemite....
June 15, 2009
The creatures of Yosemite are varied in size and appearance, and we got to see very few of them; but what we did see was fascinating!
The birds of Yosemite
June 14, 2009
I wondered if I should do a day-by-day account of the trip, but then decided that it won’t be easy…I would probably mix up everything and give wrong information as usual…so here are some of the creatures of Yosemite…
Yosemite.....
June 14, 2009
Here’s the sign that said that Yosemite Valley, and Tuolumne Meadows are not too far off, on my recent visit to Yosemite:
The Kestrel again....
June 13, 2009
It was dusk. I was walking back from the Farmers’ Market; I had a gallon of milk and several vegetables to carry, so it wasn’t a great time for photography… at Delmar Station, I heard a high “cheeking” noise, and looked up to see the KESTREL, hovering in the air, making the noise.
Making ones point
June 12, 2009
On a mailing list to which I belong, there has been a discussion of “top-“ and “bottom-posting”…that is, when replying to an email, whether one should type one’s responses over the reply, or under it.
Someone gave this example of how top-posting can be confusing:
Number Plate Saga...
June 12, 2009
If you are a qualified professional….
Boating in Forest Park
June 11, 2009
We decided to take Eli (who has somehow become Biddles or Biddly) to Forest Park for an outing, and D had the idea of going boating. So that’s what we did…how we managed to put her baby carriage in the boat, feed her, change her in the paddleboat (where two people pedal like crazy) is a different story!
Delight in the twilight...
June 10, 2009
KM and I walked down to the History Museum to hear the Twilight Tuesday concert, but it had been cancelled due to the heavy rain.
Loved this one too...
June 10, 2009
Thank you,
Love Lullaby....
June 10, 2009
Loved the melody of this song, though I canNOT understand this “dark skin is inferior to fair skin” that is implicit in Kamal Hasan’s dark shoe-polished face.
The Thunderstorm
June 9, 2009
This morning, it seemed quite cloudy, but it didn’t rain up to nearly 6.30am, so off I went for my walk…and at 7 am, when I was in the middle of Forest Park, and the only shelter was the trees under which one must NOT shelter in a thunderstorm, it broke.
The Yosemite post is taking a long time...so heres a Wildlife in Forest Park post
June 9, 2009
I want all my chosen pics up on my photobucket site before making the Yosemite post, but it’s taking a very long time because of so many reasons:
The scale of Yosemite....
June 7, 2009
I zoomed in and out for this video, from the slope on the hillside that we were standing on; this is the continuation of the road, and the whole slope seems to have had a major landslide at some point of time.
Preventive Padding...
June 7, 2009
OK, this is a Baby Post so those not interested can move on. Yes, there is the Aw Factor too.
A raptor in St Louis
June 7, 2009
The day before I left for Yosemite, I decided to go for an evening walk, and hoped to see a Red-Tailed Hawk. I was unlucky with that, but as if to make up, on my way home I looked up…
Even American Shoppers Realize....
June 5, 2009
Written in the snow.....
June 4, 2009
It was great to see Oriental languages in the snow at Yosemite…
Virus Warning )
June 3, 2009
From a friend:
Separation
June 3, 2009
Can you feel my hand in yours When we are apart? When separated by the miles, and worse, Can you hear my words? Do they resound in your heart? If you feel my hand in the touch of the breeze And my sounds in that of my beloved birds, Then… our separation will cease… Our togetherness will start.
Where I was over the weekend (hint it took me the whole of Monday to fly back to St L)
June 2, 2009
Flowers..and feeling at home...
May 29, 2009
Yesterday evening, there was a thunderstorm and guess what happened…the power was switched off, and stayed that way for a few hours! I felt that I was right back in Bangalore….
The sun and the stars....
May 28, 2009
The sun goes down…
One cycling event we cannot have in Bangalore....
May 28, 2009
I spotted this poster in the University City Library yesterday:
My own initiative, with a different name...
May 28, 2009
For several years now, I have been a proponent of what I call the WBC..(Walk,Bus,Cycle)…so it was very nice to see the St Louis Metro also having a similar initiative:
Its often me, not them...
May 28, 2009
When I approach a problem with my own prejudices and preconceptions slanting my view, the solution is hard to find…
Fishing in Des Peres Creek
May 27, 2009
Here’s a GREAT EGRET in Des Peres creek in Forest Park, making a fine catch one day:
Those who can...please attend...and think of me
May 27, 2009
http://kalyan.livejournal.com/247389.html
Some more birds on my morning walk....
May 27, 2009
This morning, I was walking and thinking about the baseball team that’s named after the RED CARDINAL :
Memorial Day....
May 27, 2009
Memorial Day, in the USA, is a day when one is supposed to remember the fallen soldiers who have laid down their lives for America. (It’s another matter that, like on Gandhi Jayanti in India, many people spend it holidaying…)
More SOTW (Spotted On The Walks) Stuff
May 26, 2009
I found this cross spray-painted on the footpath sidewalk as I walked:
Shakespeare in the Park
May 24, 2009
I walked down to Forest Park, looking at the cotton candy that I could not eat…
Another bird.....
May 23, 2009
Setting out for my walk this morning, I saw this flock of birds sitting, rather far away, on the top of a tree:
Love in its many forms...and love and gender
May 23, 2009
I read some great words when
The Guy Who Made Lemonade
May 23, 2009
“When life hands you lemons….”
Question and Answer
May 23, 2009
Q. When I gave you this advice,
Natures Mathematics
May 22, 2009
Loved the Fibonacci sequence on this pine cone:
The ridiculousness of these tags...
May 22, 2009
I remember, a few years ago,
Dont watch this if you are squeamish...
May 21, 2009
Read More
Concerts in Forest Park
May 21, 2009
I had been seeing announcements of the concerts on Tuesday evenings at Forest Park , but got to go only yesterday.
The Concrete Cauliflower has turned to MUSH
May 20, 2009
It’s awful. Idiotic.
More birds in Forest Park
May 19, 2009
I seem to have left these birds out of the list of the Forest Park birds…
jO vAdA kiyA vOh nibhAnA padEygA...Taj Mahal
May 19, 2009
I was listening to the songs on a playlist sent to me by
Another morning, another walk...
May 19, 2009
As I opened the front door, this HOUSE FINCH (thanks for the correct id,
Topless Supermodel
May 19, 2009
Q.
The Green Heron
May 18, 2009
Yesterday, I took my 12-year-old nephew from Florida to the Zoo to see the stingrays; he was delightful about being ready on time, and didn’t complain about the walk at all, which is about 2.5 miles each way, I think…and I told him that on the way, I would pause if I saw any “interesting” birds. He got quite interested in the birds he was seeing, and mentioned that they didn’t see the American Robin in Florida; he kept asking about each bird, “Is it common?” and he laughed when I told him that the Grackle was called the Common Grackle! “Then why are they not called Common Starling and Common Robin and Common Pigeon?” he asked logically!
Quickly named...
May 17, 2009
The stretch of Delmar Boulevard from Skinker has been re-named:
Reflections...
May 16, 2009
Uncle and Niece....
May 16, 2009
A’s cousin P has come over to visit, and was thrilled to hold K:
The weather....
May 16, 2009
The clouds built up the thunderheads today; it did remind me a lot of the monsoon; the gusting winds, the lightning, and the sudden coolness…..
From the LJ of <LJ user=gaur36>
May 15, 2009
http://gaur36.livejournal.com/96568.html?view=59704#t59704
Two birds that I saw in Forest Park
May 15, 2009
I was walking to see the Stingray exhibit in the St Louis Zoo, and on the way, I spotted the KILLDEER (what a funny name, that wiki says that’s what their call sounds like!):
St Louis Sunrise
May 14, 2009
It’s going to be raining the next few days, but this morning I was able to go for my walk, but the sun scudded through the clouds….
Stingrays in St Louis Zoo
May 14, 2009
I still manage to get news from the daily newspaper rather than the Internet, and from the St Louis Post-Dispatch that there would be a Stingray exhibit at the Zoo…and when I went there last week, it hadn’t yet opened….so yesterday, I looked it up on the net and the exhibit was on…and it was free for the first hour of the Zoo’s opening.
Clear opinions....
May 13, 2009
Even when providing a service (in this case, selling cigarettes), one can make one’s opinion known…
Morning walk...
May 13, 2009
I read in the newspaper (which I go out and buy every day) that for the first hour of the Zoo’s opening, the Stingray exhibit would be free (entry after 10 am is $3, which is not much, especially when compared to the $35 per-person ticket at San Diego Zoo ), I decided to combine it with my morning walk in Forest Park.
The End...
May 11, 2009
Someone sent me a terse email, with just these few words: “we are NOT friends”. No background, no CLUE what happened so suddenly. No explanations, nothing….nothing…
Walks.....
May 11, 2009
I do love the walks I take; Forest Park is a beautiful place, but I like walking around the neighbourhoods, too. This evening, to walk off the excessively heavy masala dosa and upma that we all had at the St Louis temple, I went for a long evening walk too….
Thank you <LJ user=premkudva>, for wasting my time....
May 10, 2009
The Blogalyser reveals...
Your blog/web page text has an overall readability index of 12.
This suggests that your writing style is conventional
(to communicate well you should aim for a figure between 10 and 20).Your blog has 15 sentences per entry, which suggests your general message is distinguished by verbosity
(writing for the web should be concise).
CHARACTER MATRIX<table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=2>
Your text shows characteristics which are 57% male and 43% female
(for more information see the Gender Genie).
Looking at pronoun indicators, you write mainly about yourself, then the world in general and finally your social circle. Also, your writing focuses primarily on the present, next the past and lastly the future.
</small>
Find out what your blogging style is like!
Progression.....
May 10, 2009
First the skies give the signal…
A quiz for you....
May 9, 2009
What is common to these pictures?
Children...
May 8, 2009
A friend from Bangalore has just come over (yes, the 4.5 hour drive each way went BEAUTIFULLY, especially because it was KM who went into the wrong exits, and missed turns, NEVER me! I can crow about it endlessly now.) and DnA, who had gone shopping, came back and A went to change her.
Differences....
May 7, 2009
Systems work differently in the US and in India, and when one gets used to them,life becomes easier. A simple point of illustration is driving in both countries.
Two incidents....
May 7, 2009
After the paediatrician’s appointment (Eli is doing absolutely fine!), I decided to walk home, so I cut across Forest Park and on the way, I was accosted by a well-dressed man who looked indefinably, but definitely, Indian.
Suspicion
May 6, 2009
Suspicion..is a terrible thing. It follows no rationality; when once a suspicion takes root in someone’s mind, s/he no longer can think things out properly, or get a proper perspective on facts. Only the suspicion remains in the person’s mind, looming large and blotting out all logical thinking.
Coincidentally....
May 6, 2009
We went to the Missouri Baptist Hospital today for A, and on the way in, we saw this sad sight, of a dead bird…
The ThooLi (Warning...this is an AWWWWWW post)
May 6, 2009
DnA (as they call themselves) have decided to let the baby sleep in a “thooLi”. What’s that, I hear my non-Tamizh friends ask. And if they are not asking, they are going to get the answer anyway.
Picture of Domestic Felicity....
May 4, 2009
Yes, I do know doves in St Louis are plentiful to the point of becoming pests (like rock pigeons are in Bangalore)…but still, at the Botanical Center, when I saw this sight, it felt very nice indeed!
Mockingbird practising various bird calls
May 4, 2009
The Northern Mockingbird is so called because it “mocks”, or imitates, the calls of other birds. We had a great opportunity of listening to one of these birds, practising, when we went for a walk to Forest Park last week.
Chinese Jugglers, Botanical Center, St Louis, 260409
May 4, 2009
We went to see the Chinese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Center, and here’s the video of the jugglers…
Do you want to grab a coffee? Or some attention?
May 2, 2009
On the Loop, a coffee shop had this exhibit on the pavement sidewalk….
Why nurses will never be doctors, usually...
May 2, 2009
The refrigerator in the hospital nurses station can be used to store patients’ food, and the condition is that food will be thrown away after 24 hours…so I had marked 30th April on the sticker.
Ladys Fingers
May 1, 2009
Birds in Forest Park
May 1, 2009
Earlier, I had made
Daughters daughter
April 30, 2009
She lies all wrapped up A bundle of sleep With cheeks softer than a bird’s down. Her eyes open and then close; Her face works into a limpid gaze.. And then into a red-faced frown.
How many ...
April 30, 2009
How many steps is a walk in the park When that walk is without a friend? Without a friend, even a very short walk Seems tiring and without an end.
What Elephant Dung can be Used For...
April 30, 2009
http://gizmodo.com/5233897/spying-lions-with-elephant-poop
Bengalooru Banter
April 30, 2009
Thank you, Das, for sending this to me!
The Amur (Siberian) Tigers at St Louis Zoo
April 30, 2009
Since the hospital was not ready to take in A as rooms were not free, I went off (with KM) to Forest Park for a long walk, and to see the five (yes, five!) Siberian tiger cubs that celebrated their first birthday yesterday. The big cat breeding program has been very successful in St Louis Zoo; I have already written about their success at breeding cheetahs.
Slight Design Improvements that God could make...
April 30, 2009
If babies could come with
Tarantaraaaaaaaa......here they are...
April 30, 2009
Here are DnA, along with my little GD (She Who Is Yet To Be Named):
Little Details...
April 30, 2009
Only A’s food (as the “patient”) would be free, we’d have to pay for our food, we realized…and we didn’t know what the food would taste like, so we packed our lunches yesterday….KM and I, being good TamBrams, each took along a 6 inch Sub.. and our white American son-in-law…packed curds and rice and mango pickle, and beans sabji!
Addition by Multiplication
April 29, 2009
At precisely 9.00 AM (central time) on 29 April,2009, DnA’s little daughter came into the world naturally. She is 20 inches tall and weights 7.124 lbs (3.14 kgs.). Mother and daughter are doing fine. Baby has a LOUD voice. :)
oh, no, not quite that quickly...
April 28, 2009
I was up at 5 am, getting ready so that we could leave for the hospital by 6.30 am (there’s always that last-minute rush for the hot water!) and at 5.30 am, we get a call from the hospital, saying that many women came into the hospital in a state of advanced labour, so elective procedures like inducement of labour had been postponed…so DnA will probably get a call only this evening or tomorrow morning (more likely). All dressed and nowhere to go…DnA went right back to sleep but me, the insomniac…I went for a nice long walk!
Wonderful weekend...
April 28, 2009
We had a packed weekend, on Sunday, we went to see the Chinese festival and parade in the Missouri Botanical Center, and the show was very good indeed. Then our daughter picked us up and took us for a drive downtown, and this was the first time that I clicked all the touristy images of the Gateway Arch …
The Saddest Part of Today....
April 26, 2009
We went to visit Grant’s Farm , where the home of Ulysses Grant is preserved, and there is a kind of mini-zoo, too; it’s a very “family” place, and since it was the first really hot day of spring, the strollers were out with the baby-strollers!
Talk about bird-brained....
April 26, 2009
The nesting instinct, they say, is an utter imperative; the propogation of the species, and reproduction, is too great an urge to be ignored.
Very funny...
April 25, 2009
My posts are dated in the future…it’s still the 24th over here, but since my laptop in on India time, I get tomorrow’s date on today’s post!
Macro on the Fuji Finepix
April 24, 2009
I must say, KM does his homework pretty thoroughly before buying even a point and shoot. I was playing around with the macro function on this tiny point and shoot, and liked the results a lot:
Heres wishing You, <lj user=yathin>
April 24, 2009
To Y, of Y!, who is, today, probably at Y (Yosemite)…..
This ones for <LJ user=beast_666>
April 23, 2009
I have heard of “bespoke tailors” and “bespoke wine merchants” to the Queen, but this is the first time I have seen a bespoke car!
The next CB (Common Bird)
April 21, 2009
I didn’t have to go anywhere for this one, s/he came and sat on the tree in the yard of the house almost opposite ours….I didn’t dare to step out in my jammies, took it from my porch!
Homes and Gardens....and a Bird
April 21, 2009
I went for a nice walk this afternoon; it was getting cloudy and chilly, but it was LOVELY to walk along. I decided to take KM’s Fuji Finepix and it’s an amazing camera.
Sriharsha Ganjam....
April 21, 2009
Harsha is someone I got to know through INW and I have also found him to have a great sense of humour, so we often exchange both images and a few lines of laughter!
Long journey halfway across the world
April 21, 2009
One of the things I love doing on a plane ride is to have the map of the route in front of me…this time, as usual, it was lovely to see exotic names slipping past, and bringining up memories of our visits to those places…..Ispahan, Shiraz, Teheran, and so on….the Alps made a beautiful backdrop to our right….I remember freezing on the Jungfrau, visiting Mt Titlis, Hotel St Gotthard….I remember the tiny prinipality of Leichstenstein, and visiting Vaduz….our world travelling has come down sharply in the past years, because of the imperative to visit the USA every year (there’s only so much time, and money, that one can spare for Transatlantic travel!)…but the memories rushed back as I flew high above the countries that I had once seen and enjoyed visiting.
Valley School (finishing the Summer Birding Sessions for 2009)
April 18, 2009
The BULBs (Bangalore Urban Lady Birders) said they would like an outing to Valley School this morning…I am a member in good standing….so off I went, too!
Things that I will miss...
April 17, 2009
Easy access to excellent, non-fattening food and filter coffee in the shot-size serving that lets me have a piping hot mouthful without worrying about either calories or caffeine intake
Chandus wish for our journey....
April 17, 2009
Chandu wrote:
The evening light....
April 17, 2009
Much has been spoken about the morning light for photography, but sometimes, the evening light is also just wonderful. The sky itself takes on a luminous glow and slowly the brightness fades from the air….hues of pink and mauve slowly shade down to purples and indigos….the coolness of the air after the heat of the day, and the sense of the day’s work done, add to the sense of peace and serenity.
Departure time is nearing...
April 17, 2009
People are calling and coming over and spending a lot of time with us as we prepare to leave. And…this is also a problem. Both of us love having the visitors, and we chat a lot, and the time spent with friends is very, every enjoyable…but when are we supposed to get our packing done?
Kukkerahalli Kere (Lake) Mysore, 110409
April 16, 2009
I took a sudden decision to go and show my camera to Mr K U Varghese, whom I had met on the INW meet, and ask him for a final opinion on my dear departed MLC, and also meet Madhusmita, and do some birding as well, at Kukkerahalli Lake….
Valley School, 120409 (Sunday)
April 16, 2009
We decided that we would go to Valley School on Sunday, and it was a bonus while on our way there, Chandu called up, saying that he and three of his friends were also headed there! I may have seen no lifers, but it was a wonderful morning, and Anush, Madhusmita, Jayashree and I certainly saw a lot of unusual things, if not unusual birds….
The Photo-Shoot Shot....
April 15, 2009
I got a call from Prasad , a freelance photographer who has moved to Bangalore from his native Hyderabad, and we fixed up 11am on Sunday as the time for the photo shoot. Prasad was very punctual indeed, but I don’t think he was prepared to be photographed in his turn!
Some more stuff from Nandi Hills...
April 15, 2009
I didn’t click too many pictures of flowers, trees and fruit, we were so busy with the birds….but here are some ones that did catch my eye.
Another beautiful ghazal.....
April 14, 2009
Wonderful song…
Nandi Hills Bird Feast, 110409
April 14, 2009
Things have been so hectic that I have not been able to post…can you imagine that!
Awake...and Asleep
April 11, 2009
The Lalbagh Heritage Walk writeup on Citizen Matters
April 9, 2009
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/blogs/show_entry/989
What would be the right thing to do?
April 9, 2009
Recently, in Kaziranga, a charging tusker killed a Dutch tourist, though the tourist group was with an armed guard.
Somewhere far away, when the day draws to a close....
April 8, 2009
I love the gentle melancholy of this song…
An analysis of heritage walks that I really liked writing....
April 7, 2009
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/981-bengaluru-heritage-walks
Affection, Love, Commitment,Loneliness.....
April 7, 2009
It’s all very well to say, profoundly, “alone I came into this world and alone I will go” (even the first part of that sentence would be untrue if one was a twin or a triplet…)but…we do need people. No man is an island (except the Isle of Man.)We thrive, and grow, and shape ourselves only by our interactions with others…the people whom we like, love, hate, tolerate…
Diapers...Maturity...Wisdom....Lots of Each Required....
April 7, 2009
I am absolutely petrified…just barely able to move my fingers to type this post of my fears….
A song about love and sex....
April 6, 2009
I love this song from “kAthalikka nEramillai”…
The Banded Kukri, Valley School, 050409
April 5, 2009
As we were returning from the birding session, we found this Banded Kukri (thank you, Seshadri, for the id!)on the path:
The death of the MLC....
April 5, 2009
I got a call from the Canon Service Centre yesterday; apparently, after replacing the zoom unit, they found the camera still wouldn’t work, and needed a couple of more (read expensive) things replaced as well. The young woman who called said that the cost would now cross 12K.
Two macro shots...
April 5, 2009
Have been trying out the macro function on the 300mm lens lately….
Bannerghatta....again....wonderful morning
April 4, 2009
Today we went as an all-woman group to the Bannerghatta area beyond the large quarry, and later to the Zoo area…and the sightings were amazing, including an Egyptian Vulture, a Short-Toed Snake Eagle, a rufous male Paradise Flycatcher, White-Browed Fantail Flycatcher, the Tickell’s Blue, a Blue-Capped Rock Thrush and so on and on and on…..
A good guide to buying a camera....
April 3, 2009
Thank you,
A new symbol for the Rupee
April 3, 2009
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/rupeesurvey.cms
Aha..someones interested in ME
April 3, 2009
I think (I am not sure) I had mentioned a few months ago, that “Harmony”, a magazine for Senior Citizens, had asked me if they could interview me about my cycling….and today, a sweet-sounding (they always sound sweet if they allow me to talk about myself!) Rajashri Balaram called me up from Mumbai to ask me about how I cycle.
The Glow Worms were at Nanda Park again..
April 1, 2009
We went, after Karthik’s alert, to see the glow-worms again this year:
Sumin....
March 30, 2009
After a hard, back-breaking day, I got back home in time for nothing useful or productive, so decided that today was the day I was going to Start Swimming. And so off I went to our little poolette….
JLRNTP-1, March 27,28,29,2009
March 30, 2009
I went, as usual, to meet all the people who took the NTP….this time, there has been a full contingent (the accomodation at the Bannerghatta property of JLR is 8 X 2, and 17 people had registered, which meant that three of the young women have had to share one tent!
Kannada New Year...
March 27, 2009
My poor MLC...
March 26, 2009
Mr Thomas finally said he couldn’t get spares for my wonderful MLC, the Canon S3 IS…so I am off to the Canon Service Centre on Brigade Road, to see if THEY can get whatever part it is that needs to be replaced….
Odds, anyone?
March 25, 2009
If you were the driver (or the “cleaner”) of a lorry, what would you do with this box?
Conducting an Interview....is like white-water rafting, sometimes
March 25, 2009
I have been, quite intensely, on the phone with someone whom I am interviewing…for the past 45 minutes.
A Cashewal Post....
March 24, 2009
I suddenly decided to take Madhusmita, a friend whom I met on the JLRNTP egroup, and who has become quite close, to the Bannerghatta Zoo area this morning…..
Scenes from Bannerghatta Forest area, 210309
March 23, 2009
Though the birds kept us occupied, our mission (Ramesh, Geetanjai, Anush and I…all NTP members) was to try and identify a village to develop homestays in, and to try and develop bird trails and train some of the village youth to act as bird guides, giving them both revenue and a reason to protect the birds and the environment. We have been somewhat successful…
Birds from the Bannerghatta Forest Area, 210309
March 23, 2009
Every time I visit the Bannerghatta Forest area (as distinct from the Bannerghatta Zoo/Butterfly Park area), I see so many birds; last time the raptor sighting that had me in raptors raptures was the Marsh Harrier; this time it was this beautiful SHORT-TOED SNAKE EAGLE soaring overhead:
Vaseegara....
March 23, 2009
Got that lovely song, “VaseegarA”, on YouTube….
A snap of the fingers....
March 23, 2009
I watched a song on an old Tamizh movie, where (of course) the hero snaps his fingers at the heroine….
The Dancer in the Clouds...
March 21, 2009
While at Ragihalli, I took a picture of what I thought was a dancer in the clouds, trailing a glorious train of light…
Ragihalli,150309
March 20, 2009
As we were returning from Bannerghatta, my NTP friend Ramesh called me up and asked me if I would like to go to Ragihalli on Sunday morning…would I not! However, the Saturday gang could not make it, and so it was only Anush,Neelu and I who accompanied Ramesh to both Ragihalli sheet rock, and the Ragihalli village pond, not to mention piping-hot idlis at the Ragihalli centre-of-the-village eatery….!
Bannerghatta, 140309
March 20, 2009
Last Saturday was a great day; Veena wanted several of her friends to come along for a birding trip, so we all went to Bannerghatta …
The official account and pictures of the Malleswaram Heritage Walk
March 18, 2009
http://bcp.wikidot.com/city-walks:malleswaram
We have to undress on some egroups now...
March 17, 2009
From one of the nature-centric egroups that I belong to:
Hoppy Birdie....
March 17, 2009
Here’s Mr KM, with the monkey balloon that I bought him (for various obscure reasons)….
Kannada Katte in Basavanagudi....
March 16, 2009
It was a “heritage” experience….
Two signboards at Bannerghatta....
March 14, 2009
We detest plastic, through and through….
Ma Look Theres a whole new world out there
March 14, 2009
Of course we went to Bannerghatta again today….there were 9 of us…thank, you, Veena, for bringing along Deepak,Jyoti, Manohar, and Puneeth….and we were the LJ gang…
That mark above the number 1 on the keyboard....
March 13, 2009
Someone just said that “X asked me how to type that explanation mark, the one above the numeral 1 on the keyboard.”
A compliment I received today
March 13, 2009
Someone sent me an email…
HUGE indiscretion
March 13, 2009
I thought I was posting some information about one person to another, both of whom are undergoing a lot of difficulties… and posted it to a whole egroup….I am feeling utterly miserable. This is the kind of damage that I cannot undo; and to talk more about it would only make it worse.
flowers as calendars
March 12, 2009
I looked at this photograph of some passion flowers that I took at Valley School:
The next Naturalists Training Program (level 1) at JLR Bannerghatta
March 11, 2009
I don’t need to mention how I value the NTP that I took in March 2006. It’s given me access to Karthik’s immense knowledge, and brought me a lot of on-the-net and face-to-face friends, all of whom have unstintingly helped me in my learning about birds and wildlife.
Article on the Murals at JLR Bandipur
March 11, 2009
An article I wrote some time ago:
BOS2 (Bannerghatta On Saturday, Two)
March 10, 2009
Last Saturday I couldn’t find anyone with a car for birding, so
K sera sera...
March 9, 2009
When I went to the Malleswaram Heritage Walk, my beloved MLC fell to the ground, and though it was in a bag, it still broke…and the camera guy told me that it would cost “more than 3K” (that more-than sounds ominous!)….
The C part of WBC
March 7, 2009
I am an active proponent of WBC…that is,Walk, Bus,Cycle…and avoid the car! Here’s an email I wrote today to the Bangalore Bikers’ (as in Bicyclers’) Club:
The Malleswaram Heritage Walk
March 6, 2009
Max Mueller Bhavan, along with two heritage architects, Kripa and Pankaj, (who also conducted the Shivaji Nagar walk) organized a Heritage Walk in Malleswaram on Feb 28, 2009..
Happy Birthday....
March 6, 2009
Happy Birthday to
Brackets...
March 5, 2009
One should be able to be more of a “ colon close bracket” person (CCBP) rather than an “ colon open bracket” person (COBP).
Swings
March 4, 2009
The sight of a beautiful little swing in the home of one of our friends set me thinking nostalgically….
Friends...
March 3, 2009
It was lovely to have
HUGE pics..sorry Heres the Koel-Barbet Soap Opera...
March 2, 2009
Sorry, this post and the previous one have very large pics…I had changed the size of the pics to be uploaded earlier and forgot to reset it! I totally refuse to delete all the pics and re-do the whole job, so please…put up with this post!
BOS...Bannerghatta on Saturday
March 2, 2009
A suddenly-hatched plan with Vijay Hegde meant that we took the bus early on Saturday morning to Bannerghatta…and just wandering around the area near the Butterfly Park, and the water body nearby was pretty productive! Vijay saw, for the very first time, the male white ASIAN PARADISE FLYCATCHER. I couldn’t get a photograph, but just seeing his satisfaction was like seeing it myself for the very first time!
Mist-ery
March 1, 2009
I put that in quotation marks because that’s how my friend Chandrashekhar Bandi said it, when he sent me this image:
All the things that got broken this weekend can be repaired....
March 1, 2009
Yesterday I was on my way to the Heritage Walk when someone whom I had been trying to contact all morning, called on my mobile. I was awkwardly getting out of an auto….so my bag fell down…and my precious MLC (Canon S3)…isn’t working any more. Off to Thomas of Cambridge Layout tomorrow…wish me luck folks, it’s like my child is having surgery..I am SO attached to that camera!
Scientific names are necessary, but...
February 27, 2009
If you heard something being called “Ourapteryx clara, Geometridae”, would you ever associate it with this ?
Turahalli, 220209
February 26, 2009
Sometimes the birds co-operate, sometimes they don’t…the trip that we took to Turahalli cannot be termed highly productive in terms of large numbers of birds and raptors sighted…but like all trips to the wilderness, it was always enjoyable, and the company was great, too!
From ShyamalChucklist of Birds
February 26, 2009
I have written, I think, about Shyamal….in a world full of serious ornithologicalstudy, he leavens his knowledge with a lot of humour. (He is still capable of a scholarly treatise with words I can hardly understand!)
Sunrise at Turahalli...dedicated to <LJ user=asakiyume>
February 25, 2009
To cheer myself up after all that age-related morbidity…a set of pictures, capturing the sunrise at Turahalli last Sunday.
Age....
February 25, 2009
Though I rarely post about age-related stuff (any age)…it’s been on my mind today.
The Hampi Visit 170109
February 25, 2009
The visit to Hampi was undertaken as a postscript to the Daroji visit; but it is such a huge complex, that I realized very quickly that I was not going to do much more than just scratch the surface of this World Heritage Site. So here are some of the highlights of the trip….
I loved it
February 24, 2009
From this post from
About music and musical instruments...
February 24, 2009
- It is important to be able to reach the brakes on any piano.
- Just about any animal skin can be stretched over a frame to make a pleasant sound once the animal is removed.
- It is easy to teach anyone to play the maracas. Just grip the neck and shake him in rhythm.
- My favorite instrument is the bassoon. It is so hard to play, people hardly ever play it. That is why I like the bassoon best.
- I would like for you to teach me to play the cello. Would tomorrow or Friday be best?
- The plural form of musical instrument is known as orchestra.
- Tubas are a bit too much.
- A contra-bassoon is like a bassoon, only the opposite.
- The most dangerous part about playing cymbals is near the nose.
- The flute is a skinny-shape-high-sounded instrument.
- Instrumentalist is a many-purposed word used by many player-types.
- Anyone who can read all the instrument notes at the same time gets to be the conductor.
- The main trouble with a French horn is it’s too tangled up.
- For some reason, they always put a treble clef in front of every line of flute music. You just watch.
- The concertmaster of an orchestra is always the person who sits in the first chair of the first violins. This means that when a person is elected concertmaster, he has to hurry up and learn how to play a violin real good.
- Question: Is the saxophone a brass or a woodwind instrument? Answer: Yes.
- Last month I found out how a clarinet works by taking it apart. I both found out and got in trouble.
- A bassoon looks like nothing I have ever heard.
- Cymbals are round, metal CLANGS!
- Question: What are kettle drums called? Answer: Kettle drums.
- When electric currents go through them, guitars start making sounds. So would anybody.
- The double bass is also called the bass viol, string bass, and bass fiddle. It has so many names because it is so huge.
- While trombones have tubes, trumpets prefer to wear valves.
- A trumpet is an instrument when it is not an elephant sound.
- Another name for kettle drums is timpani. Or else you can just stick with the first name and learn it good.
- Instruments come in many sizes, shapes and orchestras.
- You should always say ‘chili’ when you mean there are two or more cellos.
- A tuba is much larger than its name.
- A harp is a nude piano.
- My favorite composer is Opus.
- My very best liked piece of music is the Bronze Lullaby.
- Probably the most marvelous fugue was the one between the Hatfields and the McCoys.
- Most authorities agree that music of antiquity was written long ago.
- Morris dancing is a country survival from times when people were happy.
- A good orchestra is always ready to play if the conductor steps on the odium.
- Caruso was at first an Italian. Then someone heard his voice and said he would go a long way. So that’s why he came to America.
- I know what a sextet is but I’m not allowed to say.
- Music sung by two people at the same time is called a duel.
- When a singer sings, he stirs up the air and makes it hit any passing eardrums. But if he is good, he knows how to keep it from hurting.
- In the last scene of Pagliacci, Canio stabs Nedda who is the one he really loves. Pretty soon Silvio also gets stabbed, and they all live happily ever after.
- An opera is a song of bigly size.
- Aaron Copland is one of your most famous contemporary composers. It is unusual to be contemporary. Most composers do not live until they are dead.
- Henry Purcell is a well known composer few people have ever heard of.
- Beethoven wrote music even though he was deaf. He was so deaf he wrote loud music. He took long walks in the forest even when everyone was calling him. I guess he could not hear so good. Beethoven expired in 1827 and later died from this.
- Handel was half German, half Italian, and half English. He was rather large.
- John Sebastian Bach died from 1750 to the present.
- A virtuoso is a musician with real high morals.
- Refrain means don’t do it. A refrain in music is the part you better not try to sing.
- Agnus Dei was a woman composer famous for her church music.
Betel leaves...
February 24, 2009
I posted a pic of betel leaves, and a comment by
A Heritage Walk Down Avenue Road
February 23, 2009
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/838-intach-heritage-walk-avenue-road
Some blog entries on Citizen Matters...
February 23, 2009
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/blogs/show_entry/839
Red, Green...and Blue-and-Yellow 210209
February 23, 2009
Is it good?
February 23, 2009
It’s good…
Pleasures....
February 21, 2009
The Cone of Joy….
The Artist and the Artisan
February 20, 2009
A comment from
Friends enrich me...
February 19, 2009
I am lucky in my friends, and each enriches me in different ways. Here’s one treasure from
A word like heard is for the birds...
February 18, 2009
From “The Language Instinct” by Steven Pinker
I think its a basic fallacy...
February 18, 2009
Disclaimer: I am no expert; my views are possibly simplistic.
Sad facts of life....
February 17, 2009
When a baby is fed, and full, and happy– Full also often describes the nappy.
Plates Stacked at the Restaurant in Nisarga Layout
February 17, 2009
Another of my favourite TV Series...
February 17, 2009
I have watched several TV series that were seminal to me…which shaped my thinking, and expanded my mental horizons. Of late, no one seems to know much about them, but I would like to disinter, from the past (and the ever-present internet!) one of my favourite series, “The Ascent of Man”.
The Lyre Bird....David Attenboroughs series
February 17, 2009
I have seen this clip many, many times, but I suddenly realized that my friend
Volunteer birding at Bannerghatta
February 17, 2009
My friend Geetanjali Dhar started a very worthwhile initiative for the children in the gated community where she, her husband Subir, and daughter Avantika, live. They go regularly for adventure activities in the weekends, and part of this is a birding trip, conducted by volunteers.
The importance of knowing names...
February 16, 2009
Everyone knows the importance of name-dropping….the casual statement that one knows Mr or Ms Soandso, subtly dropped into the conversation at the right time and the right place, ensures that many doors open for you, that were shut uptil now….
Birding Trip to Turahalli (off Kanakapura Road)
February 16, 2009
One of the best remedies I have for the blahs is…head out to some greenery (or, as it nowadays, the brownery.) So when I got a chance, even at 8am, to visit Turahalli, I jumped at it, and…the birds seem to just arrive to be sighted by Sharad!
Insomniacs Night Up...eeeenllpsssss
February 15, 2009
Well…in alphabetical order, those are the letters that make up the word “sleeplessness.”
What the internet means to me
February 14, 2009
I am so totally amazed by the power of the net…well, obviously, I am not intelligent enough to grasp its overall significance for the planet Earth, but as far as it has impacted that most important person in the universe, namely, me…
A very, very old one...
February 13, 2009
When I was young, I listened to the radio…really, because Musical Band Box was on during Sunday afternoons. My parents did not like “western” music, but I fell in love with the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, and all the rest, and would listen to this radio programme quietly, with the old Murphy valve radio turned on, but with the round volume dial turned down low….
Another favourite...
February 13, 2009
Madonna is not known for the kind of song that this one is; the music, the lyrics, and the video are one of my great favourites…
Mr Postman by the Carpenters, and Top of the World by Karen
February 13, 2009
I didn’t know that the official version had the Disney characters,I’ve only listened to the music before, this was the first time I googled for the video:
Whats dirty? What is prudence, and what is cowardice?
February 12, 2009
The Moral Police Sene have raised a lot of issues, and I have been pondering on this one…what’s “dirty”? What is “objectionable”?
Innovative design...
February 11, 2009
I do like to see good design, especially when it is done to surpass disadvantages. At Nani Auditorium, I went to the ladies’ restroom; it’s a tiny place, and the architect had severe space restrictions. So I was impressed to see this design for the wash basin:
No, this is not my Number One entry for today...
February 11, 2009
With thanks to
Old Tamizh movie songs...
February 11, 2009
I usually listen to the songs on old Tamizh movies as I sit and type and just got to hear that beautiful song, “Parakkum, panthu parakkum”….and I tried to google for it, and found that the movie running on my TV set is “paNakkAra kudumbam” (Rich family). But when I tried to get the YouTube video of the song, I got the message that it has been removed due to “terms of use violation”. This seems to be the problem with several other Tamizh film song videos as well.
Good article...
February 10, 2009
I generally do not write about current affairs because I always feel that many others say it better than I could. And here, indeed, are two people who have said what I want to say, and have done it so well…
The Rhino Skin
February 9, 2009
A friend on INW wrote,in response to this photo that I posted :
An old Deccan Herald article
February 9, 2009
I wrote several articles and “middles” regularly for the Deccan Herald before I started writing for Citizen Matters, and after having met Sangeetha Kadur and hijacked her and Madhukar (another expert birder whose work with the digiscope can be found here ) home,I went and googled for the article about the artists who painted the beautiful murals at Bandipur…it’s at
A few more images from the INTACH Heritage Walk 080209
February 9, 2009
At the Heritage Walk, we were not the only beings watching the world go by:
A few entries from my Citizen Matters blog...
February 8, 2009
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/blogs/show_entry/796-a-big
Thatch...
February 7, 2009
It’s always a pleasure to watch anyone skilled at work…and it was no different as we passed a wedding hall near my home and saw this palm thatch getting ready…
The Seeta Puppet
February 6, 2009
Puppetry....
February 6, 2009
Attended a demonstration of projects in contemporary puppetry yesterday..my account is at
A birding tale....
February 5, 2009
Got this from Shyamal. I had forgotten how much it made me laugh the first time I read it, so I laughed all over again!
How much should I worry? How much should I ignore?
February 5, 2009
Yesterday we went to an excellent theatre evening…but driving a distance less than 15 kms. took us nearly and hour and a half…both ways…..and I was really ashamed to be sitting in a car, burning petrol at idling, and being part of the problem instead of at least trying to be part of the solution.
Why do we like these kind of names?
February 4, 2009
I have noticed them all around, signboards like these:
Why I like Trees
February 3, 2009
From the Oikos calendar for this month:
Why I cycle
February 3, 2009
http://www.bikewhenever.com/
Images from Valley School..
February 3, 2009
I think that I shall never get A good pic of the Blue-Faced Malkohet. (Actually, the name of the bird Is not Malkohet…that’s absurd.) But the stupid Malkoha Sees my lens… and does Yoga. It twists and turns and always goes Into some weird writhing pose. So I will stop photography Of that stupid Malkohy….
Similes....wonderful ways with words
February 2, 2009
Read this beautiful poem on
The Eagles...
February 1, 2009
Spent a lovely afternoon playing board games, and then a very pleasant evening with VV …and learnt a lot more about him, and about the Eagles.
Neologisms
January 31, 2009
Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.
The winners are:
- Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
- Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
- Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
- Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
- Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
- Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
- Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
- Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.
- Flatulence (n .) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
- Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
- Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
- Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by Proctologists
- Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.
- Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
- Frisbeetarianism (n.), The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
- Circumvent (n.) , an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.
The Washington Post’s Style Invitational also asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding,
subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.
Here are this year’s winners:
- Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright idea s from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
- Foreploy (v): Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
- Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
- Giraffiti (n): Vandalism spra y-painted very, very high.
- Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn’t get it.
- Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
- Hipatitis (n): Terminal coolness.
- Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease.
- Karmageddon (n): It’s like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it’s like, a serious bummer. 10 Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
- Glibido (v): All talk and no action.
- Dopeler effect (n): The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
- Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you’ve accidentally walked through a spider web.
- Beelzebug (n.) : Satan in the form of a mosquito thatgets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
- Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you’re eating.
And the pick of the literature:
Ooh..these sad people...
January 31, 2009
At Davos, they have set a “simulated war zone”, and in the Economic Times of today, there’s a picture of Sir Richard Branson in a “simulated refugee camp” that’s also been set up…oh my, our plutocrats can now have a “simulated” experience of how it is to be in the middle of tearing shells and lose everything you have, without actually coming into contact with the reality…
It ...or she...happens...
January 31, 2009
A girlfriend is the nice, reliable, comfort-giving young woman that happens to a young man while he is eagerly awaiting a Hot Chick.
A childhood habit...
January 29, 2009
I cannot eat a “jimjam” biscuit (you know, the ones which have jam peeping out of a hole in the biscuit) without nibbling all around it, and coming to the jam right at the end, and…yummmm….
Sleep and Sheep
January 29, 2009
Got this from the blog of Pratima Jayaram :
Spring...
January 28, 2009
Suddenly, the temperature in Bangalore has shot up after a few days of brrrr-ing…and at Valley School, the signs of Spring have appeared…
Graphic facilitation
January 27, 2009
Got this from a post by
Chitra Santhe (Art Fair) at Chitra Kala Parishath, 250109
January 27, 2009
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/blogs/show_entry/766
Whats Cool.....
January 27, 2009
This post from
Why?
January 26, 2009
Why is it that those whom you love Are the ones that can hurt you the most? Because they know the chinks in your armour, below and above…. And where the darts will hit home. You listen to the words with a face devoid of expression Because you cannot show the world how it hurts. To others, the words are quite ordinary But in you, the words hurt. And hurt. And hurt. The wounds ooze, not blood, but tears; Tears that well up in your heart, not in your eyes. You may smile and smile and smile at the world, and bleed tears inside. Tiny little stabs can hurt more, then, Than the pieces of a heart breaking apart. It happens too often, too often… Being together should be a joy, not a source of pain. One should want to meet again. Often, one’s sorrow wears The mask of a smile; And one hopes one is wise… That things will be better in a while.
Happiness and Pleasure
January 26, 2009
When one’s a child, I think that happiness is the same as pleasure. Watch a child’s face light up as s/he gets what he wants, for that moment at least. This instantaneous happiness is perhaps why so many of us remember our childhoods as “happy days”.
Bald Eagle in Bangalore
January 26, 2009
We participated in the HSBC Bangalore Bird Race about which, hopefully, my article will appear in Citizen Matters….last year’s not-very serious piece is here ) ….
How does it happen?
January 25, 2009
Watched “Slumdog Millionaire”…and got to wondering, “how is it that I am born so privileged, and others are not?”
A friend in Bellary
January 24, 2009
Moderating the JLRNTP egroup has benefited me in many ways; I have met a lot of interesting people. One of these is Santosh Martin, who live in Bellary. I had heard of Santosh’s work in researching and documenting the Great Indian Bustard in Bellary District, but when I visited him, I found that he was much more versatile than that!
Excuse Me Point Blank....
January 24, 2009
I realized I had photographed a few more gems, and hadn’t included them.
Other Stuff from Daroji 16 and 170109
January 24, 2009
Apart from the birds and the mammals, there was a lot to look at and learn in the Daroji area! The learning process started with the very first RHINOCEROS BEETLE I have seen:
Going, going....
January 23, 2009
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/blogs/show_entry/759
Is it a weather forecast?
January 23, 2009
Spotted yesterday:
Introducing Gopal....
January 23, 2009
Here’s someone who is getting to be a keen naturalist/birder, so…tarataraaa…..
The Mammals and Birds of Daroji
January 22, 2009
Our trip to Daroji was suddenly thought of and even more suddenly executed. I must thank Santosh Martin, a fellow NTP-er, for extending such warm hospitality to me; he was at the station at 6am with his car, and took us home to an uncomplaining mother, wife and daughter, too!
The New Age Trapper
January 21, 2009
Time was, when trappers went around in raccoon caps and furs, and trapped animals for a living.
Moved nearly to tears....
January 21, 2009
Here’s something that my daughter sent me:
Lily...
January 21, 2009
As a start to the Daroji pictures, here’s a closeup of the water lily that was blooming in Santosh Martin’s home in Bellary:
Kite in the Evening Sky....
January 21, 2009
Here’s an image I liked a lot…
Signs and Art....
January 20, 2009
Naturally, when I have pictures of important nature significance and utterly meaningful insights to post, I will, instead of doing that, post….
Hectic days...
January 20, 2009
On Thursday night we took the overnight train to Bellary, where Santosh Martin was to meet us….and that train, in many ways, is one of the reasons for my not being able to post anything yesterday, not even to upload photographs.
Valparai Visit
January 15, 2009
Though we took an overnight train, the visit really started with the sunrise after we got out of the train and were speeding towards Valparai from Coimbatore after a quick breakfast at Annapoorna….
Woody Woodpecker at Kaziranga
January 15, 2009
You’d think the guy would get a headache!
Mammals of Valparai...
January 15, 2009
Valparai is a great place for the endemic mammals, that is, the ones that are found only in this area. “Malabar” is the ancient name for Kerala, and this name is attached to many of the birds and animals found here. (Eg. Malabar Trogon, Malabar Whistling Thrush, and so on.)
Butterflies of Valparai
January 15, 2009
Most of the butterflies we saw are completely unknown to me, so I am just going to post the pics here and ask one of my better-informed friends for the id’s and update…
The Birds of Valparai
January 15, 2009
It was really staggering to see the number of birds at any given location in the Valparai area and its surroundings….
Water..and colours...
January 14, 2009
I am putting up the pictures from the Valparai trip, and am overwhelmed by the amount of sightings we seem to have had!
Good health....
January 13, 2009
I have been laid low by the hip injury from the fall (er, since we saw Monkey Falls and Elephant Falls and just plain Water Falls on the way to Valparai, I guess it was unavoidable to have a Deponti Falls) and a severe migraine-y headache today….and my heart goes out to those who suffer ill health.
Walmart Fine Wine
January 13, 2009
Walmart announced that, sometime in 2009, it will begin offering customers a new discount item —- Walmart’s own brand of wine. The world’s largest retail chain is teaming up with Ernest & Julio Gallo Winery of California to produce the spirits at an affordable price, in the $2 - $5 range.
Two raptors on the same tree within a matter of minutes
January 13, 2009
It rarely happens…but it’s great when it does!
Its Monday Afternoon...
January 12, 2009
I thought a simple two-day trip won’t cause any ripples and I can come back and gently slide into the routine…but no, that’s the never the way things happen, do they!
Flowers and Plants of Kaziranga and Nameri
January 9, 2009
Here are the flowers and plants (of course, often un id’d) that I enjoyed seeing in Kaziranga and Nameri…
Happy Anniversary
January 9, 2009
To
The Beauty of Wildgrass Resort, Kaziranga
January 9, 2009
We were initially hesitating about where to stay in Kaziranga, as everyone told us that Wildgrass Resort was expensive; but since several people, including
The Philippine Jade Vine, Lalbagh
January 8, 2009
I went along to Lalbagh this morning, and looked for the flowering Philippine Jade Vine….here’s my blog post about it (along with the Asian Paradise Flycatcher, which is another spectacular sight you can see at Lalbagh if you are lucky)….
Mithyam
January 7, 2009
Mithyam is now the name of an, ahem, software company that is in the news nowadays… what a joke on everyone, to call yourself Truth and then, for several years, defraud the public….
Layoffs....
January 7, 2009
http://community.livejournal.com/lj_design/19970.html
Wildlife Expedition to Agumbe on 24th and 25th Jan 2009
January 7, 2009
Butterflies and Insects of Kaziranga and Nameri
January 7, 2009
OK, well, this is going to be a nice short post. I know DS (Diddly Squat) about butterflies and am still trying to distinguish between a Crimson Rose and a Common Rose…I am definitely a South Indian Duffer in this field!
Mammals of Kaziranga and Nameri
January 6, 2009
Many of the animals of Assam, whether in Kaziranga National Park or Nameri National Park are endangered ones; it gives one an extra lump in the throat when one sees them and feels that they may not be around too long. Well, efforts are on to make sure this doesn’t happen…so whenever you can, do support a good wildlife initiative!
Of Trucks.....
January 6, 2009
Trucks, in India, as elsewhere, are vehicles in which the drivers (and “cleaners”, who are those people who clean the vehicle and assist in the driving, often without a valid driving licence) spend a lot of their lives. So they are decorated to the hilt sometimes.
In an argument...
January 5, 2009
When two people argue, how much one person takes offence seems to be a function of how insecure that person is about the relationship between them.
Birds of Nameri
January 5, 2009
We were late coming into Nameri, because we were enjoying ourselves so much in Kaziranga…so we went off immediately to the rafting point on the Jiyabharolli river (another post about that later, have patience!)
Parakeet Peek A Boo
January 5, 2009
I was looking up at a tree in Kaziranga Eastern range and I swear, a ROSE-RINGED PARAKEET kept playing with me…
Birds of Kaziranga
January 5, 2009
This post is of NO interest whatsoever to anyone who is not interested in birds, so on to the next friend’s post…..
I know I already wished you all, but....
January 1, 2009
On my morning walk, I found this beautiful rangoli, and wanted to share it…..
Chennai Vignettes....
January 1, 2009
This is a lovely time of year in Chennai; the weather is pleasant, and the annual music festival is on. It’s a great time to walk around…..
Tiger At Kaziranga....Warning, Lousy Photographs
December 31, 2008
Since it looks as if we are returning home only next year :D, and I have got the computer for just a little while, I think I will also post my lousy tiger photographs from Kaziranga…
Good Wishes Go Out To You....
December 31, 2008
Mylapore Morning....
December 31, 2008
As I felt better in spite of a disturbed night, I decided to walk to, and in, Nageshwara Rao Park.
Valley School Birding...end of year
December 29, 2008
Yes, when I get back from Chennai I promise to do my field trip reports on Kaziranga…but I cannot resist, meanwhile, doing my field trip report on Valley School last Saturday, when Vittal , Trupti, Adu, and Trupti’s niece Pallavi went off to one of my favourite places….
One of those days....
December 29, 2008
Ran a temperature through yesterday evening,which prevented me from leaving on time for Chennai this morning; lousy argument with spouse; on arrival, very bad decision by spouse to go to Grand Sweets to pick up stuff.
Thoughts on Digital Photography, Different Kinds of Workshops/Consultancy and Technology...
December 26, 2008
A lot of my friends, and acquaintances, have been conducting workshops or consultation outfits (sales training, photography, management sciences, and so on) of various kinds , and one of the dicey problems they face, of course, is: how much to charge? The sad thing is that people who are just getting in, just at present, seem to be charging very high fees, not realizing that the economic scenario has undergone a sea change recently.
Rhi Nose ( Eros)..and Eye...and Other Parts....
December 26, 2008
The Indian Rhinoceros is an animal armour-plated; Though it eats just tons of grass, its hunger’s never sated; But still the appearance of one is, by us, eagerly awaited, As on elephant-back we sit with our breath bated!
The Birth of a Sun or a Son, as the Case May Be
December 25, 2008
Went off to the flag off of the TFN cyclng event , and then to Lalbagh…
The Paining of Complaining....
December 23, 2008
As long as things go smoothly, our system works. But let there be a problem and one is up against the most people-unfriendly scenario possible.
Elephants...
December 22, 2008
What beautiful creatures elephants are; we saw these two mothers with their calves, so delightful to see the young ones actually gambolling and playing with each other…
I thought ALL breads are one-way...
December 22, 2008
I snapped this in Guwahati Central market….I never knew that some breads can be two-way, I thought all of them disappeared just one way!
One Way is Fine.....
December 20, 2008
I found no trouble at all in being away from the telephone, the mobile, the internet for 8 days…..
Three different kinds of passion....
December 10, 2008
Here’s the Red Passion Flower, which is blooming now in the Mini Forest near my home:
Various Stalls at the Hanumath Jayanthi celebrations,Ragigudda Anjaneya Temple, Jayanagar 9th Block
December 10, 2008
I love walking through the road when it is festival time; here are a few photos that I put up on the Citizen Matters blog…
Art in Unlikely Places....
December 10, 2008
Anonymous art can be unexpected and beautiful..
Children...and Marriage
December 9, 2008
No, I don’t have the order of events wrong. I am not talking about marriage and then children…I am talking about children who want to get married.
Women Conductors of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation
December 8, 2008
I have not found any women bus drivers, yet, but…
Things which make me go BLECCH
December 8, 2008
Hackneyed, I-wish-they-would-lock-them-up-forever phrases:
Valley School on a Weekday....
December 7, 2008
My NTP friend (well, that’s actually one of the interests we share, but that will serve to identify him!) C suddenly called up on Wednesday, saying he and R were going to Valley School.. I didn’t even stop to think if they were inviting me along, I just jumped in, and the poor guys had no choice!
Article On...and Off
December 6, 2008
I had got the go-ahead from Citizen Matters to do an article about the Tour Of Nilgiris initiative that my cyclist friends in Bangalore have put together in a most professional way.
Agumbe....Dodda Mane
December 5, 2008
I just realized that I have not, so far (two months have elapsed!) posted about the heritage house at Agumbe, Dodda Mane (Big House), which still stands proudly, and is used as a family residence, too, by the very hospitable Kasturi Akka and her family. That’s Kasturi Akka on the left, and her mother on the right…
PAW....
December 4, 2008
PAW=Photographer at Work!
The Shankar Mahadevan Concert
December 4, 2008
After a long time, I went to attend a concert in the centre of town. Shankar Mahadevan, Sivamani, Zakir Hussain, and Selvaganesh were playing/singing, and it would be interesting, I thought. I did, also get some nice images…
Another Wotzit
December 3, 2008
Tell me what this (or rather, these, there are multiple things in that pic) is…
What wing mirrors are used for in India.
December 3, 2008
Before the heritage walk began, I walked around. And found this:
Images of People from the Shivaji Nagar area 301108
December 2, 2008
I did take a lot of pictures, of the wonderful buildings and the interesting details of the heritage walk; but here, until I put them up, are some images I really liked…
Smiley in the Sky....
December 1, 2008
We went up to see this celestial formation tonight:
Asstrology....
December 1, 2008
Someone on a mailing list I belong to sent me this, it’s just TOOOOOOO good to be missed
A Wedding Announcement...
December 1, 2008
I had been to a “Parichay” (“introduction”, or “getting to know”) walk organized by INTACH, Bangalore…this was at Russell Market, in the Ulsoor area.
Coffee
November 29, 2008
I have switched off the TV, and wonder if some of those whom I could see, and some whom I couldn’t, on that set, wish they could turn the reality off, too….
No Blog Day?
November 29, 2008
Here’s a post from
Contradition in terms? Well.....
November 28, 2008
How can a “hot” Pentagon be also a “family” restaurant?….
Happy Thanksgiving...
November 27, 2008
Here’s a little child, in the form of the god that’s my daughter’s favourite…
A south Indian/north Indian wedding....
November 27, 2008
The daughter of a friend of mine,who is Tamizh, married a Punjabi young man in a ceremony which lasted from Sunday through Monday.
The Latest Cleanup....
November 27, 2008
Here’s how the cleanup went…
Hectic time
November 26, 2008
Ha, can you imagine a few days without posts from me! Yes, miracles do occur, as the Clean and Green cleanup on Saturday and a trip to Chennai took care of several days…I must say that though I couldn’t access the internet in Chennai, there was so much to do….a Tambram/Punjabi wedding, and visiting friends who had either had either a baby or a bypass…(no, please do NOT picure a scenario where a friend walks into the hospital and the surgeon says, “Pick one of the two”)…..the time just flew.
Weekend Flowers
November 22, 2008
Wow, this weekend is already upon me, and I have not yet finished posting some images from the last one….
A Lady Cobbler...part of my world....
November 21, 2008
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/blogs/show_entry/625-a-lady
Article on an Unusual Art Gallery....
November 21, 2008
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/623-swasti-gallery
The ...Building A House Sparrow
November 21, 2008
On the way back home from our Ragihalli trip, we stopped at what I call the Ragihalli Restaurant (no, you won’t find it unless I take you…the proprietrix wiped out her children’s homework being done (in chalk) on the table when we ordered “chai” for all of us!)
Another Wotzit Puzzle
November 21, 2008
I took one image with the flash:
BBC and DA.....
November 21, 2008
It seems wildlife like the Panda
A,mazingly, I remember....
November 21, 2008
Happy Birthday to
The Dripping Leaf
November 21, 2008
Isn’t it ironic that the heat of one’s emotions gives rise to the coolness of tears?
Awful....
November 20, 2008
Awful…I visited Chennai for the first time after my brother died, exactly six months ago. My sister-in-law was away, and I entered the empty flat…
A spot of iding for you lot
November 20, 2008
I saw this close to my home.
The birds over the weekend....
November 19, 2008
The bird sightings were so varied and lovely that the weekend was a wonderful experience (and you friends thought it was because of your company? cackle, cackle!)….let’s see now….we started out, of course, with the CKMP (Crow Kite Mynah Pigeon) and also the Jungle Crow,but then we went on…
The Butterflies (and Two Ants) Over the Weekend...
November 18, 2008
It’s amazing that just when I feel I am not totally ignorant about birds, I start noticing butterflies, and am back to square zero with ids….
How to feel you have extra time...
November 18, 2008
Comparisons are odious, but...
November 18, 2008
I want to compare similar images from the S3 and the 20D.
Three images...
November 17, 2008
The sheetrock at Ragihalli (which is in the Bannerghatta area) means fantastic views, and surreal designs in the rock…the sun, shining through a wisp of raincloud (all that water in the cloud gives that prismatic effect) was reflected in one of the hundreds of rock pools on the rock slopes…
Textures..
November 17, 2008
Had two amazing outings, one to Valley School with ten friends (reminds you of Agatha Christie, doesn’t it? well, we all returned safe and sound), and one to Ragihalli with four friends…am getting the pics organized, but meanwhile…
The best sighting of the day
November 15, 2008
Ten of us went to Valley School today, and the sightings…and observation of bird behaviour…was varied and very interesting.
Security
November 14, 2008
our Of how much use are the locks and keys and other security devices that we use?
When youre tired after the Namma Raste Walk....
November 13, 2008
If you were tired after the Namma Raste walk, you would just have to plonk yourself down.
The Namma Raste,Namma Ooru walk by Hasiru Usiru (Green is Life),9th November 2008
November 13, 2008
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/599-namma-raste-trees
Colours at Nandi Hills
November 13, 2008
A group of us went to Nandi Hills last Saturday; and though we did not sight a single raptor apart from the good old black kites, it was a very enjoyable morning indeed. Because of the “black” kites, I thought of this morning as a series of colours….
How to deal with this?
November 11, 2008
If I have any work pending, I get really het up until I have finished it…I am not able to shelve things even when that is the correct thing to do. At the same time, I tend to put off wo rk (especially writing) until the deadline LOOMS dreadfully….
If you eat too much of lentils...
November 10, 2008
This was taken by my son in law in Israel:
Pregnancy
November 10, 2008
A Young Walker
November 10, 2008
Amongst the many images and impressions at that I saw and experienced at the “Namma Raste, Namma Ooru” walk on Sunday, 9th November 2008, was the picture of this tiny tot;
A little while in Lalbagh.....
November 7, 2008
We had met at the Siddapura gate of Lalbagh to distribute some flyers for the walk on Sunday, and decided that I would take along both the 20D and my MLC as well….a great decision, as it turned out!
Valley School Over Two Weekends....
November 7, 2008
The area around the Valley School is one of my favourites; there is never any lack of lovely sights to see. This is the plaque of the Krishnamurthi Foundation Retreat:
They lit up my morning....
November 7, 2008
Wonderful Gerberas….
Too good not to mention
November 7, 2008
From a chat with my daughter:
The Sausage Tree
November 6, 2008
Jayanagar, near the Ashoka Pillar, has an avenue (an avenue, by definition, is a tree-lined street), filled with, among other trees, Sausage Trees .
My favourite Thank You site
November 6, 2008
I just LOVE this site:
Perfect Happiness....
November 5, 2008
It’s a lovely, nippy morning. A wedding to go to means I have no cooking to do, so taking it easy. I finished off the pending work on two articles yesterday.
How to deal with....
November 4, 2008
Note to myself: When dealing with the Child persona in someone, it is important to take on the Adult persona oneself (cf. Eric Berne ) and not let one’s patience or good humour lapse. To lose one’s cool is stupid. If there are two children, what can be achieved? When one person is childish, the other person must take extra care.
Nati BInodini at Ranga Shankara..
November 4, 2008
I went to see the opening play of the 2008 Theatre Festival at Ranga Shankara , and did not expect to be transported back to my childhood days….but nostalgia took hold of me as I revisited the days when I used to watch various Bengali plays at the famous Star Theatre ….
To a beloved child
November 2, 2008
Though you’re halfway around the world, Where your life and love unfurled… Though I think of you each day, Today’s a day to specially say….
Birding at Valley School (yes, AGAIN)
November 2, 2008
One of my favourite spots is the Valley School area.This morning,
Why I am participating in the Namma Raste,Namma Ooru walk on November 9th
November 2, 2008
With regard to the tree-felling and road-widening that is happening now…..we are against indiscriminate use of this facility, that’s all. The point is, that cutting down trees is irreversible, so what we are saying is, involve the citizens in this decision-making process, and let us cut down trees ONLY when there is no other solution.
Today there was one in the kitchen....
November 1, 2008
This morning, I found another Common Evening Brown butterfly on my kitchen towel!
Rajyotsava Day
November 1, 2008
Today is the day that Karnataka State was formed….it’s called Rajyotsava Day , “the festival of the kingdom”….
As The Night Passes....
November 1, 2008
Took this as I was walking to Ranga Shankara for the theatre festival that began today…
Today it was butterflies....
October 30, 2008
It was quite amazing this afternoon. As I opened my front door to go in, I noticed four butterflies over my front door…and three of them flew into the open doorway,flew a fair distance in disciplined formation, and settled on my dining room window, which faces on to a ventilation shaft of the building…
Future Auto
October 30, 2008
This auto is at least two months ahead of its time….
Termite Swarm
October 30, 2008
Yesterday evening, we watched this sudden termite swarm in Indira Nagar…
Which do YOU think this photo illustrates?
October 29, 2008
Here the photograph is:
How many Metros have you travelled on?
October 29, 2008
What I wrote LAST Deepavali....
October 29, 2008
http://deponti.livejournal.com/308911.html
Calvin and Hobbes...
October 28, 2008
As usual, someone said it better than I can….
Photography vs. the Message....
October 28, 2008
This is a clear illustration of what a photograph means to different people.
Voluntary Work
October 28, 2008
Some of us feel that we can contribute to the world we live in by doing voluntary work. And as long as we are able to contribute well, and regularly, this is very satisfying and is a win-win situation…some good work gets done, and we feel happy at having done something that is not just self-oriented.
Heres a message...
October 26, 2008
Anasuya Kulakarni
October 26, 2008
Amazing lady….
Ten minutes
October 25, 2008
It’s rare to find…. Ten minutes in the middle of a busy day. But just now…it’s happened. Most of my chores are done; The last bit of lunch can be started After a little while… There is a sense of peace, Things done, being on top Instead of the usual scramble to keep up. It’s peaceful in this room; The weather’s lovely, cool and cloudy, And I feel serene. Happiness consists of… Ten minutes like this, in little pieces, here and there, I hope…I always find these ten minutes of peace each day.
Never fails to fail
October 24, 2008
All these things happened today, and they do happen often enough….
More in the Abdominal Fat Dept...
October 23, 2008
I opened my Facebook account just now, and next to my messages and stuff is a picture of a fetching (no, she is not fetching anything) maid in a contortionist pose on a medicine ball, with the caption, “Follow these 5 steps and lose your Abdominal Fat.”
Taking stock....
October 23, 2008
Happy Birthday to
Call Centres
October 22, 2008
I do love call centres. I really don’t know if the company that makes the gadgets I am using, and which are presently out of order for some reason, need all those people to take the customers’ calls, or they are just pumping themselves up…and also hiding themselves behind a layer of “customer care executives” at the same time. But every call to a call centre is…an adventure.
Why is my Stomach STILL Fat?
October 21, 2008
I don’t have the tech ability to do a screenshot, but this “Why Is Your Stomach Fat?” ad has been a fixture on my LJ when I open it, for the past several weeks. It’s as if LJ has this X-ray eye that looks right at my bulgy paunch as I sit in front of my laptop….so can anyone tell me why this ad should have such staying power on my LJ, and do all my readers also see the same ad when they open my LJ?
Butterflies,insects, others...Valley School, 181008
October 20, 2008
Due to the constant rain, the paths and slopes at the Valley School area were full of lush vegetation, and the wildflowers were out in their hundreds, too. Ideal conditions for butterflies and insects and all the “et cetera”s that make Life Under Foot so fascinating!
The Saturday birds....
October 20, 2008
Actually, Garima, who drove
Saturday Flowers....
October 20, 2008
A quickly-organized trip to the Valley School area resulted in a very pleasant Saturday morning indeed; I am trying to get some butterfly ids, but meanwhile, I thought, what better way to begin a Monday than with some beautiful flowers….
PujO at Bangalore,2008
October 17, 2008
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/529-bengali-pujas
Happy BIrthday
October 17, 2008
I almost NEVER remember people’s birthdays in time on LJ…but today I did!!!!
Adversity....
October 17, 2008
Most of us are afraid of adversity; we want life to be comfortable and easy, and not have to grapple with tough situations or stumbling blocks.
Flora, Insects and Mammals, JLRNTP-1,Bannerghatta
October 16, 2008
It was a great weekend for varied sightings at Bannerghatta; let me show you the few that I was able to get on my camera…I never, for example, got a pic of the Asian Paradise Flycatcher, though we saw both the male and the female quite a few times.
JLRNTP...the birds of the weekend
October 15, 2008
Can you imagine, me actually WORKING so hard that I could neither post, nor catch up with my friends’ list? It actually happened today; two articles were past what I had determined to be the deadline for them…and phone instruments had to be repaired, and broadband installed in the new office…
JLRNTP-1, October 2008
October 14, 2008
KM also decided to take the JLRNTP this time; and we had a wonderful time (I usually go and meet the members and take their details for the egroup.) Here are two of my favourite images from the weekend:
How to market something
October 13, 2008
There was a time when we could just go and buy a “jhAdoo” (grass broom), paying some piddly amount. But no longer. Buying brooms is practically a hypermarket experience now. And to inviegle the buyer, let’s see how brooms are marketed:
Friends..are wonderful
October 13, 2008
I have a long-standing condition called spondylosis, which sometimes escalates into spondylitis (-itis=inflammation). Since early this morning, my head has been spinning and I have hardly been able to keep my balance. I have just been –literally– lying low, just about getting my household chores done, and not even opening my laptop, you can imagine how bad it must be!
Recipe for kashAya....
October 11, 2008
Kasturi Akka of Dodda Mane, Agumbe, on 041008e gave me this recipe for the kashAya that they served us (and delicious it was, too!)with 23 ingredients:
Snakes and Frogs of Agumbe
October 10, 2008
Sssssnakes…they don’t always hiss and look dramatic; they just are THERE as you pass by, and you do a double take, knowing that you are looking at a deadly specimen.
BijoyAr ShubhEcchA.....
October 9, 2008
Wishing everyone happiness on Vijayadashami or Bijoya, as the Bengalis call the day.
Agumbe Butterflies and Bugs
October 8, 2008
The butterflies certainly made up for the lack of “new” birds that we could spot in Agumbe…they were out in all their variety and colour….
The flora of Agumbe
October 8, 2008
The flowers of Agumbe were varied and each was more beautiful than the others….as usual, there were only some I could id, and others remained mysterious; let me start with this exquisite three-petal wildflower that I spotted:
Sunset Point,Agumbe
October 7, 2008
It was cloudy and the sun had just set when we came to Sunset Point. But…
Addiction
October 7, 2008
Addiction is a truly terrible illness. One watches as the addict gets the highs, and then hits the lows…and tries desperately to hit the highs again, and goes into an ever-narrowing downward spiral. More often than not, the addict goes down the primrose path to perdition….never heeding the signs that are clear for everyone else to see, and warnings from those who are concerned are heard, but never listened to..because in the addict’s mind, there is no addiction. Denial is what allows the addict to go on..and on.
Agony...
October 6, 2008
Sometimes, the most intense agony is the one that has to be borne silently…my prayers are with someone who is suffering terribly right now.
Agumbe...Sun, Mist, Clouds.....
October 6, 2008
YAYYY, I found the card reader, must begin the mammonth task of deleting lousy photographs now.
Another 15 of Murphys Laws...
October 6, 2008
From Gordon Barnett…check him out, his work is fantastic , who has been one of the great bonuses of my daughter’s “alliance” with the S family:
Stalemate.....
October 6, 2008
…and that’s not someone whom you’ve been married to for many years.
This makes perfect sense.....
October 5, 2008
To some birders, at some stratospheric level which I will never reach, the following statement makes immediate sense:
Memories of my mother.....
October 1, 2008
When we lived in Kolkata, my mother put my brother and me in a tiny school nearby (five minutes’ walk from home) called Swarna. Swarna (“ Su-varna “ or “good colour”, meaning, “gold”) was run by a Telugu lady called Mrs Sundaram (I never knew her own name), a lady who had been widowed with two daughters. The school was, and when I last visited Kolkata, still is, situated in a very beautiful old mansion on Rash Behari Avenue, with a small gate opening into Jatin Das Road. I never knew how beautiful the old mansion was until I revisited it in my memories.
Some wise words... and a mega sale of people...
October 1, 2008
Am just uploading the weekend pics to my photobucket site to post later, but meanwhile, here are some lovely words that I read as a child and have stuck with me:
What A Camera Actually Is.....
October 1, 2008
On INW , I got this fantastic photograph of the parts of a camera:
The Butterflies and Flowers over the Weekend....
September 29, 2008
Since I have been so lucky in finding people to go with this past week, I thought that I would do a post on the wildflowers, and the butterflies I was able to photograph. Those last few words are important, because it’s immediately obvious why the word “butterfly” came from the word “flutterby”. These are SUCH restless creatures, flitting here and there (in the novels of P G Wodehouse , all faithless people are referred to as butterflies because they “flit from flower to flower”)…but sometimes one can sneak up on these beauties as they rest lightly on leaves, flowers, the ground or anywhere else….
Pavement wares
September 29, 2008
Sometimes, amidst the plastic and the tawdry stuff that one finds on the footpath stalls, one comes across nuggets….
Superb weekend....
September 29, 2008
Two birding trips, one to Ramnagara and one to Ragihalli in the Bannerghatta Forest area….an evening with old film music and great friends….catching up with old friendships…what could be better? I am a very lucky person.
Sent to me by <LJ user=enigmaticash>
September 25, 2008
She doesn’t post on LJ any more, but she does send me some very amusing stuff! Here’s one.
All my own.....I can hear you groan
September 24, 2008
Some of them are multilingual….
General observation about beards
September 24, 2008
The less hair men have on their heads, the more likely they are to have a beard.
Dimples....
September 23, 2008
Recently, I have been looking at a lot of people with dimples, and realize that in my book of beauty, they are a welcome addition…. the wiki entry says they are considered attractive in “some cultures”…in which cultures are they NOT considered attractive, I wonder?
For my own reference..but someone might like to read it
September 23, 2008
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/blogs/show_entry/457-the-kadle
Moved from Evoca to Muziboo
September 23, 2008
Evoca progressively cut down the time and then sent an email asking me to stump up $30 or my account would be deleted. (Not, we will keep your account, of course, but make it a paid one, but….pay or we will delete.) So a kind friend helped me and moved all my songs so far to
Weekend Birds....
September 22, 2008
To be out in the open air early in the morning, watching the birds slowly becoming active (yes, Bangalore birds are as slow as the rest of us, activity in these cloudy days only starts at around 7.30 or 8 AM!)….it’s a great joy.
Valley School area, Saturday and Sunday
September 22, 2008
What a lovely weekend….I got to go to the Valley School area on both Saturday (with Bharat, Pratima , Vijay etc) and on Sunday ( Mahesh Devarajan and
Go figure....
September 22, 2008
Why would this motorcyclist be so, even though a witty person?
Theatre Round Up in Bangalore, Citizen Matters
September 19, 2008
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/446-theatre-city
Ninety days....
September 19, 2008
Three months have gone by. Life goes on as before.. With unexpected and sudden Dagger-stabs of sorrow. I keep them hidden. The wounds bleed into my heart… Or is it my heart that bleeds? Why do these seeds Of sorrow tear me apart? When will I cross the ocean of woe And reach serenity’s shore? We didn’t speak to each other often…then why Do quick tears make my eyes sting and smart?
North Indian Music Festival
September 19, 2008
The Bangalore Kidney Foundation has been doing excellent work for many years now; as part of their fundraising, they have the annual Dhwani Music Festival.
A Bird ,A Bee and A Flower...no, this is not a sex education post
September 18, 2008
Ornamental plants have been cultivated for gardens, and they often support a lot of bird and insect life too.
Am I becoming too tolerant?
September 18, 2008
I often find posts from friends where they talk about pet peeves, things they detest, and I find myself looking on the other side a lot…if they grouse about English usage, I think to myself, the language has to evolve, and sometimes it won’t evolve to suit our tastes; but at other times, ‘tat’ and ‘u’ and other sms lingo does bug me!…if they grouse about man-animal conflict, and how the animals are being victimized, I think of the poor villagers who can only see that the leopard will lift their cattle and goats. When children complain about parents, I see the parents’ view, when it’s parents doing the complaining, I can clearly see what it is that puts children out of sync with their parents.
Colourful Rangoli
September 17, 2008
Most religious and social functions are accompanied by the adornment of the venue by “kOlam” or “rangOli”…but I have not before seen such beautiful use of vibrant colours for a “hOmam” or sacrificial fire worship.
Whats YOUR Styel?
September 16, 2008
Got this just outside my hoem, sorry, home:
Fantastic Cartoons....
September 16, 2008
http://www.claybennett.com/
Double Rainbow
September 15, 2008
Flowers,plants and Flying Foxes
September 15, 2008
Some of the flowers that I photographed during the Mysore trip; I have no clue about the id’s (I never ever seem to see the same plant twice!!)…so here goes:
Cannonballs and Curiosities....
September 15, 2008
Had a great weekend (as I hope you did, I am such a polite person) between barcamp, a grihapravEsham, and a very good play….but on Friday, I went to visit ATREE , and on the way, got this great snap of…A TREE…. which explains why the Cannonball Tree is so called….
The INW meet
September 12, 2008
When the Mysore members of INW thought about having a meet, some of the Bangalore gang decided we would join in….
Mysore...some of the sights....
September 11, 2008
Since the new highway opened up, Mysore is just a couple of hours’ non-stop drive away. (But the stops, with each town having a name assigned to it on the highway signs…“silk town Channapatna, historic town Srirangapatna, sugar town Mandya”, and so on…. are SO interesting!)
The Birds on the INW/Mysore trip, and some reptiles, too...
September 11, 2008
Non-birding types…off you go…. and bird watchers, if you are looking for rare, uncommon birds…off you go…
INW meet...lovely collage by Gowreesh Kapani
September 10, 2008
STILL haven’t uploaded all the pics from the lovely weekend…so meanwhile, here’s a great collage of the meet from Gowreesh Kapani of INW:
Everything Official About It
September 10, 2008
Official Sale of Pirated Software!
Doctorates are made of such topics...
September 9, 2008
Evolutionary Photonics of Avian Non-iridescent Structural Color
Three flying beauties....
September 9, 2008
Driving back on Sunday, I realized that I had never gone to Ranganathittu after taking up either birding or photography; but the place would have been crowded,with Sunday trippers and tourists, so we decided to stop the car at the canal area. It was raining, so we used a short break in the showers to explore just a little bit, and were rewarded by the sight of these:
What are you thinking?
September 9, 2008
Whatever it is you are thinking…..
Mysore Weekend...
September 5, 2008
Off to Mysore for a wildlife photography forum gathering. The Mysore members wanted to meet; some of us Bangalore members are just barging in!
Roads and Pavements in Bangalore
September 5, 2008
Time was, when a 60-foot wide road had at least 10 feet of pavements on either side, planted wih lovely shade-giving trees, which flowered serially through the year…
To sit among the cinders and weep....
September 4, 2008
I saw this pile of coke a couple of days ago:
Birthdays
September 4, 2008
Some people like being wished on their birthdays. Some people don’t really mind one way or the other; KM, for example, says every day is as good (or bad) as any other day; he doesn’t wait to indulge himself, get together with friends, or do something he wants to do.
Indra Dhanush
September 3, 2008
It was raining heavily in the morning; the afternoon was filled with bright, hot sunshine; the evening had both sunshine and rain, and so this resulted:
Ganesha in the flames
September 3, 2008
This is the pooja that I did at home:
What royalty uses....
September 2, 2008
How does Elizabeth (either I or II) pack when she comes to India?
One of my factual accounts...
September 2, 2008
Who knows if just talking will help? But it was a useful forum to interact with several people I would never have met otherwise…
Mediocrity Personfied...
September 1, 2008
Someone appreciated my music (my Evoca site will close down shortly so I asked a lot of people to listen at
C and G/Wipro cleanup at Muthathi... and Bheemeshwari
September 1, 2008
This time we tied up with Wipro to do a cleanup at Muthathi; and on Saturday, the 30th August, we set off in two Wipro buses, with 49 volunteers. Sandeep, Anush and I went in Karthik’s jeep as Sandeep needed to go ahead and make arrangements at Bheemeshwari as well, regarding the plastic pickup by JLR. That’s going to be a different post (which will be an email to the Clean and Green group) so here are some images of the forest creatures I got during the trip:
Ganesha Chaturthi
August 30, 2008
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/397-ganesh-chathurthi
A Food Post (for you-know-who)
August 29, 2008
I was talking about dough being leavened in my last post, and I remembered that I had promised a friend a post on phulkas.
How to present knowledge....
August 29, 2008
This is my opinion….if the solid dough of knowledge is leavened by touches of humour, it becomes the appetising bread of information that people are far more likely to understand and absorb.
Ogden Nash on Birding
August 29, 2008
Shyamal sent me this gem, which I had not read before….
Cleanup Drive that became something of a circus....
August 28, 2008
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/393-nandi-hills-clean
Different Perceptions About Age....
August 28, 2008
Another friend condoled with me yesterday, and said the same thing I had posted about earlier…“At this age, we should expect and be resigned to such losses.” This friend, too, is pushing sixty.
Clouds In The Sky....
August 28, 2008
It was bright sunshine in the afternoon, but as I walked down to the department store with my friend, the first couple of clouds moved across the sun:
Sometimes trees are revered....
August 27, 2008
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/blogs/show_entry/391
India...50
August 26, 2008
No, that doesn’t mean 50 medals, it means India’s position in the medal tally in the Olympics is 50!
Red Ribbon Express
August 26, 2008
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/387-red-ribbon-blasts
BBMP and their opaque spending habits.....
August 26, 2008
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/blogs/show_entry/389
Two Women
August 26, 2008
I was travelling by bus and I was idly contemplating the way women dress….here are two images.
Tears...
August 25, 2008
One of the people who stands very high on my “EXPHO” (Excellent Photographers) list is
A little down again...and commentlessness...
August 25, 2008
It’s a kind of roller-coaster ride, this thing called bereavement. I never usually think that things like birthdays (after the first ten are over) are big deals, but I felt really low today, because today my brother would have turned 51. I remembered the lovely party my sis in law organized for him last year…KM and I went…did we even imagine that that would be his last birthday? Definitely not.
Monsoon Green...
August 23, 2008
I did a whole lot of very interesting stuff today, including photographing our Chief Minister overseeing the funeral procession of someone who died in the blasts and this was NOT a sad thing…how, you ask? Wait for a few days, and all will be revealed in Citizen Matters …..
Ahhh....chocomania....
August 22, 2008
I was feeling very sick the entire day, and in the evening I was overcome (that’s the only word to describe the craving that came over me…overcame me!) by a longing for chocolate, so I went and got a bar from the friendly neighbourhood calorie store.
No longer worth their while...
August 22, 2008
Hi deponti, ¿Español?
Enjoyed this very much
August 21, 2008
I don’t know where
Art in Unlikely Places
August 21, 2008
I went to oversee the construction of a flat for someone I know, and the central ventilation shaft was being cemented. And on the rough cement, I found that someone had expressed hesself:
Old film clips from the 50s and 60s
August 21, 2008
I do love watching old film clips, and not only for the beautiful songs and the often superb lyrics in many of the Youtube videos. The styles, the fashions of yesterday are fascinating! How much I enjoy looking at the beehive hairdos and the fish-like kohl extensions at the edge of the heroine’s eyes! It’s interesting to see how north Indian clothes are slowly accepted, and also, “western” apparel makes it slow but steady appearance, and the styles of jewellery also change. Watches appear on actress’ wrists, and then, from the dainty ladies’ watches, they become the “with-it” (then) square watches! Ribbons are a frequently used fashion accessories; bindis are NOT a must; Women wear high heels (but the buxomness of the women does not change..indeed, with some established actresses, increased girth seems to be the measure of their stardom.
Urban Change...the Photographers who exhibited their works
August 20, 2008
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/377-photos-urban-change
Itenerants from Rajasthan....
August 20, 2008
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/blogs/show_entry/376
Rainbow dreams....
August 20, 2008
Rainbows are for sale…piece of broken glass bangles fashion themselves into beautiful patterns in the kaleidoscope that this man is selling.
Comforting words...
August 18, 2008
Thank you,
Names
August 18, 2008
Why are human beings SO keen on naming and classifying everything? Each one of us cannot bear “something” to be called “something else”, and sometimes whole doctoral theses are based upon identifying “something” as “that particular nothing-else-but-this-and-this-alone something”.
Independence Day....
August 15, 2008
As my broadband connection decided to stop working at the beginning of a long weekend when BSNL will certainly not rectify any problems, it’s 8.35 pm when I am able to post a nice picture of our Tiranga (“three colours”, for non-Indians)….
A Miscarriage....
August 14, 2008
A morning in Lalbagh...
August 13, 2008
I spent a very pleasant morning at Lalbagh today….I started at the Glass House, where the floral exhibits for Independence Day are taking shape, and this Anthurium exhibit was stunning….
Beauty....
August 13, 2008
I met someone yesterday, who struck me as being outstandingly beautiful; though I do not usually remark on people’s personal appearance, the exclamation was wrung involuntarily out of me…! And then, someone else called me beautiful, when I honestly cannot agree with that estimation…that set me thinking about this strange concept that beauty is.
Red-Rumped Swallow in the Rain
August 13, 2008
SUCH a lovely photograph…had to save it…
The Dilemma...that is, Emmas heart...
August 13, 2008
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/348-eco-friendly-questions
A lotus and a lily....
August 12, 2008
I find, very often, that people get a lotus mixed up with a lily, so I am making this post to illustrate the difference…
I wish we had more autos like this...
August 12, 2008
Where do Brahminy Skinks live?
August 11, 2008
I found this caption on a picture on INW …
Seeta Phal or Custard Apple...Arithmetical Progression
August 11, 2008
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/blogs/show_entry/342
Its NOT easy...
August 11, 2008
I was speaking to someone (let’s call this person…ummmm…I got it! “A”) about another person’s (“B”…however did you know I was going to call the second person that?) disorganized working. A said that my comments were offensive because, “all your life you have done only things that you wanted to do.”
The Biranimake
August 10, 2008
Haven’t you seen a Biranimake?
Lalbagh gears up for the Flower Show
August 9, 2008
The roses are calling to the visitors….
The other side....
August 9, 2008
Here’s the video of the architect who designed the Bird’s Nest Stadium:
The Beijing Olympics
August 8, 2008
First of all, see date and time stamp. :D. I don’t know how to manipulate that, so I got it on the nail!
For goodness sake, please do not....
August 7, 2008
You know you shouldn’t be driving gas-guzzlers. But did you know that you should also not drive cell-phones?
Another condolence call....
August 6, 2008
Someone is on a mailing list, on which a friend had posted about my brother’s death. This person emailed, and said they never read that mailing list. So I emailed hem back about my brother’s death.
Metblogs and deleting posts
August 5, 2008
I sometimes get most unwelcome comments on my Metblogs posts, but usually I let them stand. However, the Metblogs posting page had an “unpublish” option, which I have used once, when the debate became too acrimonious.
Butterfly Park at BNP
August 5, 2008
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/blogs/show_entry/325
Messages on a Truck
August 4, 2008
Lorries often come with messages and I have made posts about it before .
Delightful little girl....
August 4, 2008
We were sitting in my local darshini, Park View, when I noticed this little angel playing peek-a-boo with her mother:
The new and the old....
August 4, 2008
I had been to someone’s 80th birthday celebrations on Saturday;it was a couple, this time, and it was nice to watch them surrounded by friends and relatives….and at the festivity, I took this photograph of youth and age..
The Clothes
August 3, 2008
The clothes you wore are gone But not the person. You left us, but I still find you In the dim recesses of my memories As scenes from our shared childhood Flash across my mind.
Touched
August 1, 2008
Affectionate, perfect,– and totally unexpected– gifts make me feel wonderful. Thank you…from the bottom of my heart.
The Next Puzzle
August 1, 2008
Votsit?
Two images from the trip to Masinagudi and Bandipur
August 1, 2008
I must thank Avinash (a friend from the JLRNTP, and several other voluntary initiatives) for a wonderful day today yesterday.
Try and make out these words....
July 31, 2008
Here’s another signboard from Hyderabad:
The Kanakabhishekam
July 31, 2008
This was the first time I have seen a “kankAbhishEkam” performed before the person (OK, man!) actually turned 100; if you have seen a thousand full moons, or if you have seen the face of your son’s son’s son, you can have this celebration.
Did you figure out Hotel Hotship? Then....
July 30, 2008
Here’s the next one in the series:
kOlam
July 29, 2008
I do love the art of “kOlam”….it’s called “rangOli” in the north, but is executed very differently, and the designs are very different, too.
Would you go and eat here? Its rather hot to decide...
July 29, 2008
Still trying to figure this name out.
KanakAbhishEkam, and the only birding I did in Hyderabad
July 28, 2008
Having gone for my friend’s “100th birthday” in Hyderabad …well, he is my father’s friend and engineering college classmate (Benaras Hindu University in the early 1940’s…but today he is as much my friend and KM’s, because he likes his peg of whiskey, can walk any of us into the ground with his 10 to 15 km walks…and he jokes about anyone and anything, fearlessly…“even life imprisonment or a death sentence doesn’t mean much to me now!” he quips, beaming at 87!)
Why not the larger picture?
July 28, 2008
I had a long conversation with my daughter about blogging…and I was trying to articulate why I don’t blog about politics, and major events…and I think that the reason is, whatever it is that I want to say, I find, is said, MUCH better and in far more effective fashion, by others who are far more articulate than I am.
Luz,Mylapore,Chennai
July 25, 2008
Here’s the Luz part of Mylapore, Chennai:
Four images
July 25, 2008
The Gift
Loved this poem on the LJ of <LJ user=asakiyume>
July 24, 2008
http://asakiyume.livejournal.com/209918.html
Mylapore Tank
July 24, 2008
After a month has passed, I find that the pain is still not easing pereceptibly, but life goes on….I think, though, that I will post a few scenes from the city that my brother lived in, and loved (though his first love was Kolkata, too!) for 3 decades….
People and Scenes, Ragihalli
July 23, 2008
Here’s the great group with whom I made the trip on Sunday:
The plants of Ragihalli
July 23, 2008
The plants and trees, too, at Ragihalli and Shivanahalli, were lovely to look at. I took a lot of pictures, and am still trying for the id’s of some of them.
Examination subject
July 22, 2008
I am not kidding, people are taking a comprehensive exam on this topic:
Some of the birds we saw on the Ragihalli/Bannerghatta trip
July 22, 2008
Ok, all non-birders to the next friends’ page please!
A compliment and the reply to it...
July 22, 2008
I had started an egroup for COSTIIMA (Class Of Seventy-Three, Indian Insitute of Management,Ahmedabad) and have been moderating it ever since.
Food and Water
July 22, 2008
Two of the most basic requirements for life….as typified by this photograph:
Ending on a high...
July 21, 2008
We had finished the day’s birding at Ragihalli, and were wending our way homewards when I said, “So sad, we haven’t seen a single raptor yet, apart from the BLACK KITE.” So immediately this ORIENTAL HONEY BUZZARD flew out over the road near the first gate/watchtower…
A mind like a lotus...or a lily....
July 21, 2008
In my last post, I had said, “I do want my mind to be like the lotus on the pond…even when moving because of the water currents, not losing its mooring, and looking calm and serene. Born in the filth and stagnation, it is yet so pristine and beautiful, and instead of looking at the mire in which it took birth, it looks up towards the sun, and draws its sustenance from above as well as from below.”
A huge fortune....
July 19, 2008
A huge fortune awaits the person who can show people how to completely control the rush of their thoughts….
Birds, local mammals, and scenes of Thattekad
July 18, 2008
And finally, all the birds of Thattekad….and some of the scenes we saw.
Trees and plants of Thattekad
July 18, 2008
The most amazingly large trees that we saw in the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary in Thattekad were what were called, in Malayalam, the Chini tree. Here’s one of the tallest that we saw. The size of this tree was so awesome…here it is, soaring into the air:
From the LJ of <LJ user=latelyontime>
July 17, 2008
How To Watch Your Brother Die For Carl Morse
About a Tarot Card Reader
July 17, 2008
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/281-ramessh-tarot
A Fashion Post
July 17, 2008
I also realize I rarely do fashion posts….so here’s the latest in monsoon headgear, as demonstrated by my daughter (it’s just sheer coincidence that this top model is related to me by blood ties.)
Memories...
July 17, 2008
I realized, recently, that I very rarely live in the past. The present is so exciting and interesting to me that I don’t have the habit of harking back to the past (and even if I do, I don’t use the rose-tinted spectacles that many people do. I can remember all the bad things of the past as well as the good ones…waiting several years for a hardly-working telephone, having a choice of 3 cars, Ambassador, Fiat, and Herald, and waiting several years for one of those as well…not just the fact that once upon a time petrol used to cost Rs. 2.50 per litre, and roads were not choked with traffic.)
Thattekad...the fungi/mushrooms and reptiles
July 16, 2008
Because of the rain and high humidity, the fungi and mushrooms were there in a bewildering variety; I am also including the skink and lizard photographs here.
Solace...
July 15, 2008
Q. If one has undergone a bereavement that still has that raw-wound quality, touch-and-I-wince, after nearly a month….what does one do that will provide a little comfort?
Thattekad...the bugs , the reptiles , the crustaceans,and the amphibians....
July 15, 2008
Here’s a TORTOISE BEETLE, one of the beautiful creatures we beheld on our trip to Thattekad, Kerala, where
Birds around us...
July 14, 2008
Been busy with a wedding of someone who is like family to me. The wedding was held in a resort fairly close to home. There was a lot of greenery around…and I was delighted to spot a pair of SCALY-BREASTED MUNIAS proceeding to make a nest in the foliage.
Palindromes
July 12, 2008
I had, some time ago, made this post about palindromes, and today, palindromes figured on another mailing list I moderate.
Messages dont only come on tee shirts...
July 11, 2008
When I had been on the “pEtEy,kerEy,kOtEy,thOta” heritage walk, I spotted these shirts near the Bangalore Fort…
Birthday wishes
July 10, 2008
Abbah, I finally remembered in time to post…
Been doing some work....
July 10, 2008
I conducted my first two “celebrity” interviews….first, Lillette Dubey and then, yesterday evening, Girish Karnad .
Mahatma Gandhi School, run by SEED, Sriperumbudur
July 8, 2008
My daughter and son in law volunteer for Asha For Education .
What is it?
July 8, 2008
Could you guess what this is a picture of?
Visit to a temple
July 7, 2008
I was not really keen, today, on visiting a temple, but DnA wanted to, and I hung around, not entering the sanctum sanctorum, pondering the fact that my brother did NOT like temples and wondering why I needed to be there. The priest was doling out handfuls of sweet rice, and I took m handful, and walked, ahead of the others, and stood outside the gate.
Since I seem to have sex on the brain....
July 7, 2008
A friend of mine went to a saree shop, and wanted to look at some of the sarees. She was flabbergasted to hear the counter assistant ask helpfully, “Madam, you want to see sex bawdy?”
Children Available
July 7, 2008
Anyone who is childless and wants to rectify the situation easily:
A Post Dealing Only with Sex
July 6, 2008
Hah, caught your attention didn’t I?
Handwriting
July 6, 2008
I made a comment on
All-Purpose Political Manifesto
July 6, 2008
Here’s a nice generic political message….
Weariness.....
July 4, 2008
A sad cloud forms over my brain…I didn’t call my brother too often; he was as taciturn over the phone as he would be witty and mordant off it. But once in a while, I would call and we would exchange some cursory chitchat. And I miss that…
Motorcycle Saddles.....
July 4, 2008
Spotted in Mylapore, Chennai (thanks,
Camouflage of the Draco (Flying Lizard)
July 4, 2008
It’s my turn to post another “where is it” picture….this one’s much easier (and of course, a far fouler photograph!) than
The Microwave Approach....
July 2, 2008
My daughter bought this book:
This Z thing has got to stop
July 2, 2008
I don’t know who started the “cool” practice of spelling pluralz, but it’s getting out of hand:
notes to myself...how to make a condolence visit, and how NOT to....
July 1, 2008
- Do visit a bereaved person as soon as you can…but do call before you visit, if you can. Find out if the person is willing, and able, to take the visit. If not, postpone the visit after saying that your thoughts are with hem.
Two expressions that I love....
June 26, 2008
Through the past week (yes, it is 7 days today since my brother suddenly decided to move on), I have heard two lovely expressions that are very common here….
What sort of assers are these?
June 26, 2008
Obviously, if you are infringing on other’s property rights, you are an ass…but it’s nice to see, once in a while, someone being called just that…
The three things that help me...
June 25, 2008
Many of my relatives were aghast when I decided not to do a professional course (particularly, the medical course that my parents were hoping I would do) and decided on studying English, and Philosophy instead, and took up music very seriously.
To my friends....
June 24, 2008
Those two overused words: Thank and You.
Thoughts on rites and rituals, and et ceteras....
June 23, 2008
Some reasons why I think we have all these rites and rituals:
It would have been very funny...
June 21, 2008
We had given an insertion in the newspaper, “ A V passed away”. It turns out there is another A V with connections to Calcutta, the city we grew up in, whose dad has the exact same name as my father, too…since the insertion appeared, we have been fielding calls from people who think this is the OTHER A V! I don’t know whether to cheerfully announce, “YOUR A V is probably hale and hearty, drop that funerary tone from your voice!” or to say quietly, as I do, “In any case, I am glad you called with affection in your heart..do keep in touch with those whom you have lost touch.”…there was a sneaky wish in my heart, once or twice, that it needn’t have been OUR A V…but then I was horrified at what I was thinking….
Love lost in the details....
June 21, 2008
“How many people will be having dinner?” (Remember, the idlis we bought from the nearby restaurant ran out yesterday morning because eight extra people showed up.)
Loss..
June 20, 2008
I had hardly entered my home after the Thattekkad trip when I got the news….I lost my dearly beloved brother….
For the first time...
June 16, 2008
We had an NTP outing to Mydenahalli…
Something thats disappearing...
June 13, 2008
Walking in BTM Layout today, I spotted this laughing young girl:
Devarayana durga and Namada Chilume...
June 13, 2008
On Sunday,
Still laughing...
June 13, 2008
http://krishashok.wordpress.com/2007/12/10/guide-to-designing-indian-political-posters/
What do I use when I want more copies....?
June 13, 2008
Rarely does one find things that are tailor-made for oneself…but here’s a xerox centre on Kanakapura Road…
The Angling Lesson
June 12, 2008
When Abhisheka, Adarsh,Anush, Sandeep and I (that’s the way we were taught to make a list of people…“x,y,z, and I”… not, “me and x,y,z “!) went to Galibore, we found one of Sandeep’s friends, an avid angler, called Balaji, getting ready to leave the camp for the Hyra fishing area with his fishing tackle. So we followed him there, and we all got a great first experience of angling….and according to Sandeep, the young men had the luck of the devil, because each time they got a Mahaseer , a famous fish found in the Kaveri, which can be really giant-sized, on their line.
Galibore....
June 12, 2008
Meetings...and Indians,,,,
June 11, 2008
One of the things we Indians canNOT do…is to conduct meetings.
My typing is going to the canines...
June 11, 2008
I recently read someone’s post about their fingers going wonky while typing…well, I lost the art of good handwriting some time ago when I realized I could type faster than I write… but now the typing is going, too…
Tiring...
June 10, 2008
Some time ago,I decided that I would travel by bus, and avoid using the car…. and as yet, I don’t repent the decision. Buses are generally quite a comfortable way to travel in Bangalore. Bus stops have to be found and remembered…and routes discovered,too, especially when there can be no fixed timings for buses.
The Photoshop Effect
June 9, 2008
Even granite plaques in Kanakapura have what I call the “Photoshop Effect”…..Here’s one done for the Sri Madheshwara Temple:
Hectic few days....
June 8, 2008
Things have been far more hectic than I want, and I have not spent more than a few hours at home…but there are times when interesting things happen all at once….
Ranga Shankara once again....
June 6, 2008
Went to a great play (well, a series of narrative dramatizations actually) at Ranga Shankara this evening, it was very enjoyable and the review is at
Flay me alive....
June 5, 2008
What happens when you whip butter (not cream)?
This is going to be...purple prose....
June 5, 2008
Yesterday I saw what I thought was the Purple Sari Club on their annual convocation….
Haunting image....
June 4, 2008
I will not forget this image, or the caption, in a hurry…
postage stamp of one of my favourite places
June 4, 2008
Which is one of my favourite places to go off to for a couple of days when I can?
Citizen Matters Article on the K R Market Heritage Walk
June 4, 2008
I was just waiting for this article to come out, because I didn’t want to put up anything on my LJ on the same topic beforehand.
How the flash changes colours....
June 3, 2008
This is more a note to myself, but I think it will let it stand as a public post…
Birdwatching....
June 3, 2008
How to spot the birds in the foliage? Here’s how difficult even a common bird can be.
Lilies....
June 3, 2008
“Lilies” was the name of a triptych that I watched at Ranga Shankara last week; it was written and directed by Gowri Ramnarayan, and the review I wrote of it, and the short play that forms part of Ranga Shankara’s “Other Voices” initiative, is
I am deeply (pun intended) grateful...
June 2, 2008
KM and I have no immediate family in India, apart from a dearly beloved brother and sis in law who live in Chennai. So friends are a very important part of our life.
Embers in the ashes...
June 2, 2008
I dislike “group” wishes, where someone says, “Merry Christmas!” and sends it to the contents of hes inbox…and I never reply to those (at least… if the person has wished only 8 or 10 people at a time, I realize there is an effort to make it personal, and I do respond.)
Unwanted gifts
June 1, 2008
I do hate it when people are given “junk” gifts. When someone is close to a person and they want to give that person a gift, they should, I think, find out what the person wants and then try and get them that…and I certainly think they should take the time and the effort to perhaps take the “giftee” out and let hir/hem choose that gift. To tell someone, “Go and get something for X, it’s her birthday/anniversary/whatever tomorrow”….no, that’s not acceptable. The person concerned often gets a gift which s/he neither likes nor wants, and apart from the abstract feeling (which is not a comfort) that the person giving the gift has at some point thought of hem, there is no personal feeling to the gift, either.
Lilies and The Stronger at Ranga Shankara
June 1, 2008
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/2008/06/01/lilies-and-the-stronger-at-ranga-shankara/
blah,blank,blase....
May 31, 2008
Very unusual state of affairs for me. I have no thoughts, I have nothing that I feel like recording, I don’t feel like uploading any pictures today….so I am posting THAT as a noteworthy occurrence! :)
The presentation went well, thanks for all the heartening messages from all of you....
May 30, 2008
Here’s my account of the Clean and Green presentation for WIPRO (does anyone remember that they were once Western India vegetable PROducts, and once sold vanaspati?)…
Citizen Matters article
May 29, 2008
This time Citizen Matters took a little while to get the article to “go live”…I guess they have a lot of material to manage, now!
The Private Detectives Diet, and Very Rare Birds in Kodai....
May 28, 2008
Have you ever wondered what snoops have to eat?
Some more (common) birds of Kodai....
May 28, 2008
It was fun watching bird behaviour rather than looking for new birds; and here are some more photos, which I warn you are of variable quality (it’s all the birds’ fault of course.)
The Second Bangalore Photo Walk
May 28, 2008
This is organized by
Some of the flowers of Kodaikanal
May 28, 2008
I know it is summer because the electricity (and, therefore, the net connection) keeps coming and going….!
Raindrops
May 27, 2008
Raindrops themselves can be inverted image-makers of the world, instead of blotting out the world in a sheet of rain…
Back Home... here are some bird photographs
May 27, 2008
Feels great to be back home though I am dealing with a flooded bathroom. Our friend went to have a shower at 5.30am, before leaving to take the flight to Mumbai….and the bathroom, in true Murphy style, developed a huge leak from the pipes…. AND the control valve, which would shut off the water to the bathroom, is also broken) and a mass of contusions and bruises from three falls in Kodaikanal (alas, I wish they were waterfalls, but they are my-body falls to the pavement or road!)
Birding notes from Kodaikanal
May 25, 2008
One of the things I have noticed in the town is that though there is a large lake, with plenty of fish, and lots of tall trees, I have not seen any PARIAH KITES, BRAHMINY KITES, nor have I seen any raptors, even 10km away from the town. I find this very intriguing. Is it something to do with the altitude of the place? Or is it because garbage is cleaned up well?
Impressed.....
May 25, 2008
I am really impressed by the way garbage is handled in Kodaikanal. Though the Kodai festival is one, and there is a huge influx of both day trippers as well as staying tourists, the lakeside area remains pretty clean, and I find a lot of pourakramiks/pourakramikas hard at work early in the morning, cleaning up the area. The lake, too, is remarkably plastic- and trash-free. Where there is a will, there is, indeed, a way.
Humility
May 23, 2008
Overheard here:
Red Whiskered Bulbul with Catch
May 22, 2008
Caught this Bulbul, all wet after the rain, having got its lunch….
In Kodai....just look at these amazing pics...
May 22, 2008
Our friend’s flight into Bangalore was very late and we reached our hotel in Dindigul only past midnight,but we had a lovely drive into Kodai yesterday morning. Then we decided that while we were waiting to go and see the golf course and check if those two (KM and R) could play, we would hire cycles and go around the lake.
Votive flowers
May 20, 2008
While we were on the Heritage Inner-City walk (will let you know when it goes live on Citizen Matters….have written it as a photo-essay and it might be chopped down….) we visited a Dargah which attracts visitors from every religion, and welcomes them, too.
Off for a Week...
May 19, 2008
I am off to be a golf widow, but let me see what internet access I can get…I hope to walk a lot, get some photography and birding practice, but am going to miss a lot of things quite intensely….
The Hero Pours Out His Heart....
May 19, 2008
We were walking to Tipu’s Summer Palace at the end of our heritage walk when
Education...
May 18, 2008
Sparked off by
I am pissed off....
May 18, 2008
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/2008/05/18/what-can-be-done-to-change-this-detemined-lack-of-civic-sense/
<LJ user=shivakumar_L> in the Deccan Herald today
May 18, 2008
Here’s an article I really enjoyed reading in the Sunday Herald, which is the Sunday supplement of the Deccan Herald:
mAmbazha colour....
May 17, 2008
Chitra the Spinach Seller
May 16, 2008
When I wrote my entry about spinach , I mentioned the young woman who came to my door several times a week to sell it…..
The Monkey Puzzle Tree
May 15, 2008
While we are at Lalbagh for
MMMMMMMMMangoes...
May 15, 2008
KM cheerfully looks forward to putting on a couple of kilos. at least, during the mango season. In fact I call it the “man go crazy about Alphonso” (or Alfonso) season…
A sense of humour....
May 14, 2008
I had sent out a test mail on one of the egroups that I moderate and asked for responses from everyone. Those who responded (alas, 32 out of a possible 97!) said, “Hi” or, “I am getting the mail on this id”
What......?
May 14, 2008
What would YOU consult with these consultants?
Interesting art event in Iceland
May 13, 2008
Someone I have got to know fairly well is off for this event:
One of my very few political posts.....
May 13, 2008
I do not like to post comments about politics or activist activities normally, even though I am involved with some of them and try to do the pitiful little that I can.
Have you had a Shek?
May 12, 2008
How conveniently placed this Devnarayan Badam Shek Ice Cream Center (note American spelling) is…
The only thing I really miss...
May 12, 2008
Had a somewhat hectic weekend, with the JLRNTP, an excellent photography workshop by
Conquest....
May 12, 2008
Someone I know has been agonizing over taking one particular professional exam for months now. She has worried about it, studied for it, taken a mock exam…and still continued to worry. I was wondering when she would stop thinking about how she would do on it, and take it,at last…because I was convinced that she would pass WFC…With Flying Colours. The trouble, and the psychological block of this exam is, that the pass mark is 85%!
Swimming...Citizen Matters....
May 9, 2008
I was happy that Citizen Matters wanted one of my, er, humorous articles, and I wrote one on how my friends and I learnt to swim….
Great inter-racial photograph
May 9, 2008
The photographs on India Nature Watch are a source of wonder, solace, interest, information– and sometimes amusement.
Whats this fruit called in English?
May 8, 2008
Here’s what we call “Jamun” in Hindi, and “nAga pazham” (“snake fruit”!) in Tamizh…
First Lichi of the Year...
May 8, 2008
The Lichi (it is spelt in many ways..the name originates in the Chinese language) is one of my favourites.
I suppose I should go....?
May 8, 2008
As a concerned citizen, and as someone who writes for Citizen Matters , I have been invited to a citizens’ meeting which will be addressed by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh .
Volunteering...
May 7, 2008
I have always done some form or the other of voluntary work, but have been careful to let it occupy only my “spare” time and not let it encroach upon time that is devoted to the spouse and the household. But that is changing now….
I am almost always sheltered from this world....
May 6, 2008
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/2008/05/05/conversations-with-a-cab-driver/
Flash on the Pan....
May 6, 2008
No, I don’t have that subject title wrong…
Mendicants.....
May 5, 2008
Here’s a picture I like against all the rules.
Extreme usefulness
May 5, 2008
This is a pean of praise to something that is so extremly useful in our lives; we just could not get along without these little cylinders. Could one have imagined, a few decades ago, that one could carry stored energy along in tiny little packs, that would then faithfully deliver a steady supply to it to whatever one wanted to keep working…!
Security....
May 3, 2008
I want to be safe and secure. To this end, I lock my front door when I am away, or asleep. But how secure IS the front door?
Donkey Welfare Concern by Karnataka Politician
May 3, 2008
I put it into one of my replies to a comment on my spinach post, but it is tooooo good not to make a separate post about…
I T Companies are diversifying...
May 2, 2008
I suddenly caught sight of this and had to whip out my MLC as the bus passed the sign at speed; so the pic is very shaky and blurred….
Spinach
May 1, 2008
Of all the multitudinous varieties of greens that are available (I could not begin to list them…there are so many….!), my favourite is spinach.
Good to see....
April 30, 2008
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/2008/04/30/calligraphy-exhibition-at-ethos-art-gallery/
Bandipur flora
April 30, 2008
Two of the flowers on the Bandipur JLR campus:
Gold, Mammals and others at Bandipur....
April 30, 2008
First, the gold that I struck in Bandipur. Gold comes in many forms in the forest. Here’s a GOLDEN DRAGONFLY:
Birds at Bandipur.....
April 29, 2008
Well, since That Mammal is still grimly determined that I will never see its visage (or even a twitch of its tail), let me share all the other wonderful sights of Bandipur…. Here are some of the birds (all pretty common, no Darwinian discoveries here!) that I saw.
Whats the significance?
April 29, 2008
Can’t understand why….
Chilli, and other discussions
April 29, 2008
I felt really bad when
What an Orrible Lot You Are
April 28, 2008
I go with a heart full of hope (and greed, yes…everyone ELSE has seen the SIT)…to Bandipur, and of course, how many SIT’s do I see (remember,
Coincidence....
April 25, 2008
When I was in St Louis, I would, once in a while, buy the New York Times newspaper and bring it home. Once, when I did this, and was reading it, I came across an article on migrant birds being possible carriers of the Avian flu…and there was a picture of BAR-HEADED GEESE which was credited to M.Niranjan , who was not mentioned by name in the article.
Faults....
April 25, 2008
I think I am looking deep within me, But I never see my faults. When I think I am overlooking Someone else’s faults, I am actually Looking them over carefully… My sense of superiority vaults; My criticisms run in a groove…) I wish I had the ability to see What could be better in me, Than to keep looking for ways That others could improve.
Sigh...
April 25, 2008
…a whine is the most difficult sound on earth to bear with,it goes through one’s head…. But it has to be borne sometimes. That’s the only way to prevent it from increasing in volume.
Off to Bandipur, tiger, tiger, can you burn a little brighter?
April 25, 2008
Here’s my favourite shot from Bandipur ….
The Valley School trip
April 24, 2008
Can you imagine, me not posting about an outing for several days…but miracles do occur. But now you have not been spared, so here it is…
Blogathon...Seed opinions
April 23, 2008
http://www.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/134-how-can-we-improve-the-traffic-situation-in-our-city
The heat
April 23, 2008
I know people who are “larks” and “owls”…in a similar fashion, I know people who are “warm weather” and “cool weather” persons.
Camouflage
April 22, 2008
Here’s a picture by M Niranjan, whom I got to meet through the JLRNTP:
Organizing something
April 21, 2008
Organizing a voluntary event is one of the most difficult tasks I know. First of all, I have to find out if each and every person is free; then sound each one about the event being proposed; tap into their enthusiasm, sometimes stoking up the same from apathy; making sure everyone has phone nos and details, and making sure small and big things go wrong.
LJ .....
April 21, 2008
An LJ post about LJ!
The Circle Goddess
April 19, 2008
I don’t like posting about current events and politics and such, because there are plenty of others who do that much better than I do.
More from IISc
April 18, 2008
Since so many people liked that photo of the light on the gardens at IISc, here are a few more images….
Sunrise today....
April 18, 2008
The sun rises on a fresh, new day, and one feels that one can leave old fears behind and indulge in fresh hopes…
Vine at IISc CES
April 18, 2008
The IISc campus is always beautiful to walk in; the tree canopy meets overhead, so even on the hottest of days, one walks through a dim green light.
The story of others sightings and my sighings....
April 16, 2008
Magzinces and Scrapes...
April 15, 2008
Our streets are never M T of humour; signs such as this abound:
The things that bother people....
April 15, 2008
This one’s definitely for my friends abroad.
The wrong materials....bad architecture
April 15, 2008
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/2008/04/15/energy-inefficient-design/
Sexual Minorities....
April 15, 2008
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/2008/04/15/minorities-empowerment/
Poem.....
April 14, 2008
Attributed to Pastor Martin Niemoeller (1892- 1984) about the inactivity of the German intellectuals during the rise of the Nazis to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group.
Better, of course...Monday morning NON blues
April 14, 2008
This is my way of coping with the blues, with depression. When I feel (rather rare for me, thank goodness!) I just put out that official notification, “I am down”! and I know that the people who care will immediately buoy me up with their messages.
One of those rare times
April 13, 2008
Depression is an uninvited guest. Why on earth should I feel so low when there is nothing to justify it?
A debate...
April 13, 2008
Absentee journalism, staged photography....
April 11, 2008
I was happy to be featured in two newspapers today. It was a change to be written about, and photographed, rather than writing and photographing.
WHAT delay?
April 10, 2008
Magnification...
April 10, 2008
It was KM’s “birth star” today, and our friends had said they had fixed up an “abhishekam” at the local temple for us. We agreed, and went to their home to find that they had made quite a big deal of it….
Humph
April 9, 2008
Some of the people I invited called for the Devanarayadurga trip pleaded off saying they were busy, and apparently (from their blogs) they have gone off to other birding destinations. Humph. I think there is this whole big snootiness about not going with a “less experienced” birder, or going with a “more experienced” birder…. and also going with someone who will “have more sightings” as someone helpfully explained to me. Also, I have slowly come to notice that when these others go birding/wildlifing, I don’t get calls from THEM, and only see by their blogs where they have been.
Childrens Adventure Camp
April 9, 2008
I received an ad asking for children to be sent to a Nature Camp. Here are some excerpts:
Places in Devarayanadurga
April 9, 2008
I am truly struggling with an internet connection that is like the Sardarji’s car turn-indicator (someone asked him, “I will switch on the indicator, let me know if it’s working,” and his reply was, “It’s working,it’s not working, it’s working, it’s not working….)..it comes and goes and comes and goes and a post that should take a few minutes has taken HOURS. But I will be victorious and make the post yet….
Sights, sounds,smells, and sightings at Devarayanadurga 050408
April 9, 2008
It was a day where all the senses were fully engaged, at Devarayana Durga (Phonetically, dEvarAyana durgA…durgA means ‘fort’.) The Devarayanadurga State Forest (DDSF) area is one of the most beautiful I have seen, in the District of Tumkur, which is also home to the the endangered Slender Loris and the Blackbuck . The awe-inspiring rock formation, and the variety of fauna and flora that can be found, made me decide to visit the place.
Cycling in Bangalore
April 8, 2008
I enjoyed writing this one…
Me
April 8, 2008
This is for
The macaques of Devarayanadurga
April 7, 2008
One of the fauna that kept us endlessly entertained at Devarayanadurga was the Bonnet Macaque, which we call the common monkey….
Ever wonder...
April 5, 2008
Want to know what a girl auto looks like? I saw one in Devarayanadurga today, at the Yoganarasimha temple:
The Crimson Rose Butterflies, Devarayanadurga
April 5, 2008
I spent a wonderful day with fellow naturalists– from the NTP, namely
Good Morning
April 4, 2008
The view from my balcony this morning:
Hook,line and sinker
April 3, 2008
My daughter and son-in-law came back from their skiing vacation in Aspen, and she told me that D had fallen and broken his leg. I expressed concern and the glee of the “April Fool” came clearly down the wires. I told her it was April third ( and April 2 for her)…but she was unrepentant…the dearest IDIOT! :)))
Two views of passion...
April 3, 2008
Passion is necessary to life…
Ranga Shankara Play Review
April 3, 2008
I realize that I hardly ever give my Metblog posts URL’s here…well, here’s a review I think I wrote well…
The April of the Penguins, not the March of the Penguins
April 2, 2008
Sorry,this video was put up yesterday; I only got to see it today.
The Brand Equity Quiz, Bangalore Round
April 2, 2008
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/2008/04/01/the-brand-equity-quiz-in-bangalore/
Possessions...
March 31, 2008
Yesterday a friend of mine moved back into Bangalore, and we went over to help….and I couldn’t help wondering why we seem to surround ourselves with so many more possessions than we could possibly need…. why do we tend to accumulate so much of stuff? Everything looks so attractive, so potentially useful, and sometimes so ..just must-have…when we see them, and they come to join us in our daily existence. And then, of course, there are the things that are given to us by those around us; they are tokens of affection, so we accept those too, and give them place in our homes….but the sad truth is that so much of our possessions are only clutter, and we don’t have the inclination, the ability, or the clarity to identify them as such, and get rid of them. We are like magpies, picking up whatever we see and bringing it back to the nest, and we wind up with homes that overflow with what we like to think are possessions, but are often…just junk!
Madurai......lots of pics, read at leisure, or skip )
March 31, 2008
A very enjoyable trip to Madurai and a terrible (yes, still) internet connection meant no LJ, and have been sitting up at 3am, catching up with friends’ posts. When I am reading so many posts (the power has gone and I wonder when the UPS will pack up, and kill off my connection, or when the connection will drop), I don’t have the time to post comments…and I don’t like that..it’s like keeping quiet instead of participating in a conversation!
What a cordful microphone can do...
March 31, 2008
Found this on the LJ of
Found this in my Gmail drafts.....the Buffalo
March 30, 2008
I like to put things into the drafts folder on both my gmail and Outlook Express…the pickle jar for my ideas and words, I guess…
Incredible, or NOT credible...
March 29, 2008
Was forwarded this YouTube video:
A way to make a living....
March 28, 2008
I spotted these two people at Jayanagar 4th Block the other day; they are, in fact, mendicants, but add value by dressing up as mythological characters. The characters are usually identifiable, but I could not make out who these two were supposed to represent. I wonder..perhaps it is Rama and Lakshmana?
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But if so, the bows and arrows are missing.
They were taking a little break from work; I saw them a little earlier, asking for alms….
Lalbagh on Saturday; films on the weekend...
March 24, 2008
Karthik had told me that he would be free this weekend, so I tried to organize an outing; the weather was not very predictable, so he said that rather than Manchinabele, which was much further away, we should go to Lalbagh, where if it rained, we could do some id’ing of hot idlis and coffee at any nearby Darshini…
Anush and his help....
March 24, 2008
In the Pink , and thats not good....
March 24, 2008
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/2008/03/24/after-holi/
BRHills, K.Gudi JLR, 17 and 18 March 2008
March 24, 2008
The 17th of March was a landmark birthday for KM…yes, he (I can’t believe it!) turned 60. When I see him, I still see the 28-year-old whom I married, so I keep having to remind myself that 32 years have passed in the blink of an eye…
Sometimes they miss the smile....
March 24, 2008
When people are very immersed in their subject, sometimes the humour of it escapes them. Here’s an email I got on a mailing list that I belong to:
Milad-un-Nabi, Good Friday, and Holi....
March 21, 2008
I am afraid that decades of life have not been able to take away my somewhat simplistic view of religions and co-existence…
Honest Ad, like the Honest Ed who sells cars in the US....
March 20, 2008
Been working feverishly to post pics to Flickr, check on friends’ blogs (haven’t got past LJ to Blogger posts yet!) and deal with all the other stuff that has to be done, while I have the internet connection up and running…
Images from Lalbagh..... on the Ides of March
March 20, 2008
We went to Lalbagh a few days ago, and enjoyed ourselves very much….
Article on the JLRNTP....
March 20, 2008
http://citizenmatters.in/articles/view/95-ready-to-escape-into-the-woods
Glow Worms....
March 20, 2008
I have been having a really rotten internet connection and have not been able to post about the varied and wonderful sightings we had at the Biligiri Ranganna Hills property of Jungle Lodges and Resorts…but while I can, let me make a quick post about a short outing I had yesterday….it turned out to be a mini NTP outing!
Poetry On A Truck
March 16, 2008
There ARE some advantages to being caught in inch-by-inch traffic. You wouldn’t think so, would you? Well, here’s one:
Got my ertia...
March 14, 2008
Immediately I made my last post, I went and got my swimsuit and OFFIWENT. And frankly, when I stepped into the pre-swim shower, AND when I stepped into the pool, I regretted it. I think my eerie water-is-too-COLD cry could be heard in all the flats in my apartment building and mothers are still probably comforting their trembling toddlers. There was a fair wind blowing today, too, and it was cooler than it usually is at this time of year…… and it felt, for the first 5 or 6 laps, as if someone had filled up the pool with the contents of their just-melted ice trays. Well, I didn’t actually see polar bears or the march of the penguins, but you get the…drift?
I wish...
March 14, 2008
I wish I had more ertia.
The Ramnagara Post
March 14, 2008
Some of us had been to Ramnagara last year, but after that, senior birders were concerned about the disturbance to the LONG-BILLED VULTURES, so birders have stopped going there now. But I think, after seeing
Quite a Puzzle
March 13, 2008
This car owner created more of a puzzle than he knew….
The Maid
March 12, 2008
She is an inescapable part of the urban Indian’s life. She is, in general, underpaid in terms of just cash; but she gets her due in terms of other intangibles. Most people could not get through the day’s housework without her help. And (again this is a generalization) she is the strong bread-winner for the family, often managing a good-for-nothing, drunkard husband, trying to send the children to school, and trying to have a normal life as well…
Andru vanthathum ithae nilA....and ThottAl poo malarum.....
March 11, 2008
I googled for the video of this lovely song, and I must say, whenever I get to old Tamizh film hits, they are always short of something…no lyrics, or I have to shuffle through dozens of other songs, or get shunted into other people’s conversations about them…
Chandra.....
March 11, 2008
The moon Sets so soon Over my city…. Perhaps she waxes and wanes From the energy she loses and gains She looks lovely at the full… When she draws up tides with her pull… So thin she looks now…a pity That she can’t always be a full moon. But we don’t have the boon Of making the most of ourselves, and being the best. We wax and wane, too….sometimes being more, sometimes less.
<LJ user=mamtanaidu>s post for Womens Day....
March 11, 2008
http://mamtanaidu.livejournal.com/17425.html
The Turahalli Trip
March 10, 2008
It was really tough, after getting back home at 1.45pm after our monthly QuizFamilies meet, to wake up again at 5am, to go to Turahalli; but Chandan had been talking about his trekking trips for so long that I was determined to go on one with him!
Chandan was a little worried about whether KM and I would be able to make it up the slope…but he need not have worried, as the slope was a very, very gentle one, and in any case, we were ambling up and down, as we kept looking for birds!
For me, any trip into the forest/wild areas has both the bird and the non-bird components; the two together make up the whole experience, so if one is disappointing, the other generally makes up! The trip to Turahalli was, primarily, to enjoy the beauty of the landscape, but the birds didn’t let us down (though the bird photography part was pathetic!) Let me discuss the bird component first:
This started off on a really awesome note. We had hardly stepped out of the car and on to the slope of the path that led to the Munishwara temple when we sighted the Eurasian Eagle Owl, sitting quite a way from us in the early morning light. Of course, there was no opportunity to take anywhere near a decent shot, but since, for me, the documentation is the most important part of bird photography, I have no problems in including two of my terrible shots. One is practically a silhouette that only a committed bird-watcher could recognize as the EURASIAN EAGLE OWL (click on the words for a much better picture!):
I am sick of acronyms and initials....
March 8, 2008
I find it very difficult to deal with initials. Those letters that, to everyone else, seem to denote something meaningful, but to me, remain just that….having just seen pictures on INW (India Nature Watch) of the CSE (Crested Serpent Eagle) and posted from LRK (goodness knows what or where that is)… (update, that’s the Little Rann of Kutch, in Gujarat, apparently!) I feel that initials are just things invented so that the user can appear more knowledgeable and jargon-enabled than the non-initials person. Even when I can work out part of it, I can’t work out the whole. I used to keep reading aout SGNP and realized that the NP was probably National Park, but it took me a long while to work out that SG was Sanjay Gandhi. (FG and IG had RG and SG, you know, and RG married SG and they had PG and RG,who are trying their hand at extending the dynasty . SG married MG but IG threw her out after SG died, and VG is not in the polictical picture yet.)
International Womens Day
March 8, 2008
I wanted to post this on Metblogs, but the page I get doesn’t have a link that will let me post (Metblogs was re-designed recently and I guess they still have glitches!)
Birthday Bumps.....
March 8, 2008
The 6th was
Two interesting people...
March 6, 2008
Amazing people lead you to more amazing people. When I first heard of Shyamal , I thought of an aged old man, steeped in the practice and lore of birdwatching. Only Anno Domini, in my view, could account for the amount of knowledge that everyone around me told me he had.
The T G Halli trip
March 6, 2008
Mainly birding…so if not interested, move along to the next friend’s post!
With vehicles...without...with trees...without....
March 5, 2008
With Vehicles…
I do NOT check my Yahoo id regularly
March 5, 2008
Dear LJ friends…
BSNL broadband....
March 5, 2008
My internet conection has been been giving intense trouble since I came back, and not all the tech help I am getting from
The Lalbagh outing 010308
March 4, 2008
Mahesh and I decided we would go to Lalbagh quite early, so he picked me up and we went off to see what we could see.
Brahminy Kites at Lalbagh 010308
March 4, 2008
Apart from the other birds sighted at Lalbagh last Saturday, it was lovely to see four BRAHMINY KITES enjoying the air currents and gliding lazily around, landing on the huge Ficus benjamina trees and then taking off again. Here are some shots I took of these handsome birds in flight:
Should take my own advice..
March 4, 2008
I am SO good at giving out gyaan. “Don’t compare yourself with anyone else,” I say wisely to my friends (obviously; my enemies are not going to listen to me.) “You are unique in your own combination of strengths and weaknesses. Don’t worry about others.”
Some take photographs, some make art...
March 3, 2008
Here’s one of H S Ganesh’s (I know him only through his photos on INW) images…It was great to meet him on Sunday:
I YAM ALIVE....
March 3, 2008
Yes, boysngulls,ladiesngenmun, and all others…I am not dead, but my internet connection nearly was. Took a lot of help from
The Golden Chariot Experience
February 29, 2008
I was going to blog in detail about my experiences on this heritage train but then I found that
The photo session for Mint at Lalbagh
February 29, 2008
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2008/02/shoot_for_mint.phtml
2007 cc
February 29, 2008
When my son-in-law was here, he noticed that autorickshaws in Bangalore often have other car brand names such as “Volvo” and “Benz” written on them, and also incredibly inflated engine capacities, such as “1000 cc” and “2000 cc”. Well, this auto decided that 2000 cc was old hat, and decided to be more modern:
The beauty of the sunset
February 27, 2008
A few days ago, I was interviewed in my capacity as a birder (and the author of a “yumerus” article on the Bangalore Bird Race ) by Archana Rai, for Mint, which is the local version of the Wall Street Journal.
I enjoyed the performance of the dancing drummers from Manipur
February 27, 2008
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2008/02/the_new_performance_festival_a.phtml
Two images on a train.....
February 26, 2008
The wealthy traveller boards the train. The window is big and is not curtained, but the lights ensure that he doesn’t see much outside, and his attention is on the snowy napery, the shining cutlery, and the food to arrive:
Two notices...
February 26, 2008
This one was in the Hindu Temple of St Louis:
Fat-Free Water (the ONLY Place in the World that You can Get It)
February 26, 2008
http://joylita.livejournal.com/72330.html
LJ Friends posts...
February 25, 2008
Coming back after several days’ absence is very tough on the LJ friends list, because I do want to read what every friend has posted. And all these friends always decide that they WILL post, and post utterly interesting stuff, the MINUTE I go travelling. I have to read and backtrack, and am still not sure that I might not have missed something….and of course, the worst is that with so many posts to read (and this BSNL broadband getting spottier all the time) I can’t respond and comment and debate….
Phishing trap in a more sophisticated form
February 25, 2008
Here’s what my daughter had to say yesterday:
Lunch
February 24, 2008
One goes to Kabini, the flagship resort of JLR, and one sees such a wealth of sightings that it leaves one breathless.
The Morning News
February 24, 2008
I got a lot of interesting images and experiences from my trip on the Golden Chariot, but here’s one that I got out of the dining car window….
The Offer
February 20, 2008
So…my job offer.
Two views of philosophy
February 20, 2008
1.
Is age a disease?
February 19, 2008
Here’s an ad:
Interesting things are happening....
February 19, 2008
Can you imagine ME not posting for a few days…Miracles do occur! :)
The Golden Chariot
February 16, 2008
http://www.thegoldenchariot.co.in/journey.php
New York and Bangalore
February 15, 2008
I made this as a post on Metroblogs: the text of it is here at
Article on Kalyana Mantapas in CitizenMatters emagazine
February 15, 2008
http://www.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/67-kalyana-mantapas-taking-more-giving-less
Happy Valentines Day to Everyone
February 14, 2008
Forget the..er… funny words written in this picture, just concentrate on the heart-n-arrow:
Sitting in Brussels...
February 13, 2008
Ah, the joys of technology….wifi hotspot at Brussels…
The birds I saw in Forest Park
February 12, 2008
Non-birders, s.k.i.p!
Separation
February 12, 2008
Where does this pain come from? She’s grown up, her own woman, Leading a full life: Happy in her world. She’s loving, welcomes me always, The leaves of her home and heart unfurled.
Monday morning....
February 11, 2008
Couldn’t post yesterday because the net connection was down (yes, these things happen to D.Murphy)…so that’s Sunday’s post down below!
Can anyone...
February 7, 2008
I would like to visit some sites where I can listen online/watch YouTubes of old Tamil classic film songs….
More messages...
February 7, 2008
What’s the logic…
Idlity...
February 7, 2008
A sore throat, and heavy,sleeting snow means being indoors for two days running…yesterday the pool at the YMCA was closed as they are not allowed to be open during a thunderstorm, though they are an indoor pool. The logic is that the electricity from a bolt of lightning might mean the swimmers being water-fried…
Ap kee nazrOn nEy samjhA....
February 6, 2008
Another of my eternal favourites….this time of love returned…what a voice Lata has, it gives me goose-pimples as I write this.
One of my perennial favourites....
February 6, 2008
I can never hear this song enough…..oh, the pangs of unrequited love!
One Man Voting
February 6, 2008
I followed one man as he went to vote on Super Tuesday.
I saw a Snow Leopard
February 6, 2008
AH! You want to see the Snow Leopard, too?
I need help
February 5, 2008
Can someone tell me how to downsize that pic in my last post to manageable proportions please? Thanks in advance..
Lovely float in Germany (from the Deccan Herald of today)
February 5, 2008
The Obama Event
February 5, 2008
Here’s a sign on the wall of the Edward Jones Dome :
Illogical, but true
February 5, 2008
If I can’t do something myself, and get someone else to do it regularly for me…and it gets done regularly and well…it stands to reason that I should respect the person who does it for me. Right? Wrong.
Unintentional humour
February 4, 2008
On DnA’s TV, there is “closed captioning”, so I often have the volume off even when I am watching
Butterflies and Flowers...
February 4, 2008
I need Madhusmita …or someone…to id all these butterflies, as I lost the piece of paper on which I had written some of them down…
Went to see this guy tonight...
February 3, 2008
When we realized that this guy was here (we missed the Clintons, they swanned in and out without informing us!) was coming to town, we wen to see him …and get the experience of it all…will post about it later..
Went to see BodyWorlds3
February 2, 2008
This exhbition was one I have wanted to see for a long time, and when I realized it was on at the St Louis Science Center, off we went…
Whats up...or down...with Yahoo?
February 2, 2008
First I read that Yahoo is planning layoffs, then that MS is bidding for it…but what impacts me is, most of the emails I am sending on Yahoo are bouncing back or just being undelivered, which can cause problems, y’know, and misunderstandings…at least 3 emails have disappeared, and today I emailed
From the <LJ user=engrish> community page
February 1, 2008
Read More
The weird bird of Jefferson Lake...
February 1, 2008
On my walk, I saw this bird, and photographed it:
The Jesus Christ Duck
January 31, 2008
I have posted some pictures of a pelican landing on the water where it looks as if it’s walking on the water…but yesterday I did really see a Jesus Christ Duck!
What some imagination can do
January 30, 2008
We too have “junction boxes” (I don’t know what they are called in America) in India….boxes at street corners where the power outlets and (possibly) switches and fuses are. But ours are drab eyesores…and here, I enjoyed seeing how a little imagination and art can better these things…
The Legend of Leelinau
January 30, 2008
While in the World Bird Sanctuary/Lone Elk Park area, we saw this…and it was really striking.
A snap of a day....
January 30, 2008
I thought I would snap pictures through the course of one of my very ordinary,humdrum days….those not interested, skip please…
Honesty...
January 29, 2008
I do like it when companies describe themselves accurately…
What <LJ user=beast_666> asked me to do...
January 29, 2008
- Grab the nearest book.
- Open the book to page 123.
- Find the fifth sentence.
- Post the text of the next 4-7 sentences on your LJ along with these instructions.
- Don’t dig for the “coolest” or “most intellectual-sounding” book in your collection. Just pick up whatever is closest.
The Anti-Bush Campaign
January 28, 2008
Here people seem to be very anti-Bush, and they are all out to remove Bush. “Consign Bush to the trash bin of history!” seems to be the slogan.
Baby tips...
January 27, 2008
Since I am no longer a Paati animal….no grandchild in the offing now….I thought it might be painful to see this site.
<LJ user=anirudhc> wins a photography contest
January 27, 2008
It’s a great feeling when someone you know does good….
Play at Kirkwood Theater Guild
January 26, 2008
Yesterday, A was down again, and decided that the best way to cheer herself up was to go to a play; so she chose the Kirkwood Theater Guild , where there was a production of <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fourth_Wall”> The Fourth Wall </a> by A R Gurney , an American playwright.
Tormentrobes
January 26, 2008
I canNOT get over it. They are clothes of torture, garments of ghastliness.
The Irresistible Attraction of Gossip...
January 26, 2008
It bothers me very much that someone close to me is becoming a total Tambram in terms of…gossip. Not malicious gossip, but the extreme interest in people’s lives which I seem NOT to have developed at all. It bugs me that right now, this person loves to talk about what happened to various people, .who’s related to whom and whose marriage failed and who took help from whom…I think it is impolite to have too much of interest in other people, but here’s someone who, recently, is thoroughly enjoying talking about who is doing what….It’s actually, I think, a necessity to make a lot of connections,and have a lot of information. That’s all…at least, in this instance.
Patterns
January 25, 2008
I got to liking the shapes of images, after I looked at the photographs of
Haven....
January 25, 2008
Wouldn’t each of us like to have one of these?
nice chat...
January 24, 2008
Had a Himalayan Yak with
How we mothers bond with each other....
January 23, 2008
With immense thanks to Marginalien….
Lone Elk Park, Fenton, Mo. 200108
January 22, 2008
After we visited the World Bird Sanctuary, we realized that the Lone Elk Park was right adjacent to it, so we turned in there as well.
World Bird Sanctuary, Fenton, Mo, 200108
January 22, 2008
Having rested for 48 hours was more than my daughter could do…and on Sunday she came downstairs with a plan to drive to the World Bird Sanctuary …update on 8 March, their blog is at
Incredible afternoon...
January 20, 2008
Having had one of the most gut-wrenching days of our lives yesterday, we decided to go to the St Louis temple today, and we spent a quiet time there. When most of the devotees had left, the temple was deserted; I sang a few songs, and the priest blessed me as being “golden-voiced”, which I took with none of my usual gladness…the singing comforted DnA a lot, and we drove home fairly peacefully.
For Subbu....
January 19, 2008
Here’a lovely pic of auto-motive power for someone ….
Mischief....and personalities....
January 19, 2008
Entry on the LJ of
Adjectives....
January 19, 2008
In the consumer market in “developed” countries, there are no nouns without adjectives and adverbs…..and those, too, luscious and superlative adjectives and adverbs. Where does all the ordinary stuff ever go? There are no tomatoes, only “sun-dried tomatoes”. No fruit juice, only “bursting-with-vitamins” fruit juice. “Sun-kissed” oranges. “Mountain-fresh” apples. Even the cleaning fluid on the kitchen counter is “real-lemon fragrance”(if that thing has been near a lemon tree in its life I will eat my hat.)
The Bangalore Bird Race..and Me
January 17, 2008
Here’s my chetongueek (that’s “tongue in cheek”) article in
The light gets broken up....
January 17, 2008
As evening passes, there is a specific instant when a ray of sunlight strikes the wall in my child’s living room, through the front door pane of cut-glass. The light becomes prismatic, and strikes the wall in multicoloured glory.
The Sun Will Come Through....
January 16, 2008
Today’s the day something nasty’s to happen: The clouds loom, and cover the sky: We don’t know why this happened to us.. There’s no point asking why.
Images from Forrest Park
January 16, 2008
Went for a nice brisk walk in the cold, and here are some things I spotted:
Where in the world ....
January 16, 2008
I used to enjoy a series called “Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?” and I am offering no prizes for guessing whete these snaps were taken…
Poverty
January 16, 2008
Am sitting here in the OOS of A…and in St Louis, one of the things that hits me is the definition of poverty.
Hebbal Lake, 060108
January 13, 2008
For the first time, I was able to visit Hebbal Lake, as Garima Bhatia had offered to give interested people a lift to the first Sunday birding session there. So KM’s cousin-from-Qatar,
To cheer myself up...
January 13, 2008
Here’s “Catching Up With the World”….
Friends...
January 13, 2008
The greatest of treasures in this world are friends….
Off to Oosa for a while
January 12, 2008
I am off to Oosa for a while, and I hope the problem that is taking me there is satisfactorily resolved…but you have no hope, oh readers, because the minute I have some spare time over there, I will start blogging again….!
A bus came and hitted him...
January 12, 2008
I received this forward….
Worry.....
January 11, 2008
Perhaps I posted too many times about being happy and content….? The clouds have gathered, rather suddenly….and really speaking, it’s not MY difficulty, but someone else’s, but it impacts me a lot, too….
Ranganathittu
January 10, 2008
Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary is within easy driving distance of Bangalore, on the highway to Mysore. We decided to visit it briefly on our way back from B R Hills. We did not hire a boat to approach the bird islands, but took all our shots from the shore, as we were getting very late to go back home.
Good Wishes...
January 9, 2008
It’s
The Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple
January 9, 2008
I promised someone that I would do a separate post on this lovely little temple, so here it is!
The B R Hills trip, 030108
January 8, 2008
As
From the LJ of <LJ user=sharathm>
January 8, 2008
Wonderful insight
January 8, 2008
I have been a bear...
January 7, 2008
One of my LJ friends come to Bangalore and has not contacted me … I have been rather perplexed and hurt….so I have been a bear to another one who came to visit, too, and who, I think, would most certainly have contacted me if possible….sorry, JS.
The future....
January 6, 2008
I think that the future will be defined by some inventions or discoveries that we may have speculated about now or which are in their nascent stage at this point…but I also believe that there will be inventions and discoveries which are beyond the realm of our present imagination and which does not figure at all in our speculation. People will look back and wonder how humankind managed without X,Y, and Z…..and also think, they had a much better quality of life!
Two happy people
January 6, 2008
As we left Ranganathittu on our way home…
Three lovely notices and a balanced outlook
January 6, 2008
At Hebbal Lake….
B R Hills
January 5, 2008
Will be posting about our quick trip to Biligiri Ranganna Hills, Karnataka, but it’s late and I am sleepy and I want to share just one image which I really loved..the evening sunlight through various objects makes for such beauty…
Happy New Year
January 1, 2008
Wishing you (this means YOU!) happiness, health and peace of mind….
How NOT to wish people for the new year....
December 31, 2007
- Don’t do mass emails where you are wishing some three hundred and fourteen people. No one will take such “wishes” seriously.
The mammals of Kanha...with picture titles....
December 31, 2007
Since I felt very bad seeing practically every visitor to Kanha focusing exclusively on the tigers and not bothering about the other great sights there, my tiger pictures are going to be the last ones on this post….
The birds of Kanha and some of Pune
December 31, 2007
Here are some of the birds we saw; with the exception of a few, they are all birds that can be seen just outside Bangalore, too! But it was no less enjoyable to sight them in distant Madhya Pradesh.
A few lovely things at the resort
December 31, 2007
In the afternoons, I wandered around the resort where we stayed, and got these….
Why do you think...?
December 29, 2007
On the front windshield of the taxi that took us to Mumbai Railway Station:
How NOT to do bird photography...another lesson
December 29, 2007
Before I make my posts on Kanha, I thought I would once again vent my spleen mention a few words about the difficulty of bird photography.
Incredible...
December 29, 2007
Amazing! Someone has something nice to say about a Microsoft product!
Great ad campaign...
December 28, 2007
Since I have been going to Hosur frequently, I have been enjoying the ad campaign by a local builder, and here’s one of the hoardings…
Impure Vegetarianism....
December 28, 2007
I got an email from
HUMPH *WE* dont need diesel.....
December 28, 2007
Loved this sight as we waited for our bus from Pune to Mumbai….
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal...Railways
December 20, 2007
A huge rally in Mumbai ensured that we could not make our second visit of the day, and had to take a taxi to the railway station that was earlier called “Victoria Terminus”, with 3 hours to spare for our train to Nagpur.
Transport Smorgasbord....
December 18, 2007
Took a flight to Pune today…taking a bus to Mumbai tomorrow…the day after, an overnight train to Nagpur..then a van or a car to Kanha…will we return by train or bullock cart? Watch this space!
From Arpita Joshi ESG
December 17, 2007
Words are things; and a small drop of ink Falling like dew upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think. ~ Lord Byron, poet (1788-1824)
Another all-purpose warning...
December 17, 2007
I had posted about this lovely all-purpose commandment some time ago…
Galibore and Kanakapura Road
December 17, 2007
Let me start with a nice picture of a RIVER TERN on the Kaveri…
Scene at a scrap iron shop...
December 17, 2007
On our way back from Galibore, this young woman caught my eye…
Road Inspection, and Theatre...
December 16, 2007
As part of the ongoing struggle to prevent our esteemed government from razing trees to make broader roads, four of us went down Kasturba Road, that abuts Cubbon Park, today. It was a wonderful walk in one sense, because starting from the Karunashraya at the corner,
Numerology...and Air Barek
December 14, 2007
I have yet to see a “numerology specialist” (er, perhaps, Dr Jeyashankar who has a doctorate from the US) who will say, “this name is perfectly OK, go ahead.” No. Numerology mandates that several extra letters be added (why is it that deleting some letters is never given as a solution? Do numerologists work in close collusion with signboard painters, and makers of plastic, brass and neon letters?)
Songs the letters sing...
December 13, 2007
No matter how politely couched, no matter how much masked, I think that the emotions that underlie any communication in writing cannot be mistaken. As much as positive emotions like love and happiness, negative emotions such as irritation, disgust, anger or hatred show through the text, and make themselves very clear. The actual words may not give offense, but the tone of the whole text can certainly do so.
Didnt post...
December 12, 2007
Just now I told someone, “I haven’t posted anything today evening…” so decided to!
INW article on Citizen Matters
December 11, 2007
http://citizenmatters.in/articles/view/31-bangaloreans-contribute-to-wildlife-protection-
Babies drop from Heaven..well, from the temples, at least...
December 11, 2007
Here’s the link (thanks,
How are they numbered?
December 11, 2007
My last blog entry was numbered thus:
Why do I blog?
December 11, 2007
Here’s an entry from the LJ of
Karnataka Sheep
December 10, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/12/karnataka_sheep.phtml
From the LJ of <LJ user=beah>
December 10, 2007
A 1st grade school teacher had twenty-six students in her class. She presented each child in her classroom the 1st half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It’s hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading, keep in mind that these are first-graders, 6-year-olds, because the last one is a classic!
Punctuality...and our lack of it
December 10, 2007
As a child, I was brought up to be very punctual. If I was as much as five minutes late getting ready to go out, I would be scolded by my parents, and I learnt to be ready on time, though I was still the least punctual person in my own family, thanks to my tendency to forget something and having to dash back into the house for it just when everyone else was set to leave.
More on people who are different..
December 8, 2007
Ramagiri Temple....
December 6, 2007
I ought to have gone peacefully to sleep; I have had a fairly busy day; but that hunting thing is still bothering me, so I am going to cheer myself up by posting a couple of pictures of the beautiful Ramagiri temple between Bangalore and Mysore.
People who are NOT like us...
December 6, 2007
When we meet new people, we tend to bond with those whose interests coincide with our own..and generally tend not to take a shine to those whose interests are markedly different from ours.
Would you have bombs at your wedding?
December 5, 2007
We went to the wedding of the daughter of close friends in Delhi…here’s part of the guest list:
What on earth am I putting in my hair?
December 5, 2007
I picked up the shampoo bottle in my bathroom.It said,”refreshing shampoo…orange blossom with pro-vitamin B5”…and that conjures up such a beautiful vision of sun-kissed oranges helping my hair to a lustrous shine. I then idly turned it over and continued to read.
This is for <LJ user=chaibacca>
December 4, 2007
Though we got excellent sightings at Ramnagaram, expert birders are worried that the vultures may be disturbed by birders/photographers, so there is an informal agreement not to post pictures of the birds on the Ramnagaram cliffs. But the area is very beautiful and we got a lot of other lovely photographs, too. Here’s one for the arachnophiles (and for the arachnophobes, too, evil laugh)….
Found out why
December 4, 2007
I found out why my tags are not displaying. Being a technoramus (technical ignoramus) I didn’t realize that I could not add as many tags as I wanted. When the no. of tag words went past 1000, it stopped the display…but without any message to me about it, which they could have included….
Why?
December 3, 2007
Can any techie tell me why, though I have not edited my tag settings, since Nov 28th, my tag entries are not showing on my LJ posts? When I go to edit the entries, there they are, the sweet little things, all nestled up in their nice Tag Box, but the shy creatures are refusing to show themselves on my LJ page….can anyone yank the curtain of ignorance from my meagre understanding and tell me what I should do to make those critters co-operate as usual?
Two pictures (pretty-pretty)
December 3, 2007
And for those who don’t want owls….
The Mottled Wood Owl Post
December 3, 2007
Aha, everyone who is NOT interested in birding/birdwatching…off to the next post in the friends’ list please!
Another piece from Target, Feb1995...
December 2, 2007
Here are the pages from Target, Feb 1995, where these two pieces were published:
Unco-operative new laptop....
December 1, 2007
We went to Lalbagh today (in alphabetical order:
From the LJ of <LJ user=travelertrish>
November 30, 2007
Enjoyed this one very much…
What are we doing to our children?
November 30, 2007
I went to watch a children’s play at Ranga Shankara a couple of days ago…and though the play was very well done, it set me thinking….
Words of Pain
November 28, 2007
My daughter was very close to someone, until the other girl suddenly moved on…..I stood by, watching my daughter suffer. She had to go through this on her own, and grow by the experience. (We had tried to warn her about the other girl’s selfishness, but she wouldn’t hear a word, loyal friend that she was.)
Nandi Hills...the other things.... IGTK (I Got To Know) and ISDK (I Still Dont Know...)
November 28, 2007
Nandi Hills was a mixture of things that I got to know, and things that I still don’t know….
The Einstein Brain
November 28, 2007
I have been establishing contact with
Birding in Nandi Hills with the Amstutzes )
November 27, 2007
This whole post is about the Amtutzes. Uma..thank you for introducing me to Karen, and then the whole family. Prashanth and Deepak also enjoyed their company, and it was a great group to spend the day with….
Some of the birds we saw at Nandi Hills
November 27, 2007
There’s going to be another, and more interesting post on the whole outing, and especially about that delightful family, the Amstutzes…but first, I want to put up the bird pictures that I got..
We cant keep our environs clean...though we can put up boards...
November 27, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/11/the_wordsand_the_truth.phtml
Madivala Lake....short but sweet
November 24, 2007
Adarsh and Nisarg took me along to Madivala Lake this morning, and though we didn’t have a great variety of birds, the SPOT-BILLED PELICANS, the ASHY PRINIAS, the TAILOR-BIRDS, a magnificient BRAHMINY KITE, CORMORANTS, CATTLE EGRETS, POND HERONS, PURPLE MOORHENS, GREY HERONS (apart from the usual crew of KMC…KITE/MYNAH/CROW) made for a very interesting time indeed.
My daughters Shakespeare verse....
November 23, 2007
When she was young, my daughter regularly wrote for a children’s magazine called Target, which was a very good magazine (however, it later became very urbanized and westernized and I wonder if it still exists… I know Tinkle is one magazine that is still going strong here.)
Someones slogan...
November 23, 2007
From the tagline of Radhika Singh on INW:
Marriage and Financial Status....and Thanksgiving...
November 23, 2007
A wedding, of course, should ideally be a union of two minds,souls and bodies, without external considerations, especially financial ones.
I wish....
November 21, 2007
…I wish Google Earth was an actual method of travel. Imagine soaring up from Bangalore, casually floating past Africa, and zooming in to land at St Louis right in the front yard….in a matter of less than a minute…
Friends on LJ....
November 21, 2007
I do lurrrrv reading the comments on my LJ as much as I like reading my friends’ posts.
Hoppy Birdie...
November 21, 2007
I don’t really remember in time to wish people on my LJ or theirs…but Prem’s LJ informs me that it is
My new name is...
November 21, 2007
…P2B.
Yeddi/Yeddy.....
November 20, 2007
The person who wanted to become Chief Minister of our beautiful State took this very scientific route:
A death
November 19, 2007
We got the news late yesterday evening, and went across early this morning.
SIGs journal....
November 19, 2007
You can plan and plan and plan and STILL not understand how it’s going to catch you…
The fever
November 17, 2007
The fever Drains the receiver ANd the giver Of the germs; The head is heavy, Twice I’ve paid the physician’s levy, The body feels like food for worms.
Some glitches still...
November 17, 2007
The new comp still has a few glitches, not ironed out yet…I can’t post to Metroblogs (have done so from my ancient dino!)…can’t play a few Yahoo games, esp bookworm which is one of my favourites…
How to bend the rules as well as the gates....
November 17, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/11/illegal_extension_of_parking_s.phtml
This comes from my shiny new....
November 15, 2007
Fed up with my dilly-dallying over what laptop to get, KM decided for me and hey presto, yesterday a shiny new Toshiba M200 landed on my…er….lap…
Shivakumars blog about Mydenahalli and the Blackbuck...
November 14, 2007
http://beyondshotz.wordpress.com/2007/11/14/black-bucks-mydanahalli-karnataka/#comment-11
Something I am associated with...
November 14, 2007
I was supposed to have met Subbu Vincent and Meera K some time ago, at the last BarCamp….but the meeting finally did happen a few months ago, and since then I have watched them getting their new “baby” in shape and online…
A genuine response to my post....
November 13, 2007
In response to my post on the “doctorate in numerology” , I got this reply:
A well-designed logo for Karnataka
November 13, 2007
Here:
A doctorate of numerology? from the USA?
November 12, 2007
Can this be verified?
Cant sleep to save my life....
November 12, 2007
When one is a housewife, EVERYONE thinks they can phone whenever they wish. 95% of the time of course, there is no problem. But today the viral fever which started as a sore throat on Thursday night, worsened with the day in the sun at Mydenahalli on Friday, and developed into a raging fever on Saturday and Sunday, was wreaking havoc. So I was trying to sleep and kept getting calls from….
Singal Sunday....
November 10, 2007
Today was an excellent day of wildlifing; we went to Mydenahalli, and watched large herds of blackbuck and lots of lovely birds (field trip report and –of course– somewhat foozly pics later.)
Poetry -- and that, too, Goethe-- on a container
November 8, 2007
We often get plastic containers as gifts when we visit others’ homes during festivals such as Navaratri. But it was unusual to find some lines on this container….
Deepa-Avali (array of lamps)
November 8, 2007
Here’s how I decorated our home today…
Happy Deepavali...slightly in advance
November 7, 2007
We may be going out of town again today, so here’s wishing everyone a very happy Deepavali or Dhanteras (the 13th day of the moon, dedicated to wealth!)(or Lakshmi Puja .. or Kaali Pujo in Bengal)….
Lack of mobility
November 7, 2007
Someone I know has not been able to walk for the past few days. (Tests are being done; it’s not a paralysis, thankfully, but the problem persists.)
The Pixetra Club
November 6, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/11/the_pixetra_club.phtml
Frustration...
November 6, 2007
Some worries on my mind right now. Mind control is quite tough, but managing it…
The Fruit of Passion....
November 6, 2007
Did an overnight trip to the Bhadra property of JLR which I had wanted to see for a very long time. So when
The Landmark Open Quiz 011107
November 6, 2007
It’s been a very rushed few days…here’s what I attended on the 1st of November…
Birthday Bebby...
November 2, 2007
Today is the birthday of my only child….and though, 99% of the time, I am happy that she is happy where she is, today I had a little thought sneak into my head…if she were,like the daughters of many other friends, somewhere nearby…!
This post is a lot of bull....
November 1, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/11/for_rajyotsava_day.phtml
I spent the morning rapt in a magnificient animal....
October 30, 2007
I saw the photograph yesterday, and the image stayed with me…by this morning, I knew that whatever else I did, or didn’t do,today, I just simply HAD to sit down and sketch …
Rose-Ringed Parakeets
October 30, 2007
A little distance from our room in Delhi (well, Surajkund in Haryana, actually) was a tree on the parakeets were having fun….I didn’t have the “birding” camera with me, only my trusty S3…so these are what I got!
Every available space is up for sale...
October 30, 2007
Revenue…that’s the name of the game.
Today it is the turn of the Economic Times...
October 30, 2007
We seem to have an epidemic of day-date mismatch…see this…
A strange disinclination...
October 29, 2007
It happens every time I go out of town. I come back, I check my email, check my LJ friends’ list…but there is a strange diconnect, and a reluctance to comment on friends’ posts..It’s as if I am still on the outside, looking in at a scene that is going on…it will take me a while to get on to “the same page” and start interacting…I do enjoy reading the posts I missed, but still, I am like the latecomer to a party, who is a wallflower for at least a while…
Indian Airlines and their dates...
October 26, 2007
I was trying to reserve our seats for a flight, and I went to the Indian (formerly Indian Airlines) website.
Good looks and goodness...
October 26, 2007
A comment from
From another LJ....you can call it Urdu, or Hindi...
October 26, 2007
From the LJ of
Ranga Shankara has kept me occupied this week....
October 25, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/10/the_ranga_shankara_theatre_fes.phtml
Not a boxer....
October 25, 2007
I love this sign, which I go past whenever I walk to Ranga Shankara….
Lovely creature....Oleander Hawk Moth...Daphnus nerii
October 24, 2007
I saw this beautiful moth on the staircase day before yesterday….
Stray thought...
October 24, 2007
Wonder how much of software was written, and at what cost (given the kind of figures one associates with Google) to make those smileys on Gtalk float to vertical from horizontal….
Had a wonderful day
October 23, 2007
Though I don’t really celebrate birthdays (we believe that every day one is alive, happy, and in good health is a day to celebrate), it WAS nice today…
Ranga Shankara Ticket Booking....
October 22, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/10/lack_of_transparency_in_ranga.phtml
Metblogs post about Bijoya and Vijayadashami
October 21, 2007
We went visiting a few Puja pandals yesterday,and here are a couple of images on my Metblogs post:
Even the feasibliity doesnt make us document information well...
October 20, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/10/sometimes_we_dont_maximise_eve.phtml
Save Nanda Road
October 19, 2007
Rashtriya Vidyalaya, or RV Road, is affectionately called Nanda Road, after the Nanda cinema theatre (there were no theatre complexes in the days when it was built) on the road.
From a forward I got...
October 17, 2007
Never make someone a priority in your life When you are an option in their life. Relationships work best when they are balanced.
Navaratri Kolu....
October 17, 2007
These were taken at my friend Hema’s place…one of the many visits I am making this week (I don’t “keep” this display of dolls any more!)…
Invented a word
October 16, 2007
…after the last post, I invented a word.Remember you saw it here first.
The Bannerghatta NTP Plus gathering...the non-bird (bug) part
October 16, 2007
I had already posted the pics of the Hawk Moth caterpillar (cognoscenti should call them “cats”, you know, but we ignoramuses still refer to the whole name!) when I realized that there were quite a LOT of “non-bird” pics that I wanted to post, and not wanting to burden my poor readers with a perfect avalanche of pictures, decided to do a separate post.
Birding in Bannerghatta
October 15, 2007
First, let me start with a nice picture:
The Slender Loris...Kaadu Paapaa...
October 14, 2007
Ever since I realized that there was an opportunity to see the
Young and Old, Life and Death
October 13, 2007
Young people Value life less. It lies before them, unspent, Waiting to be squandered.. So a new cosmetic or a dress is “to die for” And an embarassing moment means, “I could have died”… And, indeed, they do kill themselves– Over emotions,disappointments,frustrations,desires.
From my Jokes feed....
October 12, 2007
The top ten most unintentionally bad URLs on the planet
Flowers in forgotten books...
October 11, 2007
After my post on Shivaji theatre,
Something that may be captured on LJ in a few years time...
October 10, 2007
Something about my daily peregrinations about this city that cannot be captured on LJ are..the scents.
Shivaji Theatre....
October 10, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/10/another_landmark_which_may_not.phtml
Three pictures from an Afternoon Walk
October 10, 2007
These are pictures from a walk in the middle of the city…
What an address....
October 10, 2007
Spotted this in Chennai…
What I call the phantom moth...
October 9, 2007
I found this insect on the rock when I had been to Bheemeshwari with the Clean and Green group for the plastic clean-up.
Compare the lorry and the water tank...
October 9, 2007
I often see water tanks on top of houses that are built in the shape of Maruti cars, or even boats…but this one really took the cake.
Death Posters...
October 9, 2007
No, I don’t mean the violent posters that many rock bands put up!
What someone said about Shelfari
October 8, 2007
I received an invitation from someone I knew to Shelfari, and asked if they had found it useful. Here’s the reply:
Black-Shouldered Kite in Flight, 300907,Nandi Hills
October 8, 2007
Photo taken by KM…I do wish he had more time for photography!
Its Monday morning...
October 8, 2007
…all of us have to get into the weekly routine…but to keep me, at least, going, here’s a picture of the sunrise on Saturday morning, with the promise of a beautiful weekend…
LJ birding meet...
October 7, 2007
It was great to meet up with
The birds, the bees and the flowers
October 6, 2007
Here’s a carpenter bee on a flower today at Lalbagh…
The whole list of Principles of Adult Behaviour
October 5, 2007
With the permission of
HUH...
October 5, 2007
I joined something called Shelfari and had added a few books, including R K Narayan’s Swami and Friends , which is one of my all-time favourites. So today I tried to add The Guide to my list and lo and behold (or rather, low and don’t behold), it wasn’t listed at all!
Behaviour
October 5, 2007
Today, someone sent an email forward where a person who had turned 60, had written a set of behaviour rules for himself (ok, ok, politically correct..hesself or hirself.) Several of them impressed me a lot, but one that struck me profoundly was: “understand humility”.
Art in unlikely places....
October 4, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/10/lovely_sketches_in_the_bbmp_of.phtml
Someone has returned home...
October 3, 2007
I am going to meet an LJ-er face-to-face…
This whole business of RAW v. JPEG
October 3, 2007
In digital photography, one can shoot in one (or both) of two modes: RAW, or JPEG. The RAW image, as the name suggests, is the equivalent of the unprocessed non-digital image; it can be post-processed, the image sharpened, the colours adjusted, and so on….it occupies more space on the camera’s memory card
Mahatma Gandhi....
October 2, 2007
Gandhi has been iconized and reduced to an arty few line-delineations and I wonder how many Indians even think of him as anything other than a portrait to be garlanded….
Wild flowers, leaves and history at Nandi Hills
October 1, 2007
Apart from the birds that we try to spot, Nandi Hills is such a beautiful spot for seeing majestic trees that have grown untrammelled, and a variety of wild flowers, plus many historic spots.
Birding at Nandi Hills
September 30, 2007
Mahesh Devarajan, his wife Priya,
A few minutes of birding...
September 29, 2007
I got a call from Mahesh Devarajan asking if I would be interested in going to the Bannerghatta forest area for a little birding. Of course I jumped at the chance, and when he came over for lunch, I was able to winkle KM too out from behind his desk and we drove to where Geetanjali Dhar and her husband Subir, and their delightful two-year old, Avantika, were waiting to put us on the right road.
Pots
September 29, 2007
I snapped these earthen pots waiting to be sold in the Indira Nagar area…the pots keep the water cool because the surface is moist and the evaporation brings down the temperature. A mud pot with a mud lid, with perhaps a ladle to dip into the water, and a glass nearby, is a welcome sight on a hot day!
Flowers and a Web...
September 29, 2007
Found this in the evening sunshine:
Friends....
September 28, 2007
A dear friend who read my recent post called me just to enquire why I was feeling low, and insisted I come over and spend the evening there…felt so touched and happy…I am incredibly lucky with my friends!
Horn Please...
September 28, 2007
I must explain this phrase for my non-Indian friends. Most trucks and several small vans carry that message on their rear bumpers (fenders)…it means, “please sound your horn and overtake me” (or more truly, “keep honking on your horn and I will block your way as much as I can”.)
Memo to me....
September 28, 2007
Note: must ALWAYS ensure that I have a nice looong time when I go to my friends’ LJ’s; never to go visiting when I am rushing out for something else; there will be interesting anecdotes, intriguing accounts, arresting photographs, amazing insights,without fail, and I have to tear myself away…
The two are different..
September 27, 2007
Age is one thing, maturity quite another.
My first Shikra sighting in J P Nagar
September 26, 2007
Though Bangalore Bengaluru, I have never seen this bird inside the city limits before.
Vintage Issue Product...
September 26, 2007
Where is the vintage, and what’s the product that will issue?
Two posts on Metroblogs....
September 26, 2007
One about the Channel V recording:
Two lovely sights in the sky
September 26, 2007
Yesterday, a few of us who write for Metroblogs were interviewed by Channel V for a program they are shooting across 8 cities.
The Plastic Cleanup Drive at Muthathi, with Clean and Green, and Oracle Global Volunteer Days 07
September 25, 2007
Here’s my account on Metroblogs:
Great match
September 24, 2007
We were invited to someone’s home to sit and watch the India-Pakistan twenty-twenty cricket match, and it was as enjoyable as the earlier one…it was a real humdinger and we won in the final over. But even if Pakistan had won, I would not have felt bad, the gritty way in which they fought back was very impressive indeed. Truly a good match to watch, no matter who won.
My friends arts-and-crafts store
September 24, 2007
Again, in response to queries:
The TamBram elai sAppAdu
September 24, 2007
This is in response to a request….
Dancer
September 23, 2007
She was one of the very pretty group of dancers at the play by Evam; they danced very well, but were more of a stage device as eye candy for the audience while they cleared away some props and put others in place:
Light of the Lamp
September 23, 2007
We were “on duty” (though we didn’t actually do much!) the whole day at the official launch of our friends’ boutique…they have used their old home to great effect to house the venture….
Betrayal comes in all sizes
September 23, 2007
When you put your trust in somebody, and that someone does not live up to the trust…when you think someone will do a good job, and they smile at you and you find later that the job was done shoddily…evem as small a thing as thinking that someone who promises something will come through, and finding that it doesn’t happen…betrayal of trust, and lack of commitment comes in all sizes, from the very small to the quite large.
night driving on the BLr-Chennai highway..
September 22, 2007
too tired to think…but must jot down points about fluorescent paint, divided highway, toll gates, excellent road, no trees, no lane discipline, wrong way traffic,
Story with a bad ending...
September 20, 2007
For some time now, I have belonged to a group committed to helping BARN OWLS in Bangalore. We are getting nest-boxes fabricated to ensure that these natural enemies of the rats that are proliferating in our city, breed and establish themselves even in urban environs.
Shapes in the Market
September 19, 2007
One of the things I love to do is to go wandering around the market area; and I found a lot of shapes…
Why cant we use the words we have?
September 18, 2007
Why is it becoming “cool” to not use the words that we already have, which are gender-specific?
Would YOU run a half-marathon after having major surgery?
September 18, 2007
The Optimist....
September 17, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/09/hope_in_the_face_of_difficulty.phtml
Cleanliness is next to godliness, but doesnt follow the next day...
September 17, 2007
Here’s my metblogs post about the aftermath of the Ganesha festival:
Happenings in my apartment building..
September 17, 2007
I have posted a few photographs of the Independence Day and Ganesha Chaturthi celebrations to a Flickr account, at
nAgaswaram video
September 17, 2007
Remember, I had made a post about the nAgaswaram earlier?
Hardly any birding...this is a birding post, others pliss exkoos
September 16, 2007
The only birding photography I did was a while ago, when I went to Bannerghatta Forest area and spotted these INDIAN SILVERBILLS…
VinAyaka Chathurthi
September 15, 2007
These lines are from Muthuswamy Dikshithar’s song, “Siddhi VinAyakam” in the rAgam ShanmukhapriyA:
Begging for your attention...and money...
September 14, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/09/a_major_problem_in_our_city.phtml
Mungaru Male (Monsoon Rain)
September 14, 2007
For the past couple of years, I have felt that the rains in Bengaluru (I do prefer Bangalore but vottodo, the bunch of clowns in charge the government has decided that’s the name of our shitty city) begin about a month late..and then, after a weak start, suddenly descend from the skies with a vengeance..and the summer monsoon just seems to carry on, with just a little break in October for Navarathri (just when we are all dressing up to visit each others’ homes, it is stuffy and not-comfortable), it just carries on into the winter monsoon!
Dressing...
September 13, 2007
I have always been a bit of a non-conformist on the issue of clothing…I have never bothered to go by the latest (or indeed, some of the fashions that have been prevailing for a while), and refuse to typecast people because of the clothes they wear. I irritate my same-age friends with my opinion that on young, pretty girls, somewhat revealing clothing looks really great…if they can’t take pride in their young, lovely bodies now, when can they? Certainly not at the age when body parts, instead of obeying the F-dictates( those of fashion), start obeying the G-dictates (those of gravity).
The Back of a Van...
September 13, 2007
It has been a busy few days; several plays to attend, a friend to help with her boutique setting-up, two weddings today…I am never very comfortable when I don’t have spare time, I like to be a person of leisure!
I am sure the original car-makers havent thought of it...
September 13, 2007
Have you seen a Mini Volvo before?
What are the odds?
September 12, 2007
In our licence plates, the first two letters represent the state of India the car is registered in…KA means Karnataka. The number next to that is the Regional Transport Office (RTO) where the car is registered; that is followed by an alphabet whose significance I am unable to fathom, followed by the actual licence no. of the car.
Review of Swayamvaraloka
September 12, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/09/swayamvaraloka_by_prakash_bela.phtml
great to see, early in the morning
September 12, 2007
Opened the Hindu Metro Plus to find an article on
The Photographer...and The Singer
September 11, 2007
Got this snap of a craftsman receiving some help to fine-tune his “instrument”….
Jasmine from the Sky
September 11, 2007
Twice a year, I enjoy this “free gift”…
Averting the evil eye
September 10, 2007
Here’s a picture that is quite familiar to Indians, but would be something rather intriguing to non-Indians:
Just to be beautiful
September 9, 2007
Some things are born Just to be, and to be beautiful They do not stay too long; Permanence is not their trait. And they do not make a show Or drag our eyes to them. But when we happen to see Our eyes remain riveted. Their beauty gently awakens something deep in our hearts Which has no voice, but is very strong. Tomorrow, this object may not be: But today, its beauty can move you to tears.
Bangalore Mirror, play reviews, and experimental theatre
September 9, 2007
I got a call sometime ago from the Bangalore Mirror , a tabloid which the Times of India launched ( One rupee a paper!) asking me if they could use one of my Metroblogs posts…I said yes and said I would also send them articles which were Bangalore-specific. They seem to have taken the yes for a single post as a blanket permission, and apparently, more of my metblogs posts have been used in the paper…oh well, since it’s on the public domain, I guess it’s OK, but…for a paper to use a not very widely-read blogpost…
Two pictures that everyone will enjoy..and then think about
September 7, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/09/traffic_in_bengaluru.phtml
Leaves of Grass....
September 7, 2007
I went, by myself, to Lalbagh, early this morning. And I determined that I would NOT take any bird photographs….(more about that later)
Bums on the Saddle
September 6, 2007
That’s the name of the online cycle shop set up by
Fruit Bats
September 6, 2007
Here’s a pic of two fruit bats relaxing in the afternoon sunshine in a tree in Manyara, Tanzania…
Pleasant Surprise...and Migration to other blogs...
September 6, 2007
Got a call from
the iPhone.....
September 6, 2007
Associated Press Apple Cuts iPhone Price, Updates iPods By MAY WONG and RACHEL KONRAD 09.05.07, 9:21 PM ET
No-Devil Madam Lived On....
September 5, 2007
OK, OK, that was a very, very feeble attempt at making a palindrome, but I thoroughly enjoyed these equally idiotic palindromes on this video that I found on
Loved this hoarding on the Chennai-Bengaluru highway...
September 4, 2007
The people who live in Tamil Nadu, obviously, love their mother tongue, which they call Tamil and I, phonetically, call Tamizh.
Allergy in the Letters of the English Alphabet
September 4, 2007
Feeling rather down tod-A My ear looks as if it was stung by a B Out of my right eye I can hardly C Normally my health is robust and har-D Health issues don’t normally trouble m-E Today, though, I feel blind and d-F All because of this aller-G Which, in Africa, I seemed to c-H Sometimes it’s itching of the I My mood is just as blue as a J My spirits on the floor along with the par-K This allergy seems to have come from L With sneezing, and lots of phl-M I wish the doctor would tell me wh-N I will be myself again! O, That I could be bright once more, and hap-P The doc would get a big than-Q If I could keep from sneezing for 30 minutes…or an R That would make me happy,I conf-S. I would behave with sani-T Instead of hiding from people’s v-U As I scratch and look comtase and hea-V (Hmm..I don’t know how to write the W In my literary muscles I don’t have fl-X!) I feel so dull..I wonder Y I have to struggle with this aller-Z… (Oh, do you pronounce Z as Z? OK, there’s that pronounciation, instead!)
For a friend
September 3, 2007
For Ravi, who SHOULD have come and met us in Maine…but who remains a good friend!
Why do we assume rules are not for us? Why do we think accidents will happen only to others?
September 3, 2007
Feeling rather sad that I couldn’t catch up with this young mother and warn her about the terrible risk she was taking:
Whoa, Rohan
August 31, 2007
Here’s
When I am gone...
August 31, 2007
When I am gone… Several people will gather. Lovely words will be said about me…I may not even recognize myself as this paragon of virtue. There will be a few genuine tears, I would like to think. But will all the mental words be as affectionate,as charitable, as full of praise? There may be a few less than loving thoughts..that’s only too likely. But the definite fact is that After the initial gathering and the talking and the discussing The waters will close over the fact of my departure And the world will get on, as if I never was. And what I was, will exist only in what I have created… Words,images,friendships,relationships… And soon, all of that will pass into oblivion, too. I know all this, and yet here I am, Making a noise as if this noise has any meaning!
Not in the news...
August 30, 2007
I have, for a change, been watching TV (usually I tape a couple of programs like the Tonight Show or Thein KiNNam and watch it at some point, that’s all) and had tuned into NDTV…and I feel so bad…a teacher is accused of making a pornographic movie with her students; a child dies because the ambulance is stuck in a traffic jam on the way to hospital; a mob rampages because some youths were killed, and that results in yet another death; and so the gruesome news goes..
To mark someones time in rhyme...
August 30, 2007
Here lies John Bunn; He was killed by a gun. His name was not Bunn, but Wood; But Wood would not rhyme with gun.. But Bunn would.
For those who asked....
August 30, 2007
I should have known that I could not post a pic of a yacht, even in the background of a picture, without getting requests to post photos of it, too! I got one request over LJ and several over email..so for those who want to see the yacht, the “Taj Cinnamon Coast”, riding at anchor in all her beauty…here’s a pic of the hotel with the yacht, from a distance:
Whats the difference...?
August 29, 2007
The hotel we stayed at in Kochi had life-size models of elephants sitting all round a central building in their front lawn…and this angle to one of them was too good to miss….
Its a lovely brand...
August 27, 2007
How do you think Erode Textiles (Erode is a town in Tamil Nadu) would label the very nice textiles/towels that they make?
Kochi Visit 260807
August 27, 2007
The quality of the light during the monsoons is really magical..and more so when it is raining at dusk.
Wishing everyone a Happy Onam
August 27, 2007
I would like to wish every one of my MaLayAlam friends a happy and prosperous ONam festival.
Through this door we must all go...
August 27, 2007
At the Taj Malabar Hotel in Kochi (earlier Cochin) in Kerala, KM and I didn’t feel like using the lift all the time and so took the service stairs to go down, but were met with this rather disturbing (well, at least thought-provoking) sign before we went out into the lobby:
Lovely day....
August 25, 2007
Amazingly pleasant weather in Chennai, the company of family at friends for lunch and dinner…we celebrated my brother’s 50th birthday…
What did I post on this day last year?
August 24, 2007
24th 02:14 pm: this one is for udhay - 1 comment 06:27 pm: check out sanathreddy - 1 comment 10:57 pm: Show and Tell at the Business School, University of Southern Maine…and about sambandhis - 7 comments
I started the name as a joke...
August 24, 2007
I chose the name de Ponti as it’s a way of pronouncing what my daughter’s friends used to call me; but just now I was looking for a post and I googled
Our City Officials meet Concerned Citizens...
August 24, 2007
Here’s my post about what, hopefully, will be the beginning of a more open attitude by Brihat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, on Metroblogs:
I saw a good play; those who live in Blr can do so, too...
August 23, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/08/the_ungrateful_man_at_ranga_sh.phtml
The majesty of the lion...
August 23, 2007
I felt I must post this!
The very little that I got to know about Tanzanian cuisine
August 23, 2007
Well, having posted all that, I decided that though I never got a chance to eat in a Tanzanian home, I must set down the little that I learnt about food in Tanzania.
Volunteering and Guilt
August 23, 2007
I have been mulling over this whole concept of volunteering to do something, especially for a social cause. Every person has a regular life, and beyond that, sometimes volunteers time, or money, or effort, or all three, to something which is of deep interest.
A good cause...
August 22, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/08/esg_meetingfor_hebbal_lake_aga.phtml
Towns in Tanzania.....
August 22, 2007
Well, since I can’t possibly post ALL the pics from Flickr to LJ (like I could not post all the photos/videos from my laptop to Flickr or YouTube)…I am done with the wildlife of Tanzania…but I would like to close with a few images of the towns and the sights….here are images from Dar es Salaam, Arusha and Manyara.
How to drape the madishaar..the traditional Iyer 9 yards saree
August 22, 2007
Bannerghatta forest area....
August 21, 2007
Taken in the Bannerghatta forest area, 180807…thanks to
Lake Manyara National Park.....
August 21, 2007
This post too will contain lots of pics…so those without–a) interest in wildlife, b) time, or c) patience, off you go to the next friend’s entry!
The Tree-Climbing Lions of Lake Manyara...
August 21, 2007
For three days, we had been going on both morning and evening safaris in Lake Manyara; we had seen lot of other interesting things, but of course, every tourist wishes to sight that unusual phenomenon, the tree-climbing lions of Lake Manyara.
Superb concert at Odukathur Mutt yesterday...review on Metroblogs
August 21, 2007
My review and details about Sri Guruvayurappan Bhajana Samaj Trust are at
Lions walking down the Serengeti track...
August 21, 2007
Here is my short clip of the two adorable lion cubs and the two lioness walking past our safari van, in the Ngorongoro Crater area:
A rare political statement
August 20, 2007
I almost NEVER express my views about politics. I am in general an apolitical person and also regard most politicians as rogues and scoundrels…and I like writing the small stuff, as there are others, far better than me, who write about suchlike earthshaking topics…
Review of a review
August 20, 2007
Yesterday, we went to a north Indian classical concert, sponsored by a city newspaper. Two artistes, an instrumentalist and a vocalist, were featured.
Silverbills at Bannerghatta
August 20, 2007
Here’s my image of these beautiful little birds, the Silverbills, at Bannerghatta forest area yesterday:
Of flies and rocks...
August 20, 2007
Yesterday, a group of us, including
iffy connection...an observation..and a note to myself
August 20, 2007
I had wanted to continue work on the Lake Manyara post (it’s just begun and I have saved it as a “my-eyes-only” post for now) and upload some videos to YouTube, but my internet connection didn’t permit any work at all today…no one ever told me how longggggg it takes for just a one-minute video to upload to YouTube! Truly, when one sees all that wonderful photography and stuff on the net, it all looks so attractive, it’s only when you start doing it yourself that you realize that there’s a lot of hard work, and frustration at the internet connection, behind it all…
Sometimes I am less than impressed....
August 17, 2007
Review of Shakuntala Remembered at Ranga Shankara (today) for Metroblogs:
I am a medium...
August 16, 2007
Got this appeal today:
Teaser for the next (and last) Tanzania post...
August 16, 2007
This, this, is the dream that one has after watching a National Geographic documentary….that one can also make an image like this…it’s imprinted much deeper in my memory than it will ever be on any other medium!
The last two days on the Serengeti....looong post with LOTS of pics....
August 16, 2007
It’s been really hectic, but I have finally found the time…it’s going to be a long post,compressing two days at the Serengeti, with lots of photos (there will be one lot more with pics from Lake Manyara, with the TREE-CLIMBING LIONS)
A post especially for my daughter
August 14, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/08/jawahar_bal_bhavan_in_cubbon_p.phtml
What other kind is there?
August 13, 2007
From an invitation to a wildlife-related event on an egroup that I belong to:
Tagged
August 13, 2007
After a long time, I am getting into tagging again..
welcome a ffriend
August 13, 2007
Folks…
Ostrich Mating Dance...with an Audience...
August 12, 2007
We watched the male and female Masai ostriches shivering their plumes in their ritual mating dance. They were pretty far away…but then, from the grass, two most unexpected heads popped up. Two cheetahs, taking their ease, languidly watched the ras-leela entertainment provided for them!
A problem in lateral thinking...and some more lateral thinking about problems
August 11, 2007
A friend of ours in Hyderabad posed this problem in lateral thinking:
Wildebeest Migration Video
August 11, 2007
Yes, yes, I know this is grainy, non-professional..and I was jostled about by KM and his brothers, all trying to take their images too…but still..when you see the line of animals stretching from one horizon to the other…it’s amazing.
Perky, clever bird
August 11, 2007
At the Ngoitokitoki Picnic Site in the Serengeti, I found this STREAKY WEAVER BIRD drinking by using the drip from the tap..and then some competition arrives,too!
Out of Ngorongoro and into the Serengeti
August 10, 2007
We left early the next morning (recording yet another superb sunrise that was invisible directly but only reflected in the lake in the crater bed)…
Some out-of-turn birds....
August 9, 2007
Had a hectic day, and just don’t have the time to make a long post of the next day at Ngorongoro Crater and the trip to the Serengeti…so I am going to post some photos of birds in no particular order…
How I shop
August 9, 2007
From a mailing list on which I find many interesting conversations, comes this quote (it’s good only for a week from today..so here’s the quote about shopkeeping methods, as well…)
A post which I would like everyone to see...and my Bangalore friends to see in person
August 9, 2007
Lalbagh is set to start the annual Independence Day flower/horticultural show…here’s my photo essay on it at
After a loooong time...
August 8, 2007
I had a friend over from St Louis tonight; he has just quit Citibank and joined Wipro. For a long time, I knew that he played the mridangem, but recently he gave a vocal concert in St Louis! So I asked him to sing…and he sang for nearly an hour.
I wish...
August 8, 2007
Now that I am finding so many people interested in my account of my travels, I do wish we had all these facilities available while KM and I travelled the world over! Mohan is on his fourth passport and I am on my third…and all we could do those days was to send postcards, pile up photographs which occupied more and more space (and sometimes we would come home and find one roll was over- or under-exposed, or the photo developing shop would lose them,or…)
the Ngorongoro Conservation Area
August 8, 2007
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area works towards the conservation of the wildlife in and around the Ngorongoro Crater, both the caldera and the rim.
From Kilimanjaro to the Ngorongoro Crater
August 7, 2007
Here’s the aerial view of Mt Kilimanjaro (that I got,actually, on the way back home)….
A taxi thats roman all over Bangalore...
August 7, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/08/roman_citytaxi.phtml
Birds in Kilimanjaro Airport....
August 6, 2007
On the 23rd morning, we landed at Kilimanjaro (no, we couldn’t see the peak from the flight because of heavy clouds) and realized that the flight on which the rest of the family (who had just finished visiting the Pyramids in Egypt) would not come in until 2 pm. So we spent our time clicking happily…some of the common birds in the area were known to us, and others proved delectably new, and our guide, Huruma, was much amused!
We mean business....
August 6, 2007
Before I start on the birds post and bore everyone to death (I must confess, I have still downloaded only the first-day-of-the-trip’s photos!) here’s a very nice mission statement from this shop in Kilimanjaro Airport…once you have bought from them, they want to have nothing more to do with you!
.Dar es Salaam airport, and Kilimanjaro airport
August 6, 2007
Well, I am still in the process of downloading my pictures and sorting them out.. and I didn’t bargain for a lot of guests or a geyser that had leaked all over the bathroom to greet us as we walked in…but here’s a beginning!
Dar es Salaam
August 2, 2007
We are staying with some extremely affectionate friends here; but the last two days have been difficult because:
NCA, the Serengeti, and Lake Manyara...
August 1, 2007
Starting with crows that seem to be wearing white vests (Pied Crow) and the colourful local mynahs (the Superb Starling) in Kilimanjaro, the days in the Ngorongoro Conservation area, where the extinct volcanic crater is like a Noah’s ark of animals, the days in the vast plains of the acacia-studded Serengeti, where the abundance of game just takes the breath away, and finally, the four extremely expensive days that we decided on in Lake Manyara were also astounding….only 10% of people who go to Lake Manyara are able to see the famous tree-climbing lions that the Lake Manyara National Park is famous for…and of course the leopard is a nocturnal, secretive animal…but guess what…my non-sighting jinx (which applies still, to the south Indian tiger) is now well and truly broken….on our way to the Hot Springs, we were the only people on the scene when a lioness and a very young male lion (his mane was just about beginning to grow)climbed up into an acacia tree and settled themselves down, JUST above our Toyota Land Cruiser, and let us take pictures for quite 40 minutes before we had to tear ourselves away….
AMAZING..INCREDIBLE...Im running out of exclamation words
July 27, 2007
It’s been a phenonmenal time here in Tanzania…first at the Ngorongoro Crater, and then in the Serengeti since yesterday. We started with a superb time birding in Kilimanjaro airport while we were waiting for KM’s brothers to fly in…and then as we drove into the Ngorongoro Conservation area, we started with a night sighting of a leopard so close by…and except for the rhino, I think we have sighted all the animals,birds, reptiles and other stuff one could think of…and then some….
Revisiting is enjoyable
July 22, 2007
I was looking for a poem by someone, that I had posted earlier…obviously I hadn’t tagged it properly, I couldn’t find it.
Pics will follow...
July 22, 2007
Heh, heh, my last few posts have been musings, with no pictures…because some (hopefully) lovely pics of the Serengeti and Mt Kilimanjaro are going to come along soon…wish us a good trip and great sightings please!
Can this be?
July 22, 2007
From the LJ of
Notes to Parents...
July 21, 2007
The family culture in India gives prime importance to the family unit over individuals, and clubbed with our culture of unquestioning respect, it can often be taken by parents to mean that they have complete control over every aspect of their child’s life,even when that child has turned into an adult.
Childhood incident
July 21, 2007
Reading the journal of
Transportation..the new and the old...
July 21, 2007
A snap of the road leading away from the Ranganathittu river landing…
Emotions
July 20, 2007
Incredible…again and again, it happens, and we think, next time we’ll learn…but no, we don’t.
It finally came to this...
July 20, 2007
KM often keeps saying he has forgotten names of people, places and things…today we were chatting and he was mentioning that he forgot something…and later in the conversation, he said, “I forgot somthing earlier..what was it?”
Bangalore Traffic Police...Verse, and Worse....
July 19, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/07/praiseworthy_joint_initiative.phtml
How often do I feel EXACTLY like Hobbes...
July 19, 2007
http://c-and-h.livejournal.com/187612.html
Calligraphy
July 18, 2007
I love calligraphic images, and love the Islam calligraphy that is so intricate..but recently, I find a lot of good examples in the Hindu idiom, too. Here’s a sticker I found at the back on a van near my home; the calligraphy is of the various names for Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati, who is the remover of obstacles:
Trip of a lifetime...
July 17, 2007
We are going…to visit this wonderful place on earth, and will be visiting this place , too…a two-week visit of a lifetime…wish us, and our photography, luck!
Berry Enjoyable Day....
July 17, 2007
“Berry” enjoyable Sunday….
Drama of Life and Death...near Ranganathittu, 16 July 07
July 17, 2007
I went to Ranganathittu area to do some birding and while I did have a lovely time, with all the usual birds on display, I also watched this little drama of life and death nearby….
Macro and Zoom at IISc Bangalore
July 15, 2007
Very early this morning,
Kenneth Andersons Grave, Hosur Road Cemetery
July 14, 2007
They, too, can move...
July 14, 2007
The snail, too, moves; In a trail of slime, Wary of feet and hooves, It moves…but takes its own time.
A Pretty Bird from the Valley School Area, and a trunk...
July 13, 2007
This is the small minivet…
Right next to the WRRC rescue shelter...
July 12, 2007
I didn’t go to the Wildlife rescue centre looking for entertainment, but I found it right next door…
Honest Admission
July 12, 2007
Look at the words at the top of the back door of this Tata Sumo…
You cant win...
July 11, 2007
I was standing, waiting for some xerox copies to get done, when this little fellow stepped into a pile of sand and construction material. “Look,” his mother scolded, “your rubber slippers are all dirty now!” So he sat down, took his slippers off, and carefully started rubbing their undersides with his little hands!
And how will the ultimate shine happen? Read on...
July 11, 2007
No need to buy expensive movie tickets, or pay for cable…I think the backs of autos are a source of immense entertainment.
Wonderful poem
July 10, 2007
http://latelyontime.livejournal.com/154315.html
Ooops...
July 10, 2007
Half the day and more have gone by and I have forgotten to put on record my b’day wishes to
Intriguing, deadly sight...
July 10, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/07/deadly.phtml
The Image that Stays...
July 9, 2007
Today I attended a Celebrtity Wedding with Many Page Three Personalities Making Their Appearance….but the image that stays in my mind at the end of the day is of this wonderful-looking creature, at the Bangalore Rehabilation Centre, an animal rescue and rehab centre that I visited this afternoon.
PfA again
July 7, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/07/the_second_people_for_animals.phtml
Thoughts on doing and being
July 7, 2007
http://rohan-kini.livejournal.com/85135.html
Anjalis excellent collage of the Mason Wasp building her nest...And bad news for JLR
July 7, 2007
When I went to meet the people who were taking the Naturalists’ Training Program, at the JLR property in Bannerghatta in May this year, I found every one fascinated by the mud nest that a Mason Wasp (also called a Potter Wasp, for reasons obvious below) had built. She proceeded to lay her eggs and then brought a paralyzed caterpillar which she stuffed into the nest and sealed in, as food for the larva when it would hatch.
Interesting, Not Interesting...
July 6, 2007
I read others’ entries on LJ for a long time before I opened my account..and even then, I was very sceptical about having a readership. I am a housewife; what could I be thinking, or doing, that would be of interest to anyone else?
Trimurthi (three images, literally)
July 6, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/07/trimurthi.phtml
Didnt get the bird, but...
July 5, 2007
No bird, but here’s the bee and the flower!
I am SURE youre going to enjoy this post....
July 5, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/07/the_colourful_buses_of_bangalo.phtml
Some flowers in Lalbagh....
July 4, 2007
Yesterday, in the middle of doing a lot of odd (some of them were VERY odd) jobs, I suddenly gave in to temptation as I was passing the Siddapura gate, and executed a neat, irresponsible sneak into Lalbagh…and wandered contentedly around. Of course I visited SSO (
Anju..the Cafe at Ranga Shankara
July 4, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/07/anju_at_ranga_shankara.phtml
Spouses Beloved
July 3, 2007
By very popular demand, here’s a picture of a sight that brings a fatuous smile to KM’s face:
That fraction of a moment
July 3, 2007
Parenting is such a difficult task…from the time the baby makes its appearance in this world, you are actually more vulnerable than what a friend of mine once called “a small, needy specimen of humanity”. As you watch anxiously over the little one, you yet must also step back and allow more independence, as that is the only way the infant/toddler will grow up into a person. You constantly worry over little crises as they happen, and hopefully, the child comes through them…illnesses, falls, physical injuries and later, the traumas that the child weathers mentally…and hopefully, you make it with the child intact…only those who are making, or have made, the journey, realize how beset with pitfalls it is. You take your eye off the child for just one minute and trouble brews…but with luck, the trouble is something that can be solved, and you and the child go forward to the next day.
The Sampige Flower
July 2, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/07/a_flower_always_associated_wit.phtml
Where not to put the regulator of the fan
July 2, 2007
Found this in a shop in Chickpet….
Camouflage...
July 2, 2007
Remember, I had once made this post about the wonderful camouflage of Nature, and used a photo of a bushlark? Well, here’s another master of disguise that we spotted today in the Valley School area on our field trip…
One of the high points of todays trip to Valley School Area, off Kanakpura Road
July 1, 2007
I very, very rarely sight snakes (I can’t say “reptiles”, having seen so many Agamas, lizards, geckos, crocs, and monitor lizards!) in the wild; probably because a) they disappear in a trice into the undergrowth and b) I have not been “trained” to spot them (I remember being as bad with birds, some months ago!)…but today,Karthik showed us a baby spectacled cobra….
Incredible sight. The little snake was quite annoyed at being spotted, and was hissing like a heated kettle. I was certainly glad that Karthik was around to ensure that it didn’t disappear in a trice into the undergrowth before
The whole episode was over in less than a minute...but what a memorable minute it was! Other photos will follow....we saw three Grey Hornbills, and got some lovely macro shots of a plant hopper (what's that? watch this space!)....but I just couldn't wait to get to the net and share these snaps. No, I agree, they are not technically good, but the SPEED with which the baby cobra zipped into the undergrowth was just so fast, I am amazed that I got any shots at all! These pics are on the S3IS...KM was so glad that I didn't keep bugging him for the Canon EOS20D, but there were a few moments when I wanted to....for birding, the EOS with the 300mm Prime is SO good! We met Prashanth Badrinath, an expert birder, along with his friend Vijay; they had just seen an Oriental Honey Buzzard.. the only Oriental thing that WE saw, apart from the landsape of the southern Indian peninsula, of course, was the Oriental Magpie Robin, which will make its appearance in the next post.
Colourful textiles
June 30, 2007
I do love the bright colours that we always prefer, in our clothing and textiles. Textile and saree shops are always so colourful; and here’s a little pushcart I found a few days ago, selling what I would like to call “rainbow towels”
An Absolute Gem from <LJ user=beast_666>
June 28, 2007
http://beast-666.livejournal.com/96155.html
At a Tambram wedding...
June 28, 2007
In the middle of taking the required “people” pics, I thought of focusing on the foot of the bride.
Note to Myself
June 28, 2007
Before committing my time to someone for some activity, I must have a very clear idea of when that activity will happen, how long I might have to wait for it, what else I might have to miss on that account, and how much of time I might spend, or waste…
What is next...that made me think
June 27, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/06/what_next_indeed.phtml
Liked this one...
June 26, 2007
Before marriage:
Nandi Hills as a getaway spot...
June 26, 2007
Here’s my Metroblogs post about it, at
Nandi Hills...a fantastic day...
June 26, 2007
When
Lyrics of Love...
June 24, 2007
Today was a day filled with music..a superb performance of north Indian classical music by Arti Anklekar in the morning, and old Hindi film hits in the evening…and it made me muse on love in lyrics.
Sainath,Nandi Hills and the monsoon
June 23, 2007
I know I should write about the superb day we had at Nandi Hills; but a Saturday evening lassitude sits heavy upon me…we had a great morning today, too, as
Basava..Nandi the Divine Bull
June 22, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/06/basava_nandi.phtml
Wildlife and the many dangers it faces...
June 22, 2007
I am uploading the pictures taken during our wonderful trip to Nandi Hills on 19th June, and the short visit to Madivala Lake on 21st June… but want to post, first, these graphic pictures of what our wildlife faces….
Repeat Telecast this Morning..
June 22, 2007
Amazing, I got a call this morning that my one-hour Carnatic music program, telecast on Jun 19, was “very popular”(whatever that means) and that it will be re-telecast today on Asianet Suvarna channel from 0745 to 0845 (morning)…I am going to attend a wedding…but if any of you see this in time and CAN watch…please do!
Hollywood and Switzerland...
June 21, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/06/hollywood_and_switzerland_are.phtml
On the way to Nandi Hills...
June 21, 2007
Do not miss that lovely curly tail! No, we didn’t eat here…
But still, it was a LOVELY day...
June 21, 2007
Well, the beginning of today (er, it just became yesterday) was a little negative, knowing I had missed the TV broadcast of my concert, and the ending was a little negative, over my efforts to speak Kannada…but in between lay a really fantastic day, traipsing all over Nandi Hills in the strong, cold monsoon breeze, looking at birds and trees and millipedes and macaques…
Learning to speak Kannada
June 20, 2007
When I moved into Bangalore, one of the first things I felt happy about was that I would be learning a new language. I took up my daughter’s textbooks and learnt to read and write Kannada. I can now read and write the language, including Kannada numbers.
Were all ears here at Bandipur...
June 19, 2007
To <LJ user=anushsh>
June 19, 2007
Thank you,
Profound Philosophy in Lalbagh...
June 19, 2007
The deepest truths are the simplest ones; our ancients used telling examples from everyday life to illustrate them.
Fathers Day...
June 18, 2007
Dumb and Dumber,I dont have the right number...
June 18, 2007
Very rarely, in my constant endeavour to learn new things, do I get dejected, but the past two days HAVE been days of dejection. I have been taking a series of foozly (see
Cheering up...
June 17, 2007
Construction Workers...
June 17, 2007
I took these pictures of construction workers and their families on a construction site…
Maruti 800 Water Tank...
June 16, 2007
Here’s a water tank on top of a building in Chennapatna (I think) on the road from Bangalore to Mysore….
The Majestic (Central) Bus Stand in Bangalore
June 16, 2007
Here’s my Metroblogs post at
My turn too....
June 16, 2007
If there are one or more people on your friends list who make your world a better place just because they exist, and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the Internet, then post this same sentence in your journal.
After the safari Sunset at Bandipur
June 15, 2007
When the light sinks down to liquid gold And the monsoon clouds reflect the sight; When the birds and beasts return to their fold And there approaches the dark of the night…
Adults Only at Majestic Bus Stand
June 15, 2007
The main bus stand (bus terminal!) at Bangalore is called Majestic, after a theatre of that name in the area.
Two more pictures.....
June 15, 2007
Here are two images from Bandipur that speak for themselves…
Dance Performance at Bandipur
June 15, 2007
This one, again, is not a shot that a good wildlife photographer would choose. It’s a record of an event happening “behind the bushes” in quite a literal sense…the mating display of the Indian peacock.
KM visited the Cheetah cubs again....
June 14, 2007
Remember the post about the Cheetah cubs that I had gone to visit in St Louis Zoo? Here it is, at
Interest and Disinterest
June 14, 2007
Less Sugar....
June 14, 2007
Finally, thanks to a friend, I went and saw “Cheeni Kum”…and except for the really melodious music, and some very nice dialogue, I don’t really see what the fuss is about…I think audiences accept the romance between a 64 year old man and a 34 year old woman because Amitabh looks fit, and not 64 at all. And of course, Tabu is very beautiful and her face is so expressive (she is, I think, my favouritest actress.)I wonder what the reaction would have been if they had used a balding, paunchy hero…or if it had been a 64 year old woman and a 34 year old man….
The crapola that Authorised Service Centres perpetrate
June 12, 2007
I took my Toshiba to the Authorized Service Centre at Manipal Centre in Ulsoor….they said that there was a Rs.1000 inspection charge and probably I would have to pay Rs.24,000 for a new screen….
No Entry....
June 11, 2007
Weird problem, that would happen only to Ms. Murphy. On Thursday, we spent the entire day without any power. When the power came back, I decided to leave my laptop on while I went for my swim.
Three friends...
June 7, 2007
I visited a friend whose daughter is getting married at the end of the month. “No one should ever take up a job in the banking industry!” she wailed. “Look at my daughter. The wedding is three weeks away and she comes home every day post 9 pm, and she often goes to work on Sundays too…and I am trying to get her to make her trousseau…it’s such a problem! She should have been in the software industry…such a cushy life, they get paid so well, and they have those long weekends too…”
Birds of the Manchinabele Area
June 6, 2007
Since Sachin and Neelu were nice enough to take
And today....
June 5, 2007
“It’s World Environment Day!” one of my friends said to me when I met her at her door in the morning. “We must take this seriously, unless each of us is careful, we will spoil the world!” “Yes,” I said. “Just one minute…let me give the driver the keys….Ramappa, can you take the car to the store at the corner and pick up three eggs? Take the large car, the smaller one has less petrol, I will drop Neeraj in that…these drivers just guzzle the petrol!” she said. “Yes,” I said. “It says in the paper that we must be really sparing and think green,” she said. “I just drove down and bought some plants from that lovely new nursery in North Bangalore which everyone says has the most exotic plants…aren’t they lovely?” “Yes,” I said. “And we must be careful of water, too…I don’t intend watering these plants too often, perhaps that’s why the last lot died…and yesterday my maid just left the tap open in the kitchen and I only noticed when I came home in the evening, can you believe it?” “Yes,” I said. “And I buy vegetables only in that new mall which has come up, they give such lovely plastic bags, too, look, Green’n’Fresh, it’s as good as anything you get in the States, isn’t it?” she said. “Yes,” I said. “I asked for a few extra, so that I can use them for other things and have less of waste. It’s essential not to waste, isn’t it?” “Yes,” I said. “Muniamma! Just throw those three towels into the washing machine and start it, you can’t keep waiting for more clothes!…where was I? Oh, yes, I felt so bad yesterday, having to throw such a lot of leftovers from my dinner party into the dustbin…Muniamma didn’t turn up for work and I didn’t want to put it all in the fridge. These servants are so unreliable, aren’t they?” “Yes,” I said. “But I’ll cut her salary for the days she takes off she’s always complaining that her husband beats her…oh, you’ve got your cycle keys…! It’s so dangerous, you know, but you are SO eco-friendly…” “Yes,” I said. “I couldn’t cycle for nuts, especially in this hot weather.I just have to have the air-conditioning on… I really admire you!” “Yes,” I said. “You are always such an inspiration to me! Oh well, it was nice chatting to you, I have to go in and make sure Muniamma washes the balcony properly…Muniamma, throw a few more buckets of water, and scrub the floor well! And don’t forget to spray the pesticide in all the corners…I’ll see you later, I have so much to do. Thank goodness we are all so aware of our environment!” “Yes,” I said. “Bye!”
Butterflies at Manchinabele...Wrong lens for the job
June 5, 2007
With
Rock Agama and Google
June 4, 2007
On the trip to Manchinabele Dam area yesterday, I got this shot of the Rock Agama:
People for Animals, and their Snake Workshop
June 4, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/06/people_for_animals_pfa_kengeri.phtml
Carriage Return...
June 2, 2007
These two words, in the LJ of
Gopalaswamy Temple and its Environs....
June 1, 2007
The Gopalaswamy (God Who Tends the Cattle, that is, Krishna) Temple is a beautiful little hillside temple in the eponymous Gopalaswamy Betta (Hill)…and these images caught my eye.
Grinding Stone and Granite Post Two Images from the Bandipur Trip
May 31, 2007
While we were on the trip, I saw, in the Gopalaswamy temple, this grinding stone which has fallen into disuse:
Some more creatures at Bandipur...
May 30, 2007
And now, ladies’n’genmun, we come to some of the more unusual creatures that reside in our forests…..I must say, this time we seemed to have all of them coming over to the road to meet us!
Bandipur Eagles...
May 29, 2007
Here are a few photographs of two Eagles that we saw on our Bandipur trip; I had not set my camera properly and so some of the photographs are a little disappointing. (I also seem to have focused sometimes above, below, or near the subject!) But disappointing is not a word that can be used for the trip, with almost every animal and bird just sitting still and posing for us! In fact, rather than just spotting animals, this time we were lucky enough to watch their behaviour for a little while. The only animals who did disappoint us were, predictably, the tiger and the leopard, both of which we missed by just a minute or so…we arrived on the scene to see the visitors in other vehicles still looking raptly at the spot where each animal had just disappeared into the undergrowth!
Congrats
May 28, 2007
Congratulations
Vaathsalyam
May 28, 2007
We have many kinds of love in our culture, and Vaathsalyam is the love of a parent (particularly the mother) for the child.
From the LJ of <LJ user=sid_sree>
May 28, 2007
another Gem by Nida Fazli main roya parades men bheega maa ka pyaar dukh ne dukh se baat ki bin chiThThi bin taar
Bandipur...
May 28, 2007
The sightings of our trip to Bandipur over the weekend were truly amazing, and this in spite of the fact that we missed BOTH a tiger AND a leopard by a matter of minutes..we arrived on the scene to see the people in other vehicles still staring into the forest!
Why?
May 25, 2007
Why can’t LJ at least have a counter for those who visit a blog?
Ragigudda and 9th Block, Jayanagar
May 25, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/05/ragigudda_and_9th_block_jayana.phtml
Im rich Im RICH YAHOO
May 25, 2007
And it’s Yahoo, now, which is giving it away; notice, they are distributing this largesse without even knowing my name, and not even bothering that I never participated in such a “promotional program”…how kind of them.
Incredible video
May 24, 2007
The thing to do is to think, “I have nothing worth posting”. Immediately, something like this will come along…
The Rain...
May 24, 2007
I had not had a single thought worth posting today..but then, the rain began.
Just to wish...
May 23, 2007
I never remember anyone’s birthdays in time but today I did…happy birthday to
Yakshagana at Ragigudda Temple
May 23, 2007
Here’s the post at Metblogs, on this traditonal folk theatre form:
Meanwhile, yesterday at Jayanagar 9th Block....
May 23, 2007
If it’s not an audio shop, why has it been temorarily temroraily temrorraly whatever…. shifted to “hear”?
Paruppu Thengaai
May 22, 2007
This is one part of a south Indian (well, yes, TamBram..) wedding that I have never been able to get any satisfactory explanations for.
JLR Naturalists Training Program
May 21, 2007
Here’s my report about the Program on Metblogs:
Orange and Black...
May 21, 2007
Trying to take photographs while going in the JLR van for the herbivore/bear/big cats safari is a real challenge. There is a huge grille attached to the outside of the windows, at an odd distance of a few inches away from them. The sliding glasses in each window ensure that either the person in front of you, OR you, can get the camera out…but not both. The glasses are quite smeared up and practically translucent. And the van rattles about on the uneven paths, jolting us, and our cameras, around.
Whos that?
May 19, 2007
JLRNTP...and Vyshnavi
May 19, 2007
Today I went to attend one session of the ongoing Naturalists’ Training Program that is being run by Jungle Lodges and Resorts…or rather, by its Chief Naturalist, S.Karthikeyan or Karthik, about whom I have written a lot on LJ!
English....foreign language or desi communication tool?
May 18, 2007
One of my colleagues on Metroblogs posted some bloopers which Oxford Concise Dictionary have allegedly made….I still haven’t seen them for myself…but a reader, commenting on this entry, has asked why the poster can’t post in Kannada.
The Infosys Campus in Electronics City, and its Variety of Architectural Styles
May 16, 2007
Here’s my Metblogs post about it…
Another lovely lamp...
May 15, 2007
We can no longer have very large “viLakku”s or lamps at home, because polisihing them and maintaining them are quite a chore; but at least in wedding halls or kalyana mantapas, we still have large and beautiful lamps, lit with wicks and oil, and burning brightly.
Auto-Messages....
May 12, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/05/automessages.phtml
Images from JP Nagar Reserve Forest
May 12, 2007
Today’s birding was not of the best; managed to get a shot of this Purple-Rumped Sunbird with a little insect in its mouth:
This ones for Sainath
May 12, 2007
Sunrise, today, over the J P Nagar Reserve Forest.
Marapaachi
May 12, 2007
“Marapaachi Bommai (dolls)” is what I know them as. These wooden dolls have always been around, and at weddings, they are decorated and put on show as part of the wedding festivities. Here’s a beautiful “couple” of Marapaachi wood, all dressed up at a wedding I attended last week:
Two sets of visitors...
May 11, 2007
I had two sets of visitors today…
Everything is sold as something else....
May 11, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/05/mixed_branding.phtml
Why???
May 10, 2007
For some reason, LJ gave me these three posts from long ago on my friends’ page today:
Symbolism at a Signal
May 10, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/05/karnataka_at_the_crossroads.phtml
Three Instrumental Artistes of Bangalore
May 8, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/05/three_instrumental_artistes_of.phtml
Good Morning, Everybody
May 8, 2007
Another of my favourite sunrise pics…
The Tree of Stone,Lalbagh
May 7, 2007
Read all about it at
Moblog article in D H
May 7, 2007
‘Twas good to see
My accompanists....
May 7, 2007
I include, once again, a photo of the recording session, as it would appear to the video cameraman:
Kannada Channel TV recording, 5 May 07, Sanathana Kalakshetra, Jayanagar
May 7, 2007
I have been facing flak that says that this post on Metblogs has “nothing to do with Bangalore”….so I am moving this entry to my personal blog.
LJ...and friends....
May 5, 2007
Went to the wedding reception of
Couldnt help posting this amazing photograph
May 4, 2007
http://www.indianaturewatch.net/displayimage.php?id=14657
Wasps Nest, Lalbagh, 2006
May 4, 2007
Sorry, I did promise not to post any more today, but this is at someone’s special request, so here, MVR, is the wasps’ nest that I photographed last year in Lalbagh. I do not seem to be able to find this photo on my earlier LJ posts….
How would it be...
May 4, 2007
Someone recently accused me of only finding fault and not finding solutions. So I wondered if our TT (Terrible Traffic) would improve if….
The Majesty of one silk-cotton tree in Lalbagh
May 4, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/05/silkcotton_majesty.phtml
Little Shrine in Lalbagh
May 4, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/05/little_shrine_in_lalbagh.phtml
Thought for the last ten minutes of the day
May 3, 2007
Careless Click On Computer Can Cause Chaos.
If you are in Bangalore and see this in time, go see the play on May 4th
May 3, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/05/the_original_last_wish_babygoo.phtml
Ek Aur Kavita
May 2, 2007
WAQT NAHI
Poetry again...
May 2, 2007
From our friend, Gautam Kaul…
Mango Pickles....
April 30, 2007
This one is for
What I will be doing day after tomorrow...
April 30, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/04/new_tv_channel.phtml
Basavanagudi Police Station,Bangalore
April 29, 2007
Want to see the most beautiful Police Station I have ever seen? Here:
This is Greek....
April 29, 2007
“In another study, Stachyris nigriceps is found to be close to Pomatorhinus ochraceiceps, while the rest of the Stachyris such as ruficeps and rufifrons are close in a clade which appears to include Macrnous gularis.”
Yet another question....
April 28, 2007
I post on Metroblogs, and often I get responses (which come to my gmail id)…and when I reply to that email id, it says, “no such user”….
Need a translator
April 28, 2007
Someone (Well,
Commercial Street, Bangalore
April 28, 2007
Would you like to share the sights of the Commercial Street area ( an old shopping area of Bangalore, long before malls came in!) in my city?
Two survivors of Old Bangalore
April 27, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/04/two_beautiful_things_on_brigad.phtml
Moral Policing
April 27, 2007
I saw this post from
Cruelty to animals....
April 27, 2007
I received this on an egroup I belong to:
Weaver Ants
April 27, 2007
Everywhere, if one looks up into the trees, one can see the handiwork of Weaver Ants . These industrious creatures build really marvelous nests, “weaving” leaves together to make nests….read about it on the Wiki entry.
The colour of fertility, plenty and prosperity....
April 26, 2007
This picture was taken by my son-in-law, as our bus bumped its way through the rural areas of Karnataka. Paddy fields, all green velvet, so inviting in the summer sun…and even more beautiful as the sun was obliterated by the rain clouds and the drops started splashing down….
Medium = Large
April 26, 2007
Can anyone (especially the many folks I know at Yahoo) tell me why, on Flickr, the Medium size of a picture is the same pixel size as the Large? And why have two “sizes” at all, when they are the same? (They used not to be, earlier. The Large size was inconvenient for LJ as it would often overrun page width.)
Life is Cheap
April 26, 2007
Tobacco Causes Cancer….Fifteen Rupees Per Pack….
Names, classifications, and knowledge
April 24, 2007
In one of the egroups I belong to, there has been some debate about using the common names or scientific names of trees/plants, with some people feeling that it is elitist to use scientific names. Here are my thoughts:
One-Minute Angiogram
April 24, 2007
Here’s something I found somewhat weird..imagine advertising medical procedures on the back of a bus!
What not to do
April 24, 2007
This one’s for
Stage Decorations
April 23, 2007
Went to Kerala (Kannur) to attend the wedding of
Happy Birthday
April 23, 2007
Happy Birthday to two people whom I find impressive; one being
The Difference
April 22, 2007
In today’s world, there are umpteen ways and means of storing information. But…that remains information. When information is collated and synthesized into knowledge…it has to be stored in the original memory bank…between the two ears. Information is what you can access; knowledge is what you truly have.
Driving on the new highways
April 19, 2007
Indian highways have long been very dangerous; narrow and ill-lit, with a variety of vehicles jostling for space, it was sheer luck that the number of accidents were far less than one would expect.
Our way of advertising...
April 19, 2007
In our country, the roads ensure that flat tyres are a regular phenomenon, so we have our own “puncture” repair men, who advertise by nailing up an old tyre to the shady tree under which they operate. They usuall adopt a phonetic method of spelling out the word “puncture”; but in this case, one guy had a serious doubt about whether his first spelling was right, and decided that he would cover his bases.
Two nice pictures
April 19, 2007
I do have several, several pictures I need to post to Flickr and to LJ…but am still continously on the run with DnA’s shopping and visiting…so I am keeping all that for something to do after they have gone.
Photography Festival at the Leela Galleria
April 18, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/04/photography_festival_at_the_le.phtml
Two unusual flowers
April 15, 2007
The usual place for a bud to form, and a flower to bloom, is at the tip of the twig, at the end of a branch….
At LAST.....
April 12, 2007
I must say, I have not found the summer this year very bad; but I was still longing for those first showers….yesterday there was apparently a downpour but not where I was….but just now, the air suddenly cooled, the breeze blew up, and the rain in pouring down now…oh, how wonderful is that first smell of the wet earth, as the parched land soaks the water in…how healing to the heart and soul, as the dust and heat get washed away in the cool, life-giving downpour!
A matter for debate....
April 12, 2007
If non-vegetarians advocating free-range chicken farming (where chickens are not “cooped” up but are allowed to run free) are SO concerned about those chickens’ lives, why, then, ultimately kill them and eat them? Isn’t it a bit like the witch feeding up Hansel?
An outstanding institution of South Bangalore
April 11, 2007
Would you like to see and read about the Brahmins’ Coffee Bar? Please read my Metroblog post at
Super-Duper All-Purpose Warning
April 10, 2007
Yesterday evening, it was fun being with
Not Page Three
April 8, 2007
Each city has different centres for different purposes; but to me, the very heart of my city is the Brigade Road/Mahatma Gandhi Road/Church Street area. After buying tickets to watch “The Namesake” at the Rex Theatre (surviving the decades on Brigade Road), I walked around with the camera. This area is also a very fashionable place, where young people (and the not-so-young) dressed up to the nines, throng the malls, the shops, the movie theatres, the pubs, or just “hang around”.
On Brigade Road
April 8, 2007
I went to book tickets for “The Namesake” yesterday and after doing so, wandered around Brigade Road/Mahatma Gandhi Road/Resthouse Road area for a while with my camera. I will post some of the photos over a period of time…but first, let me start with one of my OP’s (Orrible Puns)…
The best sounds that technology could bring me today
April 6, 2007
I love technology that enables ordinary humans to be in touch.
The Bangalore Palace
April 6, 2007
Recently, I read in the newspaper that the Bangalore Palace had been thrown open for public viewing.
Staggeringly beautiful...
April 5, 2007
Yes, yes, I know I have posted a lot today, but this is too incredible to pass up.
Very Happy
April 5, 2007
Happiness is knowing that a friend’s (who is also an LJ-er) talents have been recognized. Watch this space….the minute my friends allows me to…I will post!
I loved this video...
April 5, 2007
I got it from the comment
Sights of Summer
April 5, 2007
The tabebuia argentina and the jacaranda are almost done…the carpets of yellow/purple are almost over. Now it is the turn of the Gul Mohar and the Copper-Shield Bearers to carpet the roads with red/yellow.
One of the birds on the Delhi trip...
April 4, 2007
Let me make a beginning about the various birds we saw on the trip to Delhi….
A Lunar Experiment
April 4, 2007
I tried focusing on the moon while I was taking bird pictures.
How??
April 4, 2007
I was looking at my friends’ page…April 3rd. And just to see if there were any entries I had missed, I clicked on the “earlier” icon at the bottom of the page.
Humour on the Road
April 2, 2007
There is a well-known audio-system maker for cars, called “BLAUPUNKT” (which means, blue dot, in German)…
TataSky and Restrictive Trade Practices
April 2, 2007
This was on the LJ of
The Peacock Post
April 1, 2007
The guest house where we stayed while KM attended his board meeting was in Gudgaon. It is situated in a farmhouse belonging to the group of companies, and has many houses situated in expansive gardens. All sorts of birds find the gardens a haven. I saw RED-WATTLED LAPWINGS, ASIAN PIED STARLINGS, ASHY PRINIAS, TAILOR BIRDS, PURPLE-RUMPED SUNBIRDS, apart from the usual KOELS and regular CMPK (Crow-Mynah-Pigeon-Kite!)
A walk on Bannerghatta Road
April 1, 2007
After looking in on BarCamp3 , I decided to walk back home along Bannerghatta Road…and a very illuminating two kilometres it was, too.
A riot....
March 31, 2007
Here’s the scene that met my eyes as I walked into the Shevaroy’s Hotel , the venerable hotel in Yercaud, that has extensive grounds, majestic trees, and an incredible ambience:
The Colours of Need...
March 31, 2007
I took this picture on my morning walk at Yercaud, where we went last weekend.
KSTDC....
March 30, 2007
Hmm…first of all, I got to spend some time on the Net yesterday and had posted about my visiting our fair rajdhani, Delhi…I had to use the “date out of order” option….oh, the entries had got mixed and I had to rectify them…
Been Away....
March 29, 2007
I bet I haven’t been missed….but I had a weekend at Yercaud with friends,and then 4 days in Delhi to attend a wedding,and then KM’s board meeting….
A very enjoyable set of questions....
March 23, 2007
From the LJ of
Holarrhena Antidysenterica
March 23, 2007
When we took the Naturalists’ Training Course, Mr Sadanand from Mysore came over to give us a talk about trees, and on our Nature trail, showed us the anti-dysentery tree, the Holarrhena Antidysenterica:
Something I have been putting off...
March 22, 2007
Another sad ending… a few days ago, I came back from a trip and eagerly went to look at the coconut palm….and found no eggs in the nest or female kite, either…and over a period of time, I realize that the eggs have probably been predated (by crows?) and the female kite has abandoned the nest….
Men...and hair...
March 22, 2007
I’ve been noticing for the past decade or more, that human males seem to be evolving towards less hair on their heads. Baldness has always been around, but it was generally associated with middle to old age; but now I find, more and more, that young men, even in their mid-twenties, are either thinning or balding altogether. Could this be due to stressful lifestyles, detergent-based shampoos, or evolution?
Purple Swamphens/Moorhens
March 21, 2007
Some of the common birds are also the most colourful…here is the Purple Moorhen, also called the Purple Swamphen , a frequent sight amongst the waterbodies in and around Bangalore:
To <LJ user=shortindiangirl>
March 20, 2007
Come along soon
Ugadi ShubhaashegaLu
March 19, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/03/wishing_you_a_happy_ugadi.phtml
The Squirrel Home Furnishing Story
March 19, 2007
Each time I go to Lalbagh, there is something else to fascinate me and keep me there well beyond the time I have budgeted for myself….one fine morning, I was able to document the story of Mrs Common Squirrel
Wish you all a Happy Ugadi
March 19, 2007
Well…I couldn’t get a really good picture of the Karnataka State Bird, the Indian Roller…but thought I would post this picture of the lovely, common bird, the Green Bee Eater…
KWW (KarnatakaWideWeb)
March 16, 2007
Click on this for info about the nest(s) of the Social Spiders
With thanks..
March 16, 2007
I got this from the LJ of
Evening Swim in the Building Pool
March 15, 2007
The dim lights of Orion’s belt Shine down on me as I start my swim. Once again…I relive the curiosity I felt About who named those stars after him.
People Who Sleep In Glass Houses
March 14, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/03/people_who_sleep_in_glass_hous.phtml
Speed Bumps in Bangalore
March 14, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/03/those_bumps.phtml
So...is it delayed or not?
March 14, 2007
This was sent by someone on a mailing list I belong to, and I enjoyed it:
A couple of other birds in Lalbagh
March 13, 2007
Yesterday
The only wildlife mammal photograph possible in Lalbagh
March 13, 2007
The only undomesticated animal in Lalbagh, I think, is the perky, bright, busy squirrel .
When we go to the same place...
March 12, 2007
I was going through my LJ friend’s page, when I remembered the anecdote about two brothers who gave in identical essays on the topic, “My Dog”. When asked why, they said, “Ma’am…we both have the same dog!”
World Wide Web....well, Lalbagh Wide
March 12, 2007
The morning light in Lalbagh is a magical thing. It really does illuminate a lot of things.
Admission is easy...
March 12, 2007
Are the local schools giving you a runaround for your child’s admission? At your wit’s end about what to do? Fear not!
Along with the Newspapers...
March 10, 2007
See my Metroblog post at
The Taller Original-Idea-Headed Code-Writers
March 9, 2007
Here are two samples of these species.
SOL (Squirrels of Lalbagh)
March 9, 2007
No matter where you go in Lalbagh, these perky little creatures catch your attention. WE were going past a huge silk-cotton tree which was in pod, and we saw these animals:
Why...
March 8, 2007
Why is it that when I am idle and sitting in front of my laptop, no one seems to post anything..but let me be busy for a day (or even half a day), that’s the signal for the friends to post in their hundreds?
The SSO post ( Sainaths Spotted Owlets)
March 8, 2007
Let’s srart off with the clear declaration that the photographs were MUCH worse than I feared. But…for me they tell a story, so please don’t mind the lack of crispness or other technical imperfections…
Flowers...in the water...on the trees...on the ground....
March 7, 2007
Good Morning
March 6, 2007
Here’s the sunrise view from our balcony…
Woman in a Veil
March 6, 2007
While we lived in the Gulf, I was struck by the beauty of women of whom nothing could be seen but their eyes; here is my sketch of one such veiled woman…
Mrs B Kite and her babies
March 6, 2007
Here’s the update; Mrs B K has been bringing some fresh upholstery for her nest, but it doesn’t seem to make a major difference to Egg A and Egg B, her to-be children….
What we have been doing this weekend....
March 5, 2007
Friday:
My memory
March 5, 2007
Inspired by a friend, who, in response to my saying I would like to meet her, gently reminded me that we already HAD….
A most interesting person...
March 5, 2007
Here’s a very interesting person whom DnA (as my daughter and son in law call themselves) brought into my life….
Lovely poem
March 5, 2007
From the LJ of
From Roshan Pauls blog
March 4, 2007
The cricket fever is building up and here’s the Nike ad…
Mild Rant
March 4, 2007
I didn’t feel like playing Holi as I do detest that pink Holi powder. I don’t know what dyestuff it is but it STAYS. I just went downstairs to take a few photographs.
Holi, the Festival of Colours....
March 4, 2007
Today lots of people are celebrating Holi, the festival of colours. It marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring, with colours bursting forth on all sides. Well..in India spring and summer are not very much different….
Loan o Lakes
March 3, 2007
Are you worried that there may be water shortage? Do you feel concerned that your home may soon be in an arid area? Don’t worry. Help is at hand. No guarantors required…35 to 50 lakes will be loaned to you….by ICICI Bank….
The JLR Naturalists Training Program
March 2, 2007
Jungle Lodges and Resorts are going to conduct another batch of their Naturalists’ Training Program, which
Mini LJ meet
March 1, 2007
Bright-eyed and (probably) bushy-tailed
February 28, 2007
Sometimes one need not go for the rare and exotic…what’s right before one’s eyes can be very appealing too!
Of creatures...
February 28, 2007
My wildlife experience is inextricably tied up with the several avid wildlifers I have met. Just now when I saw
Very nice lady
February 27, 2007
Here’s a picture of one of our relatives (well, technically KM’s…but you know how it is, after 30 years of marriage, there are no YOUR relatives and MY relatives, only OURS)…a very hard-working lady who has stood by her husband’s business ups and downs, always lending a helping hand as well as coping with the household, with staunch affection.
A Nobel Prize Winner
February 27, 2007
Well, not the sketch, but the subject…someone whom I revere as a real saint, whether they make her one or not…
Oh my...
February 27, 2007
I have been sketching all my life; and it is so much a part of me that I have never thought much about it. When I moved into my present apartment, I finally decided to frame a few of the sketches that had been autographed, and a few that I liked…but that was about the limit of it.
Metroblog post about the Dental college
February 26, 2007
I do tend to post a lot of stuff critical of the space where I live..so it’s a pleasure to be able to say something positive, too!
My sketch.....
February 26, 2007
I was just posting this sketch of mine on to LJ when I get a call that
Mr and Mrs B Kite, update
February 26, 2007
The past few days, I have watched, riveted, as Mrs Black Kite calls each morning…and Mr BK arrives with morsels in his mouth which he lays out on the palm fronds; she comes out, eats them, and it’s back to the nest for her.
Fine Dining is Hyena Dining
February 26, 2007
The Kulgi Camp run by the Forest Department had this sign over the canteen (every tent was named after a bird or animal)…
When people fall in love with themselves...
February 24, 2007
http://bangalore.metblogs.com/archives/2007/02/in_love_with_their_own_hype.phtml#more
The Blue-Capped Rock Thrush
February 24, 2007
I found this delightful view of this delightful, colourful little bird amongst the photographs…I don’t know if I took the picture or KM did; but looking at the detail of that little spider-web thread just next to the bird, and its clarity, I feel it might have been KM rather than me…
NIce meeting...
February 24, 2007
I went to Lalbagh and then to MTR (Mavalli Tiffin Room, a Bangalore institution that still serves coffee in silver tumblers!) this morning, to meet other people who are writing for Metroblogs Bangalore…and met
Everything is getting specialized...
February 24, 2007
Here’s an email from one of the egroups I belong to:
This is REALLY how it is when I travel abroad...
February 23, 2007
When you have to visit a public bathroom, you usually find a line of women, so you smile politely and take your place.
Want to see Metroblog?
February 22, 2007
This is a blog which is city-specific; obviously, I write Bangalore-based stuff; I don’t know if anyone would like to read it, but I am giving the URL for my own record…
Malabar Pied Hornbill
February 20, 2007
Here’s a snap KM took of the Malabar Pied Hornbill…the picture has a very Japanese-painting feel to it, because of the tree and the bold curves of the bird….
The story of Mr and Mrs M. G. Hornbill
February 20, 2007
At Dandeli, this time, we were treated to a lovely family drama, more riveting than any soap opera one could see on the idiot box! Let me introduce the hero and heroine:
Another beauty from Dandeli
February 20, 2007
This is the Blue-Capped Rock Thrush…well, the male (the female of course is dun-coloured and dull-looking!)…
First pictures from the INW Dandeli meet
February 19, 2007
Let me start with the disclaimer. I was made to realize that these photographs are not “technically” good; the fuzziness of the beating of the wingtips apparently spoils the photograph and it is not worth printing or otherwise displaying….but that’s to a perfectionist.
Quiscent...
February 19, 2007
Have you ever been in a mood, after 3 days of hectic activity, when you feel really not up to interacting with the world, where you just want to know what’s happened, but don’t want to engage quite yet?
Einstein was possibly a genius people
February 15, 2007
This one is in my own apartment building. This description is supposed to encourage people to start playing chess (after picking up the pawns from the security guards; why they have them is beyond me), not scare them off…
Meanwhile, in J P Nagar...
February 15, 2007
How many children do you think would like to attend playschool at “Trendy Play Home”, where at any moment their parents might make this appointment for ear-piercing?
The Black Kite Nest
February 14, 2007
In my ongoing coverage of the home of the B.K’s, here’s Mrs B.Kite sorting out some further furnishings for her home….
Mineral Water Is For The Birds
February 14, 2007
You may have the waters of the Kaveri river right next to you, but it’s cool to have a bottle of mineral water close to hand..er, talon….
Bougainvillea
February 13, 2007
Such a common plant, hardy and low-maintenance, and supports a lot of birdlife, too…and always looks good, growing well even in arid regions.
Two Pictures that <LJ user=anirudhc> took
February 13, 2007
I was lucky that though they count themselves beginners, my teammates at the Bangalore Bird Race are still better than I am at both birding and photography…here are two pictures that
Colours of Nature
February 13, 2007
A photograph that truly illustrates the colours Mother Nature can create…taken during the Bangalore Bird Race.
CMB...Counting My Blessings
February 13, 2007
CMB…and what a lot of them there are!
Link to the Bird Race post...on Metroblogs
February 13, 2007
I’ve joined a Bangalore blog site called Metroblogs, in which people post city-specific entries; I have not yet learnt the ropes about posting photos and stuff on it, and am not entirely comfortable with the fact that posts on Metroblogs cannot be repeated on my LJ post, but I can only give the links to them. I will be trying it out for a little while, though.
Home opposite my balcony...
February 12, 2007
First of all, an explanation. Some of my wildlifer friends don’t ever post nest photographs, for several valid reasons:
Starling Off...Er, Starting Off....
February 12, 2007
Here’s a Brahminy Starling taking the first few tentative steps in the Bangalore Bird Race….
Why I dont like Chennai
February 8, 2007
…or at least, one of the reasons.
Something I enjoyed reading...very much
February 6, 2007
From the LJ of
I got this from Roshan Paul
February 6, 2007
Watch..and look at the numbers….
What would you do?
February 6, 2007
I have been deliberating on whether to post about this or not….decided to do so, and ask my readers what they would have done.
A Flight in the Life of Deponti Murphy
February 5, 2007
The flight to Hyderabad was scheduled for 8am; I can never sleep before an early flight and was up at 4 am. At 5 am, I was told that the flight was on time, so set off. On the Ring Road, the heavy fog gave promise of what was to come….the flight was delayed to 9.30 am. Bought a coffee and settled down on one of those delightfully luxurious airport chairs (eighteen different positions and a free massage as you twist around trying to find a pose in which your spine is not twisted out of shape)…at 9.30 am we were told we could get breakfast against our boarding passes. It was such fun to join the huggggge queue and get something to eat…and come back and find that since all the flights were getting delayed there was not a seat to be had. “Borrowed” a seat from a young girl while I ate and then started walking around again. The delightful smell of Channel (no mistype there) no. 1 and 2 started permeating the hall as the toilets quickly backed up.
The Bird Race and Me
February 1, 2007
On Feb 11th, my city is going to have its very first Bangalore Bird Race .
Flower in winter..
February 1, 2007
I loved this “flower” on the bare tree….seemed to bring a smile to the dreary winter. The twigs made a lovely pattern against the blue.
Ice Carnival at the Loop, St Louis
January 31, 2007
The Loop is a lovely, lively area of St Louis,(well, technically, University City)..an area of shops and restaurants, within walking distance of Washington University (and more importantly, of DnA’s home.)
Another bald eagle story..
January 31, 2007
Fall in Winter
January 30, 2007
That is not a cryptic caption. I had gone for my usual walk, when I lost my footing, perhaps on this patch of ice and grime, and fell. After two weeks, the golf ball over my right eyebrow is a marble, and the black eye looks more like insomnia and less like one of those comic book illustrations that we all laugh at. But, having picked myself up, I realized that the road and the edge of the pavement (er, sidewalk), made a picture that appealed to me….here it is, a study in brown and white:
Safety is a Dangerous Job...
January 29, 2007
What happens to a “safe cover”?
Formulae
January 29, 2007
High Intelligence+Youth+Sometimes Good Looks=Very Often, Arrogance+Ageism.
Still cannot sleep...
January 29, 2007
…so, if you haven’t yet, do watch “An Inconvenient Truth” , a documentary on global warming, presented by Al Gore. It’s a scary documentary, no matter what he says about there being a message of hope.
A bald visitor to the Sambandhis home.....
January 29, 2007
I posted about how I missed the first Bald Eagle event (Jan 14th) at Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, St Louis, when it got cancelled due to the ice storm. I then waited eagerly for a week, and we went to Alton, Illinois, on Jan 22nd to see the eagles in their riverine habitat. We had to stand about mile away to see them, standing in the freezing cold, turning an enraptured blue….
From one of my favourite humourists
January 27, 2007
This one is for
The Bald Eagles
January 27, 2007
Gosh, this jet lag means no sleep at the “right” times…so I decided to post the bald eagle photos before going off for my walk…Photos by KM. The camera had a lot of trouble midway through and we were lucky to get any pics at all.
Why ONE LJ meet didnt happen...
January 27, 2007
The Gulls Own Art...
January 27, 2007
As we went around the area from which we could see the bald eagles at Alton, we saw these gulls wheeling over and around the reservoir. They keep shitting all over the gates. what is amazing, though, is that one of these by-products has actually taken on the likeness of a gull itself!
Chumma (which means, just like that, for no reason)
January 27, 2007
I was sorting and posting the pics of the bald eagles to Flickr, and I came across this picture, which I just loved, for its combination of textures, shapes, and colours…here it is…it’s FOG, which is not fog, but Frost On Ground…
post inspired by <LJ user=suzan_s>
January 25, 2007
Garden Flora--I am in the mood for posting pictures..with a vengeance
January 25, 2007
As I tried using the Tamron lens on my walks in LA, I snapped many pictures of garden flowers; I realize that it seems rather “infra-dig” (beneath one’s dignity, in a very Indian idiom!) to post pictures of garden flowers…but I have no dignity, being still a photographer who is an L board (another Indian idiom for someone who is learning )…so I am going to post some pictures of flowers…
Loss of parents...
January 25, 2007
Two of my friends have lost one of their parents….one in Atlanta lost his mother in Mumbai; and the one in Irvine, Cal, lost her father..she is the youngest of a large family, too.
Suitcase found...
January 25, 2007
Though we wasted two and a half hours first waiting for the suitcase and then lodging a complaint about its going missing, thank goodness, it has been located at last, and will, hopefully, be delivered home some time today….I realized that though it contains many things, I am now in a position to say that I could have got along without any of the stuff…good, perhaps I am making some progress on the path of non-attachment….
Rant (yes, started)
January 24, 2007
I will talk about my missing suitcase later…came home and switched on the gas cylinder to hear a horrible hiss and a dangerous stench (a stenching agent is added to the odourless cooking gas for just this purpose) and called my gas agency. I waited the entire morning and finally someone ambles in at 3 pm. (Well at least it prevented me from sleeping due to jet lag). He then pokes into the cylinder with a screwdriver and then announces, first, that “the washer has gone”, and then that “the regulator has gone”, and that I must change the regulator.
Funny...
January 24, 2007
Whenever I tell an Indian-American that we are visiting our daughter and will be in the US for 6 weeks, the answer is, “such a short visit!” and when I say the same thing to an American-American (you know what I mean) the answer is, invariably, “a very long visit!” People may be the same everywhere…but this IS one cultural difference I have found!
NYC, N Y....
January 24, 2007
This time, we only got to spend a few hours in New York..or to be precise, with our favourite place in NY, Manhattan. Our luggage was booked through (ah, one of the 4 suitcases hasn’t come to Bangalore, that’s another story, the story of a loooong saga at dawn at Blr airport this morning) so we were free to take the AirTrain to the NYC subway and thence to Manhattan, where a friend’s daughter lives practically on Times Square (W. 43rd Street). Then another friend who works close by met us and treated us to dinner at Carmine’s, an Italian restaurant on Broadway . The food was superb and came in mountainous quanitities(but I was surprised, when googling for it, to come up with several less-than-complimentary reviews too!)…then, in spite of the flurry of snow, we walked around until it was time for us to take the subway back again.
Wonderful.....
January 21, 2007
The bald eagles are just amazing birds….World Bird Sanctuary, Illinois, was where we went to see them.
Things that I am going to miss about the US
January 19, 2007
- Walking around. Pedestrians have rights here; there are pedestrian crossings where traffic actually stops; sidewalks are clean; there are NO stray dogs or beggars (well, VERY few beggars, and no one who accosts you and demands money of you)
Shapes and Colours
January 19, 2007
Saw this scene on one of my walks…natural rocks, literally couched in grass….
common plants of St Louis
January 19, 2007
As I wandered around, Looking for cardinals and hawks Here are the common plants I found Amongst the grass and the rocks.
Artificial Displays at the St Louis Zoo
January 18, 2007
The Zoo takes a lot of effort to recreate the kind of natural scenery one would see while sighting an animal in the wild.
The Rembrandt Exhibit
January 17, 2007
We had been to the Rembrandt etchings/woodcut exhibition at the Art Museum at St Louis …again, just a 40-minute walk from home….and his command of line and light and shadow, detail and perspective, was just stunning.
Fall...Shapes and Colours
January 17, 2007
The gate is closed, excluding those who’re late; The leaf is fallen, alive no more; They speak of loss of hope,the leaf and gate… When one did not hear opportunity’s knock at the door.
Fall...and Winter
January 17, 2007
Here’s Fall…
The Train at St.Louis Zoo
January 17, 2007
A lovely train which visitors ride, At the St Louis Zoo; It’s not big, it’s not wide, But it will take all of you.
Me, the possible kidnapper...
January 17, 2007
Last week there was tremendous drama here as a child was kidnapped from Kirkwood, a nearby community. Amazingly, he was found in 4 days’ time with concerned people calling the police with information. And miraculously, another child who had been missing since 2002 was also found in the kidnapper’s home.
Nice old ones and a few ones are even new...see no 12
January 17, 2007
- A bicycle can’t stand alone; it is two tired.
From the journal of <LJ user=beast_666>
January 16, 2007
This is for
What I learnt from watching The Devil Wears Prada
January 15, 2007
- Meryl Streep,as always, is a good actress. 1(b)…it takes me forever to finally get to see a movie.
Kidnapping...
January 13, 2007
Two days ago, I went to a local department store to buy groceries, and the poster of a child missing from 2002 caught my eye. I mused on how it must have been for the parents…it would, I thought, be easier to deal with the death of a child than the disappearance. To swing between hope and despair, endlessly…I thought about the boy, Shawn, missing when he was 10 years old.
Frost
January 13, 2007
The ice-storm in this area has resulted in a lovely dusting of frost on all the trees, and icicles under all the street signs and house eaves. It is such a lovely thing to see…there was this powdery, ghostly effect to the light throughout the day (yes, I did go for a lovely 45 minute walk!)…..and in the evening I dragged everyone along to the Ice Festival at the Loop area, where they had put up various ice sculptures, an ice slide and an ice maze…I also thought about what it would mean to be homeless in this weather. This resulted in my giving a dollar to the poor old couple I found on the street corner with their hats out. Would I give 50 rupees to a beggar back home, though?
Great poem by Rockwell Kent
January 11, 2007
Poem by Rockwell Kent Dear Sir, You ask me how to buy Great art for your collection. You’ll pardon me, therefore, if I Am frank in this connection. First, then, avoid the purchase of Whatever gives you pleasure, For probably the things you love Are bad beyond all measure. Beware the dealer’s guiding hand And grasp it with misgiving; He knows that you know nothing, and That’s how he makes his living. All studio receptions shun And Greenwich Village dances And when you meet an artist, run Like mad from his advances. Mistrust all articles on Art And critic’s expositions; From dilettantes stay apart, And shy at exhibitions. In fact, one single rule I know Which possibly may aid you, And that is simply this; lay low And trust in God who made you. And when you’re sure a thing’s not great And know that you don’t like it, Buy it at once; don’t hesitate; And ten to one, you’ll strike it.
People on the net who cant read....
January 11, 2007
I belong to an egroup, in which I am NOT an active participant. For the past month I kept on finding messages like this one:
Incredible Light
January 11, 2007
This is my tribute to the many photographers on LJ whose work I admire so much that it got me out of my rooted feeling that I would never be good at photography, and whose encouragement keeps me going when I still get discouraged occasionally.
The Dance of Life
January 11, 2007
We were so lucky to be able to watch and document this…photos were by KM, at the Insectarium in the St Louis Zoo.
Common birds in St Louis
January 10, 2007
I went gallivanting with my camera after my miserable failure to get a good shot of the Cardinal, after which the St Louis baseball team is named. The Tamron lens is a whole new animal and my learning is slow…but yesterday I did get these pictures, and
Home Delivery
January 10, 2007
This was brought on by a comment that
Steve Bircher, Michael Masek, and more of the Zoo...
January 9, 2007
I was very impressed with Steve Bircher, the Curator for Mammals/Carnivores at the St Louis Zoo. First of all, his very positive attitude to a totally unknown voice asking for permission to see the cheetah cubs when they were not on display; then his remembering to call me back at the time he said he would.
Wishes....
January 9, 2007
Anniversary wishes to
Goods....
January 9, 2007
One thing that fascinates me in a cosumer society is the abdundance, not only of consumer goods, but of adjectives and adverbs.
The St Louis Science Centre
January 8, 2007
Yesterday, we spent the afternoon at The Science Centre, St Louis. …we went and watched two IMAX films, one about a team of amateur climbers (including a 9 year old) who climbed Mt Kilimanjaro…and another one, which was being filmed as a kind of “what is” film about what would happen if the disappearing wetlands around the Mississippi area resulted in floods…and while it was being filmed, Katrina actually happened. The film documented the changes in the lives of the musicians of a jazz/blues band….it was moving and heart-wrenching, with fantastic music from the band, which brought tears to my eyes. No time to visit the Planetarium but will do so some time soon.(Have to get the taste of the Pasadena Planetarium out of my mouth anyway.)
Many thanks are due...
January 8, 2007
Mucho thankingso to Hari and Anu (amply aided by little, delightful Akhil) who took a LOT of trouble and lent their home, to ensure that the surprise party for my daughter and son-in-law’s wedding anniversary, falling tomorrow (Jan 9th),was a great success. They made sure that everyone turned up, even most of the doubtfuls…we really enjoyed meeting DnA’s friends, some for the first time. Some others, who met us at the temple or at the History Museum, did a Oscar-worthy job of wishing us a happy journey and other stuff that indicated we might not meet in the near future.
Murphys Law of Birding
January 6, 2007
Let me go around armed with my camera and my binocs and all I get are starlings and mourning doves…but let me go for a walk in Forest Park without these, or even drive on the way to the Balaji Temple in St Louis, and VOILA! Each time, there is a magnificient, large bird of prey sitting on, the first time, the large branch of a huge tree, and the second time on a telephone pole with something in its beak…and both birds, I swear, grinned evilly at me before lifting off and soaring into the bright sunshine before I could even begin to id them.
How much crapola can take early in the year?
January 5, 2007
Message from the greeting card site that I use….
BAD....
January 4, 2007
We decided to visit The Griffith Observatory ….I think the website should have given us some idea (notice how many caveats they use)…but we thought the observatory would be worth it, even though they were “temporarily” charging us…so we went this evening.
Did I? Didnt I?
January 4, 2007
I don’t like mass-mailing my friends with New Year or other festive wishes (see
musings...
January 4, 2007
Knowledge is the result of information subjected to analysis and synthesis..and, sometimes, a totally inexplicable process called “revelation” or “insight”.
The Tournament of Roses Parade
January 2, 2007
This morning, woke up to watch the Tournament of Roses in Los Angeles parade on TV and was told that the actual parade was taking place hardly a mile away…and that the parade was being televised from its starting point. So on went the socks, shoes, sweater, jacket, coat, muffler, hat, gloves..and off we went to where we could see the parade halfway. To my great glee, I actually saw a few of the floats I had NOT seen on TV and we all found ourselves places in the crowd and watched the parade till the end. What lovely floats! There was one on Bears, one on Curly-haired horses, one on Mexico, on Nature’s Bounty, and so on…the profusion of flowers and the drummers and the marjorettes twirling their batons was just fantastic. Considering that I went so late, I did get a pretty decent view though of course Murphy’s Law mandated that there was a burly six-foot two in front of me who, when not hoisting his video camera on high, was either waving his arms about over his head, or had his nephew or someone like that on his shoulders….
The LJ Jinx
January 1, 2007
I have been trying to meet so many LJ-ers…
The Nuclear Submarin Nautilus and the Submarine Museum
January 1, 2007
A friend of mine was visiting the nuclear submarine Nautilus, the only nuclear submarine on display in the world and the museum attached; the other attraction was the Aquarium. I realized that I had seen some lovely aquaria at both Florida and at Singapore, but would never get an opportunity to see a nuclear submarine, ever! So off I went.
You want an OJ (Orrible Joke)?
December 30, 2006
We had taken the Shaffers to an Indian restaurant and they ordered both Saag Lamb (yes, that’s what it said in the menu!) and Badami Rogan Josh. A little while later, JS remarked, “Well, the conversation seems to have died down!” and I told him, that was the silence of the lambs…
A Prayer for the Stressed
December 30, 2006
From an email from a friend of mine….
Weddings everywhere...
December 30, 2006
Weddings everywhere are pretty similar, is the observation I have to make after watching a Baptist wedding. I thought an “American” wedding was a half-hour thing…but no, the ceremony today started 20 minutes late, went on for about 2 hours, and was preceded and succeeded by “rehearsal dinner”, “Pre-wedding brunch”, post-wedding reception, and there will be a “day after” brunch at the bride’s place…can you see any difference? Everyone was milling around, making tremendous amounts of noise as they circulated and conversed; only at the ceremony was everyone seated and perfectly quiet (that is one part I would like to integrate into our chaotic weddings!). The rituals were chosen to be meaningful…there were poetry and prose readings, and I was especially moved by an Apache wedding message that is given to the newlyweds of the tribe. The preacher spoke very movingly, and quoted the lovely poem of Yeats which ends, “Tread softly, for you tread upon my dreams.” For the few minutes when the vows were said, I became the bride’s mother once again, and it was my daughter getting married…the beauty of the long-known words still made my eyes moist.
Lovely time in Mystic
December 29, 2006
Amazing how people are the same everywhere…
Architecture
December 27, 2006
With a few exceptions (eg, a lovely house designed by Chitale in Madurai), “architect-designed” homes in India are pretentious, impractical affairs. The house is fancy-shmancy, doesn’t gel with the lifestyle of its owners, doesn’t take mundane everyday details (like drying clothes, or storage of old newspapers, to quote two usually glaring omissions) into consideration.
Cancellation...
December 26, 2006
Christmas in Maine
December 25, 2006
We took a very early morning flight to Portland, and here we are, in the home of the S’s, a lovely, warm, welcoming home. LS’s mother, at 83, has flown in from Florida..she still looks so exquisitely beautiful. We just finished a late lunch and I am typing on the bridegroom-to-be’s laptop….Have to go and gift-wrap stuff now, and I am pretty glad that there is NO snow around here, however cold it is!
Its a Jolly Holly Day
December 23, 2006
We are leaving for Maine (Christmas), Connecticut (wedding on the 29th) , and then California (KM’s entire family is getting together) , early tomorrow…don’t know how my internet access will be…so here’s wishing everyone a Merry Christmas with this spray of real holly, that I photographed just outside the St Louis Cathedral…
Lights at Meramec Caves
December 23, 2006
During our trip into the Meramec Caves, the guide switched on these lights…Photos: KM
My most sensible post today
December 23, 2006
 | <font color=black> My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:</font> <font size=4 color=black> Her Exalted Highness Duchess Deponti the Sardonic of Waterless St Mildred </font> Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title |
Light..and dark
December 23, 2006
Here’s a beautiful public illumination fixture that I photographed; those mythical animals are called griffons, or gryphons:
The Butterflies...
December 22, 2006
I am sending some pictures of the beautiful butterflies that I snapped in the St Louis Zoo…god, it is SO difficult to get these things on camera!!
What do you think this means?
December 22, 2006
This question is only meant for readers in India…
Ragigudda Hanumath Jayanti
December 22, 2006
On the day we left, I realized I did have time to spare, so quickly slipped out with the KMC (KM Canon) and took these snaps of the fair on the little roads surrounding the Ragigudda Hanuman Temple, for the birthday of Hauman or Anjaneya, the monkey God
Wildlife enthusiasts Leopard sighted in front of Ragigudda Temple
December 22, 2006
On Dec 6, 2006, I sighted this leopard in front of the Ragigudda Temple gate….
One Rice Your Name
December 22, 2006
I went around clicking pictures of the Hanumath Jayanthi festival at Ragigudda Temple on the morning of the day I left (yes, indeed, I was THAT organized in my packing!) and this wonderful offer, right at the arch, caught my eye….
Stalactite formations at Meramec Caves
December 21, 2006
Ain’t it amazing? (photo by KM…I couldn’t get my mitts on the camera that day!)
The Common Starling
December 21, 2006
A lovely, greenish-brown bird with iridiscent plumage…they flock around everywhere here!
Well, Duh, Its THAT car....
December 21, 2006
How I wish we had number plates like this in India! I snapped this in Forest Park, St Louis, near the History Museum/Boat House….
Thar She Blows
December 21, 2006
What is it about a piece of cloth that lifts your spirits?
Want some new jokes
December 19, 2006
Are there NO new jokes (except topical ones ) left in this world? EVERY joke that I have got in the past few months are ones I have seen before, some more than a decade ago…
The Memphis trip
December 19, 2006
On Saturday, we had decided that we would leave for shopping at 9 am so naturally some of us woke up only at 10.30 or so…we went to the St Louis temple for darshan, but more importantly, brunch. By the time we met friends of DnA and went around the temple, the excellent pongal that one friend had talked about was past tense (you can see from this how fond of organized religion I am.) But the idli, vada and curd rice were great VFM.
chatting online v. in person
December 19, 2006
“Are you around?” “Oh, you’re not to be found…” The messages play hide-and-seek; The search comes to an end When you finally find the friend And have a conversation mild and meek.
So many of us
December 19, 2006
We were all (7 of us, inclduing a baby that was a little over a year old) in the van, heading out to Mephis, when one person asked, “What do all of us have that KM doesn’t have?” We thought hard of things that a year and a half old baby might also have…and answers ranged from “common sense” to “hair”…what evil folks we are! And the answer was, of course….all of us had Live Journal accounts! (yes, my daughter opened an LJ id for the baby when he was born, the little bright-eyed charmer!)
Christmas Trees
December 19, 2006
After reading
Multitasking...another take
December 18, 2006
Here’s
What I feel about some other festivals, too....
December 18, 2006
http://c-and-h.livejournal.com/134041.html
Indian/Italian/Jewish mother thing...
December 18, 2006
I seem to be waking up at about 5.30 am no matter where I am..and since we got back late last night and it is a Monday morning, I am now organizing packed lunch for DnA.
Success with Flickr...Bird pics from St Louis Zoo
December 16, 2006
While I was trying to figure out Flickr on Linux and why the “uploadr” wouldn’t work, I noticed…that I could now EMAIL my pics to Flickr!!Wow! So here come the pictures of some birds that I took at St Louis Zoo, on the 14th of December…
Butterflies...and cubs next week, Inshallah
December 16, 2006
Today I did my usual walk to the Zoo, and decided to spend time in the Insectarium, specifically, in the butterly area…and I managed to get some …er…nice pictures (that Tamron lens works WELL as a macro lens I must say.) I had such a great time.
This weekend--Indira Raghavan
December 15, 2006
We have just one weekend before we leave for Maine to celebrate Christmas, and thereafter, go to Connecticut to celebrate DS’ brother’s wedding. So it would be sensible to do our shopping, get home tasks organized and utilize the weekend fully. in fact, we had decided not to go to Memphis, Tennessee, to visit a childhood friend of mine, as we had planned earlier
Bird-watching in St L, photography, and cheetah cubs
December 15, 2006
Sunset at St Louis Zoo....posted on Blogger
December 15, 2006
Posting from Picasa to Blogger is much easier than posting to Flickr first and then posting to LJ….so here’s the photo of the sunset at the St Louis Zoo:
My favourite American food
December 14, 2006
My favourite American food is NOT what anyone would normally think of…it is…
Childrens Home.....
December 14, 2006
No, that is not a subject title about some place which takes in children…this is about the home that my daughter and son in law have. I do love the place. The house itself is just the right size, light and airy (though of course, not right now, central heating is on!)…and the layout is SO convenient. The open kitchen/ dining/ drawing area means that, as I write, veggies are simmering on the hob, I am typing away, and KM is (that couch potato) watching some TV….the home is SO very organized, and unnecessary junk seems to be cleared ruthlessly, and regularly, unlike in my own home. The kitchen is also organized exactly the way I would have it (figures, doesn’t it? it’s my child after all!!) with a huge refrigerator and some luxuries such as instant hot water all the time and a “kitchen sink shower” (I don’t know what its name is, we don’t have it in India and I wish we could. One can basically take the shower out on a long tube and rinse vessels when one is not stocking the dishwasher.) All their stuff is stylish and tasteful (I myself am hopelessly in love with all my old furniture and might never ever change it..) The three rooms upstairs are two bedrooms, with enough space around the furniture and one room done up as an office; the basement houses a kind of BUnny Palace (really, its HUGE and the bunnies hop around happily all over!) and has plenty of storage. The garage has space for 2 cars, DS’s “hobby” Saab and daughter’s Mazda…and the new DS Saab being parked outside in the driveway..it’s a real home, and it’s SUCH a pleasure being in it. The only thing I would carp about is that the backyard is completely disconnected from the house, so that one has to go out of the house and around the driveway to reach it, so it tends not to be used at all.
My Xmas Stocking
December 12, 2006
Why?
December 12, 2006
Why did I stay up till now, watching “Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna”? Parts of it were OK, but it was 90% CRAPOLA….just because I am with family doesn’t mean I have to watch movies that I wouldn’t touch with a bargepole otherwise…
two more lullabies from Mary Poppins
December 12, 2006
I have not posted some lullabies for a long time now…but on the loooong flight across the Pond, I watched “Mary Poppins”, and here goes:
non stop from Dubai to JFK
December 12, 2006
Several bloopers on this post…it WAS an Airbus but NOT a777 which would make it a Boeing.
Dubai...
December 8, 2006
I am lost in admiration of some of the things I see in Dubai…I agree, they literally have all the money in the world, but then, that money has been put to good use. The superb roads are the first thing I see…the 130 km journey from Dubai to Ras al Khaima, the Emirate our friends live in, took about 50 minutes! (The United Arab Emirates are seven Emirates, ruled by 7 Emirs…Dubai, Abu Dhabi,Ras al Khaima, Sharjah, Ajman, Al Ain, and Al Quwain …the last I am not sure about..Abu Dhabi is the richest!)
The latest Canon ad
December 6, 2006
The latest Canon ad has what I think is one of the most amazing pictures ever….a picture of a bubble in the act of bursting.
wonderful friends
December 6, 2006
Nothing brings on a demonstration of affection like a proposed departure I think, especially for a longish time!
All my bags are packed, Im ready to go...
December 5, 2006
Well…not quite…constipating our luggage with all the stuff (mainly stuff meant for, and asked for by, dd…darling daughter)is a difficult task.
My account for QuizFamilies
December 4, 2006
I moderate a family quiz group called (guess what!) QuizFamilies…it’s open to everyone. We meet on the first or second Saturday of each month, post-prandial, and have a lot of fun and not-terribly-serious quizzing. And I usually post an account of the evening to the egroup so that those who couldn’t make it can read about it…
Oh my aching laptop...
December 4, 2006
Laptop crashes in a flash…but resuscitation (spelling?) takes such eons….as expected, the recovery disk given with the laptop would format the system so extensive backups had to be taken…now the machine still does not accept wifi and I am not able to send messages on the broadband account…feel frustrated, inexperienced, and…er….bugged!
One of my favoutie poems
December 3, 2006
“Flower in the Crannied Wall”
Very old one that I got today, but still very enjoyable
December 2, 2006
Test answers from students collected by science and health teachers at various grade levels, printed in Popular Science magazine, recently
Amazing Hypnotist
December 2, 2006
This afternoon I went to the Bangalore Club to park (which I normally do when I have work in the centre of town; I park there, walk around, do my work, and come back.) and realized that a “mix of hypnotism and comedy” was being advertised by Gavin Hooper of Canada this evening…that totally intrigued me, and I went to the Club again in the evening, and persuaded KM to come from Hosur, too. When I went there, preparations were on for a DJ night…oh, I thought, I seem to have let both of us in for some tacky opening show, I thought.
A new Christmas Carol
November 30, 2006
‘Twas the night before Christmas–Old Santa was pissed. He cussed out the elves and threw down his list. Miserable little brats, ungrateful little jerks. I have a good mind to scrap the whole works!
Trust Flow II results....
November 30, 2006
TrustFlow II results for deponti The following people not on the friends list for deponti are “close to it” according to the metric that TrustFlow defines. Numbers represent distance; people listed earlier are closer than people listed later.
It *must* be lonely at the top....
November 29, 2006
…
Airport Station
November 28, 2006
….
JLR Dandeli, 22 Nov 06
November 28, 2006
…..
The Crimson Rose
November 28, 2006
As I wandered around the campus of Spicer, one of the companies that KM consults for (the factory is midway between Hubli and Dharwad), I got this snap of the Crimson Rose butterfly:
LOVED this one
November 28, 2006
Mumbai and Bangalore
November 27, 2006
If anyone thinks traffic in Bangalore is bad, they should try travelling by car in Mumbai. We are staying in the Peddar Road area, the wedding we wanted to attend was at Chembur, and we visited someone at Andheri….neither of us wants to go back for the reception now!
One image from the Dharwad-Dandeli Trip
November 26, 2006
…
Visit to Biligiri Rangana Temple
November 25, 2006
….
Shiok
November 25, 2006
My third post today, because I am going to be away from my laptop for a while again….
<LJ user=jace>....this is for you
November 25, 2006
….<P></P><P></P>I found another good one for my collection, and thought of Jace, too….
The JLR Bird Survey, 17, 18, 19 November 2006, Biligiri Ranganna Hills
November 25, 2006
…
The FoU meet, and some negative thoughts about elitism, particularly English elitism
November 24, 2006
…
The Wolf Spider and its Nest the real websites
November 20, 2006
….
E booking of tickets through ICRTC
November 20, 2006
…
The Wildlife Murals of Bandipur...renamed, hacked down, photo credits not given
November 20, 2006
…
The GaurDOuvres
November 20, 2006
….
Woza Albert, acted by Rafiki
November 16, 2006
…
Off tomorrow...
November 16, 2006
…
More about babudom, clerical staff, inefficiency, and giving Citizen D the runaround
November 15, 2006
...
How user-friendly my insurance company is
November 15, 2006
We have had medical insurance with (yes, I am going to name names) New India Insurance for many years now. We started when KM was working for a company whose headquarters were in Madurai, so we have our policies with NI’s Madurai office. In 7 years, we have never claimed insurance (touch wood!).
After a long interval...apparently my credentials at Deccan Herald are only peccable
November 14, 2006
Read More
Blogs that I really enjoyed today
November 14, 2006
…
Lyrebird Video of Attenborough...from <LJ user=enigmaticash>
November 14, 2006
Read More
Forever Amber?
November 13, 2006
….
I have been tagged by <LJ user=idahoswede>.....
November 12, 2006
….
The Punjabi-Sikh wedding we attended...LOTS of pics
November 11, 2006
….
I almost let today go by without posting but this is too good to pass up
November 10, 2006
…
Google sulks at me...
November 8, 2006
...
The Free Hug Movement
November 8, 2006
…
When you see someone being crabby, all they may need is a big hug
November 7, 2006
Trust Bill Watterson to say it SO well....
Crested Lark in Camouflage
November 7, 2006
….
Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary Visit, 4 Nov 2006
November 7, 2006
….
Another delight
November 7, 2006
…
Black Kite
November 7, 2006
….
Pathways International School
November 6, 2006
….
Its a new day
November 6, 2006
…
It is NOT funny...
November 2, 2006
….
finally....
November 2, 2006
….
Bath, bucket and beyond..
November 2, 2006
…
The changing face of my city
November 1, 2006
…
Useful Military Warnings, posted by <LJ user=kitanaor>
October 29, 2006
….
Shayri from one friend to another....
October 28, 2006
From
The rest of the photos of the Kanakapura birding trip
October 28, 2006
Now that I have the id of the other birds which I was not sure of, here are some of the other photos from the trip:
Back to the birds...
October 27, 2006
…
OHO info
October 26, 2006
…..
Social lubrication conversation
October 25, 2006
When I was younger I used to get very impatient with what I used to call “inane” remarks and conversations, such as this one that I hear at EVERY social function I attend:
Lovely day at Chennai
October 24, 2006
The first prerequisite to enjoy oneself in Chennai is that it should be a holiday so that the regular traffic is missing; the second, that it is cloudy and cool as the regular heat and humidity turn me into an air-conditioned-room-occupying slothful creature, barely able to lift a hand to click the remote or the keyboard.
Perfect Torrent
October 23, 2006
Yesterday, I sat at home through the afternoon, waiting for a friend so that we could work on something of his together…I was checking LJ every now and then and there were HARDLY any posts.
What does a birthday mean?
October 23, 2006
When one is 52, what does a birthday mean?
Festivals...and fleeting joys
October 22, 2006
....
What <LJ user=asakiyume> wrote
October 22, 2006
…
Everyones busy...except me
October 22, 2006
….
Festivals
October 21, 2006
.
Happy Deepavali
October 20, 2006
….
Camera has gone to Hosur
October 20, 2006
….
Men, their cars, and driving their cars....
October 20, 2006
...
A man, a car, and trust
October 20, 2006
…
The Murals of Bandipur
October 20, 2006
<FONT face=Arial size=2>
<FONT face=Arial size=2>I wrote an article about the three artists who have executed some beautiful murals at the Bandipur property of Jungle Lodges and Resorts.
Enjoyed this post so much...
October 19, 2006
….
Demons and Reproduction
October 19, 2006
…..
Lamps for Deepavali...viLakku
October 18, 2006
....
Get a second opinion unless you are totally happy with the first
October 18, 2006
Brought about by a post from
More on the topic of hurtful comments
October 18, 2006
.....
Mamidom, and why I am not one though I am one...
October 17, 2006
Tamizh writing software
October 16, 2006
Here’s what
kAlangaLil avaL vasantham
October 16, 2006
….
Much better pictures from Bheemeshwari
October 16, 2006
…..
Half-day Trip to Bheemeshwari JLR,14th Oct 06
October 15, 2006
….
Brought on by a post from <LJ user=shortindiangirl>
October 15, 2006
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The Tamarind Pod
October 15, 2006
….
I thought of a nice caption when I saw this...
October 14, 2006
….
GREAT link
October 12, 2006
….
JLR Initiative, 11 October 2006, Ornithology Society
October 12, 2006
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No one is.....
October 12, 2006
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Cant stop laughing
October 10, 2006
...
How easy the Internet makes it...
October 10, 2006
….
Interesting to read through this
October 10, 2006
….
how difficult it is...
October 10, 2006
….
Royston Abel/ Girish Karnad
October 9, 2006
….
Two film festivals
October 7, 2006
…
Quiz Families.....a repeat
October 5, 2006
....
Entry in my LJ, March 20th, 2005
October 5, 2006
Read More
Inspired by a post by <LJ user=themadman>
October 5, 2006
….
The Fear Factor
October 5, 2006
….
Marriage, Age, Childen, Commitment...what does marriage mean?
October 5, 2006
….
history repeats itself....
October 4, 2006
……
No comment
October 4, 2006
….
Lambadi women at Jayanagar 9th Block market
October 4, 2006
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9th Block market...
October 4, 2006
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Lovely.....
October 3, 2006
….
Enjoyable stuff....
October 2, 2006
…..
Durga Puja, 1 Oct 06...Ulsoor and Jayamahal, Bangalore
October 2, 2006
….
back to semagic
October 1, 2006
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I just LOOOOVE this guy
October 1, 2006
….<TABLE class=entrybox cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width=600 summary=”” border=0><TBODY><TR align=left><TD align=middle bgColor=#777777><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=”100%” summary=”” border=0><TBODY><TR align=left><TD class=caption>Today’s Calvin and Hobbes comic.</TD><TD class=index align=right>[Oct. 1st, 2006|03:00 am]</TD></TR><TR align=left><TD bgColor=#ffffff colSpan=2><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 align=right summary=”” border=0><TBODY><TR align=left><TD bgColor=#777777><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 align=center summary=”” border=0><TBODY><TR align=left><TD align=middle bgColor=#ffffff><A class=index href=”http://c-and-h.livejournal.com/”><FONT color=#000000 size=2>c_and_h</FONT></A></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><DIV align=center><FONT size=2>
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<LJ user=travelertrish>
October 1, 2006
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Choice
October 1, 2006
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Prayndrive
September 30, 2006
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Navaratri at another friends place
September 30, 2006
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Where do I report this?
September 30, 2006
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Population Explosion here too
September 29, 2006
Here’s one display, at my neighbour Sujatha’s place:
Apropos of nothing...
September 29, 2006
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Change of views....
September 28, 2006
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Another Lullaby
September 28, 2006
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And a <LJ user=deepsan> inspired pic
September 27, 2006
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African Tulip
September 27, 2006
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Inspired by the posts of <LJ user=premkudva>
September 27, 2006
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Explanation of my LJ name
September 27, 2006
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From the LJ of <LJ user=usha658>
September 26, 2006
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If <LJ user=suzan_s> did this hilarious one, I had to do it too...
September 23, 2006
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kOn shEy AlOr...evoca recording URL
September 23, 2006
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The whole dowry question....
September 22, 2006
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ENGLISH IS A CONTRARY TONGUE...IT AINT VERY TRARY
September 21, 2006
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Actual News Item in Todays Hindu
September 21, 2006
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Garuda
September 20, 2006
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Bowl, gong and conch....
September 19, 2006
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One of my favourite songs
September 18, 2006
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Lovely weekend concerts
September 18, 2006
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Birding and Classical Music
September 18, 2006
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SUCH a badly designed flyover
September 16, 2006
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Thanks a lot for all the suggestions...
September 16, 2006
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Problems with posting pictures...
September 16, 2006
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Brown Fish Owl
September 13, 2006
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How meanings change with selective reading on chat...
September 13, 2006
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Jasmine
September 13, 2006
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Fence Sitters
September 11, 2006
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Shortchanged
September 11, 2006
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We were here, and they were there before us...
September 10, 2006
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Mongoose Hide And Seek
September 10, 2006
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Hide and Seek
September 9, 2006
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Cosmetic Products of yesteryear...
September 9, 2006
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TOO GOOD NOT TO BE POSTED IMMEDIATELY
September 7, 2006
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Another poem by Billy Collins
September 6, 2006
…Thank you,
Today is....
September 6, 2006
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From the LJ of <LJ user=usha658>
September 6, 2006
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Parable of Traffic
September 5, 2006
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On the eve of visiting Bandipur, a tiger sanctuary
September 5, 2006
,,,,,
Just saw this on <LJ user=wondernoon>s post....
September 1, 2006
<H2 class=date-header>August 26, 2005</H2><DIV class=entry id=entry-6159138><H3 class=entry-header>International Blog Day 2005</H3><DIV class=entry-content><DIV class=entry-body><P><IMG class=image-full title=Blogthis style=”FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 5px 5px 0px” alt=Blogthis src=”http://rconversation.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/blogthis.jpg” border=0></P><P>The idea came from Israeli blogger <FONT color=#003366>Nir Ofir</FONT>, who happened to notice that the numbers for the 31st of August, “3108” (which is how they order dates pretty much everywhere except the U.S.) look kind of like the word “blog”…close enough, right? Anyway here’s the plan to celebrate World Blog Day 2005: </P><BLOCKQUOTE><P>In one long moment on August 31st, bloggers from all over the world will post a recommendation of 5 new Blogs, Preferably, Blogs different from their own culture, point of view and attitude. On this day, blog surfers will find themselves leaping and discovering new, unknown Blogs, celebrating the discovery of new people and new bloggers.
A less poetic song from ThangaikkAga (1971)
September 1, 2006
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Another post on the subject of howlers...
September 1, 2006
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A Freudian slip is what you wear under your Jung gown...
September 1, 2006
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A musical instrument...<a href=http//www.flickr.com/photos/86494503N00/229969861/ title=Photo S
August 31, 2006
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The writers of my childhood
August 30, 2006
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Learning Kannada...
August 30, 2006
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You want some beautiful abstracts taken during the Ganesha festival?
August 29, 2006
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have you met these people?
August 29, 2006
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Reactions...
August 29, 2006
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Vinaayka Chathurthi (Gowri Ganesha Pooja), 27 Aug 2006...mainly flowers
August 28, 2006
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Show and Tell at the Business School, University of Southern Maine...and about sambandhis
August 24, 2006
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check out <LJ user=sanathreddy>
August 24, 2006
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another wonderful Kannadasan song
August 23, 2006
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Life after me...
August 18, 2006
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I got tagged
August 17, 2006
I got tagged by
Very profoundly true I think
August 17, 2006
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Independence Day for me..
August 16, 2006
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an email to a young someone about my age...
August 15, 2006
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deja view is REALLY the name of some apartments in Bangalore
August 14, 2006
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Snobbery...
August 14, 2006
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Oppression of women...
August 14, 2006
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Reincarnation....
August 14, 2006
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Lalbagh, Flower Show...
August 11, 2006
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Menu article in DH
August 10, 2006
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An afternoon walk
August 9, 2006
We went to visit someone in Diamond District. My, my, the airport road flyover is MUCH more of a mess than the Jayadeva flyover,the govt has all the gall in the world to call it “finished”….!
Scenes from old Tamizh movies..
August 8, 2006
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All these special days...
August 7, 2006
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prejudices...
August 7, 2006
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Environment Support Group
August 5, 2006
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Orrible English
August 3, 2006
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Preparations for Varalakshmi Pooja (post for my friends and family abroad)
August 3, 2006
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The Bird of Prey...what is it, pray?
August 2, 2006
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Requiem for an old friend
August 2, 2006
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I dont have to say it..others say it better than I do
August 2, 2006
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heres a sweet little fellow...
August 1, 2006
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Vignettes from the City Station
July 30, 2006
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Preparations for opening the flyover
July 29, 2006
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When thinking of birds, I thought of eggs....
July 28, 2006
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This whole business of identifying birds...
July 28, 2006
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OOOH I LOVE Calvin and Hobbes
July 28, 2006
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should I? shouldnt I?
July 27, 2006
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Pictures from the Farmhouse Bird Sightings, 23 Jul, 06
July 27, 2006
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HHH...Hate Heat and Humidity
July 26, 2006
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Sex, Love, Affection..... and Morality
July 25, 2006
The act of lovemaking or procreation needs extreme privacy (well, for most human beings anyway)…and over a period of time, much of the other activities/body parts associated with it have also become associated with privacy….they are, indeed, known as “private” parts. But over a period of time, this figurative “cover” has become extended further and further….in our Victorian society, the act of kissing is not something that people like to see performed in public; people do not like to see courting couples sitting close together in public spaces (er, they do not like to see them sitting close together in secluded spaces either); physical contact between men and women is frowned upon; any display of physical intimacy is a no-no. As soon as a couple get married, they are supposed to behave in public as if they have no physical intimacy whatsoever. Holding hands? Arms around each other? WHAT!!! That indecent pair!
the theatre group makes a difference...
July 24, 2006
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A beautiful day....
July 24, 2006
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some more bad stuff and *some* good news...and a photograph
July 22, 2006
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the lyrics of the songs that I recorded on Evoca
July 20, 2006
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Want to listen to my music?
July 20, 2006
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ah....
July 20, 2006
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ISPs and Internet Telephony
July 19, 2006
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Acronyms mean different things to different people...
July 19, 2006
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At an ODI
July 18, 2006
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something I wrote in an email
July 17, 2006
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A co-incidence in the date...
July 17, 2006
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LJ...and friends...and the past
July 17, 2006
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Tried to organize some music
July 15, 2006
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Red-Vented Bulbul
July 15, 2006
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This morning at Lalbagh...
July 15, 2006
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The Bandipur trip
July 14, 2006
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Wish *I* could...
July 14, 2006
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why blog?
July 14, 2006
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Sikkim man.....
July 12, 2006
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fanTAStic trip to Bandipur
July 11, 2006
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Privilege
July 10, 2006
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Great Match
July 10, 2006
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Rainbow in the Waterfall
July 9, 2006
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Traffic flow
July 9, 2006
This is a layperson’s view. …. but to me, traffic flow resembles that of a fluid, the flow of which is studied by something called “fluid mechanics” ( I don’t know if I am right)…and I see that in any situation where a volume of fluid has to go through a narrow area, and change direction, a swirl is what happens naturally, as the best solution for the fluid to emerge, moving in a different direction.
In a few days...
July 9, 2006
Going for Lalbagh birding tomorrow, and to Bandipur (JLR) for 2 days…, I am hoping to be able to post some nice fresh wildlife/bird/insect pics (tomorrow,at Lalbagh, K.Mohan; Monday/Tuesday,at Bandipur,
At Nathu La pass
July 7, 2006
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Monitor Lizard, Corbett, May 2006
July 7, 2006
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Our Victorian mindset...
July 7, 2006
Sorry, some amendments are in order.
Two of my favourite pastimes
July 6, 2006
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Some other slips
July 6, 2006
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What were they thinking?
July 5, 2006
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Article on badly maintained archeological sites
July 3, 2006
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Where do thoughts arise?
July 3, 2006
Where do my thoughts arise? How am I able to think, I must write this today? How do I think thoughts that bring tears to my eyes? Where do I store the sacred words that let me pray? Or bring memories that make my happiness glow? What makes me foolish–or wise? Where does my body get its commands to make my heart beat, my nails grow? Where do I begin my smiles,my sighs? Which part of my body would contain my being? Where, in this mass of flesh and bone, do I live…beyond hearing and seeing? I will never know…..
The family of Shiva
July 3, 2006
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Small pleasures
July 3, 2006
Life consists of small,unexpected pleasures.
Another lovely Urdu poem...translated, too
July 2, 2006
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First the philosophy, then the picture...
July 2, 2006
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Yet another funny quiz
June 30, 2006
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Not for the bird, but...
June 30, 2006
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Whats on the Menu?
June 30, 2006
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Moving out of the parental home....
June 30, 2006
Many youngsters I know want to move out of their parental homes, for various reasons. For some the commute to work is becoming increasingly harder to bear; for others, the control of the family is too restrictive. Others simply find that their lifestyles differ so much from that of their parents that moving out would be a solution.
I enjoyed this very much....
June 29, 2006
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Right in the Middle....29th June, 2006, Deccan Herald
June 29, 2006
.. They didn’t hack this down because I hacked it and sent it in!
Reaching out
June 29, 2006
I DO enjoy reaching out to people, and getting to know them.
Do you want to see where I live?
June 28, 2006
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Air Show, Yelahanka, 2006
June 21, 2006
Lovely tricolour display by the Surya Kiran (Rays of the Sun) aircraft of the IAF! This is one show we never miss…
For <LJ user=asakiyume>
June 18, 2006
I wrote down the name of the song I was listening to..here is the first couple of stanzas, with their meaning:
Conventions of depicting vowel sounds in Roman script
June 16, 2006
We have developed, quite informally but fairly consistently, a way of depicting different vowel sounds in the sometimes non-phonetic Roman script(“a” could be sounded as “harp”, “hare”, “hash”; “c” could be “care”, “citron” and so on.) Roman script seems incredibly random to us Indians, because our language scripts are phonetic, some very precisely so. (Kannada is the language I know, which has the widest range of phonetic letters. it even has “e”, “E” “o” and “O” (see below), which even Devanagari doesn’t have.)
Two songs about a babys arrival...one in Tamizh, the other in Hindi
June 15, 2006
Poo pOla poo pOla pirakkum…paal pola paal pola sirukkum…Maan pola maan pOla thuLLum…thein pOla ithayatthai aLLum (From “Naanum Oru PeNN”)
Weird impulses...
June 15, 2006
Was sitting and practising my Carnatic music for the chamber concert next month, when I was assailed by the irresistible urge to sing the beautiful song, “zaraa see aahat” (I also had a vivid mental image of the beauty of Priya Rajvansh in the video clip of the movie that I have watched a few times on TV)…so left off Simhendra Madhyamam and sang that instead! (mem. my singing on both counts is rusty!)
Jungle Myna,Binsar, Uttaranchal, May 2006 (Photo K.Mohan)
June 14, 2006
This one certainly has an eagle-eyed look!
It was first called a Flutterby, and then came to be known as.....
June 13, 2006
Read More
Panchachuli and the glacier
May 31, 2006
Panchachuli from Munsiyari, Uttaranchal, May 2006 (Photo by K.Mohan) P<IMG height=333 alt="Panchachuli with its glacier" src="http://static.flickr.com/74/157077213_24d82a79a2.jpg" width=500>
Brahminy Kite, Kabini,Karnataka, March 2006
May 30, 2006
Red-billed Blue Magpie, Binsar,Uttaranchal, May 2006
May 30, 2006
Read More
My first photo posting on LJ...entered UKG from LKG
May 30, 2006
Written in April 2002
May 30, 2006
sitting in front of the keyboard, overflow of feelings normally contained and stored
A poem I remembered
May 12, 2006
Stephen kissed me in the spring, David in the fall. Robin only looked at me… He kissed me not at all.
I hate it...
May 9, 2006
I do HATE dental work, but the R V Dental College seems a good place to get it done, if it has to be done. Of course one has to wait, but that’s part of the deal…the place is clean, you don’t have to worry about where they learnt their dentistry (in Chennai, I went to the allegedly very best dentist and she botched my root canal up and it was re-done TWICE after that)…and the dentists are pretty competent, too.
Mebby...
May 8, 2006
Mebby… My bebby… Will come home for a while…. She’ll step off the running wheel And I can have as well as feel Her presence and her smile….
Trying to find a home for my babies...
May 8, 2006
OK,OK, so LJ is a great way to express myself without fear of the editor’s pencil, but one DOES like to see one’s name in print, too, so the regular exercise of sending articles here and there and hoping for a “yes”…and sadly counting the “no”s….
Why the back stroke?
May 8, 2006
I have been swimming quite regularly for over a month now, and yesterday, a little kid asked me, “Why do you always swim the backstroke?”
Crying..
May 8, 2006
I was listening to some lyrics and I found my eyes watering with emotion. I realized that I am culturally “allowed” to let my eyes water at the sight of a baby, a beautiful moon- or sun-rise, at the sound of a long-loved song, on reading a beautiful poem…but men aren’t.
How old do you act?
May 6, 2006
Rituals
May 6, 2006
I went and watched a “homam” (religious rite that used to involve sacrifice, and is a form of fire-worship)done today.
From the post of...
May 6, 2006
From the LJ of
Tracking has been done...
May 6, 2006
Remember the video footage of the clouded leopard that I referred to earlier?
Design in Everyday Life...
May 5, 2006
Here are my thoughts on the subject…as always, it’s long-winded, so read at leisure…
Small joys...
May 5, 2006
Walking around in the Jayanagar 9th Block market, quite literally smelling the roses, smiling at the people whom I buy regularly from…buying crisp apples, firm oranges (oh my, that sounds like that lovely dirty song from “The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox”), pomegranates (which some fruit shops spell as “pome granite”), juicy pears…looking at the trees in full leaf now…knowing that I am happy, and contented…and HOME!
Superb, rare footage...
May 4, 2006
I got this footage of the snow leopard taken in the Chitral Gol (Tooshi Sasha Reserve) of Pakistan….do watch!
Wonderful...
May 4, 2006
Attenborough’s Life of Mammals airs on Animal Planet every Saturday, and I have been watching it…what a wonderful series. The photography, the way the series is edited….Watch it if you can!
Wine Tasting...
May 4, 2006
Though I am not a wine aficionado, I decided not to let an opportunity for wine-tasting slip by…my husband and I went to a wine-tasting session organized by Alok Chandra, whose column we have been following in the Deccan Herald.
Sterling Resort, Swamimalai
May 4, 2006
I had heard about the Sterling Resortat Swamimalai, in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, when a couple of my friends had been to the small Tamizh Nadu town to attend a wedding, and stayed there. They returned raving about it, and urged me to go and visit as soon as possible.
But it took me all of four years before this could happen. A few weeks ago, I got a call from Chennai; someone who was a member of Sterling was going to stay for a weekend at the resort. I instantly counted myself in!
Bleaugghhhh....
May 4, 2006
Must write about Swamimalai Sterling Resort and about my wine-tasting experience…but am just listening to Tamizh classic film songs on Thein Kinnam on Jaya TV and it was interspersed by ads…particularly ONE campaign ad for Amma (can you believe it, the theme for today is also “thaai”(mother)?)…so emotional, describing ONE Mother (with a capital M, believe me!)’s love, sacrifice, foresight…ooh, I am nauseous…politics makes me sick, Indian politics makes me sicker, and Tamizh Nadu politics makes me SICKEST.
Silk List
May 2, 2006
I think I mention at least once in a few posts, that I meet very interesting people over the Net. Well, I met somone who says he “collects interesting people”.
Full circle...
April 28, 2006
Up to the time my daughter left home at the age of 17, I was generally known in many circles as “Anjana’s mom”….after she left and we finished our travels to various places and came back to Bangalore to roost, I started developing my own identity, independent of the “corporate spouse” identity, and also the “Munni ki Maa” identity…I have made friends of my daughter’s age, or even less, to complement my friends who are 20 or 30 or in one instance 40 years older than me.
Different strokes for different folks...
April 27, 2006
I realize that people post on LJ for widely varying reasons.
They never do
April 27, 2006
Will ANY of the Deccan Herald’s links work properly? Just tried the link on
Lack of lane discipline in traffic....
April 26, 2006
I have thought long and hard about this problem of lack of lane discipline.The reasons for this are:
Everyones LJ has it, so...
April 24, 2006
I also want this great, honest picture on my LJ for later reference, so here goes:
Met someone..
April 24, 2006
I think I have been very fortunate in meeting many people over blogs or email, who subsequently become good friends….today I arranged to meet up with
I *CANNOT* believe this...
April 23, 2006
The article on the Jungle Lodges and Resorts Naturalists Training Programme...a pic
April 22, 2006
It was nice to see that
Went LJ trawling...
April 21, 2006
….and I found this on
contradiction....
April 21, 2006
I was musing over the fact that, with the combination of a.being a woman and b. the bad roads of Karnataka and c. the perceived levels of safety if my car breaks down on a forest road, I cannot go off to a wildlife resort at will like most of my co-students in the Naturalists’ Training Course seem to do.(This post is sparked by
Two boys and a lady...
April 20, 2006
I was cycling to the bank today, and stopped as the traffic was heavy, as it always is in these little side-roads, since the flyover construction resumed. Two little urchins with their shorts just about hanging on to their bare-waisted torsos, and a little bicycle, came and stopped near me. The cycle being very unsteadily ridden by one little boy with the other running in attendance. The rider was about to get off, when the other little one, with complete disregard for anyone else but his “pupil”, said: “If even that lady can ride a cycle, you can learn! Keep trying! Don’t get off!”.
Brings a smile to my face...
April 19, 2006
I have been struggling with writer’s block for a few years, and have just recently been able to get back (partly because of the discipline of writing regularly for my blog) to writing “middles” and articles for the local newspaper. Ammu Joseph once told me to start writing for the magazines, but I didn’t know how or where to send it in.
Ad Hominem
April 17, 2006
I have been watching a lot of debate recently on LJ…and here’s what I have to contribute:
Birdwatching and me
April 16, 2006
I went to attend a Naturalists’ Training Course where the focus was on birdwatching. Great, I thought, birdwatching is much better than trying to spot mammals…especially big cats in the southern part of India. For over 30 years I have gone to south Indian wildlife resorts and I have yet to see a south Indian tiger. Birds would be MUCH easier. They are not to be found only in the distant–and expensive–wildernesses; they are all around us; it doesn’t take much effort to go and watch birds.
Or so I thought, until I went on the first nature trail. Karthik, who was conducting the course, told us to spot the bird, observe its colours, flight patterns and behaviour carefully, and then, instead of having him help out, to look the bird up in the book. Fine, I thought.
Then came the first rude awakening. We were in the early morning light, and there was this bird flying against the face of the rising sun. It was a black blob. This would not have been so bad it had been a black blob to everyone else taking the course, and they had all identified it as the Black Blob-bird. But no….they all yelled, “Coppersmith Barbet!” practically in unison. I looked again at the black blob…and it had already disappeared.
We walked on, and suddenly the whole group stopped, staring intensely into a nearby tree. I looked too. And looked. And looked.Thankfully the bird moved, otherwise I think I would still be there, looking. “What were the colours?” asked Karthik. “There was a crest!” cried one. “The vent was red!” said another. As far as I was concerned, it was the Moving Peepul Leaves Bird.
Things improved slightly over the next trail…I actually saw a bird (well, it was sitting on a dry branch and there was no way I could not have seen it.) I noted all its attributes carefully, and looked at the book…blankly. Where on earth was I to look in the book? Was it a shrike, a shikra, or a swan? (Something told me it might not be the last-mentioned.) Karthik took pity on me and opened the book to the right page. Huh! ALL the birds on the page looked pretty much the same to me! “Warblers do look alike,” said Karthik kindly, and as usual, a kid less than half my age helpfully identified the bird for me.
Another bird. This had an easily identifiable red head, a white body…..but I had no clue what sort of bird it was. I had to have the book opened at the right page again. The only bird on the page that matched the one in the tree was the wire-tailed swallow. I looked at Karthik, who nodded. “But..but…” I said. “That bird doesn’t have that long tail at all.” “It’s fallen off…that happens,” Karthik said. How would I identify a wiretailed swallow without the wiretail? The others reuqired a camera, a pair of binoculars, and a bird-book. I required, in addition, a bird-book opener.
Then came the problem of the names. We saw a tree full of birds, and as usual, I seemed to be the only person who looked, and was, ignorant. All the rest piped up, “Rosy Starlings!” and “Rosy Pastors!” Apparently, both were names for the same birds, and I stopped looking for two different birds.
I spotted a bird with plumage that looked quite, quite different from its illustration in the book. “The feathers are growing out right now”, explained one of my fellow-students. How did he know that? I didn’t. Every bird that was being spotted was being identified by me…about twenty minutes after the others had moved on to the next bird. Why didn’t God populate the Earth with only mynahs, sparrows and crows? Things would have been simpler.
I learnt about eclipse plumage, and this depressed me even more. I also found in my bird book such arcane, esoteric stuff next to the illustrations, as: “non-br”, “br” and “imm”. I am yet to muster up the courage to ask what these are. I am sure they are techniques birds adopt to disguise themselves from me. “imm” , to a bird, probably means, not “immature”, but, “immediately change feather colours so that the lady below can’t identify you”.
When I thought I had spotted another bird, it turned out that it was the female of the last bird, or the male. Little rings with arrows and crosses on them began to dance before my eyes.
A couple of successes spotting the Pied Kingfisher and the Purple Sunbird led me on to further traps. “Look up!” said a youngster, at the birds swooping up and down. “Yes?” said Karthik.”What colours do you see?” Colours? I thought it was the Black Silhouette Bird. “It has a red rump,” said my co-students with great ease. As far as I was concerned, I was BENEATH the bird. How on earth could I see what colour its rump was? Unless it was going to fly upside down for me? Did these others have eyes on stalks that went out above the birds and spotted the colour of its feathers under and below the wings?
Then came the double names. The Drongo Cuckoo. The Magpie Robin. I started dreaming up my own combinations, like the Mynah Hawk, and the Swallow Woodpecker.
To top it all came the information that names of birds keep changing….and quite often, people name a bird the way they choose. But somehow I know that if I call a bird the Unfamiliar Plumagebird or the Lesser-Known Lookslike Atreebranch, those names are not going to be accepted by the birding community.
And the worst of these creatures is that they all seem to be Swifts, Swallows and Splits…that is, they are Swift to disappear, the sky or the greenery seems to Swallow them up, and they are gone in a Split second. I am just left standing there, with the open book in my hand and the usual huge question mark hovering over my head.
I now call myself the Utterly Green Bird-Spotter. I may soon give up birdwatching and go back to spotting trees, which at least don’t suddenly flit off, and are there when you come back the next day with a friend. It might even be better to get back to south Indian tigers, which are at least never there for me to see. That’s much less frustrating than these birds, which, “at a clap of our hands” (and in fact, even when I am standing stock-still trying to identify it) suddenly “lift into the air and vanish in their own natural world” where I, for one, cannot see them.
That’s it. I am going to give up birdwatching. These creatures are too smart for me. But meanwhile…ooh, that lovely purple plumage! Is that the Purple Moorhen? Ah…well, then, maybe just ONE more attempt at spotting the next bird….! (1160 words, all of them copyright)
Going up
April 16, 2006
One of the features of apartment living which no builder talks about, but which is an everyday occurrence, is the interaction of the residents, not in the clubhouse, swimming pool, gym or lawns, but in the lifts.
Weather forecasting...
April 16, 2006
What is being user-friendly?
Dancing on Glass
April 15, 2006
Saw a play today at Ranga Shankara by that name. The play was very good, the two actors (of course it was an actor and an actress, but now that word “actress” is not a good one to use for some reason) were excellent, and we enjoyed ourselves even though every four letter word imaginable and some not-used-even-today-in-daily-conversation six-letter words were strung through the script. It was extremely funny and sometimes also moving.
URLs...and something I read and remembered...
April 13, 2006
Today’s Deccan Herald:
Conflict of Interest
April 13, 2006
I am deeply interested in classical music and do not know much about north Indian classical music, so I tape the “Ninaad” programme that comes on Star Utsav every morning from 5.30 to 6.30 am, and watch it later in the afternoon while I am working on my computer writing…many artistes talk about the raag they are going to sing, about their Gharaanaas, and so on…it is a great learning experience and wonderful music too. The visuals are also good,apart from the visuals of the artistes, there are lovely shots, sometimes of noteworthy ancient monuments, or just scenes from Nature.
Dont know if this story is true...but its worth reading
April 12, 2006
In 1994 at the annual awards dinner given for Forensic Science,AAFS. The President Dr Don Harter Mills astounded his audience with legal complications of a bizarre death.
Why does it happen?
April 12, 2006
Dr Raj Kumar died today, and it was the chance the lumpen elements were waiting for, to crawl out of the woodwork and start their work of destruction. Ordinary people had to rush home with fear in their hearts. Daily wage earners have lost their livelihood for two days.
Usha123...
April 11, 2006
Had liked the sound of
Blank Noise...
April 10, 2006
Received the notification of Blank Noise’s activities too late to join their blogathon…but this is a subject close (quite literally!) to my heart….so here’s the link…
Health...
April 9, 2006
I have always been keen on exercise on regular basis as both my parents had cardiac problems and, indeed, my mother was a mass of complaints…as a result, I am happy to say that though I am genetically predisposed towards some illnesses like hypertension, diabetes, and asthma, I do not suffer from any of these, and I consider myself quite fit and healthy… I walk 5 km every day, swim non-stop for 45 minutes….I don’t want to suffer like my mother did….
some heartening things...and some not so...
April 6, 2006
Drove down to Chennai by the new road…except for a stretch near Vaniyambadi which seems to be caught up in litigation, the rest of it is excellent…since it was a Sunday, we made it in –yes–four and a half hours! And this when both of us were doing never more than a steady 120 kph in the CR-V. Now if only we could find a way to navigate through either Bangalore or Chennai during weekdays without spending hours in inch-by-inch traffic….
some lovely snaps...
April 1, 2006
Want to see some lovely images from the Naturalists’ Training Programme?
My travels in India...
March 31, 2006
Age...
March 31, 2006
In the play “Chapter 2” by Neil Simon, which I watched at Ranga Shankara yesterday, a woman character says,” First I am called good-looking, then I am described as interesting with character, and so it goes until I am finally called, ‘interesting for my age’!”
Want to see a habitat photo?
March 29, 2006
http://amoghavarsha.net/photography/ooty_25-03-06/tn/IMG_8208.jpg.html
Religion...
March 29, 2006
I am very interested in the fact that someone I met recently says he practices Buddhism. Most of us just “go with the flow” and stick to the religion we have been brought up with; very few of us think deeply enough and introspect our basic values and change our religion. When someone changes hes religion, you do wonder….Was there any major experience that made this change? Or was it just analysis and reflection which led to it? I actually find that Buddhism and Hinduism have so much in common that one can, I feel, be both at the same time. (BTW I studied Philosophy for my degree–today it would be called an “elective”– and constantly am analysing how religion has the ability to foster both peace and hatred amongst people. In this sense, my studies have been useful to me throughout my life.)
Sher-0-Shaayari
March 28, 2006
Tumko dekha…..to yeh khayal aaya tumko dekha….to yeh khayal aaya paaglon ke stock mein naya maal aaya! ===================================== Idhar khuda hai, udar khuda hai, jidar dekho udar khuda hai, idhar-udhar bus khuda hi khuda hai jidhar nahi khuda hai….udhar kal khudega! ====================================== The night is dark, the moon is high, I stop my car, you ask why? I come close to you, you feel shy, I whisper those three magical words…. Hye La, Puncture!!! ==================================== Tumsa koi dusara jameen par hua to rab se sikayat hogi…. Ek to jhela nahi jata dusra aa gaya to kya halat hogi!!! ====================================== koi pathar se na maare mere dewaane ko…….. koi pathar se na maare mere dewaane ko…….. koi pathar se na maare mere dewaane ko…….. abe aage bh i to bol…………… nuclear power ka jamaana hai, bomb se udaa do saale o………………. ====================================== tuhaar chehraa moti samaan .. tuhaar chehraa moti samaan… moti hamaar kutte ka naam!! ========================================================== Durakht ke paymane pe chilman E husn ka furkat se sharmana… Durakht ke paymane pe chilman E husn ka furkat se sharmana… Ye line samajh me aaye to mujhe zaroor batana!! =========================================================== tere dwaar pe sanam hazar baar aayenge, tere dwaar pe sanam hazar baar aayenge….. ghanti bajayenge aur bhaag jayenge !! ========================================================== He: Janeman, is dil mein chali aao She: Sandal nikaloon kya! He: Pagli, ye mandir nahi hai, aise hi aajao… =========================================================== Jis waqt khuda ne tumhe banaya hoga, ek saroor sa uske dil pe chaya hoga… ehle socha hoga tujhe jannat mein rakh lun.. hir usse zoo ka khayal aaya hoga!!! =========================================================== Mein Tumhare Liye Sab Kuch Karta.. agar Mujhe Kaam Tha…… Mein Tumhare Liye Doob Ke Marta… agar Mujhe Zukham Tha ! =========================================================== Mere marne ke baad, mere doston, yu aansoo na bahana, Agar meri yaad aaye to, seedhey upar chale aana!! =========================================================== Unki gali se guzre..ajeeb ittefaq tha Unki gali se guzre..ajeeb ittefaq tha Unho ne phool phenka..gamlaa bhi saath tha!! ========================================================== Kyon apni kabar khood-hi khod raha hai Galib… Kyon apni kabar khood-hi khod raha hai Galib… La, phawda mujhe de!! ========================================================== Tumko dekha to ek khyal aaya Tumko dekha to ek khyal aaya Tumhari saheli ko dekha to doosra khyal aaya!! =========================================================== Kehte hain ki ISHQ main neend ud jaati hai Koi humse bhi ishq kare Khambhaqat neend bahut aati hai!!
Naturalists Training Program by JLR...
March 28, 2006
I have always believed that no matter what one’s interest is, it will be better to be taught the techniques by a seasoned professional. Having had a deep interest in wildlife for almost all my life, I have found that in Bangalore, it is relatively easy to get away to the wilderness even for a short weekend, and come back to the concrete jungle recharged by the sights of sounds of Mother Nature.
Rhinos...
March 21, 2006
Landmark Spotting...
March 20, 2006
One of the aspects of air travel that I have never stopped enjoying, is being able to spot landmarks of cities from the air, as we land or take off. After decades of flying, I still feel thrilled if I am able to spot buildings, lakes, or other major sights from the aircraft.
Alas, most airlines make it a point of telling you which seats are the best from the point of view of smoking,movie-watching, pinching the stewardess, and so on…but no one tells you whether it would be better to sit on the right-hand side or the left-hand side of an aircraft to see the sights your aircraft is flying over. So nowadays, I first find out if the flight is going full, in which case, of course, I take the seat allotted to me and hope for the best…but if it isn’t, I always ask the stewardess when boarding, if she could find out from the pilot which would be the best side to sit on. As the weather dictates which way the aircraft will take off, the pilot is often able to give me this information. This has, over the years, ensured in some memorable sights during take-offs and landings.
I remember one beautifully clear day when the pilot did a complete circuit of Manhattan Island after taking off from JFK, at such a low altitude that I could even spot the Chrysler Building, the Lincoln Center and the Empire State, apart from the proudly-standing Twin Towers….little did I know that the skyline would change within a year of my leaving New York on that visit.
I took a flight from Chennai via Tiruchirapalli and Thiruvananthapuram to Colombo….on each stage I asked the pilot where I should sit, and got to see, as a result, the beautiful Rock Temple of Tiruchi, the squat Gopuram of the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, and then the Galle Sea Face and its beautiful hotels as we glided in to land at Colombo!
This piece was prompted by the flight to Pune I took a few days ago. As we rose into the air, the pilot did practically a “Bangalore Darshan” circuit of the city…there was Vidhan Soudha, the Utility Building, the Ulsoor Lake, the TV Tower….I had my “paisa vasool” for the flight in the first ten minutes!
Even on long night-flights, I love looking at the map the airline provides, and speculating about the cities we must be flying over. And indeed, sometimes, the sight of the Alps, the Grand Canyon, or the Great Arabian Desert called the Rub-al-Khali (the Empty Quarter) in the evening or the early morning light rewards my sleeplessness…..frustration, for me, is sitting in the left-hand side when the pilot announces, “Those of you who are sitting in the right-hand side…we are passing over X landmark”, or vice-versa!
Having a daughter living in St Louis, I always like to see the Gateway Arch both on my way in and out.., and make sure that I am sitting where I can see it. It is a most inspring construction and the sight of it never fails to thrill me.
On one such flight, I had a little girl sitting at the window in front of me…I pointed out the Arch to her and was delighted that I could share my joy with someone else. I was very tickled when the little girl’s mother turned to me and said, “You must have been living in St Louis for much longer than I have, to be able to spot the Arch like that…. and it’s nice to see you taking such pride in spotting your landmarks from the air!” I told her I was the visitor, and she the resident!
…So, whenver you take a flight, do take the time to ask the pilot if you can sit so that you can see the wonders that Man and Nature have created on the earth below you. The sights out of the window are more than compensation for the struggle to get into the aisle (or to the toilet) during the flight!
Vignettes of trip to Pune
March 19, 2006
- Booking on SpiceJet is so easy on the Net..and the cost is just about half that of Jet Airways. I am impressed with the clean aircraft (esp toilets!) and the on-time record. Long live healthy competition, without which we would be paying for overpriced bad service on unfriendly Indian Airlines!
Ms Murphy...
March 16, 2006
That’s me….I wanted to send the URL of a middle of mine (about ribbons, see my earlier posts) published in the Deccan Herald to family members. So I clicked on the URL, which is
Whoopi Goldbergs favourite colour (or as she would say, favorite color)
March 16, 2006
We decided to call a few friends out for a party in Pune tomorrow. My eternally optimistic (in this case, optimistic about the way airline staff handle baggage) is just packing two wine bottles and trying to put them in his check-in baggage.
From todays Times of India
March 16, 2006
Ill-equipped, ill-paid and still chasing poachers
Birthday celebrations...
March 16, 2006
Was trying to feel equable about the fact that my spouse would be in Pune for his birthday…(he doesn’t really celebrate birthdays, he says all days when we are alive and healthy should be celebrated equally)…then the generous guy asked me if I would like to come along…I just finished booking my tickets on Spicejet (it’s generally half the price of Jet Airways. I don’t see the point of paying around 2.5K extra to get upma and button idlis and a small bottle of water!) We are going to invite a few friends for dinner and bask in the warmth of old friendships.
Jingoism
March 14, 2006
We had a lovely time playing Holi in a friend’s apartment building…but the friend’s brother kept repeating, “Why don’t we organize a Tamizh New Year’s Day? Why must we only have North Indian festivals?”…It made me think. I hadn’t thought of Holi as a North Indian festival, having grown up with it. ….And do we have any equivalent colourful festival? When we do, we celebrate it, like Navaratri. So what’s the beef about? Tamizh New Year is not a group festival, so why make a big hoo haa about celebrating it in public?
Lovely time in Hyderabad...
March 12, 2006
Came to Hyderabad on Friday to cool, rainy weather…instantly decided to visit the Ramoji Film City, and it was a lot of fun. The Wild West Show was quite well done! On Saturday, went pearl shopping (at one stroke I solved my “what-to-give-as-gifts?” problem for this Christmas just before the wedding we will attend at Connecticut..there are going to be about 18 people, 9 of them women…well, my gift to each of them is going to be a pearl necklace! Yesterday evening, went out for dinner, and a drive to Husain Sagar…there are lovely open areas where we felt safe sitting and chatting until midnight…so rare in an Indian city to find this kind of public space, clean and safe too. Had a great time. Wish we had this kind of public space in Blr…Lal Bagh and Cubbon Park are OK for the daytime but there is nowhere to drive to at night and just sit and chat. I love Hyderabad…er…except that the normal weather would not be like this!
Athol Fougard...
March 9, 2006
…a South African playwright who has, over the years, become one of my favourites. We went to see a production of “Valley Song” by Arundhati Raja’s Rep Theatre. It was very good. The singing was excellent too and it was an evening well-spent.
If you havent already...
March 9, 2006
Go asap to
On the MABSS front...
March 8, 2006
Through
Google Earth couldnt do it better....
March 8, 2006
Somebody’s ACTUAL postal address:
Losing things...
March 6, 2006
It’s like an open wound, a sore in your mouth which your tongue keeps running over…it stings every time, but you can’t help doing it. This is what happens when you lose–or, to be precise, misplace– something.
How to avoid this happening?
March 3, 2006
Today’s newspapers carried the account of Mallikarjun(50), a casual worker with the Forest Department being mauled by tigers at the Tyaverekoppa Lion and Tiger Safari, near Shimoga, when he was carrying out repairs to the 16ft high gate that separates the tiger safari area from the deer park.
Proposal received by email
March 1, 2006
First of all, read:
Help the aged...
February 27, 2006
As part of the voluntary “help the aged and computer/internet-challenged” initiative,
An evening with Susmit Bose
February 27, 2006
Those of us who took up Shangon Das Gupta of Communication for Development and Learning on her invitation to an evening of music by Susmit Bose, went there without really knowing what to expect. And the first thing that struck me was the beauty of the little hall that the event was held in. Mrs Ubhayankar, who runs the Smritinandan Foundation in memory of her son, hires out this small, beautifully-done up hall to people in the field of the arts.
The first part of the evening,,which was called “It’s my right to draw” was an initiative by CDL; they had encouraged children to draw cartoons to promote communication through the visual medium.
As we settled down, Susmit Bose, his fellow-guitaritst (and sometimes, banjo player) Deepak Samson, and a lady from the Viveka Foundation who has been interacting with them, took their places, and Susmit explained how, hailing from a family of north Indian classical musicians (his father was a noted Thumri exponent) he took to the guitar, and wanted always to sing of present-day issues which touched his mind and heart. He had brought out an album called “Public Issue”…and he proceeded to give us a real feast of songs from the album. The lyrics were really excellent, and the music was very Simon-Garfunkel- and Beatles-ish…our generation related to it at once! He sang of children working with dimpled fingers on the loom, weaving carpet under forced labour; of the way daily life makes contradictions of us all; of existence and angst in the urban jungle. His songs reminded me of that gem that I love….”Another day in Paradise”…the same social themes running through them, without naming names or having prickly fingers pointing.
For an hour, he and his fellow-musicians kept us beating time to his catchy melodies and enjoying his sometimes poignant, and sometimes funny, lyrics;and he asked us to sing along with the refrains so that we felt completely that we, too, were part of the evening rather than just a passive audience. “There are certain thoughts I want to share with you…” he began, and went on with songs like “Friend of a friend” (indeed, that describes each and every one of us!)…on to Red Ribbon Express, which was written for UNICEF; “River of Life” , and “Public Issue”, which brought smiles to our faces even as it made us think. Occasionally, he played on the mouth organ too. He had a vivid stage presence and his enjoyment of his own songs was infectious. The three of them made a good singing trio.
Finally, he spoke of how he had defined his genre of music as “urban folk music”…only to realize that more than a century ago, the Baul singers of Bengal had perfected this same art, being roving musicians, who, with their ektaras and bells on their feet, sang of issues like emancipation and widow-remarriage. He concluded his recital with a lovely Baul piece, “Niraakaar Noire Bhojon”.
When he finished, we realized that the good times were not yet over….CDL ,Smriti Nandan and the Viveka Foundation had organized some lip-smacking chat, paav-bhaji and puchka (NOT pani puri!) and the softest rosogollas I have eaten since I attended my friend’s daughter’s Boubhaat in Kolkata last year…with our ears full, we made sure that our tummies were,too!
I didn’t get to asking Susmit if he has a website or an email id…but I ran a Google search and found this link, just before he released his album, “Public Issue”, last year:
I do like LJ...
February 24, 2006
You may have noticed that many of my posts are “quotes” from other LJ’s…I love visiting other people’s LJ’s…there is always something interesting, intriguing, fascinating, something I learn, some new ideas that I can mull upon…
what a lovely thing this is...
February 24, 2006
from the LJ of
Never hesitate...
February 24, 2006
I sometimes hesitate to introduce a friend whom I have met because of one interest, to another interest that I have…I feel that they may come along just to be polite and may not appreciate being dragged into something else. But now I am sure that this is something that I should continue to do. I have found that a friend I have made because of my interest in, say, “A”, is actually very good at “B”, too…and when I thought that a friend was bored when I asked hem (that’s a word to denote him/her) to interest “C”, I find that the interest has really taken off and s/he is spending more time with that interest than I am!
My name in Egyptian heiroglyphics
February 23, 2006
From a link on the LJ of
My favouritest watch
February 21, 2006
I love this watch…it has a dial that is blue at certain angles and green at others; it is digital, which I love in a watch. It has a large, easily-read number display. It has dual timings (I can see what time it is for my daughter, half-way across the world),a timer, a stopwatch,and five different alarms, and the usual day/date displays too. And it has a light-up display, which makes it so convenient when I am, for example, sitting in a movie or play. AND…it is the only design I have seen till now, for a digital watch to come anywhere close to being aesthetic. The name of the maker is “Armitron” (God knows who that is) and the price? Ten dollars at some mall in Los Angeles!
About the kaadupapa...
February 21, 2006
Read an article in today’s Times of India, that the slender loris is being hunted unmercifully, for certain (mythical) properties that its body parts possess….its eyes are supposed to be good for eye infections, some body parts are supposed to be aphrodisiacs, and so on…each animal is valued at Rs.30,000 or more…a dangerous thing to have that value on one’s head!
What justice...
February 19, 2006
Salman Khan has been finally sentenced to one year in jail (which his well-paid lawyers will appeal, of course) and –don’t miss this– fined RUPEES FIVE THOUSAND for killing an animal of an endangered species. For his killing of another species, he is yet to come to trial. But the amount of the fine…..that’s what’s hard to take.
the Lal Bagh Walk
February 18, 2006
This morning, I decided to do the Lal Bagh walk, as I have always felt I should know more about the beautiful garden that is one of the lungspaces of Bangalore. The three hours I spent there just flew by!
With and without parents...
February 14, 2006
Felt very happy to meet
Youth...overrated...
February 14, 2006
A friend of mine expressed a wish that she could be young again…
Wonderful image...
February 13, 2006
From the LJ Of
The Bangalore Walk
February 13, 2006
We went for the Bangalore Walk yesterday. I was very impressed with the research that Arun Pai has put into the walk; I learnt several facts about my home city. I was also impressed with the way the business model has been put together.
Why dont we ever get the change back?
February 13, 2006
I am ranting against a phenomenon found everywhere, which I call the Bata fiddle. Everyone prices their tickets/services at just one rupee or five rupees below a certain round-figure total. For example, Ranga Shankara tickets cost Rs.49. Yesterday, we went for the Victorian Bangalore Walk, which is priced at Rs. 495.
Visited some owls....
February 9, 2006
My friend has some owls perching in the woody creepers surrounding her front door in MICO Arikere Layout…told
The Internet still staggers me...
February 7, 2006
Suddenly realized that if I want people the world over to read my article in a local paper, I can just send the link…I used to physically carry copies of the newspaper once upon a time…
Kitty party
February 6, 2006
I am not sure why I am not comfortable with kitty parties. Because of my frequent travelling, I am not a part of our building kitty;so today I decided that I would at least attend this one. There were no cards,and it was a pleasant afternoon, with a simple anagram game and housie. But once I get to know these women on a one-to-one basis, I don’t think I would be interested in being part of the scene….there is some sense of disconnect somewhere that I cannot put my finger on…I wonder..what is wrong with me? Why does the whole housewife scene not satisfy me, given that I am not a career person? The only reason I can quantify is the occasional cattiness I see when women with time on their hands congregate…and their tendency to take their self-worth from their husbands’ jobs and bank balances. Which reminds me of the cry from an elderly lady who lost her husband recently after 65 years of marriage…“who will respect me now?” In vain did I try to make her understand that she was herself as much as she was when her husband was alive, and that people would continue to respect her as before. Any thoughts on this, readers of my LJ?
What to do when the editorial staff kill you?
February 4, 2006
I had done an article on
You can register for the Electoral Rolls
February 1, 2006
As I could not vote last time ( my name was not found in my old constituency) I decided to register afresh on the Election Commission website; it’s so convenient. You can register, too,if you live in Karnataka, at
Of spellings and punctuation...
January 29, 2006
I wonder why the younger generation’s spellings are so…well…I feel like saying bad, but it would be better to say…different? We were taught that spelling was of paramount importance as was punctuation. We were given that classic example of how punctuation could invert the meaning of a sentence…
Small vignettes...
January 28, 2006
So many little pieces of action as one walks, cycles, drives past. A cow ruminatively eating a poster as the billposter moves on to sticking up the next one. A cart laden with carpets backing down the slope into the hapless front bumper of a Maruti 800 (one speeds past this before the action actually starts.) A little girl shushing your “hi” on the stairs of your apartment as she hides from her friends; the “tag” girl’s mouth opening in surprise as she streaks “home” free. A lady looking on patiently as two men (one obviously the “owner” and the other one the “driver”) look, somewhat puzzled, into the guts of their car. A youth running for a bus…which he misses..you see him slowing down after giving up the chase.Two ladies haggling at a fruit pushcart.
Do other people my age also face this dichotomy?
January 27, 2006
I have entered my fifties, and belong, firmly, to the generation of parents of twenty-somethings…but I am able to empathise so much with the younger generation as they express viewpoints that others of my age are not able to see. As my daughter and her friends grew up, I felt that I was making a fresh group of friends,as they became adults in their own right. I learnt to call them my friends instead of my daughter’s.
Saying au revoir...
January 27, 2006
Felt somewhat emotional today as I went to see off
Two things on TV...
January 26, 2006
Watched two events on TV…one, the annual “geetaanjali” (worship through music) to the Saint-Composer, Thyaagaraajaa. The other, the Republic Day Parade at Delhi.
Tiger Census...time in the forests...
January 21, 2006
The process of getting to participate in the tiger census seemed so disorganized that we were actually wondering, having missed 2 days of it, whether we should go or not. But then we decided we would,after I was able to speak to the Asst Conservator of Forests, and it has been a very rewarding experience indeed. I do feel that the process of recruiting volunteers seems very haphazard to me…but there were 75 volunteers at Kabini in spite of their having got just a day’s notice! If you are to be a volunteer, please invest in a good pair of shoes, and be prepared to walk a lot,know that you will pay Rs.50 per day, and be happy with all that you see instead of pining all the time for a big cat sighting. (There is the “day-before-day-after” rule that applies very much to me…people who see big cats the day before I arrive and the day after I leave…it was true this time too!)
Lifes too short...
January 17, 2006
There are so many things to do, so much to learn….I wish I could be like the people who find an interest and focus on it intensely and are always associated with it….but for me, everything is fascinating. Travelling to places near and far, I become interested in the history of a place and wish I could be in archaeology or a historian; when I look at
Nostalgia...
January 13, 2006
Am watching a movie that my mother enjoyed immensely, and thinking of her as the most famous of the songs (apparently this movie was famous because there were about 24 of them!) is being sung….It’s Chandralekha, with T R Rajakumari.
I am also referring to...
January 12, 2006
Though
Ribbons...
January 6, 2006
As I watched an old film, it struck me that no one uses ribbons in their hair or their dresses any more…I remamber a childhood where all my dresses had matching hair ribbons and we tried several types of bows when we finished braiding our hair. I also remember satin ribbons as belts on dresses, or threaded through them…but later, ribbons became a symbol of unsophisticated hick-dom and village (read, unfashionable) girls were depicted with their beribboned pigtails sticking up like a scorpion’s tail.
Pride...and prejudice...
December 20, 2005
My spouse did his B.Sc at Shillong and later took the “by three” course at IIT Madras. I don’t think this was due to any academic drawback as he topped the European School Certificate when he finished school in Bangalore, and topped the University in his B.Sc. This may sound irrelevant bragging…but wait…it’s relevant…
Surreal quality to the festival....
November 2, 2005
How different is reality from what we plan….The day before Deepavali we spent downstairs bursting crackers with my neighbours’ family and the newlywed couple, who traditionally spend the festival with the bride’s parents. We went to sleep at 11.30 pm and an hour later got a call that one of our friends in the family quiz group that we belong to, had died of a sudden and massive heart attack, at the age of 51. We went there and did a lot of arrangements as a tremendously shocked wife and daughter just could not cope. We returned home at 5 am and slept till 8.30, when I lit the lamps without feeling in the least festive.
I called my sis in law to speak to her before she left for Mumbai to visit her family; she told me that my childhood friends’ father (both the parents and the son and daughter live in Bangalore) had passed away the previous night and that since they got the answering machine at our place they thought we were still in the US.
Yet another great day...
October 31, 2005
Can’t post photos…don’t know how, and didn’t take any…but this morning, drove back from Chennai to Blr on the really excellent (except for patches) National Highway 7, which, though not as scenic as the old Madras Road, still got us from point to point in under 6 hours. The Honda CR-V, for all that I detest the idea of using a SUV for the 2 of us, is a dream to drive, and I, who never drive by the speedometer but by the road conditions, found myself pushing 120 kmph on amazingly long stretches. The only danger on this road is that, for various reasons including the road being under construction, traffic often appears on the wrong side of the road, and one always has to be careful.
Mehendi as a calendar
October 29, 2005
I am sure no one has thought of this….I first realized it when I had mehendi the day before the engagement of a friend’s daughter. I didn’t intend it to,but it got on my nails. I rather liked the effect, and then I applied mehendi again just before I left for the US. Each date is thus marked on my growing nails, and the mark before the engagement was clipped off….just before I applied the mehendi for the same young woman’s marriage! So the passage of time is there to see on my fingernails….
Toilet Culture
October 25, 2005
I recently received pictures of a new public toilet abroad, the walls of which are totally transparent from inside (for the user) but which looks as if it has mirror walls from the outside. The thought-provoking question was, “Would you use it?” My American architect friend responded, “I would hate to use it at night when it would have to be lighted up.” This had not occurred to me…but what I noticed in the picture was a drinking fountain set just above the toilet bowl…and that got me thinking about cultural differences. In the East, we always associate toilet with uncleanliness, and we would never dream of drinking out of a water fountain set above a water closet. When our toilets are usually dirty, and indeed, are often open fields, the association with lack of cleanliness and hygiene is too deeply ingrained. Even my own friends, who know rationally that the same water comes out of the taps in their kitchen as well as their bathroom, would hesitate to drink the water in the latter location.
Differences...
October 25, 2005
Halloween is approaching in the US….though I think that,mostly, people are the same everywhere, differences in customs do interest me. Here, the dust everywhere ensures that all too often, we have actual “websites” hanging greyly from various corners in our houses, and it is a chore to clean the cobwebs off…and in the US, in banks and offices and I don’t know how many homes, it is such an unknown entity that they actually use artificial webspray to create cobwebs to set the scene for Halloween decorations!
Admission rates....
October 13, 2005
We went to the Wild Animal Park, a relatively new enterprise of the San Diego Zoo. We want to also not miss the world-famous San Diego Zoo, and plan to visit tomorrow.
Letter to TSA
October 11, 2005
Hi,
Already a week has gone by....
September 9, 2005
Can’t believe that a week has gone by since we landed in the early hours of 1st September! We had a wonderful time in NY, visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Natural History Museum and the Hayden Planetarium, and met up with some of the Gangue members and friends from Muscat….went to Portland Maine where our sambandhis have a lovely new house that could actually accomodate 65 people for the wedding reception they gave DnA.
Things to do..and the monsoon....
August 29, 2005
Leaving on a 7 week trip is stressful…first I have to get the thousands of things…then I have to fit them into 2 suitcases!
Preparations...
August 25, 2005
Going away for 7 weeks is tough. The amount of stuff I want to take is staggering. Some of it (the main part) is stuff for others, but things like medication are what I don’t want to run short of. Also, I am unsure what sort of weather to pack for, and so have to include warm clothes that take up both volume and weight. I do remember from the last trip that the majority of my Indian clothes were unworn, so this time I am going to cut down on that….But still one tends to overpack as one does not want to do without.
How pilgrimmages have changed...
August 23, 2005
Went on a package tour to Tirupati..can’t help noticing how pilgrimmages have changed. It cost us 1025 for the allegedly a/c bus and accomodation, all courtesy of A P Touris Corpn (AP Tourism, Happy Tourism, according to the incredibly punny message on the back of our bus.) Allegedly a/c, because on the way out, the weather was cool and we didn’t feel it…on Monday morning we realized that only the fan was on and certainly not the compressor; the bus felt stuffy and uncomfortable though bearable, though the driver swore blind the a/c was on.
Technology...
August 20, 2005
Was thinking how amazing technology is, that it allows me almost daily, instant contact with a child on the other side of the world….this constant touch prevents me from feeling out of touch.
What I might be like in the future...
August 15, 2005
I was thinking what it’s going to be like when I am old…not so much old, as old and dependent on someone else, if mentally or physically, I became unable to care for myself.
Dandeli and related thoughts...
August 11, 2005
Did a sudden sneak to the Dandeli Wildlife Resort, run by Jungle Lodges and Resorts….. a mid-week, 2-day break in the “off” season. Well, we realized that Nature has no “off-season”….just a different kind of beauty revealed in different seasons!
A friend has gone
August 8, 2005
A friend (who is also my daughter’s friend’s mother) passed away late this afternoon, 7th August. I don’t know how Sankalpa must be feeling. Her husband, who is normally totally in control, broke down yesterday morning when he called me, saying that the doctors were not holding up hope.
I liked S a lot. She was my friend much before our children became friends.She was a lady with a good heart, with a great talent and an excellent singing voice…one of her great interests in life was music, particularly Rabindra Sangeet. She used to be tickled pink about my reading and writing Bengali as well as speaking it well. She took me along to her Rabindra Sangeet teacher where I learned a couple of songs.
She loved the good things of life…good food, sarees, jewellery, eating out, and travelling. She enjoyed having a place to go to in Kolkata and always felt that Kolkata was home.
She has struggled with extreme ill-health with real courage and determination and it was not often that I have seen her down…she would be incredibly cheerful given the complications and the pain she faced. She was so happy with her children’s achievements and it was a delight to see her joy when talking about her children. Her grandsons, too, particularly the elder one, gave her a lot of joy. She was so happy about her daughter in law; she was so happy when the married couple moved to Bangalore.
Her husband spared nothing in the quest for a treatment that would somehow make her better. Our last visit was just before she went into the hospital…we were all laughing and joking and there was the ease of an old friendship. I remember her joking even then, about how her doctor was probably planning a European holiday on the strength of the fees he was charging her.
We are going to visit her, they have brought her back home.
I know she was suffering dreadfully. But I wish she hadn’t gone. I can’t write any more.
Ah, the uses of LJ
August 4, 2005
This should tickle your funny bones….we wanted to book for Jungle Lodges’ Dandeli Resort for the coming week. If we have gone to their resorts within the previous 12 months, we get a 10% discount. So I called them up and Murphy’s Law mandated that there was no record of our January booking, when I, my spouse,
Communication....theatre....
August 2, 2005
When each of us uses a word, we seem to mean something that is different from what another person sees in it….I sometimes wonder how communication is possible at all!
incredible amount of rain....
July 28, 2005
seeing the visuals on TV is amazing enough…but to be there must be really something else….I am impressed by the average Mumbaikar’s ability to stand firm in the face of the forces of nature.
realities...
July 27, 2005
I was swimming in our building pool. As usual, to get around my fear of the water and also to prevent too much immersion of my nose in water (which results in allergic reactions) I was doing the backstroke. This has the added advantage that I can look at the various balconies of the flats as I go up and down, doing my laps. I ruminated….my hip pain was worse than usual. Walking that morning was not the greatest of pleasures, and walking has always been one of my joys. I was on the way to feeling sorry for myself, when I saw him. A young boy of about 12 or 13, standing on one of the balconies. Quiet boy, standing there motionless…on a pair of crutches. Was it an accident? Was it permanent? I didn’t know. But my self-pity vanished in an instant. What must it be like to be 12 and not be able to play in the evenings, to have to stand on the balcony and watch other children play? At 50, I can take some hip pain and lumps….
Lounge bars....
July 24, 2005
Finally, because I had company, I went to Hypnos today…and I must say, the experience leaves me cold. The dance floor was practically non-existent; the food was good but very pricey; I don’t like liquor and it seemed as it it had rained heavily in my Pina Colada; and we could not hear a word of conversation through the thundering music (which was pretty good though.) I was told that lounge bars avoid the smoke and loud music and have an intimate atmosphere where you can listen to quiet music and have a convivial drink. My generation has another alternative to lounge bars..it’s called home. You put on (or sing) nice music, have a few drinks with good friends, and perhaps eat at home or go out…no smoke, no noise, no crowd of strangers….I am afraid I will never understand the point of lounge bars!
Victorian...
July 22, 2005
A friend would not allow her daughter to slip the ring on her fiance’s finger at the engagement as “holding hands should only be done during the wedding”…the wedding is a few months in the future, and the two are going out together..and the daughter has been told not to hold hands. I offended the mother by suggesting they not hold hands even while kissing…the best part is that the young man put the ring on his fiancee’s finger, and the mother of the girl is denying what is on video record, saying that it was the priest who put the ring on…well, in that case, her daughter is engaged to the priest! ;-)
Just blank and peaceful...
July 21, 2005
Such an uneventful day; neighbours were inaugurating the office of the company they have set up with the help of the parent company in Japan. Attended the inauguration and the dinner at the Taj Gateway in the evening….and spent time with friends. How lovely it is to have no major worries, and spend such good time together! Nothing to write about actually means that I am contented and very happy…surely something to write about!
This thing about high-pitched singing for womens voices....
July 20, 2005
When I listen to Indian singing, the thing that really grabs my attention is the importance given to the height of the pitch for women singers. Whether it is film music or classical, the higher the pitch, the better the woman’s voice is supposed to be. I cannot understand this. In old movies, we even had MEN singers singing at 5 kattai (G) and being much praised for it…when it generally sounded to me as if they were singing under a lot of strain, like Kittappa, TR Mahalingam, etc.
Hypocrisy...Prudery...
July 18, 2005
This was prompted (as are several thoughts) by a television program I watched. Every day, I tape “Thein Kinnam”, which brings old Tamizh film songs. Today’s episode was compered by L.A.Rajakumar, a film music composer…and one of the songs which he described as a classic, an all-time great was from the movie Sivantha Mann…and it had a dancer in a belly-dance costume being whipped (12 times through the song) by a man dressed in Arab robes.
Apparently, the music director is able to completely disassociate himself from the spectacle of a woman being whipped, whimpering and dancing suggestively, in a revealing costume….the word “sadism-masochism” (S/M) is seemingly not in his vocabulary at all. It started me thinking of related things…such as Yahoo closing their chat rooms after it was found that adults were using them to solicit sex from children.
While mealy-mouthedness and hypocrisy are universal, I do feel that Indians today have brought it to a fine art. We delight in talking about how precious our children are to us, and then we read about child labour everywhere, and child prostitution too. We need not go to those extremes….look on any working day at the number of children who are riding on two-wheelers with their parents…without helmets….look in your neighbours’ homes and see the children working there (“They will starve otherwise..and they are too dumb to go to school”). We talk about Woman being a Goddess…but a woman, without a capital W, is more likely to be, at the very least, a mental slave of a male-dominated culture, where movies routinely have scenes showing males slapping their women, and the women weeping helplessly. This was summed up in the words of a one-time neighbour of mine:” Women are goddesses if they are in their place; they have to be controlled.” There was NO way of showing him how limited his viewpoint was…he would always think of women as lower beings who had to be controlled like wild animals. In essence, there is no difference in his mind between his beloved pet dog and the women in his household. And when the women themselves subsribe to this culture, the mental slavery is complete.
We are the proud upholders of the Victorian hypocrisy that cannot see the dishonesty in touting middle-class morality in public and flouting it in private. The whole ethos seems to be that everyone must voice opinions of a high moral ground, and in private, agree that it is Kali Yuga and such morals cannot be practically upheld, whether it is sex or corruption or abuse of power.
A serial and a film, both based on Pride and Prejudice, which refers to Victorian morality, are so apt for our society today. What I would like to learn is how the English came out of their Victorian prudery and hypocrisy into a more open form of thinking. Maybe, then we too could do it….as I write, the TV is on and there is a Tamizh serial which is showing the husband and wife in their bedroom..the husband sleeps on the bed and the wife on the floor…I suppose she is elevated in status to the bed when the need arises!
Singing...and getting left behind...
July 17, 2005
Been trying to get back to singing Carnatic music, much helped by Jaishankar, who returned from studies in St Louis and is with Lucent (Bell Labs) now….feels so enjoyable, and I realize how very rusty my voice has become. Resolve (serious look of determination on face) to practice more regularly…it is great to be able to enjoy music, and even nicer to be able to sing well.
Rain and warmth....
July 16, 2005
Close friends picked up, packed me in their Tavera… a family of 5 who included me in their evening drive through the pouring rain, while we individually and together, sang favourite songs….rain is wonderful…IF you have a nice warm place to shelter in, your livelihood doesn’t depend on the weather, and you are assured that you will have a hot meal when you feel hungry….how lucky we are.
Onion
July 16, 2005
Well, close enough….went and saw Anniyan. While the comedy was very funny in parts, and never the puerile, innuendo-filled cringemaker it is often is in Tamizh films, the violence in today’s movies really horrifies me. Fight scenes were never-ending; blood and gore in graphic detail….threads ( like the Carnatic music connection in the beginning) that disappear completely later on are also confusing….
Sleeplessness and Pain
July 14, 2005
It is amazing how few people realize the difficulty of coping with constant pain, and the way consistent sleeplessness can throw the day out of kilter…people try to understand, but they often are forgetful about the need for catching up on sleep, and are irritated when one declines late-night invitations, or they drop in at night and keep talking about how they are spoiling my sleep, and keep talking still….they sympathize with my pain and then request me to do things which will aggravate it. I know they mean well, and are asking out of affection, so I can’t refuse….
not worth writing...
July 13, 2005
How often does one get fleeting thoughts as the day passes, and at the end of the day, when one sits at the computer, those thoughts slip beyond the consciousness, leaving nothing worthwhile to write about? So many brilliant insights…all gone to limbo…I am a devotee of the God of No things! I need a Boswell to trot behind me, taking down my thoughts… or at least, a comp which could be left on without fear of a surge of electricity frying it up…
I am PISSED OFF....
July 5, 2005
One of the worst parts of going for a walk in this country is the dreadful sight of other walkers…educated, “cultured”, “refined” people…suddenly PEEling off from their walk into likely corners or sometimes just at the side of the road to….PEE. What is it in our ethos that makes it perfectly OK in our minds to spit, piss and defecate everywhere?
Recipe for staging a success...
July 3, 2005
To think that Broadway and off-Broadway have been searching for a sure-fire success formula for years and here in Ranga Shankara, Bangalore, it is so simple….
A lovely evening by myself...
June 29, 2005
Instead of my usual 45 min swim in the pool, went cycling to Ranga Shankara to see if I could get a ticket to the sold-out production of an abridged “Romeo and Juliet”…and as usual, someone did have a spare ticket which I bought. The production was OK, the audience consisted of classmates of most of the cast so there was much enthusiasm…cycled back, grinning in delight at the steep downslope (you guessed it, going to Ranga Shankara is gruelling!)came home to a lovely home-made hot meal, the kind almost everyone who can’t cook dreams about…simple phulkas and dal can be SO satisfying!
Trials and tribulations
June 27, 2005
human brain...capable of technology...and terrorism...
June 27, 2005
Spoke to my daughter on Yahoo Messenger…she was speaking to her husband on the telephone….Imagine hearing the voice of someone in Israel through a telephone line to the U S and thence through a net connection to India…incredible technology! Amazing…but not as amazing as the fact that the same human brain which can bring this about also is capable of thoughts of child rape, terrorism and shocking violence….
when people become busy...
June 25, 2005
Very often when friends and acquaintances go abroad, they lead very busy lives..LJ is a great way to follow happenings in their lives without disturbing them with email (which they might not reply to, either.) But sometimes the LJ’s also peter out…sad when you want to catch up with someone’s life and you just get the same old stale entry from a few months ago….keeping a journal is like keeping a diary and needs time invested in it…the difference is that allows others to silently keep track of what’s going on with you.
why on earth..how on earth....
June 22, 2005
why would some of my entries be duplicated? I can’t understand..will this be duplicated? I think the first time I check after updating, it doesn’t show up, so I update it again…at least this is what I think happens as normally I am very sleepy when doing LJ stuff….
a funny thing happened...
June 22, 2005
we went and met our friends at Woody’s, restaurant near here; since it was raining, we took the Wagon R,and by coincidence, both of us took a key each.When we came out after dinner, I couldn’t find my key..and we had to come home and I was feeling bad that I had lost it. The next day, my friend came over for something and took out “her” car key to go out..and I told her it was mine. Her response was that I was obsessed with my car key and all remote keys made me think they were mine!It took 20 minutes of argument for me to convince her that she had remote locking on her Indigo and this was a Maruti key. But she was totally silenced when, at my suggestion, she fished in her handbag…and brought out her key as well! As soon as I had put it down on the restaurant table to eat my food the good housewife had automatically put the key into her handbag!If she had not come home the next day, AND if she had not taken out the car key in front of me instead of in the basement parking lot, I would have gone and made a new key and remote at a fairly high and unnecessary expense….
a funny thing happened...
June 21, 2005
Day before yesterday, we went and met our friends at Woody’s, restaurant near here; since it was raining, we took the Wagon R,and by coincidence, both of us took a key each.When we came out after dinner, I couldn’t find my key..luckily, the other key was there, and we had to come home. I was feeling bad that I had lost it. The next day, my friend came over for something and took out “her” car key to go out..and I told her it was mine. Her reply was that I was obsessed with my car key and every remote key made me think it was mine! It took 20 minutes of argument for me to convince her that she had remote locking on her Indigo and this was a Maruti key. But she was totally silenced when, at my suggestion, she fished in her handbag…and brought out her key as well! As soon as I had put it down on the restaurant table to eat my food the good housewife had automatically put the key into her handbag…and not one of us had noticed! If she had not come home the next day, AND taken out the key right there instead of in the basement car park, I would have gone and got a new key and remote made at unnecessary expense….
Modern shairees
June 21, 2005
Hai tu agar mera dilbar, Hai tu agar mera dilbar, To aaj ke lunch ka bill bhar
must do LJ syntax better...
June 21, 2005
a comment by
a wedding has been arranged...
June 17, 2005
A very close friend’s daughter has agreed to a particular alliance and everyone is in a tizzy about the engagement….made me realize how many complications this business of an arranged marriage can lead into, and how simple my child made it for us….I certainly would have hated being told to buy stainless steel vessels and cupboards and jewellery for my daughter!
Very interesting...
June 16, 2005
Funny thing…I go through so many LJs….it is like being surrounded by an articulate, multi-faceted group of people…I find it so fascinating that I keep forgetting to update my own LJ!
Crapola
June 11, 2005
Going through the wringer with the Honda City insurance…the local police station won’t take accident complaints, the one that does has a policeman who asks for rs. 500 to register the complaint, then it takes an hour to drive to the service place and another 2 hours to come back by auto through Blr’s beautiful traffic… most of the parts seem to be made of plastic for which only 40% of the insurance cost will be reimbursed….
Munnar...
June 9, 2005
Went for a road trip to Munnar in Kerala, with 2 other families….the Mahindra resort is very plush, but lacks a good place for a daily walk. The interesting thing is that mobile phones don’t work there. It was a revelation watching the other adults coming to terms with non-communication for 4 days…absolute withdrawal symptoms!
saw someone getting happy at last...
May 26, 2005
went and attended another play at Ranga Shankara, a very tentative effort after the last fiasco…this one wasn’t much better…I must say the general audience seems much more easily amused than I seem to be….I certainly find a great tendency to laugh at anything and everything, the more puerile the better….do people really want just mindless entertainment at the end of a long evening and a hard working day? and does “value-based” theatre have to be serious and earnest and no fun at all? Reminds me of Ayn Rand’s premise in “Night of January 16”….that entertainment and seriousness need not be divorced from each other..the only time I have ever agreed with Ayn Rand…I HATED “The Fountainhead”!
another drive on my favourite road
May 24, 2005
Last week, took the Old Madras Road yet again….this road is evolving, and yet, at most places, retains its old-world charm, and manages at the same time to be one of the better-maintained highways I have travelled. This time, the heat was intense, but the upside was that, in the Kolar-Wallajah stretch, both sides of the road were ablaze with Gulmohar blooms in all shades of flaming red to pale orange….the Tamil Nadu stretches have beeen widened, and though they lack the beauty and picturesqueness of the old-style road, one can really zip on the new multilanes. Leave Chennai or Bangalore on a Sunday morning, at around 7 am, and one will be in the other city by abou 1pm….it would be shorter except for the bottlenecks after one hits the city.
My childs friends
May 17, 2005
Just read my child’s LJ, where she bemoans the lack of social content in her life at present, as she juggles with a demanding job and two moonlights…and says that her friends seem to have emptied themselves out of the US…and I realize that some of them are right here near me! In fact, I want to raise a toast to the wonderful friends she has always had…I have always been full of admiration for them. Sensible, unassuming, helpful, responsible youngsters who grew up into the kind of adults the world is proud of..and certainly I am proud of!They are very articulate, very humorous, and deal with life with grit, making career and life choices and standing by them in truly adult fashion….and each set of parents I have met through them has been a great experience, too. I have met architects, lawyers, scientists, business people….and have liked all of them.
paying for very amateurish theatre...
May 14, 2005
went a couple of days ago to my favourite theatre which is close to home…made a friend drive an hour, battling heavy traffic, to get there…4 of us then sat and watched an incredibly foul performance, by a group that would have been outdone by any amateur school playgroup! It was so bad we laughed all the way through….what should have been an intense, tragic play.
the moral tone of our tv and movies
May 5, 2005
Why are we such mealy-mouthed hypocrites? Heroes are sooo mother- and father- and family- loving and marriage is soooo touted and all other relationships between a man and woman are frowned upon with shock and scandal and of course man-man or woman-woman relationships are NEVER dealt with…when Deepa Mehta’s picture came out, there were people trying to set fire to the movie theatre in typical style…when are Indians going to grow out of Victorian hypocrisy and prudery and GROW UP???
hospitals
May 2, 2005
Another LJ-er, some time, described the horror story of his friend’s hospitalization in the US…..last week, a friend was diagnosed as having a block in a major artery….the hospital where he had been admitted for his angiogram did not offer him any options, tried to force open-heart surgery on him when angioplasty, a minimally invasive procedure, would have worked just as well. It was only because I have gone through this scenario myself, for my spouse, that I was able to get him to take a second opinion. The doctor who is noted for angioplasty is at another hospital..which said they would not honour his insurance. We spent an entire day running around trying to find solutions before the matter was simply resolved…by the surgeon telling the administration to accept the insurance policy. Why a doctor should have to interevene in hospital administration is beyond me; why a hospital administration should behave like a government office, is, of course, understandable…..the minute one gets the power of veto over another, there seems to be great pleasure in exercising it. The mindset is never, “Let us see how this can be done”…it is always, “This can’t be done…now you can run around all you want.”….when all the time, the right lever or pressure will ensure that it gets done.
Article about QuizFamilies, our monthly quiz group
April 28, 2005
Several people had asked for this article, so here it is:
Spiritual quiz...and sad news...
April 28, 2005
http://www.beliefnet.com/section/quiz/index.asp?sectionID=&surveyID=27
other peoples LJs...
April 26, 2005
just went through other people’s LJ entries today….struck by the variety in people’s lives…one is lonely, another one sees a tiger kill a deer, one talks about Martin Friedman…I really do enjoy reading people’s blogs. It keeps me in touch with them without any effort.
exercise isnt always possible....
April 23, 2005
I have an hour to spare, before I must dress up and go to visit two people in succession. But I can’t go for a walk as that would leave me dripping with sweat, and a bath wouldn’t really freshen me up. Neither can I go for a swim, as my eyes go red with the chlorine, and I couldn’t wear my contact lenses, without which I don’t feel dressed…so…here I am, sitting and wasting time on the internet….
amazing coincidences...
April 22, 2005
Got a call from someone today, regarding the article I had written in the Deccan Herald about Quizfamilies, the monthly family quiz group I moderate….there have been several responses, many of whom actually turned up at this month’s quiz…..well, anyway, today the lady who called was brought up in Calcutta, has an only daughter who is married and in the US, the daughter is called Deepa but with a li attached at the end….we had a long conversation and I am thoroughly enjoying having many new people to meet!
difficult situations...
April 17, 2005
two of your friends fall out….one continues in contact with you, the other moves far away, in more senses than one. The one close to you delights in giving details of how evil the other one is….and you can’t bring yourself to believe that someone whom you liked and respected so much can be really like that…the fallout causes ructions in a solid group that has been friends for years, and disrupts everything… love of money in business is indeed the root of a lot of evil. You don’t know whom to believe and it is upsetting to speculate every time you see the other friend.
New years Day...
April 14, 2005
It is the beginning of another Tamizh Year..Paarthiba Varusham…against all experience and cynicism, hope springs anew that THIS year, things will improve, politicians everywhere will come to their senses, good governance will begin….
why are we like this?
April 13, 2005
First the agency in charge of the flyover broke up the service road in front of our apartments, and cut down at least a dozen trees two years ago….the project lies abandoned.
Mothers and daughters
April 10, 2005
Went to a concert by Pandit Jasraj at someone’s house….sat next to two mothers who were with their daughters…they hugged them, talked to them, put their heads on their laps….I mused about the special relationship between mothers and daughters. In our culture, mothers and sons are not encouraged to show physical affection for each other. How sad, that a teenage son cannot sit unselfconsciously with his mother in a gathering like this…our boys are never taught to express physical affection at all….they grow up repressed. But it was still lovely to see the two mothers and daughters…here’s a thought for all of them out there! Missing mine and so I called her up….
Responsibility
April 3, 2005
A friend of mine has been taking care of a schizophrenic husband, whose condition has progressively worsened. During this time, she has undergone so much trauma…working in a school, she saw him unfit to take up any work; she could not pay the building maintainance dues and was reviled for it; she has brought up two daughters, the elder of whom took up tuitions to make ends meet. She put the elder one through engineering college, and the daughter fulfilled her promise by doing well, working for Mphasis for a while, and then getting admission to SP Jain Management College in Mumbai. Now the husband, after bouts of violence, has been institutionalized during the week. My friend has now got the opportunity to spend a six-month, all-expenses paid stint in the UK, as part of her job. Meanwhile the institution has raised the fees, and she is facing a financial dilemma. Should she go, or not? She has taken the decision to go. I salute the huge courage this friend of mine has, the grit with which she has handled life all along. She finds herself without a shred of wifely feeling for a personality which is no longer that of the husband whom she married all those years ago; but feels that if she leaves him, she might just push him over the edge, and continues to take responsibility for him, much as she would for a sick child. I admire her for her courage, the kind that I feel I might never find in myself.
What is status?
April 3, 2005
Entry prompted by one of our dinner guests telling us that we should move out of our present place and go somewhere “befitting our status.” What is status? Seems to be just the fact that we have more money than, say, ten years ago. Otherwise, we seem to be exactly the same people we were. Our friends are, spiritually and,even more important, geographically, all around us, where we need not take long car rides to visit them or vice versa. What will we find in an apartment building or a house which “befits our status”? Will the new neighbours be as warm as these? Can I leave my front door open whenever I wish, totally secure? How long will it take me to set up a lifestyle such as this, where I can walk or cycle to accomplish all my work, and take out that polluting device, the car, only when absolutely necessary?
The big news passes me by...
April 2, 2005
I am, I find, incapable of commenting on all the world-shaking events that appear in the headlines….I feel that tsunamis, earthquakes, and other (quite literally) earth-shaking stuff needs bigger and better people to comment on them. Those who are on the scene can describe events much better….
Swimming...
April 1, 2005
The days have warmed up. Though the initial shower is somewhat chilly, and getting in draws an involuntary gasp, it is lovely in the pool after that. I do the backstroke to avoid getting too much of water in my eyes and nose and having a sneezy reaction to that. I watch the twilight sky aglow with light and then slowly fade into darkness. The huge eucalyptus tree on the lawn sways in the evening breeze, and birds fly to and fro. In the larger pool that I swam in, in Chennai, crows would fly in and dip their beaks in the water. The water feels like silk as I cleave my way. This is a tiny pool; it probably takes two-and-a-half lengths of this one to equal a regular-sized pool. So I do my lengths, spending a physically active but mentally calm hour…I get out feeling not in the least tired, but refreshed and with my body feeling cool and clean. Exercise should always be like this!
Children and their lives
April 1, 2005
I am committed to the idea that the best parent is one who brings up a child to be an adult, who has a life that need have no reference to the parent, who has the strength of mind to take responsiblity and take hes own decisions….therefore, am keeping very quiet about a tough decision that my child is in the process of making….but still, I feel the pull of the umbilical cord halfway across the world….
Pune
March 29, 2005
Pune seems such a nice city, especially the suburbs. It has escaped, so far, at least, the madcap development of Bangalore, and remains very green. Night temperatures are very pleasant even if the days are hot. There are picturesque places to walk in early in the morning. Even flats are built with lots of open spaces and plenty of greeenery…gives a pleasant, open feeling.
Went to the Test Match
March 24, 2005
We went to the India-Pakistan Test Match, 1st day…surprisingly good crowd and traffic management, I found! The first two overs were very eventful, with Pakistan 6 for 2…but then the 3rd wicket partnership, which was 200 + when we left, began…it was nice to watch Inzamam Ul Haq take his 150 on the occasion of the 100th Test he was playing…and I thoroughly enjoyed all the sidelines, had my face painted in the tricolour, underwent Cricket 101 from my 7 year old neighbour who apparently knows every statistic there is about this game….I was able to follow the game much better than I thought, and had a really great time. If only the India Pakistan match was not so supercharged with jingoistic fervour! But that’s the way it is (my neighbour would NOT have one half o his face painted with the Indian tricolour and the other with the Pakistani crescent and star!)
Exercise has to be enjoyable...
March 24, 2005
Hip and ankle pain had been getting in the way of my exercise…as had the increasingly warm weather. I started swimmiing a few days ago…and am glad to realize that it is not really lethargy that has set in. I enjoy swimming so much, especially at twilight…yesterday the pool lights had also not been switched on, and I could see the half moon slowly rising over the top floor as I swam up and down our small pool…when exercise is this pleasant, keeping fit is no big deal.
readership...
March 20, 2005
I think my LJ has a readership of ONE….it would be better if I just emailed that ONE….!why am I spending hours online when all it would take would be an offline email, sent in a few seconds??
what to do when....
March 20, 2005
What does one do when one keeps attending gatherings of the same friends, and the conversation palls? They are, after all, good friends and have kept one going through good times and bad…and yet, there is something stale to the conversation, the evening drags, and though each dinner creates a need to reciprocate, one does not, in the least, feel like calling them over home for yet another dreary evening…no one seems to want to sing, or play games, but just talk, and talk, and talk..when one is sleepy at 9.30 pm and dinner is served well after that, it is difficult to be the life and soul of any party. Should I refuse to go to such dinners in future? I see no way out of the dilemma…..
Exercise
March 19, 2005
How easy it is to fall OUT of the habit of regular exercise…no matter how long one has been doing one’s walk, or workout, or any other form of discipling the body, it is remarkably simple to get out of the habit ….and so diabolically difficult to get back into the habit again once it is broken! Meanwhile, bulges appear, one’s jeans and saree blouses tell merciless tales, there is a bloaty feeling of not being light and trim…and yet it is still tough to get back! The mind says, “hey, lardo, get going and on the road!” and the body says, “Hmm….what about from tomorrow?”
Feeling fallow
March 16, 2005
trying out the Lower Kindergarten lessons on LJ provided by <LJuser=”shortindiangirl”>….hah, now to update my LJ and see if I get the link correctly…
love reading LJs
March 15, 2005
It’s like being in a large gathering of friends..different viewpoints, different experiences….keeps me in touch with friends who are far away, and puts me in touch with new ones….lets me know what my child is currently undergoing, without needing long emails about it..I was content for a long time, to just read, but it is helping me a lot to have the daily discipline of writing, too!
Serenity...travel....
March 14, 2005
Rationally, I know that once I accept myself with my faults, I will be a much happier person, and others will not have the power to upset my equilibrium…and also, I will find it much easier to accept others, with their faults,too. But trying to do it is different from actually getting there….
difficult decisions...
March 12, 2005
Driving around the centre of Bangalore today…incredible traffic…it hit me that no matter what steps will be taken in terms of improving roads, the most essential one, that of curbing the number of vehicles, will not be taken for political reasons…and that is what Bangalore needs. Bangalore is now a city in the process of decay….caught in its own progress, victim of its own success….and with corrupt, dilly-dallying politicians at its helm. The International Airport, today’s newspaper says in a report on the State Budget, is “full-steam”…yes, for the past 10 years that’s what we have heard! An elevated road to Electronic City will result, if action is taken, in digging up Hosur Road again, and the ensuing chaos….have we only politicians? No statesmen? This is the land of Mirza Ismail and the enlightened kings…they must surely be turning in their graves at what this State has come to.
Different kinds of roads
March 11, 2005
Have been on the road again….Bangalore to Chennai and back through Tiruvannamalai, on roads of two different kinds….one is the old type of road. Perhaps not always in immaculate condition (though in Tamil Nadu, they mostly are, now…tremendous improvement.)Somewhat narrow. But so picturesque, with gnarled old tamarind and banyan trees lining them, with fields and villages all around…I am in my air-conditioned bubble no doubt, but I am in the heart of India.
a great film...
March 5, 2005
Watched “The Incredibles”….such a lovely movie on so many levels..the animation, the graphics, the entertainment….wish I could create something like this!
Our own film festival
March 4, 2005
We have been having our own film festival…we suddenly realized that
THREE
Oscar nominees were running in the same multiplex…so it was Aviator
on Sunday, Black (a Hindi movie about a deaf-blind girl and her
alcoholic teacher….Rani Mukherjee and Amitabh) on Monday, Tuesday Swades (a
sickly sweet Hindi movie), Wednesday Finding Neverland (another
sentimental melodrama) Thursday, Ray…the last movie was really
excellent…both the acting by Jamie Foxx, who really lived the part of Ray
Charles….and the superb R&B and country music throughout the
movie….tomorrow is a rest day, and then we take 3 children from our
apartment to The Incredibles!
Border Roads Organization
February 27, 2005
Throughout our travels in the Darjeeling/Gangtok/Kalimpong areas we were on roads built and maintained by the Border Roads Organization. This is probably an army or a partially-army organization..clearly, the discipline was visible everywhere. Most of the roads were in good condition, and where the condition was bad, because of landslips, it was easy to see how much effort goes into keeping up the roads in such adverse climactic conditions….earth movers and bulldozers were hard at work even as we made our way through.
Sikkim and the Himalayas
February 25, 2005
The Himalayas…any Indian who has not seen this awesome sight MUST try to see it sometime….every time it awes and humbles one completely. How can one be petty after seeing the sight of the beautiful, majestic peaks?
Trip to the NorthEast
February 16, 2005
Looking forward very much to the trip to Kolkata, scene of my childhood, and then Darjeeling and Gangtok…will write in my impressions of how things have changed in the last 28 years since I traversed that path last!
friendship..and patience
February 15, 2005
A close friend was very, very rude to me a few days ago. As this was on the phone, instead of reacting, I just put down the phone. Though I felt miserable, I just kept quiet for a few days…yesterday she called up and apologized, and explained how she was very upset over something else and had vented on me.
friendship...
February 15, 2005
A close friend was very rude to me a couple of days ago…without reacting openly, I just disconnected. For the past couple of days, though I was feeling pretty bad, I just let things ride. Yesterday she called me up and explained how she had vented her anger at someone else on me.
Aero show
February 12, 2005
Went to the Aero Show at Jakkur yesterday…my spouse thoroughly enjoyed himself with his weighs-a-ton-and-costs-more camera…and I must say the pictures he took were really SUPERB.
Mime workshop
February 9, 2005
Enjoying the mime workshop (over 4 weekends) very much. What Nazi, the mime teacher, told us during the mime workshop: Make time for plenty of practice. Don’t stop to analyze too much or your work will become laboured and it won’t “flow”. Lose yourself in who you are at the moment. Self-absorption will produce better work.
Cyclists experiences
February 7, 2005
Several months ago, I made a resolution to cycle and walk as much as possible, and not take out the car unless absolutely necessary. This, however, has led me into all sorts of problems:
first entry, LJ, writing on the wall
February 6, 2005
Finally…I too have given in and started “writing on the wall”….I find that being a user is the only way I can avoid being barred from posting comments on many interesting posts….now to find all those interesting people!