yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

Grand Delusions A Short biography of Kolkata Indrajit Hazra Aleph Book Company 2013 Me The first 6 years of my life in Calcutta have ensured that I remain positively biased for the rest to follow. To this day I am a Flury’s fan; such that the Flury’s counter in Hyderabad is one reason that encourages me to brave the evening traffic. Some lines we read stay with us; for some reason or for no reason. This I read a long ago, don’t remember where but has stayed on since –‘ During the late 1960’s and early 1970’s in Calcutta we had nothing to do and the whole day to do it in’ . Coming to this book - After a longish while read a book where I was keen to absorb all that the page I was then on had to offer and simultaneously was also anxious to read the next page. I wanted to go quick but ensure that I miss nothing as well. Cover Book reviews Khaleej Times The Indian Express Bookgeeks.in Five interesting and random lines from the book.  ...

The Book Butterflies  On the Roof of the World ~ A Memoir ~ Peter Smetacek Aleph Book Company 2012 The Cover A snippet from the book. The interesting thing is that the leaf mimics not only have a shape and a wing pattern that resemble leaves, but they even behave appropriately. If an Oakleaf, or a Peacock Pansy ( Junonia almana ) is disturbed, it will dash into a thicket, where it will either settle on a twig in the shade or on the ground amid dead leaves. There it will keep very still until it is satisfied that the danger has passed. If the danger, in the form of a lepidopterist or a bird, follows up, it will wait until the hunter has got quite close, keeping up the deception as it sits among the leaves. While one is searching, there will be a sudden flash of orange and blue, or orange in the case of the Pansy, and the butterfly will be off at high speed before dashing into another bush. This strategy is called flash coloration. The idea is tha...

 ~  A Note of mine that finds place in JBNHS 110 (2); May - August 2013 ~ ~ Many thanks to BNHS ~ ~ Images and video are from Mizoram but not mentioned in the note ~ THE HOOLOCK GIBBON HOOLOCK HOOLOCK IN SAIHA, MIZORAM, INDIA: HISTORICAL RECORDS, RECENT SIGHTINGS AND CONSERVATION ISSUES Introduction The Hoolock Gibbon Hoolock hoolock occurs in the westernmost extreme of the distribution of the 16 gibbon species currently recognized (Geissmann 2007; Kakati et al. 2009). Its range between the Brahmaputra and Chindwin rivers encompasses three countries – Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar (Groves 1967). It is the only ape represented in the Indian subcontinent (Geissmann et al. 2009). The species has been on the list of the World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates since 2006 (Walker et al. 2007), with the global population estimated to be about 5,000 animals, of which 2,600 to 4,450 are in India (Choudhury 2006; Molur et al . 2005) and about 200 in Bangladesh (Ka...

Silences Silences as if meander and beacon Far amidst pleasant empty shades A sleight of thought As if brings forth sunlight Am I at the cusp of change in life? ** Chalte Chalte Din me aasman ke khulepan ko mehsus karna Raat me animesh ho ke taare dekhna ~ dekhte rehna Kabhi shaant rehna Kabhi saanate ki awaaz ko sunna ~ sunte rehna Baaithe baithe kho jana Chalte chalte in sab ko apne me sametna ~ chalte rehna Bas chalte rehna ~ **