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

This piece appears in SanctuaryAsia February 2012 issue.  What ever confusion I had distinguishing the small Indian mongoose Herpestes javanicus from the larger grey mongoose Herpestes edwardsii disappeared as we saw them, one after another, within a gap of five minutes. The smaller of the two was a frequent visitor at our campus near the kotra ( boundary wall ) . While both are slender with long, bushy, tapering tails, short legs, long and pointed snouts and rounded ears, the grey mongoose has long, seemingly coarser fur, with a more reddish than yellowish tinge. It was a special moment to see both, this early in the morning and I was thrilled. Perhaps it was the early morning breakfast that Ummed Kushwah had made -- my favourite Agraa breakfast ( read alu subzi – paratha) that had set the lucky tone of the day. I have always loved the laid-back, rustic landscape of the area. Agraa, a nucleus for the villages relocated from the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, is less th...

Have been missing her ( grandmother ) crazy ...  This post shares 3 pieces I have put in place thinking of her ....  The first one I wrote during 2007 at Baghmara ~  Dadi - I love you. “Nimesh, fetch me a glass of water” she said and I got up to do the needful for dadi. Suddenly it struck me as something strange – giving water to my own grandmother! It was the first time in 26 years that I had seen her asking for water. She always did her tasks herself; I could recall her telling me one evening “somebody who doesn’t even fill his own glass of water cannot to anything commendable in life”. And I remember it for she did not preach but shared as some one equal. In spite of this I have grown up asking her for favours each day.             She embodies strength for me, somebody who finds a way out during unforeseen circumstances. She is not scared to speak out - be it about her priorities or simply somethi...

'This opening post shares a recently published piece of mine from Indian Birds : 7(4); quite enjoyed the experiences described.  “Chika … Chika … ,” the tea-stall owner called out with a ‘ puri ’ (deep fried Indian bread) in her hand, and out of nowhere a hornbill appeared on the counter and noisily took the puri in its beak. I gobbled up the puri I was eating in wide-eyed silence. The tea-stall owner did not divulge much about the hornbill but the staff at the Tourist Lodge at Chaltlang (23º45’14”N, 92º43’30”E), shared later in the day, that the ‘fellow’ had been there for more than a year and was very smart. It was partial to fruits (and fruit vendors) and, according to the locals, did not waste its energies by flying in the city—it travelled atop city-buses! Sharing the pictures with Aparajita Datta the very next day helped erase confusions I had about the species—a female Wreathed Hornbill Aceros undulatus . However, it rekindled my curiosity to know more about this stunn...