Adieu!

Bongo

"Don't do that Buttercup!"

A Portrait

Bongo is always keen to pose for the camera

Buttercup at the helm

A heavy colony of 'summer shower' growing on our walls

Buttercup always keeps an eye out for visitors at the gate

'Summer shower' it is

Buttercup in all her glory

A retreat into shady pastures

Guess who is in charge?

The bountiful Incas

The past four months at home have been like a retreat into my childhood days. Almost like a long vacation that I never had in the last 11 years. The whole experience has humbled me and made me reach even deeper for my roots and family ties. From cool foggy mornings, to cosy family campfires, I shall always remember these days, particularly waking up with my dogs snuggling next to me amidst an ocean of blankets. Pure winter bliss. As I get ready for another giant leap and make a nose-dive back into city-life, I thought I would share with you, little glimpses of what my life has been like for the last four months.

P.S.- I learned a great deal of gardening this time, so you shall have to bear with an outburst of marigold incas in this post! :)

Diwali greetings from the lazy squad

Howdoodoo Buttercup??

Epitome

The Polar bear faces the threat of extinction. By the year 2030.

As I am sitting in my comfort-bound lifestyle, under a spinning fan, with a list of obligations to rant about, I can't help but hate myself. I hate myself for things I cannot do, or think I cannot do to save this species. It is easy to create awareness about the plight of endangered species. It is easy to care. It is even easy to say that 'we all have our share of problems' and guffaw at the thought of saving an animal that we have never seen or will probably never see in our entire lives. But to drive a species to the verge of extinction, is savage. It is generic for most people to link advancement with growing globalization. For nations to direct their finances towards nuclear science and military. National security. That seems to be the greatest problem we can think of.

We are lost in the 'virtuality' of things. It is on the basis of such virtuality that our civilization thrives. Hail bank loans, employment securities, investment policies, mortgage yada yada. Things that DON'T EXIST. They are like the invisible grains of sand we pride ourselves of succesfully clenching. Frankly, THEY DON'T MEAN ANYTHING. They populate our lives and breed a festering colony of problems and make us so very 'enclosed'. So enclosed that the moment a car loan gets sanctioned, we breathe a sigh of relief. What is this false sense of security? We watch documentaries, thinking that we do our bit in educating ourselves about nature's impending problems. But does it really concern us? Does it allow us to grow and think beyond our pocket money, electricity bills and good haircuts? It rarely does.

It is the overwhelming humility of an animal such as the polar bear that is causing me to write this down. It epitomises something that we have long since lost. The humility of our survival. The virtue of our morning prayers. The reverence of our daily bread. For an animal whose survival hangs by a thread, we can barely wait for somebody to flick the remote and change the channel from Discovery to MTV.

A Polar bear can no longer feed itself because of the growing water levels in the arctic, preventing it from migrating and forcing it into starvation. They are braving the climactic impact and heading into the open ocean but they can only swim for a few days at a stretch. Judging by the sharp decline of arctic glaciers, this species would not have a ground to stand on by the year 2030. They would either drown in the arctic seas or starve amidst the frigid glaciers.

Which imaginary ordeal do we need to cook up to save this animal?



Please watch Disney's "Earth" to understand the plight of polar bear in depth along with several other species that are facing a threat due to global warming and industrialization.

Some of my favourite treasures from Ogden Nash

A WORD ON WIND

Cows go around saying Moo,

But the wind goes around saying Woo,

Ghosts say Woooo to you too,

And sometimes they say boo to you too,

But everybody has heard the wind but a few people have heard the ghost,

So it is commonly supposed the wind says wooo the most.

Scientists try to tell you that the wind is caused by atmospheric conditions at the north pole or over distant Canadian ranches,

But I guess scientists don’t ever go to the country because everybody who has ever been to the country knows that the wind is caused by the trees waggling their branches,

On the ocean where there are no trees, they refer to the wind as gales,

And it is probably caused by whales,

And in the Sahara, where there are no trees or whales either,

they call the wind simoom or something,

And it is the result of the profanation of Tutankhamen's tomb or something.

Some people are very refined,

And when they recite poetry or sing songs they pronounce wind, wined,

Well, dear wined, everytime you say woooo,

Why I wish you would say it to the people who say wined,

right afer you have said it somewhere where somebody is making fertilizer or glue.

THE COW

The cow is of the bovine ilk,

one end is moo, the other, milk.

A new pet! :) :) :) :)

The sheer beauty and grace of this animal had me hypnotised the first time I laid eyes on it. A powerful nocturnal creature, the black ghost knifefish now rests atop a large aquarium on my table, one I bought few days black, lovingly christened by the name of 'Gloopus major'. My hysteria has known no bounds since the time it has arrived, and watching it glide across the water has become one of my greatest pastimes. It is also an electric fish and originates from the Amazon basin

Poetic transitions

My penfriending days

This is my friend Angie Spicer from Illinois, USA, whom I had corresponded with over the course of seven years. We had a lot in common, the strongest being the love for writing. The last photograph on the right was published in a newspaper in 2003, when one of her books won a Carby's National Literature Award in the category for young fiction.

The hobby that I have pursued most in my life is writing and I mean it, literally. I have written more letters than war veterans writing home to their girlfriends. I am looking at my desk right now, staring at the beefy folder exploding with letters, postcards and photographs of all my 65 penfriends. There were few things that brought me more joy than a thick stack of mail awaiting in my letterbox, from friends all across Brazil, Switzerland, Greece, Canada, Romania, Libya among many others. I would open each letter hungrily, and each such letter would countain a fixed itenary of things.

1. Letter- (of course)
2. A FB or a Friendship book
3. Address card
4. Postcards/phonecards/stamps/photographs etc (optional)

I can't believe how many days and nights I used to spend poring over those letters, absorbing every detail (and at times trying hard to decipher broken english) and planning about the little package that I would have to deliver back to the person. One of my German pen friends called Steffanie Rothmier had once sent me a tape of popular german songs and I remember getting into a tizzy regarding what to send her! I sent her a packet of ready-to-cook gulabjamun!!! Hhahahaha! Then there was a certain phenomennon called the 'Friendship book' that would be a small booklet adorned with shiny stickers and splattered with glittering ink that would contain a string of adresses of people of whomsoever had recieved that particular friendship book and it would pass on and on, almost like a chain letter but way cooler!! I once recieved one that had 200 addresses on it! I remember printing and designing letterheads to write on, and making a list of my favourite celebrity crushes, and of course like any teenager, I practicised my signature..like...about...a billion times! I had a business card at the age of 9! Sometimes I used to send them portaits of what they probably looked like in my mind before formally exchanging photographs with them. These memories are sugar-coated and nestled in a part of my mind that shall probably always remain alive and writing.

Howl's so impressive

I watched Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle yesterday and although this particular feature is not as scintillating compared to the likes of Spirited Away and Princess Monoke, Howl's Moving castle has edged it's way up to the very top of my list of Miyazaki's fave's because of it's namesake-HOWL! Just when you thought the world had enough of Don Juan's unleashing an army of swooning female fans, Howl's personality is a potential manga powerplayer and perhaps better than any other!

You're creative when you're hungry!!!

Tarka and Meenakshi weren't surprised when I came up with an alternative way of combating hunger in a restaurant full of tantalising aromas and hungry faces digging into platefulls of food. As soon as the attendant brought in the pickles and salad, we dug in, and just when I thought I'd had my share of onions and mint chutney, I made this porky-thig or a piggathingthing out of these two ingredients. I really like the expression on its face! :)

An all time favourite afterthought

"The sea's only gifts are harsh blows, and occasionally the chance to feel strong. Now I don't know much about the sea, but I do know that that's the way it is here. And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong. To measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind death stone alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head."

If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, then all possibility of life is destroyed.

'When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God's light shines upon you.'

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greather joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."

A solemn rendezvous

I just happenned to be sitting with my laptop in Tanima's room when suddenly a brown butterfly just landed on my left arm. You'd be saddenned by how this whole episode ended but it was such a pleasure to see it perched on my arm for half an hour without twitching even once. I just wished it would continue to accompany me because its presence made me feel very placid and calm. The tragic part came when I couldn't control my thirst anymore and started walking towards the water cooler. The butterfly had grown accustomed to my movements so I knew it would not hesitate. Contrary to my expectations, it flew away as soon as I entered the dark corridor and made a beeline towards the big white tubelight on the ceiling. And like most stereotypical situations, it was ambushed and eaten by a fat, fiesty lizard. I've never been so angry on a lizard before this night. Actually I quite like em...but this was really really sad.....:(

When Buttercup resembles a cow

Buttercup resembles a cow when you try to wake her up in the morning. You try to lure her out of her slumber by tugging at her cheeks and upturn both her ears. She'll grunt and blow a gust of breath from her nose and twitch her paws. A total dose of canine bliss. Even when you bring a camera a few inches away from her nose, she wouldn't bother. A few dancing chickens wouldn't wake her. Alas, in such moments what you can really do is stare at that droopy face and melting eyes and wonder, "I wish I too could be a Buttercup...". 

The holiday mutt

Our resident dog from the NID campus, with perhaps a whole catalogue of names to its credit. Add two pairs of white stockings and a pair of melting brown eyes and you have our darling lil mutt. Loves to burrow into the sand to avoid the sultry weather and of course, sleep off those extremely long afternoons. A common visitor to our BBC area, enticing us with its feverish wags. A real gem of our campus.  

The Carbon groove

Another friendly mutt from my neighbourhood black lab society known by the name of "Carbon". He is such a cool dog. And let me tell you there's a limit to how cool a dog can be. This kiddo didn't even know how to bark till two months back! Unlike my dogs, he doesn't seem to have a panic button in his system, this guy won't even bother the newspaper chap. Totally chilled out. I don't know but I kept getting this image of the hippie seventies whenever I looked at him!?! So I did this photoshoot on him and dug my eyes into some playful rendering techniques as soon as I reached home. He may not be the ultimate guard-dog, but he sure can groove!!

Backyard aesthetics

My mom's vegetable garden has been doing quite well this month. Thanks to the never-ending downpour, even the pests seem to have taken a back seat and let Gaia unfurl her magical harvest. I was particulalry impressed by how well the pumpkin grove was doing, and as I moved in for a closer look under the bamboo frame, I was amazed by the way the light came filtering through the bamboo mesh and accentuated the creepers. I don't know, but it looked pretty to me! :P If I were to choose the most beautiful vegetable, I'd choose brinjal (don't have those growing right now!) because I simply love the deep tone, unlike any purple I've seen before and the smoothness of its surface. Gawd, you must be thinking I'm crazy!!

Nestled in the tea shrubs

What I love best about June is the aftermath of prolonged showers. A shimmery green landscape that soothes your eyes. It's almost like you're staring out of green-tinted shades, only more natural. Today was one such day when I was glad to abandon my umbrella and trek across the meandering tea estate paths. It's something that I have been doing since childhood, but nowadays, its become more of a solitary retreat (ocassionally accompanied by my dogs). I can guarentee you, that Assam is the only place where you'll find goats smaller than a tea shrub! I like to call them pygmy goats, who seem to be blissfully unaware of their abnormally short stature as they go grazing across the lowlands. What's more, you'll find long-lashed pygmy cows here, and not to forget the nearly endangered 'pygmy hogs' that are found only in Assam. Anyways, while I was strolling, something shiny caught my attention. Nestled safely upon the canopy of the tree shrubs, was a beautiful turquoise egg. But what's the amazing part is that there was not a single nest nor a tree near this spot! How could an egg have emerged from nothingness?? Ah! But that's where the 'dispersal' phenomennon comes into play. Perhaps, a handiman must have plucked from a nest and (godforbid!) forgotten to retrieve it. Anyways, I've adopted it, and am reading articles on 'artificial insulation' and praying that one morning, a little head peeks out and goes 'Chirp!'. That would make my day!