ALTER IDEM

These are turbulent times - easily, the worst in my over two score years of existence. There is impatience, unrest, vehement pro/ anti news & views - here, there and everywhere! Often, I have wished that I could live far away from all of this - somewhere in a cave under the deepest sea! On second thoughts, I could settle for transforming myself into a child again!  Thoughts that came to me yesterday when I passed by these children on my way elsewhere... Schools in Karnataka were shut yesterday - for Kanaka Jayanti . These kids had spent their morning making a small cart of sorts, using old bicycle tyres and sticks. They were on their way to the periphery of the forest nearby to collect firewood. When I caught them, they were thoroughly enjoying the tough time the calf tied to the yoke was giving them! It was quite obvious that he was in no mood to pull a cart on a  sunny afternoon.  After appreciating their cart and exchanging a few pleasantries, I waved my byes to them

The year between the sixth and the seventh b'day of Alter Idem has simply flown by! I could manage only three posts in between. And, I am yet to score my century!  I have noticed that it is not ONLY me. Most of the blogs that I follow have been going through this inactive, rarely- updated phase. No doubts.... we have been charmed by the likes of Facebook, Whatsapp, etc! Speaking for myself, social media has also reduced the quality time I used to keep aside for reading - something that I'm realising now, when I have to come up with an interesting short story for the birthday post.  Thank goodness, my resolution for the anniversary post is to share a story that has stayed with me long after I have read it! This year, I'll share a lesser known story from the Indian mythology - of how a tree came into existence. I had read this story in a book called 'Brahma's Hair' by Maneka Gandhi. The book is a collection of myths and stories from all over the country -

Like every year , it was a cold, rainy Independence Day morning here. Like every year, at 8.00 a.m., I heard the drums and the other instruments of at least three school bands. Like every year, it was my cue to take my position by the gate. Like every year, I watched as the school kids and the teachers passed by - braving the rain and the puddles, walking in step, shouting patriotic slogans - the drummers and the trumpeters playing something random and ubiquitous! Like every year, after they were gone, I turned indoors with one picture of the receding parade. Like every year, I stepped into my home feeling an inexplicable cheer - for, THIS, more than the speeches, the messages, the renditions of patriotic songs,... keeps my patriotic spirits high on August 15th!!    

Last June, I had promised a sequel to this post. What I hadn't expected was that I would be back with my update in less than an year!! Starting from where I had stopped....... Last monsoon, this branch, with lots of wild orchid plants had landed near our gate from the tree across the road, and, I had decided to experiment with them.. As planned, I had potted a couple, placed one on a shrub in our garden and had left the remaining on the branch itself. Until February, i.e., for about 8 months, they were looking exactly like how I had transferred/ let them be.  By mid - February, when the weather turned warm, the ones on the branch withered away. I was planning on keeping the branch until the end of the monsoon this year. But, before I could tell him, Chandrappa, my latest gardening help had thrown the branch away....  The ones that I had placed on the Allamanda shrub have developed new roots and are showing signs of flowering. Of course, thanks to my earlier experience

I'm an unabashed admirer of birds......especially, their nest building skills. Earlier on, I had made an attempt to record the happenings at a bulbul's nest ( Here ). Unfortunately, things hadn't proceeded as expected and the fairy tale ended even before it began.  Since then, whenever I see a pair of birds building a nest in our garden, I pray that things work out smoothly, and leave the birds alone. However, a few days ago, it was a little too difficult for me to ignore. A pair of bulbuls had chosen to build their nest on the Bird's Head Birthwort creeper....almost touching the window of my office-cum-study. Paragon of patience   I tried to be as non-intrusive as possible as I watched all the comings and goings whenever I could. When the comings and goings became less frenzied, I realised that the nest was ready and the eggs had been laid. My vantage point provided me with a rear view of the bird, and I couldn't stop myself from taking this pic!!