We have twins..The Stork (Dove actually) came visiting….

  A spotted dove bird perched in an elegant and confident stance in a potted plant on our terrace ledge. I wondered how it had placed itself so close to the door. Was it hungry or hurt? Proximity to humans didn’t seem to bother the dove. My queries were soon answered when we discovered the dove had laid two tiny eggs in the potted plant!

We were amazed and concerned at the same time. A terrace ledge is a place exposed to prowling cats and monkeys who could easily prey on the eggs! But any kind of protection we provided could have led to the mother dove abandoning the eggs or not being able to access them. The Dove got used to our passing by her territory. She did not even flinch or blink when we passed by or even stared at her unique nest.

‘Google Baba’ came in handy, providing information about the nesting and breeding habits of doves and pigeons. It said Breeding: monogamous nests all year, 1-2 white eggs.

But if the mother dove remains perched like this 24/7 protecting/ warming her egg, what about her nourishment and that of her chicks once they hatched. I read that while most birds meet their chicks’ protein needs with insects, doves feed their newly hatched chicks, their fat and protein-rich “crop milk.” This whitish fluid comes from liquid-filled cells that slough off the lining of the crop, a portion of the esophagus. After 5 or 10 days, the chicks switch to a diet of regurgitated seeds or fruit.

Our family became self proclaimed local guardians of those eggs. Days and nights passed, a week plus and the determined Dove sat there stoically the time. And Lo! On the 10th or 11th day we saw two tiny, feeble hairy chicks that had hatched, the mother bird sitting lightly on them, covering them with her plume. Their chirping would attract a stray cat I feared, but the chicks were completely noiseless.  Then on day 5 after the chicks had hatched I noticed the Dove looking a little different, or was I just imagining? But my doubt wasn’t entirely baseless-- the dove perched on the chicks would get startled every time any of us passed by. And then I found another dove bird who took the place of the one in the Pot. Oh, the daddy bird was helping out the mommy bird to rest and recuperate and had taken her place, no wonder it was fidgety- it wasn’t as used to us as its partner was.

Come morning  and  one or all the  four of us  would  be on the  terrace checking on the chicks progress or praying  for their  safety and  marveling  at Nature’s phenomenon that had us  mesmerized. “Don’t make noise, don’t ring the bell, don’t get your friends to play on the terrace”, were words we exchanged with the kids. As the chicks grew in strength, their needle like yellow hair gave way to tiny soft feathers. We saw the parent birds feed them crop milk, but  the parents perching time  reduced gradually, till it came down to just one hour early in the morning for a feed and intermittent  checking on the chicks  well being.

Then one day I found the twin chicks playing a game of sorts.... they would just climb on each other’s backs - like a piggy back ride. It was cute and funny. What were they learning something new, I wondered aloud to the kids. The chicks were now nibbling off bits of the plant’s leaves that were home to them. They might just fly off any day now, I thought. And as if it were just to say good bye to me, early one morning when I went to water the plants, the chicks began hovering. My joy knew no bounds; I rushed in to call my hubby and kids to witness the chick’s maiden flight. By the time I came back one had flown off. The next one too took off immediately thereafter… I felt extremely happy but then noticed my eyes moistening…. The ‘empty nest’ will happen to us one day too……

Thoughts that came to my mind with memories of those chicks- nature takes it course, the mother bird knew when to let go. The chicks strove to fly off and managed to do so successfully when the time was right. It was like Nature was telling me to chill and enjoy what came my way, to let go and to cherish moments. That’s exactly what I do as I stare into that potted plant. I do miss those birds but at the same time feel grateful and blessed we were able to witness a marvel of nature at such close proximity.

A TOAST to our BAOLIS'

Recently 'UGRASEN KI BAOLI'- the inimitable and splendid 12th or 13th century architectural marvel has been elevated to the status of  a social hot spot on the tourist circuit in Delhi. Thanks to the coverage it received in the movie PK.  A coincidence, we  happened to visit this place about a month before its renewed claim to fame through the film.

Well, it has always been a hot spot of sorts. A few facts about the  monument first.

What is it exactly?

1. A Baoli is a step well. These underground structures were built  as a practice by kings and rulers in ancient times to collect rain water,to ensure year round availability of water, keeping in mind the fluctuations in monsoon.

2. This particular Baoli is said to have been built by Raja Ugrasen, the forefather of the Agrawal community , around the13th century.

3. This marvel in stone comprises a huge 15 metre wide well and a multi-tiered flight of steps that leads to the well. The steps are flanked on either side by  thick walls and a  series of arched  corridors. 

4. The entire structure is 60 meters long, is  said to have been made from rubble and stone, stands erect having withstood the ravages of harsh weather and human neglect alike.

We visited this Baoli owing to our penchant for visiting off beat places of archaeological importance, we try hunting for off beat spots, especially so that our children get to see the heritage bequeathed by our ancestors.

We discovered, the Baoli has its regular  set of  loyal visitors (even before its PK fame), the place was teeming with youngsters and families alike. Everybody wants to tread along the path less frequented by traffic and bustling noise, I guess.

This  is  a picture taken from the  base of the well, which can be  accessed from a narrow corridor connecting the the lowest flight of steps to the  well. Its proud inhabitants today are bats. The  creatures must be finding the Baoli an abode of relief, (a very few places of calm remaining in the city now).

What really came  as  a pleasant surprise was not just how well kept the Baoli was, but  also its surroundings that were devoid of  any litter which forms an unavoidable part of any tourist spot.

A lone ice cream vendor  stood there, against the  backdrop of  beautifully coloured walls;Modern kitsch art adorning them, I couldn't  help but capture the  view on my  phone cam. Even if we continue to keep the place intact and clean, it  would  be  homage enough to a  site so splendid.

To reach Ugrasen ki Baoli, you could simply take  an auto rickshaw from Connaught Place. For those  who like a  bit of  fun and  adventure or would like to experience the cool side of  Delhi-you could  take the metro to Mandi house station and walk from there to Hailey Road, where the beauty of yester years nestles calmly between the cultural and political hubs of Delhi. the  Jantar-Mantar is  also very close to the Baoli.

 Happy sightseeing in Delhi folks.

The golden triangleof Gwalior- M.P.

For people who enjoy discovering heritage sites off beaten tracks , the  ‘golden-triangle of heritage’ close to Gwalior is a visual treat. It comprises three historic sites resurrected   remnants of6th-9^th century relics.

   Situated 30 kms  north of  Gwalior, these three sites, The Bateshwar temples, The fortess of Garhi-Padaavli & The Mitawli temple form an invaluable trio for history  students and  tourists alike.

Our journey began at around 0930 hours on a pleasant, partially cloudy monsoon day. We took NH3, turned towards Delhi. A few kilometers ahead we left the highway  and  let the AH 47/NH3and smaller  unwinding country roads  lead us to Shanichara temple, another  historic  site of importance  and  landmark on the  road to the  famed trio.

I must admit the well kept road sans pot holes(inspite of ongoing monsoons) were a welcome surprise. Rice fields, tiny knolls and  lush greenery made for a  spectacular view and  peaceful journey. The  dusty roads  within  tiny villages were slightly below average but that was hardly  a dampener given the exotic sites that lay ahead.

 We happened to  skip the Bateswar  temples  initially, owing to the inconspicuous approach road and tiny hoarding announcing  their presence and  also to the majestic  fortress of  Padavli that beckoned us from afar.

 PADAAVALI

This enormous tall fortress was built  by the  Jat Ranas of Gohad  in the  19^th  century  around the  remnants of the  ancient temple  of  padavli dedicated to Lord Shiva. Archeological studies suggest the Padaavli temple was built on a raised platform close to the10^th century.   The temple  was obliterated.  

We marvelled at how the solid stone platform was built with such precision in those  times. Only the intricately carved mukhamandapa- entrance stands erect till date.  The intricate carvings depict episodes from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Krishna leela and Dashavatara in stone, successive layers of these stories in stone were placed below the other in the inner walls of the dome of the main entrance.

The Ranas made use of the remnants of the old temple to fortify the structure. It then housed primitive artillery and shells of the 19^th century Rana army. The ASI guide seemed to know the history of the  temples and the  significance of the carvings. It was heartening to know that the ASI has been working on the restoration of this site at regular intervals. The presence of security guards and the guide’s justification for it did prove t.he area unsafe for relics…..

BATESARA OR  BATESHWAR

We were tempted to proceed to Mitawali but  decided to go 50 meters  back  and  check out the dusty path we left unexplored earlier. As  we dove down the  what seemed like a little used path,another work of art in stone  from the bygone  era stood before us. A rectangular complex  built on a  raised platform of  stone blocks, identical in shape. The finesse was extraordinary , every edge of stone coincided forming a perfect straight line. Even this sight could not hold our interest for long though because as we looked  ahead, we were awestruck by the splendid sight that came up.  Within a  cosy cove of shrubbery and  green knolls, a tiny low lying valley held a cluster of  6^th century temples! Numerous manadapas stood along side each other in parallel line formation.

The  temples too were  well encased within a compound  wall built by the ASI. Yet again we felt thankful that the  ASI  had  taken over this spot and  taken pains to resurrect it. The effort  spoke for itself. Walking into this  amazing  labyrinth , we quizzed the  caretaker, who turned out to be the ASI appointed ‘supervisor’( as he  called himself) of the  place. The  following facts tumbled out from him and the  security in-charge of the place.

1.       These are remnants  of 6^th-9^th century temples of the Pratihara period when temple art was still in initial stages, this  fact is attributed to the flat ceilings of a few  temples of the cluster.The others have curvilinear shikharas over the sanctums.

2.       The ASI  discovered this place( an intresting  tale, I  shall narrate  later)* when  most of he temples were buried  under 6-7 feet of  mud. The  temples having been built on a  low lying  area, got buried below loose  earth owing to tectonic disturbances.

3.       The main characteristic features are  two  stepped tanks built  around naturally occurring water bodies  at the  base of this hill.

4.       As the excavation progressed fully ans partially buried temples, gateways,amlakas and  brahminical icons all masonry in  stone  lay  strewn around.

5.       The painstakingly  slow work of  restructuring  the temples  and resurrecting them began in  2005 and still continues. As work progressed the partially buried temple bases retained their  original  color while the  shikharas  are  many shades darker due to exposure to the  sun, wind  and monsoon over the years.

6.       These temples too have shiv-lings in their sanctorums and ornately  carved walls. In ancient times these huge slabs of  stone  carvings were held in place  by iron clamps which corroded and  weathered  away. The  present day restoration has replaced the iron  with  steel clamps while trying to incorporate the original mix of naturally  occurring  sandstone and  herbs in the vicinity to hold the non-clamped slabs together.

7.        After having been identified and  resurrected the main temple draws huge  crowds of  shiv- bhakts on the occasion of Shiv ratri. How do they deal with the  crowd and protect against pilferage? The security in-charge  a former dacoit from the ill famed Chambal gangs swears by his loyalty for these temples of lord Shiva. He claims having rescued many an ASI officers from the  clutches of former Chambal dacoits who  have  now turned modern day extortionists. We said in lighter vein that we ourselves were tempted to pick up a small piece of carved rock. His menacing look and cold blooded response of,” jaa nahi payenge aise karke” was enough  for us to reassure him quickly of our joke and harmlessness.

MITAWALI

L eaving  Bateswara temples we proceeded towards the famous MItawali temple. A dusty bumpy pot hole ridden stretch of 2-3 kms lead us to the base of this tiny cliff covered with  greenery. The climb up the hill led us to ‘poetry in stone part-II’

1.       The hills flat top held a circular ring shaped stone structure built on a raised stone platform with a sanctum  in its centre. The area within the ring can easily accommodate 70-100 people at a time.

2.       The ring comprised of 64 identical rooms approximately 3 feet by 3 feet in size, each dedicated to a yogini-forms dedicated to Lord Shiva but associated with tantric practices.

3.       The structure is said to have inspired the ring shaped architecture of our Parliament, but there are no  records of the British having  visited this place.

4.       Though devoid of a proper guide the place did get its share of ASI attention , when steps  to the top of the hill were   re-built  in  stone. The view from the top is breathtaking.

5.        We were surprised at how these mammoth slabs of stone were lugged up the hill In those  ancient times.

*Bateswar- The Supervisor at the Bateswar site claims, that the site was excavated by a senior archeologist of the ASI Mr. KK Mohammad who later rose to head the  branch. It is believed that Lord Shive himself appeaed in Mr. Mohammad’s dreams guiding him to the place.

The security guard and former dacoit says he managed to prevent  friction  between old time  dacoits and  ASI personnel working on the project. The  Shiv-linga has special powers he is ready to swear by.

Phone-exchange!!

 

 Driving back  home early morning at 6, after having dropped hubby at the  railway station  a very  different kind of  ring  tone  greeted  my ears. It definitely  wasn’t  my  phone’s … so  what & where  was it coming  from I was thinking  as  I searched frantically in  my  purse, the  sourceof the sound  & Lo!  The  big  daddy of  surrogate  father’s had happened. No  no this isn’t about  Aamirs & Shahrukhs fathering children  from  surrogate mothers.  I only  meant,  the  biggest Faux pas(surrogate father)  happened, me  and  hubby  had  exchanged our phones  accidently in the  hurried early morning  departure of  his…..

What  followed was a  string  of  funny, amusing  and  minorly irritating episodes! Unlike the  idea  cellular advertisement,  we  do not  need to discover  each other’s tough  days. It  seemed quite  a herculean  task to inform  each  and  everyone of our  friends about this  exchange, so we let it be known only  to our  parents and  siblings. The rest would  discover and  not  mind speaking  to the spouse, we  have a  huge set of common friends as it is*.

Around  mid morning my friend called up on my  phone to find my hubby at the other end. She was  expecting  trouble shooting  help from me  about the  cake  that she’d  baked that wasn’t rising! Ater some well intended leg pulling  from my hubby,  she  called me, chided me for having  taken the idea advertisement seriously and after she got her  fresh tips for baking she  hung  up. Another friend of mine  gave  my  husband  a  detailed critique of  my blog post!

Next, I get this call  from my  husband’s colleague, so his customary greeting  led me  to believe, as he introduced himself on the  phone  and  before  he  could  launch into a tirade, I  put the  disclaimer forth loud  &  clear, phones  exchanged I declared, please replace the  last number with an 8 and  you will reach him. Not  withstanding,  he said  he  wanted to talk to me about the kids school. He  had just come into town and his son  was apparently in my son’s  class. Glad  to help I waited for his  queries only to realize there  seemed to be some  mismatch of  school or  class. “Excuse me,  are you  sure  it’s me  you  want to speak with? I’m Ms.N” I told  him.

“Oh No!I’m really  sorry ma’am I thought I  was  speaking with mrs.S!Oh, this is Mr.N’s phone! I thought I had dialled Mr.S!” 

 Now who the  hell is this  Mrs.S  who answered my  husband’s phone, I thought!!  Much to the  caller’s consternation he  had to explain Mr.& Mrs. S’s  identities. Thankfully for  my husband, I knew the S’s.  Apparently my  husband  had been  on an assignment  where he and  Mr.S had shared my huisband’s  phone number, so the  confusion. Again a  slew of  calls  from hubby’s work placeleft me exhausted.

My husband  on the other hand found  himself talking to many  ladies since that day.Whatsapp was another  source of entertainmet  for him and me  alike. All the ‘ boys’-jokes  and  girly fun were  reaching the unintended destination but was enjoyable  I must  admit.  My hubby had  a whale of  a time teasing  me  about  why my haircut was the  topic  of  discussion, or  how  my  friend had called JLT,’just like that’. I  wanted to tell him JLT= hottest  gossip in town, but  restrained myself  from letting  this code of girlie language be  known to him. I immediately  launched a   counter attack of  how  sexist and anti-feminine all the  typical boys-jokes exchanged by him & his gang of  friends were.

Me & hubby went through this  ordeal of having to exchange essential numbers. Me asking  for numbers of the dhobi, software vendor amongst others and  he asking for numbers of his  colleagues  at work, travel agents etc.

 Most people attribute this exchange to my mischevious  son. I tried  explaining  callers initially but just gave up later on and resigned to the  fate that my  son has earned another tag to his kitty of naughty pranks!!

Hubby  will be back this  weekend  and  weapons  restored to their respective owners. Until then take  a  breather   Gals, once I’m back on circuit there won’t be any respite on thelocal gossip scene.

·         Me and  hubby  solemnly pledged to not make a mention of content send by a person on theonly- boys/ only- girls groups on  whatsapp to anybody even their  spouse.

·          (only I’m allowed to reveal all once ina  while ;P)

 

 

 

VIBGYOR: Just trash it!!!

VIBGYOR: Just trash it!!!: Waste generated by the burgeoning human population of the Earth and its ever increasing energy consumption have made the endeavour of fin...

Just trash it!!!

Waste generated by the burgeoning human population of the Earth and its ever increasing energy consumption have made the endeavour of finding another inhabitable planetary neighbour for humans, gather momentum.

 When tragedies like the recent Himalayan  tsunami in  Uttarakhand  occur we are dazed,  we  marvel at  & curse natuer’s fury in the  same breath. We then  immediately start a  blame game, making a scape goat out of authorities and  years of neglect.

 Conservation of Energy and reduction of waste are the need of the hour. Unfortunately, we continue ignoring these. Focus should be on minimizing wastage and optimizing the energy sources available.

 Innumerable methods of effective garbage disposal  are  available  at hand, be it landfill methods, incineration, biological reprocessing, enery recovery, wate recovery, recycling, waste minimization.   The main entity unavailable is our  lack of will and  implementation to  do the  needful. Barring  a  few metropolitan cities,we the  educated  masses are clueless about waste segregation.

 Trash and muck  dumped on  roadsides or any empty plot of land is such a common sight everywhere and not even a flutter of  eyelids from us humans  around. So many people unabashedly quote civilizations of the ancient past to justify or take  pride in spitting and squatting publically,  while conveniently forgetting the eco friendly  ways of  living that our  ancestors  followed.

Cities  are bursting at their  seams with an ever increasing population to sustain, resulting in indiscriminate infrastuctre development. We all know these facts, we contribute to  them.

 A recent survey by the  Reader’s digest shows how the most exotic of  locales  like Mt.Everest and  Bahamas are also being littered by mankind with all sorts of  garbage! What is truly appalling is the  fact that nearly 13,000 miles surrounding Earth are crowded with garbage. In addition to large objects such as inactive satellites and parts of launch vehicles, scientists estimate that millions of smaller bits of trash—flecks of paint, fragments of metal, even a lost glove and camera whiz around our planet at up to 22,000 mph. The bits regularly fall toward earth, but they burn up in the atmosphere before making landfall. Space trash can be dangerous, though—NASA frequently replaces space  shuttle windowsafter unfortunate collisions with the tiny garbage. 

Our attempts at damge control or environmental recovery are marginal. Afforestation for example, cannot be relentless tree plantation of  a species that do not naturally occur in a place.

In reference to the Uttarakhand Tsunami, what came to light was a  fact that environmentalists have  been  crying foul about  since long. The naturally occurring ‘Banj’(Himalayan Oak) has been allowed to be replaced by the ‘Chil’(pine tree) of the  Southern slopes of  Uttaranchal over the years. While ‘Chil’ provides resin and timber, thereby increasing  revenue, it damages the  ecology extensively. The  pine needles that fall, do not  sustain any undergrowth and land becomes barren as a result it is unable to stop soil erosion during floods. The naturally occurring and fast depleting  ‘Banj’ on the other hand is extremely beneficial. The fallen  leaves  of the ‘banj’ become  mouldy catalyzing  under undergrowth which holds soil and  allows  rain water to percolate slowly into the Nothern  plains(the granaries of India). The ‘Banj’ also  makes good fodder for the animals but  doesn’t yield anything substantial for the coffers like  resins or timber. This being  a small point in the  case of environmental  neglect has had colossal repercussionsthat we endrued recently. 

Development  and  maintenance of  ecological balance  can go hand in hand though may not form an ideal money making  situation always. Tourism in our hill states  has  rapidly increased. We choose to build  cement jungles to meet this  ever growing  demand. In ignoring  wood  and stone as building options, we make the environment warmer as cement generates  heat increasing the  ambient  temperature of the  localized area. We eat into river beds, not only do we build along them , we  dump construction debris in the river bed. The river left with very little  room to flow engulfs the population on its edges.

Pristine and lush green carpeted mountains as tough peeping through their

 

curly locks of clouds and  mist greeted me at Kasauli. I  was experiencing bliss wrapped in nature’s embrace when a glance  at the garbage in the valley  below made me cringe!

 Through with our careless and energy inefficient ways of living, we might just end up turning the new planetary habitat we find into another unliveable garbage dump. This option is a few centuries away and hopefully we would have mended our ways by then, making migration to another planet unnecessary; just a sightseeing trip there should be fine.

Just trash it!!!

Waste generated by the burgeoning human population of the Earth and its ever increasing energy consumption have made the endeavour of finding another inhabitable planetary neighbour for humans, gather momentum.

 When tragedies like the recent Himalayan  tsunami in  Uttarakhand  occur we are dazed,  we  marvel at  & curse natuer’s fury in the  same breath. We then  immediately start a  blame game, making a scape goat out of authorities and  years of neglect.

 Conservation of Energy and reduction of waste are the need of the hour. Unfortunately, we continue ignoring these. Focus should be on minimizing wastage and optimizing the energy sources available.

 Innumerable methods of effective garbage disposal  are  available  at hand, be it landfill methods, incineration, biological reprocessing, enery recovery, wate recovery, recycling, waste minimization.   The main entity unavailable is our  lack of will and  implementation to  do the  needful. Barring  a  few metropolitan cities,we the  educated  masses are clueless about waste segregation.

 Trash and muck  dumped on  roadsides or any empty plot of land is such a common sight everywhere and not even a flutter of  eyelids from us humans  around. So many people unabashedly quote civilizations of the ancient past to justify or take  pride in spitting and squatting publically,  while conveniently forgetting the eco friendly  ways of  living that our  ancestors  followed.

Cities  are bursting at their  seams with an ever increasing population to sustain, resulting in indiscriminate infrastuctre development. We all know these facts, we contribute to  them.

 A recent survey by the  Reader’s digest shows how the most exotic of  locales  like Mt.Everest and  Bahamas are also being littered by mankind with all sorts of  garbage! What is truly appalling is the  fact that nearly 13,000 miles surrounding Earth are crowded with garbage. In addition to large objects such as inactive satellites and parts of launch vehicles, scientists estimate that millions of smaller bits of trash—flecks of paint, fragments of metal, even a lost glove and camera whiz around our planet at up to 22,000 mph. The bits regularly fall toward earth, but they burn up in the atmosphere before making landfall. Space trash can be dangerous, though—NASA frequently replaces space  shuttle windowsafter unfortunate collisions with the tiny garbage. 

Our attempts at damge control or environmental recovery are marginal. Afforestation for example, cannot be relentless tree plantation of  a species that do not naturally occur in a place.

In reference to the Uttarakhand Tsunami, what came to light was a  fact that environmentalists have  been  crying foul about  since long. The naturally occurring ‘Banj’(Himalayan Oak) has been allowed to be replaced by the ‘Chil’(pine tree) of the  Southern slopes of  Uttaranchal over the years. While ‘Chil’ provides resin and timber, thereby increasing  revenue, it damages the  ecology extensively. The  pine needles that fall, do not  sustain any undergrowth and land becomes barren as a result it is unable to stop soil erosion during floods. The naturally occurring and fast depleting  ‘Banj’ on the other hand is extremely beneficial. The fallen  leaves  of the ‘banj’ become  mouldy catalyzing  under undergrowth which holds soil and  allows  rain water to percolate slowly into the Nothern  plains(the granaries of India). The ‘Banj’ also  makes good fodder for the animals but  doesn’t yield anything substantial for the coffers like  resins or timber. This being  a small point in the  case of environmental  neglect has had colossal repercussionsthat we endrued recently. 

Development  and  maintenance of  ecological balance  can go hand in hand though may not form an ideal money making  situation always. Tourism in our hill states  has  rapidly increased. We choose to build  cement jungles to meet this  ever growing  demand. In ignoring  wood  and stone as building options, we make the environment warmer as cement generates  heat increasing the  ambient  temperature of the  localized area. We eat into river beds, not only do we build along them , we  dump construction debris in the river bed. The river left with very little  room to flow engulfs the population on its edges.

Pristine and lush green carpeted mountains as tough peeping through their

 

curly locks of clouds and  mist greeted me at Kasauli. I  was experiencing bliss wrapped in nature’s embrace when a glance  at the garbage in the valley  below made me cringe!

 Through with our careless and energy inefficient ways of living, we might just end up turning the new planetary habitat we find into another unliveable garbage dump. This option is a few centuries away and hopefully we would have mended our ways by then, making migration to another planet unnecessary; just a sightseeing trip there should be fine.