Power Bites and Drumsticks

My newest FB friend  Arvind Khanna,  is a Botanist by training, and currently works with the Council of Scientific and Industrial  Research in New Delhi.  A very versatile nature photographer, he also does food photography , since his wife is a well known food blogger and trekker, Sangeeta Khanna , who has inspired numerous poems on this blog.  

 He has posted an amazing series of parrot captures, showing a parrot sitting in solitary splendour on one of the branches of the drumstick tree,  single mindedly putting in an amazing effort trying to break open the dried long drumsticks beans .

One simply admires the dedication , the ambition, and the  perseverance of the bird. And then one wonders  about some other things too....:-))

(Please ignore my name on the slide show. Picasa is to blame. All photos are by Arvind Khanna)

In a tree world,
the drumstick country is up for grabs.

Resource-rich with edible
leaves,
flowers,
and fruit
he tried and tried
to get
a license for defruiting,
and succeeded
because his friend nested
in the minister's garden....

First the small pods,
torn and pecked
in false poses
reminding you
of the One with the Flute.

Then,
one day,
feet firmly clamped,
a yogic stretch
to bite off
another one at its stem,
the red beak
clutching on the fruit
for a tightrope trudge on the branch.

Ambition blinds
as he swings vertically,
with tail always up,
swiping another drumstick
to investigate
the riches.

Bigger, the better,
all for himself,
munching on
the power seeds of the drumstick...

Last heard,
the pigeons and janata parakeets
were discussing fruit reservation in Trees. :-)

Keelback Lessons.....

For a minute I thought this was an unusual snake, with the face of a frog and the rest like a snake. Turns out , that my new FB friend Nivs Khemka Photography  clicked what is called a Striped Keelback Snake , in Nasik recently, possibly  in the act of devouring a frog. 

See some of the her amazing photographs here...

Reminds me of a Marathi saying " लहान तोंडी मोठा घास ...."  or (Big Bite for a small mouth...)


A relatively smaller snake, with a tail portion that is almost a quarter of its whole length, it has these distinctive stripes, and  it is normally gray or olive green in color, enabling excellent camouflage around unsuspecting victims. It has yellowish spots on the sides of the face, which tapers down to a slender neck. It has black crossbars all across its body, and they are more distinctive in the head area. This one is usually found on banks of water bodies, and sometimes even a few feet under the ground, when it decides to hibernate.  This snake specialises in eating smaller creatures like frogs and toads in a very mercenary way as is evident in this click.

 Why does all this ring a bell ?  Read on ....

 (Photo by Nivs Khemka Photography)

Power Stripes
fudging an actual color,
across the body,
a vivid color at the head,
and
the face sides
adorned
with a Gold yellow tinge,
this one slithers around,
near waters and banks,
sometimes even
going underground.

Declaring itself nonvenomous,
it moves around with a
long tail,
hunting
for ordinary frogs and toads,
croaking with happiness
at the first rains.

Big mouth
in an unbelievably small body,
it pounces
on the unsuspecting
frogs,
from behind,
devious, cruel,
allowing the frog
to sense a slow death
as it holds out its hands
in desperation,
warning
the other toads
to spread
the news.

Why does the slime,
the slithering,
the gold tinge on the face,
the deviousness in acquisition,
the demo of a greedy devouring
and the
occasional going underground,
make me feel,
that the Keelback
would make an excellent politician ?

Sab Maya hai !

My blog friend Umashankar Pandey, who is a banker, prolific writer, poet and photographer, recently visited Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh (India's most populous state), which for sometime now has been in the throes of ruling parties and politicians  going haywire promising the world to votebanks , particularly in the rural areas.  

Some of this has translated into massive tracts of land being dedicated to self worship, with an eye on posterity and a current perception of power by the ignorant voting classes.  Massive concrete domes , statues, lines of huge elephants  illuminated by a mindboggling wastage of electricity  is something done by the BSP political party , which was defeated in the recent elections.  The winning party, the SP, has its own agenda, and rumors of the entire concrete monstrocity being shortly subjected to bulldozing are rife.

Umashanker Pandey posted these photographs in his blogpost Mayan Ambition  , inspired by the planner of the concrete structures, previous CM, Mayawati.

In the meanwhile,  folks still arrive in the big city travelling on train tops, watch wide eyed ,  surprised at the resources not available to them, but flowing freely for some. Schools in some rural areas are somehow managed in sheds, with inadequate  space and sanitary arrangements, and many a smart girl , has had to stay home away from school, to keep away from a populace with prying eyes. 

The  current ruling party , the SP, is just alphabet away from the earlier BSP.  And the mess continues. 

Sheelwati
after a traumatic trip,
atop a crowded train
disembarking
just before the
Lucknow station.

Belongings tied up
with her hopes
in a piece of cloth
on her head
she waits on the footpath,
debating ,
if it is to be her home.

A long walk
by a grandly lighted place,
they tell her
it is Prateek Sthal,
a sign
that
she is allowed
to have aspirations now.

Her eyes
as wide
as the diameter
of the golden domes,
she feels miniaturized
in the presence
of an armada of elephants,
as she walks through.

 Someone pays obeisance
to the statue of a pointing man
and a lady with a purse,
and she too
does the same

 Shuffling through crowds,
she hears
someone say
that there is a plan
to flatten the place with bulldozers.

 Like her life and her mind,
constantly
flattened
by the wheels of
patriarchal tradition.

No education,
in a school
with a commemorative plaque
but
no simple sanitary conveniences for women,
and so she stays home
to keep away from prying eyes.

Really ,
nothing has changed.
“B”SP has changed to SP.
For her,
its a question of
To B or not to B......

Someone's labour, someone else's fruit.....

My Blog  and FB friend Bhavesh Chhatbar potsed some amazing pictures of the monkeys of Jaipur.  With an intriguing title "Monkeys of Jaipur - Funny Terror"....

He also  describes in great detail how they run wild across houses, walls and fences, marauding food at will, and troubling people. So much so, that people are very wary and always keep their doors and windows tightly shut (monkeys can open windows), when there is a monkey gang in the vicinity.

Just remembered some others who actually do the same, but sadly, ordinary law abiding folks have no way to protect themselves there.   And then it also came to mind, that so many young folks , look up to, and follow the elders. 

Just saying. ....

(all photographs by Bhavesh Chhatbar)

 

Looking on
intrigued
at the different
modus operandi
for different folks,
the little one wonders
if
he is cut out for it.

False Bravado
Cunning,
Polite threats
Lies masquerading as truths,
Showing muscle,
and grabbing the goodies.

He scratches,
contemplating an internship.
A rustle of leaves
and fur,
and the leader arrives,
on the stage
beside him,
craving hot action,
and stretches,
mobilizing muscles and thoughts.

Watch me , young fellow,
and learn,
how to be an intimidating leader,
grabbing at will
what isn't his,
marauding dwellings
and people,
striding with a fake sense of
importance,
and when
the investigators come,
stand watching from a distance
with a look of concern....

No education, no degrees,
no appraisals, no retirements,
just enjoying the fruits
of the labour

It's just that
it is someone else's labour.

Nishkaam karma ...
I work
without expectation
of the fruit of my labour....

What to do ?
It simply falls into my hands.

Election Promises....

My friend Prasad Ganesh Paranjape recently visited the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve near Nagpur  and clicked some amazing outstanding photographs of not only several Tigers, but these langurs and many birds, all in action.   Please see all his amazing  photographs here.  Don't miss these.

The langurs in action, actually present a great visual  as to what is happening in the country today.  Even the expressions of some remind you of prominent personalities.

I just wondered what the elder fellow here was telling the younger, possibly foolish one .....

How many times
must I tell you
not to believe
anything they say?

Things were different
when I was your age.

You respected and believed the king.
He took care of his subjects,
and ensured
the trees remained for us,
brushing aside
the possibility
of clearing the forest
and
acquiring
and naming
another palace
in memory
of someone.

Election time,
and they make promises
faster than
ice can melt in
a desert summer.

Did you really think
they'd make you
managing director
of the
Bharatiya Kela and Moongfali Nigam ?
Don't you know ,
it is Maryadit ?

Diwali Scrubs and Wishes....

Adityavardhan Paranjape, a nephew of sorts, and an avid photographer , is just into colllege. And photography. More into animals and birds and trees.

He just posted this photo clicked on a trip to Dapoli , on the picturesque Kokan Coast south of Mumbai, on the West Coast of India.

The timing of this during Diwali, suggested a traditional Diwali bath, "Abhyanga Snana", taken early in the morning, with oil massages, traditional scrubs, and a decent breakfast with the rising sun.

Which the birds seem to be enjoying....

Naturally, the white, and the grey, and the absence of black, had me thinking....:-)

Cool nippy
Diwali mornings
on
the Kokan Coast.
These worthies
doing "Abhyanga Snana"
amidst the sea waves,
flavoured by
fish,shells,
and rubbed by sand,
to emerge
fresh,white,
with
a smattering of grey.

And then
there are those
in impressive places,
who also "fly" high,
and return
for the "Abhyanga Snana"
immersed as they are
in green and black and red;

Except,
there is
such an abundance
of the black,
that
it refuses to go away
because
the soap and scrub,
are so dishonest......

So enjoy the seagulls,
the new morning,
and a Happy Diwali ......

Politics and Birds

A wonderful capture of the Asian Koel(female) by blogger friend Magiceye. This photograph of the bird feeding on a Banyan tree in Bandra East (a western suburb of Mumbai) is posted as part of the Mumbai Daily : Camera Critters series today. 

The Asian Koel (female) has some intriguing habits. When it is time to procreate, the bird lays eggs, not in a nest built out of its own hard work and industry, but in nests belonging to crows, sometimes, even along with the crows eggs which may be resting there. The koel is also known to bring in food to feed its own (that too, in someoneelse's premises).

While it attracts a decent audience that gets captivated by the wonderful calling sounds it makes, it stops short, of evicting the crow's own eggs from the crow's own nest, when it installs its own eggs there. Probably worries about its own reputation in the Bird World Constituency.

Why does this remind me of some people ? Read on ..... :-))

(photo by Deepak Amembal Magiceye)

The Asian Koel(female)
and
our Indian Politicians
have
just one difference....

Both specialize
in furthering
their families
and supporters
by trespassing
on something
like housing,
resources,
belonging to others
surreptitously,
quietly,
and then acting
as if
it was always theirs.

Both
can swallow big things
like the fruits of
someoneelse's labor.

Its just that
the Koel
shows
its black and white
openly
outside.

The Indian politician
wears
only spiffy
white Khadi
to
cover
Black deeds and money
stuffed inside........

The abundance of loss

Sometimes you wonder at the abundance of loss amidst excess of green in some lives. And sometimes, the green isn't organic at all.

Like in this photograph by blogger friend Harekrishnaji, who seems to be on a roll touring the backroads of a Maharashtra in the Monsoon....

I wonder if nature learns from us, or we replicate its attitudes . Must be the former....

(photo by Harekrishnaji aka Priyadarshan Kale)
It's time,
someone painted
firmly,
on the canvas
of her life.

Surrounded by
millions,
seizing the day,
trying for a place,
standing cheek by nodding jowl;

Some even
trespassing to steal,
her home,
sneaking up
tearing her roots,
and then
smiling
and standing there,
as if
it was all theirs,
anyway.

Some so called
tall ones
stand by,
rich green
in their own zone,
as some,
upright types,
unbending
in the breeze,
put on a show
of distant righteousness.

All those green billions
surrounding them,
enriching their vote base
must be ignored
as
she,
leafless, fruitless,
but tough
in a body and mind,
atrophied with worry
holds on firmly,
to what
she was born with :
Her Earth PAN card......