Crouching Tiger, Zooming Man

A brilliant capture of a young tiger prince, named Sultan, by my young friend Sudhir Bharadwaj, who recently went on a trip to the Tadoba Wildlife Sanctuary , near Nagpur, in Central India.

 He and his group were very lucky to actually see many tigers in action , even crossing a stream. A special thing was to see four tiger cubs, reported to be 3 to 4 months in age, feasting on a deer, possibly killed for them by their mother.

What an introduction for the kids ; a vicious killing, a grand meal, and a semi siesta in the grass disturbed, by the sounds of a jeep, slowly advancing amidst a curtain of dust, as their eldest sibling, Sultan, settles down to be the family watchdog, peering with sharp eyes, alert, on a sunny afternoon....

 (photo by Sudhir Bharadwaj)

The mater moves ,
bounding
around the periphery,
alert,
checking for
a sense of danger
and an outsider's tread.

The four little ones,
now
out into the world,
playfully shove each other
as
they tear and chew
around the carcass
of the
carotid-less deer....

The sound of an engine,
rubber on grass
and gravel,
a throw-up of dust.

The man with the Zoom
waits
for it to settle.

Some little ones have gone.
Their eldest,
Sultan,
lies alert,
eyes bright,
camouflaged in the leaves,
not knowing
that the Zoomwalla
can still see
the quiver
in his nostrils
and the light in his eyes......

Green Dignity.....

Blogger friend, prolific travel writer, birder, and photographer, Lakshmi Sharath, recently visited Corbett National Park along with a like minded group , on a trip invitation from Club Mahindra.

She posted this amazing picture of a tree, standing bare and by itself, right in the midst of a profusion of green all around. Evocative, and more so in greys....

Sometimes, Nature has an uncanny way of reflecting life, as we prefer, not to see..... but are eventually forced to see. 

 (photograph by Lakshmi Sharath)

No green silk
rustling
amidst orange hues,
fruits long gone,
now admired
on others' hips,
and a wistful look
as the birds
bypass her
to ensconce themselves
elsewhere
in nests
lost amidst
the abundant
overpowering green.

No fat
just bones,
and barest of skin;
but she stands
as straight as she can,
in the evening of her life,
saying
her own Gayatri Mantra
to a rising Sun.

Tough,
single,
threadbare,
but proud in the woods,

The story
of so many seniors
standing tall
in the evening of life....

Bunker in the woods.....

Blogger friend Ladyfi is a British lady living in Sweden, has a absolutely wonderful photoblog, and posts in amazing detail some photographs of some World war 1 bunkers, that were found and preserved in Sweden, in the woods. Like massive Viking helmets, rising from the ground. Have a look at them here . (She has kindly allowed me to use some of her photos here).....

Some of her photographs, taken inside the bunker, give a lot of "character"  to the bunker.  Mean looking, darkly foreboding, sinister chap,  sniffing and being disapproving about what today's world has come to......suddenly Archie Bunker came to mind...(that's how old I am :-)

I wouldn't want to be inside or even nearby such a bunker  on a cold dark night....:-)

 (inside the bunker, looking out. photo by Ladyfi)

(the actual bunker in the woods, photo by Ladyfi)

The old Man Bunker, white of hair
falling over his wide eyes
that reflect
the beauty and light
of the green outside;
a dark snub nose
sniffing superiorly sideways
and dark lips
amidst
wrinkly carved cheeks
pursing to the left
in abject disapproval’
“Hmmpf !
What’s this lady doing here with a camera ?”

Speechless at the top...

Lakshmi Sharath does a renowned and wonderful travel blog, which sometimes includes birding. Her efforts (with a guide) , at capturing these wonderful pictures of the yellow throated bulbul, in the loud silence of trees on top of the Matangi Hills near Hampi/Bangalore are outlined here.

The Bulbul's perspective :

(photos by Lakshmi Sharath)

I've seen her often.
Like me ,
she often flies;
sometimes faster
than me across oceans
and sometimes
amazingly slow
to Chennai.....

I've seen her
on
the Matangi hill.
but
wanted to meet her
alone;
and so
my friend
sat on a tower
directing calls to her guide.

Although a bulbul,
I watched
like a hawk,
straining
at the
fashionable yellow,
and the minute
she was alone,
I flew in
to meet her .....

She thinks
she stood in
pin drop silence,
but I could clearly hear
the beating
of her heart .....

:-))