The Case of the Missing Darwinian Ordinance

My FB and blogfriend Usha Vaidyanathan posted this very evocative visual of what I think is a gorilla , (please to correct if it is not), from the Woodland Park Zoo, in Seattle, Washington.

There is something about the look on his face.  That says , enough is enough.

Makes you wonder if there were other directions to evolve into ....Maybe Darwin should have issued an ordinance ?

He watches them all,
disgusted,
at what the cerebral cortex
has evolved into.
 
Greedy killings,
mindless power,
shameless promises,
protecting the loaded,
crushing the true,
lots of pointless blabber,
and zero useful action.

In the poster
that shows
him evolving into
and walking ahead
as
a straightened biped fool,
maybe it would have been better
to have turned left or right
instead of going straight ahead. ?

Zucchini ki Shaadi

My Fb friend, Rekha Kakkar, is an  Award winning Food photographer, Food stylist, Food blogger, who also does products & Interiors. 

She recently posted this visual of a Grilled Zucchini and Avocado Sandwich,  designed to actually be a very healthy breakfast choice.  While some may drool at the thought of grilled stuff wallowing amidst breads , swathed in streaks of mustard sauce, blankets of lettuce ,  and the likes,  there is another school of thought that actually sees human stories in it all.....

 Have a look , and pine for it ....  :-)

(Photograph by Rekha Kakkar used with permission)

Its been
sizzling hot
as the Zucchinibai
and the Avocadoman
do the pheras
moving around the fire,
changing directions and all
watched by tomatoes
emotionally falling apart..

The mother of the bride,
resplendent
in a studded brown
pearl encrusted paithani sari,
wraps her pallo
on both shoulders
and envelopes
the couple
in a bearhug,
so tight,
a few juices threaten to spill.

It's the Zucchini's Bidai,
and Ma'am Butter
is finally there
to smooth things over
at the last minute....

Dharti Spa & Beauty Parlour : Festival Deal

My FB and blogfriend Bhavesh Chhatbar  comes across amazing tableaux of nature on his treks through  mountains and valleys. 

One such early morning scene, at the top of a mountain, a valley spread verdantly below, and a mountain beyond  it, kind of holding up the Sun, as it slowly rises, with a preceding glow, before being the Show Stopper of the Day, finally pouring its warmth, on a somnolent, about-to-wake-up  Earth...... 

Check out his blog here . 

Notice how significant it is, that beauty doesn't have to be in color.  Both Dark and Fair adorn each other, and one is incomplete without the other.

Maybe our beauty parlours need to learn a lesson or two  from Mother Nature ?

Dharti Spa and Beauty Parlour

Whether it is
greens
trying to counter
layers of petrol exhaust
and allergic dust;
or a withering of skin
thanks to a
busy bringing up of young fruits;
sometimes marauding
by engineering types building dangerous towers;
and even
some bossing
by those being pushy
and trying to reach high up,
we offer
some specials.

A windy blowing,
a slow night moisturizing
with delicate dew
and a few gentle rains;
early morning
wipes with cold moist clouds;
and then our special treatment.

A gradual golden facial,
as you lie back,
eyes closed,
massaged by the rays
of a special Sun.

A first light touch,
a tentative advance,
and then almost
a rain of rays,
gently drizzling on
a cleansed green face.

Aiyyo !  Buy one facial, get 364 free . 

Bozo's early Divali

This is really festival time for Bozo, Mumbai's blogging dog.   The rains are almost over,  and he is actually getting to meet folks who live with some of his overseas friends, like YamAunty , who came by  to say goodbye, before leaving India.

That's not all.  One of Bozo's oldest  friends , and actually his best friend is visiting from the UK, and he is greatly excited. He understands why she has to stay so far away,  is very happy for her , but , clearly, he has been avidly waiting for her visit. ...

After all the delighted jumps, leaps, woofs and cooing, here he is, settling down a bit.....

 

 

I wish some
presumed-Royal folks
who sit
in the garage
pretending
to be tough and hi-fi
would learn.

Life isn't
all about
showing your might
and living at high speeds.

There is something
about sitting with Deepak
as he surfs the Net,
or
watches current events,
or
chats with folks.

I join in
and have made
so many new friends
across the world,
and across India,
who give me news
of folks like
Mojo, Lindy ,  Krishna and Luci.

Sometimes Deepak's friends visit us
for tea,
and although
I dont actually drink it,
it is all about
quietly listening,
being tickled,
learning about my friends,
and sending them my good wishes
as I drink it all in
with my eyes.

Life is good.
Rains have stopped,
it is the start of our festival season,
and my bestest  friend
is here
from the Queen's country,
to see me.

I know Divali
is still some time away ...

But
this is really a Doggy Divali for me .

The Joys of Sambaar Bhat

It is rare to find someone who cooks, photographs, and writes equally well, so much so, that the image begs to be slurped and/or eaten .  Meet my friend Shruti. 

 Shruti Nargundkar of Melbourne, brings to life many stories from her childhood, that have to do with food. This time, it is about a specific special Saambaar that she remembers having, and you can read her entire post,Sambaar Stories, here. Along with the tantalizing recipe, accompanied by memories of those days.

An indulged childhood,
a fragrant coriandered life,
privileged
amidst
the golden richness of dals,
dessicated soft
treatments
tempering the
slight disciplining
by rigid cinnamon elders
aided by
tough fenugreeks
amidst raging chillies.

A coming of age
and a wild flirting
with the beauteous bhindi
and her colorful
friends,
sometimes led astray
by the sizzling onions
and siren tomatoes,
only to
come together
realizing his own potential
as an emerging Sambar,
leader of the hungry masses.

He plays the field,
cosying up to the
buxom Idlies,
seeing through the
hollowness of Madame Dosa
and wondering
if the Uthappa Kumari
with the toppings and trappings
actually
aspired to be a pizza.

Till he spies
Chiranjeev Saubhaagya kaankshini
Bhat
huddled together in a bowl,
a bit away,
wondering if she is too ordinary
to make it
in this
oddly competitive
sophisticated world.

A nudge from
Gheeamma,
all shining and melting in approval,
an approval from his
Tamarind Plus Security,
and he steps forward
to meet her
to start
a new chapter
in his
Sambar Bhat Life....

Stitches of warmth

The simplest things enrapture the most talented photographers. Like my FB and blogfriend Nandan Tavanandi, who must have seen a pattern of immense warmth  in this visual of golden grasses that he captured.

He titled it "Golden Revolution in Incredible India"

Blades of grass interweaving in a relaxed way to form a lovely warm cover for the Earth. Reminded me of handknitted sweaters . And how early mornings are sometimes a bit cool for older people. Like Ma Earth.
 

Knit 1, Purl 1,
a breeze around the next,
knit 2, purl 2,
a bit of bending in,
and it continues,
day after day,
an effort by the Seasons,
the creation
of a warm golden cardigan
for Ma Earth.

Early mornings
feel a bit colder in old age, na ?

A Beautiful Chaos

My FB and blog friend Nandan Tavanandi posts the most amazing pictures of birds. Here is one such which he calls "Beautiful Chaos" , clicked at the mudflats of Sewri, on Mumbai's eastern seaboard. This area is a stopover for the thousands of migrating flamingoes , thanks to the mangroves. 

This Avian Brownian Motion , as it were, with thousands of birds participating and desperately trying to do their own thing and get ahead, reminded me of the scene that gets played out every morning at the Churchgate Terminus as the Mumbai suburban trains chug in, disgorging thousands of passengers, rushing to exit and  make way to their offices. 

It's possible that the birds have been observing the bipeds....  

कोणाच्या पायात कोणाचे पाय , कोणा बड्याच्या पंखाखाली किती असह्य डोकी , झटकून टाकलेले पाण्यात बुडलेले हात , शेजार्याला मागे ढकलून धक्का देउन पुढे जायची धडपड , डोळे वटारून चोच पुट्पुटत केलेलं उड्डाण , आणि बाहेर पडताच दिशाहीन हरवणं . शिवडी म्हणजे पक्ष्यांचे चर्चगेट का हो ?

Feet amidst entangled feet, traumatized faces  under winged armpits, thirsty dripping thoughts desperately shrugged off with massive unconcern, the urge to bang and hit while rushing to leave, and then, a deflating loss of direction, on exiting after glaring and beaking an angry curse... Is Sewri the Churchgate for Birds ?

That touch of gold .....

My FB and blogger friend Sangeeta Khanna of Delhi, has the good fortune to live amidst a garden populated with a wide variety of birds and insects, that visit it.  Consequently,  Sangeeta who is actually research a scholar in botany, nutrition and traditional foods, also has developed expertise in birds and insects.

She clicked this damselfly in her garden, which found this piece of sunny marble of great interest . 

It just occurred to me, that while one has heard fruitflies being studied by scientists to learn about genetics , sleep and disease, these damsel flies may just be the things to be studied to teach us about why humans have certain attitudes .....

Some damsels
touch
and fly off with the gold,
impoverishing the
Mother soil
that gave them
the best
wonder years
of their exclusive lives.

And some
damselflies,
generate a great buzz,
as they retract,  
extend and land,
amidst wing flutters
reaching down,
converting everything they touch
into gold.

Dark and Lovely...

 

"  ....The woods are lovely,dark and deep....but i ve promises to keep.and miles to go before i sleep.,and miles to go before i sleep..."  

Robert Frost immortalized these lines,  and I first heard them when it was reported that they were a particular favourite of India's first PM  ,  the late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. 

 My FB friend Nirupama Sundar who posted this lovely capture has probably succeeded in finding the woods, they talked about.  These are Mexican Lilac trees,  which when in full bloom, often adorn these dark paths with their fallen blooms and fragrance.   

How ironic, that while nature revels in the joy of Dark and Lovely,  we , as a society, continue to look out for that small streak of white light , and enlarge and propound upon it, desperately, in the quest of Fair and Lovely .....

(photograph by Nirupama Sundar)

They've always been
Dark and Lovely
undulating through life.

Life , though
insists
on being equal opportunity
offering
a Fair Streak
for the ambitious Sun.
(or is it son?)

What a sign of the times
that today,
we have forgotten the woods
and keep hearing
about Fair and Lovely ....

Aam Gaur Party ?

My friend Prasad Paranjape often visits wildlife reserves, and posted this amazing capture of the Indian Gaur from his visit to the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) situated near Chandrapur, in north-eastern part of Maharashtra. 

Despite being defined as a Tiger Reserve, the area has always been home to other folks too. 

The expression says it all.  Special projects to save the leaders.  While the Mango folks/animals  run from tree pillars to river posts, trying to create a decent life for themselves and families. 

First written in Marathi in June 2013. In September, nothing has changed. In English . 

Rings a bell ? 

जीप्वाल्यांना चकवून धाउन धाउन थकलो, आणि पानांची हिरवाई शोधत डोक्यावरचे केस पांढरे झाले …. जंगलात सुधा लीडर लोकांनाच प्रसिद्धी मिळते , त्यांचे पाणि पितांना , झोपतांना , गुर्गुर्तांना , आणि अगदी आळशीपणाने लोळताना फोटो काढले जात्तात . खर आहे. आम प्राण्याना पाण्यासाठी लांब जावे लागते , झोपे तर सावधच असावी लागते , आणि जनावरे ज्यास्त आणि कमी होणारे जंगल , ह्यात लोळायला कोणाला जागा आहे ? फक्त आमचे लीडर , ज्याना वाचवण्याची देशात मोठी मोहीम आहे ….

Stopping to catch a breath, dodging those ever present safari jeeps and years of looking for a decent green has only turned my hair a silver white... No one cares in the jungle for the mango  animal... its all about clicking the leaders as they drink, sleep, roar, and even wastefully loll around as they pose with their  dynastically minded kids.. We trudge distances seeking water, and hardly ever  soundly sleep in this killer world; Disappearing jungles, procreating animals, and no rehabilitation scheme for mango folks like us. The only projects are those that concentrate on Saving the Leaders.