Bozoical thoughts on learning...

A suggestion of "winter" in Mumbai, means,  that there is a haze of pollution settling down , closer to the ground.  A change of season, heralds viral infections, and Bozo, Mumbai's only dog-with-his-own-blog ,  has been troubled with a cough and is taking meds.   His old blue throat collar has been thoughtfully replaced now with a wonderful new harness, giving him the freedom to really cough it all out.

Blogger friend Magiceye  who chronicles the Life and Times of Bozo, captures Bozo, in one of his thoughtful moments.

To know just How thoughtful, read on .....

(photopraph by Deepak Amembal magiceye)

I'd lie at the feet
of the young fellow
of the house
when he did his school homework;
Drew maps.
Did sums,
Filled in the blanks,
and sometimes ,
"Gave reasons", in Science.

Why you must cover your mouth
when you cough.

And I learned.

While the new harness
besides
making me feel
very smart,
has taken
a load
off my inflamed throat,
I still remember
the lessons....

I can't cover my mouth;
and so
instead of
coughing around,
I lie down in one place
and keep away.

 I wish
those who 
wander around
blowing  smoke
through their nostrils
and mouths
would remember that.....

Sharpening the weapons...

A wonderful photograph, clicked by S. Karthikeyan, (known to all as Karthik), in his garden. Karthik has been an avid follower, photographer, chronicler, and published author on wildlife in general and specifically related to Karnataka. Read more about him here.

He spied upon this green mantis in his garden and photographed her , possibly getting ready for the day.  For some reason, the attitude of the mantis makes it look like she is praying.  And folks call her the Praying mantis. Read his post here.

Actually, like in politics , things can be misleading.  Turns out that these lady mantises can be fairly liberated in attitude.    Read on..... 

(photograph by Karthikeyan Srinivasan)

Lady green mantis,
dainty on a
bush,
sharpening and cleaning
her secret weapon,
after a decent
workout,
catching and killing stuff
by grabbing with the legs .

At one time,
the saviour of the
organic farmers,
in fields
beset with insects,
attitudes
and life
have changed
in a fertilizer world.

Times have changed,
life is dangerous,
and unlike
the so called
evolved bipeds
who purport
to rule the world,
but still suffer,
the lady mantis
thinks nothing
of biting off the head
of a male
who
is pestering her.

Excuse me
while I clean
and sharpen
the other leg……

A Crustacean Life....

As a pucca vegetarian who cannot stand the smell of seafood , this photo , clicked at the Harnai beach on Maharashtra's beautiful Kokan coast,  and posted on Flickr by blogger friend Magiceye, intrigued me.   Google searches dont smell, and I was amazed to find out that these creatures have blue blood , and  surprise, surprise,  they have something in their DNA that doesnt allow them to age.

They also exhibit a fast , inverse, butterfly swimming stroke, done on their backs, which is used to escape fast from perceived dangers .....sometimes, though, not fast enough...

They also have 10 legs, but are essentially loners, traipsing about on muddy bottoms of oceans and seas, unlike their cousin crabs, who are much more social, aggressive, and occasionally whimsical , in that, they walk sideways . Wah !

Sometimes royal types must learn something from the commoners . Is anyone in Delhi listening ? Sigh. 

(photograph by Deepak Amembal Magiceye)

Blue blooded invertebrates
with a built-in
anti aging DNA,
they wander the oceans,
crawling on half-a-score legs
to hunt and swallow
smaller prey,
and
exhibit
an amazing
backward butterfly stroke
to escape
when faced
with marine danger.

Except,
when reckless adventure
takes them
close to Kokan beaches,
where
2 legged  predators
grab them,
boil them,
spice them,
stuff them,
and sallivate
over a great meal..

Thats what you get
from
being a loner,
unlike Cousin Crab,
who is a fighter,
and
sometimes smiles
and escapes
walking sideways,
as the Koli predator
zeroes in
on you.........

Page 3-Ranthambore Times

My very versatile blogger friend Anuradha Khanna Pentapalli , in Ranthambore National Park, to observe the majestic tigers, had to make do, with what they were told, were the pugmarks of the tigers. Which she posted here.

This entire philosphy, of having to make do with the sighting of someone's feet in lieu of the persona, kind of reminded me about something else :-)

(photographs by Anuradha Khanna Pentapalli)

A thousand moons ago,
they lurked
occasionally
confidently camouflaged,
sometimes
in an open
dignified walk,
to imbibe water
by the riverbank...

Celebrityhood
has a price.

Like some UPAr level
Delhi folks
mainly heard
but hardly seen,
they now avoid
ordinary folks in jeeps,
and have
their own
"reserved" paths
that shout
"He was here. Admire the footsteps"...

Again,
Like some UPAr level
Delhi folks
mainly heard
but hardly seen,
the Ranthambore celebs
only emerge,
to shake hands (!)
albeit
on the ranger's advice,
when a
matching celeb
like say,
Hilary Clinton
visits.

A thappad life....

Blogger friend and prolific photographer Joshi Daniel, posted this amazing portrait titled "Hidden Wrath" in his photoblog section , Joshi Daniel Photography | Images of People. 

No one writes about these people, while the papers go ballistic about someone receiving a thappad ***  in the Capital, and a procrastinating Parliament meets just to protest the slap.

A very evocative portrait. A sign of the times. 

(photo by Joshi Daniel)

My land
undervalued and bought
for an SEZ****;
my soil
awash with thorium,
from the nuclear power plant
we didnt want;
my family,
some lost to emigration
to overcrowded cities,
some to health;

Every day,
I bend more
and die a little,
as the cataract blinds,
and the ear tires
of lies, untruths
and false promises,
and
being cheated
by relentless middlemen
also known as MP's
pretending
to represent me.

I've received the biggest thappad***
of my life,
slowly over the years
from those who
purport to rule;
and they go Tsk Tsk
about the one who got it
in Delhi....

**** SEZ   ~   Special Economic Zone set up by government for industry after acquisition on land, mostly from small farmers
.
*** thappad ~ slap

A Chameleon's identity crisis....

A Chameleon,  taking a break from slithering around, in the leafy environs of Bandra, a suburb of Western Mumbai.  Blogger friend Magiceye, posted this photograph , of a chameleon, ( "surveying his kingdom" as he says), as part of his Mumbai Daily: Camera Critters series . 

And it occurs to some, that this little fellow can look so regal, while some other folks known to us, can change colors all they want, throw weight around, and yet , they still fall short....

(photograph by Deepak Amembal Magiceye)

Life for him
is a many splendoured,
many colored  thing.....
As he slithers
green
in an out
beyond the leaves;
sometimes 
a scratchy brown
in the muddy base of a tree,
and then again,
a cool dark
shining
gold-black-brown
doing a
Bhujangasan
resting on the bark.

He inhales,
and looks up,
gratefully,
surveying
what surrounds him.

And sees a world
full of
folks,
who
not only change colors
to suit the occasion,
they even change
what surrounds them
destroying the green
and the brown
and the flowing blue...

And he wonders
why he is called a chameleon....

Mr Friedman, the world is round !

We perceive things , visually, differently, depending on the background; of the observer,  as well as the visual.

Laxmi Sharath, prolific travel writer, photographer , and wildlife & birding enthusiast, was recently invited to visit Khajuraho, and has put up some amazing pictures here. 

As has been noticed by another reader of her blog too, the profile of this Chausath Yogini temple  in Khajuraho, resembles  a children's favorite character, watched equally by adults.

Read on :-)......


(photograph by Lakshmi Sharath)

In more ways
than one knows
the world is round ...

To some ,
its the
quiet of the dusk,
trees standing still
as the birds
hurry home,
after watching the
believers
at the Chausath Yogini Shrine...

And to some,
its a
Cheerful,
childike
Shrek
in profile,
looking up
and
wishing
the Rising Sun,
a great
Good Morning .....

It takes all kinds
to make our world.
Round.
Friedman, take that !

Hurting eyes, worrried minds.....

The sort of stuff happening in the country today, I wouldn't want to be the Sun, traveling by in the sky, and being forced to watch everything.

Maybe this was what blogger friend Magiceye sensed, when he posted this amazing photo of the sky over Mumbai, yesterday evening, when we had some unusual violent altercation between a politician and common man in Delhi. (Man slaps Minister)...

Regardless of the wrongdoer and /or the wronged,  we need to worry when even the Sun tries to cover up ......

(photo by Deepak Amembal Magiceye)

He traipses by
in the sky
benevolent
above the birds and trees,
watching
all the going-ons
in Mumbai;
strikes,
accidents,
fights,
slaps,
protests,
shaking his head
in despair,
in and out of the clouds.

Long days journey
into evening,
a rare winter nip
in the polluted air,
and the Sun,
tired,
worried,
and full of prayer,
pulls the dark cloud blanket
up to his neck,
before He sets for the night.

Royal leaps....

A very versatile lady, , trained scientist,  urban rail transport commentator, advertising professional in a very comprehensive way, blogger friend Anuradha Khanna Pentapalli,  blogs across a wide variety of subjects, including  a blog dedicated to , hold your breath, the Mumbai "local trains ",  photography , vegetarian recipes , movie madness,  shopping  etc.

This is from  her  recent photo blogpost.

She has an eye for small  things, like little monkeys enjoying themselves , foraging amidst the stately memorials, and palaces in Rajasthan, which  she just visited. 

(photograph by Anuradha Khanna Pentapalli)

Build me
no memorials,
Construct
no Chhatris for me,
as I
wander in wonder
through houses
and places of worship in
red sandstone,
cool marble,
under a sharp midday Sun.

I've lived here
before them,
and seen it all;
the wars,
the intrigues,
the celebrations,
the prayers,
and heavy lidded glances
by delicate folks
through intricate jharokas
gracing the mahals.

As for me,
although
the trees are my palace,
and
the leaves my jharokas,
sometimes,
just sometimes,
I love practicing jumps
in royal surroundings.

A time for Chai ....

A permanent requirement at any time of the day, and particularly on slightly nippy mornings in the middle of nowhere away from home, there is something special about a strong flavourful boiling chai, being poured out through a big alluminium kettle, for you, the entire proceedings being watched by the hardworking saucepan that has tolerated all the excited boiling.

Blogger friend Joshi Daniel posted this.  This entry ‘Hot’ won the Chai Time Photography contest - http://chaiwithlakshmi.in/chaitime/hot/

And a poem happened  here ....:-).... Enjoy the tea !

(photograph by Joshi Daniel)

Matronly,
endomorphic in comfort,
Mrs Kitlibai Chai,
she sits,
a feeling of
flowing warmth inside,
in a chai stained sari
head covered
with a simple pallu
going around
the top;
a welcome flavoured
steam
whispering
through the spout
and
welcoming those who visit.

Next
to Mr Patelarao Chai,
resting
after a hard time
tangling with
some
dark minded leaves,
"item" type ginger,
and sugar,
all getting
so excited
in the boiling milk,
that they rise up
in fragrant joy
and sometimes overflow.


She,
the front office,
that deals
with customers
and smiles,
and handles receivables.

He is the back office,
and
like some
poet guy said,
"They also serve who only stand and wait "
....