Dilli in Janvary - some scribbles

Hauz Khas Complex

We wanted to go to an outlet at Hauz Khas Village and that’s how I stumbled upon the Hauz Khas Complex.  It swept me off my feet, in slow motion.  Was surprised to find that a crazy number of youngsters had parked their backsides there, enjoying the winter sun.  

As the camera was accumulating dust in Hyderabad, I strolled around lazily and took in the activity. Two Bengali boys with a camera arguing jocularly about photo credits, a group looking for flat space to sit around for  birthday celebrations (cake, cold drinks the works), another one (all girls) looking for “privacy” to bring out their stash of cigarettes and alcohol and yet another group of boys with a guitar merrily singing away. Of course, twosomes, looking for a cosy corner. Lots of cameras. A security fella walking around with his lathi . No one was in anyone else’s way and I was not pushed and shoved despite the crowd.

A sense of deep peace amidst such a high energy space. I've only felt that once before and that was ironically (for some) on my way back to the hostel , one humid night in a Bombay local.

Zoo

Another feel good day in the city was at the Zoo. My memories of the place are of otters (I think that’s what they were), a white tiger, a white peacock, a very pale skinned snake and a happy picture of all of us on a bench under a tree (a winter afternoon).  

After a lot of clash in plans and traffic jams that almost made me weep, we did finally make it to the Zoo . The steps leading inside threw up a memory or two. A tiny me worrying that all of us would get lost in the crowd on the stairs and another one of Preeti prancing around on the same stairs (must have been two different visits). I think this pretty much defines how we were as children.

Mum recalled that during the years when she carted us all here, the Zoo was full of a variety of people (nationality, class, regions etc). This time however not much of that was on display. What did really surprise me was that fact that the Delhi folks were actually much better behaved than the mass we encountered at the Hyderabad Zoo. The Hyderabad crowd was crazy, unruly, harassing the animals with shouts and pebbles and their attempts to feed them. Both experiences were contrary to my unconscious expectations (stereotype?).

This trip the four of us strolled around saw the residents, played with random kids, talked and laughed. We had great time with one or the other periodically exclaiming “abe who dekh” or its Malayalam equivalent. Papa couldn't believe that the crocodile was for real (he says it was cast in stone!) , Preeti fell in love with a Hippo, Mum let out a series of exclamations when she saw some brilliantly coloured large parrots  and I’m starting to take hesitant steps towards appreciating the city again.

Discovering the complex, the lake and walking through the zoo with all this life throbbing around was very refreshing. Refreshing is not an association I easily make with the city, maybe it was the warm winter sun and the slight chill in the air that worked its magic. Dilli ki sardiyon ki dhoop. Never mind the allergic sniffles and the fact that it takes miraculous will power to get out of the blanket on winter mornings.

Looking forward to being home again …..soon.  

Thanks Preeti for the images (psst ...can I have some of the Zoo please , especially the one where you managed to make the Emu look evil?).

Post Script- The emu is here now!

Charbagh - from inside out

A colleague through a discussion reminded me of the creative writing classes I took ...seemingly eons ago. I thought of putting up some of the old stuff. We were taken to the backyard of BCL - (Charbagh) and  asked to observe the place and describe it using any of the  5 senses. This is wat I did. Thanks Praveen for reminding of days I so enjoyed and Preeti for the pretty feet picture from Calcutta! 

Charbagh- from inside out

I watched, and it failed to enchant. The murky watered pool, red and grey stoned walls feel strangely sterile, the life or its ebbing out - lies outside.  I saw myself lying on my back on the columned and paved path. Gazing at the late evening sky, hoping to spot another wishful twinkle, which could have been a star. Fluorescent office lives dimming one after the other. Flick, there goes one switch, a patch of black amidst the overworked whites. Flick, another and soon the floor would be dark.  I lie with a high rise clouding my vision and ceilings of smoke where clouds should have been.

I heard, sounds akin to the 1^st day of practice of an exceptionally atonal choir.  Can the individually gifted be so giftless as a collective?  The seasoned bass of a rumbling Ambassador, unable to mute the aggressively drilling descant brakes of the pre pubescent Green DTC. The tinkling bells of cycling sopranos, laughing at madness of the days tottering edge. I long to catch strains of the altos - those that bring me such grounded peace. The altos i.e. the sound of feet.  

Quirky Christmas

An unusual crib,  put together with a lot of ingenuity. The crib makes the tableau of the birth of Jesus less solemn , more interesting and well ...definitely quite quirky. Merry Christmas! Its great to be home.

All of these images are of one crib, put together by the laundry department of Holy Family Hospital. Walking around the campus at this time of the year is quite exciting as each department puts up its own crib. While some are the standard cardboard - box - hay structures with confetti-tinsel- streamers thrown around , there are others like this one where whatever is available in and around the workplace and homes is put to  use. Thermocol boxes to make chariots , penguins and parrots upon the same branch, a girl at a well created probably just to use up an old chaniya choli!There was no clear reason as to why a crocodile should be a part of this scene , but someone felt its presence would add value and there it was. In fact to accommodate it better a stream was created before the stable - complete with water in it and a bridge over it. The Croc evidently  moved around  quite a bit as we never found it in the same place twice. It also probably got more attention than baby Jesus.

I didn't get around to seeing all the pieces on campus, but this one was worth each minute I spent on it. 

A camel cart with dolls as passengers. The lovely dates'  of the very wise men?

The guest list for this birthday was quite eclectic, it included , a Crocodile , a tortoise,  some fish and a penguin apart from the regulars (cattle, donkeys , camels and sheep)

A frightful stare from the angel seems to have had its effect in freezing the other players , apart from the curious baby Jesus.

A pretty young thing at the village well.

A visit to Sultanpur - Sep 2010

Found my self pleasantly surprised at my mother's enthusiasm in making a trip to Sultanpur. Sultanpur is about 15 kms from Gurgaon and hosts a bird sanctuary we hadn't ever paid a visit to. Many plans for the same had turned to dust largely owing to my mortal fear of having to move through Gurgaon, but with my parents excitement  so palpable dilly-dallying was not an option i considered.

Brace yourselves - would be my warning for anyone trying to get to Sultanpur cause post Gurgaon , the ride gets terribly bumpy. But getting to the sanctuary is worth the effort. We reached close to eight in the morning and had to stop for breakfast for fear that our growling stomachs might causing the a retreat of the migrants. In hour or so we were inside the gates and merrily walking down the paths.

As is evident my attempts at photography took quite a lashing. The sun was up and brightly shining down on the lake making it close to impossible for this amateur to click anything worthwhile.  I remember similar disastrous attempts at the Palak lake.  Honestly? (and no its not just a case of sour grapes) i had a greater time discussing the Malayalam names for the birds in sight with my folks. Of al the birds around the Indian Roller caught their fancy as it darted around quite close, with its blues catching the bright light.   

Needless to say birds were plentiful and my skills at identification limited. Painted Storks , Black Crowned Night Herons, Black Winged Stilts, Eurasian Spoonbills and the egrets were the only concrete identifications i could make based on the images we had.

Neelgais were close at hand but what led to a whoop of of excitement was a sprinting  alert  earred rabbit. I went chasing in the direction that it disappeared in ,  feeling pretty much Alice like and laughing all the way

Preeti , tells me that she read about the blooming of some lilies in Sultanpur after about two decades! I wonder if these were the ones. And yes the images have been edited to black and white so that appear presentable!

A walk around the campus - II

Found myself at home once again and enjoyed the brief walks around the campus. 

The Spotted Owlets

Grey Hornbill

Golden Oriole

Am reminded of my last trip where my nieces caught a bit of the birding fever with us. Mansi and Mahi  accompanied us on some walks around the campus. The herbarium of the hospital seemed like a little treasure chest for them with a couple of white mice, white pigeons and parakeets as pets and whole lot of others free. The sight of their jaws dropping on seeing the dance of peacock on the terrace of a water works building was priceless. They squatted pretty on the boundary wall of the herbarium and watched some sparrows play in a puddle. Thats probably the longest happy silence I've seen the two in.

Very soon, we had Mansi shrieking ...."Maasi ....woh dekho Kauwe  jaisa hai"  sending an unsuspecting coucal into a startled flight! The younger of the two had us rolling with laughter while she tried to quieten the elder one's banter with ssh's sharper than our pressure cooker whistle!  For some reason , they felt that the paths we were walking were also frequented by snakes and that pretty much put a temporary halt to our watching for the day. 

The campus where our home is offers such bounty and I say this with a tinge of regret that I never got around to exploring much of it during my college days. Well, better late than never here's starting with a bird list 

In our visits between March 2010 to July 2010 we were able to identify these birds inside the Holy family Hospital Campus in Delhi. There are plenty more that we have not seen yet or identified and hopefully in the time to come we'll get to see more

1. Black Drongo
2. Brown Headed Barbet
3. Common Hoppoe
4. Common Maina
5. Eurasian Golden Oriole
6. Greater Coucal
7. Green Bee eater
8. Grey Hornbill
9. House Crow
10. Indian Cuckoo
11. Indian Koel
12. Laughing Dove
13. Oriental Magpie Robin
14. Peacocks
15. Purple Sunbird
16. Red Vented Bulbul
17. Rock Pigeons
18. Rose ringed Parakeet
19. Spotted Owlet
20. Tawny Eagle
21. White Breasted Kingfisher
22. Yellow Footed Green Pigeon

..... to be continued

A walk around the campus- I

Some images from around the campus

Laughing doves- serene but ironically humourless presence

Parakeets- Raiders of our Guava tree

Peacocks are by far the easiest to spot on the campus , considering everyone knows where to find them and what time of the day. Starting about sunrise they troop into the compound males and females strutting around and giving out their haunting cries.  Our last walk out at daybreak had us staring in surprise to about 7 of them walking past out kitchen door!!  The laundry area is a favourite haunt of theirs and you find them doing a lil dance on the roof when the weather is favorable or just a group of them taking in the morning sights. Very often your walk will be interrupted by the unsightly and strenuous looking flight of one, either to or from the herbarium.

By the time the hospital kicks into action they just about disappear from vision but their call can still reach you. .

Yellow Footed Green Pigeons- I saw them for the first time in this trip

Purple Sunbird

I have no idea who this is...but i like this image

A peacock playground at dawn and clothesline by day

Green Bee Eater

Red vented bulbul

hmmm...which ones mine?

??

Brown headed Barbert

These are my personal favourites- they're all around the place and very relaxing to watch

On my last trip , I thought I saw a bird that resembled a hornbill, but was quick to chide myself into disbelieving my eyes. A hornbill in middle of Delhi? But this time round I had many second the sighting and finally managed a picture ( a rather poor one) of it. I understand that apart from the twosome that I saw, there are two young ones too!

The Indian Grey Hornbill

 Indian Koel

Tree Spotting

To start at the very beginning there was a book – Trees of Delhi and a romantic me thinking of walks in on the various tree lined avenues of central Delhi trying to understand how one goes about identifying trees.  Then there was a more enlightened me and I decided to start right outside the house and though I haven’t written much on my attempts these are the only two I could find. Initial journal on tree spotting!!

Day 1

It was 8 at night and I was feeling extremely guilty of having put down Trees of Delhi after a certain point i.e. post the introductions and description of Delhi , the process of writing the book , how to use the book etc,.

Right when it was time for me to now start identifying trees I got caught up in work that I was more familiar with. Right when the book reading called for my participation I slipped back into familiar territory.

Let me at least spot one tree I said to myself. Rather let me decide which tree I will find in the book. It was dark and I wasn’t dressed to venture out , so I decided to just id the one right outside my door. Looked at it up and down and realized that there were a line of these in front of my home. I’d kind of known that before- like the color of my house on the outside, but if were asked I’d answer less than correct.

Its true- knowledge or education has a lot to do with acute consciousness, being aware. I’d known that these trees were around..but the fact that they were all the same…and that they had x kind leaves and y kind of trunk..had not registered as information….while there were people studying it like a science.  

My lesson for the day was done. As you can see I'm easily pleased.

Day 3

Post a splitting headache yesterday and unbelievably fresh morning I was ready to give myself another chance with tree spotting. I was left staring foolishly at a one not too far from home. There were so many of them around but I couldn't find it in my book. Impatience. Despair.  

The next one I chose looked familiar but I still couldn't match it with any leaf in the book. And when the leaf matched the rest of the tree and description didn't. Quite exasperated at my own shortcomings I decided to check with the security guard close at hand.

Yeh?...yeh tho Jamun hai……

Zyaada time nahin falta ..thoday din meing khatam ho jaatey hain….iske beej diabetes par asar karti hai..log kehtein hai phal hi khalo!! ..par phal kab tak milte hain ? beej sukha ke rakh lo., phir powder bana ke roz ek chamach subah khaa jao.

I smiled, packed up and walked homeward.  This deserves solitude to savour!

P.S- Thanks for the book Nimesh

Looking closer home

I write about Saiha on the blog a place i've come to feel at home in. Our travel here, encounters with people and experiencing the forests and the lives that are sustained by it. 

Back at my home in Delhi too, there is a whole lot to see especially where Amma and pappa are , thought I must put some of it up too. 

We’ve been living in the Holy Family Hospital Campus for over 10 years now. Fortunately or otherwise the largest stretch of time I spent here has been my troublesome teens. It didn’t leave me with much desire to look beyond myself and my immediate concerns into the what this campus had to offer. 

However there were stories (there always are) that found their way into my almost indifferent ears, hostel girls and parakeets raiding the orchards for guava(I’d put my money on the parakeets) The theft of mangoes by little boys, the hovering eagles known for plucking out the eyeballs of children who dare to stare (i think this is an earlier horror tale that stuck to my amused mind all these years)  and many of the like. However apart from the attention seekers like the crows and parakeets the other birds just wandered in and out of my line of vision without really holding my attention to any consequence.

2002 onwards I’ve lived here in patches owing to my declining fondness for Delhi in general but drawn to home nonetheless.  The last year has been different , for one I’ve started living in Saiha and am in a better place both geographically and in my head and as a consequence I’ve learnt to appreciate better the seemingly smaller  pleasures of life (they only seem small). And my visits home have added dimensions. Sharing some of the experiences of the past year in the posts that follow.