Thursday, August 30, 2012

G for GIFT of LIFE: Pigeon Diaries

 

Amidst all the usual news, that I mostly found rather grueling, in today’s newspaper, one that caught my eye was about the arrival of the Painted Storks in our city Zoo.

The Painted storks, so named because of their vibrant pink tertial feathers and monochrome markings, are migratory birds that travel from the cooler Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh to Delhi during early autumn. A number of other migratory species like the Teal, Coot and the Dabchick are expected to reach Delhi from Siberia, China and parts of South-eastern Asia by mid September.

The Painted Storks typically breed during December and are expected to stay on till February.

Torrential rains of the last few days have considerably plummeted the mercury, encouraging the storks to take up residence at our Zoo a little earlier than usual.

They are being gregariously welcomed and generous efforts are on to make them comfortable at the Zoological Gardens. The ponds are getting filled up with generous portions of stork-dinner-a variety of local fish. One interesting fact about these birds is that they refuse to build nests from the twigs of trees that they stay in. The Zoo officials are graciously catering to their whim and getting them twigs from other nearby trees!!

 

This little news item made me think how amazing the ways of nature are.

This GIFT of LIFE – that’s one gift that makes our earth unique.

How extraordinarily different every life form is and yet, is gelled together somehow…

A few months back, I was lucky enough to be able to document such an event. A complete cycle of life…

I consider it a gift from nature.

 

P1060804

You often see these birds, the common domestic pigeon scattered all over the cityscape.

Sadly, these very peaceful birds are considered nothing less than a form of city pest.

 

One day, sometime last June, I found a pair of them busily gathering twigs on the windowsill of one of our bathrooms. Now, all our doors and windows are in pairs. A net-structure that opens inside (and for most parts remains shut to keep out mosquitoes and other insects) and one in glass or wood that opens outside (that mostly remains open). Before I could get myself to brush off the twigs, the industrious little pair had already set up a beautiful nest on the shelf, in between the two sets of windows.

They looked so proud that I just didn’t have the heart to shoo them away. I’m glad I didn’t because in the ensuing days, I witnessed one of the most beautiful events in nature …the Gift of life on earth.

 

mono P1050685

 

P1050686

 

P1060057

 

P1060066

 

P1060074

 

It was a practical lesson in natural history for me! I watched, fascinated, as I saw both Mr. & Mrs. Pigeon take turns to incubate their precious pair of eggs, just like the books said. Once they hatched at around the 18th day, they  fed their little babies pigeon milk and regurgitated grains. I would often put out some rice and cereals which promptly disappeared.

 

P1050814

 

P1050816

( You can identify Papa Pigeon by his darker neck band)

 

In just 35 days, my perfect little pair of eggs had turned into this perfect little pair of pigeons!

They had now begun to accept food from me, rice grains. They were all ready to fly away. But for days, I watched them hesitate to move away from the safety of the nest. I began wondering if I was actually disturbing the natural order of things. Was I just reinforcing their fear, providing them with ready food and delaying their flight?

Or may be it was not my fault at all. They were scared because the ground looked so far away from that height.

What a thought! Acrophobic birds!

 

P1060450

 

P1060456

 

One of them was braver. It’d step out right till the very edge and spread out its wings as if to fly. But for over four days, that was all the progress it’d made.

And then, with utmost determination, I stopped feeding them. The mother pigeon had long gone away and no longer came back to feed them. My heart broke and I felt I was starving them to death. But I stuck to my resolve (with cruel encouragement from my husband!)

And then, one day when I was back from work, they were both gone! Just like that. They disappeared.

I ran down and checked with the gardener and the caretaker. No, they hadn’t come across any dead birds. Nor had they seen Sheru, our resident colony dog feast on one since morning!

So finally, my little pair of eggs did spread out their wings!

 

 

P.S:  Since the last couple of days, a pair of pigeons has been cooing and cuddling on the very same window sill. Were they my pair? In all probability they were. The domestic pigeon can be trained to be very successful messengers – homing pigeons.

This time though, I have begun to regularly open and shut the outer window, sending out a clear message that this particular surface isn’t a safe place for a nest. The sill is now clean, after a lot of effort and I don’t think I’m ready to ‘let it out’ again!

 

 

I’m glad to link ‘A GIFT of LIFE- Pigeon Diaries’ to Mrs. Nesbitt’s ABC WEDNESDAY:G. There are ‘G’s gallore at this Great meme. Do gallop over if you don’t want to miss any…

 

  abc11logo

 

Monday, August 27, 2012

SHADOW SHOTS: A story unfolding…

 

 

shadow shot1

 

   shadow shot

 

 

shadow shot2

 

shadow shot 4

 

shadow shot 5

 

evening shadows

 

The first two photographs are true Shadow Shots. But somehow, they always seem like a prompt for a story yet to unfold. …

As if someone is asking…’So you were at the beach. Looks like a lovely sunny day. What else was interesting, there’s so much at the beach you can capture through your lenses. Did you have fun?’

So, the photographs that follow seem only natural….

 

I love the last one with the long evening Shadows…

It reminds me of what a lovely day it was and how much fun we had at this little private corner we happened to discover at the over-crowded beach. I love the way Ginger calmly takes in the view and stares into the horizon, like she is trying to remember it all for posterity…

 

 

For more shadow shots from across the world, please click on the picture below…

 

sss2

 

 

Saturday, August 25, 2012

And You thought Shopping isn’t creative!

 

It was our 65th Independence day on the 15th of August and I was pleasantly surprised to see these pretty ‘girls’ dressed in our National colours at an upscale shopping mall. Just loved the way the designer had made these very innovative paper and ribbon dresses. So original.

 

P1070074

 

 P1070076

 

P1070068

 

 P1070072

 

 

Street Shopping in Delhi is fun. Colourful, funky, variety in designs, competitive prices and very artistic. I especially liked the pretty flower designs on this mannequin’s wrap-around skirt.

 

P1060273

 

 

One of the oldest showrooms in Connaught Place. Love their innovative name and sign.

 

P1070030

 

 

 

A very pretty Trial-room. That shoe is a terracota model made to perfection!

 

P1070066

 

 P1070067

 

 

And finally, my favourite shopping destination any day….

 

bookstore

 

 

This post is inspired by the Saturday Photohunt theme ‘SHOPPING”.

For more interesting Shopping Ideas, please go visit Gattina HERE.

 

 

Friday, August 24, 2012

F for Fritters and Fried snacks at the Food Capital!

 

Finally, after a fairly long gap, we are joining Mrs. Nesbitt and her friendly team at ABC Wednesday. And fancy stumbling into the letter ‘F’ just when we were foraging into a world of fried snacks!

To find other ‘F’s , run over to their site here. It’s fun!

 

 

For some reason, just about everyone here in Delhi goes crazy about fritters (Pakora in Hindi) the moment the rains arrive!

New Delhi is the undisputed food capital of our country. Not only because the capital serves the most scrumptious dishes but because you also find the widest variety. If you know where to look, you will be amazed by the mouth-watering find of authentic cuisine joints to funky, innovative fusion foods to the most inviting spread of fritters ever!

Of course if you just walk into any food joint in Delhi you’ll never be disappointed. Street food culture is an integral part of Delhi. Almost every other Delhite is a food enthusiast and each vendor, a wannabe chef!

 

 

 P1050222

 

P1050232

 

P1050228

 

P1050229

 

But then you should only venture out to sample those if you are certain your stomach is somehow genetically geared up to bear the…errr…assault!

We prefer not to take risks here, especially in this season and often opt for the home-made or restaurant variety. Though Daddy says they somehow aren’t as tasty as the roadside ones!

 

P1060897

 

 P1060893

 

P1060896

 

 

Our staycation that we were telling you about? From last week? Well, we went on a lot of long drives by night and sampled fritters and fried snacks.

Our favourite – Fish Fry

 

P1050284

 

We would often pick up a plateful on the way, make it to India Gate which looks ‘Oh so beautiful!’ at night and then finish off with ice-cream.

We would go out late which meant most people had already retired for the night. Delhi is an ‘early to bed early to rise city’ unlike many other large cities that never sleep at night. After 11 pm, you’re sure to get the roads almost to yourself.

So much better if all you’re looking for is a leisurely fun drive to listen to soft music, feel the fresh night air on your faces, snack, have ice-cream and generally enjoy your city. With fully packed roads during day hours, a fun drive is hardly an option.

 

P1050278

 

P1060437

 

 Wags,

Ginger,Buddy and Shadow

 

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Thought Provoking…

 

 

 

shadow shot green

 

 

In spring, when woods are getting green,
I'll try and tell you what I mean:

- Lewis Carroll

 

 

For more exciting SHADOWS and more GREEN themes, please go visit ‘ SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY’ and RAINDROPS and DAISIES

 

 

Monday, August 20, 2012

CAN

 

 P1000957

 

P1000954

 

P1000955

 

P1000360

 

Can you make out how much fun we had from these pictures?

We were out making friends with a buffalo and she let us join in and splash in the huge mud puddle. It was absolute bliss and we came back smelling absolutely glorious.

Can you see us admiring each other?

 

But for some reason Daddy thought otherwise. He refused to let us inside unless we get rid of what he said was an utterly distressful stink. We were marched out to the garden shed in the backyard of the resort where we were staying (Yes, we were on a holiday and were being denied our bit of fun! This was last year) and got scrubbed down to the bone.

 

 P1000952

 

P1000959

 

And after all the indignities, we were CANNED! Daddy went out to the pool to have all  the fun in the world while we were in detention.

Can you imagine how chagrined we were? Can a dog not have his bit of fun on a holiday?

 

P1000946

 

P1000947

 

 P1000942

 

 P1000944

 

 

We thoroughly enjoyed putting together this post for the PHOTOHUNT THEME ‘CAN

For more ‘CAN’s please go visit this link HERE

 

Have a great weekend, folks,

Ginger, Buddy and Shadow

 

 

Friday, August 17, 2012

Yoohooo there!

 

 

untitled

 

Stole this from a friend’s FB Page. Couldn’t help it. It says everything we want to say today….

 

We disappeared without notice, yet again! But guess what? We were on a holiday. No, we didn’t go anywhere. This was a ‘Stay at home, chill, eat, movies, shop, walk, contemplate, sleep, long night drive, get wet in the rain’ kind of a holiday.

And we needed one so badly. What with Mummy and Daddy’s weird working hours we were stretched to the limit. We feel so much more refreshed now.

The weather here in Delhi right now is just lovely. And we got some pawsome pictures, exploring the city.

We also celebrated some landmark occasions! Colourful and tasty…HA! Will come back soon and tell you all about it.

Till then,

 

 

Ciao,

Ginger, Buddy and Shadow

 

 

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Tyre - Guys


P1060223



 A typical road-side TYRE-WORKSHOP, one amongst many you get to see scattered along the Indian Highways. Taken somewhere in the plains of Madhya Pradesh, on one of our Road-Trips .
Always a hub of bustling efficiency, these 'pit-stops' can be quite reassuring (even if you do not need their services!) especially when you encounter one after having negotiated miles and miles of lonely highway stretches.




Please go visit ‘Shadow Shot Sunday at HEY HARRIET’ to enjoy the play of light and shade from all over the world.




Share