The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
November has been an interesting month so far, bringing with it not just some un-seasonal, but welcome, rainfall, but also a variety of birds. The first indication we had, of the change in weather, was the presence of a small bird hovering over our building. Usha was the first to spot it, and she wondered if it was a swift or just a magpie robin. I very confidently assured her that there were no swifts around, and that she must have just seen a robin flying high up! Imagine my surprise, when, the very next day, I opened my window to see a whole flock of swifts flying round and round over our building! There were at least 25-30 of them! I immediately called her, and both of us rushed to the terrace with binoculars and camera, hoping for at least one good shot! We had ample time to observe the birds, for they stayed there the whole morning, seemingly enjoying the sudden November chill as much as we were. Unfortunately, we were unlucky with the camera, and it was woefully clear to me that I had a long way to go before I could take pictures of these wonderful birds, which zipped past us at such speeds, we were unable to focus on them, much less actually take a snap! Even observing them through the binoculars wasn’t easy, given their speed, but finally, we gave up on the camera, and with some perseverance, managed to get a better glimpse through the lenses.
Here are the only few shots I managed to get….
I was so curious about the sighting of these birds, I wrote to the Bombay
These weren’t the only new winged visitors to our colony. The day after the swifts arrived, I rushed to the window hearing a ruckus and found a group of crows who appeared to be fighting over the food we keep out daily for them. This is a normal affair, something I wouldn’t have bothered about, except for the fact that a few of the crows at the centre of the melee appeared different. I looked on for a while and then noticed that the new ones were jet black in colour and a little bigger than our regular visitors. Could they have been the jungle crows or ravens? Unfortunately, the net on our kitchen window acts as a stumbling block to my photographic aspirations, and I had to settle for mere memories over digital ones……
On the other hand, I have finally managed to photograph one of the many parrots in my neighbourhood. Here’s one eating the little red berries which grow right opposite my window.
I have also managed to capture the many moods of the kite which is roosting on a coconut tree nearby.
Magpie robins have been regular visitors, and it appears they too are building a nest, for we are seeing them frequenting the same branches far more frequently than before… Here are a couple of pics, one where I managed to capture it in flight.
Beautiful, particularly the slide show. Did you decide on which new camera to buy?
ReplyDeleteNice post, Anu, about the ones we don't don't admire often. We have a tree nearby that houses lots of parakeets. Enjoy watching them. :)
ReplyDeletelovely birds!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, so interesting with slide shows.
ReplyDelete