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...
Bombay has no winter to speak of. For us, it is winter when there is a slight chill in the air late and night, and early in the morning, and that too, thanks to living in an area full of open spaces and lots of trees. Which is why, I was surprised to notice that most of our regular winged visitors were missing for the past few months!
Finally, with the slight chill too having disappeared, some of the birds are back. A few days back, we noticed that the sunbirds have returned, and yesterday, one of them sat long enough on a branch for me to photograph it... So, here's a Purple rumped Sunbird, and hope more birds return soon.....
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| Purple Rumped Sunbird |
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| Purple Rumped Sunbird |
Amazing! We have exactly the same bird's pair as regular visitors to our home :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! :)
Wednesday Wallpaper
I think this bird can fly backwards little. Have you noticed?
ReplyDeleteWhat a coincidence that you were commenting on my blog when I was commenting on yours!
ReplyDeleteWell, about your question on my Common Rose Butterfly [Atrophaneura Aristolochiae, Pachliopta Aristolochiae, Swallowtail Butterfly] Feeding on Marigolds post, click here to see where Mayureshwar Wildlife Sanctuary is located. It's not very worth visiting unless you have powerful binoculars, but yes, the efforts by the authorities are good. We saw small groups of deer far away from us. We saw a jackal also.
Beautiful Anu.
ReplyDeleteits a beautiful bird, isnt it. wish u more photo-ops soon :)
ReplyDeleteAnu, I've recently started following your blog. You have a nack for writing and observation :) Nice capture :D
ReplyDelete@Bhavesh : thanks a lot, for the comment as well as the info..
ReplyDelete@Chitra: it doesnt really fly backward, but hovers over the flower or bud it is sucking nectar from.... which makes it look like that..
@Mridula : thanks... your new blog looks very interesting..
@sandeep: yes, it is... i hope so too....
@Preeti: thanks a lot.... i liked your blog too......
Hi Anu,
ReplyDeletecame across your blog..great one!
as for these gorgeous birds, never seen or heard about them! they just look so beautiful. :) and love the name, SUNbird :))
hugs from Macedonia
Dani