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...
Since the last few weeks, as I have been busy by the comp, writing my Sikkim series, the Asian Koels have been creating a racket! They choose the time I am inspired to write, to call, and I rush with my camera, leaving everything behind, only to see them hide behind the leaves - the male, that is. The female has remained so well hidden, I have yet to see her! And then, this morning, Samhith's bus was late, and I was bidding him goodbye from the window, I spotted this chap....
Camera in hand, I waited for him to come out, or his partner to show herself, but in vain. I turned to the comp, and began typing, and there it was - the frenetic call. I ignored it for a while, but then, it has been a long time since I went birdwatching. I have to be satisfied with the birds I see from my window, so off I went again, with the camera of course. There were two males around, though the female was missing. And then, just by fluke, I captured this....
The Asian Koel with a berry from the Ashoka tree in his mouth! I might have not seen the female yet, but clicking this pic made my day!
I am also seeing some Koels of this type from our kitchen window on some occasions but never had an idea of catching them through my camera. Hope I will catch one and post it soon. It was interesting to read your article. Fine!
ReplyDeleteWow! Its beautiful and those eyes are absolutely charming.
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