• Animals,  Fauna,  Nature

    The Rhinos of Kaziranga

    Reminded of Ogden Nash’s poem, The Rhinoceros: The Rhino is a homely beast,For human eyes he’s not a feast,But you and I will never knowWhy Nature chose to make him so.Farewell, farewell, you old rhinoceros,I’ll stare at…

  • Birds,  Nature

    Morning yoga with a scaly breasted munia

    Manna Dey immortalized these birds in Teesri Kasam, when he sang Chalat musafir moh liya re pinjre wali munia… I have always found scaly breasted munias very attractive specially for their designer waistcoats. One morning, as I was enjoying…

  • Flora,  Musings

    The Mussaenda Memories

    I was in Pondicherry three decades after I had left the place. Pondicherry is where I grew up, and memories from those formative years clung to me like a second skin. The house where we lived for…

  • Birds,  Nature

    Indian silverbills or white-throated munias

    Quite often these drab-looking tiny birds are overlooked in favour of their more colourful counterparts. The Indian silverbills are one such species which though ubiquitous, are often ignored. They usually forage in groups and are very gregarious.…

  • Animals,  Fauna,  Nature

    The Langurs of Sevagram

    Sevagram is synonymous with Mahatma Gandhi. He spent a large part of his life here during India’s freedom struggle. And one of his prized possessions was a tiny figurine of three wise monkeys who embodied the principles…

  • Birds,  Fauna,  Nature

    Neelkanth: The Indian Roller Bird

    This is one bird which you will commonly find perched on wires along roadsides. The Indian roller bird or the Neelkanth. As children whenever we had our trips to Nagpur, one of our common pastimes used to be counting…

  • Flora,  Nature

    Amaltas: The golden shower tree

    The golden chandelier-like blossoms make you stop in your tracks, even when the firmament is afire. Pendulous yellow flowers cascade down in plenty making the green of the leaves redundant. The golden shower tree or the golden…