Golden orioles: My favourite summer sight
Sevagram can be terribly atrocious in the summers with the temperatures climbing to over 45 degrees C. But there are some blessings of nature one can look forward to even when the sun is blazing down. Delicious…
Rikki Tikki Tavi in my garden!
Hey I spotted Kipling’s Rikki Tikki Tavi with his entire family in my garden! I didn’t know that this mongoose family (mongooses? mongeese?!) likes taking a morning walk on the boundary wall! But what a gorgeous fur coat the…
Shy visitor: Black-hooded Cuckooshrike
Delightful morning. Waited with breathless anticipation wondering if this new visitor to the mango tree could be captured for posterity. Each time it shyly disappeared between the leaves in the canopy, my arms ached with holding the…
Bael sherbet: The summer cooler
Just behind my house, is a Bael tree. It caught my interest last year, when I found a pair of yellow-footed green pigeons making a nest in its branches. This year it is the koel’s favourite haunt.…
Cheezbilai or Junglee Jalebi
Just at dawn, on our walk, we discovered a flock of plum headed parakeets fly from one tree and rest on an adjacent branch and peck at something. They did that repeatedly and then one parakeet dropped…
The pumpkin patch
This morning we discovered a pumpkin patch. Actually, it was more than a patch, it was a field where they were growing red pumpkins. I’ve always found the local nomenclature for pumpkins and squashes very confusing. Now, this one…
A divine morning
Some mornings are divine. You wake up to the find out that the rain gods decided to work overtime during the night. The whole world has been washed clean and the leaves are glistening green. The air…
The spot-billed pelican: Calm swimmer
It was so calming to spend several minutes watching this spot-billed pelican swim away at Kaziranga National Park. Pelicans are known for their distinctive beak and throat pouch, which they use to scoop and store fish. I’m reminded of…
A viper in my garden!
Ah! The daily excitement of living in a place like Sevagram! A Russell’s viper appears in our garden. Thanks to ‘Sarpamitra’ Jeetendra for catching it and releasing it into the wild. Russell’s vipers are one of the most venomous species of…
Kaziranga National Orchid and Bio-Diversity Park
At Kaziranga, 2 km from Kohora, you must visit the orchidarium and biodiversity park. We just got a few minutes before the place closed down for the evening, but we were guided into the greenhouse by a…
