Skip to main content

Posts

ZEPHYRANTHES

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   19/VI/2025   If I say “Zephyranthes”, what do you guys reckon? It isn’t the name of a Greek Goddess or a Gladiator, or even an extinct tribe. Yes, one can call them royal, regal, majestic, grand, dainty, graceful and elegant flowers adorning the Ellis’ Garden.   Let me not beat around the “Bulb”. They are a bulbous variety also called the “Rain Lily”. The bulb is small and fragile but it is like “plant it and forget it”. As the first pre-monsoon showers have arrived, the bulbs have sprung to life, having stayed in dormancy from the fall of the previous year.   This plant has a unique feature. The first sign it hints at that it has not perished is its bud. There are no leaves, just a bud which pops up immediately after the first rain. These bulbs have nerves which can sense the signals that it is not the gardener sprinkling water but a rain shower from the skies. How? Your guess is as good as mine.   Last ...
Post a Comment
Read more
Recent posts

AVIATION EXPERT

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   15/VI/2025   I am no war or an aviation expert but suffice to say, I was in a profession where war and fighting terrorists was the ultimate test of my very existence in service. Let me leave it at that for the time being.   We all have been shaken by the tragic accident of the Air India crash in Ahmedabad. My deepest condolences to every family affected by the tragedy of humongous proportions. Let the experts do their job and find out the truth. Let us assist in whatever way we can. The best way is to just be silent and keep all the departed souls and injured in our prayers.   Media does not want answers, it only wants to sensationalise the issue by asking questions to aviators based on conjectures and speculations. Like hawks, they are waiting for one slip up from one expert to then go all guns blazing.   Shoving mikes in the people’s mouths, who are broken beyond words and taking their reactions is so h...
Post a Comment
Read more

WIRE TAILED SWALLOWS RETURN

  WIRE TAILED SWALLOWS RETURN   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   14/VI/2025   It was just by coincidence or was it my imagination that I saw a very familiar bird fly past over my head. It was small but very swift and agile. Because I was not wearing my specks, I could be mistaken for what it could be.   Birds come to have a drink in the evening from the waterlily tubs on the roof. Besides, there are some water birds like herons and cormorants which fly home at the same time but they fly a little too high for a good photo. Switching from closeups to birds in flight mode takes a little time and adjustment. The birds do not give that much time to change the settings. Never mind.   I met many similar birds at the riverfront during their nesting season last year. They skim over the river to catch worms and insects for their little ones and themselves. There aren’t any fish in the water. Most of it is industrial waste and sewage which drains into it and has turned black. Very...
Post a Comment
Read more

AVOIDING TRAGEDIES

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   13/VI/2025   It was a fine morning today but we were still trying to come to grips with the tragedy of the plane crash in Ahmedabad. What a way to go! So much of grief is inexplicable. My heartfelt condolences to all the families and friends of the deceased and get well wishes to all those who are injured. God Bless you all.   As usual, my routine in the garden got me on my feet. Today, it was watering and fish tank cleaning day. A little taxing but manageable.   The sun had come up by the time I finished with all that. It was not all that fierce today. So, I thought I might take a walk in our common lawn infront of our house.   My heart was also heavy because a huge Drumstick tree which was the ‘centre of gravity’ of so much of activity of birds, insects and reptiles was chopped off as the owner is getting his house renovated.   It was painful deep inside but the positive was that our seed grown...
Post a Comment
Read more

MADHUKAMINI

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   11/VI/2025   The very Indian name sounds attractive and captivating. I have heard names of people to be ‘Madhu’ meaning nectar, honey or sweetness and ‘Kamini’ to be interpreted as a lady who is voluptuous, attractive, desirable, beautiful, charming, captivating, having qualities of femininity and grace. This flower I am going to talk about is a combination of both.   Last year, I was looking for a nursery which could deliver plants called “birds of paradise”. One was shortlisted and the order was placed. Then as usual the delay. Plants were ordered from Pune and due to Ganpati Festival, their staff was on chutti. I could understand their sentiments, having stayed long enough in Maharashtra.   A week turned to a month, neither they were refunding the money nor were they dispatching the plants. I then lost my shirt. That made them dispatch them the same day. When the plants arrived, I received a surprise gift as a compensation for the delay ...
Post a Comment
Read more