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SWALLOWS ARE NESTING

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   31/III/2025   We are in the season of nesting. All birds have either laid their eggs and are in the process of hatching them. Some ‘Late Lateef’s’ are still constructing them. Many are making second nests because the partner rejected it or a tragedy happened. But the gist remains that love is in the air ‘full on’.   Last year, I saw these shy birds called the “Wire Tailed Swallows” sitting in one of the windowsills on our roof. There had to be a reason for their visit. Now I know.   These girls come down to the lawn right infront of our house, especially when the sprinkler is on. It is so absorbing to watch them collect mud and dry grass which they mix with their saliva to make a mixture which is stronger than cement to build their nest. The birds are super specialised ‘masons’.   I had seen these birds in hundreds sitting on a high-tension wire which passes behind our colony touching our boundary wall. With tha...
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KATRAN कतरन

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   31/III/2024   What comes to your mind if I say ‘ कतरन ’ (Cutrun)? Most of us won’t know what it means. Probably, people belonging to UP/MP might relate to it. It was a very commonly used term in the days of yore.   ‘Katran’ means cutting, piece or shred. It is what is leftover, unwanted and unused. Mostly, in relation to cloth or paper.   In layman's terms  कतरन  were rags, waste cloth, especially leftovers with tailors, who after cutting the cloth to the measurements had shreds and fragments that were thrown away. Those cuttings were in a haphazard pattern but were bits of extra/wasted cloth during the garment stitching process.   There is another word called ‘Cut Piece’. That I shall discuss sometime else. Suffice to say, one can call it a sort of  कतरन  and it used to be a pre-measured cloth from which you could make a garment like a shirt or a pair of pants. Generally, the tailor would tell you that pants for a ...

BEE EATERS AT THE RIVER FRONT

 

DANCING DRONGOS

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   29/III/2025   As the summer heat has picked up. It has become mandatory to water the pots daily. Post Holi the frequency from twice a week became once a day in a jiffy. Temperatures would be soaring to 45C soon. Plants look up to you for their ‘Thoolo drink. I have a nozzle fitted to the hose which gives the effect of rain.   This spray is one of the most desired things in the morning. Even the birds which hang around the garden love it.   For the Hummingbirds and Tailor birds the champa leaves become a bathtub of sorts. They ruffle their feathers and groom themselves before going for their daily chores. Bulbuls, Sparrows, and Doves frolic in the puddle of water which accumulates in the drain. It becomes a watering hole and a bathing point, till that water finally gets drained. After feeding on grain, they dive down to have a quick drink and wash.   It was another lucky day for me today. A bird which I had photographed last year near t...

A NEW BIRD IN TOWN

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   28/III/2025   Last night it appeared the winds had gone mad. They blew hot and cold. Sand particles ‘rode’ on the breeze along with leaves which the trees are shedding. The first draft of the breeze on opening the door was as if the cold wave had returned.   The almond tree infront of the house had gone absolutely bald, with not even the ‘last leaf’ left, and has now started to sprout. New light green shoots look very soothing to the eyes. The Drumstick trees have thrown up numerous fruit pods which hang like dangling needles about to shoot towards the ground.   Once dawn had broken, it was time to inspect the garden. Having done that, it was time for my usual cup of tea and meet and greet passersby.   That is when my ears caught an unusual bird call very close. We are used to the whistling conversations of Greeny the green pigeon, besides tweets of the hummingbirds and chirps of sparrows and coos of the doves. However, this sound was ...

US SANCTIONS PAK ARMY CHIEF

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   27/III/2025   Following events in Pakistan has become my second nature. After becoming a veteran, I prefer to read/listen to discussions about Pak which is available on the net and their social media.   Pakistan has been caught between the ‘devil and the deep sea’. Internally, various insurgencies are now taking an alarming shape and beating the daylights of the Paki Armed Forces. Externally, they are being sidelined, ignored, boycotted and even sanctioned for what they do or they don’t do to run their country.   Paki government is still in discussion about why India is causing all this disturbance, instead of getting their own house in order. It is high time they focus within and stop comparing themselves with India. No point at all. Like we say, “ye muh aur masoor ki dal”.   Frankly, the turmoil within the country has reached a stage where they just need a trigger and all hell will break loose. There are inputs ...

TWO GOOD OMENS

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   26/III/2024   The other day while I was attending to our rooftop garden, I heard a very familiar ‘buzz’ overhead. It was a huge swarm of bees like a dark cloud in the sky, skimming over our terrace. The hum was so loud that it could beat the sound of an aeroplane flying by.   Bees are back in season. With winters gone and summers catching up, they need to get to work, which is making honey by profession. With blooms aplenty, they sure have lots of pollen and nectar to collect, not only from gardens but farms and fields.   A similar incident happened when our car cleaner raised an alarm for me to not open the door as there were honey bees hovering over our pots in the garage. One look and I knew they were “Chotti Makhhi”, who have been ‘hiving’ in and around our house. They are not ferocious and rarely sting. However, the honey they make is supposed to be the best.   Man, and bees are always at loggerheads. ...