Skip to main content

Posts

DHOBAN CHIRIYA

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   15/XI/2024   The other day we went to a nearby lake to watch the Demoiselles cranes which have started arriving for this winter season. For us, it is a ritual to go and pay our respect to them for their courage & stamina to traverse all the way from Siberia to our ‘desh’.   I shall not talk about them today. Instead, out of all the other birds that we saw at the lake, there was one bird which caught my attention called the ‘Dhoban Chiriya’ (DC).   As we sat at the steps leading to the lake, right at the water's edge was a stone protruding out. On this sat this beautiful black and white bird not bigger than a house sparrow, flipping its tail up and down at a great pace. It sang and tweeted as if calling me to take her picture.   Why was it called the ‘Dhoban Chiriya’? This name is derived from its behaviour and deportment was my conclusion. The way it goes ‘dip-dip-dip-dipping’ its tail up and down resembles a scene at the ‘dhobi ghat’ where rows of washerw
Post a Comment
Read more
Recent posts

A TRIP FULL OF SURPRISES

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   05/XI/2024   A drive to a few nearby lakes springs surprises every time. There would always be a new bird or an animal which is sited making the drive worth it.   (Peacock sitting on an Electric Pole) My sister-in-law and family were here and requested me to visit the lake where the Demoiselles Cranes come to roost in winters. There was no way I could refuse it. My tripod too had been resting for a while. It was time to air its legs.   The drive to Guda Lake doesn’t take more than 20 minutes from where we stay. The biggest landmark on the way is a life size ‘Black Buck’ statue that the Bishnoi clan has erected on a pedestal in memory of the deer for which our friend ‘Sallu Baba’ keeps visiting the Sun City. We stopped to pose with the statue and moved to the lake. (Yours truly with the statue of the Black Buck) Moment, we alighted, very familiar sounds greeted us. They definitely were the cranes. My pace hastened to get the first glimpse of them. Lo and behold, th
14 comments
Read more

SCENE AT ELLIS’ RESTAURANT

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   04/XI/2024   Every morning the scene in the Ellis’ restaurant is so refreshing. The notes birds sing sounds like ‘reveille’ being sounded by the buglers. The ‘scenario’ keeps varying with arrival of different birds at different timings.   It is like being a restaurant owner, working solo with minimum help. Yours truly is the waiter, housekeeper, cook, receptionist, barman, purchase manager, accountant, and storekeeper of this shack. Imagine!   Foremost thing in the morning is housekeeping of the garden area, followed by watering the pots. This gives the plants a nice bath, like kids being readied for school.   The first set of ‘clients’ called the ‘Tailor Birds’ appear. They love to hunt for insects which get disturbed by the watering ritual. They sing and dance, hop and skip and carry on chasing moths and worms, without bothering about my presence.   By then the Bulbuls and the Sparrows start lining up around the trees, urging me to ‘o
6 comments
Read more

A GREAT SUNDAY

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   27/X/2024   Sunday is one of the most hectic days, probably the longest day. There is so much to do. To pack all the goodies in the day becomes exciting and fulfilling to the hilt.   A walk in the outdoors is a bliss in our colony. Cool breeze and fantastic smells greet you everywhere. Harsingaar is in full bloom, as also the Devil’s flower or “Alstonia Scholaris”. Their sweet smells are free ‘aroma therapy’.   Some people around were complaining about the allergies they create, especially for people having breathing problems. ‘Pollen’ of any flower can be allergic, is my view. Allergies could be aggravated by so many other reasons too. People want such trees to be ‘axed’, which I think would be criminal.   In Sainik School Kapurthala where I grew up, these trees grew as high as 150 feet tall. Here, they remind me of standing in the school assembly or while going for an after-dinner stroll to the ‘Baija’ (Garden) enjoying the fragrance. For me, this scent sets in
6 comments
Read more