NOEL ELLIS' GOOGLE BLOG

  What a Holi is the Middle East celebrating! With blood, gunpowder and missiles. Souls being dispatched to hell/heaven continuously as the case may be. This festival of war will not end soon I suppose. Who will be the victor and who will be the vanquished, no one knows? I am not here to speculate.   I was a little baby when the 1965 war with Pakistan took place. Parents used to narrate stories. I have no memories of that war but I believe it was bloody. I had no idea then that I would join the Armed Forces one day.   Parents also told us stories of ‘Partition’, the way the whole train load of people were killed. The earth was red with blood. Why? I used to question them.   The 1962 war with China, I wasn’t born. We picturised the bloodshed when we saw the movie ‘Haqiqat’. As kids we had no idea of how a country was run & how the defence of a country is organised. We didn’t understand the ‘budget’. We just had respect for the people in uniform. Co...

  https://youtu.be/EnrntiL0fTc   When you start observing birds, you tend to indulge with your auditory and visual faculties more than usual. A new bird sound catches your ears immediately. To get a visual on it becomes your priority. If you get to see it, nothing like it and if you get to photograph it, is ultimate.   We have this pair of birds called the Wire Tailed Swallow living in our colony. They are very agile but shy, extremely energetic, nimble, and always alert at all times. They are excellent insect hunters, including the ones in flight. Their chirps are distinct and their colours so unique.   When winters were at its peak, the pair would come and bask in our window sill in the morning sun. The same in summers when the heat was at its peak, they would come and roost at the same place in the shade.   Over a period of time, they have become quite friendly. They do not scoot as soon as they see me. Both become cautious but are not scar...

  VISIT TO 'MEHRANGARH FORT' IN THE BLUE CITY WITH FAMILY MAKES MY DIL KHUSH               https://youtu.be/qOSHKdwUHI8

      You tube link -  https://youtu.be/X7F97k_AQ7I   We make it a point to visit and enjoy the spectacle of water birds and wild animals which congregate around a lake in our vicinity.   ‘Guda’ is the name of the village. People of that village are the custodians and caretakers of all living beings, being from the Bishnoi community. Hats off to their dedication.   We had visited in January to meet our very dear friends called the ‘Demoiselles cranes’. They were there in great numbers, maybe a thousand plus maybe. However, for us it was a little disappointing to see that there were just a few hundred which were still staying on. Ninety percent have left for their traditional home in Siberia.   They have fed well and will go back 4000 kms, over the Himalayas to meet their kin which they had left behind.   We were just in time to see them flying in formation all set to reach their favourite feeding ground which is the bank of the Guda Lake. Tha...

💛 Dil Khush ❤

PINK CITY MAHASHIVRATRI   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   20/II/2026   India is a land of festivals and celebrations. With so many Gods, Goddesses and Deities to seek blessings from, there is an event happening everyday somewhere in the country. That’s why we are such a vibrant and vivacious country.   The festival of Mahashivratri is one of them. It is the "Great Night of Shiva," which is a major Hindu festival celebrated annually in the Phalgun month to honour Lord Shiva, marking the union of Shiva and Parvati. It is also the night when he performed the Tandav dance (the cosmic dance of creation, preservation, and destruction).   Devotees observe fasting, meditate, and perform ‘Abhishek’ or anointing Lord Shiva’s idol with milk and honey to gain spiritual growth, inner stillness, and self-realization.   My cousin, a renowned photographer in a popular daily, shared photos and videos of the event on his return from the Mahashivratri celebra...