ARTICLE : A LUCKY DAY

A LUCKY DAY

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

09/X/2021

A new day, fresh as fresh could be started with a ‘Dil Khush’ moment as I stepped out of our door. A new type of hibiscus flower was in full bloom. Though this is one of the oldest varieties, it is rare to find. It has a small story and a background.

Having decided to collect as many new varieties and colours of this favourite flower of mine, this type was what I had my eyes on. Having visited umpteen nurseries, one could not find a sapling of this one. One fine day as I strolled along the colony, one had a ‘Chirag Tale Andhera’ moment. We had been staying in the near vicinity where this bush had almost become a small tree with so many flowers blooming at one go. How did I miss it? Better late than never.

Two years back, I was in my ‘greenhouse’ working on ‘cuttings’ when an idea struck me to have this one in our collection. Before anyone could object on taking a branch, the cutting was on its way. With a prayer on my lips and lots of root hormone on the cuttings bottom, in it went into a pot. As luck would have it, many cuttings died. Which colour one had survived was difficult to differentiate.

I always kept an eye on the original bush. One fine day the bush was gone. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The new occupants of the house got it uprooted. By the time one could get hold of the horticulturist and ask him why he had done it, it was too late. They had shoved it into the compost pit along all the green waste. My heart sank. One felt so bad as the only specimen had perished. How stupid people could be?

I told those guys to get it from wherever, as I had seen an odd bush growing along the roadside towards Alibaug. These guys ignored my request. Later I also forgot about it. Today, all my anger, which probably had got stored in one corner of my mind, just vanished and happiness took over.

Having adored it and clicked some pictures, I ventured on my morning walk. The first thing one spotted on the corner hibiscus was a ‘mold’. My mind started working as to how to get rid of it. If it caught hold of the plant, it could kill it. But then it was my friend Tik-Tok, in full camouflage, probably out on shikar. I heard they can catch sunbirds too. I left him to enjoy his morning.

Talking about sunbirds, these darlings are crazy for nectar. They know each flower in the entire neighbourhood. They dance, fly, hover and go around having their meals from dawn to dusk. I have found them in pairs but to capture both together is rare. Either you are too far or they are too fast.

It was a rare opportunity today to capture one with a nectar drop at the tip of its beak. Reminded me of my childhood when mom would pin a handkerchief on my shirt with a safety pin, in case one had to wipe his face after having tiffin in the recess. Most of us would have a morsel or two stuck around our lips or chin. I wanted to ask the sunbird, where was her handkerchief? It showed me its tongue and flew away to the next flower.

As I bade her goodbye, one reached the spot where one had spotted the two tiny bird chicks last evening. Lo and behold, their Mom and Dad were there. I couldn’t spot the tiny tots but these guys posed for me. Though at a distance, one still managed to capture them. Hope the little ones are doing good as these guys jumped from the mango tree to the banana tree.

Bananas are flowering and one has spotted ants and bees on them. They become a meal for these birdies I believe. At the far end of our lane is a vacant house where one of the banana plant laden with fruit is sleeping on the ground, resting its bunch very close to the steps. One had tried straightening one in our back yard and it snapped from near the base. So instead of doing the same, I left it to sleep and still bear fruit. The tip has curved up and is pointing skywards again.

My wife called out “breakfast is laid on the table”. One was hungry in the company of these lovely darlings. A chance encounter and a fleeting moment when they pose for you is what I call luck. Today was a super lucky day for me. What will tomorrow hold? I wonder!!!!!!!!!