A visit to a farm house
Birds 🐦 made my DIL KHUSH 💙
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STORIES FROM WITHIN A BLACK BOX
STORIES FROM WITHIN A BLACK BOX LT COL NOEL ELLIS 30/XII/2023 Two years back, we finally moved into our own home. It was curtains to so many hats that one had adorned. Time had come to relax and indulge in hobbies close to my heart and also reopen our ‘black fauji trunks’ which had been lying locked for more than fifteen years. ‘Trunks’ were the mainstay during Fauji postings. The complete household would be stuffed into them. Their numbers increased every year. Every box was painted black and sequentially numbered with padlocks assigned to each. The contents of the box were listed in duplicate, with one inserted in the box itself and the other carried with you for easier redeployment at the next station. ‘Trunk’ and ‘Key management’ were an art and a science. Box & keys were meticulously numbered and noted in a diary. Box number where duplicate keys would be found were inscribed in bold in that diary. There was a method in that madness which only faujis can understand. The ‘pa
A HERONs CATCH
A HERONs CATCH LT COL NOEL ELLIS 26/XII/2023 Ajmer has a very special place in my heart. Most of Dad’s Uncles & Aunts were settled there. As a kid, we sometimes used to go to Ajmer during Christmas Holidays. The recent visit triggered so many memories. What used to catch my attention then was an exchange of letters between ‘Toto Uncle’, who was my dad’s favourite uncle. Both were hard core fishing enthusiasts. The famous lakes of Ajmer called ‘Ana Sagar’ and ‘Foy Sagar’ were always mentioned in those letters. Dad would include Kanjli rivulet in his replies, which used to induce a kind of competitiveness between them. Dad had left Ajmer and joined Sainik School Kapurthala, Punjab in July of 1961. About 4kms from the school was this ‘Kanjli Bein’ which was an offshoot of Beas River. It was a flood water diversion with a check dam at village Kanjli. The Maharaja of Kapurthala had a palace on the river called Villa Kothi. It was an angler’s paradise. Fishing stories at these wate
MAIN NASHE MEIN HUN
MAIN NASHE MEIN HUN LT COL NOEL ELLIS 22/XII/2023 It was yesterday while scrolling through my favourite videos, I came across my favourite Gazal on YouTube by Jagjit Singh, ‘Main Nashe Main Hun’. I actually am. We had gone to bake cakes at a local bakery. Since then, intoxication of a different kind is running deep inside every nerve and artery. We reached the bakery complex which we had visited last year. Smells started going up the nostrils. The moment we stepped out of the car. They were familiar but different. Lugging our carton full of goodies needed for baking like flour, butter, cake fruits, essence etc needed some muscle power. To our surprise the workers there were making ‘Jaggery Toffees’. The smell was so striking that one could eat a whole ‘disc’ right there. One worker informed us that the bakery had shifted a couple of months back. We did a ‘peechay mur daur ke chal’, carrying with us that lovely smell. ‘Nasha’ had started. We located the bakery. The
THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS
THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS LT COL NOEL ELLIS 21/XII/2023 The weather has started getting ‘Christmassy’. Chill in the air has now got that little ‘bite’. Cheeks are turning red, noses have started dripping slightly, woollen caps, mufflers and hand gloves are out. Except for the snowfall, everything is just right to usher in Christmas. Our ‘star’ is up, the Christmas tree is deployed, the garden has been lit and the flowers too are in the red and white theme. Baking of cakes has commenced. Of course, the ‘fruits’ have been soaking in rum since almost a week plus. This time is so hectic. It will be ‘Pakwan’ frying time soon. The items on the menu will be ‘Goojiya’, ‘Sakhen’, ‘Bajre ki tikiya’, ‘Matthi’, ‘Doughnuts’, ‘Khajoor’, ‘Dal ke pakore’ with minty chutney. I am not counting the dry fruits. Neza/chilgoza or pine nuts are my favourites. Rewari and Gajak would also be on the spread. Being ‘non veg’ lovers, it would be ‘roasted meat’, marinated in just salt and fresh lim
SARDI MAIN ZARDI LT COL NOEL ELLIS 12/XII/2023 Egg in any form has been my all time favourite. All those who do not like eggs are excused from reading further. Eggetarians and non-vegetarians enjoy the journey of what came first…. The hen or the egg? For me, both are welcome at breakfast, lunch, or dinner, including a mid-day snack or a snack with the evening chai. They could be in any form, poached, boiled, stuffed in momos, mixed with mayonnaise, curried, dry or fried, lutputta, spicy or with just pepper and salt. Korma, jhaal farezi, A la Foos, 69, drumsticks, lollipop or in a soup. I can leave my salad for them. There is an old joke too. What is the ‘yellow’ of an egg called…. it is yolk, what is a white of an egg called…. No… not folk… it is Albumen. Tongue twister, isn’t it? About 50 years back, we used to have a small poultry in our back yard. It all started with ‘Australian black’, ‘ White Leghorns’ and ‘Red Rhodes’. Dad would bring selected eggs of thoroughbred hens from
WISHES COME TRUE
WISHES COME TRUE LT COL NOEL ELLIS 08/XII/2023 Last evening as my wife and I were sipping our evening cup of tea in our garden, a little girl ‘Nanna’ passed by. Her smile reminded me of our ‘common friend’, another girl her age who had shifted to her village as the stork had visited their family again. She had been promoted to ‘Didi’. ‘Pari’ was my companion in the garden. She would help me water the pots and add manure to them. The two-litre watering can was too heavy for her but she would make a sincere effort to assist me, even if she fell down. Pari could chit-chat non-stop till she got all the answers. Only when ‘Auntie’ would give her a toffee would she depart. One got so attached that her absence and views on any topic on earth were being missed. Then suddenly a very familiar car with Pari written on their rear wind screen zipped passed. They say, if you remember someone so fondly, the wish gets fulfilled. Had I asked for something else, I would have received
Kachnar or Bauhinia Variegate
Kachnar or Bauhinia Variegate is in full bloom. Sunbirds are having a ball. ❤ DIL KHUSH 🐦
