NOEL ELLIS' GOOGLE BLOG

  EXTENSION ?   LT COL NOEL ELLIS 31/V/2024   It has been a long time since I have expressed my opinion on political happenings in the country. No point banging your head against a wall. In the same breath, I have also maintained silence on matters military. However, I couldn’t help poking my nose now. Firstly, I wanted to congratulate our new Naval Chief, Admiral Tripathi. A very dear course mate and a brilliant officer. We met in October last year and I didn’t know that I was standing next to the 'would be' Chief of Naval Staff. God Bless him in all he has in store for the Indian Navy and our beloved country. Be rest assured dear countrymen, our Navy is in very capable hands. The other thing which got me thinking was the extension in service of one month given to our Army Chief. It took me totally by surprise, if not a shock. All permutations and combinations, conjectures and guesses as to who would lead the ‘olive greens’ got churned up. The reason give...

🤍 DIL KHUSH 🤍

  Pure Love ❤️

  BEAUTIFUL MOMENTS   LT COL NOEL ELLIS 30/V/2024   The toughest time for any gardening enthusiast who stays in the ‘Registan’ is now. Temperatures are soaring to 50° C plus and rising. Man, and beast alike, the sun has moved on from baking, to toasting to roasting everything which comes in its way. People recommend a ‘green shade’ to give respite to the plants from direct sun rays. I am avoiding it for a reason as we are surrounded by dense green trees. In the winters on the other hand, they are given a ‘crew cut’ for sunrays to permeate freely. ‘Flowering’ has suddenly stopped, which was a remark of a friend passing by. If the leaves are green and the foliage dense means plants are in good health. Flowers shall bloom after the summer has passed, I convinced her. Plants throw up buds but the heat is taking its toll. Buds start yellowing before maturing and fall off well before they bloom. It is normal in this season. Water evaporates in a snap of a finger...

  DRUMSTICKS   LT COL NOEL ELLIS 27/V/2024   The word ‘Moringa Oleifera’ or ‘Saijana ki Falli’ fascinates me. Some call them ‘Drumsticks’. The seed pods actually look like drumsticks. Though they are not as solid as real drumsticks. The word ‘Moringa’ is derived from ‘Tamil’ called ‘Murungai’ or ‘twisted pod’. The fruit, when it is supple, green, and raw, is an important ingredient in many Indian dishes. The medicinal value of this tree is well known. The leaves, raw pods and flowers are all edible. Even its roots resemble ‘radish’. Our neighbours have been generous enough to let us pluck them. This morning, someone told us that if the leaves and flowers are added to ‘dahi-raita’, it makes an effective souring and flavouring agent. Moringa flowers and leaves can be dried and stored like we preserve ‘mint’ or ‘Kasuri methi’.   Our maid makes a very tangy and tasty sabzi out of it. Many would have noticed, one cannot eat these pods whole. The traditio...

🤍 DIL KHUSH 🤍

  CHAMAN   LT COL NOEL ELLIS 26/V/2024 ‘Jannat’ is what we call our colony where our humble abode exists. God has been kind to bless us with heaven on earth. Nature and greenery are the hallmarks of this place. Interestingly, if you have a clear heart & conscience, your mind is clutter free, your thoughts are not polluted with shoddy ‘politics-sholitics’, ‘pollution’ of all kinds and if you are not a student of any WhatsApp university, everything appears to be heavenly and divine. To add my small contribution to our ‘Eden Garden’, watering the plants is a must. As I was deploying the hose pipe, I heard a loud call of the Yellow Bottomed Bulbul (YBB) sitting on a branch close by. She is a regular visitor to our garden and doesn’t fear our presence at all. It looked as if she was talking to me in short bursts of weird tweets and calls. What’s the matter, I asked her? ‘Twat-tweet-twat’ came the answer. “Hey, what’s happened to your voice”? “Baraf to nahi kha li,...

  BEAT THE HEAT   LT COL NOEL ELLIS 24/V/2024 Summer has been tough on everyone in Rajasthan this year. 50 degrees C and rising is becoming unbearable. Heat strokes have already claimed many lives here. Dehydration is very common. Situation is grim. Plants are wilting and drying. Green leaves become crisp on the plant itself due to intense heat. Flower buds turn yellow & fall off by the evening, even in shade. Hats off to the labourers, courier and food delivery boys & drivers driving vehicles without AC. Animals are seen congregating under every available tree or shade. Birds disappear after mid-day and return close to sun down, when the heat subsides. Lakes and water bodies are drying up fast. Water tanker services are making a fast buck. Tankers with “Meetha Pani” cost 700 bucks, “Pheeka Pani” tankers cost 400 and “Khara Pani” tankers 350 bucks. Still the traditional ‘piyao’ is serving the ‘panthi’ or the traveller. A lady still sits in a thatched ...

  My Heart ❤ beats for this mother 🐦

  CUP AND THE LIP   LT COL NOEL ELLIS 22/V/2024   My chest swells with pride as I write this note.  ‘Tree saplings’ grown from seeds by us have now grown into majestic trees. It has been a continuous effort since the last three years plus. We saw both success & failures. Let me share with you the success story & some glitches. As they say, “there is many a slip between the cup and the lip”. Nevertheless, here goes…. We are lucky to be staying in a colony which is well maintained and green. With numerous varieties of trees, shrubs and green spaces which are looked after tirelessly by our horticulture staff. They deserve a big salute. We have numerous WhatsApp ‘Tigers and Tigresses’, who “pelo bhashans” about planting a tree, keep the colony green, save water, ban plastic, protect the environment etc. Only very few turn ‘preaching to practice’. We took the cudgels to do our bit. Our first trial was with mangoes. ‘Guthalis’, after we had ‘choos...

  JINNY & JOHNNY   LT COL NOEL ELLIS 22/V/2024   It was a lovely morning and our garden was full of activity. Birds and the Bees were zipping and humming past to eat, drink or take a dip in the water bowl. Some were on a lookout for food, some were busy courting, some were fighting but the scene was full of life. As time has gone by, these creatures have got used to us and we have learnt to respect their space. Birds feel comfortable. They hop and chirp freely. A bowl of water & a bowl of grain was all that was needed to win their trust. Now it is home for them. Rather, they get annoyed if we don’t refill in time. Today, there was a surprise visit from Jinny & Johnny. They are chicks of our Sunbirds who hatched almost a week back leaving an empty nest. As soon as I saw them, I recognised them. The give away was their chirps and tweets. Their voice is yet to mature. The baby sounds were a dead give away. Another giveaway was their tails. The adults have a tail ...

  ROOFTOP AQUATIC GARDEN   LT COL NOEL ELLIS 21/V/2024   Ladies and Gentlemen, let me take you on a tour of our rooftop garden. There is nothing very special, but slowly and steadily it has grown into a beautiful aquatic garden space. Two years back we thought of growing them in tubs & shallow earthen pots. Not knowing the difference between water lilies and lotus, we ordered lotus seeds online. We watched ‘how to grow them yourself’ videos but the reality was quite different. After putting in great efforts, we had to abandon the project due to disappointing results. We even borrowed lotus tubers from a cousin but they too perished. However, we didn’t  give up so easily. It was time to revisit our passion of growing these aquatic plants. The quest now was diverted to ‘water lilies’ instead. We found some nurseries selling water lily plants. One was not sure about the end result, as half the plant nurseries associated with Amazon do not send what t...