A RECENT ENCOUNTER

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

15/X/2024

The weather has cooled down considerably here. The humidity has reduced too. Plants are feeling the much-needed relief and so are we.

In the last couple of days, I encountered many insects. One was a brightly coloured Dragonfly. This guy was hovering over our water lilies on the rooftop garden.

The second insect was Mr Locust. This time it appeared that all its legs were intact. He was twiddling his whiskers sitting on our Papaya tree. This guy was huge, a giant if I may say so. My pointer finger was smaller.

Mr Locust was not shy at all. He allowed me to click photos from different angles. At times it moved around the stem of the leaf, to keep hiding as I twisted it to click some pics of him.

“Where did you come from”? I asked, getting into a conversation with Mr L. “Don’t ask, I had a narrow escape or I would have been breakfast for Mr Shikara”, he quipped. “Is he around, " Mr Locust asked me, a little scared?"

“Very much, I keep meeting Mr Shikra off and on”. As we were conversing, I noticed a portion of his front leg was missing. I expressed my bewilderment to him. “How it is that I always meet a locust or a grasshopper without a leg or a missing portion of a leg. Is all well”?

“Well,”, said Mr Locust. “Let me tell you the story”. “I was born across the road in the lawn opposite your house. We were hundreds of brothers and sisters. Most of them have perished or flown away. I couldn’t fly that well, so I stayed back”. “I see, then….”

I kept feeding and growing. My body grew bigger than my wings. I could only fly for short distances, just good enough to avoid getting caught by a bird. Even rats and chuchundar eat us. With the size I have reached now, it is impossible to fly. I can only crawl or take short leaps with the help of my hind legs”.

“How did you lose that part of your front leg”? I asked. “I was lucky,” he said. “I saw your beautiful garden and made up my mind to come over”. “That’s compliment”, I chuckled.

“I was crossing the road when a crow spotted me. He came and sat next to me. I was too scared as I was exposed, so I played dead. A few vehicles passed over me, almost running me over. A milkman missed me by a whisker. Then a small child came riding on her bicycle. The supporting wheel ran over my leg. It hurt badly and I knew it had broken”. “Go on”, I said…..

“That is when I spotted you taking photos of something on the Moringa tree next door”. “From nowhere Mr Shikra appeared and dived at me”. “In one swoop he picked me up and I said my last prayers”. “The broken portion of my leg got detached as the shikra had not got a very firm grip on me.

“Because my leg got severed, I fell on this papaya tree”. “The leg has healed and doesn’t hurt much and I feel safe in the shade of the big papaya leaves. Unless a bird flies low and spots me, I stay camouflaged and safe”. I wished Mr L good luck. “What next”? I asked.

“Will you let me stay here”, he requested? “Most definitely, enjoy your stay, but I shall be photographing you off and on”. “That is not a problem at all”, he accepted my request.

“Take care then, hope to meet you everyday”. “Don’t eat the papaya flowers, please”. “Not at all, he promised, I eat insects that come to pollinate them, that too once in a while”.

Today, I didn’t find him. Has the Shikra found Mr L? I wonder!!!!!!

JAI HIND