NOEL ELLIS' GOOGLE BLOG

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   31/III/2024   What comes to your mind if I say ‘ कतरन ’ (Cutrun)? Most of us won’t know what it means. Probably, people belonging to UP/MP might relate to it. It was a very commonly used term in the days of yore.   ‘Katran’ means cutting, piece or shred. It is what is leftover, unwanted and unused. Mostly, in relation to cloth or paper.   In layman's terms  कतरन  were rags, waste cloth, especially leftovers with tailors, who after cutting the cloth to the measurements had shreds and fragments that were thrown away. Those cuttings were in a haphazard pattern but were bits of extra/wasted cloth during the garment stitching process.   There is another word called ‘Cut Piece’. That I shall discuss sometime else. Suffice to say, one can call it a sort of  कतरन  and it used to be a pre-measured cloth from which you could make a garment like a shirt or a pair of pants. Generally, the tailor would tell you that pants for a ...

 

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   29/III/2025   As the summer heat has picked up. It has become mandatory to water the pots daily. Post Holi the frequency from twice a week became once a day in a jiffy. Temperatures would be soaring to 45C soon. Plants look up to you for their ‘Thoolo drink. I have a nozzle fitted to the hose which gives the effect of rain.   This spray is one of the most desired things in the morning. Even the birds which hang around the garden love it.   For the Hummingbirds and Tailor birds the champa leaves become a bathtub of sorts. They ruffle their feathers and groom themselves before going for their daily chores. Bulbuls, Sparrows, and Doves frolic in the puddle of water which accumulates in the drain. It becomes a watering hole and a bathing point, till that water finally gets drained. After feeding on grain, they dive down to have a quick drink and wash.   It was another lucky day for me today. A bird which I had photographed last year near t...

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   28/III/2025   Last night it appeared the winds had gone mad. They blew hot and cold. Sand particles ‘rode’ on the breeze along with leaves which the trees are shedding. The first draft of the breeze on opening the door was as if the cold wave had returned.   The almond tree infront of the house had gone absolutely bald, with not even the ‘last leaf’ left, and has now started to sprout. New light green shoots look very soothing to the eyes. The Drumstick trees have thrown up numerous fruit pods which hang like dangling needles about to shoot towards the ground.   Once dawn had broken, it was time to inspect the garden. Having done that, it was time for my usual cup of tea and meet and greet passersby.   That is when my ears caught an unusual bird call very close. We are used to the whistling conversations of Greeny the green pigeon, besides tweets of the hummingbirds and chirps of sparrows and coos of the doves. However, this sound was ...

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   27/III/2025   Following events in Pakistan has become my second nature. After becoming a veteran, I prefer to read/listen to discussions about Pak which is available on the net and their social media.   Pakistan has been caught between the ‘devil and the deep sea’. Internally, various insurgencies are now taking an alarming shape and beating the daylights of the Paki Armed Forces. Externally, they are being sidelined, ignored, boycotted and even sanctioned for what they do or they don’t do to run their country.   Paki government is still in discussion about why India is causing all this disturbance, instead of getting their own house in order. It is high time they focus within and stop comparing themselves with India. No point at all. Like we say, “ye muh aur masoor ki dal”.   Frankly, the turmoil within the country has reached a stage where they just need a trigger and all hell will break loose. There are inputs ...

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   26/III/2024   The other day while I was attending to our rooftop garden, I heard a very familiar ‘buzz’ overhead. It was a huge swarm of bees like a dark cloud in the sky, skimming over our terrace. The hum was so loud that it could beat the sound of an aeroplane flying by.   Bees are back in season. With winters gone and summers catching up, they need to get to work, which is making honey by profession. With blooms aplenty, they sure have lots of pollen and nectar to collect, not only from gardens but farms and fields.   A similar incident happened when our car cleaner raised an alarm for me to not open the door as there were honey bees hovering over our pots in the garage. One look and I knew they were “Chotti Makhhi”, who have been ‘hiving’ in and around our house. They are not ferocious and rarely sting. However, the honey they make is supposed to be the best.   Man, and bees are always at loggerheads. ...

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   23/III/2025   There could be no better ‘Dil Khush’ moment when flowers bloom in the garden. Your hard work comes to bear fruit and gives much satisfaction to see the results. One can only thank them for the beauty they bestow and the pleasure they bring, uplifting the mood. All other thoughts just vanish in thin air.   This time, it was the evening visit to Ellis' Garden. The sun had about an hour plus to set but was well behind our building. The diffused and scattered light gave the flowers a different shade and texture. They called for a photo.   Sometimes when you go out to take a picture of something, you land up photographing many other things instead. Now that we all have digital storage as memory cards, which have a capacity to shoot about a thousand plus photos without bothering to change the card, it becomes difficult to control the ‘trigger finger’.   Just as I was about finished with the flowers, there was frantic activ...

  Aaj Ki Shaam mere doston ke naam

An open letter to Mr Bhagwant Maan on this officer and his son being beaten up so brutally at Patiala. My sympathies with the family and I am sure justice will not be delayed or denied.   AN OPEN LETTER TO CM PUNJAB   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   22/III/2025   Maan jog Bhagwant Maan Saab. Main ek chota jeha sabak fauji haan. Aj majbbor hoke main aa chitti tunahu likh reha han, kyon ki dil andron dukhi hai. Tuhade thalle te tuhadi sarkar de which Patiala police ne jo kuj ek Serving Army de officer te os de munde naal kitta hai o sharmnaak hai ate darshonda hai ki aj di tareekh which Punjab police te tuhada koi control nahi hai. Aj takreeban dus din ho gaye han, te tussi Khamosh ho.   Police da kam sirf kuttapa chaarna hunda hai? Ja ke aam shahri waste eho jeha mahul paida karna ki banda safe feel kare. Bande nu bharosa hove ki haan mera koi mai baap hai. Lor pain te oh meri madad waaste aauga. Par lagda hai ke hun scene badal gaya hai.   Maa...