Skip to main content

TWO SHIKARIS


 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

05/VII/2025

 

The stray cat in our lane has three cute kittens. None of them look like her. She is ‘Chitkabri’ that is spotted, one kitten looks like Garfield, second one is grey and one of mixed colour. I spotted them across our lane for the first time. Kittens needed an ‘extra diet’ as moms milk was not sufficient.

 

Mom brought them to the lawn infront of our house and sat in the centre while the kittens played all sorts of games from catching mama’s tail, to tripping over each other, walking sideways to attack and the usual kitty stuff. They looked healthy.

 

While they were busy playing, Mama cat walked over to where I was tending to the Mulberry bush. She was curious but moving very cautiously, actually pussyfooting. Something had caught her attention in that bush. I couldn’t spot it, maybe she could.

 

Remember the story of Mr TikTok the Chameleon and his shikar of a cockroach. That is what mama cat came to catch. TikTok was smart. It changed colours and ‘evaporated’ into thin air somewhere in the bush. I tried locating it but couldn’t. Chitkabri could smell it but could not see it, or else there would have been a well-fed juicy chameleon for breakfast.

 

Mama tried stretching herself on the bush, but finding a ‘super still’ chameleon was beyond her and me. She must have used all her skills for about fifteen minutes when she must have remembered that her three little kittens had been left alone. She gave up and gave the ‘mamas call’ to her tiny tots. One responded and the others didn’t. I bid them goodbye.

 

Yesterday, a small but bright green grasshopper jumped out of a clump of leaves from one of my pots and landed on the tile. The bright green colour was really a contrast. I picked it up to show the kids who were on the way to school, but then decided to leave it alone.

 

These tiny hoppers chew on leaves and mow down quite a bit, if left unchecked. Generally, I do not disturb them as they become food for birds. But sometimes they chew more than what they should, spoiling the shrubs beyond recognition. All this happens overnight.

 

What caught my attention was its camouflage. The Hummingbird vine is its new abode. This tiny creature would be just about an inch plus and merged with the background so well. It would come to sight in a moment and disappear in another, till I decided to catch it in the camera with a close up.

 

Last evening another “shikari” got caught in its own trap. As usual, I was on the rooftop checking the water lily tubs, but sans my camera. There was no watering to be done as the rain Gods had showered their blessings.

 

That is when there was commotion on the neighbour’s roof. I heard a loud thud and then Bulbuls and Sparrows came in a large group. Some sat chattering on the parapet and some went down to the floor. It was time for a ‘dekho’. This was something very unusual.

 

We have common walls about three feet high and one can easily look over them. It was a new bird spotted for the first time this year in our vicinity. A small ‘Shikra’ lay "spread eagle" on the floor with its wings stretched and mouth open as if gasping. Hope it wasn’t hurt badly, was a thought.

 

The sequence of events started to unfold in my mind. Shikra ji would have attacked a nest or a bird. The sparrows and bulbuls were in a chase. This guy sensing danger must have sped full speed towards the roof and dipped just slightly as he passed the front wall. This is what happens when you fly in unfamiliar territory.

 

There being no time to ‘lift’, it banged itself in the opposite roof wall and must have blacked out. The position it was in told me that it might need help. The other birds dived and pecked on it. Shikra stayed still not knowing what to do next. The other birds being my friends did not get scared by me but made sure that Mr Shikra was taught his lesson for breaking the peace of our area.

 

It didn’t take the Shikra long to find its wits. It ruffled its feathers and got up on its feet, looked around and must have seen me too. Then before the birds assaulted him again, it took off in a wavery fashion and then scooted out of sight to the other lane.

 

Two shikaris, and two masters of camouflage visited our home. Who won, who lost is not the question! Who enjoyed capturing all this? I wonder!!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND

©® NOEL ELLIS








Comments

  1. Anonymous6 July 2025 at 16:10

    Nice write up with beautiful snaps. Your write gives a feeling of live feed like cricket commentary. Thanks dear....

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FINGER ON YOUR LIPS

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   29/IV/2025   What has happened to Pakistan? While India is doing Fauji Exercises, Pakistan has mobilised for what! I agree that the people of India want revenge. But, from whom? Our PM has only said that “we will not leave the terrorists and their supporters till the end of the Earth”. He has never said he will sort out Pakistan, or has he?   It has been hilarious watching discussions on Paki social media channels. They seem to have already given up. Our RM meets the PM and Pakistan starts shitting bricks. They talk about jazba and gazwa, and start telling us about their nuclear arsenal. 160 I suppose. By the way we will send across one equivalent to your 160 if need be.   There is a saying, ‘Chor ki Dari main tinka” literal meaning is, a straw in a thief’s beard. However, the deep meaning is that a guilty person reveals his guilt through his behaviour, even unintentionally. Clearly, “a guilty conscious needs no accuser”...
18 comments
Read more

IF THERE IS A WAR…...

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   28/IV/2025   I remember the 1971 war as a small child. We were in Kapurthala Punjab, very close to the Pakistan border. It was an evening in December, I do not remember the exact date. While returning from a friends house, the declaration of war was done as I skipped along the ‘Thandi Sarak’ of Kapurthala.   The gist was that a vehicle with loud speakers was telling people to head home as an "emergency" had been declared and war had started. I ran as fast as I could, shivering with fear and my heart beating unusually fast. Though I was a lap baby when the 1965 war had taken place, it appeared serious business now.   Overnight, Dad and other Uncles started digging trenches infront of our homes. Carbon paper was no dearth in a teachers house, so mom got into an overdrive to stick them to the glass windows. Though the glass had been painted during the 1965 war, some broken panes had been replaced. Mom told ...
6 comments
Read more

A PERFECT GARDENER

    Most of us are parents and grandparents now. All of us have brought up our children and now are looking after Gen Z. We gave our children and their children the best of best.   With that as an opening remark, let me shift focus to gardening. I am no expert on parenting or gardening. We went with the tide of highs and lows. The churns and turmoil. Even if we consider ourselves as perfect parents, can we be perfect gardeners?   The answer in both cases would be a big NO. When you look back, there is something more which could have been done. Things could have been done differently. There is no perfect template which can fit all.   One saw the kid take baby steps, then their growth stage and then they matured and ready to bear their own children. What is in store in the future? No one knows.   Having said that, let me return to the topic of Gardening. This would interest gardening enthusiasts. Are you a perfect gardener?   My p...
4 comments
Read more

TAKE A PAUSE

  One thing I have realized that spending time with nature brings so much of mental peace. A small bird can just cheer you up. Her tweet can lift your mood. The sheer joy one derives from watching then come and play in your garden, feed, and bathe is just elevating. All those who do it know what I say and a request to those who haven’t must try it.   Morning time is the most hectic for the birds. They all know that their feed will be there. Their tweets and chirps are indicators of the happiness they enjoy. I am sure in between their tweets they chirp to thank us too.   Evenings are another kind of high. These days their feeders go empty by evening. The water bowls too are nearly at bottom levels, not because of their thirst but now they bathe in the bowl more often. The water sprinkled while they shake their bodies flies off emptying the bowl.   In the evening, when I go to the rooftop there is a different kind of hustle. A few sparrows, a pair of dove...
14 comments
Read more

A BREAK FROM BLOGGING

    Christmas week is a busy week and spills over to the New Year. Friends and family get together, rejoice, make merry and strengthen bonds. It is cold and wintry, the reason to indulge in relishing plum and rum cakes and pakwans, dry fruits and puddings and be at peace.   However, too much rest to my ‘finger tips’ was catching with me both with the laptop keys and the ‘click button’ of the camera. Sometimes, it is good to take a break or if one can call it a ‘fast’ of a different sort. It is a good time to sit down, chill, run down and reflect on things which are now memories in the year coming to an end. How time flies!   We had a dinner planned for my chaddi-buddies and their families last evening. We were looking forward to having fun and lots of laughter. However, in all this milieu, some little things had to be done like feeding the fish on the roof, lest I miss out.   As I opened the roof door, my eyes lit up when I saw a white breasted k...
8 comments
Read more

RUNNING TO TOWN

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   24/IV/2024   As they say, “Jab geedar ki ‘maut’ ati hai woh Shahar ki taraf bhagta hai”. (When a jackal wants to die, it runs towards the town). It simply implies that when someone is in ‘deep trouble’, he takes certain wrong steps and gets into agony himself. It also means that if correct actions are not taken timely, then chances are things go wrong.   Another implication of this idiom is that when someone wants to ‘avoid trouble’, he choses a wrong path or when one faces difficult times, he goes looking for advice and solutions from wrong people and places, jeopardising his own existence.   Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this straight away applies to our troublesome neighbour Pakistan and specifically to the thought process and mindset of their Army Chief General Asim Munir, who revealed it in the lecture he gave to the overseas Pakistanis recently.   I say this in the context of the ‘massacre’ and ‘savagery’ these dastards did in Pahal...
8 comments
Read more

TALE OF A CERTIFICATE

It was way back in 1979 that I became a ‘matriculate’ with a ‘first division’. One required 60% marks for it and I got 60.14%, one mark over the threshold. This I came to realize only yesterday when I had to produce that certificate after almost 46 years.   Those days, first division meant you were the cream. No one talked about percentages or marks. All that mattered was I, II or III Div.   The first time I realised that how important this certificate was when as a young Captain in the Indian Army with three years service, I got a notice from the Army Headquarters to “show cause” why my services should not be terminated as they did not find my matric certificate attached with the mandatory documents required to be submitted to UPSC.   Earth moved under my feet. I was from a Sainik School where all documentation was sent by the school administration. How could they have missed out? Why me, was the question?   Panic and fear struck together as I had ...
6 comments
Read more

A SPEECH

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   19/IV/2025   Imagine when your “sir ka jhoomar becomes gale ki haddi”, then what happens. That was one Jumla I picked up from the Pak Army Chief’s speech which he delivered in Islamabad to Overseas Pakistanis. They are dual citizenship holders. Their ticket it appears had been paid by the state of Pakistan, I reckon.   An Army Chief addressing a gathering of people who at the very first instance decided to “Pakistan se Zinda Bhag” is uncalled for. If I read correctly between the lines, it was not to impress his countrymen but somehow convince the audience to remit dollars to ensure he and his ilk get their salaries, a plot of land on retirement and an assured pension. Rest of the countrymen can scavenge for all he cares.   Above all, the PM of Pakistan and his cabinet were in attendance. The Chief’s political ambitions were clear and his speech was a subtle message to them that the Army is ‘THE Mai Baap’, as he flexed the ...
Post a Comment
Read more

MYSTERY OF THE MISSING FISH

  Stray cats are on the prowl in our lane. Residents feed them a variety of food. From Roti to bread and milk is their diet. The way they are bloating is an indicator of their health.   They have been also feeding on the roti we spread for the birds. They eat roti only in case of an emergency. It is birds the cats are after. We haven’t seen them catching one but knowing cat behaviour, they would not miss a chance.   What I do not appreciate is that they jump into the grain bowl. It is a shallow earthen pot hung with wires on a protrusion of a dried branch. Even if there are ten birds feeding on the feeder, it doesn’t shake. Imagine, when a big chubby cat jumps onto it. They have dropped that pot several times and broken it.   We do not mind cats basking on our veranda chairs, but how does one tell the cats not to leave the birds alone. Like the birds are looking for a meal, so are the cats. Nothing like a juicy sparrow or a bulbul or a fat dove.   These cats wer...
6 comments
Read more

ARMY CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR

ARMY CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   16/I/2026   I was watching the excerpts of the ‘Army Day Parade’ held in Jaipur. The show put up by the Army was exemplary. It reminded me of the Chinese Military parade, ours was far better. I wish I could have witnessed it in person.   What impressed me was the showcasing of the ‘Bhairav troops’ in their ‘combat regalia’. Especially the Sikh troops. Camo painted faces, Khaki pagris and the call of Bole-so-Nihal could shake up the enemy in his grave.   What caught my attention was their boots. Keeping their tasks and deployment in mind in various sectors, those boots would be wind proof, water proof, light weight, comfortable, flexible, durable with enhanced grip and ankle support.   The contingent was not in ‘Tez chal’ but ‘daur ke kadam taal mode’. Which implies, they do not walk but are always on the run to annihilate the enemy. Their boots had to support their operational requirem...
4 comments
Read more