NOEL ELLIS' GOOGLE BLOG

 

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   28/VIII/2025   “Touch me not” or “Chui-Mui” has fascinated folks from my generation. I am not sure about the Millennials, Zillennials, Gen Z, Gen Y, Gen α and β. Do they even know of this plant? I doubt it.   We are from the “Baby Boomers” generation. We had only a radio, no TV, or mobiles. Computers were heard of but kept at arms bay. Today, things are available at a swipe of a finger.   For us, a class of Botany was the ultimate guide to flowers, its parts like stamen, pollen, xylem, phloem etc. A leaf was scanned under a microscope for understanding its cellular structure. Biology class used to be very interesting.   Time has moved on. We the ‘oldies’ are still in love with some of the childhood favourite plants. One of them is “Mimosa Pudica”. Funny as it sounds, it is funnier in its behaviour.   Once we knew of it, then during summer vacations we would search for as many we could. They used ...

  ELLIS' GARDEN https://youtu.be/Xtp0fKIJvIs

 https://youtu.be/RqqLayUV728

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   26/VIII/2025   It was another cloudy and rainy day today. Since yesterday it has been drizzling in tiniest of droplets called ‘Jhirmir’ locally. When it rains intermittently it is called boonda-baandi or a scattered drizzle. When it rains continuously it is called ‘Jhari’. When it rains very heavily, they call it Moosladhar or Jhama-Jham. Now you guys know the difference. Today, it was the first one.   Here, the rain is delayed. The crops were parched and needed rain desperately. Our rain lilies too were waiting to erupt again after a break in the rain. They just stole my heart away when I saw ten different colour buds popping out of the plants. All the hard work which went into getting them to flower was showing the best results. A “dili tamanna” is that all 26 different rain lilies should bloom together.   By the way, I do not look for subjects to write on, the subjects come to me. Here is an activity which I enjoyed indulging in. ...

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   25/VIII/2025   In my life I have written so many obituaries for the people I have loved and were very close and dear to me. Bidding them the final farewell is very heart breaking but that is what destiny is all about. No one can stay forever.   She came to my life almost forty years ago when I had started my life as a 2Lt in the Army. Life in the army gets quite lonely sometimes. You need friends who can keep your secrets and give you company. Let me confess, there are no personal secrets between good friends. He/she would keep everything deep within her/his heart.   Once you poured out what was there within you, she would just hold them tight. You could use them as memories or when you remembered something. She would willingly let you retrieve them. You even left the room unlocked; she never divulged them to anyone.   Every two years she would be given a new coat. Mind you, she loved ‘black’. Your name and rank were etched in w...

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   23/VIII/2025   Some days are lucky and some are the luckiest. With a chance encounter with Baya the weaver bird, it was time for another encounter and nothing could be more amazing than this. Here goes the story.   Our maid was busy mopping the floor and went out to change the water from the tap outdoors and left the door open. She is a quiet person and keeps a ‘ghoonghat’ when I am around. I was sitting on the sofa and catching up with social media on my mobile when excitedly she started shouting Uncle ji, dekho….   She couldn’t have called me, I thought but then in an enthusiastic tone I heard “chiri maye ne aa gayi sa”, (a bird has entered the house). That was what she meant. I looked around and saw nothing. The first thing that struck me was to check the fans. Luckily, they hadn’t been switched on by the maid or else before she starts wet mopping, summer, winter, autumn, and spring, she has to first switch the fan on.   She st...

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   21/VIII/2025   My natural alarm bell rang quite early this morning. It was time to pick up the newspaper and get onto the morning chores.   A blast of hot and humid air hit me in the face as I opened the front door. It has been more than two weeks since this kind of weather has been prevailing. Crops are begging for rain. However, we are being served a heavy dose of clouds only. May the rain god shower his blessings.   It was time to sit and enjoy the front view of the garden with roti in my plate. My breakfast was hours away, but this was for the birds who sing with full gusto on seeing me. Their anxiety was palpable & their hunger pangs were understood. They eagerly awaited my arrival for their favourite meal. Having peeped into the grain feeder, it had enough grains, but roti they just cannot resist.   As I broke roti into tiny morsels, a small bird came and sat on the wooden support of the passion...

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   17/VIII/2025   As I was admiring the blooms in the Ellis’ Garden, my attention was drawn to the birds which were feeding on the road.   The most encouraging and interesting thing was their increasing count. I remember about four years back when we decided to leave a bowl of water for the birds to start with in the summer. Initially, there were no takers.   Yes, the tailor bird and the hummingbird were the first to arrive. Probably, the space which we were occupying belonged to them while we were away for many years. Finches were also spotted loitering around. We had brought numerous pots and plants where they found their meal hiding in the foliage.   On taking a round of the colony, I noticed people were already feeding the birds. At many places bird feeders, artificial nests and water bowls had been placed. It was fun to watch the frolic around them.   An idea struck when I saw a dry and broken branch of our champa tree protrudin...

    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   17/VIII/2025   ‘Adeniums’ in our garden welcome us every morning with such magnificent blooms that you break into a smile without much ado. We are loving it.   My wife had a desire to bring home a ‘Sone Chafa’ plant, which we had added to the Ellis’ Garden a week back. A lone bud was showing and today it has bloomed. A yellowish flower and that is where the colour ‘sone’ or gold it derives it’s name from. The aroma is just too sweet to ignore.   Having taken a photo, my next stop was at the pink rain lily. Though one has photographed it a dozen times but today it was different. A new kind of wasp/bee was busy collecting pollen by buzzing into the centre of the flower. It came back again and again as if it had found a treasure trove.   The difference between a common honey bee and her was the bluish tinge that she had, with stripes on her body. I had seen smaller versions of her but this was as big as a bu...

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   12/VIII/2025   It was an unusual morning today. I am up quite early, but the hangover of ‘Nimbu Pani’ from last night’s party got the better of me. It was the ‘mint sprigs’ in the drink that did the job.   Actually, our “replacement maid” was home early. It is ‘Teej’ today, a big festival in Rajasthan. She called to open the door as she had to leave for the ‘rituals’. ‘Lahariya’ would be the apparel of the day. ‘Sattu’ is the sweet of this festival and my favourite.   It is a day when they say Goddess Parvati reunited with Lord Shiva. Ladies take her blessings for marital bliss.  A few idioms from the folklore for this festival: - Teej ro teehwar, chhokriyon ro adhikaar — “Teej is a festival, but a right of young women”. Saawan Teej, bhaat bharyo leej — “On Teej in the rainy season, the brother fills his sister’s lap with gifts”. Teej ri jhool, preet ro phool — “The swing of Teej is the flower of love”, sym...