Happy Dasara / Dussehra and may good win over all the evil in this world.
Leading upto Dasara is Navratri, where people worship different forms of Goddess Durga over 9 nights (hence “Nav ratri”). At the start of Navratri, everyone looks out for the colour that signifies each day of the 9 days.
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[This post was updated with new sightings till December 2021. A total of 38 species were identified.]
All of us have surely encountered butterflies at some point in time (apart from the butterflies in our stomachs!). We learn about them in primary school. Sometimes they fly into us and make us jump. Often we see them just flutter by, so quick that we can’t even give them a second glance.
Ever since lockdown, we haven’t really been anywhere in Mumbai. No restaurants, no malls, no parks – except for the park in our Whispering Palms Complex, that is usually quite empty. Over the last few months during our daily walks, we looked forward to seeing the different birds in our backyard. More recently though, we noticed the many different butterflies – not surprising, given the sprawling gardens with abundance of trees and flowers, some wild and some nurtured.
One of my earlier posts was about some of the purple and pink flowers currently seen in our Whispering Palms Complex. Where there are trees and flowers, there will be birds and other living creatures!
Over the last few weeks we’ve been trying to catch some afternoon sun between the rains, and in the process, we’ve become more aware of the presence of the birds in the campus. The silence during lockdown has made the bird sounds more audible and we try to search them out in the direction of their calls. Many of the birds have their favourite trees and branches, so these days, we look out for them at the same spots, and usually they’re somewhere around there. [Now we know how the guides on jungle safaris know exactly where to stop to show you certain animals.]
Some of the birds sit still for extended periods of time, and even if they fly off, they return to the same place. Like the Coppersmith Barbet that allowed me to go all the way back home to pick up my camera.
During our daily afternoon walks, we can’t but notice the hundreds of types of flowers just within our campus. Some have been specifically planted and are lovingly nurtured, but there are many that don’t need any special attention. Just the rain and sun.
The basic construct of a flower is pretty standard, but flowers are found in a variety of sizes, shapes, scents and shades. The range of colours is quite amazing, and this, along with the fragrance, is what attracts birds and insects (and humans as well) to flowers. While the green in flowers comes from chlorophyll, the other colours come from two classes of pigments – anthocyanins and carotenoids. The purples and pinks are a result of anthocyanins.
Here are some of the purples and pinks in varying shades in our campus.
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In Bangalore, we grew up with sparrows in our compound. We don’t find them around anymore.
In suburban Mumbai, sparrows are abundant. There is a certain area in our neighbourhood that the sparrows are particularly fond of – one with holes in the walls directly opposite a shrubby tree.
From a distance, they look like a whole lot of black plastic garbage bags blown into the trees by a strong gust of wind. As darkness falls, one can see their arms unfold and they take off, flying between the multi-storied buildings in our Lokhandwala Township. As you have probably gathered, I’ve spent quite a few hours over the last few years watching these bats, amazed at their human-like mannerisms. Or maybe it’s the other way, where human vampires mimic bats.
The view from our 9th floor road-facing balcony is refreshing even in the sweltering afternoon. With quite a bit of vehicular movement, it’s not as quiet as a couple of weeks ago, but one can still hear the birds. Quiet compared to the pre-lockdown “normal”.
As I looked down at the road, it didn’t take long to realise that most of those below were out to do deliveries. Very purposeful in their movements. No dilly-dallying. While the motorised bikes were zipping, for the bicycle riders it was muscle power. Some were finding it easier to just walk with their loads. The emptiness on the road must definitely have been a relief. Road freedom of sorts.
(Note that the loiterers enjoy the same freedom. They come out at dusk, once the sun retreats.)
It’s 10 in morning and there are these 40-odd ladies (possibly some gentlemen helping too) from Whispering Palms Xxclusives in Lokhandwala Township, Kandivali East, Mumbai, busy in their kitchens. Breakfast done, they’re all rolling out rotis. Some of these will feed their families for lunch while the rest will be packed for The Roti Project.
Is it safe to donate blood? This is the first question that comes to mind, when everyone is talking about social distancing.
Before Covid-19 itself, Indians have never been generous with their blood, and mostly donated only if it was required by someone known. (The WHO recommends that a country have blood reserve units equal to 1% of its population. At the national level, India was short of 1.9 million units of blood, as per data presented to the Lok Sabha in March 2018.)
The Ganesha festival at our apartment complex in Mumbai, is never complete without the inter-wing Rangoli competition.
The ladies (we haven’t had gentlemen interested in taking part) take a lot of effort in designing the rangolis, deciding on the materials they would use, preparing the colours (yes, some colours are made at home), and then drawing and finishing their art works. The theme was “Go Green”, so all the rangolis had to be centred around this.
It was indeed hard work! With six wings, there were finally six beautiful pieces of rangoli for us to enjoy. And through each of them, Ganesha speaks.
Thanks to Meeta for sharing the pictures.
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