Reflections

It was a lovely Sunday afternoon. I was at home, secure in my knowledge that the rain carrying clouds are of no concern to me. Yes, yes, yes – I know, arrogance, and colossal arrogance at that. Well, it so happens that those are the very words, almost – of those same rain clouds. They, as the passed on top, bethought themselves – what do we have here? An arrogant human. So, lets us attend to his arrogance, shall we. Cant have this arrogance. Now I have a habit of leaving doors and windows wide open. It lets in light, and makes the home airy you see. And, I do have floor to ceiling windows in my bedroom, and large, large windows in all other rooms. And, the icing on the cake, my home has  North facing windows. To top it all, the wind has never blown North to South in all my 19+ months of stay here. So, I was relaxed, and carefree as the rain started pelting – and I mean pelting! And there I sat, wide open doors and windows, in a pelting rain, enjoying the beauty of the e...

It was late at night – for me anyway. My sleep time stands at around 10-1030; it must have been around that time. I switched off the lights, and was in the Balcony outside my French windows. The Saptarshi Contstellation is visible just outside my bedroom window – from the balcony. As is my habit, I looked up at the Saptarshi; only this time, there was one difference. My eyes were in 2018, but my mind was in my childhood, in the 80s, when I recalled the seeing the Saptarshi and the Mruganakshatr constellations almost every night. My mind’s eyes saw them as they were seen then : bright, clear and easily visible. But now, as my physical eyes looked up, I could see only the Saptarshi – but the stars were barely visible. Most vital – I used to stay outside town both in the 80s, and now, with clear skies above me, and lots of open space; both then and now. And, even more critically, I could not spot one star in the 7-star constellation, try as I might. I just couldn’t spot it! ...

I was initially not going to pen a blog on Wildlife Conservation, despite receiving a notification from Saevus Wildlife India; the reason : any article on so important and yet excusive a topic as this one has to come from the heart for it to be even remotely effective. I was not feeling the inspiration, the reason for the post; without that inspiration – no point in even participating, and being ineffectual. I had no wish to degrade the stellar efforts of conservationists by penning something uninspirational… and then… suddenly, from the deep recesses of my mind echoed a memory, a memory that will remain with me for as long as I live… the distinctive and unforgettably plaintive “kaiyon, kaiyon”… The Call Of The Peacock… Birds I have heard aplenty; from the bulbul to the sparrow; but the call of the peacock… that is special; very, very special to me as an individual.  I lived for a full 4 years among a dozen, maybe more, free peacocks; they would strut around on the parape...

“Capturing Wildlife Moments In India” : The title, for this once, doesn’t say it all; in fact, it doesn’t suit the book. Reading just the title, one would think that the book is a set of photographs, a set of images to be leaved through…nothing could be farther from the truth, for in your hands is an experience, a lifestyle and a trigger for your desires and your imagination… welcome to one of the most captivating and invigoratingly refreshing reads I have encountered in a long time; welcome to the lanes of my memory, my unfulfilled desires and my views on this one of a kind book! THE AUTHOR {From the book} Ashok Mahindra is a Chartered Accountant who qualified from England and Wales and from India. He retired as Co-Chairman of Deloitte, Haskins & Sells, and as Senior Partner of A.F. Ferguson & Co. in 2008, after a career of 39 years. Ashok Mahindra is now a wildlife photographer. Through his 120 photographs in this book he has shown the rich heritage and range of...