monsoon magic in maharashtra

It is sheer magic to do the Pune Mumbai trip during monsoon. It is wonderful to be in Pune during monsoon especially in a self contained campus on the outskirts of the city. It is enchanting to stay in the company guest house on the second floor overlooking oval maidan.
Normally when I go on business tours, the good part of the day is spent inside closed doors and travel is invariably during late evening night. It was different this time. We made the Pune mumbai trip in the evening and hence were mesmerised by the visual treat. Nature has no business to spread its wares so beautifully. I really wonder there are very many places where there are so many shades of green . I have not seen such shades in such abundance for the entire stretch of two hours by road. The cool weather and the continuous drizzle which was not dropping down but wafting in lazily onto our faces now and then.We will stop our gossip and sit still for a minute or two to praise nature. Beyond the lonavla/kandala hills were lush fields.The dark earthy brown and deep coffee brown fields freshly ploughed were sitting pretty next to lush green fields. It was a tapestry more beautiful and captivating than any words can explain.I remembered the quilt making taught to us during our school days. We used to have a tough time matching colours. But mother nature seems to do it so carelessly with such a flourish.There is no jarring note or mismatched colour in the entire quilt spanning few kilometres!
I reached my house in Pune late evening and it was drizzling. The smell of nithyamallis in full bloom and pavazhamalli again in full bloom and the lovely light orange colour roses gleaming in the pitch dark night brought such a pleasurable home coming, that I stayed for a full five minutes drinking in the sight and smell and capturing in my mind's eye.
In Mumbai oval maidan took a totally different look and feel. Gulmohars were in full bloom. A very imaginative architect had constructed the rooms such that it had windows on the entire wall structure facing the oval maidan. I lifted the curtains and opened all the windows and My God, the view was spectacular.The rain clouds were looming at a distance and now and then a spray would come into the room and wet the page of the novel I was reading. Yes, rains are beckoning me to shut the book and look at them, just like children want your undivided attention all the time. I shut the book and leaned out.The Mumbai court building on the other side of oval maidan was majestic in all its gothic spirals and clock tower. I am a sucker for these heritage structures and as the clock tolled every half hour I was transported to a bygone era where time was a abudant resource and people had time to stand and stare.Children and boys and girls were playing happily in the grounds with all the slush. Hindustan unilever must be happy! Daag acha hai they must be merrily saying to each other as the offtake of surf would skyrocket during this time!
Back from Maharashtra, I was taking my early morning walk on Besant nagar beach. I was stunned at the sky/skyline and waterfront. The sky was a very very light gray and the entire sky that i could see was of the same colour without any blemish whatsoever. No blue sky,no rainbearing clouds of dark grey, just one continuous light gray.And more surprise was the skyline touching the sea was such a thin line and the water was again the same colour. It was mesmerising and so unusual that I stood and watched and watched some more till I could fill myself in with the sheer beauty.I felt nature was like an artist sitting there and painting and for a moment had come out with the perfect texture and colour, so evenly spread and so beautiful.
Chennai too has its magic moments....

twittering birds

For the first time there are some pets in our house. Yes, three love birds have come home as B had asked me to safe keep them during the time she will be holidaying in Kodaikanal. Very precise and strict instructions were given and she has been checking up on their progress regularly!J on her behalf has also told me dos and donts. It is her special pet you see, so she reluctantly put their cage in my custody.
They are such good fun. Easy to maintain is a big plus. Neighbours dont complain that they have dirtied their front yard. Guests dont have to be assured that it is okay, the pet is harmless.I dont have to get dogfood home delivered!I dont have to housetrain them. They are beautiful to look at. Two are light blue feathered and one is parrot green.They twitter non stop during midday and by evening they quieten down and sit demurely on the rod thinking of God knows what. My friend N who is an animal/pet encyclopaedia told me that i should cover their cage with a blanket in the night, so that they are not disturbed by light suddenly switched on in their room. Otherwise they get confused she told me. I have not got around to doing that, but I ensure that they are kept in a room normally not frequented by anyone in the night.We actually tiptoe when we enter that room in the dark.
Their routine goes something like this. First thing in the morning is their feed. Before the feed their cutlery(!) have to be cleaned and so also their living/drawing /bedroom. A very nice arrangement exists in the cage. A sliding floor on which I am to spread a newspaper. Take out the cutlery consisting of one mud pot for their birdfeed and one cup for water.Throw the remains of the food and water and clean them and stock them with fresh food. Then remove the sliding floor and wash and lay a fresh clean newspaper and slide it in.Open the small door and let in the food and water. Close the door. Watch the action.
The birds eagerly get to the food and the three of them initially jostle for the best place to sit and peck at their feed. Some bullying of course takes place, but soon enough they settle down with their breakfast. Silence reigns supreme; except for the tak tak of biting into the seeds, they keep quiet. After a few minutes they move around a bit and generally spread their wings and clean them with their beaks. They come back again for some more and this goes on for a while. They then settle down to have a go at the swing and then starts the chatter. It really goes on for quite a while, they have lots to communicate to each other. This is when K does his yoga in that room and he says he feels as though he is doing his yoga in the open air under a tree!
Then I take the cage and put it out in the rear verandah where J has told me they need to be in the open air and they want to see trees. They settle down for a while; I have spotted them curl up inside the two pots with a hole which are supposed to resemble a hole in a tree. I was initially worried about the cats prowing our area. But so far they seem to have avoided each others territory.
Yesterday I bought spinach and K cut them into small pieces and fed them deligently.They attacked them and finished them in no time. It is almost as though it is their dessert. Not for them horror stories of trying to feed kiddos with spinach. Nor will their husbands ask them okay there is spinach but what is there to EAT?
I was also asked to add two drops of a medicine into their waterbowl today.
Actually initially they were two pairs.Two light blues and two parrot greens. J told me one died when they came to look them up one morning a few days after they bought them. It was believed that this lone pair will pine away. But what I am seeing is this green lone one has teamed up with one of the blues. And the blue was taking away some ticks(or some dirt) from the back of the green bird. All the while the other blue is making a big racket and moving all over the place and fluttering its feathers very noisily. Fascinating to watch. yes and very soothing.
The twittering of birds is happening all the time and I feel like in the outdoors. I have decided to have them and care for them.