The new resident

The latest addition to the family.

In Geneva we used to have a family of kites who came to nest in the trees growing in the forest area by the stream at the end of our garden. We watched them mate and then be proud parents of a young kite and we followed their life with considerable interest.

So when this young kite appeared we took it as a sign of good luck and are looking out for it here too.

The suggestion is that it nested in trees not far from us but that perhaps it fell out of its nest, or had a teenage revolt or at any rate seems to be at logger head with its parents.

It comes and sits on our garage wall and drives the dogs crazy.

We love to see it and wonder if it is a Kate or a Kevin,

a Khan or a Kumari.

Still hot but beware the forces of nature ..

It has been getting hotter, and while still on this theme I decided to have a swim at dusk. So I jumped in the pool and enjoyed its coolness as I listened to to the kaaaaaaaaaaacalls of the peacocks and the nervous chirpings of plovers nearby. A beautiful indian jay was silhouetted on the sausage tree.
I swam with a halo of mossies around my head and that made me think that perhaps this was their way of redeeeming their otherwise worthless existence- elevating mine to saint /goddess status.

I had to think again though as suddenly I saw something heading straight for me - I ducked and thought this bird needs a better GPS but actually no sooner had I turned then another dive bombed for me again.
Fruit bats frolicking with human decoy.
Time to exit pool and seek refuge in marble fortification.

Khajuraho an erotic heat

Situated in a Madhya Pradesh which is rapidly becoming one of my favourite states, is Khajuraho. Khajuraho gained its name in all probability from the Sanskrit word Khajul which means date palm common to the area.There is romance in the way the place was built and erotic energy in what remains of it today.
Legend suggests that Khajuraho was built by the son of the moon god who came upon a beautiful maiden bathing in a stream. History points to the Chandela dynasty who built these beautiful temples in a burst of architectural uniqueness and expression. Only two groups remain today the western group and the eastern group.The western group temples are exquisite and are well worth a long walk in the beautiful grounds and then catching the interesting Sound and Light show in the evening. It tells the story of the dynasties at the time and uses the grounds to light up the temples superbly.

The temples were built around 950- 1050 and some took years to complete.They are adorned with fine sculptures of erotic art, hunting scenes and  processions. Bestiality and group sex scenes were not uncommon but most beautiful and enduring, at least in my eyes, are the women sculpted with full breasts, always twisting suggestively to the viewer, sometimes wearing diaphanous wrap-arounds which emphasize their curvaceous bodies and their allure.

The sculptures and the extent of detail is truly magnificent and it is still a question in my mind which has remained largely unanswered as to why the Chandelas wanted to show so much of the sexual side of life and how intricate, complicated and unconventional it was. Or was it ? Perhaps that was convention for them and perhaps with the passing of the ages, sexual mores, practices and religion have made us view these temples with our latter day eyes.These latter day eyes certainly saw these women who unbelievably were dusting the sculptures like any good housewives would be doing. It made me laugh.

The light was fading as we left the complex and the sandstone shimmered in golden hues. The night rapidly descending on them when the temples come alive again with all the intrigues and machinations of those who were holy and those mere mortals who relished life to the full.

Getting Hot ?

Stop and sip a nimbu pani and crunch on a kakari. 

These Indian cucumbers are unlike ones I have ever seen and it takes an small act of faith to try them - but I have no hesitation in recommending them. Small, twirling and bright green they are cracking and crunchy with some rock salt and even lime. Try them. Er rinse in some clean water first.

And when you have had enough well curl up and have a sleep

Delhi meteo says heat wave on its wave - 40 C today and getting hotter. Keep crunchy cool.

Hauz Khas Lake

Hauz Khas is one of my favourite little havens in Delhi and I have written about it on a number of occasions. It combines living history with progress and development and it seems to do it well.The beautiful archaeological remains there, not least the Madrassa, are receiving a bit of an uplift from the Archaeological Survey of India.

The last time I visited however the Lake was in such a sorry state. This beautiful tank, lovingly restored by Firoz Shah has ended up not being the cooling, calming and colourful side of Hauz Khas but this stinking mass of sewage outflow which is, I grant you, colourful but for all the wrong reasons.It receives sewage from Vasant Khunj but whereas this should have been treated and aerated it remains untreated and stagnant and has killed off all life while being a massive breeding ground for mosquitos. This is how colourful it is and I wish I could have a means of conveying the stench that emanated from it when I was there. Mercifully I am not that technologically savvy,so you will have to take my word for it - it was not pleasant.

We watched in horror as men bucketed out the filth and then poured it onto the sides. Not exactly a productive exercise you might think- but news today has suggested that where the government has failed to take action, individual citizens are now rising to the challenge- similar to the women whose initiative I praised in my last posting.

The residents of Safdarjung Enclave are holding public meetings and are taking up the cause with the appropriate government department which leaves me hopeful that a civic voice is being raised at last and hopefully will soon be heard as it should in one of the world's largest democracies.

Plastic rubbish

India has a lot of it. It is not surprising. Its development is staggering.
So it is totally heart warming when initiatives are started often around a kitchen table and become important messengers of conservation and recycling.A group of women decided that they wanted an alternative to the plastic bag. So they started making cloth bags in their kitchens over a cup of tea.
That is how SAMBHAV was created. The housewives reckoned that a green grocer may use over 100 plastic bags a day which immediately get thrown out into the environment. Sambhav is now expanding rapidly, the demand for cloth bags is increasing and these women who started this small but important task from their kitchens are now selling to corporate clients and doing the environment a favour in the process.

This is from a similar initiative in Himachal Pradesh.

Indian Census 2011- No April Fools

Is there a word which explains that you have been subject to the Census ?
Is it censud ?
Censured ?
Censussed ?
Whatever it is April 1st marks the start of the Indian Census 2011.
President Prabha Patil will be one of the first to be ..........
Details will be obtained on numbers, literacy and mortality, religion and migration.
Why am I sharing this with you ?
I am impressed at the scale of the undertaking. It is a colossal exercise.
Remember Indias current population is estimated at 1.3 Billion
It will yield valuable information that the Indian government can use for planning the future of this burdgeoning economy and it will use 11,631 metric tonnes of Paper.
Now how on earth did they arrive at that figure I ask you !