The Green Bee eater again!

Been an exceptionally sunny and bright day, such that the moment you step out of your house for work, you feel the wings in your shoes for the sky is the bluest of blue and fluffy cotton ball clouds float languidly around. 

And then, I caught sight of the bee eater for the first time properly this season, having heard its trill trill for quite sometime now. It did look at me for a brief moment, as you can see in the third picture, and am kinda grateful to it for letting me take these pics

Green Bee Eater at Faridabad, August 2015

Amazing, how beautiful these birds are, even though the thought that probably consumes them entirely is all about big, fat insects and I wonder why their eyes should be red, like the eyes of raptor birds. Once again, probably an adaptation to scare the insects into frozen submission. Notice the extended tail feathers from mid section. Must give them lift for those scoops and dives!

Brahm Sarovar and Jyotisar in Kurukshetra

I have gone past the little town of Kurukshetra so many times, but could not find time to go, see the place which every Indian knows to be the battleground of the Mahabharata war and the place where Krishna is said to have discoursed the warrior Arjuna in what is known as one of profoundest philosophies of all times, the Bhagavat Geeta. So this time, I was quite determined to explore and was pleasantly surprised to find even more places worth a look see in this charming town!

To begin with, I should say that Kurukshetra is not very far from the fields of Panipat, which witnessed three very important battles, the last battle of Panipat in January 1761 being exceptionally bloodletting for a hundred thousand perished in a single day. The epic story of the Mahabharata also has it that the war of Kurukshetra was exceptionally devastating in its effects. Even before, myth has it that the warrior sage Parashuram carried out his annihilation of the Kshatriya clans in and around this very place. So when I came to Brahm Sarovar, the sacred lake dating from thousands of years ago as the sage Prajapati Brahma is known to have done his penances here and a signboard stated local tradition of the lake being dug for the first time by the king Kuru, the ancestor of the warring parties of the Kurukshetra battle, I could not but wonder at how this place could have been a battleground in hoary time as well as the medieval times! History does repeat itself, doesn't it? Unless we take lessons from it ...

The lake is big, and this is the view from the middle, where there is an abutment that houses a Shiva temple. There is a gallery that runs all around and separate bathing areas have been built for the ladies. Another inroad leads to an ancient well and a huge bronze sculpture of Parthasarathi, Krishna as the charioteer of Arjuna in the Kurukshetra war. Legend has it that a dip in these waters during a full solar eclipse rids a person of all his sins (or hers) and such occasions witness a huge throng, eager to wash away their sins and as I suspect, all the bad karma that they may have accumulated. Can't fault an honest effort, can we!

This place finds a mention in the writings of Al Berouni, Arab traveller and scholar in the 11th century as well as in the writings of Abul Fazal, courtier of the Emperor Akbar in the 16th century.

Brahm Sarovar

You can see the dedicated bathing areas and those railings prevent you from venturing deep inside. Fish abound, fed by the devout masses and that is really an excellent way of keeping the pond clean. The govt has ensured a steady supply of water from  a branch of the Sutlej canal, so let us hope the place continues to inspire and attract the pious and the not so pious in equal measure, including an occasional gawker, now and then ..

 

A few kilometers away, Jyotisar. Temple precincts have grown around the place, under a banyan tree, where Krishna spoke for the first time about non attachment to action and the need for action at the same time. 

Entry to Jyotisar

 An ancient  shrine just inside the gates that is now deep within a banyan tree 

 

 And the exact spot as they say, where the first discourse was given by Krishna, aboard the war chariot of Arjuna. The place where he revealed himself to be the supreme consciousness where all action is fated to be, all beings fated to arise and sink into. Myself included, hopefully!

No idea what that box contains, apart from a couple of clay figures. Incidentally, this banyan tree is also known as Akshay Bat, or the Indestructible Banyan. One finds such ancient banyans in almost all places of reverence, including the Jagannath temple at Puri and the Buddha is also known to have given his first sermon from under the benevolent shade of another banyan tree. Anyway, the place is remarkably laid back and peaceful. One is allowed to sit down anywhere and wonder about the verses in the Bhagavad Geeta, or about the endless mystery in our lives.
 

As I found this person, going about his reading in right earnest, quite oblivious to the passing crowd

klaibyaḿ mā sma gamaḥ pārtha ...  this is the verse that comes to mind. Roughly translated, "Do not you tread this path of degrading impotence, son of  Prtha" ...

One gets strange vibes sometimes as I have noticed during these forays and in this place, it really felt like fulfillment. Peace and closure. It is difficult to explain but I sure wish you were here with me, for I would have liked to share the feeling with you in real time, 

Did not have time to visit Harsh Ka Tila, an archaeological site or Sheikh Chilli's tomb. Some other time, surely!

Neverland

This madness
Feral madness,
seeping out of the earth
defying reason, a red
pinpoint inside the
circle of pristine
white, otherwise

This madness
of walking in the rain,
of falling,

falling headlong 
into neverland

Blue Moon

It's been raining ever so lightly, a soft, powdery drizzle. Elsewhere in the country, heavy rains have been lashing the sodden earth. Thousands rendered homeless with all the dreadful miseries that come with flash floods and forced displacements. And yet, there is a blue moon up in the sky, one that has perhaps remained the same for a much longer period of time than us human beings have been in this planet.

26th July at Faridabad

30th July at Faridabad

The next blue moon would not be any sooner than January 2018. By that time, I would have had a move on and many other things would not have remained the same. Some things, maybe!

Of the many artists and painters who have depicted moonlit scenes, John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836 - 1893) stands out for his urban night scenes and his skill in the vivid detail, especially the fog and mist. It has also been said that his work is the only visual equivalent of the great epics of industrial change in the novels of Charles Dickens and Gaskell. His "Moonlight" is of course, simply enchanting!

Ivan Aivazovsky (1817 - 1900) was a Russian artist of Armenian extraction. He is known as one of the greatest seascape painters of all time. Here is his "Stormy Sea at Night" - 

The Queen's tank at Ambala

What caught my attention was the legend Rani Talao, or the queens' tank on a direction board and on the spur of a moment, I decided to see the place. Was pleasantly surprised to find such peaceful and serene surroundings and all credit goes to the cantonment management. The tank's claim to fame is that the queen of Ranjit Singh, the local rajah used to take a dip in the tank every morning before offering homage to the Shiva temple around 400 years ago. Presently, the Army has taken over the maintenance of the temple and therefore the area is exceptionally clean and green. These are a few pictures of the place, taken in my phone

Shiva temple

Durga temple viewed from the Shiva temple

The sky was overcast and several peacocks strutted around. I could also spot a greater coucal in the bushes, which is of the cuckoo family, black body with chestnut brown wings. 

Every Indian city, town and village has numerous Shiva temples and Shiva is also considered to be the adi yogi, or the precursor of all Yogis. Over a period of time, certain individuals, circumstances or events lend significance to some. While all temples draw people in need of a favour or two from the powers above, Shiva temples in particular have always drawn wandering mendicants, hermits and those who are spiritually inclined. Here, I met a gentleman in white, flowing robes from the State of Andhra Pradesh and of an exceptionally sunny countenance who was patiently answering queries of a few elderly people and a young regimental from Maharashtra. I would have loved to chat with him for sometime, but by the time I took a round and came back, he was gone. 

Jasmine in July

The rains are here at last. Mercifully, for the earth is parched, water tables have dived far below and mortal beings are in dour need of some aqueous succour. But in these climes of the National Capital Region, it rains only in fits and starts. Sometimes, it pours, but that's nothing compared to the steady rains of the Mumbai area, the abundance of water that pours and pours and then some. In retrospect, I must say that I loved that gratuitous abundance which nature thinks it fit to bless Mumbai with, the carefree song that rose up in everyone's soul, the piping hot and pungent vada pao with dried garlic condiment and an equally hot chickpea gravy, the chaos in disruptions of the suburban railways, the wash of the sea on Marine Drive and the sheer fun of it all

With the change in season, the jasmine bushes have begun to flower and it is truly heavenly, sitting on the grass at night with the mischievous scent of jasmine permeating the air. One day after coming back from work a bit earlier than usual when there was still some light on the sky, I found the jasmine buds ready to bloom 

At that moment between light and night, under the canopy of the infinitely blue sky. The moment of everythingness, of times gone by

Couldn't help but remember Tagore once again. Chokkhe amar trishna, thirst in my eyes ..

Well, I have had a go at translating this song in English, as I understood it in my own way. It's of course a relief that I don't have to explain to anyone anywhere. So that's my take ...

Thirst in my eyes, and

Thirst pervading my heart

Me, bereft of rain, as in

Summertime, burning

In my mind

Thirst in my eyes

A storm rushes in, heated

Winds, flinging me faraway

Tearing my shroud away

Thirst in my eyes

That one, delicate flowering

That had my garden aglow

Parched and blackened now

Thirst in my eyes

Who is it, that 
dammed the fall
in heartless stone 

In the peaks 
of Sorrowhood Mountain

Thirst in my eyes, oh

Thirst running in my heart

And then, at night, the jasmine is in full bloom, unimaginably heady and I never cease to wonder at the mystery and beauty of it

Out of the four jasmine bushes, one is apparently of a different variety, a dedicated climber. Amazing how all these bushes have started flowering with the rains, as if on cue from an unseen hand that plays us all 

 

A beautiful and a stunning mystery, the waft of jasmine. Perhaps no one has understood her, being content just with loving her as she is. But then, she is meant to be loved, not understood, right?

Purple Sunbird again

A couple of Sundays back, early afternoon, I managed to click this beautiful bird. Not to my heart's content though! For it was forever flitting away, now here and now there. For a few moments, it took some time cleaning its feathers, perched on the electricity line, and allowed me to click away ..

Looking for the next flower

Slurp slurp

Itchy bitchy

Now that's a beauty!

Keen appraisal

Because, these birds I have come to believe, can be captured in camera only when they have appraised us enough and allow themselves the indignity of letting a human being click them!