27 May, 2012

The Birds have flown

The birds have flown.

Sparrows no longer nest in my balcony and evenings do not see flocks of parrots in the gardens. Babblers, Sunbirds, Woodpeckers, Eagles and kites are missing from my daily life. Their absence is so evident, that it took a lot of convincing on my part to make nemo believe that the national bird of India is a peacock and not a crow. ( I think, he still secretly believes that it is the Crow)

Yesterday afternoon, while I was rushing from the car parking to my home ,the temperature outside was around 45 degrees. In a little shadowed corner of the park, the sprinklers were on and I was stopped in my tracks by three woodpeckers hopping around, surrounded by atleast twenty sunbirds of different colours.


The sight was so mesmerizing that I stood and stared for a good 15-20 minutes unmindful of the merciless sun beating down on me. Suddenly a car horn blasted nearby and the birds took off.


I don't mind walking out into the sun everyday just to see my feathered friends again....

02 May, 2012

The ice cream boy

There is a little boy who sells ice-cream just around the corner of the road near my school. Everyday as we drive by in the afternoon, he gives us a bright cheery smile in anticipation that I would stop and buy lollies for my kids ( which I frequently do).
He smiles even on those days when I do not stop. We take it for granted that he would be there smiling at us.
Today he wasn't there. No smile was waiting for us. Somehow we came back home a little sad. Hope he is back tomorrow...

Icecream 1

Summers for me and my kids means ice lollies on our way back from school. Nothing gives 


more pleasure than slurping an orange bar when the sun is mercilessly beating down.





As my lil one sucks on his lolly, a bit of it melts and runs down his chin straight onto his 


uniform. I want to shriek and stop him from messing his clothes. Then he grins, his teeth 


unnaturally white against orange lips and tongue....



I smile back and let a bit of orange juice dribble down my chin too. After all as they say , 

"Daag Achhe Hote Hain " :)

Innovative Abuses

As I went to pick my lil one up after school, I chanced upon a fight between two KG kids(none of the spectators could recall why they were fighting). They were through with sticking out their tongues while making antlers on their heads. Now was the stage of maturity and verbal abuses.

One of them, trying to manage a fearsome expression while holding back his tears, called the other one " a baingan ka bharta "

The extent of vegetable hate was apparent when without batting an eyelid, the other one replied with, " if I am baingan, then you are lauki ka kofta!"


The icing on the cake was, two tiny, ponytailed beauties winking up their nose and saying "yuk!"

Constant