Tuesday, November 04, 2014

These birds are our new guests who visit once in a while and make a sound which is very unique.


Thursday, October 30, 2014



The sights and sounds of our amiable sparrows


Our neighbourhood is now a bee-hive of babies who are not lesser than six months and children who are not more than 10 years old. The moment morning breaks and the sun rises in the east at around 5.45 am some sparrows come to our verandah like small children. When the babies -- who live nearby and whose voice, laughter and cries have become so much familiar --are fast asleep, these sparrows add life to our daily routine work. They wake my parents to a new day.
Sparrows have a habit of coming in a flock

of five to seven and the number of male bird visitors are greater than females. The male birds, who wear  darker shades of brown on their wings and neck, make a louder sound which if carefully heard seems like "speak speak" and "quick" and then they whistle. They nose-dive from the grill to a level of our first floor and again starts flying from than point without touching the ground and comes back in full energy to swing on a hanging cable. Like I watch them sitting on an iron bar, these birds too look at me with their sharp eyes. The females are less smarter and have a faded look with a thinner shade of light brown beak. By the time my day starts they become restless for their daily dose of puffed rice spread especially for them on a flower pot in the verandah. No sooner that two or three have finished having food, the rest comes flying to the venue to check if they are missing out on something. Earlier I was the one who gave them  food and in fact I had regularised the system of offering them breakfast as a part of our daily life but with passing time the duty shifted to my mother's work schedule which indeed makes her happy. For the last one year the sparrows have started inviting a pair of mynahs since the time I have added a few more plants. These birds come in turn and also at intervals.

The sparrows have friends in our locality where they visit everyday to check how the whistling cockatoos are doing inside their cage.


Thursday, September 11, 2014

A cat gives good company

Toofan became really thin after a fight with a stray cat and his health had deteriorated at that time. Here is sitting in a meditative state in our kitchen.

Pets have a unique way of building relationships with people. Like dogs are faithful to their masters, cats never forget their house number. We human beings often wonder how can a cat remember the house even after it refuses to become completely domestic. Since I was in school my experience with cats have been quite so fascinating since one of these animals was my constant company for more than five years. Like puppies, kitten too love to play with us but their hidden claws to catch prey are something one should careful about. In Bengali there is a saying that cats are "Bagher mashi", which means they are linked to the tiger family and the the proverb is true in every sense. They quietly proceed towards their prey-- a mouse is their favourite hunt -- and pounce upon it. They don't kill the prey but waits for it to die holding it under it claws like a winner. After that the cat enjoys playing with the prey to check if it has actually a successful hunt. Now he looks happy having finished his operation. I had the opportunity to watch my pet's antics since Panchu, my pet cat, came to me when he was barely a year old. Initially I had named him Pancham. But his nick name became more popular and my parents too adored him. A pet cat can be a neighbour's envy since they enter our door like a guest making their presence clear to everyone by a typical sound which only his owner can identify with. They not only don't meow but also modulate their voice according to their requirements. Our cat used to get scared by any kind of noise but listened to music with his eyes closed when I used to play the music system. He loved fish, milk and bread other than sandesh, a sweetmeat. Unfortunately is no more alive. At the middle of the night it used to come through a window and we never felt trouble since it had become a part and parcel of our life. Since then many years have passed and after almost six years one more cat had joined our family and we had named him Toofan and he had a brother, Baggu. The brothers were fed by my mother and me in turns. Like two human beings, my cats were also very different in nature. One like to sit quietly near the kitchen door while the other stayed out. In course of time, Baggu disappeared but Toofan continued to visit our house for food and love. They are grown-ups now and stay away from home. Once in a while other cats walk over the boundary wall of our flat and pause to take rest. I never miss a chance to feed one of those who suddenly take this way. There is immense happiness in giving some bread and milk to these small little animals.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

A  great man who had stirred entire West Bengal and made a place for himself in the hearts of men and women as a Hero in the era of 1950s and 60s and 70s is no more alive but his memories have not faded since 33 years have passed by since his demise in the year 1980 on 24th July. A versatile actor and a man of great genius was popularly and lovingly known as Uttam Kumar to all and sundry. I have seen him in real on television and he looks so much real that it does not seem that he is acting. He is like our Guru. His movies have kept him alive not only in our thoughts but make us believe that he is still there...Yesterday was his "Mahaproyan Diwas". The entire afternoon was spent searching for a single movie of his on television but much to my dismay there was not one which was aired between 3 pm to 6pm. Finally, the news channels made me very very happy when they aired some very special moments where some great people were remembering the "Mahanayok". Some popular Bengali songs from his 60's movies came on a local channel and finally there was an old movie,"Shapmochan" which was telecast at night and all these made my day.

Monday, March 03, 2014


                                    Vivekananda Rock Memorial was built in the year 1970.
                                    Here the spiritual leader had immersed himself in deep meditation in the year 1892.