Wanderlust

This comic by A Softer World just about sums up the last three days of my life... :D


The alt-text on the comic reads "i feel exhausted and perfect" ... So do i :D

My bike was without a rear brake for almost four months... So when the spare parts required were finally procured... i went off to celebrate with a buddy and beer... Beer led to dinner... and once filled to the brim with food and alcohol we decided we should go on a bike trip. So, at 12 in the night, we set out for a place called Skandagiri (Which is a hill)... We didn't know how to get there... we only knew that it was roughly 50 km down NH-7 in a town called Chikballapur...

We reached Chikballapur at around 2 am... And then spent the next two and half hours criss-crossing the damn town trying to find Skandagiri... Not many were about at this hour and the one's that were, gave extremely vague directions... The general population seems to have no sense of distance...

Anyhow, we finally ran in to a chap who worked as a trail guide at skandagiri... And he took a ride with us and showed us the place... THAT'S when we realised that we had come woefully unprepared for the trek up the mountain... The biggest problem was that we didn't have torches... And the guide refused to lend/sell us his... So we had to hire his services, SOLELY for the torch...

We reached the top by about 4.30 - 5 ... And then, after admiring the clear, starlit night sky for a space, fell asleep... ALMOST missed the sunrise... Luckily, there were some people around who were all excited that the sun was about to rise and were very loudly proclaiming their excitement... This woke us up... Just in time to see the sun emerge from behind the fog.

Sunrise

View from the top (i wish i had a better camera)

On returning... we played basketball in the evening... THEN we went for coffee to the all night CCD... stayed till about 3 am... Went home... but decided that if we slept now we won't get up in time for Horse Riding.... So decided not to sleep... Spent the night watching Sholay instead :D

Went horse riding at 6 in the morning... :D

I feel exhausted and perfect... That about sums it up... :D :D :D

Tryst with a Little Egret

Today I came upon a little egret while on my usual post-lunch walk around the JNCASR periphery.

Image Courtesy Wikipedia

Now if i say that i had never before seen this kind of bird i'd be lying... There are hundreds of them in JNC... Moreover, i'd be decieveing my public (to borrow a phrase from Wodehouse) if i said that i hadn't met this particular representative of the species before too. I had, on several occasions, observed this very bird in the exact same spot where i happened to meet it today. 

However, our relations had never before been more intimate than those of two passing strangers. Not even a cordial head-nod or a smile. Today, however, i decided to change this status and consequently, upon observing said bird in its usual spot, stopped to say "hi".

Now, i don't know if any of you have ever said "hi" to a bird before, but i must warn you that this is quite the wrong procedure to follow when trying to establish cordial contact between self and bird. It startles them... makes them go all jittery... Not very 'nerves-of-steel' types, these birds... 

Anyway, quick as  i am, i realised the mistake i had made in accosting the bird in this manner and hastened to make amends... That is to say, i hastened to stand very still and make no sound whatsoever. This gesture seemed to be taken kindly by the b., and, after about 15 minutes of self doing the statue act while being observed by it, it took a nervous step in my direction.

Thus, having identified me as a friendly and altogether alright chap, the bird relaxed... and so did i... It was still sensitive to any sudden movements on my behalf, but it let me approach closer nonetheless... Very white of it, i thought, to have trusted me knowing the ghastly treatment others from my species are known to have meted out to his kind. As time went on (and a considerable amount of it went on) it got used to my presence and even accepted me as part of the surroundings... So comfortable did i make it feel that it even turned its back to me... a thing no bird with any sense of self-preservation would do in the presence of a potential predator unless it is with a view to wing it in the opposite direction or when it has realised that the potential predator is in fact not one at all.

Anyhow, the bird now felt that Aditya was quite a decent fellow and could be trusted not to produce a rifle and proceed to fire at will. And thus it decided to resume its business, its business being to quench its thirst with water flowing through the stream and to find a few fish to go with the beverage. Remarkable fishing skills these birds have. They can give whoever it is that holds the current human record for fishing a run for his or her money anytime of the day. It proceeded to demonstrate to me the correct technique required to procure fish from the stream. This consisted of standing very still, waiting for a fish to come within range, and then striking with lightning speed with one's beak and trapping the poor water dweller in it. Having demonstrated the correct procedure, he went on to show-off... He no doubt thought "Sod the correct procedure! THIS is how the pros do it!" and then basically just waded through the water picking up fish as it went along... To say i was spellbound is to put it lightly... :D

When we parted, it was because i had work to finish and also did not want to impose my company on it while it lunched (I was unsure of what a bird's views are on the matter of company at meal times).  But one thing is for sure... Guaranteed, even.... And that is that i shall return to meet my winged friend as often as possible. I prefer its company to many of my own kind... :D