Everywhere I look, i can see rampant brutalization of nature..felling of trees has become a favourite hobby for those who are chalking out plans of city beautification..in the name of expanding roads, building bridges, there is large scale felling of beautiful, flower bearing majestic trees. I feel such pain while traveling by the familiar road leading to the Saraighat Bridge (over the river Brahmaputra). The short stretches leading to the bridge was flanked in both sides by majestic trees which almost touched each other in a canopy like pattern. During spring time..it was a treat to the eyes to see riot of pink, red, yellow and purple flowers blooming everywhere. we could even hear humming of bees around the trees if we happen to slow down due to traffic. Not even in my wildest dream have i imagined that this heavenly stretches would be devoid of any tree at some point of time. But sometimes, life gives u the most cruelest blow in the most unexpected way. the construction of a parallel bridge over the river has necessitated the felling of those green colossus. Gammon has come in the form a demon to wipe out whatever natural beauty and greenery we had in the approach roads to the bridge. I just hope that they will plant similar trees soon and although it will be ages till they grow to their majestic heights, but it will still be a consolation..that greenery is not lost forever!

animal lovers

There is python caught by the village boys yesterday and what a sight it made with the huge python being captured by these boys and tied like a rope in the carrier of a bicycle! It is wonder how such a hugs python can be actually lifted up and tied in the carrier, making several circles to complete the process of securing it and tying it to the cycle. The news of the capture of this giant reptile spread like wildfire in the village and all the kids made a beeline to have a glimpse of the massive creature and touched it to feel its texture. The python, on the other hand, was as cool as a watermelon and stared at the onlookers with placid eyes. The youths took the python to the nearby security enclosure and animal lover groups at the city was contacted and at their behest, the boys were give a sum of Rs.500 in exchange for the Python. It is a good thing to know that the Python is unharmed and is in custody of animal lovers. Earlier the local zoo was the place where most of the pythons captured were deposited but there is no more space to hold more and the captured ones in all probability would be released in forests and that is the best possible place this giant creatures could go.

Lake Placid

Last week, while sauntering to my balcony in the morning with my honey lemon drink, with my habitual blissful state, I looked afar to the wetland down below and to my utter shock, I have encountered a site which jabbed at my heart like a dagger. The flock of frolicking birds that were a frequent and natural sight till then were found missing. I scanned the water for any sign of disturbance which might have scared the birds away and to my amazement I saw small heads of bamboo poles sticking out from under the water. On closer inspection, the shocking realization dawned on my that it was in fact a large fish net strewn across the water, secured by bamboo poles for catching the lovely birds. The heinous act made my blood boil and later investigation revealed that those culprits were non other than the construction labours who wanted to feast on those tiny birds. Although, that net has been confiscated and the labours are duly warned, the damage has been done and the birds flew to safer places when they have got the premonition of the impending danger. They have taken away with them the heavenly bliss which I always encountered while basking in the panoramic view of flock of birds taking flight in encircling precision. Carnivorous human being seems to seems to have invaded our tranquil campus which till now have been heavenly abode of endangered and migratory birds. Thankfully, other water bodies in the campus are still safe from the flesh hunters and birds can be seen serenely sitting at those placid lakes. I pray fervently each day for the birds to return but except for some stork varieties at random, the flocks have simply disappeared. Amazing is human greed, still amazing is their immunity to the ethereal beauty surrounding them..I feel immense pity for those soul who are not only blind to nature's bounty but they are actually capable of destroying the very beauty which can give them solace and eternal bliss..

Cobra worship

Amazing things people can do in the name of faith, belief and superstition. I have known a number a people who are great worshipers of Lord Shiva. Just a month earlier, in a village household, a cobra was discovered who just refused to budge from the corner where it coiled up and took shelter. Thinking it to be an auspicious event and a blessing from the almighty, the head of the household started offering him frogs everyday so that the snake did not go hungry and they didn't have to face the wreath of god. People too started flocking to that place just to have a glimpse of the miracle,.i.e, the snake, who stayed there for quite some and led quite a luxurious life and finally slithered away one fine day out of boredom. In yet another household, two black cobras used to frequent the backyards and were offered a bowl of milk everyday. Although, this pair never did any harm to anyone, yet it gave one a creepy feeling seeing them coming and drinking the bowl of milk. It always gives me shivers to see creepy creatures, and as for snakes, I can never dream of offering milk and keeping them in my backyard. I really appreciate the courageous act of those who can face a snake without as much as blinking of an eye. However, I can never see and tolerate people killing and dousing phenol on snakes out of fear. It is so pathetic and sad to see a snake die writhing in pain that it gives me goosebumps.During ancient times, snakes were generally confined to jungles, hilly and forest areas but in recent times, indiscriminate cutting of trees and clearing of forest areas for construction purposes have reduced the areas for these wild creatures and they started frequently the areas of human habitation. Snake menace in huge campuses like ours is a pretty common phenomena. It is like usurping lands which were rightfully theirs...Man made imbalance in the environment while making the life of wild creatures miserable, also put our lives at stake. Time is running out and we must create a balance to our habitat.

Cuckoo, the manipulator

Once I wrote something about cuckoo in my previous blog post. It seems that cuckoo has once again drawn my attention for yet another reason,i.e for their shrewd way of hatching eggs in the crows nest. The female crow in the gulmuhar tree nearby recently started hatching and one fine day, a male cuckoo came near the nest, sat on a branch and started crowing at the top of his voice incessantly.Both the crow soon left the nest to chase the cuckoo away and meanwhile the female cuckoo came out from her hiding and laid eggs on the crows nest. She threw some of the eggs below so as to make the quantity of eggs appear the same. The female crow returned after a while and didnt see anything amiss and started hatching again. After a couple of days, chicks came out of eggs and the female crow still weren't aware of the deception. When one fine day, the cuckoo chick started uttering the first cooing sound, the mother crow realised that she had been duped by the cuckoo duo. Mad with raze, she threw the cuckoo chicks from her nest and not even satisfied with that, she started pecking at them angrily. Fortunately, some villagers nearby rescued the chicks and caged and reared them till they were able to fly.
Most of the time it so happens that the mother crow do not even realize the deception and the cuckoo chick grows up under her care and later flies away. What a blatant example the cuckoo shows of forfeiting one's duty.

Tiger on the prowl

Wonder of wonders, there is a female leopard on the prowl, seen in our campus for quite sometime now along with her two cubs. Seen at first atop hills surrounding the campus, it later started venturing out, perhaps on the look out for food for the cubs. People's apprehension knew no bound and evening walk has become a thing of the past. As the campus was a big forest earlier, and trees have been mauled down to build this concrete world, the wild inhabitant's life became jeopardized and they had to hibernate in whatever small forest area that remained within the campus. Now that food is getting scarcer, in spite of the danger involved, they venture into human territory. As of now, the leopard has not harmed a soul but as a tiger is a tiger, people are paranoid. Oblivious to all these commotions however, the leopard is roaming around, sometimes seen sitting leisurely on the roadside or sometimes mistakenly entering half constructed quarters. Our quarter is located near a small wetland and I for one is wishfully thinking that perhaps the leopard will frequent the wetland at night at least once and I could see it for real. But till now, luck is eluding me..I can visualize in my mind's eye what a spectacular scene it would create, the spotted beast amidst pristine green and sparkling water..I have seen only deers amidst greenery and that picture is still imprinted on my mind..roaming free spirited wild animals with their multi hued colors, seen in the wilderness is a million dollar view and I would thank the almighty a thousandth time when i am blessed from experiencing such a view..that too from my own balcony...

nature's fury

There goes a proverb in Assamese which when interpreted means thus; On the onset of spring, BORDOICHILA (wind) goes to her mother's place. However, when she returns, she returns with a vengeance, destroying whatever comes on her path. I have seen BORDOICHILA yesterday night, and oh how!

Yesterday night, while basking in the ambiance of spring cultural fest in the campus and getting soaked in the heady and scintillating bihu dance performance, we heard the distant rumbling of an approaching thunderstorm. However, before we could reach our car, big pelting raindrops and gushing wind hit us on the face, taking our breathe away. We anticipated the thunderstorm late at night and was completely taken by surprise. The wind was so powerful that it blew away most of the roofs of the thatched housed in the nearby village. As the wind blew in a spiraling pattern, it just demolished whatever came on its path. How transient and small we felt as we just watched nature's fury being unleashed and was helpless and powerless to do anything about it!

At this juncture, numerous thoughts has crossed my mind and I felt an urge to unwind and share my musings. While there is tremendous advancement and hi-tech inventions every other day, at the other end, natural disaster is claiming more and more lives in different parts of the globe. It is a pity that despite numerous disaster mitigation and management workshops, seminars and conferences, and despite chalking out agenda of action, disaster is causing and will continue to cause untold misery and havoc in people's lives, be it in J&K, or Pakistan or Italy. One of the most important factor causing maximum causality and damage in a disaster like earthquake and storm is poor housing condition. So quality housing should be one of the priority action in any disaster management and mitigation plan.