Our first Id holiday

We spent the holiday for Id really well. We did some birdwatching in Cubbon Park and saw:

Magpie Robin and its family. Pic courtesy: birdforum.com

Ashy Wren Warbler

Green Barbet. Also observed in Dayanand Sagar University. Image courtesy Wiki.

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Yellow Wagtail.

Indian mynah

Female rose ringed parakeet

Lesser cormorant. Image courtesy Joy Sinha, tripadviser.com

Pond Heron. I initially thought it was a white bird that had got dirty in the pond

Later that evening, we went to Sankey Tank near Malleshwaram. I had been here a long time ago, to meet an uncle who worked at a Statistics center somewhere nearby. But I had never spent too much time there before. Now, after hanging out there for a few hours, I think Sankey Tank has to be one of the best places in Bangalore both for individuals and for families, very like Schenley Park back in Pittsburgh. The only major drawbacks to Sankey Tank are the low height railings over which even a two and half year old can lean far out (as we learned yesterday) and potentially fall into the water. So it's a bit hazardous and parents can't just leave their kids to run around.
But otherwise, it's rather marvelous.
We went there around sunset, when flying foxes emerged from their nests in the nearby trees to hunt:

A beautiful waterfall evoked images of Ganga falling from Shiva's head, while simultaneously reminding us of a similar fountain at Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh

Durga, who had watched the sunset, the fountain and the flying foxes, fairly impassively, came to life when she saw bandicoots coming out of their holes with the darkening sky. "'Ello! 'Ello, lat! Come to me!" she cried in her lisp.


A Ganapathy visarjan was in progress, accompanied by loud drums, clanging bells and yells of "Ganapathy bappa moriya!" We also learned a new little Ganapathy jingle: Twinkle twinkle little star, Ganapathy bappa superstar!
The kids loved it!

All in all, a great holiday!

A Bird's Eye View of IISc

On a wet, slightly cold morning recently, RK and I took an auto to IISc for breakfast. I think anybody who has spent any length of time in IISc falls in love with it. What a campus! What architecture! What beautiful space!
As RK got busy on a phone call almost as soon as we entered, I explored some parts that were lesser known to me. I tried to spot a bird whose call was entirely unfamiliar, with little success. I explored a building with nondescript walls but the most stunning set of what appeared to be garage doors, painted a refreshing orange, a shade probably not found anywhere else outside Holland.  walked below the ivy covered stone columns by Choksi Auditorium towards the cafeteria. There were nooks entirely covered by ivy and I fantasized about young couples meeting there in secret while it poured rain just a foot away. What a romantic walkway that was!
Suddenly, I came across this beautiful specimen of a Gulmohar Tree, planted in its own special stone enclosing:

Tell me, who wouldn't have the intense urge to climb one of these beauties?

So I hoisted my handbag more securely on a shoulder, placed one foot on the V of the trunk closest to the ground and pulled myself up. I imagined that I could easily get to one of the closer branches which were stretching out all the way across the roof of the walkway. Only after I'd gotten fairly high up did I realize that what appeared to be a thick sturdy trunk across which one might even trot across with ease, was actually quite slender, rather slippery and sloping, not at all conducive to balancing, let alone trotting across:

Stuck. Couldn't go further up, or across. Realized the ground was a bit too high up to jump down. What now?

I admired the roof of the stone walkway:

 and bantered down with RK when he finally showed up:

Then, when I could procrastinate no longer, I dropped the handbag down and slithered, slipped and skidded down the main trunk and could at last rescue myself.

What struck me was the total and utter freedom to do these kinds of antics. There were people nearby who watched, many more who gave me a glance and walked on unconcerned. But every one of them left me to do what I wanted.

What an awesome morning! May there be many more of these!