Dasara Dolls

Dasara is one among the important festivals in India spanning over a period of 10 days symbolizing the victory of good over evil. Dasara is also the state-festival of Karnataka.

Keeping dolls is a tradition that has come along with the festival since a long time and displaying your collectibles and in themes is a time consuming and patient affair. Whilst this practice has dwindled over the years owing to the lack-of-time generation that we are in, some do put in their efforts in keeping this going.

While we didn't have this practice all these years, we have started this over the last couple of years that keeps the kids engaged and enthralled and is a wonderful way to narrate stories and events of our wonderful mythology that is so fascinating how many ever times you get to know about it...

Let me show you our setup since the past couple of years...

(2012 arrangement of the dolls in 4 steps)

(2013 arrangement of the dolls with few additions)

(2014 setup was much more extensive than seen here... bigger than the previous years with multiple new sets displayed)

If you have any similar collections, do let me know through a comment below.

Team Blog-o-holics (week 2)

'A Time To Die' Chapter 12, Week 2, Team Blog-o-holics

Read the first post here from Dola...
Read the earlier post from Akash here...


The receptionist looked quite surprised with two people asking about the same patient. Room No 301, 3rd Floor, lift lobby over there… uttered the receptionist still glancing towards the two people standing over there. Her face still had a quizzical remark on how the little kid had ended up there.

She’s my mom, blurted out Roohi before walking towards the lift lobby leaving the receptionist and Jennifer surprised. Jennifer did a hop and run to catch up with Roohi who was near the lift and frantically pressing the buttons over there only to realize the lifts were not working. Argh! Squeaked both of them together. By the way, who are you and why have you come to see my mom? Are you a reporter questioned Roohi noticing the camera dangling on the shoulders of Jennifer? Jennifer was taken aback at the flurry of questions from Roohi and looked around not knowing what to answer…

*****

Tara had sneaked down along with Cyrus to the parking lot covering her identity with a dupatta and looking to appear more like a visitor than a patient. Cyrus had called for a taxi and it took a while for Tara to get in without anybody noiticing that, a task that was quite difficult evading the security and the hospital staff. The taxi while coming out of the hospital almost banged into an SUV that had a police officer seated in it. Tara hurriedly hid between the seats for not to be noticed by anybody out there…

But she was wrong… the lone figure, out in the corner had seen them and he was there precisely to watch them. He noted the taxi no MH00 AA1144 as he let out a big fart loud enough to get the alarm system on the car parked going off!!! Hurriedly, he vanished into the dar corners leaving behind the cigarette on the ground…

*****

The cigarette, a Sherman special, distinctly brown in colour, half burnt and still emitting smoke caught the attention of the Samson who had come to the hospital to meet Tara. He got down from his SUV and gazed at the cigarette running his hands through his hair trying to figure out something! A phone call interrupted his thought as he picked up the cigarette butt and placed it in a small neat plastic cover and placed it into his pocket.

Hurriedly, he walked off towards the lift lobby. It was a call from an informant having some information about Roger’s death. The lifts were out and as he started climbing the stairs… his phone rang again making him sto midway and after a brief conversation, he headed back to his SUV and drove away…

*****

The taxi sped through the city streets ignorant of the heavy traffic around. Tara had a pensive look on her face while Cyrus was stealing looks at her, somehow he couldn’t stop admiring her. Stop it, boomed Tara frightening the life out of Cyrus and the driver and the taxi came to a screeching halt instantly. Looking out of the window… Rajeev, Rajeev blurted Tara…
Read the next post by Parichita here...

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the Barbets and the Woodpeckers

Nature never ceases to amaze me and the dual between the woodpeckers and the barbets that I witnessed at the Seethanadhi nature camp was one of those moments that I would not forget soon; the Davids taking on the Goliaths.

While we were busy trying to locate the calling Trogon, familiar sounding of metallic ‘chiank’, ‘chiank’ made me turn around and it took me hardly a second to figure out where the sound was coming from. On the opposite bank of the camp, landed a pair of White-bellied Woodpeckers (Dryocopus javensis) on a bare stump and furiously drumming away sounding like a machine gun. These are the largest woodpeckers found south of the Himalayas and are predominantly black with a white belly and a red crown.

(the male and the female White-bellied Woodpeckers)

While they were happily gunning away to glory at the bare stump with the loud sounds resonating over the entire scape, entered a couple of Malabar Barbets (Megalaima malabarica) who perched right on the adjacent tree to where the woodpeckers were drumming hard.

(drumming together...)

The next few minutes witnessed an intense duel launched by the Barbets with each of the pairs taking turns to take a jibe at the woodpeckers, who amusingly were trying to avoid them and were seen moving around the tree holding on to their dear life.

(the Malabar Barbet harassing the Woopie... you can see another Barbet on the left...)

The Barbets, probably 1/3rd the size of the woodpeckers never gave a moment of relaxation to the woodpeckers and kept on heckling them, while all the while calling aloud and circling around the woodpeckers and swooping down on them in an attempt to chase them away. Finally getting heckled, the woodpeckers flew away and the Barbets were still calling away loud and clear.

(the Barbet almost hits on to the Woopie... the Woopie moves around for cover)

All this lasted for about 15 good minutes and all the while, I could not figure out why were the Barbets behind the woodpeckers as neither did I see any holes or cavities on the bare stump and that left me with lot of unanswered questions. Another reason I suspect would be their nesting cavities being probably on adjacent trees closer to the bare stump… probably!

(the Woodpecker flies away after constant nagging from the Barbets)

Some incidents never ceases to amaze...you just need to have an eye to see it!