Just About Everything

Sharing snaps taken of Barn Swallow and chicks at Mirik. Mirik is a small valley about 50 kms from Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. Barn Swallow with chicks Mother Barn Swallow feeding the young ones

I am sharing a few snaps taken by my cousin, Soma, who is an avid bird watcher. All three birds from Chintamani Kar Bird Sanctuary, Narendrapur, Kolkata, India. This little garden is an amazing place for all kinds of birds all through the year.It often keeps throwing up surprises like the rare Grey-bellied Cuckoo that was spotted there recently, first time corroborated by photographs. Grey bellied Cuckoo Emerald Dove Large tailed Nightjar

We have been blessed by rains... Have got some respite from the hot-hot weather. Sharing a song from "Wake up Sid". I love this song.

It is so hot that it feels unimaginable how bad it will be in May! It seems such an ideal time to go north and enjoy the pleasant weather... Coupled with the bad weather, the frequent power cuts are trying my patience:( I am hoping we get some rains soon. In the meantime, I am going to live on gallons and gallons of fruit juice:) Have a cool weekend.

I am uploading the video of the tiger we saw during our trip to Sunderbans, West Bengal, India. We did not get a very good video:( But the thrill of catching sight of a tiger in the wild was great and I wish to share that experience with everyone!

Last week was a week that made me take another look at my life and the life of all those who are dear to me. I lost a cousin last Sunday. We were first cousins. He was just 23! Acute Pancreatities is what it took to take away such a young life from us! He is survived by his parents, grandmother and an older sister. There is nothing that we can do to provide solace to his parents. They are completely broken.Time is the only healer they say...but no matter what... death of a loved one is the most difficult to gulp. I guess all of us know that death is inevitable, but the suddenness of it, is what is so scary. I wish I had kept in touch with him more often. Maybe there was something I could have done to help him survive... I am sharing a poem that is a perfect expression of anyone who has lost a loved one. Really touches my heart. Funeral Blues -W.H. Auden Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum B...

I had a fantastic trip to Sunderbans recently. Sharing my experience and some snaps of the beautiful Sunderbans and its wild life. This place deserves a one-time visit definitely! We, my cousin Soma, me, my husband Anirban and Roshmi a common friend , set off by car at around 7 am on a cold winter morning on Jan 16th from Kolkata. Kolkata is usually not cold at all.. but this winter, it did get cold, really. Our aim was to reach Gadhkhali (around 100kms) by 10-10.30 am. We would park our car there and then get on to our launch which would we waiting for us there. We reached a little later than planned cause we stopped at many places and found some very lovely birds. Soma, who is an avid bird watcher and also our chauffeur:) got some really nice pictures. We parked our car and set off on the launch. I had never been to Sunderbans before. And I simply loved it. The vast expanse of rivers, mangroves...was breathtakingly beautiful. The launch that we had hired was very well equipped. T...