Stand Still

Do this, said one Swami 
Do that, said a Pandit
Do nothing, said the atheist
Do everything, said the fearful heart

Escaping The Cycle

One man stepped away
Another took his place
When none filled in
It was as if it has never been

The cycle goes on
Or not, who cares
And yet we fret 
Living constantly in regret

The Proud Peacock

He walked out in the open, preening proudly, and swung his lustrous train of feathers up to display their bright colours and rich plumage. He turned this way and that, and heard the females oohing and aahing, devouring him with their eyes. He walked a little ahead and was gratified with the female fan following. What a variety to choose from, he chuckled to himself.

Wild for Wildlife

As our jeep traversed the rough and smooth terrain of Tadoba looking for the tiger which could have been hiding just behind any bush on the path and yet go undetected, I wondered at this feverish desire we have for sighting tigers, lions and leopards. As these thoughts persisted and I thought of penning it, I felt they were not new and searched through my archives. Right enough, I found this blog I had written exactly a year back: Tiger = Maya (https://meera-lastingimpressions.blogspot.com/2023/10/tiger-maya.html).

Desires breed desires and this passion for tiger sighting too hasn't died even after a year. But not just for me - after all, I go on these trips only once in a while. Even those who go often seem to find the lure unabating. The more good photographs they get, the more the desire to capture the moments. 

Escaping the Depression

The unrelenting rain

A party of 6 from Chennai was all set to leave for Tadoba in Maharashtra on October 16th, 2024, on a wildlife tour organized by Naturographers. But by Oct 9th, talks of a depression and heavy rains, bringing with it the dreaded floods that could paralyze the city, started floating again. On Oct 14th, the group decided to be prepared for the worst - but what was the worst we could expect and what should be our plan of action?

Sometimes, the best actions come most spontaneously. Oct 16th was supposed to see the landfall. Already on Oct 15th, many neighbourhoods were seeing severe flooding. Trains were running late. Should we wait and risk it?

Amma, Where Are You?

"Papa, how are you?" Sonu asked her father, trying to sound cheerful.

Prabhas lay back on bed, his internal organs on fire. "Ma!" he cried out. "Take me away," he mumbled.

Sonu curbed the rush of emotions as she quickly instructed the attender to raise the bed so that her father could be in reclining position. "Has he completed his morning ablutions? Has he had anything to eat?"

The Debater

 "@Minnu" Mirnalini found herself tagged in a post by her friend Riddhi. She scrolled up and read the post, a little puzzled as to why she had been tagged. It was about a top actress who had recently been in the news for showing sympathy for some group of people and sitting in protest with them over some government policy. The actress was shooting a much hyped movie and boycott that movie hashtags were spreading through the Internet. Mrinalini gathered all this as she scrolled news channels, still puzzled about how it mattered to her.