My Little Log Book

Here are my Top 5 things to do in the morning for a healthy, happy and fit day. A Black Kite from the window 1. Listen to songs of nature. If you strain your ears in the morning, you will catch the tailorbird, babbler, sparrow, or drongo conversing, if you are lucky. Else there is the pigeon mynah or crow. A few minutes of listening to the titter and tatter sets a tranquil mood for the day. There are are other sounds of nature to catch too like the fall of leaves, rustle of wind or if you are lucky and near the coast, the breaking of the waves. So go ahead and find your songs of nature around you. 2. Sit quietly and reflect. Even a few minutes of absolute solitude helps set the tone for the day as one reaches out to one's core. It helps one figure out what is essential in life and what is not. 3. Observe a creature. This activity again connects us to other beings other than humans. Whether  it is an early bird looking for a worm or a bee looking for honey, a wasp going about buildi...

  Banaste Dakila Gaja,  Barasa Ke Thare Asichi Raja, Asichi Raja lo Gheni Nua Saja Baja... so the old Odia folksong on Raja goes. The Raja festival is upon us. We know it and celebrate it as three days of fun, joy, celebrations, new clothes, home cooked pitha, preceded by days of shopping for new clothes and ingredients. The Raja festival  is the day of the year when the earth weeps tears of joy as its dry soil is drenched with the first monsoon rains.  It is during the time of Mithuna Sankranti, which is when the first rains of monsoon strike Odisha. There is also an allusion to the menstrual cycle of young girls of age in the festivities that occur during Raja. While girls have their periods every month, Mother Earth has hers every year. The festival is a tribute to mother Earth and she is given respite these days and not allowed to carry any burden. The traditional Odia family jobs of "kata", bata", "randha", "badha", "boha bahi" are spar...

Day 3 On our third day at Masai Mara, we woke up  to see two Hippos fighting, out of the water and a baby Hippo amongst them. The Hippos loved the water so much it was difficult to see them out of it. They are called "jalahasti" in Odia (translated to water elephants) for a reason, I guess.  Dik Diks (little deers) roamed around the camp leaving their traces in between and marking their territory! The robins, starlings and the swallows accompanied us as usual at breakfast. The chef Julius at the camp was a genius and provided us with amazingly well prepped meals every time. That required some commitment since we were the only guests at the resort as it was the middle of the week of an extremely lean rainy season. The rains ensured that the grass was long, which hindered game viewing. Cheetahs were harder to spot this time of the year. The staff wished us luck in spotting the elusive Rhinos and Cheetahs as we started on the third day of the drive.  The drive took us to the...