Ghumakkar's Diary

(This post was written a year back and forgotten. Before I leave for Banaras this Diwali, I thought to share the pictures) For us festivals, especially Holi and Diwali, are occasions to celebrate our friendship and the bond with the eternal city of Banaras. Sometimes I think I should write on Banaras every now and then. Then, there comes another nonsense (!) thought that is it because it would be easier for me to do so? Well, a plain answer to the question is, be it a small or large city - its hell difficult to write regularly on it even if you are a native or in love/hate relationship with it. And, if it’s the case of the one of the oldest living city on the planet, the situation becomes rather difficult. So, not pondering about the above thoughts (which I would like to discuss some other time under Random Thoughts), it would be easier to write the best part of my recent  last year's short visit to Varanasi or Banaras. Banaras Ghats बनारस के घाट  Visit...

Interestingly, I’m publishing this post on the time when probably the whole World is riding on the wave of Google+; and, rather entertainingly I am well included in this World! Months back, a realization occurred to me when an email popped up into my Inbox. To: Punit Subject: orkut - Mr X. has left you a new Scrap! Body: Mr X.: You have received a scrap from your friend Mr X. “Hapy Bday dear” View your scrapbook l view mr X.’s profile -           Stop sending my emails -           Change my email options -           Help Center I was something , in some state that can’t be actually described by terms like amazed, shocked, shattered, sad etc. I wasn’t ready to understand what’s happening? Mr. X has been a very close mate, amongst my best friends, for last 5years; and on my best day what I received from him was just a Scrap, not even an SMS, call wou...

(Caution: Author is developing a style to write seriously on lighter notes. Please don’t take this piece lightly!) These days’ I am feeling quite privileged having a state, some greats call as, the  Writer’s Block ! As the  Webster of the Era , widely known as  Wikipedia , suggests  Writer’s Block  is  a condition in which an author fails to produce new work. This also relates to the condition when an Author couldn’t recognize his own work’s worth and underestimates it . The Thinker (Courtesy: Wikipedia-User: Andrew Horne ) I am regular guy learning to write pieces; comparing me with the ones who have proved themselves in professional writing is far from imagination.  But the condition I’m in right now has at least something to do with the big words, the Writer’s Block. CONDITION:   I’m just not able to sit calm, sip coffee, have some water, eat pistachios, crack nuts, listen to some music, and write some piece!  Hmmmm…it’s not t...

( This post has been published in TheViewspaper as The Paradise called Chilika ) This year seems to be much more happening than I expected. I realized it when I got an invitation from a senior colleague to attend his marriage at Bhubaneshwar. Hidden was another invitation to revisit the Puri- beach and also the Chilika Lake. I hadn’t still come out of the hangover of my pan-India ride , when the date to fly to the City of Temples knocked at doors. Packing the very morning of departure with least pairs of casuals and 3sets of party wears, I joined Kaustav and Abhimanyu bhaiya on our tour de Chilika and Puri, also the Odiya Wedding. Chilika Lake is the largest coastal lagoon in India and the second largest in World. It is an essentially shallow brackish water lagoon on the east coast, spread over the districts of Puri, Khurda and Ganjam of Odisa state. The lake, popularly known as Chilka, was designated the first Indian Wetland of International importance under the Ram...

A few days back only, I noticed a rock pigeon incubating on floor in my balcony. It had laid two white eggs. A friend has advised not to disturb them, as if scared it may abandon the eggs; so we took special care while watching the India’s semi-final match. On the day of Cricket World Cup Final, we saw two very cute and subtle squabs . A treat of basmati rice was kept for the Mother pigeon. Here are a few shots: Mother rock-pigeon incubating a squab (Note the cere on the beak, and white squab beneath her)   Interestingly a rock-pigeon lays eggs, two in numbers, on cliff faces or the artificial cliff faces of buildings’ roof spaces. Note the cere on the pigeon’s beak, which plays a key role in respiration as well as in indicating the reproductive stage. Sadly, squab or squab meat is included in exotic cuisine. Two cute Squabs :) Will try to update the post as they grow.... :)

बड़ा धन्यवाद  ब्लॉग-अड्डा   एवं   प्रिन्गो  का, इस अनोखे विषय   “ Whack!! this Wednesday ”  पर ब्लॉग आमंत्रण हेतु. इस विषय को देखते ही यूँहीं दिमाग में ये विचार आया की इस पर कुछ हिंदी में लिखा जाये. वैसे भी जब कुछ अत्यंत ही निर्लज्जों को रास्ते-बरास्ते अपनी मूर्खता का प्रदर्शन करते देखता हूँ तो मातृभाषा में कुछ वास्तव में “ ज़ोर से एक घींच कर लगाने का मन करता है ”, जिसे हम अंग्रेजी में “whack” कह रहे. तो भई, ये रही कुछ एक बातें-घटनाएँ जिनके होने पर दिमाग बस एक ही बात आती है “अभी लगाऊं जोर से एक” : 1. ये निर्लज्ज प्राणी, हमारे देश में बड़ी ही आसानी से खोजा जा सकता है. आप सीढ़ियों से नीचे उतर रहे हों या सुबह-सुबह बगीचे में टहल रहे हों या सड़क पर अपने वाहन से सफर कर रहे हों....ये विशिस्ट प्रकार का मनुष्य अपने घृणित कर्म के चिन्ह दीवारों और सड़कों पर थूकते हुए दिखाई पड़ ही जाएगा. जब भी देखता हूँ, मन करता है पटक के मारूं और वहीं झाड़ू-पोंछा भी कराऊं. समझ नही आता, कोई व्यक्ति सौंदर्य-बोध विहीन कैसे हो सकता. अरे भाई, तुम्हारा अपना देश है, तुम्हारे घर का ही ...