New city, new friend

My body actually runs on caffeine and hence it is the first thing that has to be put in my system in the morning though it is said to be not the right way to break a fast. On shifting to  a hostel for my PhD, I found myself on the very first morning coffeeless, key-less and helpless. All efforts to locate the lost room key were in vain without the mandatory concentration of caffeine in my blood stream and hence, it was decided to fix this deficiency first. I found myself before the pond sipping the coffee which began to clear my head which resulted in me able to note the presence of an individual whom I hold in high esteem. I caught sight of a Brahminy kite right in the midst of a tree right at the center of a small island which in turn was in the middle of the pond and was going through it's ritual morning preening and cleaning. I had been mesmerized by another of her species a couple of years ago on the sea coast of Okha and was jubilant on having received this surprise darshan by the bird considered to be the present day representation of Garuda. She held her white head high and white shoulders broad above her chestnut body and struck an awe inspiring pose. I had not expected to see her so inside the city as she is named in Latin as Haliastur ( Sea+hawk) and my knowledge was limited to her habitation of sea coasts only. It turns out she lives near inland wetlands too.  She gave me company through out my cup of coffee and when I came back an hour later to her - caffeinated, bunch of the lost keys back in my pack and hopeful of having my breakfast with her, she welcomed me and joined me by diving marvelously and picking out a fish of her choice which she feasted on. When I came back with my lunch, she was accompanied with  a friend - on what business remained unknown to me as they chose to go deeper into the canopy which of course suggests quite a lot. I am very happy with my first feathery grad school friend and hope this alliance lasts. Throw out fish food waste, don't be too clean so that my friend who loves eating dead animals may get her stomach full.

A Brahminy kite (Haliaster indus) clicked in North India by Hareendra Baraiya

Happy friendships day!

PARALLEL WORLDS

On June 26th, I took a train from Hyderabad in Telangana, India where my cousins live to Vadodara in Gujarat,India where my parents live. On the way, I stopped first at Highbury in 17th century England to listen to an interesting account of a certain Emma Woodhouse and her youthful misadventures from none other than the esteemed Jane Austen. The next day ,still on the train, I stopped at 221B, Baker Street and had a little adventure with Mr.Sherlock Holmes (a completely platonic sort of adventure). I got off at Vadodara noon that day. That evening, I traveled to 18th century Bengal to be enraptured by compelling narratives about Bengali lives by the Tagore himself. My next adventure was in space! I spent a one and half hour of breath stopping free falls and jumps and walks through space alongside mission specialist Dr.Ryan Stone from NASA trying to survive a catastrophic accident. The next day's trip to the US of A right in the middle of the Roaring Twenties was Shakespearean(If that's not a word, I just invented it)-fun,romantic and ending in tragedy. I was left grieving the apathy and selfishness of the rich as I watched  Mr. Jay Gatsby try to woo his sweetheart during the Roaring Twenties and his great efforts to rise to her "standards".The very next day I was fortunate visit Malgudi where I learnt lessons about humbleness, dangers of greediness and necessity of proper upbringing of children from the life of a Financial Expert. Then there was this very disgusting and eye-opening acquaintance with a driver in 21st century India who called himself The White Tiger and went on to become a hardened criminal and a successful entrepreneur. The succeeding I went to Pheonicia in 870 B.C. with Paulo Coelho to be a spectator of a Biblical event. Next, migrated to post World War II USA. Francis Ford Coppola narrated a most captivating tale of one of my and many others's most favorite Don from a small village in Italy called Corleone. All this on top of the customary visit I pay to my F.R.I.E.N.D.S at Central Perk,New York. I next intend to embark on a journey to Saurashtra,Gujarat,India guided by Jhaverchand Meghani.

And they see Time Travel is not real? That there are no evidences for Parallel Universes ? Poof!

I would tell them about the time I spent learning magic for 7 years at a school in Scotland.