Tag Archives: nature

PEOPLE, ANIMALS & ENVIRONMENT–JANE GOODALL


INTERESTING FACTS: GREAT NICOBAR ISLAND … SHOMPEN TRIBE

SHOMPEN TRIBE, NICOBAR ISLANDS

RAINFORESTS: EARTH’S LUNGS AND WORLD’S PHARMACY

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Basant Panchami, celebrates Ma Saraswati, Lord Shiva and the Arrival of Spring

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POEM: DESIRE VS REALITY

NATURE: THE WORLD OF ANTS

Poem RAIN RAIN PUBLISHED IN SHILLONG TIMES TODAY

AUTHOR RUSKIN BOND

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WHEN ALL WARS ARE DONE, A BUTTERFLY WILL STILL BE BEAUTIFUL: RUSKIN BOND

    ONE OF INDIA’S MOST LOVED WRITERS RECENTLY CELEBRATED HIS 89TH BIRTHDAY IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY BY BRINGING OUT A NEW BOOK (‘THE GOLDEN YEARS – THE MANY JOYS OF LIVING A GOOD LONG LIFE’), PACKED WITH HIS TRADEMARK NUGGETS OF WISDOM. SHOBHA DE MEETS RUSKIN BOND FOR AN INTERVIEW AT HIS HOME IN LANDOUR, WHERE HE SPENDS HIS TIME READING, WRITING, AND TUNING INTO THE CHATTER OF BULBULS ON HIS WINDOWSILL

    During the course of the interview, she asked 10 questions. The gist of which is summarised below:

QUESTION 1: What does 89 really feel like? Do you sometimes wish you were 29?

    No, 89 does not feel too old. My writing does tire me sometimes, which didn’t happen when I was much younger. There is the occasional twinge of pain here and there. Of course, when I look in the mirror, I find a couple of teeth missing, and the double chin sagging, but mentally, I am very similar to what I was at 29, or 19 or even 9! Which is why people say I never grew up!

    QUESTION 2: In the foreword, you have written that the book is about growing old and liking it. Which is the key attribute to living a good life and how does one prepare for the golden years?

    Well, it’s a series of mini essays on growing old, and the things that make life worth living. Here I am at 89, a reasonably happy man, with no regrets, I work hard, and that’s important. Continue doing what you have been doing creatively. The day you stop working, you stop living. As for the future, life is full of uncertainties. I live with the attitude of ‘what can I do tomorrow’ rather than thinking too much about the distant future.

QUESTION 3: What role does spirituality play in maintaining emotional wellness?

    I am not a very spiritual person. I am a philosophical person. But I am spiritual in the sense that I am very close to nature, I believe in the sanctity of nature ie. — birds, trees, flowers, streams—and anything that grows. I am not the one to sit with my legs crossed every morning to meditate. I look at a flower and contemplate. The natural world is what made us. You can say I contemplate rather than meditate.

QUESTION 4: What are the small things and big things that make you happy?

    Books make me happy. Sweet notes of the whistling thrush make me happy. Human relationships make me happy. I don’t have too many friends, but a few that I have, make me happy and so does my family. Human relationships are important. One has to do a certain amount of writing every day, but reading makes me happy. Sometimes I don’t feel like putting a book down to start writing! I am a reader first and a writer second. People make me happy … I try to make people happy sometimes!

QUESTION 5: How does one keep the ‘child within’ alive?

    It’s a part of the nature you are born with … it’s not a deliberate thing. Look at the world as something that has just been created, and approach it with the freshness of spirit. There is so much to discover from a personal point of view, every single day.

QUESTION 6: What saddens you the most?

    The human inclination to go to war at the drop of a hat! It saddens me to see people often wanting to kill each other for trivial reasons. The human race has been doing that throughout history — aggrandisement and wanting what the other fellow has. Certain human traits sadden me such as maliciousness, intrigue, and backbiting– and these are human, not animal traits. The most dangerous weapon in the world is the tongue. The tongue can create enemies. It can lead to conflicts, it can bring about wars. So beware of the tongue. However, we need to remember that when all wars are done, a butterfly will still be beautiful.

QUESTION 7: Loneliness has been declared a global epidemic. Why are people lonely?

    Loneliness comes into your life unexpectedly. It happens when you least want it. It is different from solitude, which one sometimes looks for, to get away from the hurly-burly of life. Living alone can make you lonely. I was lonely as a shy young boy in London. Big cities make you lonely. They are hard to get to know. Even gregarious people feel lonely in a crowd.

QUESTION 8: What are you reading these days?

    I am a bookworm. I read three or four books a week. I enjoy detective novels, well-written autobiographies, and books on history. I don’t think a true writer would be the one who has not read a great deal as a young person.

QUESTION 9: What’s your relationship with technology?

    I am technology-illiterate. I have no mobile or laptop. I use that wonderful invention called the ballpoint pen to write. I am not against technology, but I’m not a slave to it.

QUESTION 10: What are your vanities and vulnerabilities?

    Well, I’m proud of my work, but I don’t brag about it. I know writers have big egos, so I try to control mine. I tell myself, there are other writers too in the world. As regards vulnerabilities? I am sensitive and get hurt easily if someone says something overly critical of me. You have to know me to understand my vanities and vulnerabilities!

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Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi (Content TOI)

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

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Our Publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 8 prestigious libraries of the US that includes Harvard College Library; Harvard University Library; Library of Congress; University of Washington, Seattle; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Yale University, New Haven; University of Chicago; University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill University Libraries. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in libraries and archives of Canada, Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai; Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida; India. Shoolini University, Yogananda Knowledge Center, Himachal Pradesh and Azim Premzi University, Bangalore).  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi; Available for reading in Indian National Bibliography, March 2016, in the literature section, in Central Reference Library, Ministry of Culture, India, Belvedere, Kolkata-700022)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be the undying characteristic of Lucknow. The book was launched in the Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014. It is included for reading in Askews and Holts Library Services, Lancashire, U.K; Herrick District Library, Holland and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library, Mecklenburg County in North Carolina, USA; Black Gold Cooperative Library Administration, Arroyo Grande, California).

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched at Lucknow International Literary Festival in 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his way through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February 2018 at Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day-to-day life. A few poems from the book have been published in Shillong Times, Bandra Times and Bhavan’s Journal. The book is available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories available in Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

AWADH ASSAM AND DALAI LAMA … The Kalachakra

(The story of the man who received His Holiness The Dalai Lama and his retinue in 1959 as a GOI representative when he fled Tibet in 1959. The book was launched on 21st November 2022 by His Holiness The Dalai Lama at Dharmshala. The title is archived in the library of the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) Government of Tibet, Tibet Policy Institute (TPI) and the personal library of His Holiness. The title is also archived in The Ohio Digital Library, USA).

BHAVANS JOURNAL

Short stories, Book reviews and Articles published in Bhavan’s Journal: 1. Reality and Perception, 15.10.19; 2. Sending the Wrong Message, 31.5.20; 3. Eagle versus Scholars June, 15 & 20 2020; 4. Indica, 15.8.20; 5. The Story of King Chitraketu, August 31 2020; 6. Breaking Through the Chakravyuh, September 30 2020. 7. The Questioning Spouse, October 31, 2020; 8. Happy Days, November 15, 2020; 9. The Karma Cycle of Paddy and Wheat, December 15, 2020; 10. Power Vs Influence, January 31, 2021; 11. Three Refugees, March 15, 2021; 12. Rise and Fall of Ajatashatru, March 31, 2021; 13. Reformed Ruler, May 15, 2021; 14. A Lasting Name, May 31, 2021; 15. Are Animals Better Teachers? June 16, 2021; 16. Book Review: The Gram Swaraj, 1.7.21; 17. Right Age for Achievements, 15.7.21; 18. Big Things Have Small Beginnings, 15.8.21; 19. Where is Gangaridai?, 15.9.21; 20. Confront the Donkey Within You 30.9.21; 21. Know Your Strengths 15.10.21; 22. Poverty 15.11.21; 23. Top View 30.11.21; 24. The Bansuriwala 15.1.22; 25. Sale of Alaska 15.2.22; 26. The Dimasa Kingdom 28.2.22; 27. Buried Treasure 15.4.22; 28. The Kingdom of Pragjyotisha 30.4.22; 29. Who is more useful? 15.5.22; 30. The White Swan from Lake Mansarovar 30.6.22; 31. Bhool Bhulayya 15.9.22; 32. Good Karma 30.9.22; 33. Good Name vs Bad Name 15.10.22; 34. Uttarapath—The Grand Trunk Road 1.12.22; 35. When Gods Get Angry 1.1.23; 36. Holinshed’s Chronicles 15.1.23; 37. Theogony 15.2.23; 38. Poem: Mother 14.5.23; 39. THE NAG MANDIR;

SUNDAY SHILLONG TIMES

ARTICLES & POEMS: 1. POEM: HAPPY NEW YEAR 8.1.23; 2. POEM: SPRING 12.3.23; 3. POEM: RIGHT AND WRONG 20.3.23; 4. THE GUSH OF EMOTION—WRITING, 26.3.23; 5. THE NAG MANDIR, 7.5.23; 6. POEM: MOTHER 7.5.23; 7. POEM: RAIN RAIN;

BANDRA TIMES, MUMBAI

ARTICLES & POEMS: 1. POEM SPRING, 1.4.23; POEM MOTHER, 1.6.23;

(ALL THE ABOVE BOOK TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE ON AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

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BRIGHT WELL BUNGALOW–SHILLONG

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BRIGHTWELL BUNGALOW SHILLONG, MEHGALAYA, INDIA
Lady-Haidari Park

Absolutely nostalgic … This is the precious picture of ‘BRIGHTWELL BUNGALOW SHILLONG’ which used to be our house in Shillong, now Meghalaya. I have myriads of smashing memories coming out of it, and some are quintessential … and par-excellence. I was schooling in St. Edmunds and running-riot in Brightwell Bungalow all my childhood. If you look beyond the bungalow there is a foothill. In the night many Malis, wood cutters while coming down the hill and the steep links used to sing in high-pitch, which I could hear from my room. They were mostly the daring and undeterred Biharis who often encountered wolf and jackals on their way down, just like pets. The morning sun was something to talk about. It used to enter the bungalow surreptitiously through the chinks in the curtains. Upon venturing out early in the morning, one could get to see the thick carpet of frost sprawled all over the lawns, sparkling as pearls. The sunset was early … Shillong being east, and it was over the straight line of the Lady-Haidari Park (picture above) that the sun sank into the yonder horizon. As time draws one can only reflect on memories that gave you flourish in life even if it was for some moments. Long live BRIGHTWELL BUNGALOW … long live Shillong.

By Kamlesh Tripathi

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Share it if you like it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 8 prestigious libraries of the US that includes Harvard College Library; Harvard University Library; Library of Congress; University of Washington, Seattle; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Yale University, New Haven; University of Chicago; University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill University Libraries. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in libraries and archives of Canada, Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai and Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida, India)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi; Available for reading in Indian National Bibliography, March 2016, in the literature section, in Central Reference Library, Ministry of Culture, India, Belvedere, Kolkata-700022)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be the undying characteristics of Lucknow. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014. It is included for reading in Askews and Holts Library Services, Lancashire, U.K.)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories available in Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

Short stories and Articles published in Bhavan’s Journal: Reality and Perception, 15.10.19; Sending the Wrong Message, 31.5.20; Eagle versus Scholars June, 15 & 20 2020; Indica, 15.8.20; The Story of King Chitraketu, August 31 2020; Breaking Through the Chakravyuh, September 30 2020. The Questioning Spouse, October 31, 2020; Happy Days, November 15, 2020; The Karma Cycle of Paddy and Wheat, December 15,2020;

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

FASCINATING MONSOON

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      An overcast day, makes a lazy weekend that gives an ethereal feel, when you wake up to the light morning drizzle, tip-tap tip-tap. You realise you don’t have to go for work today. But you certainly can take your raincoat and step out, to witness the groovy nature in its mystifying colours, all splashed and splattered for you, so go there and enjoy. Where, the mind feels light, body feels like flying and the senses divine. The combination is indeed rare. Otherwise, there is always so much to do and so much to brood in your routine life.

    I don’t expect to see the holy sun today. Like me he too is on leave. I guess they have a tie-up—the sun and the clouds. When the clouds appear, the sun goes on leave and doesn’t return till clouds leave. Sun might be strong, but today he looks weak, even when he is above the clouds. That reminds me of man. Who too like clouds, tries to block ways of God but is often weather beaten by time … waqt.

    I step out quietly without a sound. Tina is fast asleep. No lunch to be packed, no hurried breakfast to be tabled. Little Khitkhit for a change, is in her own fantasy, and in a hug with her mother. On the verandah one can see a few uncomfortable pigeons, chirping mynas and even a few jumping sparrows, all trying to shrug the rain water off their feathers. The street lights are still lit because of the overcast. They normally fade with sunlight. The first few drops are rejuvenating. It feels like an unusual dawn that’ll refresh you for the entire year. One can’t but miss the few mongrels hiding under the parapet whimpering … as if the agony wasn’t enough that you’ve sent us rains.

    The exterior is all wet as one tip toes to find that confident rhythm along the roadside that has become one big puddle. There are no children around. They all are in the cozy lap of the weekend, oblivious of the once in a while, fun zone outside. The surroundings are still, even when the drizzle has now become a downpour. I’m intact beneath my raincoat. Except for the milkman and the newspaper wala no one else is seen around, barring a few devoted morning walkers. Even the society guards are catching up on their forty winks.

    Suddenly one gets to see the lightning followed by the sound of thunder. The nature is freaking out. I go past the wide streets with tall buildings all around that is now beginning to wake up to a wet dawn. The winding brooks that have sprung up all over have only become more loud and tuneful.

    And as I walk along, I can’t help but think. Why is man the biggest adversary of nature when nature has provided so much for mankind?

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By Kamlesh Tripathi

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                                                      https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Share if you like it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases. Should you wish to donate for the cause the bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(CAN BE BOUGHT FROM ON LINE BOOK STORES OR WRITE TO US FOR COPIES)

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