3 April 2010
We are on a small vacation at the ‘Sunparks’ near the North Sea and today we took a 4hour cruise to a small island to watch seals.
So it was a two hour long wait before we could see the seals. Midst cruel wind and a cold drizzle, we caught sight of these cute looking huggable creatures lazing on the rocks and diving into the sea. It is always such a delight to see animals in their natural habitat. No Zoo in the world can give you that excitement and pleasure. No animal in captivity can cause that excitement. Circuses, I don’t even want to mention for they’re cruel. I won’t even call them entertainment. Not for me. Atleast the human beings in them do the acrobatics out of choice and are fully aware of the possible consequences. But imagine a beautiful Parrot with wings to explore the skies, walking over thin string, a dressed up chimp with sad eyes driving a mo-bike, the majestic elephant playing with a ball, the king of the jungle reduced to a puppet and made to sit on a stool. And all this is an attempt to please the two-legged self-centred idiot. I have often noticed how unappreciative we are when the animals are just being themselves. I’ve seen people do monkey tricks in front of a caged monkey in a zoo to attract his attention, people whistling at drowsy leopards and tigers so that they see movement. People throwing things at bears and deers…… Action! We want action. The more the better! The Bruce Willis and Akshay Kumars and Shahrukh Khans fail to give us enough!!! “Jump lion, hop monkey, skip deer, dance all!!….sing me a RD Burman song if you can!”
Imagine what would happen if the animals took over. like they did in Orwells’ Animal Farm. Imagine, if you and me were made to jump from one tree to the other. Imagine made to sleep like bats. Imagine being force fed with grass or having to sit on a Hippo in a cold muddy pond. Animals should be where they belong. Their natural habitat is precious to them. It is to them what home is to you and me!
I remember several thrilling experiences I’ve had in different National parks. The Andhari Tiger reserve at Tadoba National Park, The jungle at Suryamal,Phansad, Nagzira,Jim Corbett…….. This one was in Tadoba where we had taken a group of 60 school children for a camp. A couple of colleagues and I ventured out into the forest with the innocent intention of a nice Nature-Walk besides the lovely lake! Here's what it was like.
The light begins to fade after five. The air becomes cooler. The silence is scary. We hear a several different sounds. Some come from the tree which I am standing beneath, some are in distance. Soon the stars appear and the moon coyly lights up the sky. A lone owl hoots. The crickets get noisy. The rustling of the leaves accompanies us wherever we go. The air smells of the wild.......both flora and fauna. Time spent in a forest is unique. All your senses are eager and active. The thrill is that of the proximity to the untamed and fear is that of the unknown......
The pond is not far away. I see in that direction. Many shiny things seem to be floating in the pond. No romantic thoughts here! They are the croc’s eyes. A few birds return to their nests and we realise it's time for us to return too. We head back to the camp site. Just then a scared stag runs past giving a danger call. We turn to look at each other. We know what that means. A predator is on the prowl.....and we certainly have no intention of being the prey. We walk faster. Soon we are very close to our camp site. And then... in the middle of the muddy road we notice fresh pug marks- that of a tigress with a slightly injured foot, who was spotted by the forest officials just two days ago. She limps a little as she walks which is evident from one of her pug marks. A chill runs down my spine!! We wonder if her Majesty is round the corner... Behind that thicket... curled under the bush...waiting to pounce.... I am reminded of all the fake encounters in Hindi movies when a Dharamendra or Amitabh takes on a tiger in the movies. However that fails to bring a smile on our now worried faces. We wonder if any of the children have decided to defy our instructions and have ventured out. That thought scares us the most. Our pace quickens… We don’t want to hear a roar. We dont want a rendezvous with this one. We reach the campsite and are relieved to find the children asleep. And then before we realise we are running towards our rooms.
What a close encounter that was.
Monday, April 12, 2010
27 March 2010
German Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
We took with us Ulrike Vogt, our (German) relocation agent, to help us with the formalities of acquiring a landline telephone connection. After having done enough research, between O2, Vodafone and T com, Pam decided on the latter. Since we were aware of our lingual limitations, we had Ulrike join us at the ‘T’ com shop. After spending nearly 2 hours looking at various talk time and internet options and plans, we registered.
Four days later I got the telephone package. It was promptly delivered……. at the wrong place- 45 Grindlehof, the place where we are temporarily living.
We had over and over again repeated the desired location of installation- 21 Jaksteinweg, Osdorf. Like the 2x2 Tables in Math which, as children we learn by heart, Ulrike had made sure that the customer service executive in the shop had understood learnt our address for the landline connection. The whole purpose of taking her with us was to avoid any gap in communication. Pam even went to the extent of making him verbally repeat his new found information. Pan kasla kay!!!! Bavlat kuthla!! Sagla ghotala nusta!!!
‘German Sanchar Nigam’ Zindabad!!! Now we have ended up with 2 phone lines. One for our service apartment and the other for our new house which we move into on the 8th of April!!! This is so frustrating, Aai shappath tya officercha kanakhali aawaz kadhavasa vat toy!!!
German Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
We took with us Ulrike Vogt, our (German) relocation agent, to help us with the formalities of acquiring a landline telephone connection. After having done enough research, between O2, Vodafone and T com, Pam decided on the latter. Since we were aware of our lingual limitations, we had Ulrike join us at the ‘T’ com shop. After spending nearly 2 hours looking at various talk time and internet options and plans, we registered.
Four days later I got the telephone package. It was promptly delivered……. at the wrong place- 45 Grindlehof, the place where we are temporarily living.
We had over and over again repeated the desired location of installation- 21 Jaksteinweg, Osdorf. Like the 2x2 Tables in Math which, as children we learn by heart, Ulrike had made sure that the customer service executive in the shop had understood learnt our address for the landline connection. The whole purpose of taking her with us was to avoid any gap in communication. Pam even went to the extent of making him verbally repeat his new found information. Pan kasla kay!!!! Bavlat kuthla!! Sagla ghotala nusta!!!
‘German Sanchar Nigam’ Zindabad!!! Now we have ended up with 2 phone lines. One for our service apartment and the other for our new house which we move into on the 8th of April!!! This is so frustrating, Aai shappath tya officercha kanakhali aawaz kadhavasa vat toy!!!
26 March 2010
There are times when you are fuming with anger and you need true empathy. There are times when you are terribly sad and hurt and you need heart felt sympathy. You need that friend who truly understands you. Who is either capable of comforting you with words or gives you the other perspective, thereby broadening your point of view. A friend, who can be your sounding board and show you the mirror. Who can be your critic and take a stand.
I know a lot of people who are unable to do just that. Some simply have no opinion on anything and others are cowards who don’t want their opinions heard, for they won’t even want to be responsible for their own actions and words. They just avoid conflict and confrontation. They simply behave like spineless jellyfish and can’t decide even on the obvious right or wrong, correct or incorrect. They are ignorant of a lot of things and dispassionate about everything. They just can’t take a stand. Whether a quarrel between two neighbours or two countries, they are always undecided and hence either unsupportive or supportive of both. They can never answer closed ended questions. They are misled by an overpowering desire to be Mr/Ms Popular, which they try to fulfil by always being neutral in their responses.
It’s sad that they fail to realise that this blissfully detached attitude of theirs won’t get them anywhere. It’s great to be flexible and accommodating, open to interpretations embracing different school of thoughts, but not oblivious and unconcerned. There are times and situations that demand diplomacy. But an attempt to be politically correct all the time can be irritating. You just cannot be in the good books of all at all times. You see it is not at all easy to get along someone who is opinionated, but it certainly is very difficult to get along a person who is exactly the opposite.
I am not saying be hurtfully blunt or arrogantly straightforward. Just have a point of view. Know what you don’t want, even if you don’t know what you want. Stand up for your own beliefs. Stand up for someone or something else. Let us know where you belong…… Shake off the undecided and cynical in you. Your friend, family, colleague, neighbour, city, community, society, environment, country needs you. Be there for them. Feel for their cause. Have courage to voice it. Hear and be heard.
There is a spark in you waiting to ignite. Let it light that torch. Just raise your hand…….. Just take a stand.
There are times when you are fuming with anger and you need true empathy. There are times when you are terribly sad and hurt and you need heart felt sympathy. You need that friend who truly understands you. Who is either capable of comforting you with words or gives you the other perspective, thereby broadening your point of view. A friend, who can be your sounding board and show you the mirror. Who can be your critic and take a stand.
I know a lot of people who are unable to do just that. Some simply have no opinion on anything and others are cowards who don’t want their opinions heard, for they won’t even want to be responsible for their own actions and words. They just avoid conflict and confrontation. They simply behave like spineless jellyfish and can’t decide even on the obvious right or wrong, correct or incorrect. They are ignorant of a lot of things and dispassionate about everything. They just can’t take a stand. Whether a quarrel between two neighbours or two countries, they are always undecided and hence either unsupportive or supportive of both. They can never answer closed ended questions. They are misled by an overpowering desire to be Mr/Ms Popular, which they try to fulfil by always being neutral in their responses.
It’s sad that they fail to realise that this blissfully detached attitude of theirs won’t get them anywhere. It’s great to be flexible and accommodating, open to interpretations embracing different school of thoughts, but not oblivious and unconcerned. There are times and situations that demand diplomacy. But an attempt to be politically correct all the time can be irritating. You just cannot be in the good books of all at all times. You see it is not at all easy to get along someone who is opinionated, but it certainly is very difficult to get along a person who is exactly the opposite.
I am not saying be hurtfully blunt or arrogantly straightforward. Just have a point of view. Know what you don’t want, even if you don’t know what you want. Stand up for your own beliefs. Stand up for someone or something else. Let us know where you belong…… Shake off the undecided and cynical in you. Your friend, family, colleague, neighbour, city, community, society, environment, country needs you. Be there for them. Feel for their cause. Have courage to voice it. Hear and be heard.
There is a spark in you waiting to ignite. Let it light that torch. Just raise your hand…….. Just take a stand.
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