Bangalore has been especially cold this year. Most early mornings for the past two months, I have been surviving with a steaming cup of golden-brown kattan tea and a shawl wrapped around me. Last week, I picked up Jim Corbett's Man-Eaters of Kumaon—it's gripping stuff: those tense stalks through the Kumaon hills, the way Corbett... Continue Reading →
The Greater racket-tailed drongo is one of the easiest birds to describe visually. If, of course, you are familiar with how the "regular' Drongo looks. Picture the sleek black drongo with two long, twisted pendant-like extensions trailing from its tail. Its body is silky, glossy black. In our part of the world, black drongos are... Continue Reading →
Given how ridiculously common the Rufous Treepie is supposed to be across Peninsular India, it's frankly embarrassing that this bird has me acting like a hopeless groupie. Perhaps it's because Bangalore has been thoroughly colonized by the villainous Rock Pigeons (those sky rats) and their slightly less offensive cousins, the Spotted Doves (I'm team spotted... Continue Reading →
"Twenty-five thousand rupees, sir," the voice on the phone announced. "Actually, twenty-five thousand nine hundred, but I’ve given you a discount." The bill was for my Baleno, my trusty maroon hatchback, now seven years old. Just last month, I took it on a longish drive. It climbed the steep hairpin bends of the Dhimmam ghats... Continue Reading →
We just returned from Trincomalee yesterday. A short 45-minute flight south over Tamil countries and the Palk Strait takes one to Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport. Trincomalee is located on the east coast of Sri Lanka. The road from Colombo to Trincomalee starts off winding through lush green squares of paddy, tall evergreen trees, and red-tiled,... Continue Reading →
The Asian Koel is the kind of bird that wins the popular vote from a non-discerning public, like the homecoming King and Queen whom everybody cheers for on stage but nobody likes once they get off the stage. Asian Koels are brood parasites. They swoop down into unsuspecting host birds' nests, lay an egg among... Continue Reading →
We live in a post-Myna world. It took me a long time to realize it, and now I cannot unsee it. An incident occurred early yesterday morning, a telling sign of how much Mynas have imprinted themselves into our urban scenery. I was sitting in my study, casting about in my mind for a bird... Continue Reading →
The Jacaranda tree around the corner of the next block fizzed furiously with grape soda petals exploding in a million tiny floral bubbles. It is my favorite tree, and when it decides to bloom, I cannot walk past it without a stupid grin on my face. One day, it is an unobtrusive tree, a lone... Continue Reading →
Rose-ringed parakeets do not know how to make a subtle entrance. On evenings, when the dusty Bangalore sky finally ruptures and oozes cadmium red, shrill squawks rend the air. Crimson-nosed emerald torpedoes on wings scud into view, banking and weaving through trees and buildings at ridiculous speeds and with disdainful dexterity. As they come closer,... Continue Reading →
The Asian Green Bee-eater was perched on the tip of a low-hanging branch of the drumstick tree outside my house. It had warmed itself up sufficiently from the overnight chill and looked to be out to hunt. With quick sallies from the perch and purposeful, acrobatic twists and turns, it returns back to its roost... Continue Reading →
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Travelling with Fabulosity
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This is about my trips and adventures.
The Reluctant Book Worm 
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