Of People and Places

  One of a pair of red-wattled lapwings in Shahpura lake An incredibly noisy bird, the red-wattled lapwing, known as Titahari in Hindi is a frequent visitor. His alarm calls - which one can hear often, since this bird seems to be well, alarmed, at everything, was once the scourge of hunters in the old days.  Red-wattled lapwing chicks are beautifully camouflaged, and may be hard to find on the ground, as they huddle close to leaves to escape from predators. The mottled patterns on their backs are lovely.   All my tree/birds/animals posts -  A Black - naped Oriole in Bangalore Sketching in Belgaum rains An Ashy Prinia on the balcony and hope Black-crowned night heron at Madiwala lake White-breasted waterhen in Belgaum Birds in Belgaum A love letter to the Flame of the forest Kathotiya forest near Bhopal The Saptaparni tree in Hoshangabad Fun with Babul tree pods, Bhopal The Baobab trees of Mandu A Gray Langur in Khakra Khoh, Madhya Pradesh Bangalore eighteen year...

It has been so common for trains to arrive late in Hoshangabad and Itarsi that it makes me nervous to see one that is actually on time. It is as though something is not right with the journey if the train is not late by at least three hours! Once, we even had to stay overnight in Itarsi because the train was late by over 10 hours. Anyway, late trains mean more time for sketching and observing people. Indian railway stations are full of interesting characters, each one unique and with a fascinating history, if you get to speak to them. I scouted for an ideal subject in the hot, dusty train station at Hoshangabad, sketching the man on the opposite platform taking a nap. Close to me, a man in uniform waved the green flag to a passing train that thundered through the station.   I didn’t pay much attention to him. But after a while I had to. It is common in India to be openly curious about something and hover around. And that is what he did. He hovered behind me while I tried...