Lone clansman pissed.

Agola 27th April:

The abominable clansman Rednow Sselhtoot expressed his annoyance in having been compelled to give in to the tribe’s ways against his own personal conviction.
“I eat, dog fart. I meet girl, dog fart. I do anything, dog fart.” According to Rednow, his dog was capable of performing the feat so effortlessly, and to perfection, ahead of even his wife. What concerns him, however is that he has a ban from the tribe on letting his dog perform in front of an audience.
Rednow had attempted the act once at a friend’s wedding, and was (mercilessly) beaten up and thrown out. The exhaust gases at the dance had made the dancers desert the venue, and village council had imposed an indefinite ban on bringing his dog to a public function. “He big brain. He see he learn” The tribesman is now facing a risk of being evicted from his own house, and the wife is said to have been seen with ex-boyfriend Guimba very often in the recent past. Guimba is believed to have the best bone knife in the tribe.
“Who say no teach old dog new trick? Who say?” A visibly agitated Rednow was heard saying.

[I'm dead the day Spark gets internet-enabled. :) ]

A complex world out there.

The loud silence of disorder

It is funny to think how dramatically the intensity of conceptions can change when one starts noticing contrast. The jungle was perhaps as loud as the cobbled streets of Bangalore, but the noises were strangely silent.
Perhaps it is the collective rage of unspoken disapproval that hangs eternally over the crowded streets of the city, or perhaps it is the hushed personal malice. I can’t say which, but it makes me want to run away.
Because the unsaid is often louder than what’s said.

Picture: Smiles for sale - Street children on M.G. Road

The UFO's a Dragon!

For two weeks he enjoyed the U.F.O status.

But now I know - he's spread his wings, he's resting, and he's a Dragon!

Here's how:

"Dragonflies, the jeweled helicopters of the insect world, are generally stronger and more robust than damselflies. They are also fast and agile fliers. While at rest their wings are held away from their bodies.

Comparitively damselflies have slender bodies and a weak, fluttery, hovering flight. At rest their wings are held close to the body. Also their eyes are well separated unlike dragonflies. "

[Source: www.nerdybirders.com/html/dragonflies/dragonflies.html ]

This was when we were investigating some movement in the bushes down the stream, and then decided the bushes were too thick, and the investigation could prove to be a very risky one.

So clicked him instead.

Think: Can you chew what you're about to bite?

Distance seems to lose meaning in these villages by the forest and the world truly shrinks. On being asked where we could find some breakfast, The old man at the DISCO tea shop and salon pointed to the east and told us that Eappan's store in the next village should be open by the time we reach there.
What was not said, however was that there was a dense jungle between this village and the next, and that the road to there was almost non-existent.
We were asked to write a letter to the range officer at the check post seeking permission to pass, and the air was heavy with the sounds of the jungle ahead.

As the gate went up to let us through, we knew we were being watched.

[In the pic: Lion tailed macaque. More on his kind in the posts to come]

To look, to see, and to know the difference.

I’m back from two consuming days in the jungle. If there is an ultimate getaway, it is this – because out there, you are all by yourself. No phone, no gun and no light – the color of the forest night is pitch black, and the silence of the noises overwhelming. The blindness being one-sided leaves you exposed, and the crackle of a leaf makes you sweat. In its depths where the smallest patch of exposed skin would be swarming with leeches in no time, and your every move is watched by dozens of invisible eyes, your survival depends on how much you listen, and how much you can smell. Here I start a photo blog. (for a while)

Note: The pictures are best viewed at a larger size.

Angamuzhi is the first check post to the jungle while approaching it from west. It is a small town, and the local amenities include a tea shop (with one wooden bench) and a salon.