The Wandering Cloud I See

As a wildlife biologist I often have the privilege... nah... the pleasure of travelling to comparatively less explored spaces on Earth. It has its own set of adventures, joy of exploring and pure bliss of new, that no money can buy. However, it often comes with minor issues, no knowledge of local language or customs. While they both can be learned one easier than the other. After quitting as civil engineer, I started working as research intern on Tigers in a National park in Karnataka. The local language there is Kannada and I was as ignorant about the language as is an earthworm about theory of black holes.  Here I was in the middle of the forest with tribesman a local mentor, none of them knew English or Hindi. Silence seemed less golden and more of shitty yellow. I tried to hold on to words but could hardly stay afloat.  I loved what I was doing. I was living the dream but the silence was deafeningly loud. I had two options. One was to only work in regions where I k

Myriad of colors Filtering rays of sun to spectrum wide droplet by droplet You color me and I color you Sensing the vibrations a few to sensory hue Lone rangers are we Burrows to burrows Mighty warriors, we, defenders of territories With war paint of blushing valentine's eve Don't know what is monogamous or eternal love But together for life are we Hungry and exhausted she curates her babies to be Smashing the foes I am left right center and above You are me and I am you Love is in water Colors and vibrations abound Colorful smashers, one strike to limp For we are Mantis Shrimp                                                                                                            - Anant Deshwal   (Image from radiolab.org) Peacock Mantis Shrimp generally live from depth of 3-10m near corals. They are crustaceans and resemble lobsters. They are very colorful and hence the name Peacock mantis shrimp. They have amazing eyes and are known to be able to s