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 ...

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 ...

Look Ma! A blind dog! Poor thing! It keeps bumping into various things as it moves. What a pity! said the little boy to his mother as they crossed to street to buy some grocery. Hurry up Tim, you need to pay attention to the road as you cross it. Said his mother sternly. Tim obviously shocked by his mother insensitivity and looked at her with with tears welling up in his eyes. Mother! How can you have heart of stone! There is a blind dog and we need to help it! Tim was starting to sound very authoritative. His mother knew she needed to pay attention to the situation. Instead of heading towards the supermarket she decided to take Tim to a park. Tim:        Ma, we left the supermarket behind. Mother:   Tim, we are not going to the supermarket we are heading towards the park. Tim:        I am in mo mood for playing in park just now let's just finish grocery shopping and go back home. Mother:   Tim, we are not going to play in park, ...

Gently opening the eyes To the world great and wide Tall trees all around Beauty and life abound Wonder did the baby parrot The feel of the soaring skies Beat, it would it's tiny little wings Dreamy of the time it would conquer the sky like kings Grew the baby parrot handsome and tall But the wings were arrogantly small Flap and Flap it did Run, jump and hop maximum it did skid Shattered were the dreams Lost were the reasons to live it seems Ashamed it retreated deeper into the forest Hide away from other birds mocking and to rest The skies above lay unconquered Leaping from tree canopy now was absurd Little did the parrot know It's birth would create ripples far and wide Stories of the bird brought smiles For it was unique precious little species that does not fly Smile and behold the king of forest low For the parrot is Kakapo                                     ...

The haunting song of the parched Earth Eerie melody of no birth  Long gone was the last drop of water Only flameless air rising much hotter Howled the forlorn wind Serving the sentence but not sinned For eons she cared for her love Sometimes caressing his lustrous green grass and leaves above Or tossing up sand, gently crafting sand dunes Earth and wind in love singing life tunes He loved her angry roaring storms Her silken breeze and numerous other forms Now she is desolate and in pain For her love is dying or being slain One of her child Stabbed and tore open her love Gold silver diamond and greed Laying venomous foundations not  a live seed Parched is he                    Hungry is he To see her world die She is serving her sentence but not sinned                                           ...

I fear the cage With bars of desires spake the sage For the soul lies thirsty In the shadows of gloom shivering The trust in distant treacherous light flicker the air crusty Banished is hope to the underworld quivering Day by day is the tiara of defeat burning deeper Hear her do we in the wail of storms Drenched are we in relentless shower As streams of tear run down mines and chromes Subdued is the mighty will of spirit under naïve power For her youngest son has plunged deep the sword Scaring her, chiseling her in the unknown greed Silencing the melodious breeze under gothic chords Oh man! She is your mother undo your deed The source of demystifying life and your birth In her bosom is eternal bliss and love For she is Mother Earth                                                                     ...

Imagine the most beautiful and exhilarating painting of Himalayan mountains,  breathe life to it that is Bhutan!  The land he fell in love with, Bhutan is a country that inspires and invokes passion from within. It is the land of truly free people. The country that measures its development by measuring the "Gross National Happiness" rather than "GDP" etc etc. There was something in these people. Being in their presence brought me peace and tranquility. I got my permit to extend my stay by another week and visit other places of Bhutan that I earlier did not have permits to. There is a thing about Bhutan. In its endeavor to protect its culture and tradition, it does not actively promote tourism and hence one needs special permits for visiting areas other that Thimpu, the capital ( I may be totally wrong in the reason I just gave but that is what I kept hearing most of the time in Bhutan). Let me take you to Thimpu and give you a glimpse of the beauty that it i...