Train Companion of a Different Kind

Why do we love train journeys?

Meeting people.                              

Seeing the countryside.

Crossing the rivers with a dhikak-dhikak cyclic sound on the bridge.

Soaking in the greenery of cultivated fields.

Relishing the garam-chai with authentic snacks.

Eat-sleep-eat-sleep and-repeat cycle! Endlessly.

What else?

You also meet a cute puppy. Yes in the train. So tiny that it fits into your palm.

This morning Ghumakkad had a co-traveller named Jo. After seeing his picture, Ankush asked “Who is smaller- Jo or his name?”

See the pictures and the video where Jo is playing with his elder brother- a soft toy.

 

Joe and his stuffed toy! Enjoy the video shot in the train. 

What does Jo eat? He loves Mother Dairy's curd! See the picture below.

Elfo, our Cairn Terrier when he was ferried in Neeta’s palm in a flight from Bangalore to Delhi in 2001. Elfo lived a full life before leaving us in 2016. You may read Elfo’s story below:

Who will nudge me now?

Pets give us such joy. Unconditional, selfless and bountiful.

Thanks for browsing.

-            Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ Rajdhani Express/ India/ 18^th Jan 2024

#pets #petlove #elfo #cairnterrier #trainjourney #unusualcompanion #cotravellerofadifferentkind #shihtzu #dogs #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh 

Six & Nine Sixty Nine

Six and Nine, Sixty Nine.

That is how the Tambola caller announces the number 69!

She loves playing Tambola, though may not be winning every time! So what?

She loves eating out, as the picture shows. 

She loves being with friends.

She loves her plants and the garden.

She loves online shopping. Offline too!

She loves eating mangoes! Who doesn't?

She loves sleeping late. And getting up later!

She loves all animals. And human beings too!

We love her for what she is!

Who is she?

She is the balancing weight of my life.

If I like crisp chappatis, she likes them soft.

If I like lauki, she loves her aaloo.

If I want my AC at medium, she wants to actually chill!

If I like my greens, she loves her whites.

If I relish palak-ki-daal, she devours her arhar-ki-daal and chawal.

If I choose an aisle, she wants her window.

If I chose white, she would select black. But not always, as the picture below shows!

This is God's way of keeping the balance in life. A balance which has seen us through the last 47 years! Without balance, even the largest of the boats will topple.

It is the 69th birthday today of my life's balance. Join us in wishing Neeta a very happy birthday.

Those who missed it earlier, read what we wrote on her 63rd birthday in 2017. It was titled 'Spouse's Birthday is Special'. It continues to be special.

May she continue to bring cheer into many lives.

God bless Neeta/Beigs/Mom/Dadi/Nani/Bhabhi/Jiji/Bhua/Taiji/Mami

    - Mom and Harsh@Secunderabad

    - Ashi and family@Pleasanton, USA

    - Ankush and family@Chennai

    - Sarita-Manne, Parul and family@Jaipur

    - Poonam-Rishi and Rajat@Bengaluru

    - Elders in the family, Sanjay-Sangeeta, Akshat-Minu at Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and USA

    - Galaxy of friends and well wishers all over the globe

Secunderabad/ 27th May 2023

#69thbirthday #spouse #balance #life #marriage #happiness #joy #funinlife #47thanniversary #neetabhargava #beigsthegreat #fulloflife #animallover #foodie #impulsiveshopper #retailtherapy #homegardener #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Plants and Flowers as Valentine

Can flowers be one's valentine?

Or birds, plants, trees, fruits and other living things?

Why not?

Because valentine is all about love, caring, concern and well being of the other person. We do the same for our plants, trees, flowers etc. Therefore, Ghumakkad's valentine is the entire environment which includes all living things.

Sharing few pictures taken in our yard on the eve of Valentine's Day 2021. 

Am sure you feel the same way! In addition, all our readers also deserve to be Ghumakkad's valentine. Many thanks.

Happy Valentine's Day to you.

     - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 14th Feb 2021/ Valentine's Day

#valentinesday #love #care #concern #romance #feelings #14thFeb #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

A Squirrel Comes Home

Ever seen a baby squirrel?

Ever adopted one?

How tiny is it?

What to feed?

Will it bite?

We have a real life story to answer all these questions!

Ghumakkad has great pleasure in bringing you another guest story about 'Gillu' the baby squirrel. 

Our guest writer is Dr Rohini Tiwari from Coimbatore India.

Rohini Tiwari

Rohini is a true blue Nature lover, with an ear for bird songs and compassion for adopting abandoned creatures- much to the chagrin of her family. As a child she wanted to open a Zoo😄. A Food Technologist and Nutritionist by profession, Rohini is a music lover and a culinarian. When not talking to her pets, she conducts Stress Management seminars/webinars. She holds a PhD in stress and anxiety management with diet intervention. 

Over to Rohini for Gillu's story in her own words. Gillu ki kahani Rohini ki zubani गिल्लू  की कहानी रोहिनी की ज़ुबानी 

__________________ 

Little Gillu arrived in our lives about two weeks back, when Radha, our house help mentioned that it had fallen off it's nest in a mango tree in her house. My daughter, Tanvi and I begged her to bring it over.

Wary of us and especially our dog Toffee at first, but Gillu settled in pretty quickly. 

He was given a nest of sorts made from a kitchen mitten hung in a linen basket.

Gillu's mit nest. You can see how much tinier it is in these pictures.  He had to have his "safe place" after all.

He loves to play hide and seek. See the video.

It loves to have milk in the morning and has its own special dropper for feeding.

Gillu has brought so much love and joy in our lives that it can't be expressed in words. There is such kindness and tenderness that I see in my daughter's eyes when she pets or handles Gillu.

Like a typical baby, Gillu loves to play hide and seek behind pillows, curtains and cushions. See a short clip below.

Watching the world below from its perch on the curtains tops....

Gillu's favourite stance... Hanging upside down...

Gnawing at bits of branches with bark on them.

Squirrels like to chew on wood and bark because their front teeth are constantly growing. This helps to file their teeth down.

Gillu's favourite haunt... The window net.

I have to mention how well Toffee (our dog) took to Gillu. She literally pines for it and whines longingly whenever she sees it. Gillu however, true to its instincts doesn't let Toffee anywhere close to it. Scrambles up to a safe place as soon as Toffee appears in its vicinity.

We keep introducing it to the local flora and flowers. But when you don't give it wood to gnaw... 🤭🤦🏻‍♀️

As the baby grows, we are giving it a taste of grass and its seeds which it relishes. See the video below.

Like all of us Gillu also likes to be cuddled and tickled. See how it is enjoying the gentle tickle.

I keep it outside on the terrace for sometime (while still in the basket), to expose it to the outside sights, sounds and smells to acclimatise it.

We need to respect every lifeform around us. They bring unfathomable joy in our lives and teach us love and kindness. Am hoping to release Gillu into its natural environment once it's a bit older.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share our joy.

_______________ 

We once again thank Rohini for sharing the story. All the pictures and videos are courtesy her and duly acknowledged.

Hope you enjoyed being with Gillu the baby squirrel specially during the boring lockdown.

We wish Gillu a safe return to its natural environment.

We had done another story on a squirrel frolicking in a park in Jaipur Rajasthan. You may click the link below to browse the story:

Powder Puff- Squirrel's Favourite

We are very happy to collaborate with guest writers. Here are some of the guest stories from our blog in recent past:

Krishna The Male Showstopper Story of a Tiger by Koushik Gopinath

Winning the Hearts of People Story of village development by the Army in Arunachal Pradesh by Abhishek Singh

Fallen but not Forgotten A Tribute to WW-I Soldiers by Trixie Asirvatham

Women Hiking in Water Story of four women who nearly drowned hiking in water by Akanksha Bhargava

Feel free to contribute your pictures and stories. Due credit will be given as in the above stories.

Thanks for browsing

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Rohini Tiwari/ 13th June 2020

#squirrel #animals #pets #adoption #compassion #loveforanimals #carelikebabies #babysquirrel #powerofobservation #nature #environment #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #travelblogs #bloggers

More Power to Women of the World

Another Women's Day.
Some more slogans, some more media hype!
Beti padhao, beti bachao! And the like.

I would say Women's Day is every day.
We owe it to all the women in the world.
Without women, where would we be? Not in this world!

This year, Ghumakkad once again recalls W.R. Wallace's famous lines:
"The hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world."

We salute the women from BITS Pilani, Ghumakkad's alma-mater, who joined the Indian Armed Forces. They made a mark not only for themselves but all the women of the world. We will bring you their individual stories. Should you know some more BITSian women who made it to the Armed Forces, do mail us. We would be happy to feature them.

You may like to browse Ghumakkad's earlier tributes to the women of the world.
2018: Hail the women of the world

2017: More Power to the women of the world

2016: Every Day is Women's day

2015: May the women of the world remain smiling- always

Women have climbed Mt Everest. Women have become successful CEOs. Women are no less. Read the account of women hiking in water.

Let us all give our women respect, dignity and love which they deserve.

Happy Women's Day 2019.

     - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 8th March 2019
       hbindia@gmail.com 

#womensday #women #respect #dignity #love #mother #sister #wife #daughter #grandmother #teacher #colleague #internationalwomensday2019 #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Sweet Sixteen

We all loved our teens! Didn't we? Who wouldn't like to go back to the carefree teen years of our life?
Before we entered the teens there was so much excitement but the teens seem to have got over so fast! As parents when our children entered the teens we had another level of anxiety. Rightly so.

But for grandparents like us, when our grandchildren enter the teens it is also a period when our children are celebrating their 'teen' wedding anniversary i.e. somewhere between 15th to 19th anniversary! This assumes that the first grandchild came two years after marriage. Sounds complex?  If you are a grandparent or a parent, you will understand! 

Today is the 16th wedding anniversary of our son Ankush and Prabjoth. Even as a couple, the 'teen' wedding anniversary has its own charm. You have lived together for sixteen years. Sixteen is not very long but not short either. It is a period full of challenges having sailed together in life's boat which encounters calm as well as turbulent seas.

Ankush and Prabjoth got married in Secunderabad. Moved to Gurgaon to set up their first home. Soon, work took Ankush to Chennai. Being fauzi kids, they settled down in new location easily. Ansh, our first grandson was born with us in Secunderabad. Years passed by. Anuva, our grand daughter arrived  nine years later in Chennai. Kruger, our affable Labrador, makes up the family in Chennai.

On 16th wedding anniversary of Ankush and Prabjoth, we wish you both many happy returns. May God bless you in life's journey.

Lots of love,

   Mom and Dad/Secunderabad 5th Jan 2019
#16thweddinganniversary #teens #grandparents #parents #grandchildren #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Buddy Who Never Forgets

This is a poem written for Ghumakkad's buddy on his 67th Birthday!
_________________________

Buddy Who Never Forgets

Today is the birthday

of a buddy who never forgets

others’ birthdays, anniversaries and life stories.

‘Others’ are not only his family, buddies from school, college or 

work life

but also their parents, children and grandchildren!

He is a living encyclopedia

of names, dates, old film songs, lyrics, singers and even the performing actors.

Events which may go back 50 years

are narrated in graphic detail by him even today.

Even though living far away

he never lets the distance come in between.

In fact, his warmth, love and affection

have got multiplied with the distance.

Whom are we talking about? 

No prizes for guessing!

Yes, he is none other than Annu bhai

our dear buddy Anand Jain!

‘Jigri dost’ as he prefers to call us!

May God keep his power supply always ‘on’ and his hard disk always connected!

Happy Birthday Annu and lots of love

- All of us in Hyderabad/Mumbai/Bangalore/Delhi/ Canada/ Germany/USA

30th October 2018

Postscript: Vinod Agarwal from USA added the following lines in Hindi:
अन्नू भाई तुम्हारी तारीफ जितनी की जाय कम है। 
हम सबकी जिंदगी में तुम्हारी  दुआओं का दम है।  

क्या क्या तुमने नहीं किया हम सब के लिए ही हमेशा। 
बिना बोले बिना जताय हमारी मदद करते रहे हमेशा। 

चाहे जन्म दिन हो या बर्ष गांठ या हारी-बीमारी घर में। 
सबसे पहिले ही तुम्हारा फ़ोन बजता है हर हर पल में। 

और बेगम फरीदा की बात क्या करे हम माशा अल्लाह। 
उनहोंने चार चाँद लगा रखें हैं सब दोस्तों की जिंदगी में। 

तुम्हारी खूब लम्बी उम्र होऔर दुनिया की हर ख़ुशी मिले। 

हमारे और तुम्हारे दिलों की नजदीकी एक मिशाल बने। 

Superb VK, thanks.

__________________________ 

#anandjain #buddyforever #buddywhoneverforgets #67thbirthday #love #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Nature and its marvels

You would have browsed my newly launched series on 'Picturesque Quotes' (PQ). PQ is not to be confused with the name of a recent Hindi movie titled 'PK'!
Link to the previous posts are  Mist and Mountains and  Solitude .

Earlier this month we were in Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka India. Few of the pictures taken there inspired me to use it for next edition of PQ. Here it is.

Nature knows no boundaries. Last summer I had hiked in Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve in California USA. While browsing those pictures, Nature and its marvels again stood out. So much so that the quotation for one of the pictures taken in California is same as that of a picture shot in India! See the PQs below.

Am sure each one of us has experienced the thrill of watching Nature and its mysterious creations.
Enjoy the Nature till its glory lasts. Because mankind is hell bent on destroying it. Sadly.

Thanks for browsing. More will follow.

Best regards

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ Basant Panchami, 24th Jan 2015

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