Inspiration from a Butterfly

'The butterfly is a flying flower, the flower a tethered butterfly', said Ponce Denis the famous 18th Century French lyric poet. How beautifully has he expressed the relationship between a butterfly and a flower! Butterflies have inspired many poets and writers over the centuries. And in recent times, butterflies continue to inspire bloggers like me. Am sharing some of the PQs- picturesque quotes- based on the pictures of butterflies taken by me.

However, not all butterflies are brightly coloured. But all butterflies love flowers. Butterflies symbolise happiness. Happiness which comes after a long struggle emanating from the caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly.

KBG-66 Contest

We had featured a butterfly, Common Jezebel, perched on a lantana flower in bright sunshine, for KBG-66 Caption Contest. 

The 66th edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad contest received enthusiastic response from the readers. We thank all the readers for their creativity and are happy to reproduce below all the creative captions.

No.	Name	Caption for KBG-66 Contest
1	Ajai Bhumri	ज़िंदगी के रंग तितलियों के संग
2	Amandeep Kaur	Tell me a better love story than of a Butterfly and flower!
3	Anjali Tiwari	Varn alag par roop ek hain, hum donon ke rang ek hain
4	Avinash Tiwari	Mujhe parag se matalab. Phool koi bhi ho. मुझे पराग से मतलब, फूल कोई भी हो
5	Avinash Tiwari	Matchless matching
6	Avinash Tiwari	Paraspar sahyog hi prakrati ka adhaar hai
7	Bharat Ladha	Skill of colour's ultimate arrangement.
8	Deepak Jena	Open your eyes and see the beauty.
9	Deepak Jena	It is the relationships between flower and butterflie which make nature beautiful.
10	Deepak Jena	Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift.
11	GR Sreenivasan	Flower and Butterfly look like made for each other
12	Jaishankar	Bloom out with flying colours
13	J Ramamoorty	Solitary reaper enhancing the beauty of the picture
14	Jyoti Dixit	The nectar of life
15	Kavya	Like a butterfly, I wish to be free!
16	LS Bhargava	फूलो के रंग तितली के संग
17	LS Bhargava	Love bird of flowers
18	Manju Khetan	“मकड़ी जैसे मत उलझो आप गम के ताने बाने मे, तितली जैसे रंग बिखेरो हस कर इस ज़माने मे।”
19	Manu Bhatnagar	Happily fluttering by!
20	Narendra Soni	Butterfly ye hai Tiger Nector khaane ko eager
21	Naresh Kumar	Sughand / khushbu
22	Neelam Sawant	Tum aageye ho to noor aa gaya hai
23	Neelam Sawant	Tum dil ki dhadkan ho
24	Nidhi Bhargava	Nectar of life
25	NR Ravi	By Jezebel, I love Lantana!
26	Peter De Padua	Flutter- by, pretty li'l butterfly.
27	Peter De Padua	Gorgeous prints?, nay, Nature's designs!
28	Pradeep Siwach	Titli udi udke chali
29	Radhika Sareen	Beauty as seen is the result of patience & struggle....
30	Radhika Sareen	Touch of flower is possible after painful transition from Caterpillar to Butterfly
31	Radhika Sareen	हम बने, तुम बने, एक दूजे के लिये......
32	Rajendra Singh	Some say Butterflies in my stomach ! I say Butterflies make my day !
33	Rakesh Sharma	The butterfly is as delicate as a ballerina. The butterfly is as strong as a an eagle. The butterfly is as colourful as confetti. The butterfly is as stunning as a rose.
34	Ramdas B Dhavare	Colours first then Honey.., Do Butterflies too discriminate?!!
35	Rashmi Bhargava	Happiness is like a butterfly
36	Rekha Bhargava	तितली फूलों का रस पीती हुम सब का  मन हर लेती
37	Ritu Bhargava	Be like a butterfly- sweet, elegant and graceful.
38	Rohini Tiwari	Effortless beauty!!
39	Ruma Purkayastha	Beauty in simplicity
40	Ruma Purkayastha	Rest but don't forget to fly
41	Ruma Purkayastha	Complete
42	Ruma Purkayastha	Delicate but strong
43	Shereen Sultana	Spreading smiles all the way.
44	Shreya Jonnada	I wonder why your vision is so blurry, I wish you could see your own wizardry.
45	Veeky Baths	तितली उड़ी उड़ जो चली फूल ने कहा, आजा मेरे पास!!
46	Vinay Prasad	Appreciate the beauty but also remember the transformations!
47	Vinod Dhanuka	Matching colours Cantilever

 Winners

Our Jury has selected four winning captions which are listed below along with the brief profiles of the readers. Our congratulations to all the Winners.

Avinash Tiwari loves golf, gardening and music. A former Colonel of Indian Army, he is a War Veteran of 1971 war. Having done enough route marches with his troops, he detests long morning walks except on the golf course. He is a regular contributor and winner of KBG contests. His  caption 'Mujhe parag se matlab, phool koi bhi ho!' मुझे पराग से मतलब, फूल कोई भी हो meaning the butterfly says 'Pollen is my aim, can be from any flower!' was the Jury's immediate choice.

Jaishankar loves Nature, hiking and writing. He has a blog with many interesting tales. A former Colonel, he loves adventure in life. A regular contributor, he has won the KBG Contest several times. His caption 'Bloom out with flying colours' caught the Jury's eye.

Manju Khetan is also a regular reader of Ghumakkad's blog. She holds a degree in Literature from Delhi University and loves solving puzzles. Her caption “मकड़ी जैसे मत उलझो आप ग़म  के ताने बाने में, तितली जैसे रंग बिखेरो हंस कर इस ज़माने में” conveys a message about life. It means do not weave a web of sorrows like the spider, rather spread joy with a smile like the butterfly.

Vinay Prasad is a keen photographer who loves to shoot in the mornings. An alumnus of BITS Pilani, Vinay is the CEO of a defence ancillary in Hyderabad. His caption 'Appreciate the beauty but also remember the transformations!' signifies the transformation of a caterpillar into the butterfly.

We also thank both the Jury members Anchita Nidhindra and Akanksha Bhargava for their time and speedy selection.

Covid seems to be playing hide and seek, diminishing in some places and re-surfacing in some other parts of the globe. Online distractions like the KBG are meant to take our minds off Corona and it's gloomy impact. Hope the KBG contests help you in warding off the Covid boredom. Thank you for your interest in KBG.

Stay connected and stay safe.

     - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 24th Nov 2021

#butterflies #flowers #nature #secunderabad #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #KBG #kaunbanegaghumakkad #onlinecontest #lockdownfun #takeabreak #captions #powerofobservation #craetivecaptions #pqs #picturesquequotations #naturetheteacher #learningthroughpictures #india #observeandlearn

Scuba Diving at 65

"Is there an upper age limit for Scuba diving?"
"No, as long as you are medically fit" clarified the coordinator at www.Scubaluv.in -- the diving shop integral to our Resort at Havelock. She went on to explain that they are very strict about the medical protocol. The diver has to self certify a host of questions in a two-page format. For those not familiar, SCUBA stands for self contained underwater breathing apparatus.

Out of 26 FFA veterans and spouses (click here for what is FFA?), five decided to take a dive. These five included Debarati-- the only lady in the team. After an early morning shake up, we donned the diving suits. Smiles writ large on our faces, we carried our flippers to the diving area. From L-R: Swapan Banerjee, Debarati Banerjee, Gian Prakash(Gipy), Harsh (Ghumakkad) and Arun Dhupar.


The beach was familiar because we all had enjoyed a dip-cum-splash in high tide two days ago (click here for picture story). 

But in low tide, bare rocks now surfaced, the beach looked more like moon-surface.

Our briefing-cum-training commenced in waist high water. How to wear the mask, mouth piece for breathing, sign language for under water communication-- were all explained so well by our diving instructor Dharmesh Singh from Agra. See the illustration below.

PADI is the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. It is world's largest recreational diving certification and membership.

Another diver with under-water camera appeared from nowhere and started clicking. All the diving pictures are courtesy Scubaluv.in. It was part of the diving fees for every diver. Normal fees is Rs 2500/- but Seashell Resort guests get a discount of Rs 500/-. Cool.

By now we had learnt to say "OK" in diver's sign language. See the clipart below followed by our pictures with face masks.

You would have noticed the incoming tide. Initial briefing was followed by underwater breathing while still in shallow waters. Once cleared by the diving instructor, our Buoyancy Compensator was inflated and we were ready to dive. With gradual deflation, we were guided deeper. The cameraman captured each diver. Though it wasn't best of the days for diving with overcast sky, yet we could see the marine life you can't see otherwise!

We saw coral of different shapes, sizes and hues besides variety of fish. We also saw Clown fish and sea anemone as in the picture below. Clown fish and sea anemone have a special relationship. As per Tree of Life Web (www.tolweb.org), "Symbiosis describes the special relationship between clownfish and sea anemones. They are the only fish that do not get stung by the tentacles of the sea anemone. Clownfish have a slimy mucus covering that protects them from the sea anemone. However, if this covering is wiped off of a clownfish, it will get stung and possibly be killed when it returns home to the anemone. The clownfish and the sea anemone help each other survive in the ocean. The clownfish, while being provided with food, cleans away fish and algae leftovers from the anemone. In addition, the sea anemones are given better water circulation because the clownfish fan their fins while swimming about."

Credit for this research goes to Gipy who was prompt to point it out.

Our dive continued with excitement. We experienced the wonders of underwater world! Gipy and I dived together with Dharmesh as our instructor. More pictures.

The cameraman also shot a two-minute video showing the divers (Gipy and Harsh) admiring the coral and other marine life.

Before we realised, the dive was over. Total time one hour which included briefing and training underwater. We dived upto 6.5 meters. Not very deep but good enough for beginners at 65 years of age! 

If you haven't yet done scuba diving, don't wait till 65, do it sooner. You will love it. Besides Andamans, you can do scuba diving in Goa in India. Other popular diving destinations are Hawai, Fiji, Australia and SE Asian coastal nations.

Those of you who are scared of diving, Ghumakkad will take you snorkeling in the next story.

Bye till then
   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 8th Oct 2016

Postscript: Links to all the ten stories of our visit to the Andamans in 2016 are given below. Just click to browse.

Who were the travellers? - FFA Friends forever asli

Port Blair and its attractions- Kaala Paani, Corvyn's Beach

Sailing to Havelock - weather permitting

Havelock- Never too old for splashing in the sea

Scuba Diving at 65!

Thrill of Snorkeling- Elephant Beach

Kalapathar Beach- Where you discover yourself

Radhanagar Beach- Where the Sun goes down in a blink

Ross Island- Ruins with a story and incredible sound and light show

Chidiyatapu- Where the birds find you

Thanks again.

     Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 30th Dec 2016

#Portblair #andamans #islands #cellularjail #ffa #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb #havelock #elephantbeach #radhanagarbeach #rossisland #scubadiving #snorkeling