Humpty's fall-The aftermath

I am happy to say that Humpty has put himself together again. He is fully functional, doing all his work.

Not exactly firing on all four cylinders. One cylinder occasionally starts knocking. But getting there to 

start running smoothly, slowly, quite slowly, one of these not  too distant days. forsooth surely,

Hunting with camera

I vividly recall that (about 40 yr ago) I considered it an absolute hogwash that shooting with a camera was so much more enjoyable than hunting. I strongly proclaimed that this was a typical Brahminical Hindu nonsense which has been hysterically fixated due to the staunch vegetarianism being followed since ages. Mr MKD Gandhi with his tenet of non violence was also blamed (by me) as one of the reasons for this. I very strongly felt that when one spends so much time in the jungle tracking the animals and birds then one might as well gather one's reward by shooting one or two down. Specially, as we humans have clawed our way so high up in the food chain.

Four decades down the road the effort to make arrangements for hunting seem too much and hardly worth the trouble. Add to that the dwindling forest cover and illegality per se of hunting make it a poor choice as a recreational pastime.

In these environmentally conscious times one muses about the size of the substantial carbon footprint of modern day hunting. When one adds up the logistics involved and the material consumed. I would wager that carbon footprint of hunting with a film type camera may be comparable to gun hunting.

The same is certainly not true in today's digitised world. Digital photography is all the more gratifying for the results can be viewed almost instantaneously on the camera itself or on a computer after the upload, a matter of a mere few minutes at the most. The carbon footprint of digital photography is small if one does not take any printouts.

Nowadays, I do my shooting with a D40 Nikon and am very satisfied. Quality of its lenses are extremely good.

Dragon ashtray

Dragon ashtray
Originally uploaded by surensin

I use to call it Dragon's ashtary when I was smoking. I got it last year from a quaint little shop in Thimphu

Bougainevillea

Bougainevillea
Originally uploaded by surensin

i do enjoy flowers. even if they are from neighbor's garden

A picnic spot near Thimphu, Bhutan

A picnic spot near Thimphu, Bhutan
Originally uploaded by surensin

After a 2 hr idyllic drive over mountain roads from Thimphu, Bhutan we reached this very scenic picnic spot. Enjoyed ourselves thoroughly!

Humpty walking albeit with a limp

I have got off the bed now for a couple of days and am walking with a very pronounced limp. Not much pain though! I have kept my sanity during this period of extreme physical inactivity by reading, Internet and very restricted photography. The restricted photography needs some degree of expansion. I am just able to reach my gate, early in the morning and click on the flora and fauna available to me in this extremely restricted zone. God, am I chomping on the bit! Once I start driving I would to go out to Rasulpur, SGPGI and go crazy with my camera. As often as I can, I have promised myself.

Humpty's still fallen

My dear Humpty is still fallen and is now almost four weeks since he confined to one room, mercifully not restrained by weight traction. But for a half hour furlough very early in the morning (c. 5 Am) when on the wheelchair he propels himself to the veranda for nature photography. Alas, how much nature photography can be done rooted to a small veranda. After making a cup of lemon tea he would then get busy transferring his photographs on to the computer, editing and photoshopping them (a neophyte photoshopper I must confess) and if satisfied with the results uploading the photographs to Picassa or Panoramio. Then he would be footloose and fancyfree on the World Wide Web gallivanting here and thither. The daily ritual of TOI Lucknow print edition slowly consumed with a cuppa and on to ablution. Thus passeth Humpty his morning hours. Very boring you may think ! But what else can a lame and lonely man do ? He does his best, doesn’t he ?

 

Miniscule versus Minuscule

The other day I was reading Jug Suraiya (Angrezi ! Maro Goli in TOI of May 20, 2009). He has, as is his wont, written a very satirical article on Hinglish.

One issue which I would like to take up with him is miniscule versus minuscule. Online M-W dictionary mentions that that miniscule, a variant of minuscule has been in use from the late 19th century (link given below).

miniscule

How can 200+ yr old usage be termed wrong. A Churchillian quote is called for here :- "Ending preposition is something with which I will not put"

Jug Bhai, please clarify whether my periods should be inside the parenthesis or out.

But, then as he says, ki pharak pehenda.

A wooden bridge

u can c the bridge clearly now, it was completed in 2006
Originally uploaded by surensin

This quaint but sturdy bridge made of wood was completed in 2006 across the river Thimpu chhu.

Bolla di sapone con effetti speciali!!

Bolla di sapone con effetti speciali!!
Originally uploaded by LadyG.

A soap bubble. Just like life ! So beautiful yet so ephemeral and evanescent. Gone in a jiffy.

Humpty's fall

Of all the silly things that have happened to me the silliest occurred on Friday 08, 2009 when in a

 rush to reach back home I slipped at my work place. And, Humpty had a very hard fall and broke 

his right hip. Lucky me😅 I fell in the operation theatre of my hospital. My sawbones has advised 08

 weeks of strict bed rest with no weight bearing by the right leg. Now, confined to  bed with nothing

 else to do but twiddle my thumbs the whole day long. To top it all, my family has gone out of station

 albeit for a very short period. This convalescence period and enforced solitude is an absolute nada.

I might die of boredom by the time my hip gets properly knitted up again.

Bhutan

During our Bhutan vacation last June we accidently discovered this bar. We spent a beery afternoon at this serene though soliatary watering hole for wandering tourists and indigens. Two bottles of beer were needed to wash down the fiery sting of komadatze (a tasty dish of green chillies in cheese sauce). One of the most memorable afternoon spent away from the hustle and bustle of a hectic lifestyle.