Hello,
Sparky here.
Ø Another
week has gone by. We are positively tired of rains now. But the thirsty earth
is still soaking up the rain. The vegetation too like the earth is flourishing
in the weather. They are stocking up for rest of the year whereas for us in the
animal world it is getting all too dull. There is much to eat in terms of fresh
buds, tender leaves, tasty roots, yummy shoots, plumpy ants and termites,
crocking frogs which advertise their presence and many more such niceties of
the season – there’s something for all of us but the possible hours of feeding
has shortened – a drizzle is OK but consistent rains put off even the strongest
amongst us and makes us choose shelter over food.
Ø The
mango season has ended. Guess, which fruit grows round the year and is ripe and
ready to eat when one desires? Not mangoes, obviously. Guess who didn’t know
this? The otters, obviously. Udra was furious at the beginning of the week when
he found out that the mangoes are a seasonal fruit. He first ranted and raved at
us all then he even went to the mango tree to shout at it. Though the mango season
has ended, the mango related problem with the otters is refusing to end. They
didn’t realize it was a seasonal fruit. They are furious with us for having
started them off on something that isn’t going to be available all year round.
When Mr. Drongo asked them if they don’t have fishes that are seasonal, Udra
threw a mango at him. Either he didn’t aim well or threw to miss – whatever be
the case, I thought we must be glad we introduced the otters to mango and not jackfruit.
Not that we have a jackfruit tree on Banyan Island.
Ø Civvy,
the little baby monkey had not met his civet friends for a few days due to the
rains which saw the monkeys returning to the Banyan by noon itself for fear of
heavy downpour towards the second half of the day. So, one day he went to Mr.
Goldback, the leader of monkeys and told him he was really missing the fun days
of summer. Mr. Goldback to cheer Civvy up promised him a fun day the next day. As
is Civvy’s wont, he went around telling everyone that summer was coming the
next day. Initially we were bemused but as we heard more of the story that it
was Mr. Goldback who had promised him a ‘fun day’, not just Civvy but the whole
of banyan tree residents were excited and looking forward to it. Not for one
moment did any of us doubt Mr. Goldback’s ability to create a ‘fun day’ or even
summer for that matter, if he put his mind to it.
Ø The
next day was pretty much the same. Morning greeted us with a drizzle, a bit of
hazy sunshine in the noon and then the clouds begin to be drawn around us like
the curtains that they are. Still, none of us gave up hope. All of us knew
Civvy’s ‘fun day’ would include his civet friends who woke up only in the
evening, so the fun time could only begin around then. As evening approached all
of us kept a close watch on Mr. Goldback, wondering what he would do. Then Gumphu
monkey began rounding up all the little monkeys together just as if she were
going to teach them something like she used to before the rainy season began.
The baby monkeys were so excited by the new activity they didn’t seem to mind
the drizzle one bit. As Gumphu started singing a song, Mr. Goldback went to the
mango tree and brought the baby civets along with him. Civvy and the baby
civets were thrilled to be meeting after a long gap. Very soon all the babies
were laughing, chatting and having a good time. Almost miraculously, the sky
cleared and stars shone bright and sparkling clean like the rains had cleaned
them as well. (It was the atmosphere which was clearer, but when a simile does
the job of setting up the images in the readers’ mind so much better then why
shy away from it?) I don’t know if or
how Mr. Goldback arranged for the clouds to clear, but it was wonderful, it was
in fact, magical. Soon, baby squirrels joined the baby monkeys and then all the
adults joined in too.
Ø The
surprises for the day weren’t over yet. The otters dragged 4 jackfruits out of
their burrow. Soon, all of us joined Udra and Samudra by their burrow. Most of
us had only ever heard of jackfruits, never even seen one before that. As the
otters cut open the fruit and peeled the individual fruits from within, even
the babies stopped playing and watched, mesmerized. It was a fruit within a
fruit. Just as the jackfruit was a surprise within a surprise.
Ø How
Udra and Samudra knew how to handle a jackfruit was the question on many of our
minds. When someone did ask the question Udra said they had learnt it from the
monkey on the other island from whom they had got the fruits. In fact, the real
question we should have then asked was why did 2 ‘fish-eaters’ go to such
trouble to bring such heavy fruits from another island. But none of us asked
that question. Not that knowing the answer to that one would have altered any
of our action later on – we were all mesmerized by the jackfruit, its spiky
exterior, smooth interior, the tightly packed individual fruitlets within, the
strong irresistible aroma which sent our brains into overdrive as it tried to work
out what it smelled like – like a pineapple one moment, a banana the next and
completely bewildered the third moment which led us to draw another breadth
just to get on the same ‘pineapple-banana-wait a moment’ spin again.
Ø Watching
Udra and Samudra work on the fruits then touching the soft and smooth fruitlet,
sniffing it before taking a tentative bite, then as if the tricks the brain was
playing on us of pineapple-banana was not enough – the taste buds took us on another
spin altogether – pineapple-banana-mango-apple-or something in between. Another
bite and a seed plopped out. The whole experience was something else, like
nothing ever we had experienced.
Ø There
were quite a few of us gathered for the jack-feast so we didn’t get to eat as
much we would have liked to eat but content for the day we all departed to
dream of jackfruits. The next day morning many of us made our way to the
otters’ burrow to enquire of them where we might get the jackfruit from. The
otters weren’t home but there was a paper by their burrow with their message:
‘Now,
we are even.
As
we dream of mangoes so you can dream of jackfruits.
Udra
& Samudra wish you jackfruit-sized dreams.’
Oh, what a wicked trick to have played on us and
though we suffer the ‘jackfruit pang’ we acknowledge the brilliance of how the
otters have got back at us. Though the difference is stark – none of us were tricking
them when we got them mangoes but they tricked us into trying the jackfruit and
trapped us into a yearning for the fruit which we have no way of fulfilling
though the otters will get their mangoes the coming mango season and the one after
that and the one after.
Author’s
Note:
|
A friend complained to me that as I
haven’t provided a photo of an Otter in the magazine, it’s difficult to
imagine Udra & Samudra.
I haven’t provided one because I
have never been fortunate enough to see an Otter and photograph it. Anyway,
here’s a photo of 2 Smooth-coated Otters from Wikipedia.
Photo
by Mprasannak
|
Here
are a few activities for the week if like us, you are in want of a diversion.
·
Solve
the riddles one by one and get a word that solves another riddle. The final
word describes our present situation where we are longing for the jackfruit and
also summer.
This
regenerates the body and refreshes the mind,
If overdone,
it rusts the body and blunts the mind.
|
|
Always keep
your brain this,
Else, the brain
will soon lose its fizz.
The maxim, ‘use
it or lose it’, to brain too, it applies.
|
|
To do this is
to show that you care,
Doing it in
hard times, is like a ‘character-testing’ snare.
|
|
This word, with
the word above rhymes,
By force to
pull apart, it means.
|
|
In the rainy
season, you can summon a sunny day,
You just have
to do this and wish the dullness away.
|
|
If you can’t
do the above, do this.
Pack your bags
and go over to the other hemisphere.
|
|
If you are being
persuaded to do something, then beware,
Nothing good
ever comes out of it, it will only catch you unaware.
‘Sour grapes’
is a great idiom to think of then,
even if they
were to say you have the brain of a hare.
|
|
The final riddle – first letter of
the answers above will also solve this riddle below:
|
|
The word has
the word which means to relax, sleep and recover,
But the word
means you don’t have any of it whatsoever.
You are
impatient, dissatisfied, restless and hot in pleasant November.
|
· The
crossword puzzle of the week is on fruits – as we are all dreaming of fruits.
· Similar looking
words which ‘could be confusing’:
1.
Good company and
good food are ______ (bare/bear) essentials to tide over the dull days of the
rainy season.
2.
Mr. Goldback ______
(bares/bears) the responsibility of a leader very cheerfully.
3.
Mr. Goldback ______
(ensures/insures) that his family is well protected from any danger.
4.
Presence of mature
trees ______ (ensures/insures) that we
have food and shade in plenty no matter what the vagaries of the season.
5.
When the rain ______
(pours/pores) down, it’s best to safely sit it out in our homes.
6.
Sometimes when Udra &
Samudra ______ (pour/pore) over their books, almost _________ (stationary/stationery)
it makes us wonder if they remembered to eat and rest.
7.
The other day Gumphu
ran out of her favourite black ink but fortunately for her the otters always have
a stock of ________ (stationary/stationery)
with them.
‘Little
readers’ Section’
· From
the photos below, could you identify the seasons.
‘Reader’s Write’
Here’s a story written by Mr.
Shivam Jotish Pillai. Shivam is studying in 7th grade in Delhi
Public School, Doha.
Author’s Note:
|
As
the story is long and the plot lets me divide it into two parts with maximum
effect, I have taken the liberty to publish the story over 2 weeks in 2
parts. I have also taken the liberty to correct a few grammatical errors.
Except these aforementioned interferences the story and the narration is
Shivam’s. Thank you for the lovely story, Shivam.
|
Leo and the Time Machine
There was a small boy named
Leo. He was only 9 years old. He was very smart and creative. He lived in
Amsterdam in a medium sized house with a chimney. He had no friends. His mother
had passed away in a car accident when he was 8 years old but the poor boy
didn’t know about this. Leo’s dad worked in the military so Leo lived with his
grandfather and when the boy asked about his mother his grandfather used to
tell him that she was away working for a company.
5 years passed…
One day Leo woke up in the
morning and was eating a delicious breakfast when his grandfather told him he wanted
to show him something which he had been working on for the last 17 years. Leo
was amazed and even excited. He was wondering what it could be. Then his
grandfather took him to the basement and he came to know it was a time machine.
His grandfather still hadn’t finished making the time machine but Leo’s
grandfather knew that Leo would get the time machine ready. When Leo saw the
time machine he was shocked but he understood that the time machine was not
working. Leo’s grandfather told him, “Leo, I could not finish this time machine
but I know you can.”
Leo thought his grandfather
had worked 17 years on the machine but had not completed it, how would he be
able to finish building it? When Leo asked this question the reply by his
grandfather was “I know it is going to be difficult but it’s not impossible.”
When Leo heard that, he asked his grandfather what he had to do to make the
time machine work.
Look forward to the concluding
part of the story in the next issue of the magazine.
See you all next week with
more news, activities and answers to this week’s puzzles.
In the meanwhile, if you
would like to write to me, email me at Sparkyatbanyan@gmail.com
Answers to last week’s puzzles:
·
Solve
the riddles one by one and get a word that solves another riddle. The final
word describes our present situation and each other word denotes our activity
of the moment.
Preen
|
Rain or shine
we all do this, it keeps us clean and neat.
Bird or beast,
which takes care of oneself thus, is difficult to beat.
|
Laze
|
One activity
for a rainy day is to do nothing at all,
Conserve
energy and effort for later on.
|
Acquire
|
One can do
this of a new skill,
Do this in
leisure time, of your own will
Someday it
will be handy, to your own great thrill.
|
Create
|
You do this
when you build or design something
A DIY or a
complex machine, there’s joy in making.
|
Ideate
|
Ideas come
when you do this,
Sit down,
imagine and let your mind whizz.
|
Dream
|
Sometimes let
activity cease,
Do this and
imagine a world, one better and of peace.
|
The final riddle – first letter of
the answers above will also solve this riddle below:
|
|
Placid
|
Calm and at
peace,
Tranquil and
at ease.
Such that your
emotions no one can tease.
|
· Continuing with the
‘similar looking hence ‘could be confusing’ words’:
With the rise in the water
level in the river many bee-eaters’ nest got flooded and was lost. The
bee-eaters elected a council to select the best site to build
their new nests in.
The
tree nesting birds advised the bee-eaters to build a nest in the tree so
their nests would not be destroyed in floods but such an advice was of
no use as the bee-eaters have never nested anywhere but in a hole in the
ground and would not know how to build a nest on a tree.
Without
knowing these bare minimum of facts, giving advices is a waste of
everyone’s time. So, it is important to know the whole of the facts
before giving counsel to others.
·
A
puzzle with Metaphors.
All the world
|
is a stage
|
It is raining
|
cats and dogs
|
She is the
|
apple of my eye
|
A heart
|
of gold
|
Noise is
|
music to his ears
|
Sea of
|
Sadness
|
Light
|
of their life
|
He has a heart
|
of a lion
|
He swam in the sea
|
of diamonds
|
‘Little readers’ Section’
· As
we live in homes, so do animals, birds and insects. Here are a few photos of homes
of a few animals. Could you match the animals with their homes.
