The Mark Of Vishnu

I admit it. I am a city slicker. Yes when my parents moved to South Delhi back in the day (when I was a toddler) it was considered the backside of beyond as you had to cross the Ridge Road to get to it. We had mongoose, likely snakes, peacocks and lots of trees around us. My earliest memories though are of a fairly well settled neighbourhood, although if went into the ruins of some old fort nearby we did see peacocks (even some charsis but that is neither here nor there).

My brush with wildlife has been restricted to safe, physically restricted environments - such as the zoo or the TV for instance. No matter how lifelike the image on National Geographic HD, it didn't put the scare of God in me. We did hear coyotes in San Diego in the hills behind our house, and legend has it that small pets had to be kept inside at night for fear of snakes and coyote packs, but other than the racket they created, I never did see one close up and personal.

All that changed today. Today we were on our usual early morning (early for me anyway :) ) walk. Matilda and Xena were particularly frisky chasing squirrels, birds and if they had had their way, dogs. Xena was nosing around as usual when suddenly she jumped two feet in the air and landed next to me. There in front of my eyes, no more than 8 feet away was the hood of a Cobra, the Mark of Vishnu plainly visible on it. Unaware of the danger they were in, Matko and Xena wanted to get a closer look at this strange creature, and I held on to them tightly as we backed away from the snake. I checked Xena all over for any signs that she may have been bit, not knowing what I would do even if she had. Fortunately for us, the cobra was not interested in confrontation and it slid away to find a quiet spot to rest in.

This experience has left me shaken (not stirred) not least because anything could have happened to Xena. I've always known and seen peacocks, monkeys and other fairly safe wildlife in the hills, but now that I know what danger lurks there, it gives me pause. After all, I am a city slicker.

Blame it on the rain

Summer had made me lazy and sedentary. Between hectic travel schedules and late night conference calls, I could barely open my eyes by 7am, by which time the mercury had already touched 30C (86F) well on it's way to a blistering 42-44. I had all but stopped my morning walks, much to the consternation and disappointment of my two babies - Matko and Xena.

But hopefully all that is in the past. The weather has improved, the mercury has come down and monsoon has set in. Yesterday rain lashed hyderabad for well over 3 hours, and though that brings with it waterlogging, power cuts and other problems reserved for a later post, I could only look at the bright side. All the wind chimes in our house have been ringing madly, heralding the change in season in a symphony of sheer delight. Our "ghumi time" as Xena knows it wasn't the tortuous 30 minutes of summer heat in the blazing sun with hot air rising from the ground. We walked, we ran, Matilda happily chased squirrels. Peacocks called out all around us. Frogs lent their voices to the madness as well. Much needed, much awaited - the rain was finally here.