A white breasted Kingfisher !

It is the ring of white colour extending to  the breast of a Kingfisher which differentiates it from ten other varieties of Kingfishers, whose Photographs I saw in Salim Ali's book on birds.

I had no idea about the different varieties of Kingfishers till I began to photograph them.

I look forward to sight others in the family around our home!

One site where I spot them of late is on a tree beside the stream at the end of our property!

The colour combination on the body of this Kingfisher is exquisite.

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Flying upside down or getting carried away!

I got less than a few seconds early in the morning to sight and photograph this Golden Oriel, before it flew away. 

What surprised me was the way it started its flight-upside down!

How birds suspend themselves in the air is physics and aerodynamics which is beyond my understanding. 

Was a gush of air at that height of about two hundred meters which carried away the bird to its position when it failed in its ability to balance itself!

Do we not feel carried away by the pressure of circumstances!

In a conversation with my colleagues, it is this which became an issue for dialogue!

Most parents and children who visit us want to give consent to their choices about taking medicines. While we feel that medicines are useful when a child has hyperkinesis, attention deficit or sleep initiation dysfunction, we encounter considerable resistance from parents to think of the benefits of using medicines. 

They feel strongly influenced by what they hear about the adverse influences of drugs, planted in their minds who are strongly opinionated. 

As alternate forms of therapies are popular and such services are popularised for developmentally challenged children, this resistance to use drugs is rampant among parents. 

I have a sense that parents feel carried away to a  lopsided thinking about the value of medicines even when we have to treat a well established Electrical Rhythm Disturbance with evidence of its impact on learning, behaviour, sleep, etc. of a child. 

For a bird in the air, flying upside down might seem almost normal; but for us to move against the stream is an uphill task.

It is anathema in the culture that I live to accept the left hand as the dominant hand and allow a child to do all the functions with left hand! I come across occasionally parents or teachers who feel comfortable with the use of the left hand. 

Even in the planning of a class rooms,  I do not come across chairs with rotating writing pads attached to it, which are designed for those who use their left hands for writing!

Some of our beliefs spring from cultural and traditional practices. It is necessary to avoid feeling carried away, when evidence in existence is contrary to such beliefs!

To swim upstream or choose an innovative or creative approach and 'walk the less travelled path' is what might lead the way for others.

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Fruits for birds!

It is by providing bird feeds we can make our gardens welcome for birds! We have three papaya fruit trees in our garden which we have left for our bird visitors! The birds and squirrels take turns to feed on them!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

A song from far away!

It took me about half an hour of search to locate this bird singing from within the thick foliage of a teak tree, fifty meters high! Its birdsong was different from the usual and invited my attention because it was tuneful and distinct. It sounded melodious and stirred me within. 

The early morning and late afternoons are considered to be the 'golden hours' to sight birds. It amazes me how these birds make the garden come alive by their presence and birdsongs. The trees and shrubs which remain silent for the rest of the time, except when the birds are in flight between trees. 

The silence of the trees and the presence of the birds are two realities which became rather personal to me during the three weeks I have been at home recently.

The trees are silent except when the wind blows over them. The music of the wind by blowing over the leaves is present all through the day and night, but not often noticed or heard. The difference between the gentle breeze and a strong wind is that the gentle breeze cleanse the leaves from the dust and dirt and creates tuneful sounds. A strong wind might break away the leaves and branches from the tree. Even when the trees are silently present, the wind produces the music by moving the leaves. The music is given to the tree, by the wind. As I watched this for days together during this recent weeks, it occurred to me that life itself is musical if only we allow the experiences of each day to move us to give away the music of kindness, graceful attitudes, thoughtful responses, mindful behaviour, etc. Each experience is like the wind that moves the leaves of the trees to produce music in the air !

The presence of the birds on the trees makes the trees come alive because the birds produce another music. The tree becomes the source for another song! In one sense it is the presence of the birds in the trees which announces the presence of the trees. It is as though the music of the leaves and the birdsongs from the trees create an orchestra in the mornings and evenings all around us. This orchestra in nature  is universal, telling us the story of the symphony we are surrounded with. The bird calls are wake up calls to draw us close to nature ! The canopy of sky above and the earth below that gives us the vegetation, is a cosmos that envelops us in its abundance ! There is no room for anyone to feel lonely how much ever one might be under the stress of living! There is a music given to our soul from the trees and the birds. They sing for us unasked for! 

Yesterday, we felt the loneliness of a family, when we heard their struggle to find a place for their adolescent daughter, to give her a vocational orientation and life skill preparation, as she no longer benefits from her regular schooling!There is no song in their lives. 

We are given a song to resonate this song of awareness of others around us and lead them to experience wakefulness and to find provision for their journey!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Flight stations!

I have been trying to identify the fixed flight stations of some birds in our garden. 

There is a family of Sunbirds in our garden, who make some trees their habitual flight stations. It is not easy to identify them as they are small and escape attention. It is their tuneful birdsongs that alert me of their presence. 

It strikes me that only rarely I have noticed any other bird on trees when one species have claimed their rights over a tree. Birds respect each other's territory.

With the parliament elections due in May 2019, the political conversations have become aggressive and confrontational. In  democracy, there is a need to accept diversity of ideologies and practices. But it is the opposite I witness during the TV interviews of politicians. The spokespersons of political parties offer no space or little space for other's opinions. 

It is wide world of opportunities and needs, if only we can consider democracy as a system where political parties develop their strategy to bring good governance to bring benefits to people in need. 

There is political space for all to compete for acceptance through dialogue and service. 

To me the birdsong is a metaphor for political identity. It is through what politicians say and do they occupy a space in public life to serve others. 

It is not by opposing an idea that we foster an alternative, but by demonstrating its viability. 

It is now fifty nears since there was an aggressive approach to promote better nutrition for children in India. Although it substantially helped to prevent malnutrition, does it not shock us when we find that thirty percent of children are stunted in growth! An idea that succeeded in its intent only to a certain extent!

It is in responding to opportunities creatively, any political party can have its distinctive influence in  the national polity!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

A meeting and memories !

Anna and I happened to meet five former students of MOSC at a wedding occasion. All of them are attending coaching classes for appearing for their entrance test for post graduate training. At the same occasion we also met three former of students of PIMS, who finished their post graduate training or are about to finish.   

Anna had lot to do with them during the student days as she was involved in teaching Pharmacology, while I had limited contacts.

Many memories returned to us when we met with them. One particular memory for Anna was association with some of them to prepare them for their ICMR student research projects.  

We would have been associated with about 25 batches of students during our times in Medical colleges. Our memories of them are most refreshing. There were a few whom we remember specially because of the difference in outlook and behaviour they represented even while they were students. 

The time of studentship is a formative season in the lives of students. There are many influences converging on their lives. 

One of the dialogue starters we have had with some of them is the difference between being a 'medical students' and 'doctors in training'. 

Some tend to view the time in medical colleges casually and leisurely and miss the opportunity to get themselves immersed in preparing for the vocation in the practice of medicine. Whereas some take upon themselves the opportunity to ponder, experience and explore the ways in which they can imbibe the values that define the practice of medicine. 

Yesterday, a family visited us with their 12 yers old son, travelling seven hours, who is progressively worsening due to Mucopolysacharoidosis, currently with quadriparesis, feeding difficulty and recurrent respiratory infection. It was a difficult experience as the single parent mother was desperate to seem him walk and return to 'normalcy'. Although they have been to higher centres and under good medical care, the mother is still overcome by grief and not settled enough to prepare herself to face the declining state of his health. 

I was touched by the efforts that my colleagues took to spend time with the mother and encourage her to seek palliative care, close to their home. I felt moved by their willingness to share in the grief of the mother and offer support while she is making a transition in her approach to her son's illness. 

Mother Francis, who established Helena Home, the first hospice for children in Oxford, mentioned to me as early as in1986 that, there would be children with progressive diseases for whom palliative care support and respite facility would be needed. 

It is now clear to me from some earlier experiences, that hospice service is yet another dimension of 'care' in developmental medicine, which I have not explored actively or promoted it for consideration.

I bear the pain of that mother, who herself is diabetic and financially dependent on voluntary help to cope with all the needs of the family. I felt awful when I realised that they do not even have a wheel chair for the boy or a water bed!

The vocation in medicine is to' become all things to all people' so that they feel carried when they are no longer able to bear their own burdens!

My wish for all in training and practice of  medicine is to live mindful of people burdened with illnesses and situations that overwhelm them!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

Summer Flowers !

When we returned from Coimbatore yesterday, our garden had a new look with the Lilies in full bloom. 

It is perhaps a reminder of an early summer! The day time temperature is above 30 degree celsius, although the night temperature dips to 15. 

 What is refreshing about the flowers is their resilience! They survive the heat and humidity and stay fresh because of its provisions from the soil which transcend the pressures of a challenging weather. 

The interior moods change according to how we feel about our environment and relationships, which often affect our wellness. 

The flowers tell another story. They are rooted in the soil and help them to draw their nourishment to overcome the dry and humid weather. 

How well rooted are we in God, who is the source and substance of our lives is the revealing question to ponder upon!

Yesterday, while driving back from Coimbatore, we stopped at a restaurant for our evening tea. At the entrance of the restaurant, noticed an aquarium full of fish, moving about freely! The freedom of living because they are in water!

It was a reminder that it is in 'God, we live, move and have our being"!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

The 'two becoming One'

Anna and I witnessed the marriage of Kirthana and Vineeth at Coimbatore yesterday.

We got to know Kirthana and her parents when we came to work at MOSC Medical college, Kolenchery in 2012 when Kirthana had joined for her undergraduate studies. She later became part of our foster students family.

We met Vineeth during our short term of service at the PIMS, Pondichery from 2010. He stood out as a student with sound character, mission, and diligence. Vineeth moved on to do his internship at CMC Vellore and later joined as a faculty after finishing his training in internal medicine. 

We have known both of them as talented, committed, dedicated professionals and individuals who excel in communication, building friendships, clinical skills and bedside manners. Every conversation with them has often left us encouraged and challenged by their sense of mission in the practice of medicine. 

These pictures share the mood, immediately after the wedding, of romance, joy, comfort, confidence and looking forward to life in a family!

What was special among other touching aspects about the wedding was the way the Syrian orthodox rites of a marriage service was made contemporary and meaningful by an eloquent introduction and welcome to all the visitors by the vicar of the church, who demonstrated the spirit of the ecumenical nature of the church universal. The two CSI Bishops present in the alter participated in the service performed roles which I have not witnessed ministers from other denominations perform on such other occasions. There was 'oneness' in the way the marriage service was shared between the vicar and his assistants and the Bishops, on an occasion when the solemn service was all about calling the 'two professing the marriage vows to become one'! It was truly a memorable start for Kirthana and Vineeth.

Good wishes and greetings, Kirthana and Vineeth for a life of joyful living and loving service! You stay in our hearts and thoughts. You are meant for each other ! 

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

  

(P.S. I look for opportunities to capture scenes when just married couples are not posing for photographs.)  

The arrival of dusk!

I kept watching and listening to the Magpie Robin from the courtyard. I noticed the cat who lives in our property in the Christmas tree. The Robin high in the sky and the cat high enough to watch its gaze kept me fully engaged in watching the dusk arriving. 

The gradual fading of the light and the sky turning crimson made the sight most captivating. 

The bird songs gradually settled to bring in  a calm that was a striking contrast. The trees turning dark and still and the visibility reducing were striking sights. 

What was unique for me was participating in the transition of the nature's retreat from the day!

It is in and through this retreat of  darkness that nature completes its rhythm of the day and night. 

For children and adult alike, darkness brings in an emotion of fear or caution! 

Some writers refer to luminous darkness as an experience they discover while going through 'interior darkness' during times of contemplation. 

For them contemplation is an experience of beholding God in interior silence and stillness !They refer to it as an experience of being freed from thoughts, sights, dreams, plans, imaginations, or feelings,  which they admit is one sense entering in to darkness or emptiness. 

They refer to the outcome of this experience as communion with God, which results in an inner radiance and revival. 

As light of the day became darkness, I felt unusually inspired by the luminance of the sky that lasted even in the darkness of he dusk. 

By then it was the time for listening to the 7 pm TV news. I felt what I saw and heard jarring inside that I returned to keep watching the sky!

All was calm and serene. 

The inner instinct was to stay still and silent because, the experience of beholding darkness was truly luminous inwardly!

I felt carried and comforted and even felt drawn to a deeper plane of consciousness of something beyond self! How refreshing and enlivening it is to feel being taken away from the consciousness of self to experience of the consciousness of the 'Other' to the extent that we can receive for a transient season!

Such occasions of life are GIVEN as way marks in our inner journey towards God, the source of being and living!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

Biography- 27 A season of Roses !

From November 2017, till this month Anna and I delightfully watched the Roses in our garden.  I confess that the ten or so rose plants do not receive a lot of attention by way of providing them a scientific soil nourishment or protection from insects. However, there are blossoms that announce fullness of life!

The year 2018 has been a year of some unusual experiences in our lives.

Following my decision to take leave of my responsibility in the governing council of Christian Medical College, Vellore in November, 2017, due to intense difficulty to find a middle path in a divided administration over some crucial matters, I have had to face criticism, accusation, and unfair attitudes from friends whom I knew for twenty five years or more.

Among all the remarks and spoken and written comments, one comment which one responsible member of the new administrative team made:  'at times the dispensable pawn in a chess board needs removal' disturbed me and confirmed to me that my time had come to say farewell. In response to my announcement to relinquish my responsibility, the same person mentioned to me that , 'CMC would go on with or without you'! That was a statement of confirmation that staying any longer would be overstaying!

Most of my engagement with the administration of CMC in 2017 was to persuade them to welcome students for MBBS as per the new requirements of the government policy. The administration preferred not to admit students for the academic year of 2107.

There were many broken relationships arising out of my approach and departure from my responsibility.

What brought immense comfort was the sight of these Roses from then on till now. The flowers were often sighted in bunches of twos, threes and fours! The Rose flowers are fragile, but they were fresh and fragrant each morning. The few hundreds of pictures I have in my collection of this season from November 2017, would remain with me as refreshing memories. I used to visit the rose plants almost every morning to receive them into my consciousness to stay content with gentle and quiet presence.

The last fifteen months were not a dry season in my life although it was a desert experience. One of our grandchildren was noticed to have special needs developmentally. There were some damages in the property following storm and incessant rains. There was change in the leadership in the medical college where we work which brought some changes that we did not anticipate. There was a distancing of many friends on account what they believed to be true about my role in the affairs of CMC.  The students at the Medical College where we work, with whom we have had lot to do preferred  to stay away as they no longer chose to debate on issues of conduct and behaviour in college life.

Some of those memories returned to me today, although only in a lesser intense way, when the former CMC council secretary sent me a message today telling me about the governing council meeting scheduled for today and tomorrow. He too might have been in a reminiscent mood recalling the hours of preparation we jointly had put in prior to all the council and executive committee meetings. One practice that evolved as a good way of starting the formal meetings was by reading from I Corinthianns 13, praying the prayer that Dr Ida Scudder prayed and singing the college song! I have fond memories of the efforts that we were able to make to go back to the heritage and history of CMC  to keep us connected with the the way marks of the journey of CMC. With another in-pateint 1500 beds about to be added to the hospital at the Kanigapuram campus, CMC would exist in seven campuses with over 10000 staff and 3000 students. It would be one of the largest hospitals in Asia. It is a time to  take every effort to treasure the ethos and enable the the staff and faculty to breathe in the spirit of what it means to 'serve in the spirit and name of Jesus' as stated in the preamble of the constitution of CMC Vellore Association. I feel grateful for having had a part to bring this consciousness to the governing council while chairing the meetings.

All these experiences and memories overwhelmed me in the first quarter of 2018.

In order to have space, time and a pause to recall, recollect and review, I stayed away from any talking engagements in professional or other meetings.

I made one exception on persuasion of a long time friend Father Joe Mannath in June, 2018 to speak at a gathering of superiors and heads of medical and educational institutions of the Catholic Church, where I focussed on 'calling in education', which was  dialogue starter to look at, why, how and what would be the vocation of the followers of Jesus of Nazareth in education!  

The preparation for this talk revived me from my desert experience. I saw an opportunity beyond the difficult experiences to stay alive emotionally and coherently!

A visit to meet with some friends overseas was another stimulus to look back and forward while facing the desert experience. Some of these friends whom we have known for thirty five years have moved on in life amidst several challenges of grief and loss. That gave us a new orientation to grow older gracefully freeing others from our orbit of suspicion or disappointment.

Another significant renewing experience was through returning to read and reflect which had suffered  during the hectic period of association with CMC Vellore for five years.

It is this which brought back a greater consciousness to live attentively!

That made it possible to embark on a project to remember all those whose who have touched my life since my medical school years. This intention got further affirmed when Anna in connection with my seventieth birthday gathered greetings from about fifty people, whose loving memories made me feel conscious of wealth of experiences of relationships.

I began recollecting them and turned them to letters. Although I have been able to write to only about fifty in the last six months out of about 150 in my list, I found this as an journey of exploration of treasures in my life which I received from the goodwill of others.

This concurrently stimulated me to recollect my biography and this one, 27 th in the series is another means of finding resources to draw inspiration while going through a desert experience.

I returned to take photography seriously and made an effort to look for birds, butterflies, dragonflies, etc. Anna decided to make a table calendar for 2019 using some of these pictures. Incidentally 2018 was the thirty fifth year of the anniversary of ASHIRVAD. That justified making a calendar to use it as a greeting to Friends of ASHIRVAD in India and overseas.

When I formally retired in June 2018 from MOSC Medical College, I was invited to stay on as Emeritus Professor which was an unusual gesture of kindness to help in the transition of the department of Developmental paediatrics and Child Neurology.  With few more new colleagues including a consultant in Paediatrics, I find the transition planning making a lot more easy and purposeful.

The recent invitation to be associated with a local school in planning and developing a Resource Room facility to offer inclusive education for children with learning related needs, is a tangible and promising direction for the department because it would integrate our efforts for longer association with children who are developmentally challenged.

The rebuilding of the walls in the property where we live and restoration of an irrigation well, which was in ruins are reasons to be grateful for, towards those who took upon the responsibility to help inspite of several hurdles. The restoration of the well which was 35 feet deep, with building of granite walls all around was risky and time consuming. The summer has set in and there is promise of better water yield in the well.

The roses in our garden turned my desert experience to stay hopeful and waiting patiently for refreshing times.

I have a sense now that there is a need to value experiences as resources for growth and renewal.

Because this consciousness was growing within, it was possible to let go yesterday after an initial protest, when the neighbour decided to encroach upon our access road to our home!

Now that I have been able to write a letter of closure and intent for conciliation to all those I have had difficulties in the administrative team in CMC Vellore, I feel unburdened and lighter to continue this journey inward and outward.

I have completed five years after my coronary by-pass surgery and there is abundant joy for the wellness I experienced during this time. Although the strict exercise regimen did suffer during the last year on account of the disturbing rhythm, I feel well and ready to look forward to years of wellness ahead.

What is life unless, I too can be open like a rose flower and stay content where I am placed!

The seventh decade in one's life is often a period of creativity and consolidation. While one prepares to make closures in a formal way work related matters, the vocation of life, living and learning would take a new quality and depth.

The three themes that grow within me now are forgetting, forgiving and forbearance.

There is a need to remember to forget. The challenge is to forgive unilaterally. The opportunity is to receive life as it unfolded and make hope as the interior attitude in the journey of life .

M.C.Mathew(text and poto)

Fruits in season!

The fruit bearing trees give us fruits in season. We have many fruits in our garden during this season.

This is when we become conscious of those who plant, water, manure, and prune because which the trees can yield fruits. 

I took time to recall all the farm labourers who worked for my parents and for us. I could recall twelve people who worked for us for some years at different periods over the last sixty-five years since we live in this property.

It was the habit of my parents to distribute the fruits to the farm workers in appreciation of their efforts. A labourer is worthy of wages and rewards of his or her labour.   

The small acts of kindness brings us closer to each other. 

We live hurried lives and do not pause to nurture or cherish others because of whom we have been provided for . 

We met Thomas and his friend at the car park yesterday morning. Thomas is awaiting the results of NEET examination for his post-graduate training. 

It was Thomas along with three other friends who got involved with us when we began our work at MOSC in 2012, to help us in setting up the department of Developmental Paediatrics and Child Neurology  

Yesterday a child was tearing a picture of a dog pasted on the wall in the consultation room. Each of those pictures was pasted by one of these friends to design the room to be child friendly.  

To be grateful and recall the acts of kindness of others is the least we can do to stay connected with others. What is life without this ensemble of experiences!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

A broken twig!

This twig with dry leaves would have been broken away from a branch in this tree during a wind and rain. It stays dry and lifeless. 

Yesterday two events that happened gave me a first hand experience of how a relationship can suffer estrangement over a dispute. Our neighbour to whom my parents gave a piece of land at nominal price  to build a house thirty years ago, as they were economically disadvantaged, decided to sell half of the land breaking the promise that they would not sell it without giving us the chance to buy it back. The second stressful experience was that he sold it including a portion of the access road to our property which was carved out of our land to make the road. 

It was in the evening when we returned from work, I noticed the excavation to build the compound wall by the new occupant. I do not think that my plea and negotiation helped as the neighbour and the new occupant seemed insistent to ignore our plea. 

Life brings to us many experiences including some harsh experiences. 

I came back after this difficult negotiation. Anna too found it difficult. Dulcie came and sat at my feet and seemed to have sensed that I was disturbed as I refused to stroke her!

It is then I remembered the sight of this dry twig hanging in a tree in our garden. 

Somehow a small dry twig stands out and subdues the larger sight of the green tree. It is this which is a paradox. A small twig becomes prominent in our sight!

Anna and I discussed at the dinner table, how to make an alternate entrance to our property in case the present one becomes narrow due to the encroachment.   

It is for us to turn a difficult experience to an opportunity to go beyond the harsh experience and live life without being overcome by disappointment or sense of loss!

No matter how much one might feel about an experience because it happened on account of people whom cared for, it is importune to create space within us even for such people to receive them just as they are. 

The pilgrim journey cannot get stopped or waylaid because we are distracted by 'what we shall eat, what we shall put on or where we shall live'! 

The green tree to me became the symbol of life and the broken twig less significant in sight and perception!

When I woke up couple of times in the night, this inner consciousness to continue the journey receiving life as a gift to be offered to others was a  theme that called for my attention!

What matters finally is how hospitably we 'receive a neighbour' even when it is stressful to do so!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo) 

   

It is good night time!

A Tree Pie looking at me intently; two Magpie Robins with one having food in its mouth; a pair of Sunbirds, and a Bee Eater, were the visitors in our garden yesterday evening!

I returned to work after three weeks of being at home to attend to some pressing repairs to the compound wall,  the irrigation pond, and finding a substitute for our earlier domestic helper to work in the garden. 

It was refreshing to return to work and get connected with colleagues who made good progress in planning for developing a few new facilities for accompanying children and families, who visit us. 

What an experience it was to meet with a family with their child of seven months with visual impairment, another family of visually impaired mother fondly involved in taking care of their infant,   another toddler who is in his driven journey to fulfil all his aspirations insistently, with which the parents cannot cope....

Yes, the world of families and children awaken me to new realities.

During the mid day, the chairman of a popular school came with a list of children between three and five years in his school needing attention for their learning and behaviour needs!

It was at the end of such a day, I watched these sights of birds, each giving a message of closure of a day with enduring hope. 

A friendly Tree Pie, a family of Magpie Robins returning to their nest to feed the little one, the sunbirds tunefully singing and the Bee Eater restfully singing its song... I wish I was able to get  sharper pictures although the light was fading!

The nature is in its rhythm reminded me, that the day is over and the labour of the day now would get consumed in the rest of the night.

The day is for labouring and the night is for entering in to rest ! 

This rest is also communion with God of our lives because it is in God we rest!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

The Four movements !

I watched this Barbet yesterday for a while, while stationed in one of its in between flight stations. 

I was captivated by its repetitive four movements of the head with a vigilant look: right, left, backward and forward !

It looks like that the Barbet has had its training in management science!

I have had this thought lingering in my mind for a while as I have taken time to recollect on the personal and family experiences in 2018: all journey movements in life are to have this wholistic view of circumstances. 

A shop keeper who had a good income generating provision shop, sensed  after the demonetisation that he might have reduced business. So he decided to keep his shop closed on the week ends and enrolled for a course on cell phone technology and internet applications. Now he has added this to his business  engagement. He understood the circumstances and acted prudently.

On Saturday, a school of considerable reputation sent me a message to discuss about seventy or so children in the primary classes, who have leaning related challenges! While listening to a key stake holder in the management, I understood how a review of the class room performances of the last three years helped them to identify another stream of children in a regular class room, who need a different learning support !

There is a fifth dimension that I am not sure whether the Barbet was in touch with! That is looking inward to receive insight and resonances. 

Most of us become factual, managerial and SWOT driven!

Let me suggest that the Jesus of Nazareth introduced the dimension of insight: You shall receive the words that you are to speak when you are before an authority!

There is a contemplative dimension to our living: Hearing from within, knowing that God is resident in our hearts!

This sense of 'guidance' comes to us during  periods of waiting in interior silence!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

A rare sighting!

A bird of about 15 cms long, with black head, blue complexion with a white strip across the wings  with white collar! Some features are similar to Collared Bush Chat.except for the colour! I wish someone can would identify this for me!

The three other pictures I managed to take of this bird were out of focus, as the bird was swift in body movements and flew away in beyond my sight! Even this is not sharp in focus. 

It was an unusual sighting of a bird due its colour complexion and size!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

A house crow- different in complexion!

I noticed this light coloured crow in our garden along with other house crows, who were darker n complexion!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

Tapioca harvesting!

Tapioca, rich in carbohydrate, used to be the stable food for many families during my childhood. It was easy to cultivate in the kitchen gardena and each plant would yield  enough food for a family in five months.

Later, rice, wheat and millets replaced the regular use of this starchy food. In the recent years Tapioca is in demand outside Kerala and in the middle eastern countries.  

Tapioca is consumed after boiling or cooking with coconut along with some curry preferably fish curry. 

The chips made out of tapioca is a favourite snack. Usually the tapioca was converted into chips after boiling and drying it in the sun for use during the monsoon season. The dried tapioca can be soaked in water and cooked with lentils, which used to be called as tapioca biriyani. 

During my childhood tapioca was not sold as most families would have their own from their neighbours. Now it is available in vegetable shops. 

Tapioca and pine apple plantations are commonly seen in land areas, which were earlier rice fields . 

The food habits have changed; the land use has changed; the cost has gone up for the produce1

The bottom line is that the farmers do not benefit  as the cost of production has gone up. I remember that the daily wage for an adult was 20 rupees during my childhood, which is now nearing 1000 rupees. The farmers who use labourers to till their land woeful end up in debt unless they have mechanised the farming. 

So in the rural setting agricultural farming is being replaced by poultry farming, cattle farming, etc.   

While farming was a trans-generational activity in a family in my childhood, it is now confined to the senior members in the family as their children have moved on to get employed for better remuneration.  

So agricultural farming is at a cross road in many parts of India!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

A male singing Koel !

I heard the distinct birdsong early in the morning. It was still faintly dark. I waited near the site form the birdsong was regularly heard.

Later when the sun-rays brightened the tree tops, I could find this black bird with yellowish bill and crimson eyes. It was a male Koel.

For a while I stayed around the site to see fi a female Koel would appear. The females are spotted and therefore easy to identify.

 I shall look out and keep a track on this Koel. Usually they reappear in the same site!

The avian world is rich and colourful and reminds us of the grace of God in nature!

Anna and I feel blessed to have so many birds visit us each day, sometimes in the morning and evening  regular!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

Avian acrobatics

I think that this bird might be a White winged Black Tit. I watched this bird, about 15 cm in length,  moving around this slender branch horizontally and in different angles easily and swiftly!

What a sight!

The bird itself is beautiful and splendid in its colour complexion. In addition it was performing elegantly!

Sometimes we wish who could watch all these in our immediate range of sight.

I also wonder why they perform all these at the top of a fifty feet tall tree, far away from us!

Re Dr John Stott in his book on birds, quotes the words of Jesus of Nazareth, 'Look at the birds of the air..'

I feel it is too late to begin this at seventy years. Let me encourage younger friends to get a binocular and carry that with you in your hand bag. Whenever you are free or travelling to new places, keep looking around for bird movements through the binoculars.

M.C.Mathew(text and photo) 

A romantic story!

I noticed this pair of Magpie Robin on the water pipe on our terrace. They slowly moved towards each other and stayed at a  safe distance. The female flew away thereafter!

The male after a long pause started to sing again. For the next fifteen minutes or so it continued its birdsong and left the site.

I apologise that the birds appear in different sizes as they are cropped photographs.

This story is common for most birds. There is a selection process before mating. Often the female birds choose its mate, based on the the nature of the birdsong of the male bird!

Sometimes it is good for us to lift our attention form our world of preoccupations or encumbrances and look away into the wide world around us to take in some other events and happenings.

I felt sad to see the Magpie Robin leave the site without its friend!

I shall now watch out for either of the Robins to return!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo) 

Hopping avian visitors!

There are some beautiful small birds that one wished could be watched for sighting the details !

This is probably a Purple Rumped Sunbird whose habit is to hop between trees. I have watched this bird revisiting the same tree after a while. Its movements are swift and in a hurry. They have fixed flight stations form what I have noticed during the last tow weeks.

The colour complexion with  glistening feathers make this bird stand out among other small birds.  

Small bird- but beautiful and elegant!

Another of nature's gifts to mankind!

M.C.Mathew