Mount Abu The Abode

Rhymes Of Rajasthan --MOUNT A'BU 1894

2012-02-10T17:41:00.000+05:30

Today I received this extract via email, and I would like to share it with you as it depicts the beauty of this hill station through the eyes of this historical writer.

Mount Abu

Olympus is the hill, from age

Unknown it has been sacred ground;

Rishis and Munis, gods and sages

Dwelt in these woods and rocks around

And now perchance when earthquake rumbling

Goes muttering thro' the mountain-side

It may be some old god a-grumbling

At want of worship, wounded pride.

Yet superstition, which by horror

And promise long has reigned supreme,

Brings thousands yearly to Dilwarra,

Whose temples surely are a dream:

A dream beyond all comprehension

Of art that e'en a Goth might saint;

No wonder if they draw attention

To lore and legend growing faint.

The worship of the Jain who raised them

Has now diminished thro' the land,

But pilgrims who have come and praised them

Are not required to understand.

The White man smiles and from a guide book chatters

Of Vishnu, Parasn'ath,of Brahman,Jain;

The brown one looks on worship, faith,as matters

Ordained for each race by a different sign.

Whether he climb to trace in cave or high nook

The footsteps of some deity, or kneel

Before Dilwarra's gods or those of Gae Mukh

Enough for him, unlettered soul ,to feel,

Whoe'er in Abuji may rule as master,

Men of an ancient creed or men without

The pooja of his childhood and his Pastor

Is his to follow,let who may have doubt.

He hears unmoved how the Chauhan once wrested

From the Pramar this mountain hold sublime;

His thoughts are further back, when Vishnu crested

Proud Guru Sikr in the world's young prime.

So the old stream of pilgrims ripples yearly,

While some there be who stay awhile and grow

To love the Hill and its cool breezes dearly,

As refuge from the burning plains below:

As clothed with natural, not celestial beauty_

A home for children of the Frank, and place

For England'ssoldiers when on foreign duty

Health to renew and tired nerve to brace.

To these the rocks which bear the names of Nun

And Toad , The Gates and SunsetPoint,the play

Of light upon the Lake from Moon and Sun

Are Abu's chief divinities to-day.

----Rajputana Gazetteer_____ 1894 By Col. G. H. Trevor, C.S.I.

Agent to the Governor-General For Rajputana

Col. Trevor has extracted this from ''The Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan'' by Col James Tod. 1829 To read more click on the link
Rhymes of Rajputana

ROUTE MAPS... TO ANYWHERE, EVERYWHERE. AMAZING! USEFUL.

2012-02-03T11:22:00.003+05:30

Today I received an email from a mate, It's Abs Amazing and worth sharing. Hat's of to the team who launched this search machine rome2rio's so without further ado, Go ahead and see for your self.

rome2rio's

Planning to visit Mount Abu,I'm sure this site will be very useful, click the link above.

The Water walking Ball.MT.Abu

2012-01-29T15:53:00.000+05:30

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH BSNL MT.ABU

2012-01-27T13:10:00.000+05:30

Yesterday while wishing family and friends A Happy and Joyous "Republic Day" via my BSNL sim card I suddenly noticed that a message began to flash 'check with your operator service', and my bloody outgoing service had been suspended. I was receiving incoming SMS's but my outgoing ones just went Kaput.
I checked and re-checked, all my settings on my phone, took out the sim, tried a friends mobile to see if it would work via another instrument, but alas, it looked like our FAITHFUL new-work service was in to get me for an EXCESS use of their services.
I then phoned 123 to speak to an operator and appraise him of my predicament, I was blown to get an operator on my first attempt. How may I help you ,he asked me in Hindi? what's your name? etc, I then told him of my problem, he then asked me how much was the net-work hacking me for each "sms" I was making?? I almost did a double flip, with this interrogation! How the Hell was I to know how much the net-work was doing me in for after sanctioning me a package deal monthly for 'sms' I retorted.
The operator was probably a novice, or just some one who cared two hoots for BSNL customers, after all his pay cheque is secure. I was then instructed to dial 1503 for further instructions. Gosh the price of being a faithful customer.
"My Clients,stay faithful until the end. Do not look at the other net-works around you, we are the cheapest, trust us, we will not fail you." Some of you are disgusted, because your hope and trust in our net-work sometimes lets you down. Take heart we are faithful, your services will soon be restored, you cannot blame us for sometimes we are overloaded and do snap when the pressure exerted is too great to bear.
I then prepared to dial 1503, but before that I connected my phone to the power line as I knew it would be some time before I would get a response from anyone. I was prepared for the encounter that was to follow. I dialed and switched my mob to the loudspeaker mode.I was uploading snaps online to Face-book and in the background I could her the mono-tone of the automatic recording on the BSNL network . After more than thirty minutes of this I can recall almost verbatim, the recording, it goes like this.
"Your estimated hold time is 27 minutes,your call is important to us, you will be attended shortly."
Dial 56700 and get the latest Hollywood songs as your BSNL tune, you can also download devotional songs ,
Punjabi songs and lots more.All charges Rs 2 per minute,SMS NIST 56700, all charges Rs 2 per SMS.
For more information call at help line No..
All our team members are busy attending other customers, you will be attended shortly. Sorry to keep you on hold.
BSNL welcomes you to register for One India Plan,register your postpaid for One India on 253733. Prepaid cell users
cal use recharge voucher of 799/- for One India Plan .For more information visit your 'Gharak Kendra"
After all this blab , blab blab--- and at the end of 27 minuets , The machine then continues .
your estimated time is 1 minute and the countdown gets stuck at one MINUTE and if I did not cut off I guess it would have gone on all day.
In the evening I did visit the the BSNL customer service chaps, only to be told that may be your papers are not in order, hence the "STOP SERVICE" has been applied. I looked at the guy, put my finger to my head and made the motion of the screw. I walked to the neighbouring mobile outlet and asked the young chap there what could be the problem, to which he replied, "Nothing to worry about BSNL overloaded today tomorrow all services will be NORMAL.
Sure enough today my phone is fine and all my held up SMS's have gone through.
To see the bird snaps I uploaded to face book click the link 'REPUBLIC DAY SPECIAL"

Weather update Mount Abu

2012-01-20T21:57:00.000+05:30

The temperature throughout the day has been on the lower side, right now (8.00 pm) in my verandah (porch) its 7^oC, outside its probably much lower. Night before last by 10.30 pm a thin layer of ice had had formed on the seat of our scooters parked in the compound. This morning around 8.45 am, I took a snap of Khemoo , our all rounder with a disk of ice taken from the dogs container lying outside. The met report is that for the next few days Abu will remain the coldest place in Rajasthan. Tourists heading this way are advised to bring their woollies. TO GLEAN MORE ON ABU click the link
Mount Abu Attractions

Kheemo our all rounder

Anyone for a disposable plate

Here are some photographs of birds I took on my trip to the duck pond in Achalgarh

The duck pond

Green bee eater

One handsome bloke

Bone dry

Drongo

Basking

One handsome bloke

Taking off

Looking for my mate

Stretch

Oh lonesome me

Sunbird female

That looks interesting

Snapped you

Keith

An Appeal “Let our wild life be wild” Do not Feed Abu

2012-01-20T16:37:00.001+05:30

In my 61 years of observing animals here in the Abode of the Gods I have never see so many monkeys run down by rash motorists. I’ve been up and down to Abu Road quite a few times over the last few months and on most of these occasions I’ve witnessed dead monkeys lying by the side of the road. I wish I had carried my faithful camera with me to document these roadside deaths.

As an animal lover I know it’s a great temptation to stop and feed the troop of monkeys, waiting in anticipation for a handout, but my appeal to most people who enjoy feeding wildlife, please refrain, you are not helping them to survive but causing them to be dependent on humans for their daily bread. This eventually leads to problems for both the animals and humans.

There are many good reasons not to feed the monkeys:

1. Loss of life, as they lose their fear of humans

2. Loss of survival instincts

3. Human health and safety

4. Decrease wildlife health etc.

Our forest department should put up placards all along the road with a stern warning that tourists found feeding wild animals will be liable for a penalty. I know that’s wishful thinking.

Took this snap yesterday on my return jaunt from the water body near Achalgarh. This poor chap met his end to some idiot speeding towards Gurushikar, probably drunk. There was very little traffic on this road so it’s a callous or bloody drunken bum who’s responsible for this heinous act.

Moaning the loss of one of its babies

Me and my Mac Abu

2012-01-17T22:25:00.000+05:30

Bought my Mac on the 15^th Feb 2012, it’s really AN IMPRESSIVE MACHINE the clarity has me blown. It has an amazing array of awe-inspiring gadgets or software. The camera is out of this world; it would be a pleasure talking to friend’s n relatives via it. It will take me a while to figure out the INS n outs of its workings it’s quite different to windows.

To be honest I still miss my win 7 operating system, yea I do have it instated in parallel with this operating system and once in a while I know I will have to fall back on it akin to visiting an ole mate who has shared my deepest and darkest secrets.

The Mac reminds me of a beautiful woman with extremely slender and refined features, one that makes one take notice straight away, yea that’s how I got hooked for this sleek Mac hook line and sinker. It reminds me of Liz when I first met her after my jaunts around the world. My roving days came to an end after meeting her, could this be an adieu to my window episode with this newfound OS.

MY ONLINE RAILWAY TICKET BOOKING ABU

2012-01-16T22:23:00.000+05:30

Today was the most frustrating day of this year, can you imagine trying to book a railway ticket neigh on bloody 5 hours!! Every time I clicked the final button make payment I would get the frustrating flash across the screen 'your session has timed out', that’s ok but to have the amount deducted from your bank account and later credited back was like playing a game of ping-pong. I needed two tickets to Delhi in the second week of Feb, and the reservation chart showed only 2 berths available, can you imagine my frustration if I did not get a confirmed reservation I would have had no other option but to book by flight from Ahmadabad, as there were no reservations available on all the trains heading for Delhi during this time frame. I was like the proverbial bulldog hot on a lead and was determined not to let go.

My aggravation grew by the minute; to crown it the frigging lights went off, when they came on my iMac flashes a message this page cannot support this motion you need to download blab blab, gosh I almost pulled off the little hair I have on my head. Fuming and cursing I quickly set up my normal desktop and proceeded to go about my booking. I phoned the customer care folks around a quarter to three, only to be told by the operator all personnel are busy call after some time. I should have realized it was Lunchtime and not wasted my time, as everyone in this part of the world knows, govt and semi- govt have a fixed agenda i.e., don’t disturb we are on our lunch break. I did manage to get an operator after quite a few tries after 3pm.

I was told to keep trying for the reservations a few more time and I would sure get through, but what about the amount’s that I’ve been deducted I queered, Oh that don’t worry sir, it will be refunded in three four working days! Some consolation!! Any way to cut a long story short , I did succeed in making my booking, an episode that will last me a lifetime.

The Tigress of Mount Abu

2012-01-09T11:20:00.000+05:30

Today when I opened the News Paper I was surprised to see Elizabeth’s snap on page 3 and an article by our renowned Dr.A.K.Sharma. He has always called Elizabeth the tigress of Mount Abu for her courage and extreme fortitude to face any calamity thrown her way. Here is the article written by him in today’s papers.

Mother Courage of Mount Abu

Liz on Christmas Day

Liz n grandson

My search for the Red Avadavat (Lal Munia) Mt.Abu

2012-01-06T22:37:00.001+05:30

Today went for a hike beyond the school dam in search of the LAL MUNIA. Did not see the little blighters also my trip to Trevor's tank drew a blank; I was surprised at the quietness and the abandoned heart of the sanctuary. It seemed like the place was totally deserted, just a few jungle crows a solitary white breasted kingfisher at the water front. Even the crocodiles were not visible; I know they do estivate during the summer months, but do they hibernate? Well I’ll have to look it up.

Met ‘Charlie’ a well-known guide of Abu, with a small group of foreign tourists at the tank, he seemed to have them enthralled with the history of the place. If anyone wants an honest, down to earth guide while visiting Abu you may contact him on his mob 9414154854. He has a small web site check it out Mount Abu treks .

Now that I know that the Red Avadavat, has made its way to this abode after years, I’ll not rest till I have this beautiful bird grace the pages of my blog, tell then folks keep reading, will keep all updated on events here in Abu.

Will add a few snaps I took today tomorrow.

New Year New Horizons Mt.Abu 2012

2012-01-04T21:55:00.000+05:30

I was looking forward to a brighter and a more realistic Abu in the year 2012. But my small stint around town these last 2 days has left me feeling miserable. Day before yesterday I had to spend an enormous time in line waiting to present myself before the camera and having myself fingerprinted, so that I could get my Unique Identification Card. Even after going thoroughly through all my documents, I found that a mistake had been made in the spelling of my surname. On receiving my acknowledgement/resident copy the next day, I asked them to correct the mistake. I was told that it could not be done as the booth where I had my snap taken the operator had buzzed off on leave. Now after receiving my card I would have to re-apply for a fresh card so that the correction could be made .AHMEN!!

Horse Left to die on the main road (post office road.)

Today I clicked this horse lying at the side of the road. This horse has been lying in this position for the last three days, gosh can you imagine the plight of this poor animal in night temperature hovering a little below Zero, no water to quench its thirst. Looks like the owner and our local authorities have abandoned the plight of this horse. When Liz saw the photograph and heard of the plight of this animal she immediately phoned the head of P.F.A (people for animals) to do something about the situation. I only hope something is done about it by tomorrow as by Jove the wheel of these departments seem to get rusted when it comes to taking swift action when it’s needed.

Enough of ranting let’s see the brighter side of “The Abode of God’s” Enjoy the few snaps I took today

A sight for sore eyes "Green waters of the Lake"

Adding to the pollution of the lake

Stock and cormorants

Basking in the sun

Grey headed Shrike

A handsome Mutt

Indian Robin female

Mongoose

Cry of the wild

Watching the world go by

White breasted kingfisher

White breasted water hen

Brahmani Myna

The Leopard is back Mt.Abu

2012-01-02T22:20:00.001+05:30

Last nite our spotted visitor came back after a spell of
almost a year. He claimed six of my mongrels, during our winter vacations last
year. He's now back on the prowl. He took my female bitch
"Cut Ear" around 12.45 am from our compound The Abode. The rest of
the pack Rover, Saddy, ( she always looks sad) Tithee ( always showing his
beautiful set of teeth), and Mercury ( proud mum of a pack of 6 puppies ) set up a mournful raucous at
the parting of one of their kind. Right now the temp is about 7 degrees in the
house and my pye-dogs are huddled together on the roof of the house, alert to
the slightest movement and sounds emerging from the surrounding terrain.

The Willy leopard has them all on edge, as long as they stay in a
pack and do not stray away they are pretty safe, the leopard will not attack
them if they are in a pack. Anyway I’m resigned to the fact that sooner or
later Mr. Spots will make a super meal of them in time to come. All of my
pedigree dogs that I’ve owned sooner or later were lifted by the leopard.

Whoosh the old year is out and the Year 2012 is here.

2012-01-02T22:16:00.000+05:30

It’s been ages since
I last posted my thoughts here, the year 2011 sure had its ups and downs, and for me it was mostly down, still I can’t complain life has been good and we are still alive to make it to the year2012. So have no
grumble, and am looking forward to new adventures, new learning and in general having a ball all the days every day, in short making the most out of life while there is still time. Prost ! to a bright and fun filled, stress frees 2012.

Merry Christmas from The Abode

2011-12-24T21:36:00.000+05:30

Joy resounds in the

hearts of those who believe in the miracle of Christmas

Wishing you all the Peace,

Joy and Love of the season!

Season’s Greetings!

“MERRY CHRISTMAS”

Christmas At The Abode after the floods

Some Random snaps and expressions on Mount Abu

2011-11-24T13:07:00.001+05:30

Nakki Lake

Oh, Great lake what have we done

Your precious gift so freely spun

Your placid blue face now turned to green

Humanity has no love for thee.

Spare our precious Lake our gracious visitors

See the debris floating on thee

Dumped by indifferent folks using thee

Our beautiful, unique and vital source

Our drinking water supplied by thee

Tourists, visitors and our own Abuites if you are reading this blog post of mine I simply make an appeal to you to please treat our vital, emergency drinking water source as a top priority and not dump your junk into our precious lake. This lake provides habitats to a variety of species, drinking water in emergency to the town of Abu, serenity and expression to lovers and dreamers. We Abuites would appreciate it if you folks would give a helping hand by not dumping your waste valuables into our charming lake.

Water snake basking in the winter sun

Sunbird at the lake

White throated kingfisher

Grey Heron

Cormorant our winter visitors

Dragon fly

Basking early morning

Robin

Modern Dinosaur

Suspended moon early morning

The Beckoning hills of Mount Abu

2011-11-19T23:27:00.001+05:30

Mount Abu is a magical reserve of evergreen and deciduous forests, grey granite lava rocks, embracing cool breezes, and greenery all around. Those of us fortunate mortals who have had the pleasure of romping down the various forest paths and experiencing the natural beauty of the mountains are hooked for life. The serenity and the tranquility one experiences here is akin to having visited Paradise, a paradise that haunts those souls who have left and gone away to live elsewhere.

Those who have lived even for a short duration in this paradise cannot resist the urge of the beckoning hills; the charm is so powerful that sooner or later former Abuites make their way back here to experience the nostalgia.

Yesterday I banged into Stephen, an Aussie who brought me up on the latest happenings in and around his work place. Stephen works at the Global Hospital, a venture of the Brahma kumaris. He told me an ex-Abuite who had migrated to Australia had come to the hospital with a wild fowl in his possession. I then asked him how come? He then gave me the gist of the story.

John Tracey (son of Late Deputy Commandant E.L.Stracey, an IP officer who was posted here in Abu in the CPTC in the early sixties) came to visit his Alma Mater St. Mary’s School, and indulge in the nostalgia of this magical Abode. He had gone for a morning walk the day before to sunset point, being an Abuite he rambled down one of the jungle trails. What he witnessed blew him away; a local had set a crude trap (a small fishing hook at the end of a nylon sting) for the wild fowl that strayed there. A fowl had apparently taken hook line and bait and lay there helpless. John must have been furious and I’m sure he must have blown a fuse; he immediately went into town and got the authorities to witness the scene. He then took the bird down to the global hospital to see if he could save it. I wish I could have met his as I believe he was an ace Athlete while he was studying here in school.

As I mentioned in my last post poaching in Abu is quite common, I’m sure any Abuite who reads this post of mine can vouch for the same and also mention the intriguing items and methods used by our present day poachers.

What a Crying Shame Mt. Abu

2011-11-16T18:23:00.000+05:30

Today the forest of Mount Abu cannot be considered ecologically alive, as the birds and beasts that once roamed these virgin forest are today almost nonexistent. The Tiger disappeared in the mid-forties as they were hunted by the English and the elite Rajput rulers. Gradually over the years other large animals like the deer, the Sambar, blue-bull and porcupine s have been poached and today one does not get to see hair or hide of these animals. The Leopard can be seen occasionally when it makes its way to the town premises in search of stray dogs and domesticated animals, this beautiful animal is also poached for its expensive hide.

Wild life protection in and around the forest of Abu are extremely poor due to lack of resources. Hunting is prohibited in this sanctuary of ours, but influential people still get a piece of the pie in the form of small game, trapped wild fowl and the hare. Today while returning from my jungle walk I witnessed a native smuggling a wild fowl in a sack, he must have set a trap earlier in the day. Why work one’s ass off for a daily wage of 250 buck when one can earn up to 300 for setting the right kind of trap for these exotic birds. In the seventies these birds were a common sight today they can be barely heard or seen.

Today I had taken a ride to the school and met Shankar at the Paddy’s bridge and this is what I witnessed have a look at the snaps.

Shankar releasing a trap at Paddy’s Bridge

A trap meant for fish

What a shame

Awful

Five snakes in all

14, November, 2011. CHILDREN’S DAY CELEBRATIONS ST.MARY’S SCHOOL

2011-11-15T13:45:00.000+05:30

Children’s day is celebrated in a very special way in St. Mary’s School Mt.Abu. The staff and the teachers put their heart and soul into an all-out effort to make this a memorial event for the students of the school. I’ve posting some video clips taken by a student (Master Kashyap Trevidi ) in his final year of some of the events put up by the teachers for the students.

One Man Show

The Puppet Show

Will be posting a few more videos when I find the time , till then happy viewing

My Friends are My Estate Mt.Abu

2011-11-04T09:05:00.002+05:30

"My friends are my estate." "A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.""A friend is one who believes in you when you have ceased to believe in yourself." "A hug is worth a thousand words. A friend is worth more." "Friends are the most important ingredient in this recipe of life."

To All my friends I bow my head in gratitude for being there for me, words cannot express the appreciation I have for you guys some of you who actually contacted me after a lapse of over 40 years. The very thought of being there and getting in touch with me has made me fell ecstatic that there is someone out there in this wide world who still believes in humanity.

I thank the parish Priest Father Jackie and Loretta, who without asking rushed to our aid with groceries to tide us over our initial shock of having lost everything to the flash flood. BIG Thanks go out to all my Mates who came forward to offer assistance in one way or the other.

There are a lot of things with which I’m blessed, a loving and understanding woman by my side, a positive approach to life, and an attitude “Everything happens for the best”, let me expand. If my previous landlord had not insisted that I leave his premises immediately I probably would have had water flowing over my head. I was to take the building bang opposite, as it would have been convenient transferring our luggage, but the impending amputation put paid to this approach. If I had taken this building I would have probably drowned trying to save Liz as the water rose to over 8 feet in it. The caretaker of this joint was pulled out by the army personnel with the help of ropes.

My problems have been few; nothing that I could not cope with, even this experience of losing our earthly possessions I saw the brighter side of life. A revamp of the household goods was long overdue, and I thank providence for providing me the chance to do just that.

Now we are back in our Abode and life goes on. I once again Thank All of you out there for making us feel whole, all I ask is keep in touch.

Thank you for being

My Friend
P.S
A very special Thank you goes to Our Family Dr.A.K.Sharma for being instrumental in getting the Jawans of the Army & the CRP for rescuing us.

Floods in the Mountains Mt.Abu

2011-10-12T15:21:00.002+05:30

It was in the second week of August, when I pulled out my laptop from my cupboard to put some comments on Face book about the monsoons. We Abuites were worried as till the 7^th of August we had merely about six showers and only two of them had been somewhat heavy, nothing much to talk off. I was perturbed and thought we were in for another dry spell.

Then on the 9thAugust the rain began with a slight drizzle in the early hours of the morning, and it began to build up by midday. Exactly after noon the intensity and the volume of the downpour picked up in an ever increasing crescendo. It seemed the gate of Heaven had suddenly opened up and instead of hurling down brimstone and fires it opened the flood gates that inundated this hill station.

The water started gushing down the little creek in front of our house, by mid-day it started to overflow our small bridge. The volume of water by the minute started to rise. I soon realized we were heading for a Flash flood scenario. The torrential rain with no let up in its tempo and the ever increasing duration of this rainfall began to see huge walls of water from all part of Abu gushing towards the main outlet. Now the streams and gutters that were in a pathetic state (“Thanks to our EFFICIENT Municipality” who for years had never run a cleanup operation in places where these works fell into their priority, their prime precedence over the last two years had been tearing down illegal structures), had a devastating effect in all directions, the backflow due to obstructions, saw the ever increasing volume of water rising to unbelievable heights in different parts of the town. Our main road was swamped with more than three feet of water. Landslides took place at quite a few places; visitors had to hoof it from the Hanuman temple to the other side as a landslide had blocked the way.

The water toppled, huge wall in front of the central school in Dhundai the stones from these obstructed the furious flow of the gushing waters. In other parts of the town cars in their parking lot, were swamped, a few scooters were washed downstream. My cook Naresh and self had to wade through waist deep water to retrieve our syntax tanks that began floating towards the stream. We pushed my scooter to higher ground and lashed it to some rocks. We then lashed our water tanks to our main iron door. The water had now risen to our 4^th step; it looked like a miniature river had suddenly made its appearance in front of the house. Liz who was sitting on her wooden bed began to voice her concern. She phoned frantically for help, but as usual its Murphy’s law that came into play the network began playing ‘catch me if you can’, after umpteen attempts on the various networks’ ,like Bsnl, Vodafone, Airtel and Idea she managed to contact friends in town and appraise them of our situation.

Around 1.45pm the water started to creep into the house, and by 2pm it had risen to 3 feet, we had no time to save anything, the rising water filled into our cupboard, the fridges and washing machine began to float around, Liz lost her cool as the bed she was sitting on also began to float in the water. I quickly transferred her from the bed to her special wheel chair. I told the cook to go and open the back iron door so that we could take Liz up onto the roof, he came back looking pale and said the volume of water behind the door was too much and that he could not budge it. I told him and our maid servant to hang onto the chair and to be prepared for a gush of water through the house the moment I could open it. Using my bulk of 115kg to push against the door I managed to pry the door open and the water came gushing in. The water had now risen to almost four feet in the house; Liz’s legs and waist were now in the water. Wheeling her to the back of the house was a task in itself as we had to clear away the various floating objects. Taking her up the narrow iron staircase needed super human strength. Working as a team the three of us and with Liz’s helping hand we finally made it to the top. Liz was shaking like a leaf, we quickly made a make shift shelter out of a plastic sheet to keep the rain off and waited for help that was on the way. My brother –in-law Bava, Leo, Mike, Harry and quit a few other stalwarts had reached our place via the narrow road from behind the house.

By about 4pm the torrential rain had ceased and the water in the house flowed out, leaving the place like a filthy pig sty. Liz in the meantime had been brought down from the roof by the jawans of the CRPF, and rushed off to Starlet hostel for temporary shelter. Leonard had come down with his team of workers and cleaning and mopping up operations began in earnest. My sincere thanks go out to all the folks who took the time to help Liz and myself out of this predicament.

Some photographs I managed to take in spite of the impending flood.

Close to 1pm the water 10'above the stream

The rising water

Three feet of water in the kitchen

One of the fridges floating,the water came through the window

Naresh and the tank

The stream looking like a river

Water level at our threshold

P.S
Read more on the Heavy Rain in Mt.Abu
have a look at the video clip I took Floods in Abu

The Ordeal and Nightmare continue Abu

2011-10-03T21:15:00.000+05:30

It’s been over 175 days since I’ve made up my mind to put my tormented thoughts into a clear concise order. Life has been one nightmare after another; I’ve never been as depressed in life as I have been over the last six months. I had lost all sense of perspective, and I found myself in a state of limbo, I could not bring myself to face the eventual reality that was to follow. All along from day one I knew we would one day be faced with this grim reality of Liz losing her second leg to the rare disease of ‘Takayasu’s Arteritis’.

Liz is no quitter, she has always faced day to day problem with a practical outlook on the positive side of things. I remember when I mentioned to her that she had become the victim of an incurable, horrendous disease called ‘Takasuisis Arthritis’, she shrugged her shoulders and with her positive attitude to life said, “The Lord giveth and the lord taketh ‘. She has been through purgatory, the catholic idea of cleansing of the soul before the final journey to the road that leads to the Pearly gates.

Purgatory my ass, it was more a preparation for the trials of Hades, after her amputation of the first foot, it took more than a year for the wound to close and heal, in the meantime the disease which was restricted all this while through medication, once again began to manifest its ugly head in her second foot. I had never seen Liz grouse, moan or complain even though she had gone through the ordeals of multiple angiographies, amputations of her toes followed by her right foot, she braved all these trials and tribulations but when her left leg started to rankle and the collapsing arteries began to put pressure on her other veins, resulting in them being raptured due to being comprised, and triggering extreme panic amongst the household, did she loose her cool. Twice she had to be rushed to the Global hospital for first aid treatment. Liz’s spirit began to wane and I could see the agony she was going through. The eruptions on her foot began to ooze and the mucus began to smell, it was a living hell, the excruciating pain, the foul odor, and the hope for a cure made her cry out in a lamented and pathetic appeal to her Maker to release her of this ordeal.

Below are some of the photographs I had taken to send to the various doctors for their opinion and suggestions

Front view of the foot

Another angle

The inner side of the foot

The outer side

I could do nothing to alleviate her pain, my world around me seemed to be collapsing, pressure was mounting on me on all fronts, and my financial status from comfortable began to go from yellow to red. I searched the internet for hours on end, contacted doctors from all walks of life, and looked for alternate remedies, to make life less of a hell for her. I profusely thank all the gracious people who went out of their way and who took the time to suggest alternative methods of treatment. I knew all along I was like a drowning man reaching for those straws to pull us through this ordeal.

I’ve inserted a diagram of her arterial blood flow given to us by Dr.Darshan, after he had performed a Doppler test on the 16th Jan 2010. In this test, one can clearly see that the foot of the left leg had also succumbed to the disease. There was only hope that through medication on a regular basis it could be contained.

Life has been good to us; both of us have had our share of struggles and strife’s, but this nightmare, had left us devastated. We knew this was no illusion, the symptoms were there to see, gangrene had set in, and it was time to act and not delude ourselves that this would blow over. Jennifer had returned from Kolkata, and it was decided that she would take her mother to Ahmedabad for the amputation while I held the fort here in Abu.

For almost eight months our peaceful existence vanished into thin air, we had no moments of rest; and we knew there was no escape from this dilemma. We just had to go through it. Friends and well-wishers dropped in to lend a helping hand some held prayer meetings to boost her sagging and disillusioned spirit. My restless mind could not be dampened even after popping sleeping pills; sleepless nights began to have its toll on my health. In the darkness I pondered on what action I was to take, sometimes lost in my own opinions, and in this emptiness I would look for some respite to this predicament. I was often tempted to just rush Liz off to Ahmedabad, and surrender her to the surgeon’s knife and be done with it. Oh how I longed to be rid of this quandary, but I knew I could not delude myself and had to wait it out till Liz made up her mind to take the final plunge. I could see Liz struggling through these tumultuous events, and that she had to make up her mind soon before the gangrene spread through her whole system.

I will forever remain a captive to this specter, to whom do I turn for solace, in an age where everything is so automatized, folks even near and dear ones are so busy in their day to day schedule that making time to visit a dear friend in need is indeed an herculean task. I stood beside her in solitude and waited with abated breadth for her to take the final decision of going in for the amputation, and clinging on to life with its share of both pleasure and pain. I know the zeal to have achieved great heights in our life time now would boil down to a life of struggle and strife. I know that after the amputation, our life styles will change radically.

I know and feel the frustration that life isn’t fair, but on looking down the road it isn’t all that bad. We ran a Doppler test in the first week of June at the Global hospital and the prognosis was that the arteries in her leg had narrowed down and that perhaps stenting would prolong the impending amputation. In the light of this forecast and the unbearable pain, Liz took the final decision to go ahead with the amputation. Once again I rang up my friends and class mate in Ahmedabad to arrange for blood for the operation that was to be slated on the 16^th June. All arrangements with the hospital and the team of doctors had been taken care off.

The operation went off without too much of a hassle , there were a few hiccups prior to the operation, the dye used for the double angiographies one through the arm and the other through the groin to check the extent and spread of the disease caused a reaction and Liz had to be given emergency shots to regulate the reaction. Liz was back in Abu on the 21^st of June. What a relief it was for me to see her sleep through the nights without the Nightmares she had being going through the last eight months.

Before I forget, let me once again thank all who came forward to give us their support and time. Will be keeping all updated on this Abode. This year I did not cover the annual concert or the sports as I’m still wobbly from a natural calamity that struck my home on the 9^th of August. Can you imagine Floods in Abu!!!

The Cat with More than Nine Lives, lives through another accident Mt.Abu

2011-04-30T23:42:00.000+05:30

Early morn on the 28^th April, I got a call from my Buddy Kunoo the Thakur of the Bera Village that his Mum had passed away during the night and that they would be conducting the funeral at about 11.30pm. I phoned my Brother-in-law and asked him if was coming along as Kunoo is a dear friend of us Abuites. He told me he could not make it as he was retiring on the 30^th of April, and that he had to hand over charge to the department .I left with another mate and attended the funeral and returned to Abu around 7 pm.

At around 8pm I received a hysterical call from my sister summoning me immediately to make it to the accident site in which my brother –in- law had met up with an accident. My blood ran cold as this accident prone man’s fates are almost fatal. I phoned another mate to make a dash to the location as his house was in that neighborhood; I drove immediately fearing the worst. When I reached the scene I froze as a huge crowd had gathered and there was pandemonium, my sister sobbing Walter’s eldest daughter was raving and ranting and hysterical and some Cops had also landed up at the scene. It took only a few seconds to see that there was utter chaos, but through this commotion I heard the agonizing shriek of my bro-in-law and my being that was sinking surged to life. “Charlie’s Aunt the old cock is still kicking and is alive”, I heaved a sigh of relief and soon after that we rushed him off to the Global Hospital.

At the hospital after having a good look at Walter I told him to relax, no doubt his left leg looked in a bad way but it did not look crushed, I told him he probably had a dislocated knee. The prognosis after the X-Ray confirmed my observation. To his good luck teams of orthopedic s were on the scene as they were having a conference at the Global Research Centre. Walter was wheeled into the casualty ward where his leg was set by these experts.

Today he was discharged around 4pm, and was first taken to his department to fulfill the retirement ceremonies. It was a low key affair due to his infirm condition, but yet at the same time a very touching one. I’m posting some photographs of this extraordinary man. SMILE!!

33 years of service

All eyes glued

All smiles

Bhagwan a dear friend

Farewell ole mate

Feels good

Gift by the department

Good one

Great joke

The backbone of the dept the linesman

Helping hands

Back to base

An emotional moment

staff

Not too Bad

A great moment

Wifey n wally

Ouch

Groan

Staff

Dharmendra the present boss

All ready to roll

Retired staff

Speech by the big wig

Staff n well wishers

Helping hands

Touching

All smiles

Back home

One for the camera

The final signature

Smile man I'm retired

I’m Fine¬ – How are You? Mount Abu

2011-04-09T08:12:00.000+05:30

Gosh
it’s been some time now that I have banged away at the keyboard and put my
thoughts in black and white. ‘OH Life’
reminded me today it’s been 36 days, unbelievable, so man I survived another 36
days, life has been good to me I thought I was goanna fade away like all seamen
do. There’s nothing the matter with me, I'm just as healthy as can be, I have
gouty arthritis in all my joints and on medication ‘Ciploric 300’to battle the
uric acid build up, my 3 pegs of larger than life whiskey only help to aggravate
the situation, Amen

My
pulse is weak, my blood is thin, but I'm awfully well for the shape I'm in.

My
blond hair has now turned platinum grey; my beard is in shades of salt and gold,
and gosh I have gone old!! I’m over weight and can’t get thin , but I’m awfully
well for the shape I’m in.

My
walking has come to a grinding halt, as the arthritis in both my knees have not
eased. I can kick my ass for my carelessness, and the wise words of my Ole man
now hit me hard, ‘Son if you do not use it, you will lose it’

Sleep
is denied me night after night, but every morning I find I’m alright, my memory
hasn’t started to falter yet, even after mass slaughter of grey cells after
every wet, night after night. My frigging joints are going rigid day by day,
but I’m awfully well for the shape I’m in.

Old
age is wonderful I’ve heard it said, I really wonder, if it’s true? I still have most of my teeth intact; my hair
on my crown is a Halo you see, my eyes do need spectacles to read, so you see I’m
awfully well for the shape I’m in.

I
get up each morn at the dot of 6, stretch take a peek at nature and prepare for
the day. Life is a drag if you can’t find time to appreciate what is thrown at
you. The moral of this rant, as it unfolds, is that for you and me, who are
growing old, Is to look the world in the eye, and say “I’m fine” with a smirk, than
to let people know the shape we are in.

I
AM FINE -- HOW ARE YOU?

Life is a bounty enjoy it well,

I’ll make it to either Heaven or Hell,

I’ll see you mates down at the dell,

If you go before me give a yell, is there

A Place called Heaven or Hell.

TELL
ALL YOUR MATES YOU MISS THEM LIKE HELL, COME JOINS US ON THE INTERNET AND SPIN
YARNS LIKE WELL???????????????

HAVE
A WONDERFUL DAY

Random snaps Jan,Feb & March 2011

2011-03-23T21:56:00.000+05:30

Random snaps Jan,Feb & March 2011

The Super moon seen over Mount Abu

2011-03-21T16:24:00.001+05:30

Did capture the much talked off’ Super Moon’ with my not too super Sony Digital camera last night as it made its appearance over the hill facing my house. I really wonder what effect did the moon have on the Earth as a whole, did it unleash a pack of Lunatics after all human upper attic is a mushy grey matter that if struck with the right amount of Luna could render one a raving lunatic.

I did see quite a few crazy Abuites that day but I assure you it wasn’t the effect of the Super Moon but of our local weed Bhang and the hooch that was guzzled down yesterday. Holi the colourful festival is celebrated in a big way here in Rajasthan, with glasses of either ‘Thandai’ (a concoction of chilled milk, bhang and dried fruits) or booze. I should have taken a few short videos of these flying souls that would have been some sight to see anyway bear with me and have a look at the Super Moon through my camera.

The Super Moon seen from Abu

Looks like the gateway to Paradise!

Any one for Cheese?

Aim for the moon, you just can’t miss

Last month I did take snaps of the full moon as I had my camera on hand; these snaps I had taken were from the house I recently vacated, dad’s house.

Tonight the dogs are silent No ghosts out I presume

'Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. ‘Buddha

The hill opposite my present home ‘The Abode’
The video I took last night of the Super Moon

Super Full Moon Mount Abu