April Onwards

 Petrified pigeons in a flap

flapping away to safety

as a black kite glides

between our tall buildings,

a rara avis in these parts.

And now the children

Are going to school again

After two years of

Staying home, learning

Virtually, many of them.

I don't know most of them,

The children in our complex,

But today, it was a surprise

To see the little chap

I would meet each morning,

with his father, small,

Shot up, so much taller

But clinging, today,

To his mother's hand.

5th April

Tiny purple sunbird

Perched on the very tip

Of the huge fan palm leaf

A good morning indeed.

7th April

I went for a swim after years,

This morning, after a walk

To the milkbooth

Where I snarked at the booth owner,

because a young woman

Barged straight ahead,

Wanting dosa batter and chutney,

And then said that her kids

Had to go to school, lateness!

I said, a simple 'Excuse me'

At the very least,

Might have helped

I was also annoyed at myself

For being such a khadoos,

But sometimes one has to be.

The water was glorious,

The pool empty, more or less.

And the pigeons delicately

Perched on the edge

Sipping chlorinated water

I hope it doesn't hurt them.

8th April

Chidiyaghar?

Lapwing on the lawn

Sparrows chirping

Bulbul on the bough

Pigeons at the pool

Drinking daintily, but also

Pooping on the poolside.

9th April

Fallen dry champa leaves

From a distance

Birds pecking at the ground

Not soaring away

10th April

Cloudy neem trees

With a halo of tiny flowers

Summer beauty

Soon scattered

On the ground.

21st April

Pool ponderings

The thirsty pigeons drink

Perched on the edge of the pool

Bottoms up has a new meaning!

They poop there too, being pigeons.

My backstroke is haunted

By the thought of pigeons pooping

Mid flight, over the pool.

But they seem to need terra firma

For both input and output.

It's so hot that they cool their feet

In the balcony water bowl,

Shallow enough to feel safe.

It's just too hot to not care

About these creatures.

30th April

Puffed up pigeon

At the edge of the pool.

Many others came

And drank their fill.

This one preened,

Flicking water from its beak

To left and right,

Several times.

Cooling off, perhaps,

Pink feet at the edge

Enjoying the 'waves'

Lapping over, nervous too.

Pigeon sponge bath?

5th May

Tenth Birthday

The little boy is ten today.

A milestone in more ways than one.

This is, thanks to Covid,

His first birthday

Without his father's presence.

Not the only child so bereft, I know,

But it doesn't lessen our grief.

5th May

Low flying lapwing

Gliding over the Expressway

Have you missed your bus?

Are you going to Agra?

Or Mathura, Aligarh, Hathras?

Or a distant sector of my city itself?

The cars grouping for a wedding

Are left far behind, and you,

An unlikely guest!

My childhood triangle

Aligarh, Hathras, Agra:

Both grandfathers and ancestral home,

Place of pilgrimage too.

An oft repeated threesome...

The pilgrimage is much overdue.

I hope you reached your destination

safely, lapwing. Traffic can be hazardous.

15th May

Heatwave

I keep filling

The balcony water bowl

For the pigeons, and the

occasional sparrow, or squirrel,

in this extreme summer heat.

Yesterday afternoon was distressing:

A dead pigeon lay

On top of the window ledge, a floor below.

I couldn't bear to look at it again,

And watered the plants in the evening

With eyes averted, sadness within.

This morning, though,

There was no evidence

Of yesterday's tragedy.

Did a kite dispose of the pigeon,

Or did a cat?

Or did the wind blow it down

To the gardens below?

Or did its fellow pigeons

Fly off with it somewhere,

An avian cortege?

Perhaps it hadn't died after all,

A happy thought, but unlikely.

(It had looked completely dead).

One of life's many mysteries.

16th May

A magical evening. A neighbour singing on his front porch, microphone, amplifiers and all. Folding chairs, neighbours and passersby listening. A small girl whirling and twirling to the music. The sheer perfection of time and place. Pure magic.

30th May ( Memorial Day weekend, USA)

The elephant in the porch

Seemed quite unlikely

In a suburban home in the US.

Not a live elephant, of course,

But a statue of one,

The biggish statue you might see

In a state emporium.

I came up closer

With trusty camera phone

And clicked.

Not an elephant at all,

But a grey-brown covered

Thing

Perhaps a barbecue grill,

Or a motorcycle.

Homesick? No.

Just a desi who sees

Elephants where none exist.

3rd June

Impending departure

Packing up a month of memories

Of wonderful times

With children and grandchildren

And the cat,

a character in his own right

With his propensity to bite

My ankles. Pesky beautiful cat.

Our own lives beckon, across the globe...

Memories of cuddles and bubbles

Books and toys, walks and games

Car seats, and songs, both contemporary

And ancient ones from my childhood.

Will the little ones miss us?

We have to pack today,

Material goods, ours,

And things

For our other children

in another part of the world.

Our memories are already packed,

So why am I crying?

16th June

Father's Day 2022

This morning I woke up,

Jet and holiday lagged

To the realization that

I had completely forgotten

My father's death anniversary

Earlier this month.

I was in a time warp

At my son's home,

Cherishing each moment

With him and his family.

The grandchildren were the focus

of much of our attention,

And dates didn't really register.

And yet, not a day passed

When I did not remember my father.

I saw him in my son's balding pate,

In his tenderness towards his children,

And towards us, his parents,

Nurturing us with his care

And concern for both of us,

Sharing the sense of privilege

We had in being together

After so very very long.

Happy Father's Day, Anand Vivek Taneja