Cat genealogy 2

Every popular movie has a sequel. The story of cats in our ICRISAT home needs one. If you don't remember part 1 you can read it at Cat genealogy.

Ashley, the matriarch continued to deliver children every six months. Her children - Honey, Candy and Toffee - grew into mature adults. Tofee became the sub-dominant male in the region, fighting sporadically with Boyfriend (his father) to become the dominant male. Candy and Honey grew into pretty females delivering children of their own (I will come to them later).

Fluffy followed in Ashley's next instalment. She is a pretty, agile female who has moved into a new territory and has delivered kittens of her own.

In September 2008, Ashley gave birth to four more. We called them Gundumani, Koorachimoonji, Leopard and White Tigress. These kids grew in our house, and have still not separated from each other.

Candy and Honey delivered kids this summer. The heat took its toll and Candy lost her kids. Honey brought her kids to our house. Since Honey Bee is a famous liquor brand in Kerala, we named them Vodka, Whiskey and Rum.

On sentry duty

On a winter morning, Raji shot the Roller and the Kestral perched on vantage points.

Water birds come calling

As winter sets in, the water birds come to roost in the mounds inside the Red Lake in ICRISAT. Raji and I have a field day shooting pictures.

No rainbow here

Though the water drops from the sprinklers don't produce a rainbow, they have their own beauty against the setting sun.

Come rain or shine

Come rain or shine, the plants in my small garden live their lives in glory.

Dragonflies

Dragonflies have fascinated me since childhood. In my young mind I have fantasized them to be nature's helicopters, hovering over shrubs and flowers. As kids we have persuaded them to lift tiny stones. Though not as colorful as butterflies, they have their own sinewy beauty, spartan in build - like Ernest Hemingway's prose.

Wild berries

I don't know whether these wild berries are poisonous. But they certainly have tempting form, color and texture.

Morning has broken

A savanna landscape with sparse trees standing on grasslands has its own beauty when silhouetted against the rising sun.

Anything but a castle

Though called Manmool Castle, this structure inside ICRISAT campus has served many roles, except that of a castle. Constructed in the 16th Century, this building was used as a taxation center, hunting lodge, shelter for the poor and later as a shelter for animals. The building was recently renovated and has become a museum of sorts displaying early ICRISAT history.

Shooting the shooter

It is very rarely one gets an opportunity to shoot those who fill our lives with news morning, noon and night - the television crew. I had the opportunity when the crew from Doordarshan (India's national channel) was at ICRISAT to do a story on our research.

Cat genealogy

From the time we moved into the ICRISAT campus quarters in August 2003, we were never short of feline company. Ashley (top picture) was the first to join us in September of the same year. She delivered a litter of kittens after every mating season. The current crop (bottom picture) are growing up secure in our yard. They are (from left to right) Honey, Candy and Toffee. Toffee is the tom cat, rogue.

Almost at the time Ashley appeared, a grown male cat also appeared. Varun, my son, called him Gundu. Gundu's partner was Ashley's enemy, called just that. Gundu and Enemy produced a lineage, whereas here Ashley and her Boyfriend produced another. One of the earliest lots from the Ashley-Boyfriend partnership were three kittens - Snowflakes, Bruno and Aerial (so called for his/her penchant for climbing). Aerial disappeared one day, Bruno was gifted to our neighbour, where he has grown to a handsome young male, and Snowflakes is also a handsome male with long legs in the lookout for good-looking females. Snowflakes and Bruno befriended two of Enemy's children - Ching Ming and his sister. Boyfriend in fact is Enemy's brother.

In the next litter Ashley delivered another three - Silver-Moonbeam, Mixed-Pickle and Dark-Chocolate. They disappeared one by one mysteriously. The current crop is growing, rearing to face life.

In the meanwhile, Gundu competed with Boyfriend for territorial supremacy. He routinely chased and bit Boyfriend, till one day when Boyfriend was cornered he fought and realised that unknown to himself he was stronger than what he had expected. Gundu sulkingly disappeared from the scene. Now Boyfriend continues the tradition by attacking Snowflakes and Bruno.

Boyfriend and Ashley fell apart. Why I don't know since I am not tutored in cat psychology. Last seen, Boyfriend was dating Enemy's daughter. A case of avuncular love.

Raindrops and roses

Rose flowers glisten with rain drops, while the drops hang on lens-like on the leaves.

Lotus blooms

Raji brought these lotus plants from Kerala. I was irritated by her attempts to carry these to Hyderabad, and was even more peeved when she bought a concrete basin and forced me to transport it in our car. Must admit her attempts, despite my reluctance, have paid off. The lotus blooms give us joy and peace.

Fertilizer bags ready for the soil

Bags of organic fertilizer wait to be transfered into the tilled field.

Potted cat!

A warm summer afternoon and Snowflakes couldn't resist the siesta in the empty flower pot.

Lonely at sunset

This picture shot by Varun emphasizes the loneliness at sunset.

Casting a web

This Signature Spider casts a web outside my window. With mosquitos in plenty, it gets food home delivered!

Matching colors

The black body with golden rings of the wasp matched with the color of my wall. Just as well that I shot this picture then, because a couple of days later they painted our walls yellow.

Past and the present

It is said that the site where ICRISAT campus is located - Patancheru - has had unbroken human inhabitation for more than a thousand years. Many relics were excavated when the construction and landscaping was carried out. A young creeper emerges from close to the urn, linking the past with the present.

Bounteous bloom

The mango trees have bloomed well this year. If these flowers turn into fruits, we should be expecting a good mango harvest this summer.