SPORTS DAY [ 29th SEPTEMBER,2008 ] ST.MARY'S MOUNT ABU

 ST.MARY'S MOUNT ABU

Bruno, one of the school dogs

Clicked Plummy on the way to school

The field is prepared for sports rehearsal

11 feet yet to go, Lower Kodra Dam

What a day.

 Drove up the winding, misty road to school this afternoon. Fog everywhere, water on my lashes, hair wet with spray. By the time I crossed the chapel gates, I was already drowning in memories. Feels like yesterday.

 I can still see myself sneaking out, bunking limits, dodging that dreaded one-way ticket home. Once skipped lunch, ran like a madman to the lake for Bird of Paradise eggs. Brother Keane caught me on the wall behind the bogs. Thought I was dead. Couldn’t even talk, so I pulled the two eggs out of my mouth and showed him. He just shook his head and waved me off. Another ticket earned, never crashed. Lucky me.

 Met Mr James at the refectory. Discussed the poor monsoon. Water supply has already dwindled to once every three days, two hours only. Two baths a week—Thursday, Sunday. Three minutes flat. Funny thing, those quick scrubs were heaven. Came out brand new. Some lads even tried sneaking in extras. Mad times.

 Walked to the primary field—servants were busy marking lanes, fixing everything for tomorrow. Sports Day. Anticipation already fills the air.

 September always brings it—the Concert one day, Sports Day the next. Our own Olympics, only louder, crazier, better. The thrill of winning Cock House, the pride, the sweat, the noise. Nothing like it.

 And the relay… no outsider has ever beaten us. Not once. I’d like to see an Olympian try on our soil.

 Snapped a few photos. Looking at them now, they’re more than just pictures. Their voices. Shouts, whistles, drums, the entire school roaring.

 Do you remember? The butterflies before your race? The mad rush down the track? That mix of exhaustion and glory at the finish line? Close your eyes—you’ll hear it.

 Sports Day was never just about running. It was about us. About belonging. About spirit. And standing here today, I feel it all over again.

German Angoras in Mount Abu

The German Angora is recognizable because of its size, a purebred Angora is only white, coloured ones are considered to be crossbreeds. They are the ideal choice for rabbit farming because of their double undercoat. This rabbit rarely molts and its fur is harvested when it is three inches long, the wool is shorn regularly by hand and the rabbit groomed, this helps to prevent wool block which is a big risk to these woolly mammals. Angora wool fibre is spun directly from its source. The Angora is the largest breed, with a mature weight between 4kg to 5.5kgs.
The gent responsible for this initiative and foresight is a computer geek Arvind.. He has devoted a lot of his time and patience trying to pull off this project. With a lot of help from like minded individuals this unique project has taken off, with the government’s approval and financial support. Today this project goes by the name “Abu Agro Products Co-operative Society Ltd."
This project, the first of its kind is situated at the Oriya village opposite the Peace Park. This project was primarily started because of three factors, weather, wildlife and ecosystem. Angora rabbits give best results within temperatures of -2 to 25 degrees centigrade. In an eco-sensitive area, generating employment to landless, unskilled and unemployed country folks is the need of the hour. This project aims to employ weavers, designers and work personnel to manage this totally pollution free project.
This project, if handled correctly would be a boon for the following reasons. The reproduction rate of Angora Rabbits is much higher. Some details are as follows:Pregnancy period of angora female - 30 days;Litter size - 5 to 6 kits;Maximum pregnancies in a year - 5;Maturity period for pregnancy of new ones- 6 months;Therefore, by reproduction cycle, a single female and her female family members may (roughly) 32, 668, 41 00, 12920 kits in about five years.
The other advantage is natural animal fibre, clean directly from rabbits, does not require washing, its luxurious, not irritating to the skin, very durable, hand washable and blends well with other fibres, its seven times warmer than wool.
I was on the farm the other day and was surprised to see a lot of activity, there were some ladies weaving on Gandhi chakras, while others were attending to new litters recently born. There were quite a few tourists who had dropped in out of curiosity and were given a gracious tour and an insight into these lovable creatures by none other than Arvind, the originator of this project.
The farm is well constructed with ample ventilation, the rabbits are housed in large wire cages. The staff on the premises has to be a dedicated lot; they have to regularly groom these docile animals otherwise these lovable creatures would end up looking like balls of fluff. They need to inspect the droppings on a regular basis, if unhealthy droppings are observed a vet is to be informed immediately as it could be a case of wool block. Their water should be changed every second day and the dishes scrubbed on a regular basis. Rabbits are rather sensitive when it comes to changes in their diet or feeding schedule, this could lead to a loss of appetite. The establishment, to be successful, should have adequate and regular food supplies on hand otherwise shortage in this hill-station, could lead to disastrous consequences.
I’m looking forward to the day when the project begins to turn out its first shawls; I’m definitely going to get one for my lady love! How about you?

The first litter on the farm, 7 healthy kits

Angora mother suckling her first born

“Operation Dog-Hunt” echoing “Inhuman methods” Abu

After Mount Abu being declared an Eco-sensitive zone, it has changed the fortune of many a mongrel in our one horse town. The drive taken on by the Abu municipality to get rid of all its pie dogs with a vengeance has left me mind boggled , the cruelty meted out to the strays, caused my blood to boil. Their modus operandi is to sneak up behind the unsuspecting dog and then nab it by its waist with huge iron tongs, the dog writhes in pain and tries to attack the iron tongs hurting its mouth in the process, in the mean time two or three other dog catchers join in the melee with their tongs grabbing the dog by its neck or head, if the dog proves too strong for them then one of them delivers a resounding blow to the dogs head with his iron tongs knocking the poor animal unconscious or semi dazed. The dog is then lifted bodily with these tongs and thrown into a trailer behind a tractor. The dogs in this claustrophobic trailer are covered by galvanized sheets, the mongrels are so terrified in the dark that they lose their natural instinct to go for each other or for that matter to even growl. I’m sure it must have been the same for the prisoners who were led to the gas chambers during the Second World War.
Unfortunately, and fortunately for these dog catchers I did not have my camera on me as I was out walking my Basset hound, the video if taken of the scene I witnessed would have chilled the stoutest heart of any dog lover. I know I ran up to them and barged into them with a barrage of not too sweet words; they were caught off guard and cringed back when they saw me lift my cell phone to make a call. They released the writhing animal and scurried off with their tractor to an area up the road from where they had received a complaint from one of the residents living there, he had complained that his guests could not sleep as the dog made too much of a ruckus at night.
In respect to our mongrels I feel the increasing population of stray pigs should be taken care of. They rummage the surrounding area and rubbish bins by the side of the road causing the place to look like scenes out of some horror movie. Has anyone ever wondered what becomes of the poor mongrels huddled up in the trailer, well it is believed they are driven to some remote area way down the hill and then released to populate some other remote area. Dogs being dog are not easily fooled 50% of the veterans; sooner or later make it back up the hill. Some of the unfortunate ones end up as a delicacy to the dwindling panther population that inhabit this sanctuary of ours.
Meanwhile, animal lovers, if you see or read about atrocities on animals, especially our pariah dogs, you may write to your local animal welfare organization in Abu and the Animal Welfare Board of India, who in turn take action to stop the cruelty. The address
http://envfor.nic.in/legis/awbi/awbi13.html

Will post some snaps when the dog catchers are out the next time doing what they have to do.