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

A boarding student’s life is fantastic. Today, I drove to school via foggy curved roads, it coated my eyelashes in small globules of water droplets, and my head and the few strands of hair that remained glistened with beads of the late afternoon misty sprays that I had driven through. As I passed through the gates near the chapel, it overcame me with nostalgia for the happiest days of my life.

Memories of bunking out of limits to avoid earning a “one-way ticket” flooded back. I recall bunking lunch and running helter-skelter all the way to the school lake to get the eggs of the Bird of Paradise. Brother Keane, the Archangel of the Christian Brothers, captured me while ascending the wall behind the bogs. Before he could throw a tonne of bricks at me, I held up my hand and signalled to him to keep the peace because I couldn’t speak to him. I gently and delicately removed two eggs out of my mouth into the palm of my hand, much to Keane’s amazement. 

He indicated for me to go get gone before delivering the dreaded declaration, “You have earned your one-way ticket home.” In the years afterwards, I’ve earned quite several tickets, but Lady Luck has always been on my side, and they have never sent me home.

Mr. James came over to say hello as I was remembering at the refectory, and our talk focussed on the concerning monsoon conditions. This year’s rains started late, and we have gotten little rain; if the scenario continues, it will be difficult for us Abuites, as they only provided us with water every three days and for just two hours. Amen! If the rain gods do not favour this Abode in the next weeks, it will be back to bathing twice a week for the next year. I recall the excitement of washing one’s self to one’s heart’s content flat in three minutes every Thursday and Sunday. Every time we left the general bathing area after the two days, we felt like newborn babies. You won’t believe it, but there were some guys who attempted bunking and getting their twice-weekly baths if it was workable. Whew!

When I looked at the primary field, it intrigued me to see the servants hard preparing the field for the field and track activities that would signal the school’s sports day on September 29, 2008. I’m sure all St.Marians will remember with fondness the thrill of competing against other teams for the coveted prizes and the “COCK HOUSE “the overall winning team. 

September is a month of work, tears, and excitement for the lads because it brings out the best in everyone, including the staff, servants, boys, and Princey. With the guys singing on stage for the Annual Concert, followed the next day by the school’s Annual Sports Day, the Olympics fade into obscurity. The lads truly put on a show, and I can assure you that their performances are on par with, if not better than, those of the pros in the Olympics.

I enjoyed this time of year because it brought out the best in me. To date, NO ONE, I repeat, NO ONE has beat the schoolboys at the open school relay put out to the public; I wonder how the Olympic champions would do on St. Mary’s soil.

I’ve included a couple of photos above that I’m sure will evoke sentimental recollections of days gone by. Enjoy your watching!

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.