Greetings from the Abode!

Before the bustling Diwali rush takes over, I want to take a moment to wish you, your family, friends, and colleagues a joyous and delightful Diwali!

As we get ready to celebrate the festival of lights, I hope every moment in your life fills you with joy, success, and the warmth of togetherness. I hope this festive season brings you closer to loved ones and fills your heart with happiness.

Wishing you and your family a very happy and Prosperous Diwali!

May the divine light of Diwali bring peace, prosperity, happiness, and good health into your life.

Mount Abu A Mythical hill station rife with folklore

Mount Abu A Mythical hill station rife with folklore

Some time back when the whole of Abu was hype about ‘Crocks’ and the local newspapers were having a hay day at the expense of the so called rogue crocks I decided to also join the bandwagon and snap some of these wandering crocks. I had taken a friend along Harry, as he is a great assistance when it comes to speaking the local dialect Marwari. The first destination we chose was the water body behind the ‘Delwara” temple, on reaching there we asked some local lads if any crocks were seen there? They humoured us by saying “Yea, only yesterday the forest officials had picked up the crock that was in the pond and have taken it back to the sanctuary.
While returning I chose to snap some photographs of the temple dedicated to “Kunwaari Kanyaa” behind the famous Delwara Jain Temples.

The statue of Balam Rasia with a red cloth covering
 a coconut with the holy water of the lake

Temple dedicated to Kunwaari Kanyaa
Bang opposite is the statue of Balam Rasia

Kunwaari Kanyaa

Photography on this hallowed premises is permitted after one has paid a token fee of Rs 10/-. While snapping, the caretaker offered to give us the gist of the folklore surrounding the legend of Balam Rasia and Kunwaari Kanyaa. The version he gave us sure did not live up to the original version I’m sure he meant well even if he did not do any research on the topic at hand, anyway folklore is what one generation perceives and passes it down to the next, even though I had heard vaguely about this tragic love tale, I decided to hear this dudes version of it.
He began by telling me the king of Arbud ( some Chauhan), who had a huge palace in the rural region of Arbudanchal, had made a proclamation that who so ever could fulfill a task he set out for them to complete he would wed his daughter to that prince or layman. Many came but none could be equal to the king’s expectation. One day in his dejected moods he went into the Delwara Temple to find solace. There he met a craftsman, a man of exceptional skills, he inquired of this man as to who he was. The man humbly told him his name was ‘Balam Rasia’, a craftsman by profession and a devotee of Adhar Devi. The king then asked Balam Rasia if he could do the task where all the others had failed,
Balam Rasia accepted the challenge and set out to accomplish it. He was to dig a lake for the princess with his bare nails, and the task was to be completed before the crowing of the cock. Rasia concentrated on the task at hand and had the lake dug before the crack of dawn. He then cut open a coconut filled it with the holy water of the lake covered it with a red cloth mounted his steed and rode to claim the princess. The queen who had exceptional power and was totally opposed to this man of humbles origins marrying her daughter of royal blood, changed herself into a cock so that she could crow before the stipulated time thwarting the effort of the gallant Rasia.  Balam who himself was empowered with the blessings of Ambe Mata saw through her poly and immediately changed into a cat and pounced on the cock before it could crow, the queen who was a witch cast a spell with her dying words that the two could never be wed and would be turned into stone facing each other for the rest of eternity. 

RAJASTHANI DANCE

The Annual School Concert St. Mary’s High School Mount Abu.

The Annual School Concert St. Mary’s High School Mount Abu. 

The School Annual Concert is an event that all look forward to, the students, the staff, and the parents who have their kids in the boarding. For the ex-Marians, it is an event that transports them back into an era of nostalgia.

The variety of entertainment put up by the students opens up portals in the souls of the audience. They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul. From the onset, the boys had committed themselves to perform to their utmost abilities, given the ‘short time frame’ to achieve what they have set out to do. One can actually see and feel the passion generated by these young boys to each other and to the success of the concert on hand. To reach this stage of adeptness takes a great deal of hard work, hours of rehearsal and commitment for the common goal of pulling off an excellent performance for their parent and visitors who take the time off to be there for them.

Imagine the choir I’m told had only 2 or 3 days to practice before coming on stage, no wonder the boys looked strained. I’m sure all who were there appreciated the work put up by the boys and the staff.

I'm attaching the school programme via a link at the bottom it will take a short while to open, (10 MB file) while you wait to say a short prayer for the boys on the list 'Happy Viewing'

An Evening of Variety Entertainment 

St. Mary's High School "School Anthem"

St. Mary's High School  "School Anthem"

The Annual Concert St. Mary’s High School Mount Abu

The Annual Concert St. Mary’s High School 

Every year, the students of the school take part in the annual school concert. The concert encompasses all the students in the school and there are a variety of fantastic presentations performed on the four nights for the different parents and students.

Congratulations go to all the students, the teaching staff, the brothers and the staff at large, special congrats to all the students for the hours of rehearsal and their outstanding performance at the variety entertainment presented on all days with equal gusto to the school students, local parents, ex-students and the parents of the school borders.

For many years I had not attended the school concert as Operas were out and the school had shifted to entertaining the parents with variety shows. I guess the essence of operas to the audience at large has lost its former glory and the modern audiences prefer short and sweet variety entertainments to keep them amused. At St. Mary’s, the boys are passionate about every piece of work they do, big or small, be it in sports, games, walks, concerts or studies. They excel. The boys of the school always deliver in all fields, making the school proud to have loyal and die-hard students.

There is bonding so strong between the borders and staff of the school that even those who have passed out decades ago seek in their hearts to reunite with ole mates and relive the nostalgia that still exists and nothing in this shrinking world of ours can keep them apart. Look at the reunion of the batch of 73 to see what I mean. Click on the link.

BATCH OF 73

Keep tuned. I will post the shorter clips of the Variety Entertainment performed this year at School. Will make DVDs of the full show if anyone interested drops me a line, please note I'm just an amateur so there are going to be blotches but for those of you who missed the show or could not make it I’m sure you will appreciate the boys of the school.

An update on Events St. Mary’s School Abu

Sports Week Events St. Mary’s School

St.Mary's School Mount Abu.

This is the first year in the school's history that there will be no Sports Day to accompany the Annual concert and other events. They held the sports in the year, 1st of April, 2010, for those of you who missed it, click Sports Day.

 The Schedules of events for the coming days in school are:-

1. Day 15^th October 2010. Concert for the schoolboys.

2. Day 16^th October 2010. Concert for the Sophians /Day scholar Parents/ Ex-students.

3. Day 17^th October 2010. Holy Communion Mass (5 Boys will take their 1^st communion) followed later in the day with the School fete. I believe a large group of the 1984 batch will also congregate on this day in the school. Some ex-students of the batch 1980 will also be in Abu during this time.

4. Day 18^th October 2010. Concert for the parents of the boarders and Ex-students.

5.     Day 19 and Day 20^th October 2010. Are holidays.

The not too elusive crocodile Mt.Abu

The elusive crocodile Mount Abu.

I had written about the sudden appearance of a crocodile in Nakki Lake in the month of October 2006, and its subsequence disappearance. I remember vividly how it caused a big stir amongst the authorities and the local populace at large. It affected even the tourists as they were too shy to go for their pleasurable boat ride in the lake. Well, it’s been a repeat this year as once again a crocodile has found its way into the bosom of the lake. The local newspapers are having a ball splashing their photographs all over the front page.

I go daily to see if I can get a snapshot of this not-so-big crock, but so far have been out of luck. I chitchat with the local forest personnel deputed on duty at the lake for the lookout of the crock. He tells me he has not seen the crock from the time they deputed him. When I spoke to some locals living around the lake I got some very conflicting views. One told me that the crock the other day made a meal of a black cat that had gone down to the water’s edge, another told me that a group of young men drunk as lords while on a round of the lake late at night encountered this croc on the road and one of them with some Dutch courage went to catch it by the tail, but apparently, the crock dashed into the bushes at the side of the road, some tale.

The crocks this year have left their haunt in Trevor’s Tank, because of the better-than-average monsoon season for greener pastures. One croc has made a home in a small water body (Santsaravor) opposite the Heritage Palace Hotel. The one in the lake must have also migrated from the sanctuary to the lake. Eventually, it will make its way back to its home in the sanctuary's heart.

Took this snap at Mid-day on the 9^{th of} October 2010

BIRDS ETCETERA: Asian Bird Blogs

BIRDS ETCETERA: Asian Bird Blogs

Post-monsoon blues Mt.Abu

Post-monsoon blues Mt.Abu

Another bad year would have been impossible to manage. Thankfully the rain gods have been kind to this oasis in the Rajasthan desert. Abuites have heaved a huge sigh of relief and are now back to their wanton way of life. One would have thought the hardships endured by the drought-like condition would have conditioned the people at large to take the uttermost precaution of conserving the precious water and utilizing it to their maximum benefit, but that’s not the case, everywhere I look I see tanks overflowing, taps open with not a care in the world to see that it should be shut to preserve the liquid gold that is being wasted to the streets and gutters.

The monsoons this year have opened up a multitude of potholes that were previously patched up. Since the Municipality has not done much about the situation, local Abuites should put up some temporary placard, so that people should just be aware of them. I have seen young tourists on hired bikes hitting some of these life-threatening potholes and ending up pretty badly injured.  The local Abuites and I included have to drive through this obstacle course of potholes many times a day, and all the while bitching and cursing like the Greeks. Now pray tell me how do the Greeks curse- well imagine yourself a Greek and a small mishap befalls you, what do you do, you raise your hands to the heavens, and curse the gods in the filthiest language or languages you know that have caused the mishap, and in this case the bloody potholes.

Tourists visiting India at this time of the year and especially this part of the country do be sure to take precautions against Dengue fever and malaria. Another nasty post-monsoon illness is viral fever and the painful eye flue. Another precaution for those suffering from asthma is to avoid the Congress grass that has sprung up all over this Abode.

Gosh enough of lamenting on post-monsoon blues, have a look at beautiful green Abu.

It's Abu All Dressed in Hues of green

The final Kiss 

The St.Mary's School Campus

Mother Nature at it's Best.