The Indian Paradise Flycatcher

 The Indian Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi) Rufous morph, Common names in Hindi/ Hindustani: सुल्तान बुलबुल, दूधराज, अर्जुनक, रज्जुवाल (रक्तवर्णी)

A summer migrant from below the Vindhyas. The state bird of Madhya Pradesh. They breed and return to the southern part of the subcontinent with their young at the onset of winter. 

A collage made from recent photographs so beautifully clicked in Gurugram, Haryana by the passionate birder Arvind Yadav. 

Females are always rufous and they lack the bright blue head and long tape like tails which males have. Males are born rufous but some change to a white morph in the sub adult stage.

Seen all over Madhya Pradesh 

#birdsofmhow

Hot Cross Buns For Good Friday

 Saturday 19 April 2025. A day after Good Friday. 

Hot cross buns made by Gulab bakery for Good Friday. An annual ritual.... The Scottish Kirk can be seen in the background. 

Gulab and Jeevan Bakeries function from the same Raj era barracks and both make these hot cross buns for Good Friday. 

This is an area which reeks of the Raj era. The Sacred Heart Church, the Scottish Kirk and its graveyard, the Wesleyan church, the St Thomas seminary, St. Mary's Convent, Rajeshwar Vidyalaya, Craven Hotel and not far are the Protestant and Catholic graveyards and the Railway colony where the Anglo Indians lived... 

#postcardfrommhow #

Thus Spake Dr B R Ambedkar

Dr B R Ambedkar (14 Apr 1891- 6 Dec 1956) jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India.  It was his 134th birth anniversary yesterday 14 April 1891.

 • I like the religion that teaches liberty, equality and fraternity.

• Political tyranny is nothing compared to social tyranny and a reformer, who defies society is a more courageous man than a politician who defies government.

• So long as you do not achieve social liberty, whatever freedom is provided by the law is of no avail to you.

• Men are mortal. So are ideas. An idea needs propagation as much as a plant needs watering otherwise both will wither and die.

•I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.

Public domain photograph of Dr Ambedkar.

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𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙥𝙤𝙘𝙧𝙮𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙡 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙊𝙛 𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙣 𝘾𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙡'𝙨 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙈𝙝𝙤𝙬.

 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙥𝙤𝙘𝙧𝙮𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙡 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙊𝙛 𝙒𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙣 𝘾𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙡'𝙨 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙈𝙝𝙤𝙬.  

What you see an obsolete artillery gun placed at the erstwhile Joggers' Park on the Mall in Mhow. The old bungalow which existed here was supposed to be the house where Winston Churchill stayed when, according to local legend, he was in Mhow in the late 19th century for a few months. There is no proof of whether Churchill actually stayed in Mhow. He hasn't mentioned Mhow anywhere in his writings. Nevertheless this compound is still called "Churchill Bangla" by Mhow wallahs. 

#postcardfrommhow

Sunset At Nakheri

 

Sunset at Nakheri dam, sunday 08-Dec-24

Nakheri river which starts from the hill of Janapao and is dammed at village Badgonda of Mhow. I had first visited this site 45 years ago  in the winter of 1979 on a long walk till Mehendikund, this dam was being built then. How time flies!!! 

#postcardfrommhow #naturenotefrommhow

The Beautiful Banyans of Mhow

 Fusion. Banyan tree at the end of General's Road near the bridge. 

Ficus benghalensis, बरगद, बड़ 

#naturenotefrommhow #floraofmhow #treesofmhow #banyansofmhow #postcardfrommhow

Nov 26. Constitution Day.

 Nov 26. Constitution Day. Let's actually protect the Constitution of India instead of paying lip service to it. 

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On 26 November 1949, the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution, which came into effect on January 26, 1950, marking India’s transition to a democratic republic.

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Public domain photograph of Dr B R Ambedkar, Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee and independent India's first minister for law and justice.

Dr Ambedkar was born in Mhow on 14 April 1891.

His father Subedar Major Ramji Sakpal of the Mahar Regiment was posted here. 

#postcardfrommhow

"Batle le lo"

"बटले ले लो" रविवार २८/११/२०१०

Selling peas from a thela (handcart), Mhow, Sunday 28/11/2010

You can see the Garrison Ground too. 

P. S. In the Malwi dialect which is spoken in this area मटर (peas) are known as बटले (batle) 

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The Best Part of the Day

 The best part of the day ... returning from school. 

From my archives Nov 22, 2011.

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