When a mundane classroom question raises questions about God and the universe Shashwat : The early crustaceans gave way to archosaurs and then to Dinosaurs. Me : Yes, I guess so. Shashwat : They in turn gave way to reptiles … Continue reading Le Question: What did God do?
Seeing eye to eye with the Sarus Crane evokes a host of questions and the answers aren’t exactly simpleShashwat and I were driving along a small arterial road in Rae Bareli, checking out the pairs of Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) among the paddy fields on either side. It was the end of a relatively warm November day, and dusk was imminent. We came across a beautiful female near a clump of reeds by the roadside — though sexes are almost alike, I could tell since it was smaller than the male, which was foraging a few metres away. Me: What colour … Continue reading Le Question: What colour is the eye of the Sarus?
A tree may be our primary connection with the universe — but it will take us all our lives to acknowledge it The Ficus virens that outgrew the shrine Shashwat: Haven’t the Americans built big cities, warships, fighter jets and so on? Me: I guess so. Shashwat And the Germans have made very fine automobiles and autobahns? Me: Yes, they have. Shashwat: The French have the TGV! Me: Yes, so? Shashwat: So, in India, did we spend all our time celebrating festivals and meditating? Me: Silence The canopy, loved by both peacocks and Hanuman langurs Five minutes later the hush … Continue reading Le Question: Did Indians do nothing but celebrate festivals?
For his seventh birthday I gifted Shashwat a globe. It met a long-standing demand and soon enough he had charted the oceans, seas, continents, polar ice caps (the great melt, breaking ice shelf), the Pacific Ring of Fire (volcanoes), Polynesia (extinct flightless birds), Madagascar (the island and the movie), the Sahara (the Sidewinder’s abode), the Himalayas, France (local colonizer), England (the bigger colonizer), India, a few countries, major cities and Semri (our village in Uttar Pradesh – the approximate location in this case). All was well in our miniature heaven, now home to a miniature Earth. Until Le Question was popped. … Continue reading Le Question: Will you get me a new globe?
The Sidewinder is a rattlesnake that has adapted to life in the desert with unique sinusoidal-diagonal locomotion that enables it to negotiate smooth sand dunes with ease This post concerns a certain question asked after a storytelling session at … Continue reading Le Question: What happened to the Sidewinder?