Read that in degrees Celsius... and drag your mind out of a beauty pageant or the gutter, as the case may be. That's the temperature swing in Mumbai nowadays.
For those who don't want to do the maths, that's about 96- 75 -96* F !
Men look for reasons (other than the nudge-wink ones!) to stay back in their air-conditioned offices, women keep checking inside their freezers every half an hour and kids, well, kids always have a zillion reasons why they should eat ice-cream ... even in winter!
And in the midst of all this, are my Phalaenopsis orchids. They've been in spike since Jan. and now the initial nubs have lengthened into long, elegant stalks with buds on them. I think the green buds are going to be either white or yellow flowers.
For the first time, I managed to bring three of these phals in bud over to the apartment. They're normally kept outdoors in my other garden but I couldn't bear missing out on the fun of watching the buds grow every day. So I carried them on my lap all the way here and kept hissing at my husband everytime he drove into a pot-hole.
Considering the condition of roads in Mumbai, there was a lot of hissing done as each slim spike wobbled around dangerously like a drunken giraffe running the 100 m.
Now that they're here, my main job is to make sure that the window on whose sill I've lodged them, is opened just
that much, enough to let in fresh air but not enough to make those greedy sparrows comfortable enough to flit in and snack on phalaenopsis sushi. Sparrows are weapons of mass destruction, I'm convinced of this.
This couple was busy building a nest right next to the air-conditioner unit. There was a tiny gap between it and the wall into which only a sparrow could fit. And in true-Mumbai style, the space for one sparrow soon became enough for Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow and a whole nest of little ones on the way. So far, so good. Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow made quick trips to the coconut tree conveniently close to their new home and got all the basics for their home.
Then, Mr.Sparrow started getting ideas. He thought of feathering his nest ... with my asparagus fern! I had been diligently training it over the grill outside my window, hoping to look out at green, delicate foliage instead of ugly buildings when along came the Sparrows and that was the end of that!
No way am I allowing them to feast on my precious Phals too. So in spite of the increasing heat , this window is closed to flying traffic.
I think the heat is getting to me ... I dont know why I'm feeling so aggressive and hostile.
Purple threaded with gold to cloak the Queen's Crepe Myrtle. That's about as majestic as you can get, don't you think?
This couple was busy building a nest right next to the air-conditioner unit. There was a tiny gap between it and the wall into which only a sparrow could fit. And in true-Mumbai style, the space for one sparrow soon became enough for Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow and a whole nest of little ones on the way. So far, so good. Mr. and Mrs. Sparrow made quick trips to the coconut tree conveniently close to their new home and got all the basics for their home.
Indian summer ...
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