MNS Sekar Blog

 Today morning, the  repeated and very agitated calls of a tailor bird made me rush to the back of my house. There, my neighbour's mango tree was the source of commotion. A tussle was going on between a towering female koel and a tiny defender, the tailor bird.  It's frantic,  towit-towit calls  became even more furious as it tried to chase the koel away from the scene. The koel kept dodging and refused to leave.... But the tiny bird would not settle for a ' NO'. For the next 2 minutes, it put up a spirited fight. The koel became increasingly frustrated and helpless, gave up eventually and made a quick retreat from the battle. The tailor bird was not satisfied with that. It pursued the fleeing koel for a good 20- metres, till the koel vanished from the garden. The tiny bird's relentless fight had to be seen to be believed.... We all know that it's nesting season starts from April -- Perhaps it had its nest there. But I could not locate any because of the thick f...

 As an youngster, I used to roam a lot in Madras where I grew. There was so much to explore in 1960s and 1970s in the city. It's vastness, plenty of open space, satisfying green cover, shaded trees and above all, a forest well within the city limits.  It was my father who had exposed me to go out with him and be with Nature.... The Children's Park, Adyar (next to Gandhi Mantapam) was my my first introduction to the wild. The forest (the present Guindy National Park) had no restrictions for entry those days  and I used to walk beside my father,along with my younger brother during weekends. I was fortunate to live in a wooded house called  'The Grove'at Eldhams Road, Alwarpet,  that had a rich flora and fauna.   It had a variety of trees and also had  snakes, mangoose and toddy cats in its sprawling garden. Spotted Owlet was the first bird I saw in my life, 55 years back and since then it has been one of my favourite birds too. So, unlike many of my...