The Highlands And The Treetops

Nature Poetry

As I pause putting curing water on our new home rooftop,
I see the distant highlands and the neighboring treetops.
The highlands below the cumulus cover,
Are showing the greens and the various colors.
Ah, I say to myself, as I resume putting water,
He the creator, of such fab creations,
Make us the little builders of our homes look in fascination.
He has created the home for us all,
To live and let live till we finally get a call.

The treetops have homes of the flying species,
Though not in my sight but surely behind the leaves.
I wonder what they are thinking about our abode,
Where we live and claim the right to hold.
They must me laughing at our short sighted view,
For they know how temporary is all and we never knew.

This pause makes me name our home,
The Highlands View.
With a post script,
Treetops Too.
The Highlands View,
PS Treetops Too.
Is where I am going to live with a few.
A few people, a few years.
Then return to my real home,
And meet my maker, the builder of the real home.

Today’s picture is from the Land of the Rising Sun. The picture was forwarded by a friend at Yahoo Group
www.forwardsforall.com

The Cherry Blossoms

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The Green Fields

Beauty Of Nature

The green fields flank the freeway as you travel from Delhi to Dehradun. I love the sight of crops dotted by trees. It appears so beautiful as you move ahead with greenery all around. The faraway trees seem to move towards the rear at varying speeds, depending upon their distance. As we stop occasionally on a wayside tea stall, I am able to have a closer look and feel closer to Mother Nature.
During my childhood these fields were plenty in the neighborhood and were the perfect playing spots for hide and seek and the improvised robber-cop games. The sight of the fields meeting the sky at the horizon was mesmerizing. I do miss them around me. Alas, only a few fields remain now and the crops have been taken over by concrete.
I liked the way they used to till these farmlands. I had been there as a young kid when they used to plough the land with bullocks and I enjoyed the side seat riding on the planer plank with the man in charge. It used to be great fun. It was kind of bumpy ride over the lumps of mud which we were attempting to make even.
The farmers who toil hard had been hit hard by industrialization and as a result mostly those who were well off and had the resources have been able to survive. The result, less of food and more of industrialized stuff. A rise in food prices and not enough food. Could we have been so short sighted in our race for economic growth? None of us could foresee what was to come. We were so fascinated with fast cars and fast food that we didn’t want to look at the future.
These fields ooze freshness. The crops give out their characteristic aroma when they approach near harvesting stage indicating a time for a change. A scarecrow here and a scarecrow there is a work of art by the farming family. The maze of mini canals bring water to the crops and add beauty to the sight. The mustard fields with the bright yellow flowers are divine to watch and a gentle breeze adding a sway to the scene can enhance the whole experience.
Those days with the green fields all around will always remain a part of my favorite memories and I would love to be around them whenever possible.

Humor 360

A doctor was examining a patient, his nurse bursts in and says, “Excuse me Doc, the man you just treated walked out of the door and collapsed on the front step. What should I do?”
“Turn him around” the doctor answered, “so it looks like he was walking in”

A man comes to an optician's clinic for a sight test accompanied by his wife. When asked if she too had come to be tested, he replied, “No, I’m illiterate so she has come to read the chart for me.”

Today’s picture is of a paddy field in our valley.

The Paddy Field

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The Seven Seas

Beauty of Nature

The vast expanse of blue under an equally blue sky as seen from the bridge where I am, when navigating, appeared to be calmness personified. I thought, how still, water can become when no external forces are acting on it, in some ways similar to us, the kind of calmness one experiences when there is no flow of thoughts, a situation though rarely experienced. This spread of blue was being pierced by the bows of the ship, creating small waves at the fore end and a wake at the stern. Other than that there was no movement.
The view of sea on a moonlit night has no comparison. The light of Moon skimming over the sea surface and the ship silently making way towards her destination can trigger a very romantic emotion. The seas can have colors ranging from bright blue to pale green. I occasionally get to see bioluminescence at sea which is so intriguing. The streams of lights passing by you. The seas are home to million of fascinating flora and fauna. Now we have a regulation in place that prohibits taking ballast from one costal nation to other lest it disturbs the ecosystem of the arrival port. What we do is takeout water from the port of taking ballast, in mid ocean and replace it with water from there. At times you get to see the dolphins giving a synchronized display at others it is the whales, apparent by the fountain from the sea surface. The seagulls often take a ride on board, from one island to another.
The nations of the world were explored by sea by the great explorers of yore and the early traders used sea to sail to faraway lands to earn more money. The seas turn into ocean, mid ocean and back to seas when near the land. The imaginary line that we call equator, which divides the earth into two hemispheres is crossed with a celebration. All first time crossers are put together and have to undergo rather ghastly acts, though taken in good spirit, before being given the certificate my none other than Lord Neptune , the King of the Oceans, enacted by one of us on board.
The seas can become rather rough at times and it is the time when extra precautions are taken mainly regarding the securing of stuff, on deck, stores, galley and everywhere else. The fresh guys often get seasick so do some of the veterans. The vessel if pounding in her present course, is put on a course where she is comfortable and the revolutions on the engine are reduced to prevent overspeeding when the propeller comes out of the water, while pitching. Today with the weather routing available through satellite, things are much easier. Today’s Skipper has much more information in his hand than those in the past, and hence has lot more options, to deal with such situations. But these periods of turbulence are not for ever. Life goes on. We have smooth sailings again and we continue with our voyage
The one striking fact about sea is that no one ever gets sick here because of any infection for the air is so pure and free of pollution. Some deep breaths at mid ocean and you are rejuvenated beyond imagination.
I love the sea and its beautiful sunsets. The dawns and the dusks. The singing waves. The moon lit waves. The pure air and the line faraway where the ocean meets the sky.

Humor 360

Last summer, I saw a squirrel perched on top of a scarecrow on a litchi tree, using it as a tool to reach the higher reaches and enjoying its mid day meal. So much for the scarecrow serving its purpose.

A Life Insurance advert. We settle all claims sooner than anyone else. Just try dying once and check out for yourself.

Today’s picture is from my mother’s garden.

The Purple Petals

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Carrying Cargoes

Life Aboard a Ship

The major trade of the world is by sea. The merchant vessels generally known as freighters as distinct from passenger ships make the transportation possible from one part of the globe to another.
The type I work on are the kind which carry stuff in bulk like coal, iron ore, grain etc. and hence known as Bulk Carriers. Today I’ll give you a sneak preview of all works and planning that goes behind carrying cargoes, from the time of fixing a cargo to when it is delivered to its rightful owners.
The moment any cargo is fixed the charterers or owners as the case may be ask the vessel how much would it be possible to load, given the fuel, freshwater, unpumpable ballast, constant (unknown weights) and stowage factor(volume occupied by one ton of cargo). All this is calculated and cargo distributed in holds (compartments in the ship where cargo is stowed) in the loading computer to ensure stresses and other parameters are within acceptable limits.
Once the cargo quantity is calculated and sent back to the charterers and voyage confirmed preparations for loading in the holds start, depending on the type of cargo. It basically requires a dry sweeping, and washing by high pressure water jet. I love this high pressure cleaning. It is so efficient and satisfying. If required to clean for high grade cargoes such cleaning is done to a higher standard.
On arrival load port, the holds are inspected by a surveyor who checks if the condition of the holds is acceptable to load the cargo that has been fixed. An initial draft survey is done to ascertain the displacement before loading and another one after completion of loading to arrive at figure of cargo loaded. After this go ahead, the vessel starts to load cargo as per the loading plan that had been prepared with due consideration to the fact that at no stage of loading, the maximum allowable stresses are exceeded. There have been instances when vessels have snapped into two, in port while loading. After the final draft survey, the Master signs the bill of lading, which is a kind of receipt for the cargo loaded and a second original serves as means of identification of the rightful owner of cargo at the discharge port. I love the sight of a fully laden ship, all battened up, ready to move out of the harbor and head for her port of destination to yet again deliver one more time what she has been delivering eversince her inaugural voyage.
On arrival at the discharge port the Master is presented by a Bill of lading or other legally acceptable instrument. Once he is satisfied as to the authenticity of the receiver, the discharge of cargo begins. Here too there are the two draft surveys to ascertain the quantity of cargo discharged. The discharge plan like the loading plan is followed, for the same reasons. Once the cargo is safely delivered to the receiver, the vessel is ready to start her preparation for next loading, the instructions for which would have been received by now.
As a result of the present economic downturn a number of ships had to be laid off due to lack of business. An indication of which was the number of vessels seen at anchorages off Singapore, till a few month ago, which is by far the world’s busiest port. That number has started to decrease, as I noticed during our last call at Singapore. An indication that the world trade is picking up again which is good news for each one of us, I guess.

Humor 360
Once a man was asked to make observations on the effect of breaking legs on a cockroach. He broke one leg, and he shouted “Move” and the roach started limping. He noted the roach starts limping when one leg is broken. He broke the second leg and roach started dragging. He made the observation in his notebook. After a couple of more leg breakings, he wrote the roach starts wobbling. And finally it was the turn of the last remaining leg. He broke it and shouted “Move” but the roach did not respond. After a little thought the man concluded that cockroach gets deaf when all it legs are broken.
I have just been back after just over six months at sea. I plan to be home for some time now as I would be building our home. I sure would blog more frequently now.

Today I bring you a picture of Mother Nature taken during a long drive not long ago.

I Wish I Had a Home Here

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The Cloudscape

Beauty of Nature

The ever evolving clouds in the sky have fascinated me since my early days. Watching clouds change shapes can be very absorbing on a lazy winter afternoon. It’s like watching Mother Nature’s Kaleidoscope. The abstracts sometimes amazingly take form of things which are very close to living and nonliving forms in real life.
During earlier part of my sea life, we had to watch them closely and make observations, to send weather reports from sea when the satellites were still in their infancy. It was then I learned the various types, like the cumulus (my favorite) which are the cauliflower shaped clouds that fill the sky often and can be of a large vertical extent. Then there are the cirrus which resemble the cotton flakes and the earlier generation of seamen used the direction they aligned themselves to tell the centre of a storm. The stratus, which as the name indicates, are the layer type clouds and can be of the dark threatening variety that end up giving heavy downpour. These basic types are categorized further by their height above the earth’s surface. The Cirrostratus are the higher altitude stratus whereas the Altostratus are the medium altitude stratus.
At sea, as a first mate and incharge of getting daily maintenance done on board, I used to get the vessel alter course just to avoid getting drenched under a passing shower, especially if some painting job on deck was planned for the day.

Once on a cloudy day, to my query on picking him up from school, as to what he was doing in the class, my son responded, “I was watching clouds”. Like father like son, I thought. I couldn’t identify more with my son, at that point in time.
I was reading one of my reader’s blogs when the lady in one of her posts described having gone up to the mountain top and wished she could jump to touch the clouds. What an idea! On a trip to Mussourie, a neighborhood tourist attracting hill, I once overheard a local, that clouds often float through their living room. Hey, ain’t that romantic? The family having an after lunch chat and a cloud appears through an open window making things foggy for a few moments. I bet it is.

Humor 360
One day, while in the dry dock at Piraeus, Greece, the local workshop supervisor asked the British Chief engineer to get the bunker tank cleaned for some repairs in the adjacent compartment. Due to heavy work schedule of the Chief , it got overlooked.
The Supervisor when told by his people that the job by the ship staff was not started till late afternoon, came fuming on the ship.
He went straight to Chief Engineer’s cabin and asked “Chief, Do you understand English?”
This from a man who spoke a heavily accented form and requiring much grammatical help to a person whose forefathers gave the world the language.

It is from the time when the cell phones had just become popular and people hadn’t got quite used to the new way of getting call, anyplace. A husband gets a call, from his wife, while shopping at a supermarket. His first response, “How did you know I was here”?

I had been to sea for a couple of months and am back home for a brief holiday. Things haven’t been going quite as planned, I am not incharge of the vessel yet but accepting what comes naturally has been a direction He has been giving me in these recent years. And I am enjoying every bit of that direction. The acceptance preempts any disappointment within.

Today's picture is from the neighborhood of my mother's home.

The Weaver and The Weave

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My Valley View

The kitchen, as I make the morning tea, in our first floor house, is my first contact with Mother Nature. The early morning darkness just giving way to the first rays of light. The park, across the road is alive with birds chirping in their own characteristic sounds. Its music to the ears. As if God has unleashed a musical extravaganza.
As the day grows, the outline of a Bottle Brush tree starts appearing as also that of a tree called Dhaak in Hindi. Could some one, please tell me what is it called in English.
As I move to our front verandah, the beautiful Shivalik mountains, far away with just a hint of their existence, appear. Their mere presence seems to be telling tales of no limits of the time metric. Do you ever get lost in this seemingly infinite expanse of nothingness? I do.
The nights are even better. The lights on the relatively nearer Mussourie hills are breathtaking. It seems as if the stars are on a visit to our planet. I can’t think of a more romantic setting than this. Me and my mother, my son and his mother finish their dinner under the sky to say good night to each other. A perfect ending for a not so perfect day.
Even as I write this, I have the huge Chakrata hills beckoning over the top of my notebook screen. No wonder this valley, popularly known as the Doon valley, famous for its Basmati rice and schools, is such a major attraction for people seeking a serene life after they have done what is required of them.
I still go to sea to earn a livelihood. I love what I do but it’s so tempting to stretch my vacations here. I have lived all my life here and would love to spend the rest of it here too without complaints.

Starry Nights

The view of the sky on a clear night is one of my favorites. The zillion stars embedded in the firmament. Oh! Could anything be more romantic than that? I take a peek each day after dusk to check on them as if some of them might go missing. I can never forget to check on Sirius, the brightest of them all or the famous groups like The Orion and The Great Bear. Some days it is the Cassiopeia and on others it is the Taurus ( I am a Taurean myself.).
As a navigator in the high seas, I view them as navigational aids and use them to calculate the error on the compasses each watch. During earlier times we used to use them for fixing the vessel’s position by taking sights. Now with GPS becoming more popular on board, the practice is nearly extinct. I look forward to twilight each day and slowly the sky starts filling up with the little diamonds of that nursery jingle.
I especially like the view on the near freezing temperatures when everything seems to be so still. As if the clock has suddenly developed a malfunction. On my last time aboard, I was captivated with the night sky as viewed from Aardalstangen in Norway.
What about just glancing up while waiting for the traffic light to turn green when every one else is busy brooding about some worldly matter. It gives a sense of tranquility that has no comparison.
Next time when you are out and everyone is busy doing their thing take a sneak peek. I bet you would like it.
Star gazers tips
Extend the line of the stars at the end of rectangle (shorter of the two sides) of The Great Bear seven times and you will arrive at Polaris, popularly known as the Pole star.

Its the begining of summer here in Doon. The mercury is heading north. The mango trees are in full bloom and I'll leave you with this picture from our sideyard.