Zmiana sposobu prezentacji
I am happy that the rare Marsh Mongoose is still making appearances in my neighbourhood. I am sad and apprehensive that their numbers are not what they were when I made my home here nearly two decades back. Often in the morning while sipping my cup of tea, I see the mother mongoose crossing the road to enter into the still vacant marshy plots with one or two baby in tow. Sometimes their acts are really amusing. Once while walking, I saw a mongoose in the marshland on the roadside looking at me accusingly. Soon I discovered the reason. While she had just crossed the road, I came between her and her baby which was left on the other side. The eager face of the mom and the impatience of the baby with me in the middle made a curious picture. I deliberately stood my ground for sometime to enjoy the moments before moving away. With the marshlands dwindling fast, it's a matter of time before these beautiful mammals will be found only in pictures for our children to see.
In Kolkata, most of these rare animals are found in the East Kolkata Wetlands. This area is also home to the Palm Civets and Indian Civets (a few of the latter scurrying through I occasionally catch a glimpse of in my locality only after sunset) and the threatened Indian Mud Turtle.
The sweet buns of my childhood....are they still there? My mornings cheered up on days a piece of soft bun replaced the bread, normal breakfast menu. The soft sweet lump of bun often dabbed with butter simply melted in my mouth...what a delightful treat it was! Sometimes a loaf of bun found its way in my school tiffin box to make an interesting menu - bun with aloor dam (potato curry), yet another sweet and salty treat! I can't recollect when this sweet little food ceased to be a part of my food but it can't be less than nearly four decades since I last tasted it. I'm pretty sure even if I find myself and eat one now, it would bring me anything other than disappointment.
p.s. A bun in the oven - a phrase meaning "pregnant"
