Living It

Shinura Retreat

nupurkwatra — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 05:40:28 +0000

First edition musings of my trip to Shinura Retreat. Tucked away in the outskirts of Ddun, this quaint little cottage was a real treat. Life can be stressful for a city dog, so I ran amidst flowers, rolled on the grass and generally had a good time.

Attaching the flower pictures here so you all can appreciate the great photographer that I am. Will add pic of the cottage in the next edition. (website: www.shinuraretreat.com)

PS.. This place belongs to my granddad and so may be if I act cute and wag my tail often at him, he might take me along for another trip. What say Huh!

Blooms & Thorns

nupurkwatra — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:03:00 +0000

Mom’s garden is bursting with plants at the moment. Lots of pretty cactuses and some nice smelling indoor plants which she collected on our last road trip.

This one here, a rather wild plant that grows abundantly along the Highway, is my favorite. It’s thorns make way for the blooms, which start as pretty pink buds that burst into deep red flowers.

Just like life itself, flowers blooming in the thorniest of circumstances.

And just like my nose witnessed a few minutes ago…… better not to inspect things too closely lest they prick.
So look at the large picture and enjoy the view.

Chakrata Trip

nupurkwatra — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:40:00 +0000

It’s been a while since I last blogged, well I have just hit my teens and you know what it can do to a dog’s psyche. Have been busy noticing the fairer sex in my neighborhood and kind of ignored my mom. (She never fails to remind me of this every time she feeds me)

Moving on…. we made a trip to Chakrata last month. Dad bought a new red Tata Safari just for me and was so eager to take me that I just could not refuse. So with him at the wheel and me by his side we took off for the hills. Mom and the kids also tagged along in the back seat.

The journey was smooth and I slept most of the way. However, Chakrata as a place is not for the weak hearted, it can be frighteningly boring. Has some scenic spots but that’s about all.

Here we are on the brink of a mountain, and there’s me chasing some lambs.

A shot of the snow clad mountains by Daddy.

Mostly, the trip made me realize that I am truly a dilli ka billa (Delhi Cat) and so happy to be a part of this metro’s hustle bustle. Quiet, over serene and lonely places are just not me.

Bonsai Update

nupurkwatra — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:07:00 +0000

Ma’s bonsai seems to be coming along well. Although absolutely no change in the way it looks. Guess i should just be patient for another 3 yrs or so before i can make out any major changes in the way this tree would look.

Another one over here is about the same age as the lemon tree bonsai.

Also i feel Ma should contemplate some cheating now………… or let me suggest this once her patience starts to thin. My doggie network tells me of this wonderful thing called rootex… it will generate roots and give this plant an aged bonsai look in all of 4 months.

Cool Na !!!

Bonsai Chronicles

nupurkwatra — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Off late Ma has been bending over one plant a lot. The bee tells me it’s a Lemon Tree Bonsai in the making..

Well, I am going to record the developments in an organised sort of way. So will click a snap on every 22nd for about 2 yrs and hopefully this Bonsai would be somewhat ready by then.

Here is the first one. From seedling to now over 8 inches high, this plant is all of 7 months old. Ma is planning on repotting it soon. (Let me say here that this is her first attempt at making a bonsai, so dont expect those real Japanese bonsai kind of results. She is targetting a final height of 10 Inches with hopefully a few fruits.)

Sniffs

nupurkwatra — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 06:56:00 +0000

I’ve been following Ma around in the garden, taking in all the sweet & sour smells. The fragrant Mogra, just about to bloom lavender, tangy lemons leaves, fiery chillies, musky earthy soil smells and cant help but wonder….God must have a really evolved nose.
And if I mix them all together they will surely smell of happiness.

Honestly, there is nothing more precious than watching my Ma planting and potting her veggies, a mysterious expectant smile on her face, smelling of everything beautiful.

… going veg

nupurkwatra — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 09:11:00 +0000

Ma decided to grow some vegetables… I feel its the wrong season but Humans.!!! do they ever listen.
So here she is with her first seadling. Looks like an okra plant to me.

Just 1 out of 4 sprouted after lots of effort. (woof woofff… wrong season)

Some chilli plants seem to be doing well though.

nupurkwatra — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 05:28:00 +0000

Mom’s been busy with some oil painting projects lately. I am tracking one here which is a good effort I must say.
She started with a sketchy picture of what looked like many red and green lines to me but the final picture is stunning. This is on a 24″ by 36″ canvas. Black background and fiery orange ‘birds of paradise’ flower in the foreground.

The black is in with leaves in place. My pugmark is visible at the top left corner if u see carefully. Mom was upset about that.

Soft white tones added to illunminate the leaves. I quite like the effect as it gives the painting a mysterious glow.

In comes the Red & Orange.

Fine corrections done, my pugmark removed, and the painting is complete. WOW!

Happy feet

nupurkwatra — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 10:40:00 +0000

As I look at these sweet baby feet, my heart is almost exploding with doggie love. I can almost read the lines which are telling me there are many happy & naughty times ahead.

Will she wake up if i give them a lick, or just curl those toes and roll over ??