Little Sparks

                                                                  The Cookie-savvy Crow I wake up as early as five in the mornings to prepare breakfast and lunch for the family. A typical Indian working woman, I would wake up my better half too, offering him a cup of coffee and a bunch of veggies for slicing and dicing.  The frenzy of mustards and the aroma of sambar fill the air,  attracting this coveted guest, none other than our beloved 'Biscotha'.  No sooner I open the kitchen window, this cute visitor would come and sit on the sunshade slab looking for its favorite snack.  It is a specially challenged crow.  A real fighter, this one-legged bird would grab the 'cookie' (Didn't I say it's his breakfast, lunch and dinner) that I place in a whisker and fly way.  There is not enough space on the...

                                          The nostalgia   of train journeys:      Nilgiri Mountain Railway I spent most of my childhood in Ooty, a naturally abounding hill station on the 'Queen of Hills'.  It is also called the Blue Mountains or simply 'The Nilgiris'!  The ineffable charm of Nilgiris and its UNESCO-listed Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) always fascinates me.  Until I was eight, I never got a chance to travel on the coveted toy train that runs between Ooty and Mettupalayam. And, while we were relocating to 'Singara Chennai', I got that most amazing opportunity. Thenceforth, I have travelled many times to the coveted hill station.  Yet, I turn nostalgic every time my mother recalls our days in the lap of nature.   Nilgiri Mountain Railway has transcended the barriers of time.   To this day, this technologi...