goggly

After ages, I spotted one sparrow at my home in Bandra. My immediate fear was ‘I hope she doesn’t get noticed by any crow’. Last month, with little sparrow in his beak, I saw him on the balcony grill, spreading his span, struggling to fit himself on the frill of the balcony, Seeing the feast in sight, few more of his buddies struggled to get their share. He somehow managed to fled and perch on the tree. With sheer struggle, exhaustion and fear I am sure sparrow must have been still by now. Another casualty to ever dwindling population of sparrows in Mumbai suburbs. When I grew up in Kala Nagar in mid 70’s, coconut trees were just planted and one could see sky horizon up to Kalina from the terrace. Artek Apartments was the tallest building in Bandra East and perhaps the only one with Elevator. At breakfast time, sight of flying green parrots was not unusual. Pigeons would produce babies between narrow spaces in earthen tree pots kept in the balcony. Now slowly all other bird species are...

I strongly believe that every criminal –how hardened he may be – has his humane facet intact and every noblest human being who has dedicated his life with his charitable deeds does have a room for his lurching criminal bend of mind. We gloss over charitable acts of noblest people and condemn criminal act with a single stroke of brush. I also feel majority of people like me have both these traits in sizeable measure and we very easily could have tilted to either side depending upon the presence of catalyst at critical phases of our life. I also don’t believe that crime happens only because of necessity, compulsion or helplessness. I think crime often does take place for sheer thrill of doing it or take pleasure in hoodwinking the so called guardians of dos and don’ts of moral, ethical life. I met shantaram by chance. On my flight back from USA, south Indian USA bred man was reading ‘maximum city’ by Suketu Mehta -a novel about Bombay and Shiv Sena. I rummaged through pages but I felt it...