The Mango Tree Saga

The mango tree has always been an integral part of our love for this house. The first time we stepped in to see the house with our agent, the mango tree caught my eye. Green and lush, it gave the backyard a focal point and much-needed character. That it also produced fruits was not of much importance. What mattered was the perfect canopy it provided, given our location in the sunny tropics. 

After we had officially bought the property and repairs had commenced, the agent got the mango tree chopped a bit to give it a definitive shape. I remember it looked shorn when we moved in, and I missed its shady canopy. 

But in the next couple of years, the mango tree became lush again, and its canopy expansive. The shade it provided was so inviting that we spent many an afternoon working on our creative projects in its cool embrace. 

Situated right outside our bedroom, it was also a favourite with the birds, as their noisy chirrups woke us every morning. As we lay in bed on hot and endless summer days, looking at the lush leaves outside made us feel as if we were lying right under the mango tree. 

Just after moving in, we had an amusing episode with a bunch of local kittens who scrambled up the mango tree in a bid to escape us. You can read more about that here. For the first couple of years, the tree did not bear too many fruits. I made chutneys from the handful we got, happy to have gotten any produce at all. But last year the bees were plentiful and the tree filled up with flowers.

Soon there were fruits showing up aplenty in all the branches, filling our hearts with joy. Just the sight of them dangling cheerily, never mind the strong gusts of summer loo, gave us a lesson or two in resilience. 

And this was when the Delta strain of coronavirus was wreaking havoc everywhere. While we also lost loved ones, this tree and its bountiful fruits gave us hope. Hope that life always renews itself.

In June we harvested a huge crop of sweet, juicy mangoes that we distributed to family and neighbours as well. Basketfuls of the king of fruits right in our backyard was such an indescribable blessing!

Then in July that year, the rains came in torrents, filling up the roads and open stretches, and with water entering our houses. Even after the rains subsided, the ground remained wet and humid for weeks. That is when the termites came, making the mango tree trunk their home and eating away its roots. They ravaged the mango tree from its very core, despite all our efforts to fight them. And slowly the tree dried up, its leaves turning a sickly brown. 

We waited till spring, hoping against hope that something may sprout again. But when nothing showed up, finally last month, about a fortnight after we completed three years in this house, we had to let the tree go...

The backyard looks barren now, and we feel exposed and open to the prying eyes of neighbours. It has been heartbreaking losing the mango tree; it truly feels like losing a family member all over again. Such was the benign motherly presence of our beloved mango tree! 

A saga that ended much too soon...

Backyard Bonfires

 

Earlier this month, as the Sun-worshipping harvest festivals of Lohri and Makar Sankranti or 'Poush Parbon' arrived, the hubby decided to light a bonfire in the backyard as we had a large pile of twigs lying around after our autumn tree chopping. And guess what, his impromptu plan turned this into one of the most memorable celebrations ever.

We first started attending the community Lohri bonfire since the time our kids arrived, just to make them experience it firsthand. Now with restrictions imposed by an oft-raging pandemic, doing our own bonfire made sense.  

A celebration of the frosty cold weather involving sun worship

The festival days were cold and grey, with low maximum temperature and the sun barely visible through the dense layer of fog. Windows remained frosted for a large part of the day. As we shivered through the day, we prepared the token specialities that were associated, just so the kids got a feel of the festival.

Plateful of patishapta with kheer fillings

Growing up as a kid in a typical Bengali household, I never much cared for Sankranti because it involved eating certain delicacies I wasn't particularly fond of, and I'd see my mother slave for hours in the kitchen after a tiring workday, and that didn't really seem worthwhile to me. However, time and age have wisened me enough to find workarounds or easier alternatives, thus ensuring that everyone can enjoy.

Lohri/Sankranti bonfire

So on Lohri and Sankranti evenings, as our bonfire crackled, we had a chance to get together as a family and add our special twist to the traditional celebration. We were novices at keeping the fire going, and used every combustible material on hand - right from oil and camphor, to newspapers and dried leaves from the mango tree. 

The second day we even baked veggies in the wood fire. Had roasted potatoes with sour cream for breakfast the next morning, along with roasted tomato/eggplant and garlic bruschetta.

And all these things made it a 'Poush Parbon' worth remembering!

Coolest Summer Ever

 

This year we are having the coolest summer in some seven decades! Logistics apart, there have been just a few hot days yet, and the frequent showers are mostly welcome (be it for cyclones Tauktae and Yaas, or the western disturbances). So here's capturing this cool summer in pictures for posterity.

Rainy skies brought gorgeous sunsets...

And a profusion of flowers and mangoes!

Our annual kitten litter also arrived.... all brownies this time.

The backyard turned visibly greener...

And the pumpkin flowers stole the show...

But nothing could beat the bumper mango crop after a two year wait - 4 baskets full and more! Must easily be a 5kg harvest. 

As each of us took turns to pluck some, I am hoping these memories and pictures will stay timeless.

Then & Now: Backyard

I love to do these 'Then & Now' posts as they give a sense of how time changes things. And now that we have completed just over a year at the new abode, I thought this was a good time to indulge in this exercise.

So here is presenting a part of the backyard, just outside our bedroom and featuring the mango tree. 

Now

We all love sitting on the stone edging to attend to our calls. I am trying to green up the background, creating more greens on the walls. But the scorching summer set back my plans a bit.

Then

The 'Then' picture was taken when we first came to see the house. Though we got a large part of the soil covered with stone slabs but I do the prefer the neater look that the place has now.

Cat Tales Revisited

Remember the cat story I shared last year? Well, I have no clue what happened to those cats but this time there is a fresh feline family to tell about, so here goes....

As we discovered towards the beginning of the lockdown, living the cat life during quarantine isn't easy. Especially if you choose to produce kittens in Corona times!

So one fine morning, I spotted our neighbourhood fat cat jumping into our backyard with something in its mouth. Naturally, given her catty instincts, I assumed it to be a juicy pigeon or a large rat. With the maids already in absentia due to the lockdown, I was horrified at the prospect of cleaning up after the fat cat. Cleaning up our own lunch leftovers was already enough for me! In a bid to scare her away, I went running right out into the backyard, screaming like a banshee for added effect. Only to see the fat cat jump walls deftly and disappear into an upstairs balcony. So far, so good. But soon she was back, crossing through the backyard again.

Meanwhile, hearing the earlier commotion, hubby had parked himself near the glass door to oversee fat cat's antics. So when she returned this time, and paused near our vegetable patch to tighten her hold on whatever she was carrying, hubby promptly switched on his camera. And what did we discover - fat cat was ferrying her kittens across!

Tiny bundles of fur, two black and two brown, were taken by turns to a new location. Apparently, cats have a tendency to change their location several times when they give birth; that is a strategy to keep the mewing, helpless kittens safe from predators.

After the transposition was done, all was quiet again. Now, as luck would have it or maybe by sheer design, fat cat landed with her kittens in the milk hoarder's balcony. All was well till the babblers and mynahs descended on the mango tree in the evening. Sitting on the topmost branches gave them a field view of the balcony, and the occasional mewing of the kittens confirmed their presence. The birds put up a spirited cacophony but fat cat being a smart mommy chased them all away.

A couple of days went by peacefully till the milk hoarder's son discovered the feline family sheltering in their balcony. His screams, followed by his mom's screams, forced fat cat to again change her family location. They are now, in all probability, housed in the yard of an empty house next door. As fat cat is seen daily ambling across our backyard, in search of food in these lockdown days. And that is the story of a cat in quarantine!

  

Garden Vistas

One of the reasons why we chose this abode were the ample open spaces, with lots of scope for gardening. So our greens hold pride of place, and we try every trick to keep them looking attractive.

Sharing with you some views we can't get enough of!

The corner of the front yard blooming in an array of colours.

Our little birdie brightening up the branches of the banyan bonsai.

The wooden plank that declares the backyard as 'Our Happy Place'!

The pink and maroon duet at the entrance, and in the garden.

These beautiful garden vistas make all our efforts worth the while!

Deepawali Vignettes

Snapshots from around the house on our first Diwali in the new abode.

First, the preparations...

Then the new upholstery...

And the lights...

Then finally the festivities...

Friends, family and feasting added to the sweetness of the festive season! :)

All Creatures Great and Small

As we complete around five months in the new abode, we are getting familiar with the other big and small creatures that we share our space with. Listed below are some of our new finds.... Errr, I mean new friends!

Crow Pheasant (Greater Coucal)

This big guy likes to visit our backyard occasionally, especially on pleasant cloudy days. Foraging amidst our bottle gourd vines, from its vantage point on the boundary wall, it manages to feed itself with a frog or two. Belongs to the cuckoo family, though its call is not half as sweet.

Blister Beetle

Come rains, a cluster of these bright red-and-black coloured beetles descend on our front garden. They attack the red hibiscus with gusto, and sometimes munch on my white petunias as well. Alas, nothing seems to deter them from destroying our flowers. Hope they go away soon.



Ashy Prinia

This tiny cream and ash grey bird with its sweet chirps is one of my favourites. It hops all over the front garden, alternating between the curry leaf tree, the hibiscus, and the jasmine.











Tailorbird

The tailorbird probably has a nest concealed in the dense foliage of the mango tree in the backyard. Its sweet calls, and catch-me-if-you-can games with the cat babies, is a delight to watch. In the adjoining picture, she is superbly hidden amidst the gourd vines and the dry earth.



Garden Lizard

This master of camouflage remains a difficult to spot creature most times of the year but I caught him running between the rose bush and the champa tree one summer afternoon. Shy and rather unsocial, its changing colours are fascinating to watch.

Can you spot him hidden behind the gnarled champa trunk?

Cat Tales

Soon after we moved in to our new abode, we realized that a bunch of cats roamed the backyard regularly. There was the bossy black and white fellow, with a deep throated meow, who roamed around like the king of the area. There was fat tawny cat who hung around the kitchen window salivating at all the lovely odours floating out.

Then one fine day we discovered mommy cat and her two kittens. It seemed mommy was fed by the previous house owners, and was familiar with and comfortable in our backyard. So she often sat outside our bedroom door, peering in and waiting for her goodies.

Or caught a quick siesta as her kittens pranced around. She even suckled her babies right outside our door. Till one morning, when all hell broke loose!

As mommy cat came lingering around the backyard with her kittens in tow, the kids decided to befriend them. The minute they stepped out with biscuits to lure them, the kittens ran helter-skelter. Jumping over flower pots, toppling over leftover construction material, trying to climb on to walls that were too high for the little kittens.

Both mommy and kittens were scared out of their wits and in their confusion, one of the babies made the disastrous decision of climbing up the mango tree to a safe distance.

What followed after was a comedy of errors.... the kitten clambered up too high for its own good, and we were afraid it may fall out of the tree and get hurt. But every time we tried luring it down, it couldn't find a stable branch that would bear its weight and give it the option of jumping on to the adjoining wall. So up it went again.... slipping and sliding on the branches of the mango tree, often meandering too close to the edges.

Amidst all this, mommy cat and her second kid watched the drama from a safe distance but did nothing to help poor little kitty out of its predicament.

This crazy spectacle continued for a while till finally the kids came back indoors, leaving little kitty to figure its own way out. As soon as they exited, mommy cat came in, made the frightened kitten climb down from the mango tree, and finally led it away to the neighbour's yard.

Phew!.... that sure was a tumultuous start of our relationship with the cats in our backyard. :D