From the Auroville Radio

Life in AV Forest (click)
Just wanted to share a broadcast on Auroville Radio..of Catherine and i blabbing on our lives :)

The 'whoosh-er'

Here it is the first time..

  All in one super ready made piece, the tower, arrived to the land on the small 'vandi' (motorized).  Unloaded it. 

  So happy and excited to get cracking on setting up to raise it above the trees.  it came to our attention that a little-big adjustment had to be made in this very specific case. There were 4 guy wire ring holders welded to the tower.  We had specifically..wait one second.  Can you hear that 'whooshing sound'? :) (that's the wind generator) lovely!
  So i was saying that we had already decided to have 3 guy wires and not 4; with many trees around the house it was wiser that way.  The mason had already come a long long time ago to make the foundation to hold the guy wires.

Drawing the tower

All the pieces to be welded

Muddy hinge

  Aureka who does a great job took an eternity to make the tower.  Their list of reasons were endless to postpone it.  I do understand how busy they are but i made sure that they would let me know when they could accommodate this little project.  Not to leave out my own slow time i took to decide what kind of tower we were going to use for a 6kg wind generator.  18 meters height was confirmed.  The higher the cleaner the wind.  A minimum of 6-8 meters above the trees will do.  We are using the house for support.  That helps!
  "you can pick it up, we fixed it." Palani, the supervisor in charge declared.  So, the tower returned.

Arulkumar at work

  Arulkumar nicely painted all the welded areas.  We used GI pipes, as the maintenance would be less.  We lifted it up locked it into the holder attached to the house.  Started to measure all the guy wires with a rope to get an approximate length.  Cut all the GI guy wires pulled them tight, adjusted so that the tower is straight vertically.  Catherine's eye was of great help.  and her master stroke of declaring it was right!
  In the meantime, we bought 90 meters of 6mm.sq.  The artful, creative and genius Akash mentioned that it was wiser to get different colors.  Our budget was short and they only provided in  90 meters batches :(

  I was tightening the flange when it occurred to me that i was not able to pass the cable through the pipe.  There was no hole!  Guess what?  It went back to Aureka to be doctored.  Now, how come so many clumsy mistakes.  Logically speaking there was a hole in the hinge at the bottom so why not in the middle?  I was overtime so happy to just have that post that i skipped the cross verification that is always a must! so i do take some blame..(sigh)
  Pathetic doctored hole done by a gas welder.  It totally burnt the super MRF primer and paint!  All done and returned, the truck driver asks, "On whose name do i put the bill?"  :)

  As i write, the wind generator is spinning to glory.  I can say it spins 80% of the time @ 1.25 Amps..we need to get an electronic ammeter so that we can tell the average.  It is very important the location of your wind generator vis-a-vis the wind capacity of the area.  We are at the top of the water shed therefore more wind available.
  Akash came by Monday morning.  He asked, "how long will it take?"
  i responded, "Ten minutes."  He suspected more..

  It took us the whole morning.  (clearing throat)  We are so grateful he came.  Electronics is not my forte.
  I have been super excited and nervous all along.  So i am more reassured today.  As i see the guy wires are holding well.  Little shake.  Minor.  The LED shines which means that it is charging!

trial run

..magic shop..

It is a matter of how much will it generate over the year.  I mean if you had a solar panel instead which generates much more power then the wind generator, it would be the best option and far cheaper.  In our case, we are harvesting the wind that is available and having a hybrid system is our goal, especially during the rainy season.
  Time will tell.

Mr. Twitter

It began with a beautiful tragedy. Our gorgeous hen and her promising babies attacked by a cobra in the early evening; Mama using even her last breaths to defend her sole surviving chic.


When she passed, Martanda and I took the role of Mamma Hen, our pockets becoming for the chic the safe, warmth typically reserved for under a mother's wing. We hoped and prayed she was a hen. She was the last hope; the last female of a dying dynasty.



And we were thrilled by her. She became more than a pet -- a fragile baby who needed our love and protection, and a fantastic new playmate. She followed us everywhere, worked along side us killing centipedes and termites, kept on our heals as if we really were chickens. Thanks to Monica, we came to call her Twitter.



Slowly, slowly she grew… never quite fitting in with the other hens, enjoying special privileges (like living in a box in our kitchen). It became clear by her behavior -- the way she sat, the noises she made, the way the other chickens were with her, and even her modest crest -- that she was, in fact, a she! We paid no mind to her beautiful colors of the fact that she attacked everything -- including the cats. We celebrated and waited for months for her eggs, even as she became more and more independent.


Five months passed -- the time it takes for a baby to really mature. The lady who helps us around the house insisted that now that Twitter was an adult, there should be no more kitchen privileges. As the size of our babies turds grew, I had to agree.

And then it happened. A visitor called her and a him. We corrected the guest and told of Twitter's storied past.

Then more people came to the house, and they too thought our beloved hen was a cock. But it couldn't be true -- not after five months of being sure she was going to provide us with eggs and keep the country chicken line of Lumière in tact!

We showed her/him/it to everyone who passed by and asked: boy or girl? Without fail, they all said male. We started to look more closely.

Suddenly we noticed she was taller than the other hens… and the crest on her head, while a terrible way to judge hen from cock, was indeed longer than it used to be… and the nail in the coffin: her tail feathers were long, elegant, beautiful curves.

In fact, as I write this, I can hear her coughing out a squeaky, pre-pubescent "cock-a-doodle-do."

Just like a rooster.

So five months later we discover, SHE is, in fact, a HE.

Internet prolonged saga

  I sit and wait for Suresh (BSNL) at the junction box in the forest 783m away from the house.
  Of course, he is not on time.  It is called Indian stretchable time (IST) :)  As i have the computer with me i can write this little note while i wait under the eucalyptus tree.
  What a decision to go forward laying a cable to the house.  We have seen great sides to it.  A good 18 days out of 90 days!  When it did work it worked just fine.  What is the problem?  Where is the problem?
  "Did you call them?  When are they coming?  what does that mean?" i heard many times from Catherine. "usually!…."  i understand where she comes from.  She depends on it for her work.  I wish the internet cable in india specifically Auroville would be
  "hmmmm…" i would respond.  She has taken matters in her hand.  The usual way ;)
  They have taken the modem.  They have checked it.  They are bringing it now.  We will test it at one junction box 783m away from the house.  If that works we move on to the house. 
  So far the issue has always been somewhere between one of the junction boxes to the main box near the exchange.  Phew at least laying the cable was not all waste.  Gotta get the freakin' internet data working!
  So here i wait..
  It is lovely as it has rained quite a bit for several days!  it still smells fresh! :)
  (they have arrived…gotta go)

"twitter" hops her way

  Oh "twitter"!  She sure has healed well.  Her foot is kind alike all wonky now.
  At the time, i was so worried i would be hurting her as i cleaned her wounds and made sure it would not get infected.  I did notice that it was somehow crunched and that she could not move her paws..
  She has adapted sensationally well.  She hops and walks.  She is again normal.  Slowed down sadly when speed is of the essence in the forest with the wild hungry lurking mongoose and civet cat.  The dogs normally do the job to protect 'em.  But you never know at times i would think even the dogs would be interested :)
   She has started to make adult sounds..how can i explain?  maybe i will record the sound one day :)  Expecting her to start laying eggs!
  So, i wished to have put in place her paws so that at least she could place her foot flat on the ground!

Owl have a great journey

  She has been shitting well.  Conclusion the mother is coming and taking care of her baby!
  5 days ago, in the morning, i went to do my regular check-in and felt the owl. 
  "A little cold, shaking is normal.  Why is she a little weaker today?" i asked myself.  Was last nights attempt to fly away tired her so much.
  Convincing myself that the mother is in charge..i continued my day.
  Sadly, on my return that evening.  It had taken another journey other then being a bird! :(
  Sad i was, why did i not pay more attention to my gut feeling and judgement that something was wrong.  I felt responsible! :(
  Monica sweetly put it.  It is the mother's responsability.  I preferred that..
  I buried her under the chickoo tree hoping maybe the fruits will be round as the owl! :')

Owl grows..

  Which day are we at?  i believe it is the 4th night, tonight (i prefer nights as they are nocturnal)

  Last night, well better say yester-evening, again the same song different chord and another tone..the baby owl made it up a few steps and hopped onto the mini wall along the balcony and spoke to her mom.
  Her mom kept calling her and responding to her baby.  Slowly getting darker and darker the mom becomes more courageous and approaches her baby.

  I sat on the balcony for easily half an hour silently and motionless.  So sweet and beautiful to watch the song.
  I was afraid the baby would fly off and not make it far enough into a tree.  There are cats and dogs down there!  i trusted and went back inside.
  After an hour or so, for some reason i went downstairs and started to look as i did not hear the song anymore.  The cat had found the owl exactly below where she sat up on the balcony; not so promising for someone who can fly :)
  This time the owl stayed on the balcony.  I trusted that she would stay.  I went to sleep.  But will she behave? i worried.
  The next morning that is today, Thursday, she was still there.
  Has she been fed all these nights?  Is she getting stronger?
  Monica, the bird lover, will go this afternoon to make an analysis! :)

Owl hops and spreads wings

  "I had the same experience 8 years ago. The nest was in a tree in the middle of the garden. Waking up to go to the lycée, our 4 cats and 1 dog were around it. He had spread out his wings to impress them, but it wasn't going to keep them far for long... I took him (with garden gloves, because yes, the claws are impressive) and put him in my clothes cupboard (wire mesh door). Off to school, and when I came back I took him again under the tree. And hooray he flew to mommy who "showered" him and they went back to the nest!!! Good luck cousin!" - Divya.
  Hmmm. Nice to hear that.
  It was pretty yesterday evening when the sun was setting. A lovely wind.  A serene calm and the sound of birds going home.  Except for the parents of the baby owl.
  A song a dance.  The mama owl hoots her sound with intervals of 'tac tac' then the baby responds with a purr-ish sound.  When the baby makes the sound you have no idea where it is, it is projecting the sound from its ears and forehead; get my point - it resonates all over!  Hops around so the mama can see her.
 I witnessed all this on the balcony sitting quietly.  I thought they were the size of a coconut but actually much smaller.
  The baby has more energy and spreads its wings to scare.  She has even grabbed my finger as if i were a prey.  Makes me smile to see this beautiful lump of feathers with big eyes that wink at you! :)
  This continued for a long, very long time into the dark.  I am assuming that the mama is feeding her!
  I am keeping a watch out as  Aurosylle mentioned that if it does not go all naturally then we might have to feed it.  
  "yeah yeah, feed it some meet and put hair on it; even arm pit hair or something," Monica straightforwardly shared.
  Not reached that stage as yet.  So far so good.  I want to help it with some flying practice; going to pick it up and throw it in the air! :)

Beautiful baby owl

  "Oh what's that?" looking down on the floor in the kitchen.
  I turned away to look right back, what could it be a bird, really?
  It was dark, all i wanted is to feed the dogs and go to sleep.  Of course, i noticed some how the fluffy feathery grey lump right by the door.
  A baby grey owl on the ground with ants starting to get to it :(  i picked it up.  So sweet.  Wow, does it have claws.  It is hardly the size of my fist.  Beautiful big eyes!  Little feather horns above its eyes.  So sweet.  They have a nest in the "keet" where it meets the cement roof.
  How did it get there?
  Will the parents come back for it.  Who do i call?  I tried Aurosylle, Mirabelle and Monica to no avail.
  Hmmm..What do i feed it?  if only i had a syringe i could nourish it with water or some vitamins.  is it sick why is it not flying away?
  Getting all the little ants off its beautiful feathers and going through a thorough check up..nothing seems to be the problem apart from some feathers missing on its neck!
   I call back Monica, yes she picked it up and gave me super instructions on what to do.
  I have put it in a basket with plenty of cloth.  I marked around it with chalk so no ants get to it.  Placing it on the verandah, right below their nest, hoping its parents will show up tonight..
  I wish it will survive and return to the wild healthy, strong and safely!
  Good night :)

Hopping "Twitter"

  An evening we came just before dark.  We spot "twitter" sitting on the stool outside the kitchen door.  Unusual.
   She has been used to staying in the kitchen as she grew up in there.  Otherwise, we had started to put her in the chicken pen with the other adult hens.
  I wondered why would she be there.  She got off the stool and started to limp!
  She had a cut on her paw.  Ouch.
  The next morning i wanted the vets opinion, "Hi.  You got a problem with your cock again?!"  the vet joked seriously.  "is it your hen or the cock that needs attention?" and so i explained the story.  As per her orders i went to get ointments and medecine for "twitter"
  I still could not put the pieces together as how the chick was hurt and not put in her place.  According to the watchman, he says Saedi was after it; and she hurt "twitter" Do i beleive that?
   And then that he could not catch her to put her with the others. hmmmmm..
  Well damage is done.  After dressing he for several days and giving medecine she continues to hop.  She is unable to place her foot down :(
  Truly wish her foot gets better, after all she grew up in my pocket!