My fish bowl is unoccupied. All four fishes are now dead. 'Pele'. the last one to die lay at the bottom of the bowl. Heeding my friends, I intend to buy new fishes. And hope they last longer. This time round I decided to read up a little bit on fish rearing.
Here are two links I found informative.

http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles/56

http://www.essortment.com/all/howtotakecare_rorw.htm

Its been some time since I wrote something on my baby. Ah the indefatigable toddler! She sleeps late but more often than not, sleeps on her own. She likes me telling stories… as long as the central character is an elephant! She has an impressive vocabulary now. Hold her in front and she says "kangakoo"! I was pleasantly surprised the first time she used it! She can make herself understood almost completely although you do have to keep in mind the context since her pronunciation is still not 100 % accurate. . She is putting three four words together now into basic sentences. Is bilingual, speaking words in English and her mother tongue. Its funny to see her launch in to a soliloquy with words learnt interspersed with words manufactured! I realize that baby girls tend to emulate their moms. That’s how they learn and play. So my daughter 'cooks' ‘makes’ tea for me... mops and sweeps... feeds her doll... its so sweet to see her do all that. I now go to work for few hours in the morning. And an occasional site visit in the afternoons. But I make it a point to be home at noon to put her to sleep. She used to cry not because I was leaving but she wanted to be taken along! But these days she waves me good bye and it’s a relief. I don’t have to sneak out. I say a proper good bye and leave. And of course we have many mommy - baby times that I cherish. I like to take her out to the garden in the evenings to water the plants. Our bougainvillea sapling bore two magenta flowers. And this small Tabaernamontana dwarf variety we got esp. for her is in blooms. She likes to play in water and it’s hard to keep her away but I let her enjoy it. We sometimes feed the crows that visit us. She takes it very seriously. Calls them... kaa kaa baa (crow come) and then tosses the bread crumbs. She is delighted when the crows oblige her by swerving gracefully to devour the tidbits. We also see other birds occasionally. Blabbers, Cuckoos, Mynahs, Drongos, even Partridges. It’s a time of the day I enjoy as much as my girl. If it weren’t for these moments I would not have known that the laburnum pods when you pry them open have seeds arranged in compartments separated by a sticky black gum coated sheath. I planted few of the seeds just to see a plant grow ... and it did. Fascinating. My daughter has been a catalyst in helping me reconnect with nature in a way. I hope she grows up into a nature lover... watching birds and plants ... tending flowers, watering plants.

Sun shining thru'the pane
Cool breeze on my face
Too close for comfort
A nudge here a touch there
Sweat breaks on my brow
I can't heave I can't move
Everything comes to a stand still...
No no its not what you think
I am just STUCK IN TRAFFIC!!!!!

I am enthralled by hockey. I have always liked watching the game. And with the world cup being at home you couldn’t miss the action. Many other tournaments that India participated in often got little or no media coverage and we didn't know what was happening unless of course they won the tournament.
Indian hockey has always been entertaining. In fact an India Pakistan encounter is full of passion and superb wizardry. It’s easily the best in the business. So what goes wrong? Why can’t we win consistently? Out of 12 teams participating, India is world no. 12. They sure deserve to be way up in the ranking. Unfortunately there are no points for aesthetics. It’s the goals you score and those that you defend that earn you the points. Against Australia we were simply out played. They were the better team, though we put up a good fight. Two quick goals within minutes of opening and you are on the back foot all the time. With the pace of hockey you cannot afford to take your foot off the pedal. I think we could have beaten Spain in the last match. There was a serious lack of anticipation of the opponent’s moves. We were too slow to react at many points. And again trailing after two goals you are playing catch up. It’s always better to draw the first blood and then step up the pressure. India came back strongly in today’s match with England. Trailing once again we did well in the last half an hour to reduce the deficit by 2 goals. Two inspired goals... beautifully executed. But for 2 very good chances that we couldn’t capitalize on we might have won the match. And mind you England beat world no. 2 Australia and are the group leaders! So it was never going to be easy, particularly with our backs against the wall.
We might have lost but our heads are high. We played with passion. We have to improve on many aspects and we lost to better ranked teams. We can’t expect to peak only at the world cup and hope to win it. It’s about building a team and playing consistently. Much like the Indian cricket team. The least we can do is support our team. Stand by them even if they not winning. And hopefully the new dawn of Indian Hockey is just around the corner.
Cheers India. Thank you for the entertainment.

I was watching Pakistan's match with England the other day. Two of the Pakistani players are only 17... And that got me thinking... Sports must be a ticket to good life for young boys from poorer sections of society. In a country torn with internal disturbances and violence, I am glad to see these youngsters turning to sports and doing well. For there are others youngsters who are walking a dangerous road fighting for a different cause.... a cause without an end... brain washed into fighting pseudo ‘holy’ war... killing innocent lives... snuffing out their own which could have but been groomed into great champions. If all the passion and zeal of the terror mongers could be channeled into the right path, can you imagine the force they could become? So many youngsters from poor family are lured by terror mongers in to the quagmire of terrorism from which there is no return, except by death - A senseless death without a cause.
We must support sports in Pakistan. It might mean the difference between life and death for so many of the youngsters. And the victims of terror.

The winner takes it all.......

When India beat Pakistan 4-1 the team looked good enough for the semifinal berth. I wondered what was so great about cricket when hockey was faster and much more exciting, lasting a little over an hour and a half. There is not a single dull moment. You cannot afford to look away for a second lest there is a goal. Then we lost to Australia and the euphoria died. That is where cricket has been different. Its not the game per se. We share our sportspersons’ success and regale and relish drawing vicarious pleasure. One name – Sachin tendulkar, has brought so much joy to millions of fans. When they win... we win. When they lose, we are heart broken. And I realized, winning seems to be everything. Or at least is a great deal. Triumph and disaster might be imposters but they are not the same. I think we have been fed the wrong message over the years which has dulled us Indians into accepting a defeat easily. It took a Ganguly and then Dhoni to inspire their team mates in to believing in themselves and when we had won enough matches it got harder to accept defeat. Defeat feels more bitter after having tasted sweet success. No wonder they say, success is a habit. And today Team India is the number one test team in the world. Yes. Winning is what matters. Legal, clean, played in the right spirit. But winning is the only thing.

Let the defeat burn you,
Let the bitterness creep in your veins
Till you cannot take it anymore.
Cry in anguish, and in pain
And let it provoke you
To give it everything you got.
That last ounce of strength
For then
Success cannot be far.

Fish diary 5

I am sad. Honey breathed her last. she was looking tired and listless for two three days now. I cannot fathom why exactly she died. She was eating well. Perhaps i am not doing everything right with rearing the fishes... What do you do with a dead Gold fish? I didn't have the heart to throw her out where she might end up as cat food. I buried her. Pele and Mustard have survived so far. Do these fishes have a high mortality?

FISH DIARY 4

I am a little worried about Honey. She seems a little off color. Her movements are a little slow.