As a child nature and natural surroundings, the flora and fauna did not mean anything to me, it was background and ambiance for life.

In other words I was spoilt, as I grew up in surroundings people pay huge money to go and holiday in.  I was about eight when we got posted to Shillong.  Subsequently we lived in Kohima and then Imphal.

I remember the steep hills of Shillong where I had to march uphill to the convent I studied in, breathing in the pine and citrus laden air.  I remember weeping bitterly when one day my father walked down the road and some clouds came down and he disappeared into them.  I was scared the clouds had swallowed him.  I was/am some sort of a sleepwalker, only I do this rarely now.  Once I got out of my bed, walked out and slept on the grass in the lawn.  I opened my eyes to find the ground covered with frost.  I had fun stomping the crunchy frost.  Of course the parents were horrified and that was one time I got no sympathy for falling ill!

But the place I loved was Imphal – that is where I discovered my love for animals.  Imphal town is a valley, through which the Imphal river flows, the soil is black, rich in minerals and nutrients and very fertile.  When we just moved into our home, my mother along with the gardener pulled out chunks of canna from the lawn.  My mother loaded a whole lot of uprooted plants on a small go cart I had and told me to go to the edge of the forest and throw them.  I did.  Next rains we could see something red in the forests and went to investigate.  The cannas had flourished in the rains and were marching back to the colony.

Siroi Lily – the fragrance still lingers in my mind (Image sourced from Google)

And there were so many orchids of the most unusually bright colours, posting one such picture

Would you believe it, Ma grew these in our lawn?

I found flowers and trees my mother loved pretty tame, they did not play with you.  Animals did.  My brother and I collected strays at an astonishing rate.  My mother did not like animals but government homes allotted to my father were huge, and we kept the animals out of her way, and peacefully co-habited.  The previous resident of the house had constructed a pond in the backyard.  Ma got it cleaned and during the rains she got fish put in it.  It was a struggle initially to keep the fish alive, since frogs ate the fish lings, but soon we had a passable amount of fish for our meals.  But even these did not play with us.  We got a couple of kittens home at first.  Ma did not object much, and the kittens were fun.  They were so playful!  We soon got used to checking the curtains before pulling them, so as to avoid having a kitty fall on our head.  Women do not window shop as avidly as cats do.  Our cats spent hours staring into the pond, hoping that some fish would oblige them by jumping out of the water and into their mouths.

Then we got ourselves a pup, Coco.  He was a stray we found howling in the nearby jungle, he was such an adorable bundle of fur.  At first he was completely bullied by the cats in the house, who would smack him and then climb up the curtains or trees in the garden.  He was petrified by them, until he grew up.  One day it dawned on him that he was bigger than them and could fight back!  Then cat and dog wars occurred much to our delight – the frequency and intensity could have put Tom and Jerry cartoons to shade!  The dog would be sleeping lazily in the sun, and one or the other cat would creep upto him and either pull his tail or smack him on the face.  The dog would get up and chase the cat who would climb a tree and then tease him by stretching out on a branch and playing with the leaves.  The poor dog!  All he could do was scratch the tree trunk and bark angrily.

Coco grew up into a huge dog.  He was hefty and ferocious looking, but a very gentle soul!  When one of our cats gave birth to kittens, he decided that he was the Daddy and would play with the kittens for hours, and guard them from wild animals and strangers.

We lived quite close to the Imphal river – which is lovely.  Of course we had to deal with a lot of mosquitoes but that could not be helped!

My father had to go once and inaugurate a thermal power plant.  It was in the wilderness.  The ceremony was boring, the speeches more so.  We kids went wandering around the jungle and came upon a sleeping orange tabby.  Naturally we picked it up and brought it home.  It slept all the way home.  At home, our dog and cats first came to greet us, and then fled the moment they smelt it.  We did not know why, but when I tried to feed it, it attacked me.  In a few moments, my arms were covered with scratches and bites.  It was then that my father realized that it was a lion cub!  It was quickly put into a wooden crate, fed some raw meat and the next morning it was sent to the zoo.  I, or course, got tetanus shots.

Manipur has lush green forests, and of course a lot of wild animals.  The dangerous ones like snakes and scorpions and leeches one had to tolerate.  But playful creatures like sangai deer were a delight.  They had no fear of vehicles and would often race alongside us, and if they overtook, they would look back, as though egging us to hurry up and catch up with them. (Image sourced from Google)

A unique feature of Imphal is the Khwairamband Bazaar, also known as Ima Bazaar.  Each and every shopkeeper there is a woman (Ima means Mother). Everything you need, fresh farm produce, meat, fish, fruits and vegetables, honey, clothes and woolens are sold here.  I know this has nothing to do with nature – but since I was writing about Imphal, I felt the post would be incomplete without this picture. (Image sourced from Google)