jungly heat and humidity

Delhi in maximum jungly heat and humidity.

Jungle (detail) by Andrée, watercolour and pastel

Delhi is extremely hot and humid right now. The monsoon is almost over, and after the cooling rain and clouds comes the blazing-sun-out steamer effect. Insect life (and other organisms) are in full glory, the trees and plants are fresh-bathed and flourishing, and one is soaked in sweat from the least activity. It is all gloriously GREEN. And damp.

It is mating season for peacocks, fanning their tails and filling the air with their clarion honks.

Here is the morning view from my window at Ninder Mahal, our castle in Rajasthan. Nature's most extravagant creature,

how did the peacock get designed thus? Over-the-top colour,

pattern, shine and glitter. A great National Bird for India.

I found a giant grasshopper last week at Ninder Mahal, sipping nectar by night on the Queen of the Night bush. The length of my longest finger, maybe 6", a King of Grasshoppers he was, and the most pop-art design you can imagine; chrome yellow and bright blue rings end to end! Just like a hallucination, or Alice in Wonderland. Then the details; delicate irridescent glassy wings, shaded yellow through coppery red, tiny sketched lines along legs, and stripey ringed antenna, and buggy blue eyes. The King was slowly picking up each tubular flower in both "hands", and sipping it back, as from a chalice. After a while he began to eat them slowly, like cucumbers.

(more about Ninder Mahal next post)