Happy Republic Day 2021

Death trap

The Death trap

Hi everybody!

 Let me tell you what happened today.

I like photography and so I go out on bird walks with my dad. This fine morning, he woke up early at 6 o’clock. He woke me up too and called me to get ready. Wiping my eyes, I stared at the wall clock. “It’s only 6! Can’t I sleep a little longer?” I moaned. “No. Don’t you want to go out with me? Birding is for early birds. Now get up,” He said. I got ready and went off to the lakeside with him.

It was cool and a light breeze blew. The sun had hardly come out and it was cloudy too. There were trees all around and the greenery soothed my eyes. I gave dad some tea from the flask that we had brought.  We decided to walk along the lakeside and scan it for birds. I spotted some small birds and asked dad which ones they were. He said that the ones sitting on the rocks were river terns. I clicked a few photos of them and then we moved on.

River tern

Walking by the side, rather crouching because we didn’t want the birds to see us, dad pointed out to a long stick that was put in the ground. There was another stick of nearly the same length standing with the help of rocks some four or five meters apart. I thought this was odd. We decided to go near and check it out.  The both of us walked till there slowly and when we reached there we saw a very strange thing. The sticks that were standing some meters apart were joined by a long and thin rope which was white and dirty. Hanging from that rope were various ropes of different lengths ending with a noose that would remind anybody of the gallows. I was perplexed at first, but understood what it was when dad explained it to me.

 Shore birds and waders such as plovers, stilts and shanks come to feed upon them and they are usually found at such places. They come feeding, and when they come too near their long stick-like legs get stuck in the noose. Even so, their leg can be taken out, but when the bird tries to pull its leg, the noose tightens itself and become small. So the harder the bird pulls, the tighter it becomes, and the more difficult it gets for the bird to free itself.

“So it is a bird trap?” I ask.

“Yes,” My father replies.

“But one thing that I don’t quite get, is that why someone would like to catch such a harmless and innocent bird,” I say.

“It is very simple my dear. Villagers from nearby villages come to these forests and disturb the wildlife with their activities. The graze their cows, collect firewood and timber, clear natural vegetation and disturb wildlife. The trap that you just saw set up here is for someone’s meal. After the bird is caught, whoever has set up this trap will come and take it away. He will cook it up and eat it. Not only are these birds, but francolins and partridges also targeted for their meat.” He took a brief pause and continued. “Let’s take this death trap out before anybody sees us and any bird is caught.”

We pulled the sticks, gathered all the ropes, put them in the car and went back home after some photography.

What I want to really say is that we humans must not disturb and kill wildlife for our greedy needs. Many times when I go on such walks I admire nature’s beauty and all that it has given us. But then when I find a plastic manja in a tree or a plastic bottle lying around I think that we are using our Earth’s resources but are not giving back. It really makes me think, do we deserve everything we have?

~ Chinmayee Bhattacharjee

   

Elephant Day

Indus valley poster

The Indus Valley Civilization

The Indus valley civilization was an early civilization with great drainage systems and wonderful craftsmen. They had a script of various different symbols which, till date, nobody has deciphered. I sure wish they do it quickly. Who knows, some one might've written an ancient story? This is a poster I made for my class . Have fun !

 ~Chinmayee Bhattacharjee

My Jungle Safari 

Hi everybody! This is my watercolour painting which was selected for the second round of an art competition. I made this drawing because I think that tigers are very courageous and majestic. In India, there are many tiger reserves but the tiger population is sadly, fast depleting. I like tigers and  maybe we can save them before its too late. 

                       ~ Chinmayee Bhattacharjee

   

The soldier- Happy 72nd Independence day !

The Soldier

Happy Independence day ! I am dedicating this poem to the heroes of our country, our soldiers !

~ Chinmayee Bhattacharjee

Tiger Tiger Burning Bright ...

"Tyger Tyger Burning Bright, 
in the forests of the night
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?"

The tiger is the pride of India. It is a majestic and elegant big cat that roams on the lands of our country. I have made a sketch of a tiger.

Do tell me how it is!

                            ~ Chinmayee  Bhattacharjee

The girl Child

The Girl Child : A Tender bud

Little girls of the ages of 6 and below are a joy to see. They prance around, in their cute frocks and ponies all the while singing sweet rhymes and making the person with them so happy that for a while he/she can forget everything else and just listen to their enchanting chatter.
Now-a-days, the scenario is not so good for girls. I think I understated, and maybe I should mean quite bad. The crimes against women and girls of all ages are increasing day by day.
Such crimes such as rape, sexual harassment and molesting are a crisis, a problem that keeps coming again and again. The perverted  people who commit such disgusted and heinous acts should be punished severely. 

But look at the positive side! The government is trying its best to stop the crimes, some girls have made themselves powerful and strong and we all want our country to be a better place. 

Friends, here I have made a sketch about girls -

                                                                                   ~ Chinmayee Bhattacharjee

Santhal Tribal Art 

Santhal tribal art is the local tribal art found in Bengal, Bihar and Orrisa. I tried making it. Do tell me how it is !

                                                                      Chinmayee

Living In Space 

Living in space is very hard. There's no gravity, so doing everyday things isn't a piece of cake.
Here are some ways astronauts live and work in space aboard a space station. 

1. Cleanliness-

        Astronauts need to stay clean in space as well as you need to on earth.They have toothpastes, toothbrushes, combs, brushes and shavers. All these are to be found in a personal hygiene kit.Astronauts use different and special kinds of soap and shampoo. After washing they wipe up with a towel.

2. Neat and Tidy-

       In space, astronauts live in a very small space. They have to keep their area clean in space just like we do on Earth. They use wet wipes to clean things. There are four bins on the space shuttle. The first three bins are for wet trash and the last fourth one is for dry waste. They also use a vacuum cleaner. 

3. Beauty Sleep-

      Well, don't suppose that astronauts float around in sleep !

They hop into a sleeping bag and then strap themselves in it. Otherwise they would be crashing into things all night!

It is really hard to live in space, still astronauts are trained for it and they do it to find out more about the mind boggling, beautiful space.

- Chinmayee Bhattacharjee 

HAPPY HOLI

Happy Independence Day

Happy Independence Day