The Peacock and the Bald Eagle
Both are proud. The peacock struts, the eagle soars. The peacock is never seen without companions, the eagle is independent. The peacock is ornate the Eagle is simple. So the Bald Eagle would win in a “chicken” fight… but the peacock would win a beauty contest. The Bald Eagle, the strength of America. The peacock, magnificence of India. I could pontificate about the symbolism of each bird and the country and culture they represent, but I’ll leave that to you.
I just wanted to say that I was walking home from the market with my mom the other day, and we spotted a peacock with two peahen friends. They were just walking around in a small garden in our neighborhood. Seeing them put a smile on my face.
Wild Parrots
I love seeing wild parrots–they make me so happy.
This morning I was sitting out on my veranda reading my bible and praying, in the street below a carpet vendor lugging carpets through the street on a cart called out to the house wives to prepare for winter with a new carpet. The subji valla called out the vegetables he was selling–and my eyes wandered across the street to a tree that sometimes serves as a resting place for green parrots. Then just as I picked up my things to come inside I looked and there was a parrot hanging from a pipe on the wall of the house on the corner just next to that tree. I watched it for a few minutes and smiled. It felt like it was a little gift from God to see that bird today. I found out that these are Green Indian Lorikeets. You see them flying around in the ancient palaces of Delhi and Agra as if they are the incarnations of the Mughal princes. When I was looking for information on these birds I came across this fun blog by Neha Viswanathan. Check her thoughts on the birds: within/without. I like her thoughts, but I still would like to keep some birds in a beautiful bamboo cage on the veranda or terrace!
200 Sheep, 20 Cows, 15 dogs, 5 pigs, 1 Elephant, 1 Ox, 1 Monkey in the Street
So, I live in New Delhi. New Delhi is the metropolitan capital of India. People and companies from all over the world settled here. Using my Dad’s frame of reference from the U.S., Delhi is about the size of Atlanta with the Population of NYC. Crazy. (For details see Lonely Planet).
We have ice cream, electricity, international cuisine (at least kind of), an amusement park, golf courses, a metro system, ect. But I am still on the other-side of the world, and I can feel it every minute. To turn a light on, you flip the switch down not up.
And, all God’s creatures roam the earth freely (except perhaps female humans after dark). In the last few days I have seen approximately: 20 Cows, 15 dogs, 5 pigs, 1 Elephant, 1 Ox, 1 Monkey in the Street. The sheep were funniest sight. We we driving to church, or rather my friend Sam was driving us and there in the middle of a traffic jam where three men guiding about 100 sheep. The sheep had brightly painted faces: green, pink and yellow. Then a few minutes later, there was another herd of sheep. This brings a whole new light on the parable of the lost sheep.
