Indian Peacock in Flight

Photo: The Indian Peacock captured on lens during flight

The Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus, is perhaps the only bird with such a long train of feathers with vibrant iridescent colors. Often mistaken for tail feathers, this long train is actually made up of around 200 upper tail coverts, growing above the usual tail feathers. While both peahens and peacocks have tail feathers, peahens do not have the trains. The train feathers have multicolor eyespots.

The iridescent feather colors are not due to color pigments, but they are resulting from optical interference reflections of nanostructures of the fiber-like components of feathers. The peacock raises its train feathers, spreads them like an elaborate evenly spread fan and quivers it, and performs what is commonly known as ‘the peacock dance’ during courtship.

Artemisia Gentileschi: Suffer the little children to come unto me

Photo: Suffer the little children to come unto me (1624-25), oil on canvas painting by Artemisia Gentileschi, 134.6 cm x 97.7 cm, currently at San Carlo al Corso, Rome

The images of this painting are sometimes titled ‘Sinite Parvulos’, which refers to "Sinite parvulos venire ad me", citing Jesus from the Gospel (Mk 10: 14): “When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’”

But this painting by Artemisia Gentileschi, historically titled ‘Suffer the little children to come unto me’ (or ‘Christ blessing the children’) was untraceable for some time, and was also believed to be lost. And some art historians had wrongly attributed the work to some other artists.

The painting was originally listed in the worldly possessions of Fernando Enriquez Afán de Ribera, the 3rd Duke of Alcalà, who also is believed to be its first owner. In 1898, it was in the collection of the Duke of Sutherland. In July 1913, it was put on sale at Christie’s in London. And in 1927, it was in the collection of E. Boross at Larchmont, New York, from whom it was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in the same year.

On 30 May 1979, the Metropolitan Museum sent it for sale to Sotheby’s New York, wrongly attributing the authorship to the Italian Painter Carlo Rosa (1613-1678). After that and notably by 2001 the whereabouts of the painting became unknown.

However, it was rediscovered in the collection of San Carlo al Corso. Comparison of the known photographs of the painting with the 1979 Sotheby’s catalogue show the painting in the church is the same work, but with slight changes caused due to restoration, probably carried out after the sale in 1979.

At the area, close to the bottom edge, where restoration was done, something like the woolly back of a lamb is now visible which was not there earlier. And mysteriously, the right hand of one of the boys is missing.

This painting is one of the most beautiful works of Artemisia Gentileschi, and historians suggest that ‘it can be numbered among her masterpieces’.

The Fate of Tiger Temple in Thailand

Photo: Tourists watching chained tigers in the Tiger Temple in Thailand, photo taken in June 2004

The picture shows an area inside the Tiger Temple (Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua Yanasampanno) located in the Kanchanaburi Province of Thailand.

Established as a Buddhist forest temple and wildlife sanctuary in 1994, it had about 150 tigers, other animals and birds as of January 2016. The star attraction of the sanctuary was the Tiger Island, spread over five hectares and completed in 2011 at a cost of over US$ 2.5 million. It had 28 tiger enclosures and was a huge hit with local tourists and backpackers.

The whole complex presented a romantic picture, monks living with tigers and other wild animals in perfect harmony. You too could have been part of such a mystical harmony, getting photographed with tigers or even taking a selfie with the magnificent feline friends.

But for a price; reportedly, the entrance fee per head ranged from US$17 to US$140, earning millions of dollars for the temple management.

Over the years, the temple had been accused of illegal breeding and controversial commercial activities. A number of NGOs and conservation and animal rights groups contacted the Thai authorities urging them to take action against the temple.

The NGOs alleged clandestine exports to a tiger farm in Laos, among many other allegations, and asked the authorities to conduct genetical tests to determine the subspecies and pedigree of the big cats.

Breeding tigers for commercial use is restricted by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to which Thailand is a signatory, and the unlicensed breeding violates Thai laws too.

The authorities had been persuading the monks to stop all illegal activities. They also wanted the monks to stop exposing tourists to hazardous contact with tigers. The NGOs had already pointed out that there are up to 60 reported incidents annually of captive tigers attacking tourists and/or attendants.

On May 30, 2016, more than 500 officers consisting of wildlife officials, police and vets raided the temple complex. They seized 137 living tigers, 40 frozen cub corpses, a dead bear, a large number of body parts of other animals preserved in freezers and horns of various animals. Some of the dead cubs were found preserved in formaldehyde. They also found protected birds such as hornbills that were being reared without license.

The police also stopped the abbot's secretary trying to flee with tiger skins, over 1000 amulets containing pieces of tiger skin, and other contraband items. They also seized trucks loaded with protected Siamese rosewood.

Some packed carcasses of cubs in containers had labels in English implicating they were for local sale or international trade.

The subspecies of the tigers in this unscientifically maintained sanctuary is not clearly known. However, it is believed that they are mostly Indochinese tigers (Panthera tigris corbetti), along with subspecies such as Malayan tigers (Panthera tigris jacksoni) and some hybrids resulting from cross breeding. One animal was identified as a Royal Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris).

With the help of animal welfare charities, the tigers were rehabilitated by the authorities.

Advent Candles

Photo: Advent Candles lit for the three first Sundays of advent

As the caption says, the picture depicts three candles lit to mark the three Sundays of advent. Another candle is left unlit for the next Advent Sunday.

Commonly Advent Candles marked with dates of December leading up to Christmas Eve are lit in households, and each day a little more is burnt down.

The traditional the color of Advent Candles is white. But as you may see in shops selling Christmas decorations and as being popularly used in households, colored candles marked with dates as in an Advent Calendar have gained more acceptance.

The tradition of lighting Advent Candles has its roots in Germany, gradually gaining popularity in other countries.

The candles, white or colored, can be arranged and lit as per the imagination and creativity of each person. Twigs of green plants and other Christmas decorations and ornaments can be artfully arranged and candles placed imaginatively to make them more appealing, or as in a Christingle.

The symbolism of lighting candles is to celebrating Jesus as the Light of the World.

Yule Log, the Dessert and the Tradition

Photo: A homemade Yule log (Bûche de Noël) made of chocolate filled with raspberry jam - the traditional French dessert for Christmas

Yule log is a traditional dessert served during the Christmas season. It is made from sponge cake and ingredients such as chocolate, butter cream, various extracts, and often shaped like a mini Yule log.

Historically Yule was originally celebrated by the Germanic peoples. In Nordic countries, and in some English speaking countries, words equivalent to Yule are used for Christmas. The customs such as Yule singing, Yule goat and Yule boar are linked to the pagan tradition of Yule.

The pagan Yule can be traced to several fourth century communities, even before they were converted to Christianity. They continued many of their original traditions even after conversion, though they underwent many changes in the course of time.

It is not clear if the historical Germanic Yule feast involved ancestor worship and the cult of the dead, as was prevalent in some pagan rituals. However, when the custom fell out, probably in the 1940s, it became just the dessert.

The English historian Henry Bourne (1694-1733) traced the origin of the Yule log to Anglo-Saxon paganism. He noted that the celebration involved burning a log of wood, known by names such as Yule Clog, Gule Block or Christmas Block. Its purpose was to illuminate the house and was symbolic of the return of the Sun and seeking longer duration of daylight.

The custom can also be traced to the folklore of England. According to lore, the Yule log is burned at night on the Christmas Eve. It should burn uninterrupted till only ash is left, because relighting it is considered unlucky. People sit around the fire and narrate stories of ghosts.

While setting fire to the log, people keep silence and make their wishes silently. After this, candles are lit from the fire and placed on a table following which silence can be broken. No other lights must be lit that night. Often a piece of the wood is saved to be lighted along with the next year's log. On the Christmas morning, a leaf or a tree branch is brought home before taking anything out of the house.

In France, where the custom is known as Bûche de Noël, the branch from a fruit bearing tree is circumambulated thrice around the house and blessed with wine, before burning. This custom seems to have been discontinued by a log-shaped cake, known as Bûche de Noël.

Yule log is also similar to Badnjak as in Slavic mythological rituals and other customs such as smearing the log with the blood of fowls or goats. The ash from the log is scattered in gardens and agricultural fields to promote fertility on the New Year's Eve.

Taj Mahal by Moonlight, painting by Charles William Bartlett

Photo: The Taj Mahal by Moonlight (1923), oil on canvas painting by Charles William Bartlett, now located in Honolulu Museum of Art, Hawaii, USA

Charles William Bartlett was an English artist who settled in Hawaii, USA. In 1913, Bartlett along with his wife traveled to South Asia and the Far East during which he visited the Taj Mahal. The painting of the monument depicts it when it was in a state of disrepair and lack of proper maintenance. However, it had enough splendor to inspire him to paint the monument of love.

Ever since the Taj Mahal was built, it has been able to instill in the visitors a sense of emotional attachment with it. Incidentally, it creates different emotions in different people. This painting invokes a sense of lost grandeur as well as a majestic invincibility. Also there is a mystic, eerie atmosphere surrounding it. As it is the view of the monument lit by moonlight, which is a romantic experience to most visitors, the painting also makes the viewer remember her/his loved ones.

The Taj Mahal is a Mughal period mausoleum, constructed mainly with translucent Makrana marble and decorated with inlays of precious and semiprecious gemstones. It is situated on the south bank of the Yamuna River in the Indian city of Agra.

Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1631 in memory of his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal who died giving birth to their 14th child, construction of the monument began in 1632. The main mausoleum was completed in 1643, work continuing for another ten years till the rest of the complex was completed.

The monument incorporates the architectural and art traditions of earlier Mughal and Persian buildings. It is considered the best example of Mughal Architecture.

The Taj Mahal complex, which has many other buildings, has esthetically landscaped lawns and magnificent gardens. There are several other mausoleums, including those of Jahan's other wives, and a larger tomb near the mausoleum for the favorite servant of Mumtaz.

This UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the seven wonders of the modern world, and one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Rabindranath Tagore described it as ‘the tear-drop on the cheek of time’. For many others it is the monument of love. The imperial court documents describe Jahan's inconsolable grief on the death of Mumtaz as the inspiration for the monument.

Soon after the completion of the monument, his son Aurangzeb deposed Shah Jahan and placed him under house arrest at Agra Fort. On his death, Aurangzeb buried in the mausoleum Jahan next to his beloved wife.

Buddha's Hand, an unusual citrus fruit

Photo 1: Buddha's Hand, closed hand-shaped green fruit on semi-dwarf plant

Photo 2: Buddha's Hand, ripe closed hand shaped fruit

Buddha's Hand is a bizarre citron. Its scientific name is Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis, and is a member of the Citrus genus to which lemons, oranges, grapefruit and limes belong.

It’s called Buddha's Hand because of the shape of the fruits that resembles a human hand with fingerlike projections. The origin of this citrus plant, also known as Fingered Citron, is traced to northeast India and China.

The Fingered Citron is an evergreen, large, fast-growing shrub that can grow to a small tree of 3m to 5m height. It has long thorny branches and oblong leaves. Its white flowers have a purple tint and appear in fragrant clusters.

The plant loves temperate climate, and is sensitive to extreme climatic conditions like excessive heat and frost. It can be reproduced from branch cuttings.

Unlike other citrus fruits, Buddha's Hand fruit, looking like a lemon with fingerlike projections, has a sweet aroma. It contains only a very small amount of pulp and negligible juice, and is seedless.

Admired for its unique shape and aroma, the fruit can be eaten raw. It is mainly used in various recipes for its unique flavor, lemony zest and zing, and also to flavor alcoholic beverages. It can be sliced into strips, or chopped and added as special ingredients in sweet breads, cakes, cookies and ice creams.

In traditional medicine, the sliced, dried peel of immature fruits is recommended as a tonic. The fruit is known to help relieve pain and discomfort due to injuries, swellings and bruises and to relieve discomforts related to respiratory diseases, diarrhea, constipation, high blood pressure, heart problems, menstrual issues, etc. (This is no medical advice, consult a doctor).

The fruit is important as a religious offering at Buddhist temples. Buddha prefers fruits with closed fingers, resembling folded hands symbolizing the act of prayer. Some fruits of this plant naturally resemble Buddha's hand symbol and are specially revered. The fruit is a symbol of good fortune, longevity and happiness in China where it is also a traditional offering in temples and given as a New Year gift.

The Fingered Citron is very fragrant and is used in Japan, Korea and China as a perfume for rooms and clothing. It is also grown as an ornamental plant in gardens and in pots placed on porticos and terraces.

The Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation

Photo: St. Gabriel's Greek Orthodox Church in Nazareth

The Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, situated in Nazareth, Israel, is a principal center of Christian pilgrimage. As the name suggests, the place where the church is located is believed to be where the angel Gabriel delivered God’s message to Virgin Mary.

The church, also known as the Church of St. Gabriel, is built over a subterranean spring where Mary was drawing water at the time of the Annunciation, according to the Eastern Orthodox belief. The spring water is still present inside the apse of the church.

The Book of Luke (1:27-35) does not describe the exact location where Gabriel delivered God’s message to Mary, but only mentions Nazareth. However, according to the second century text of James, when the angel addressed her and greeted her she looked around but could see any one. She returned home with the pot of water after which Gabriel appeared before her and informed her about the virgin birth of Jesus.

The church had previously been occupied by the Franciscans and the Greek Catholics. But Zahir al-Umar al-Zaydani, the ruler of Galilee, granted control of the church to the local Arab community of Greek Orthodox faith. Consequently, in 1750, they built a new church just beside the existing one. Since then the Arab Orthodox local council in Nazareth has been running the church.

The original church is believed to have been built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine I at the site of a spring that was the only source of water supply to the village of Nazareth.

The water of the spring originates from a mountain known as Jabal as-Sikh and flows underground for 17 meters and emerges in the church. From there it continues to flow 130 meters further to surface at Mary's Well. This was the well from which Mother Mary and boy Jesus used to draw and drink water. But today, there is a nonfunctional structure rebuilt for the millennium celebrations of Nazareth in 2000.

The spring within the old chapel can be accessed from the present church by descending a few steps, and water can be drawn from it.

Another important center of pilgrimage is the Catholic Basilica of the Annunciation built over a cave which is believed to have been the house where Mary lived.

Annunciation, painting by Leonardo da Vinci and Andrea del Verrocchio

Photo: The Annunciation, oil on panel painting by Italian artists Leonardo da Vinci and Andrea del Verrocchio, 1472-1475, 38.6 x 85.4 in (98 × 217 cm), now in Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy

The subject of the painting is based on a narrative by Luke according to whom during her betrothal the angel Gabriel sent by God announced to her that she would miraculously conceive through the Holy Spirit and give birth to a son. He told her that the baby was to be named Jesus. The subject has been very popular in Christian Art.

The Annunciation is widely considered the first work of the young Leonardo da Vinci completed in collaboration with his master Andrea del Verrocchio.

Following the established tradition of the times, the painting depicts Gabriel on the left and Virgin Mary on the right with a lectern in between. The architectural setting that opens out onto a landscape does not look to belong to the period when Mary lived. But it was born out of da Vinci’s fantasies of modern architecture, not even of his times, but much ahead.

Some immature visualization can be noticed, for instance, with poplars and pines and the mountains at a distance that seem to be full of greenery which defies logic as the geographical setting of Mary is in the Middle East where such vegetation is unusual.

However, da Vinci’s Annunciation is known for the perfection of linear geometric perspective in art, which later was widely followed by other artists.

In the picture, angel Gabriel is kneeling before Mary while delivering God’s message. He is depicted as draped in rich clothing and holds a Madonna lily. Mary, dressed in equally rich, supple drapery, is shown as was reading, and raises her eyes towards the angel and raises her hand in a gesture of surprise, or rather fear.

When The Annunciation was brought to the Uffizi Gallery from a convent near Florence in 1867, it was credited to Domenico Ghirlandaio, who was also an apprentice of Verrocchio. But later it was established by art experts to be the work of da Vinci in collaboration with Verrocchio.

The painting, as many other paintings depicting Annunciation, shows the angel appearing before Mary at her residence. But some other narratives say that the angel appeared before her when she went to the well to draw water. This well, known as Mary’s Well, is located in an area in Nazareth where there are several other churches and pilgrimage attractions in Nazareth. The well is said to have been a popular watering hole for Arabs for several centuries.

The Plight of Somali Refugees in Dadaab

Photo: “On the edge of the camp, a young girl stands amid the freshly made graves of 70 children, many of whom died of malnutrition”, Oxfam East Africa, photo by Andy Hall, taken on 25 July 2011.

Dadaab is a desert scrubland town in Garissa County of northeast Kenya, bordering Somalia. It houses the world’s largest refugee complex.

In 1991 a coalition of clan-based rebel groups overthrew the dictator Siad Barre and freed the people of Somalia after a decade long civil war. But the clan leaders could not consolidate their gains and reestablish rule of law. Instead, they fought among themselves for power. As the cumulative effect of clan conflicts and civil war, the economy collapsed and life and property became insecure.

It’s 2016. The civil war still continues in Somalia.

Refugees from Somalia began to arrive in Dadaab in 1992 when the camps at Hagadera, Dagahaley and Ifo were setup. In 2011 more camps were added at Ifo II and Kambioos to accommodate people fleeing from drought and famine.

The Dadaab camps are managed by the UNHCR, ably supported by other aid agencies. In the course of time, the complex has grown like a chaotic town full of slums. Refugees live in tents and huts.

To add fuel to fire, the jihadist group Al Shabaab bombed, maimed and killed civilians and others in Somalia. They disrupted and destroyed life and property as never before. And they scored major military victories throughout 2007 and 2008. And they controlled vast swathes of land in southern Somalia. Their brutalities forced many more people to flee to Dadaab.

People coming from Somalia were starving and malnourished. Though, generally, food and other supplies are rationed on priority to children, many of them die due to malnutrition and infections.

In conflicts of this scale, the first casualty is always children, followed by the weak and old aged.

In November 2013, following the attack on Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall by Al Shabaab, Kenya pushed for the repatriation of refugees. Consequently, a tripartite agreement was signed in Mogadishu by Somalia, Kenya and UNHCR to facilitate voluntary repatriation of refugees.

According to the agreement and assisted by the repatriation package, some people have gone back but many of them now want to return to the camps as they find life in the camps far better and more secure than in Somalia.

Following the Garissa University College attack in 2015 by Al Shabaab, the Kenyan government asked UNHCR to repatriate the remaining refugees to their home country. In May 2016, Kenya unilaterally decided to shut down the camps by the end of November 2016.

Kenya alleges that the jihadist group sourced new recruits from Dadaab and that they are using the camps as terrorist training grounds.

However, there has been international pressure on Kenya to allow the refugees to stay in the camps, and the UNHCR regards it as an irresponsible decision by Kenya.

However, the Kenyan government announced on Wednesday that, in response to the UNHCR request, it would extend the deadline to close the camps by six months, adding that voluntary repatriation will continue.

It’s alleged that refugees are coerced to return. A survey revealed that only 25% are willing to return.

The civil war there is still going on in Somalia. The government is struggling to put the failed economy back on rails. Life there is appalling. There are no jobs, no food to eat. Under these conditions, coerced repatriation will only expose the youth to radicalization.

And, forced repatriation violates the refugees’ basic human rights.