It was in the 80s. “Mom, there is a bird screaming and cackling. It’s eerie,” in the dim light of kerosene lamps, I remember asking my mom about a bird that screamed almost every night. My mom clarified by saying that it was Hoagolhaa. The high pitched calls of the bird were heard from a coconut palm tree in a nearby… Read More »
I thought of writing about a striking plant that inhabits our island. The backyard of my house is also covered with taro fields. And during heavy rain falls, I observe these plants. But when I was a small boy, I had no knowledge of this plant that are so baffling, but phenomenal for me. People claim and mention… Read More »
“Hinga dhanva binnaha. Baivaro ebathee” (lets go to pluck Jambolan fruit. there are loads now), this is a typical request among the youngsters during the season of this savory fruit. Plucking the fruit of this tree is a fun for many people especially youngsters, who set off to “dhambo val” – the thick vegetation of the area where these tree… Read More »
We rarely see koaven or freshwater eels that inhabit our fresh water lakes (kilhi). We spot them mostly in aaro, the passages (flood tunnels) that have been created in our island to pass water out of the island during periods of heavy rain fall or when the lakes (kilhi) overflow. People say that these eels don’t bite. But since early days… Read More »
“I released the fishing line to hook a Kattelhi (Prometheus gemfish) and prepared a heap of Dho’haaey (mixture of betel leaf and areca nut). I chewed it and relaxed. After a while my fishing line “transformed” into an “iron bar.” I could not literary pull an inch towards the surface. I called the other fishermen in the bokkura. They came for… Read More »