Friday, February 1, 2013
Monkey
Today, as I walked to my grandparents' home in Bandra, I met a monkey.
This bonnet was sitting on a low branch of a tree. This was quite a sight. It's not everyday you get to see a monkey roaming free in the city. I approached him. He wasn't perturbed by my presence, but was alert and eyed me keenly. I stood about 15 feet from him and just watched. He was self conscious; looked back at me after every step or two and simply watched me back. Then he lost interest and started walking about freely. He jumped down onto the building wall and scratched. He was closer to me now. Shooting occasional glances at me, he went about his business and looked around for fallen food. I took out my camera. He was now interested again. He looked right into the large, round lens wide-eyed. When the shutter sounded I saw his ears twitch. A flicker of wonder gleamed in his eyes. He sat put for a few moments before getting up and pushing his head forward to get a better look at me. He then walked away, crossed the road and sat down on the pavement. By now, some amused rickshaw waalas were watching his antics too. One of them bought a small packet of chips and gave it to him. He picked up the packet, ripped it open with human-like ease and started eating the chips, two at a time. He then threw away the packet, dusted the salt from his hands and yawned. By now, I could come quite close to him. He got off the wall, came up to me, touched my knee and backed up a few steps. He did this a couple of times. As he looked up at me, I looked back into his small, chocolate-brown eyes. When you look into the eyes of a monkey, it's like looking at a person. There's so much emotion in those eyes, you can't help but personify them.
I could have taken a lot more pictures than I did, but I enjoyed just watching him and getting closer to him. It made me realize that if I do end up in a forest somewhere, studying animals, capturing them in action or in photos won't be on top of my mind. When you're around an animal for more than a lucky, fleeting moment, the joy of observation exceeds the joy of taking a picture.
This monkey made my day.
This bonnet was sitting on a low branch of a tree. This was quite a sight. It's not everyday you get to see a monkey roaming free in the city. I approached him. He wasn't perturbed by my presence, but was alert and eyed me keenly. I stood about 15 feet from him and just watched. He was self conscious; looked back at me after every step or two and simply watched me back. Then he lost interest and started walking about freely. He jumped down onto the building wall and scratched. He was closer to me now. Shooting occasional glances at me, he went about his business and looked around for fallen food. I took out my camera. He was now interested again. He looked right into the large, round lens wide-eyed. When the shutter sounded I saw his ears twitch. A flicker of wonder gleamed in his eyes. He sat put for a few moments before getting up and pushing his head forward to get a better look at me. He then walked away, crossed the road and sat down on the pavement. By now, some amused rickshaw waalas were watching his antics too. One of them bought a small packet of chips and gave it to him. He picked up the packet, ripped it open with human-like ease and started eating the chips, two at a time. He then threw away the packet, dusted the salt from his hands and yawned. By now, I could come quite close to him. He got off the wall, came up to me, touched my knee and backed up a few steps. He did this a couple of times. As he looked up at me, I looked back into his small, chocolate-brown eyes. When you look into the eyes of a monkey, it's like looking at a person. There's so much emotion in those eyes, you can't help but personify them.
This monkey made my day.
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