All it took was the circle of her school life – the reticent Clay Jensen, the gay Courtney, Tyler – the stalker, Ryan – the arrogant poet, weak-hearted Zack, coward Sheri, power-hungry Marcus, first-love Justin, the frenemies Alex and Jessica, the helpless school counselor Mr.Porter and who-can-forget the inhuman Bryce. The gripping story took a turn for the worse when Clay recorded the 14th and the final tape – the one where the perpetrator owns up for his wrongdoing unaware of the consequences he is about to face.

Hannah gave Life multiple chances to prove her wrong, but it proved her time and time again that her absence was worth more than her presence. The walls between Life and Death are unsurmountable and daunting. But it took her just 12 months for cracks to develop and the wall to finally collapse. Just like an eraser rubbing the faint line drawn on paper, the blade ran with similar ease across the vein.

No matter how hard she tried to resolve, fight, confront or run away from the issues, the rut continued. Her words aptly summarized the need for all of us to work on the way we build our relationships.

Some of you cared, but none of you cared enough. And neither did I.

Takeaways –

• Social media (Facebook, Instagram) has made us a society of stalkers. On most occasions, it provides fodder for discussion. However, one can’t deny the serious repercussions caused when humans turn into devils and rattle the lives of the innocent ones.
• Irony of college-life – “Popular kids are always mean. That’s how they get popular!”
• Everybody wants to talk nobody wants to do anything. It reminds me of the age-old adage – “After all is said and done, a lot is said but very little gets done.”
• It takes a tragedy to remind us of the importance of safety. Unfortunately, in this competitive rapid-fire world, the news gets stale quicker than food. Rape begets rape. Tragedy begets another tragedy. It’s an endless whirlwind after-all.
• Casualties, Condemnation, Legislation, Casualties – the vicious circle is inescapable. Lives after lives, stories over stories – they keep on piling. Yet, the history gets rewritten again and again.

Victoria’s Angels – The Forgotten heroes of Mumbai.

Our city, Mumbai has been blessed with only 1 such house for our secret angels. It goes by the name of Victoria. Victoria Gardens aka Ranichi Bagh aka Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan commonly (read rarely) called Byculla Zoo.

Before the critics jump the gun to justify the obsolescence of this place, I concede the fact that Government authorities, environmentalists, animal rights activists and us, citizens have defeated ourselves. We are responsible for the pitiable condition of the animals in the only zoo of our city.

Yes, a much-needed face-lift is on the cards. Hopefully, once the development is completed, our zoo flourishes into an excellent hub of flora and fauna.

Wishful thinking aside, I paid visit to Byculla zoo to peep into the biosphere of Mumbai and boy it wasn’t as bad as some reviews on the internet crafted.

We were greeted by security personnel who stopped us from barging in the zoo with tiffins(which I mistakenly carried). I was asked to finish eating it and only then allowed entry. (Zoo +1)

As we set foot inside the zoo, the chirping of birds and frenetic movement of monkeys was palpable. We toured most part of the zoo and came across following exhibits –

Emu

In one of the exhibits, we found a surprising species – the Emu. Popularly mistaken as Black Ostrich (some of the visitors actually coined that term!) This black colored giant sized bird saw many visitors flocking towards its exhibit. Many of us clicked photographs of zookeeper feeding them and cleaning their shed.

Hippopotamus

I was particularly amazed by Hippopotamus amphibius. The third-largest type of land mammal lived true to its name. We saw 4 of these mammals in 2 different exhibits. “River horse” in Greek, makes real sense given that we saw 2 of them literally dozing inside the water, reminding us of the standing up sleep pattern of horses. Those 2 hippos were 95% submerged/floating in water, with only some part of back peeping outside. For more than 10 minutes, we were wondering as to how do these Hippopotamidae breathe! Best sight was of the baby hippo lumbering across her mother (I guess) and leaning towards her while eating grass. Arguably, the best exhibit in the zoo!

Horses, well, not really.  Blue bull or Nilgai

One of the first exhibits any visitor will see, close to the zoo’s entrance. Prima facie, it looks like a horse given the mane, tail and overall physical structure. By no means is it blue in color, (not even a blue tinge / shade)! And yes, although it is a bull – historical facts support my misconception of it being a horse. During Mughal emperor Aurangzeb‘s reign (1658–1707) of India, the nilgai was known by the name nilghor (“nil” for “blue” and “ghor” for “horse”). [Padhi, S.; Panigrahi, G.K.; Panda, S. (2004). The Wild Animals of India. Delhi: Biotech Books. pp. 26–7. ISBN 81-7622-106-6.]

Parrots

Different types of parrots (names of which I fail to recount) with colorful wings, different shades (grey, green, blue) and also of different sizes (from tiny, fist-sized ones to larger wingspan ones). The chirping sound was a refreshing experience. Ironically, while we were gazing at these birds trapped / shackled in the cages, a crow flew over us as if to flaunt its freedom, a perquisite very few birds can enjoy.

Indian elephant

This exhibit attracted foreigners who accompanied us. The Elephas maximus seemed to have caught attention of the South-east Asians. Both the elephants were being attended by the zookeepers and were far away from the fence. Due to paucity of  time, we had to bid them adieu.

Python

We geared up for a fascinating and thrilling encounter with Python molurus aka Indian python. With an adrenaline rush, we stormed the exhibit to witness a lukewarm response. This reptile, belonging to the family of non-venomous snakes, was apparently sleeping in the water tub, untouched and indifferent. While we were imagining the hissing or rattling, in reality there was absolutely no movement whatsoever. To our surprise, a bunch of kids tried teasing the Pythonidae (the actual name) by pelting a stone. The serpent didn’t move one bit. We reported the kids action to the authorities in order to prevent repetition of such an incident. As boredom settled thanks to the unconcerned Mr.reptile, we left the exhibit disappointed.

Apart from the above, we met monkeys, flamingos, peacocks, black bucks, Sambhar and spotted deer.

Friends we couldn’t meet –

1. Humboldt Penguins – well we couldn’t get to see them. Actually, the main reason why Byculla Zoo came into the limelight was the arrival of unexpected guests – the acquatic lifeless birds from Southern Hemisphere. However, due to administrative reasons, the exhibit of South American penguins was inaccessible.
2. Bear – a mountain-esque layout distinctly spans across the Bear exhibit. However, the authorities explained that the presence of bear can be found few and far in between. Most of the times, it lies safely inside the mound and hence the enthusiasts and visitors can’t greet and meet the carnivore.
3. Crocodile – after minutes of croc-searching near lakes, ponds and different exhibits, we found no crocodile! Thus our wish of saying – “See you later, alligator” remained incomplete and unfulfilled. (yes, I know alligators and crocodiles are two different creatures altogether, but who cares? – both won’t understand our language!)
4. Hyenas, and now absent Lion (last one lioness Jimmy died in 2014), Tigers (till 2005)

Anti-Penguin Jibe

Dr. Bhau Daji Lad museum

Ironically, the exit of the zoo looked much more majestic and attractive than the entrance. Arches of the exit gate, the architectural style was really fascinating. After the zoo, we visited the museum which was typical of any such museum. The artefacts, instruments, utensils made of gold, copper, wood – descriptions were illuminating. One new find for me was the ancient Indian card game by the name – Ganjifa.

Overall, a decent 3-4hr outing at a location nested inside the hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps.

To the city that never stops surprising!

Trip Time – 8:15 am  – 2pm

Date – 11th March, 2017

Trip Cost – Travel Cost + 5 (Zoo entry fee) + 10 (Museum entry fee)

Travel – Via Train

Closest station on Central Railway Line – Byculla (bang opposite)

Closest station on Western Railway Line – Mahalaxmi (distance-wise)

Sources

1. https://nearfox.com/mumbai/jijamata-udyan/#comment-864
2. https://www.triphobo.com/places/mumbai-india/jijamata-udyan-zoo
3. http://www.mumbai77.com/city/1011/attractions/mumbai-zoo/