Sunday 24 April 2011

Monkeys

I am watching a bunch of monkeys jumping and playing on the so called 'monkey-proof wiring' which they have ripped to shreds. It stretches across the small garden in back to keep them out because they tear up the garden, urinate, drop feces and bring garbage in. Due to so much jumping on it like a trampoline they have totally broken through in numerous places and use the broken bits of chicken wire that hang down like a jungle-gym hanging and swinging acrobatically into the garden. When they bounce on this billows of dust are sent into the air, into my room, onto the laptop and down my lungs. I have had a lung infection now for 2 weeks that I think came from the dust that can carry fungus from a variety of sources from bats to birds to monkeys. There are electrical wires that are precariously connected to the grid that they regularly swing from on their way to, from or over the garden, sometimes even stopping to chew on it. 

Family of monkeys at the very ancient Govindaji temple  established by Srila Rupa Goswami personally and later desecrated by the Mohammedans.


 




This is a picture from a previous year. This building is now just about complete and is already occupied by the owners

 They do this several times a day as I watch them through the window where my laptop is situated under. There are several panes in these windows with the outermost pane being glass, then innermost a screen window and metal grille sandwiched between. The grille is there to keep the monkeys out otherwise they will not hesitate to enter and steal anything and in fact if both fly-screen and glass are open the will reach in through the grilles and take something or even send a small enough baby in who will bring things out to the older ones. Once, in the temple kitchen here before they had screen windows, only the grilles, a small, young monkey slipped in and was scurrying over to a pile of hot chapatis and taking a few at a time was running back to the window grille and handing them out to the older monkeys who were lining up to get their chapati!

Sometimes they will sit in the window just 2 feet from my face and try to chew on their reflection in the glass, their teeth making that 'fingernails on chalkboard’ sound, sometimes swinging on the window pane and sometimes putting their faces through the grill and against the screens trying to see in. The braver one will see me sitting here and just watch me while the more shy ones will startle and quickly swing away. Every time I watch them I think of the grandkids and you, Chela - and your stupid request to bring one home for you! If you think Alakai is like a monkey (same ears), wait till you see the real thing. They scratch, bite and piss in the windowsill! …. Oh wait… so does Alakai! 


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