I also got lost several times. But I would never phone for help with directions but would struggle away, walking this side or that, asking passers-by till I reached familiar landmarks which would get me home. Often I found that I had alighted from the bus a few stops before or after my destination. On one such occasion the next stop was so far away that I jumped out of the bus while it slowed down at a traffic light and then spent nearly 30 minutes walking back!
Although Uncle Mano and Aunty Sagu had welcomed me very warmly. Looking back, I think I must have given them quite a headache during my stay at their house because of my rather careless and casual ways and the laid-back lifestyle I had acquired and was thoroughly enjoying. Uncle Mano would constantly be shouting at me for not having a bath regularly or for staying in the bathroom forever when I decided to have a bath or for wearing soiled clothes again instead of washing them.
Aunty Sagu cooks well and I enjoyed her food but both she and Uncle Mano would notice that I ate much more when there was chicken or fish for dinner rather than vegetarian food and I would get a lecture again for my poor appetite for simple food. I was also quite a sloppy fellow and would slouch around on the sofas after coming back from the college, channel surfing as I watched TV, which must have been quite exasperating for both of them. Anyway, they took very good care of me, not only in terms of feeding me but also going out of their way to make arrangements for me to study at the Earthworm Institute, the spider centre and later at the Crocodile Bank and I am most grateful for that. I hope when they read this book they will forgive me for all the trouble I must have caused them.
Extracts from Diary:
Earthworms
10th November: Sir gave me a book on earthworms to read, then Jagan took me down to the field. There I was able to observe many organisms other than earthworms. We took a soil sample from one place and then went back to the lab where we put the soil sample into the tulgren funnel. I then went and brought three more samples from the vermi-tech pit. We then put these also into three other tulgren funnels. By then it was lunch time and we all ate together. After lunch I weighed the soil samples and got to see the organisms that were in the beaker under the tulgren funnel. At 3.30 p.m I left for home.
11th November: In the morning, I was given two types of earthworms i.e. Lampito mauritii and Perionyx excavatus and told to observe them. I spent the whole morning doing this. After lunch, I wrote down the observations that I had made. In the evening we went out to the College playground and also to the area near the College Boarding to make some observations. We dug two pits of 25 cm x 25 cm x 25 cm each at the playground and one, of the same size, at the Boarding. We made many observations which included the number and species of earthworms we found and whether they were clitellates or not. We also made observations regarding soil, atmospheric temperature and relative humidity and took soil samples to measure the moisture content.
12th November: Left for New College as usual. I was told that Sir did not come today as he had a high viral fever. Yesterday a research scholar had expired and so there was a condolence meeting today. After that everybody left as it was declared a holiday. I arrived home at about 10.30 a.m. I had a bath and then some food. I then watched a bit of TV and wrote my diary. In the night Uncle Mano and Aunty Sagu had invited some guests and had cooked chicken curry which I enjoyed very much.
14th November: Sir did not arrive today either. With the help of Jagan I used the Infrared Moisture Balance to find out the moisture content of the soil samples which we had taken on Saturday. After we finished one sample, the voltage started fluctuating so we used the tulgren funnel instead. Then Jagan sent me to get soil samples from the field and from the area near the Boarding. We put the soil samples in the tulgren funnel and observed the arthropods that fell into the beaker under a compound microscope. We also observed some preserved specimens of microarthropods.
15th November: Pounded 100 gms of soil sample and then sieved each soil sample through 5 sieves. Then weighed the soil in each sieve and noted this down.
16th November: Did sieving of soil in the morning. In the evening, used Keenscups to find out the waterholding capacity/porosity.