the morning charm !! ~ a Peacock in Triplicane !!!

 

Do you believe in luck ? well, I had some good luck this morning !    – getting up early, seeing our own palms, or image of God, getting up reciting a sloka -  are considered extremely good and auspicious morning practice or belief, then there are superstitions that some fully believe !!

Slightly moving away, have seen posters of donkey with words ‘see me – luck will come to you!’ .. .. in the last paras you will read about one such superstition that a friend fell prey.

Luck means an event or outcome that happens partly by chance and is outside your complete control. Good luck means that the chance event produces a favourable or beneficial result for you.

The readymade examples that come to mind are :  finding money on the road or getting money from an unexpected; going late to railway station, coming to know that the train is delayed and just arriving on the platform;  find a very important document that you had given up after many searches – seeing it  at a very odd place; preparing well for an interview is mainly effort and ability, though meeting the right interviewer or receiving the opportunity may involve luck.

Researchers describe luck in everyday life as an unexpected outcome that is unlikely, outside one’s control, and emotionally important.  Whether it is real may become a bigger debate. From a scientific viewpoint, luck is generally not treated as a mysterious force. It is a way of describing the personal experience of probability and chance—sometimes called “probability taken personally.”

Richard Wiseman’s four principles of luck explain that people can often increase their experience of good fortune through their attitudes and behaviour, rather than simply waiting for fate. 1. Maximise chance opportunities;  2. Listen to lucky hunches (gut feeling); 3. Expect good fortune - Try even when success is uncertain; 4. Turn bad luck into good. Lucky people do not deny misfortune, but they try to manage it constructively.  

Wiseman’s idea is: Create more opportunities, listen thoughtfully to intuition, expect favourable possibilities, and respond to misfortune with resilience. He is  not claiming that people can control every random event. Rather, these principles help people notice more possibilities, act more effectively, and convert some apparently unlucky situations into better outcomes.

Moving away in Chennai and perhaps in many other cities too – it is not uncommon to   see vagabonds/ itinerant vendors moving around selling some items of forest. Have seen some buy so called aphrodisiacs too !! but mostly items are bought for wearing inside talisman that are expected to bring charm and luck and they include – skin of deer, fox skin, hair of fox / horse / elephant; nails of lion / fox / tiger  ..; and horns of animals. 

On that day back in early 1980s – a man with so many parts of indescribable trees – roots, dried leaves and more .. .. and some skins, nails, horns,  body parts of animals – came along.  He came near sat near the mechanic who ran a shop in TP Koil Street and started analyzing him – saying that he is having a turbulent life, a troubled  past and tough times ahead – enough to unsettle / shake the  man to ask what he should do  .. ..   

Then he started reeling out solutions of atonement that will work as sure remedy !  .. .. and .. .. and slowly – opening many of the small packs, he showed a small thing claiming it to have great expiatory properties of warding of ill-luck – can you imagine what ?  - it was touted to be the ‘horn of a wily fox’ ! – never ask whether a fox has horn ? – this man had already fallen into the trap and eventually a deal of Rs.450 was struck – understand that Rs.500 was more than the monthly income of most of people walking around on the road at that particular moment !!

I knew what happened to that man later in life – and that is not part of the story !! – any way we believe in good luck charms and getting up to see a good one is always our wish.  This morning my wife woke me up telling that there is a beautiful visitor – we rushed to our terrace to see this beautiful peacock perched high on the water tank – it remained nonchalant for nearly 20 mins and posed still and as it flew away in a jiffy, could take one neat good photo too. Taken at Vasavi Parthas Apartment complex, Venkatrangam Street, Triplicane, Chennai 600 005

That made my day – more than seeing a Peacock in the morning – for me it is photographing a rare visitor to the concrete jungle of Triplicane !!   luck is what happens by chance; good luck is chance that benefits you.

Good morning Peacock – you made my day !! lucky that you waited long enough posing for some photos  and then gave one chance in  flight too !!

Regards – S Sampathkumar
30.8.2026