Ambela Buner

Ambela is a small and beautiful village in Buner, Pakistan. It's the entrance of Buner Valley from District Mardan. Ambella is famous for "Ambela War 1863", which was fought between Mujaheddin and British army. I will post some detail of the war after consulting with my friend and colleague Mr. Rahim Zada, who has research on Ambella War. Personally I like this place for three reasons, It's natural beauty, moderate weather and a water well, which is famous for it's cool and hygienic water.

Ambela Buner Valley

Good Bye Sign boards at Ambela from Family Planning Department Buner and District Nazim Rauf Khan.

Flat-tailed House Gecko Cosymbotus Platyurus

 Flat-tailed House Gecko (Cosymbotus Platyurus) is a member of family Gekkonidae. This a common species found in Pakistan. There will be hardly any house where there is no Flat-tailed House Gecko. In the night they can be found easily around the lights, waiting for their prey. In the day they hide in a darker place. They are commonly known as House Lizard or Wall Lizard. In Urdu they are known as chipkali (چھپکلی)
Let me share a sad incident, which occur in our village, because of a house gecko. Three kids of a family died after drinking milk. When they check the milk pot, there was a dead house gecko at the bottom. No one did a chemical analysis of the milk. However this incident lead a general concept among the villagers that the house gecko is poisonous and should be keep away from the food articles.

House Gecko (Cosymbotus Platyurus)

House Gecko Young Ones

Okra (Lady's Fingers)

This post is not about how to grow okra? Or what is the food value of okra? But a post to share my pictures (as always) I took in relation with my okra plat. Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) also know as lady’s fingers is tropical annual plant in mallow family, cultivated for its edible, mucilaginous green pods. Okra is widely cultivated and used in Pakistan. In Urdu it’s called Bhindi (بھنڈی). Okra is one of my favorite vegetables and I never get fed up eating it. The okras plants I grew this year produced large amount of okras and even after 4 months the plants are producing okras in excess of our need, while the other farmers have already cut their okra plants. These okras are of dark green color with less seeds. I sowed the seeds in the 2nd week of March and the plants started production from the first week of May, about 15 days earlier then the other farmers. One mistake I made in growing okra was, I kept one-foot distance among the rows, while the suggested rows distance was two feet, but I’m happy with this mistake as it increased production instead of decreasing.

Fresh Okra (Lady's Fingers)

Unusual Okra (Lady's Fingers) Pods

Okra (Lady's Finger) Flower

My Okra (Lady's Fingers) Plat