So majestic to see the wild peacock dash through the jungle, in his natural habitat, a predator, snake-killer, in all nature’s glory, prancing around in the undergrowth, then pausing,
perfectly poised and vehemently vain, on a grassy verge, ready to be admired by my lens…
A jungle prince.
Happy to be admired, but with gaze ever ready to escape.
What a blessing that he crossed my path.
See his eye, a jewel, a coat so blue, his crown of feathered hearts.
See him turned away, full of grace; now watch the Lord of Dance.
This was such a special moment for me. I was on safari; just me, a jeep, and one driver;
I mentioned to the driver that I’d love to see a wild peacock, more-so even than a tiger,
(see, I’ve always had an obsession with the beauty of birds, and the beauty of their freedom)
literally minutes later a beautiful male crosses out path, and stops very close, by my door.
I was about a meter away. We shared a minute, watched each other, and then carried on our separate journeys.
Captured in the jungles of the Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India.
Thank you for reading. James Dee x
Images and words copyright James Dee Clayton and Diary of an Aesthete respectively.
Read more about author, James Dee Clayton, here.
…See India’s Red Sun Rising here.
