Nandi

According to Hindu mythology Nandi is the guardian deity of Kailash. 

Monolithic Nandi at Lepakshi,  Andhra Pradesh. 

Height  - 4.5m length  - 8.23m 

Often referred as Nandikeshwara he is lord Shiva's vahana (mount).

Nandi means joy in Sanskrit

Dodda Basavanna, Chamundi hills, Mysore. 

Paecilia sphenops

Gold dust molly ( Tell us if the fish is misidentified )

Members of Poecilidae family and known by the common name Molly. 

Most of them are fresh water species.  Only very few types of mollies need salt water. 

Mollies have an average life span of 2 to 4 years. 

Most breeds of molly fish are peaceful, beginner friendly, highly adaptable and low-maintenance. 

Common molly, gold dust molly, Yucatan molly, balloon belly molly, white molly, black molly, dalmation molly are some of the many varieties of molly fish. 

Add plants, sand gravel to mimic molly's wild habitat. 

Add stones and caves to hide behind. 

Learn about their food habits, water parameters before bringing them home. 

Acalypha wilkesiana

The name Acalypha comes from a Greek word which means nettle as the leaves look like nettle. 

Common names

Copper leaf plant 

Jacob's coat 

Fire dragon plant 

Match me if you can 

It's a sun tolerant, low maintenance plant. 

It is one of the colourful foliage plant 

The foliages comes with different color combination of green, white, copper, crimson. 

Some varieties come with tricolour. 

Should be planted in a sunny spot to bring out the best color. 

The blooms are called catkins.

Male and female flowers appear on the same plant. 

Ointment made using this plant is used to treat fungal skin diseases. 

Markhamia lutea

Also known as 

Nile tulip 

Nile trumpet 

Gold Markham 

Yellow bell bean tree 

Named after botanist Robert Markham. 

Has attractive tubular trumpet shaped yellow flowers with orange striped throat. 

When its seed pods dry they turn brown and twist like a spiral.

Lotion prepared from the tree's leaves and barks is used to treat itching skin. 

Albino rabbits

The pet rabbits sold in the market are mostly pure white with red eyes.  They are albino rabbits. 

Albinism gene is deliberately bred into these rabbits to look cute. 

Albinism is a genetic mutation which makes these rabbits with no pigmentation in the fur and eyes. 

Albino rabbits don't have melanin in their eyes to reflect light.  So their eyes appear red.

Albino rabbits tend to have poor eyesight and sensitive to lights. 

Don't expose albino rabbits to sunlight for long time.  It can burn their skin. They can feel uncomfortable looking at bright lights.