I have suffered an acute and unexpected personal loss. My work on Wikipedia for the foreseeable future will be restricted to (i) reverting edits that, in my assessment, are very obviously of undue weight and (ii) content work related to British India before the Indian rebellion of 1857. If I have reverted an edit, please trust that the revert was made in good faith and with the experience of my 18-year stint on Wikipedia. Open a thread on the article's talk page and attempt to establish a consensus for your edit. I won't edit war nor will I have the time or heart for talk page discussions, but perhaps other editors will step in. Please do not express your discontent or ask for clarity on my user talk page. Please give me space. Fowler&fowler«Talk»14:14, 24 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
This user is aware of the designation of the following topics as contentious topics:
the region of South Asia (India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal), broadly construed, including but not limited to history, politics, ethnicity, and social groups
This page has archives. Sections older than 10 days may be auto-archived by Lowercase sigmabot III.
India-related FPs I
Indian vultures, (Gyps indicus), in a nest on the tower of the Chaturbhuj Temple, Orchha, Madhya Pradesh. The vulture became nearly extinct in India in the 1990s from having ingested the carrion of diclofenac-laced cattle.
The bank myna is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent.
The vulnerable Malabar frog is endemic to the Western Ghats.
The endangered Nilgiri tahr is endemic to the Western Ghats. Shown here is a female in a national park in Kerala.
India-related FPs II
The brahminy kite (Haliastur indus) hunts for fish and other prey near the coasts and around inland wetlands.
The lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) is the Indian national flower. Hindus and Buddhists regard it as a sacred symbol of enlightenment.
The Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) is the Indian national bird. It roosts in moist and dry-deciduous forests, cultivated areas, and village precincts.
Large Gautama Buddha statue in Buddha Park of Ravangla, Sikkim
A Jain woman washes the feet of Bahubali Gomateswara at Shravanabelagola, Karnataka. The Bahubali idol is 18 metres (58 ft) high and is carved out of a single rock on top of a hill.
A Chola bronze depicting Nataraja, who is seen as a cosmic "Lord of the Dance" and representative of Shiva
A sixteenth century rendering of a scene from the Ramayana, an ancient Sanskrit epic.
A beach off the Arabian Sea in Puvar, Kerala. The Arabian Sea is the northwestern region of the Indian Ocean, bounded by the Arabian and Indian peninsulas.
Flowing through its rocky terrain near Hampi is the Tungabhadra river, the major right bank tributary of the Krishna river, a peninsular river, which empties into the Bay of Bengal. The coracles, made of wicker, are traditionally covered with hide, their circular shape preventing them from overturning in rivers with rocky outcrops.
India-related FPs VI
The recycling industry in India, a Varanasi paper bag seller
An example of the Chinese fishing nets of Cochin. Fisheries in India is a major industry in its coastal states, employing over 14 million people. The annual catch doubled between 1990 and 2010.
A tea garden in Sikkim. India, the world's second largest-producer of tea, is a nation of one billion tea drinkers, who consume 70% of India's tea output.
A daily wage worker in a salt field. The average minimum wage of daily labourers is around Rs.100 per day
A farmer in Rajasthan milks his cow. Milk is India's largest crop by economic value. Worldwide, as of 2011, India had the largest herds of buffalo and cattle, and was the largest producer of milk.
Indian agriculture dates from the period 7,000–6,000 BCE, employs two thirds of the national workforce, and is second in farm output worldwide. Above, a farmer works an ox-drawn plow in Kadmati, West Bengal.
Battered religious figures stand watch on a hill above a tattered valley. Nagasaki, Japan. September 24, 1945
17th century Painting on cloth of of Buddha Shakyamuni as Lord of the Munis with Bodhisatvas in background.
The Gathering of Four Buddhas. 1562 CE, National Museum of Art, Korea.
Two women walk past the huge cavity where one of the ancient Buddhas of Bamiyan used to stand, June 17, 2012. The monumental statues were built in A.D. 507 and 554
Buddha related FPs II
Monk walks in the morning after the rain in front of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew), part of the Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand.
Buddha Amitabha in His Pure Land of Suvakti, Central Tibet. 18th century; Ground mineral pigment on cotton
English: Shakyamuni Buddha with Avadana Legend Scenes. Tibet. Date 19th century
Chiang Mai, Thailand: Buddhist Manuscript Library and Museum
Start something on the Ethnic fermented foods and beverages of the Darjeeling Hills, using
Thapa, Namrata; Tamang, Jyoti Prakash (2020), "Ethnic Fermented Foods and Beverages of Sikkim and Darjeeling Hills (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration)", in Tamang, Jyoti Prakash (ed.), Ethnic Fermented Foods and Beverages of India: Science History and Culture, Singapore: Springer Nature, ISBN978-981-15-1485-2 and
Tamang, Jyoti P.; Sarkar, Prabir K; Hesseltine, Clifford W (1988). "Traditional Fermented Foods and Beverages of Darjeeling". Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 44 (4): 375–385. doi:10.1002/jsfa.2740440410.
Add something on Tibetan refugees in Darjeeling.
My work on Wikipedia starting April 24, 2025
I have suffered an acute and unexpected personal loss. My work on Wikipedia for the foreseeable future will be restricted to (i) reverting edits that, in my assessment, are very obviously of undue weight and (ii) content work related to British India before the Indian rebellion of 1857. If I have reverted an edit, please trust that the revert was made in good faith and with the experience of my 18-year stint on Wikipedia. Open a thread on the article's talk page and attempt to establish a consensus for your edit. I won't edit war nor will I have the time or heart for talk page discussions, but perhaps other editors will step in. Please do not express your discontent or ask for clarity on my user talk page. Please give me space. Fowler&fowler«Talk»14:20, 24 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Joshua Jonathan: My wife was both a flower and animal lover. We have over a dozen animals in two homes. We planned to consolidate in 2026 by moving to a country house with ample space for the animals and gardening. But that, sadly, will not come to pass. It haunts me that it was so unexpected. Fowler&fowler«Talk»17:25, 24 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Fowler, we've disagreed on many things, and I’ve accused you and your motives countless times. But today, I feel your pain, and I’m truly sorry this happened. This is not only heartbreaking — I have teary eyes as I write this. May her eternal soul rest in peace, wherever it is. I will also offer my prayers.
May you recover from this, stronger than before. I’ll be looking forward to arguing with you again once you return in full form.
"One day, all of us will perish — our names, our memories, everything. The only thing that will remain is our work, even if it is never recognised, or we are never recognised for it. And perhaps that’s the only solace we can find in the face of death."
Thank you, CMD. Yes, time it will take. Soon after we were married, a relative, seeing my shiny wedding ring, asked if I had had it engraved on the inside as a form of identification. I replied, "Why would I? It's never coming off." Fowler&fowler«Talk»22:33, 24 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you, RP. Although my wife never paid much attention to Wikipedia, everything I did here, including the decision to join in 2006, was made in her presence, or rather, with the confidence of her presence, whether near or far. Fowler&fowler«Talk»23:56, 24 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I'm truly sorry for your loss, Fowler&fowler. Although we haven't interacted much, please know that I and other editors here deeply appreciate your contributions to Wikipedia for last 18 years, especially to the minefield of South Asian articles. Take all the time you need, and take good care of yourself. Sincerely, Sutyarashi (talk) 13:08, 25 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
This reminds us all what the really important things are in life, and how little a dust-up at Wikipedia matters in the grand scheme of things. So very, very sorry at this incalculable loss, and wishing you centering and peace. Take good care of yourself, F&F, as you welcome those close to you to rally around and take good care of you as well. Best, Mathglot (talk) 18:19, 29 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Friends have reached out. In particular, one who I have known for 30 years, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, who had studied trauma (and the still officially undiagnosed PTSD) among returning Vietnam vets at Fort Hood in the mid-1960s and two or three years later—on a two-year fellowship in Bristol—among parents of children killed in the Aberfan disaster, has been calling several times a week. Many of my symptoms, the wish to leave everything unchanged, the disheveled state the bedroom when the ambulance came, the dozens of hospital parking lot receipts collected over the following two weeks and scattered on the passenger seat of car and the floor below; and the haunting by the final scene in the critical care unit three hours after I had left her laughing and joking in her hospital room, he said are not uncommon among those who have experienced trauma. Fowler&fowler«Talk»13:16, 1 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Indeed. I just happened upon this. We haven't interacted in years, Fowler and Fowler, but I offer my condolences as well. Some speak of Wikipedia as distinct from "real life". But this reminds me once again that the Wikipedia community is as real as any other part of life. My heart goes out to you. Regards, Alan W (talk) 01:26, 2 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you @Alan W: for your insight. To overcome grief, I feel, we have to marshal all our resources, and Wikipedia is very much one. I'm finding working on small, disregarded, topics to be strangely therapeutic. Fowler&fowler«Talk»16:22, 2 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you, Alan W, for that. A physician friend of mine struck a similar note, which I am quoting in the hopes that it might help others similarly stricken: "I am encouraged that you’re engaging with folks who are well wishers ... Our collective experience tells us that eventually the distress fever will break, no matter where you are in the grief cycle." Fowler&fowler«Talk»02:43, 4 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I'm so sorry to hear this Fowler. I was involved in a discussion at the VS Naipaul article, and your absence from that conversation made me wonder how you were doing. I've experienced a lot of profound (and unexpected) losses, but even I can't imagine losing my spouse. Know you're part of a community here that cares about you. Guettarda (talk) 15:29, 3 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you @Guettarda: for your words of solace. In my youth, I had obsessively read John Bowlby's Attachment and Loss trilogy. In the third volume, he and Colin Murray Parkes' had proposed four stages of grief: numbness, yearning and searching, disorganization and despair, and reorganization. They were probably not strictly linear anyway, but no amount of reading had prepared me for this event. And no theoretical knowledge beats simple words of comfort that ease distress. I am grateful for yours. Fowler&fowler«Talk»01:39, 4 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Hi, @Fowler&fowler I am deeply saddened by your loss. I hope that with time you find strength. Although I haven't interacted with you much, I've seen some discussions you were involved in, and I must say that over the past 18 years, you have been an outstanding member of the Wikipedia community. I can relate to the challenges, as I have only been active for two years and sometimes struggle to continue.
Thank you, @Rawn3012:, for your kind words, both of condolence and appreciation. I wish you luck in your career on Wikipedia. I hope you will carve out a niche for yourself, however small. Fowler&fowler«Talk»18:24, 6 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Fowler you may not know me but we belong to same period of editing Wikipedia...and we never saw eye to eye and I was (still I'm :/) edit warring you for infobox pictures!! But keeping that aside; I know the grief very well of loosing both parents and the love of my life. I would like to dedicate a song to you and your loss if you don't mind. "Rajnigandha Phool Tumhari"; since you edited South Asia articles hope this song from this 1974 Movie reminds you of the person you have lost. Take Care Fowler! JayB91 (talk) 02:42, 22 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you for this. Unfortunately, I don't know postcolonial India very well. I do not know this movie either or the songs listed in the links at the end of the movie's Wikipedia article, which are not accessible in my geographical location. However, I appreciate the thought and sympathy behind your post. Best regards, Fowler&fowler«Talk»10:20, 24 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Today's story - short version: ten years ago we had a DYK about a soprano who sang in concerts with me in the choir, - longer: I found today a youtube of an aria she sang with us then, recorded the same year, - if you still have time: our performances were the weekend before the Iraq war ultimatum, and we sang Dona nobis pacem (and the drummer drummed!) as if they could hear us in Washington. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 14:05, 18 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for uploading File:CharanSinghRedFortDelhi15August1979.JPG. The image description page currently specifies that the image is non-free and may only be used on Wikipedia under a claim of non-free use. However, the image is currently not used in any articles on Wikipedia. If the image was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that images for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable for use on Wikipedia (see our policy for non-free media).
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