The Viceregal Lodge in Shimla was formerly the residence of the British Viceroy, Lord Dufferin.

One of the most beautiful buildings of Shimla, this Victorian-styled structure was designed by the British architect Henry Irwin.

Construction began in 1880 and was completed in 1888. It served as the headquarters of the country during the summer months from March to October.

It was the first government building to have electricity, with an internal wiring system at that. The futuristic architect also made provisions for an elevator to be installed. Most of the upholstery and furniture in the building have been retained for all these years.

The sprawling lawns conceal a rain water harvesting system beneath them, which is being used till date. The lawns and gardens are well-kept and house a vast variety of flora and fauna.

Crucial meetings with Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohammed Ali Jinnah were held in this room here during the Indian Independence struggle.

Negotiation papers during the Partition were prepared here, on this very table.

After independence, the building became a part of the estate of the President of India and renamed as ‘Rashtrapati Niwas’.

In 1965, Dr Radhakrishnan established the Indian Institute of Advanced Study here. It is a residential center for research in humanities and social sciences.

The pillars and walls of this building have witnessed events of historical importance. The structure is elegant and regal in every sense and is a must for anyone who visits Shimla.

Legend goes that when Babar was scouting for routes to find an easy way to cross the Hindu Kush mountains over to India, a wise man suggested that he follow the tracks of the Indian Wild Ass, which in those days roamed all over North West India, Pakistan and Iran. When my guide DevjiBhai, saw the incredulous look on my face as he narrated this story, he simply said “Come with me for a safari. Not many can survive such tough conditions.”

A couple of hours later, as we rode over the bleak and barren landscape, flat as a pancake, the sun beating down on us, the salt laden winds cutting across ,DevjiBhai ‘s words kept ringing in my ears. After countless trips to the salubrious mountains, here I am on a battered jeep, driving through, what for me, was one of the most inhospitable and unwelcoming of all terrains- Little Rann of Kutch.

I couldn’t have asked for a better guide for my stay in Rann. DevjiBhai Dhamecha, a local from Dhanghadra, one of the few villages dotting the border of the sanctuary, started out as an amateur photographer, chronicling life in the sanctuary. Over the years he became the voice of Little Rann, and protecting the sanctuary has since been his sole ambition in life. We stayed at DevjiBhai‘s Kooba huts, circular mud huts with conical roofs, built on the style of Banjania tribes of Northern Gujarat.

The Rann of Kutch is a vast saline wasteland of around 30,000 sq kms, between the Gulf of Kutch and the Indus in Pakistan and is the largest declared biosphere in India. This inhospitable terrain is an effective deterrent for illegal immigrants – a wrong turn in this endless desert could indeed prove fatal. This vast expanse was once an extension of the Arabian Sea, but centuries of silting have turned it into an extensive mudflat, inundated during the monsoons, salty and cracked in the other seasons. The Rann (salt marshes in Hindi), was a navigable lake during the time of Alexander.

Surprisingly enough, the Rann has five distinct wetlands which are a rich habitat for a wide range of water and terrestrial birds including the famed flamingoes. We took the highway which ran alongside the sanctuary to a marshy area where DevjiBhai assured me I would still be able to see a few of those remaining migratory birds – given that it is almost summer now and they have flown back to cooler climes.

I expected to spot a few desultory birds, and was pleasantly surprised to see rows and rows of birds, carpeting the entire marsh – a colorful tapestry of the white Demoiselle Cranes, the Pink flamingoes and red-wattled Lapwing, interspersed with the Little Cormorant, Pelicans, Lesser Flamingoes, Herons and Egrets. In the winters, I can only imagine this place turning into a bird lover’s paradise.

Trying to get a better shot of the birds, I waded through the black mud as quietly as I could. My foot slipped and I was unsteady for a moment. Enough to alert the birds and I witnessed the magnificent sight where the entire lot took to the air en masse, and the only sound I heard was the distinct flapping of a thousand pairs of wings.

On the way back to the Kooba huts, we were lucky enough to cross a group of Maldharis, as they were packing up for the next leg of their journey. The Maldharis are nomadic herdsmen who migrate annually after the winters from Kutch and Saurashtra to Madhya Pradesh. From their long black headscarves and magical symbols tattooed on the arms, we were told that they were the Rabaris, believed to be descendants of the Huns who invaded India in the 5th century. The women were tall and well built and clearly very business savvy as they demanded 300 rupees before I could even take off the lens cover from my camera!

The next day’s safari, far inside the sanctuary, transported me to a different panorama altogether. In a landscape where nothingness defined everything, it was DevjiBhai’s experience that guided us around the flat land and a bare horizon broken only by the occasional salt pan or sometimes a bet (plateau or elevated island).

The only other tire tracks we saw were that of salt trucks. Gujarat is the largest salt producer in India and a third of it comes from the salt pans of Rann. And due credit must be given to the hardy Agarias, the traditional salt workers, who battle hard conditions ,camping in the midst of the desert to eke out a living from the salt pans.

It is important for the water to keep flowing through the salt pan without interruption so that salt crystals are formed properly-which makes it imperative for the Agarias to pitch tents with family, in the summer heat. As the summer heat intensifies, the salt in the blistered earth is transformed into a radiant dazzling whiteness “Even after an Agaria is cremated, the soles of his feet remain intact “, rues DevjiBhai who himself hails from a family of salt workers. “Years of toiling bare feet in the salt pans harden their skin to the extent that even fire cannot burn it.”

I was prepared to see mirages in the desert, of course, but that still did not bar me from making the classic blooper, the first time I spotted a ‘lake’ far off in the horizon. In my defense, I actually thought it was an artificial water body constructed by the salt workers. A few moments later I saw a couple of trucks hovering above the shimmering reflection and I was finally convinced that it was a mirage after all.

As we moved away from the salt pans, the hard cracked earth gave way to the softer sand of the deserts, where we drove across herds of the chestnut brown Wild Asses (Equus Hemionus Khur).Locally known as the Ghud Khur, it is one of the sturdiest animals able to withstand the desert heat and survive on scrubby grass and food of prosopsis- the few saline resistant plants that can grow here. The Rann is the home of the last surviving Asiatic Wild Asses and along with the Blue Bulls (Nilgais) they are most easily spotted fauna in the desert.

In the monsoons, tidal waters flood the land and the land becomes totally submerged as the Rann fills up with seasonal brackish water ideal for shrimps. The desert metamorphosises to a huge fishing pond and the Agarias give way to the local Maachlimars who then use boats for shrimp cultivation. That explained the rather surreal scene of boats lying abandoned in the midst of the barren deserts!

Evening set in and as the jeep took one last turn, I saw smoke coming up far away from an Agaria camp. A family of salt workers preparing for dinner maybe? For me it was a step into a difficult hostile terrain – I could enjoy the novelty of this unique terrain, unparalleled in the world, comforted by the fact that I was just hours away from the comforts of city life. But for that family of Agarias, the summer has just started. And with it the beginning of hard toil under the relentless sun, with not even a tree for shade.

This is an award winning entry from Radha Rangarajan for the Trip of a Lifetime Contest. Do read the second part of her trip to Valparai, where she went with a group on a photography workshop.
Day — 3
NCF has an information center which is located at the entrance to the Parry Agro estate. The center has a lot of information about flora and fauna that can been seen in the Aanamalais range. The wildlife pictures in the center have been shot by some of the best wildlife photographers, including Kalyan. It was a treat to see all of them under one roof and the group realized that we were already getting better at identifying the various species.

We were headed to ‘Seen God’ on this day. En route we stopped again at the Puduthottam estate and photographed LTMs for more than an hour. This day, the primates were more in number and definitely in a more playful mood. Watching them leap from one high branch to another is a treat. They gave us some pretty poses and one particular male even bared his fangs at a group of guys who were trying to annoy him! The idiots were eventually shooed away by the NCF guards.

Seen God is situated high up in the hills and offers a wonderful view of the Anamalais, the Shola forests and the evergreen forest canopy. The place is called so because of a man who lives up there who claims that he’s seen God at that very spot. From that great height, watching a bunch of Great Hornbills fly high above the canopy was a splendid sight. Sitting by the edge of the cliff with an amazing landscape spread out in front of my eyes, it slowly sunk in that I am one of the lucky few who’s getting to experience such a pristine and diverse bio-culture. We have no place amongst these animals and birds, yet we are here. We inhabit and encroach into their habitat and call it ours. Worse, we destroy their homes. And we don’t even belong here. I don’t know which God the man kept referring to, but I for sure Saw God there.

By now, most of us had used up space on the memory cards. We spent the noon transferring pictures to Kalyan’s system and portable hard disks. Kalyan also did a mini-training session on reading Histograms and using them to work on post-processing of pictures.This night was more exciting than the previous two. The group headed out to a stream to spot snakes and frogs – Pretty Bush Frog, Purple Frog & Pit Vipers to be precise. Rain Gods played spoilsport and we weren’t able to photograph any rare species. However, wading through knee-deep cold waters while watching out for leeches, spiders and vipers was by far the best experience of the trip. I have to thank Shiva for ably guiding me through the stream walk and making sure that I didn’t tumble down into the water, camera in tow. We only managed to spot a Wrinkled Frog in the stream. A white umbrella and external flash lights provided for a simple studio setup in the dark of the night. All of us took turns taking macro shots of the frog. Kalyan said we need to be cautious about not flashing the frog more than 2-3 times. By now, I could manage decent shots in the night just by playing with the ISO. On the field photography training definitely worked well for me. After spending over two hours in the stream, we got out to the road.

Kalyan then got a call from Divya and group, who had spotted a Travancore Flying Squirrel in the Tata estate. While rushing to the spot, Kalyan explained that its a very rare species that was considered extinct for ages till it was spotted ten years ago, in the Anamalais. No clear record photograph of the species exists either. En route to the Tata estate, we found more Large Brown Flying Squirrels, Black Naped Hare, Wild Boar and a confused Porcupine that ran around in the middle of the road. The squirrel was smaller than a Large Brown Flying Squirrel and was rufous in colour. We watched it scuttling around the high branches, feeding happily on a Cullinea fruit. Kalyan, armed with his 200-400mm VR bazooka lens and a Nikon D300 tried for over an hour to get the best photograph of this rare species. Now, all of us belong to a club of less than 50 people in the world who have seen this animal.
We got back to the bungalow at 1:30 am, thrilled to bits again!!

Day — 4
This was the day when we all had committed to planting trees in one of NCF’s restoration plots. All of us went to the nursery maintained by the NCF and helped in loading the saplings into the jeep. Sridhar explained that it was important to select the right kind of rain forest trees to plant. The trees have to be beneficial to the soil and also have to attract birds and mammals to it. We also made the essential vada-tea stop at a beautiful little chai-kadai and gorged down yummy vadas.
En route to the plot, I spotted a wriggling tiny snake-like thing by the side of the road. Kalyan said we should stop and check. It turned out to be a semi-dead Large Scale Shield-Tail snake. It was run over by a passing vehicle. As I held the struggling snake in my hand, I realized what a beautiful creation it was. I wonder how many of these helpless animals have been destroyed by centuries of human habitat-building.

Upon reaching the plot, Sridhar gave us a demo on how to plant the saplings. It was then time to get down and get dirty. Touching the wet mud and leaf litter, digging up the ground took me straight back to my childhood when playing with mud brought me ultimate joy! I planted three saplings and I am now proud to say that I have contributed at the grass root level to work on restoring the rain forests of the Western Ghats. I could see a similar joy and feeling of content spread over all the faces around me as everyone got their hands dirty that day Together, the group planted over 50 saplings.

Three people from the group left that day. The rest of us had opted for an extra day’s stay. As we said our good-byes we knew that four days of togetherness had created a bond that would last a lifetime. Every time we recount these stories later, mentioning the people in the stories will be inevitable. Bala, who lives in Coimbatore left that day. He promised Sumeet, Shiva and Me that he would take us out to dinner when we reach Coimbatore the next evening.

When we signed up for the extra day, none of us had imagined that the highlight of the trip would happen on that very evening. To make best use of the rains that kept pouring down all noon, we ventured out looking for Bush Frogs in the estate. After photographing some of them, Kalyan and Mandy thought it would be best to head out to the area around the 38th hairpin bend as we would also be able to spot snakes there. We drove around slowly, looking out for snakes and frogs on the road when Mandy spotted a Leopard on the culvert, crouched, in position to leap down from there. We saw it hardly for a couple of seconds before it made the leap. Mandy insisted that we drive down the hairpin bend as the Leopard would cross that stretch next. We drove down real quick and exactly the way Mandy predicted, the Leopard crossed the road and got into a small stretch of bushes. It sat there, conscious of our presence as we were parked on the road looking at the cat. With torch lights to guide us, all of us sat there admiring the Leopard for about 30 seconds. While we wanted to relish the sight of this beautiful animal longer, two buses interrupted us as a stark reminder of the habitat we have given them. We were forced to move the vehicle to make way for the buses and that’s when we lost sight of the Leopard. Driving up and down the hairpin bends again proved futile and we couldn’t spot the elusive cat anymore.

None of us thought that we would find a Leopard in the rain while we looked around for frogs! Well, that’s the charm of these lands. You never know what to expect and you can never be prepared for what you eventually see. For example, every single person in the vehicle had their macro lens on at the time when we spotted the Leopard. If even one of us had a zoom lens on, we could have photographed that beauty. However, the fact that the Leopard initially emerged out of an NCF restoration plot was the icing on the cake. Personally for me, this sighting made up for the elusive Leopard that dashed away into the bushes in Kabini, just a week ago.The night ended early, but on a very high note.

Day — 5
On our last day in Valparai, we headed out to the Athirapally forest range, which is in Kerala. As Kalyan was busy, Mandy was with us on this trip. The Athirapally forests are much denser than the ones in Valparai. This is a great route for birding too. The canopy is so thick, 10AM looked like 6PM. However, rain played spoilsport again and we couldn’t spot as many birds as we expected to see. We drove up to a view point and then got back so as to make it back in time. Apart from the birds we had already spotted during the trip, we spotted – White Bellied Woodpecker, Shikra, Pacific Swallow, Pied Bushchat (male & female), Gey Jungle Fowl, Long Tailed Shrike, Flowerpecker, Purple Rumped Sunbird and the Common Tailorbird. We were also able to photograph the shy Rufous Babbler on this day. Of course, that required us to wait on the side of the road until the Babblers thought we were safe enough for them to venture out.

The butterflies we spotted here were The Blue Mormon, Common Crow, Southern Bird Wing and the Malabar Tree Nymph which is endemic to these forests. Watching the Malabar Tree Nymph fly is a true visual delight.This was our last day trip in the expedition.By the end of this trip, we had managed to spot and photograph nine of the twelve Hotshots. The Brown Palm Civet, Large-scaled Pit Viper and the Malabar Trogon eluded us on this trip.

After another ritual tea-vada stop, we drove back to the bungalow. The afternoon was spent lazing around and transferring photos. None of us wanted time to pass. We didn’t want the evening to set in, or the taxi to come. Procrastinating packing didn’t help either and soon enough it was time to pack and get ready. As we said our goodbyes to Kalyan and Mandy, we knew that this wasn’t the end. The trip ended, friendships had begun.

Well, I don’t know what to say about Kalyan. Even for a minute in the trip, he didn’t make us feel like visitors. He participated in the entire workshop as if he was one of us. His dedication towards the cause of wildlife and conservation is impeccable. He gave all of us individual attention and the photography lessons I learnt from him will stay with me forever!

And then there is Mandy. Quick and nimble. Mandy can sense animals. He can hear them, feel them and spot them before most of us can even adapt ourselves to the surrounding. I can’t stop admiring his traditional and acquired knowledge of wildlife and animal behaviour. Both Kalyan and Mandy left me amazed with their ability to hear bird calls, look for animals, watch out for roadkills and drive at the same time. Talk about multi-tasking!

The drive downhill through the misty roads was quite uneventful except for a beautiful sunset and we stopped to photograph the landscape. Listening to the sound of traffic made me crave for the tunes of the Whistling Thrush. Getting back to the urban jungle also resulted in a headache, which stayed intact for another 30 hours.

Bala picked us up in Coimbatore and took us to eat dinner at the Heritage Inn. While we relished a tasty dinner of Appams on the rooftop restaurant, we exchanged stories and shared our best moments of the trip. None of the people at the table had known each other five days ago. Yet, here we were, talking-laughing-joking as if we have known each other for years. Put together a group of strangers with a common interest and an addictive hobby and bam! – you create a friendship that was hitherto unknown!

If you have read through this article in entirety, please do leave a comment so that I can personally thank you for reading through. I know it is lengthy, but a five day trip, this wonderful, cannot be explained in a paragraph.

Valparai, with its animals, birds, tea estates, cloudy mornings and misty evenings, vada and tea combos, melodies of the thrush and most importantly the works of art we created with our Nikons and Canons has woven an invisible web around us. We are deeply entangled and will not be able to get out of these strings for life.What a holiday this has been! What a hangover it has left!

In September, I gave a 30-minute presentation on Photographing mountainscapes at Club Mahindra Whispering Pines Resort at Mashobra near Shimla. The audience included the winners and jury of Club Mahindra My Trip of a Lifetime travelogue contest.

In this presentation, I took some images from my archives and spoke about a single feature in the image that made me take the picture, or a feature that stood out in the image. Below are the slides of the presentation.

Photographing Mountains

A short innocuous looking detour on the road trail from Geneva to Lausanne led us into a parking lot adjoining a chateau – the Chateau De Morges. Was not quite expecting to see what was in store. As we crossed over from the parking lot behind a row of impressive trees, we suddenly spotted a painters easel, magnified manyfold on the garden in front of us.Yes, tulips in technicolor.

Though mid March was towards the end of the season, the Tulips on display were in full bloom. There was something magical about the whole thing – the colors, the reds, the yellows, the whites, the many colored ones and to cap the dark purple almost black ones, wow, the lovely bulbous flowers with their imposing colors in full bloom were a visual feast.

These were planted by school children in different shapes, and as we passed halfway into the exhibit, there was a whiff of cool air and infront of us, spaned Lake Geneva in all her majestic glory. From the swiss side we could spot Avian and the french alps towering above and rushed to take a closer look. To add to the magical allure we spotted a majestic swan fishing in the waters.

As we reluctantly left, we hoped to get the details of the boat ride to Avian. so moved towards the small fishing harbour in the commune of Ouchy . It was already fading light but the light gave us a spectacular shot of the habour with all the sail boats parked with their mesmerising masts, testimonials to how people can still enjoy their passions in this fast world, if one puts their hearts to it. As it was getting really late and cold, we left with a heavy heart. Ouch or should it be Ouchy.

At a time when the world had long ago discovered the greens and blues of Kerala, the alluring backwaters of Alleppy and the warm beaches of Kovalam (and perhaps getting tired of the same images), director Maniratnam put a small spot in North Kerala on the map. Thanks to his evocative shots of lovers torn apart by a hostile world (in his movie ‘Bombay’), suddenly the rain-drenched ramparts of Bekal became one of the most romantic destinations within Kerala. It seemed the perfect rendezvous, hidden in the heart of Kerala and far from prying eyes. And the canny Kerala government seized this opportunity with both hands and suddenly, God’s own tiny country was officially larger on the tourist circuit.

Pic : Charu

We feel a rush of anticipation as we drive towards the fort, a visit that has been planned for many years about to materialize. At first glance, the Bekal fort is unassuming, especially after the excitement created by the plethora of signboards that guide you towards it, all the way from Mangalore to the North or Trivandrum deep down South. It sits lonely and tired at the edge of the waters. But as you make your way slowly to the top of the fort and then walk around the edges, seeing the Arabian Sea stretch out in front of you, the magic of the location sinks in.

There are groups of young girls in their bright salwar kameezes and school children in their staid uniforms inside the fort at the time we visit, adding noise and color to the otherwise peaceful scene. Still high in the sky, the sun is far from ready to call it a day and the sea is still rough though tiny boats are making their way bravely into the choppy waters. At Bekal beach nearby, crowds have already begun to troop in to watch the famous sunset on the Arabian Sea, and on top of the fort, young couples and families with small children have found themselves little corners from which to enjoy the evening breeze.

Pic : Charu

The fort seems to rise majestically from the sea itself, the waves washing over its walls the way they have done for centuries now. Bekal fort is made of the stuff that signifies unfulfilled romance, secret yearnings and patient waiting. Looking at the way it stands tolerantly weathering the torrid rains of August and the white heat of May, it makes me wonder how many such lovers the fort by the sea has seen.

A short history of the fort

The fort in Bekal is considered the largest in Kerala, spread over 40 acres, and certainly the best preserved. It was built by Sivappa Naik sometime in the 1650s and is known for its defence architecture, which includes cunningly placed holes in the walls of the fort that aim at different points and distances; the holes at top meant for aiming far into the sea while the ones below to catch the enemy as they approach closer.

Pic : Charu

The fort was later captured by Hyder Ali of Mysore in the late 18^th century and then Tipu Sultan, under whom it served most as a defence citadel, especially during his march down South to capture the Malabar province. Recent excavations at the fort have brought to light different kinds of religious structures within the fort from the time of Tipu Sultan’s reign, including a darbar hall and temples, revealing the secular nature of his regime. Once Tipu Sultan fell, the fort passed into the hands of the British, when Bekal became the headquarters of the newly created Bekal taluk in the South Canara district. The decline of the fort began when South Canara district came under Madras province, and Kasarod taluk was established as the regional headquarters in place of Bekal. Today, the Archeological Survey of India maintains it, along with the Kerala Government which is doing a lot to promote the fort, and the region itself as a major tourist attraction.

Apart from Bekal fort which is today the most popular spot in the region, there are several other attractions in Kasargod which make it one of the more interesting regions in Kerala for tourists today. Kasargod is the northern-most district of Kerala, just South of Mangalore and culturally, has the feel of both Karnataka and Kerala. Similarly, there is also a lot of remaining influence from the Muslim rule, which flourishes peacefully with the rest of the Hindu and Christian communities who are part of the region. The entire area has a charming laid-back atmosphere which is not yet exposed to the overwhelming crowds of the rest of the state.

Pic : Charu

Water, water, everywhere…

If Bekal is Kasargod’s most famous landmark, I would say Nileshwaram is its best kept secret. There is nothing spectacular about the town itself; it lies 30 km to the South of Bekal by the banks of the Nileshwaram river. The town seems to have sprouted organically along the National Highway 17, with houses and small shops lining both sides of the road. We stayed at Nalanda Resorts in Nileshwaram, with rooms facing the placid river. It was early in the morning, on a boat ride on the river that we discovered the magic of life on and by the river.

Cruising slowly down the shallow river, only the steady hum of the motor boat to break the silence of dawn, we watched the town come to life, lazily stretching its arms towards a new day. A man walks, lonely and thoughtful on the bridge, the sun just climbing high in the sky just behind him. Fishermen are at work, busy in their own worlds, while other men in similar boats scout the river for silt. Our boatman explains that the sand from the shallow river is used in construction all over the region. Tiny birds are sitting on electric wires stretched across the river, flying away noisily at the sound of our approaching boat.

Pic : Charu

Thankfully, even today, Bekal fort or even the region of Kasargod is not as crowded with tourists as the South of the state is. Add to this good infrastructure and facilities, a combination that spells holiday heaven. For those tired of the well-publicized image of swinging palms and kettuvallams of South Kerala, here is the ideal getaway solution. This is the perfect place for anyone with a secret in his / her heart. And that is you and me and everyone else.

How does one describe the experience of travelling into the vastness of water – water where all pervading silence during the day is an exception to the chattering regime of waders, ducks and birds? Though there is a limitation to the language which makes it difficult to recount one’s encounter with the bounty that nature bestows on us, effort I shall still make! A crisp but not very cold Friday morning, early March this year, found myself & Amit Gupta travelling from Ahmedabad to Nalsarovar.

Pic :Ashish

For the uninitiated, or new to birding, Nalsarovar is a huge reservoir of water (about 121sq km) about 60 km away from Ahmedabad, formed naturally in a shallow depression. The lake being shallow and marshy has made it extremely attractive for the wintering migrants – especially water-birds and cranes, who come in numbers. A night train connecting Mumbai & Ahmedabad makes it convenient for a day long birding trip and that’s how we were en-route Nalsarovar early morning.

Pic : Ashish

As we reached closer to our destination, dawn was breaking. The rising sun gave light to the fields on both sides, exhibiting a large numbers of peafowls and peahens looking for the proverbial worm, white breasted kingfishers & Indian rollers on the wire, a solitary grey francolin on the road making a dash to get away from the traffic, a herd of neelgais, a marsh harrier looking for an early breakfast – in all, a good omen for our birding day ahead.

Nalsarovar needs to be explored through a boat and though the water is shallow at most of the places, it is the vastness of the placid lake that is breathtaking. Despite having visited the place about 2 years ago, I was still awestruck with the everlasting wilderness of the glimmering water mingling with the sky at the horizon.

Pic : Ashish

As we set out in the boat, the breeze was wild, soft and free, making the heart light. The early morning serenity of the lake was fading away as birds were waking up to their tasks. The flocks of common coots were having their own version of bird race. Also engaged in various activities were garganeys, spot billed ducks, northern shovellers, pheasant tailed jacanas, godwits, purple moorhens, black-winged stilts, Egrets, Pond herons, Glossy and black Ibis, little grebe, Citrine and yellow wagtails, barn swallows, cormorants and brown headed gulls.

Pic : Ashish

We had set out on this trip however with the hope to see Sarus, Pelicans & Flamingoes from close quarters. Here, since our interest lied in the flock of Pelicans & Flamingoes chiefly, the boatman expertly steered us towards them. The mobile communication technology has helped them too as he was constantly in touch with other boatmen to get the exact location of these birds at the moment. Soon our eyes and cameras feasted on the sights of large flocks of Great White and Rosy Pelicans, followed by Greater Flamingoes.

Pic : Ashish

It was very interesting to see and click pictures of these majestic birds from a different vantage point – almost at their eye level. The most interesting sight was of the greater flamingoes, submerged and floating in knee deep water and their beak giving them a snobbish uppity nose attitude – reminding me, for some reason, of British upper class as caricatured in stories and movies of Wodehouse.

The day had started warming up with the sun at a mid horizon level and having exhausted our camera batteries, we had no option but to return to the shore where rosy starlings and green bee-eaters were busy in their daily routines. Also, we could see a flock of common cranes, which soon took a flight and for sometime the sky was full of cranes and pelicans that were already patrolling in a large flock. A pied kingfisher about to make a dive for its prey, discarded the idea spoiling our chance of clicking it in action.

Pic : Ashish

We left Nalsarovar behind to travel towards Thol, another lake, at about 40 Kms from Ahmedabad and about 60 Kms from Nalsarovar. The lake though much smaller in size is renowned for large variety of birds it provides shelter to. The journey, interrupted for a splendid meal, was peaceful but did not allow us to take a nap as it revealed unexpected sightings – first a male blackbuck with its harem in a field and then a flock of comb ducks – a sight that had eluded us at Nalsarovar.

Pic : Ashish

While Nalsarovar is a never ending sight of water, Thol is a lake much limited and restricted with a bund, also supplying water to the fields around. It is a scenic beauty with woods encircling the lake amidst dreaming the sky. The readers of the Phantom comics could relate to this place immediately as it resembled the Eden that Phantom had developed for the variety of creatures he had saved from extinction. Though lacking in size, it made up in its variety. Birds ranging from common hoopoe, purple sunbirds, prinias, Indian robin and greater coucal to godwits, darter or snake birds, river terns, wigeons, pelicans, flamingoes, bar headed geese, common and ferruginous pochards, greater spotted eagle, marsh harrier, comb ducks, spot billed ducks, tufted ducks, northern pintails, painted storks, common cranes, – all were there. And above all, the prized catch – a few pairs of Sarus cranes lording over the place majestically.

As the sun started inclining towards the horizon, we reluctantly decided to leave the place and drove towards Ahmedabad. But as has been the case most often, the day was yet to finish with its surprises. On our way to Ahmedabad, as we took a turn on the road near a place called Gota, to the left was a small pond where we could see some bird activity. As we got down to have a look, the first sight was a berry tree full of Yellow footed Green Pigeons and a couple of koels. If these were welcome sights, what awaited at the pond was simply magnificent – common teals, river terns, sandpipers, pied avocets, spotbilled ducks, northern shovellers, black-winged stilts, glossy and black ibis and at a distance of few feet away flamingoes – all in plenty. And all of this, just at the outskirts of a city and so close yet totally oblivious to the traffic. For the first time I was engulfed with envy. However, since the setting sun was giving a perfect light condition, it was time to let shutterbugs take charge over my negative emotions and off we were to click more pictures.

Pic : Ashish

Having exhausted ourselves totally by now, we called it a day and returned to Ahmedabad. On our way back, as we tallied our count of almost 100 species, lines from a poem, which I had read some time back but had not really appreciated the beauty till this trip, came back to me -
….ducks on a pond
A grass bank beyond
A blue sky of spring
White clouds on the wing
What a lovely thing
To remember for years!

This post is about a trip that I undertook to visit Nalsarovar & Thol lakes near Ahmedabad for birding & photography. While the “two lakes” part of the title is obvious, a half comes from a small pond – which proved to be a surprise treasure trove for birding.)

This summer we took a long sought after vacation in the hills of Kumaon. The vacation began with a journey on a tramp train & ended again with a tramp train. And the period in between was just a perfect match wherein the mind & body decided to wander around with no known purpose – and why not? Its not always that one gets to explore the absolute green, verdant forest so close to Himalayas.

Its a different story that unlike most of our planned holidays, this one’s planning went for a toss when just a few days before the vacation was to begin, Gurjars of Rajasthan started rail blockade, severing Mumbai from the North. We were lucky to the extent that our train did not get cancelled.

However, travelling in a tramp train, which was scheduled to complete the journey in 16 hours but did it in about 26 hours, has its own share of fun and ordeals. Fortunately for us, the ordeals were lesser than the fun as we crawled through the areas like Chambal Ravines & getting a glimpse of Raj history through distant views of forts of Jhansi & Gwalior.

However, except the beginning & the end of this vacation, the trip had some of the most wonderful moments in our journey through Nainital, Ranikhet & Corbett.

The hills of Kumaon, unlike the hills of Garhwal, are more seductive, with their undulating landscape well covered with trees reaching towards heaven, fruits & flowers in abundance.

And they did succeed by converting an urban person like me into an urban yayawar. So here is me looking forward to being more of an yayawar while you all can get glimpses of some of these moments which I have tried to capture through my camera.

The Virupaksha Temple dominates the Hampi skyline (such as it is) – it is one of the first things you spot as you cross the small Ganesha temples and turn the corner down into the steep path that leads to Hampi bazaar at a distance. Walk away from it towards Matanga hill, turn from anywhere on the road, or from the steps that lead towards Achutaraya temple on the other side, and you see the tower on the other end of the road, tall and proud or peeking out from somewhere between pillars. Ditto when you visit the small Ganesha temples.

Pic : Charukesi

Or when you climb up Hemakuta hill, dotted with fifty odd small temples, the perfect place to spend a peaceful evening. Alternatively, stay in any of the small guest-houses in the bazaar area and find yourself staring at the gopura during breakfast from the mandatory roof-top restaurant of the place, or stare at the glorious silhouette of the temple tower in the evening as the sky turns colors before the sun finally sets for the day. Everywhere you turn in Hampi, you catch a glimpse of the Virupaksha temple.

Pics : Charukesi

In a town where all temples and places built by the Vijayanagar dynasty are now in ruins, the Virupaksha temple stands in amazingly good condition. Our guide Lokesh “full name Lokabhirama but too long to confusing” tells us that the Muslim invaders who destroyed most of Hampi, spared this temple on seeing the symbol of a boar (along with a sword and something else that I cannot remember now) etched on the wall near the entrance of the temple. Think of it – the invaders couldn’t have been all that clever if all it needed to keep them at bay was a boar in stone – nor for that matter, were the architects and builders very clever – why aren’t there more stone boars in temples, I say?

Pic : Charukesi

Now guides will be guides and invaders will be invaders and all that, so I have no idea how true this story is, but whatever the reason, the Virupaksha temple has survived through the centuries. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, or Pampapati (the husband of Pampa, or the goddess Bhuvaneshwari), this temple was built sometime in the early 15th century, and further renovated in the sixteenth century by Krishnadevaraya.

Pics : Charukesi

While the temple is aesthetically a marvellous example of the architecture of those times, the highlight is a small dark room at the Western end, way behind the main tower. Here, in the mornings, you get to see an inverted image of the main gopura (tower) on a wall, as light falls through a small window. The pinhole camera concept, explains our guide, as he moves his hand in front of the small window, thus altering the size of the inverted shadow on the wall.

Pics : Charukesi

And just outside, on your way back to the main gate are monkeys drinking milk straight out of plastic milk covers and the temple elephant, who gobbles up the bananas you offer and imparts his blessings only when money changes hands. There is also the pied-piper of Virupaksha, the old man who blows this long horn and poses for your camera, all for a small fee. You exit the temple straight into Hampi bazaar, with its “recommended in Lonely Planet” restaurants and little hand carts and stalls selling everything from cheap plastic-ware to the ubiquitous “ethnic” Rajasthani handbags. Alternatively, you can turn left just outside the temple and reach the banks of the Tungabhadra, it a lovely walk by the riverside.

Pics : Charukesi

And finally, straight from the heart, why I love Hampi so much and dream of returning…

Pics : Charukesi

In the amount of travel opportunities that I have been blessed with during the last few years, despite them being years of academic and career related pursuits, I have realized the need for a certain balance in the kind of places I visit. 

The ‘tourist’ part of me who wants my picture clicked alongside the Taj Mahal needs to sometimes meet the ‘adventurer’ who wants to know if she has the gumption to sky dive. And both these need to calm down and let the ‘wanderer’ part of me take over sometimes; the part that believes the best way to appreciate a place, any place, is to walk along its streets and smile at its people and sample its local fare. 

Even if said fare happens to be fried bees. 

But that’s another story. 

Today’s story however, doesn’t require nerves of steel. Today’s story requires you to relax and take a walk down beautiful cobbled paths. Pause outside the most beautiful abbey and look at it while sipping hot chocolate on the street corner. Walk past majestic roman baths and marvel at the practicality and beauty of every building and well planned piece of architecture. Walk some more and come as close to Jane Austen as you could possibly hope for. And sit atop an open air double decker bus and have a charming (and wonderfully mad) tour guide make the place come alive with stories that are part fact, part legend, part lore. And, I strongly suspect, part neat bourbon… 

Welcome to Bath, UK. 

I visited Bath one weekend a few years ago, with colleagues. The bank we worked for had a few of us sent to Bournemouth, in the south of England to be trained in our respective functions. It was early January. 

Source FlickR - Ian Muttoo

Our first weekend in Britain, we ran off to London and had a fast paced, fun filled, on the go, unforgettable kind of weekend! The following weekend found us still reeling from the London madness and we decided we needed to go somewhere more relaxed. Especially since this was going to be a one day weekend. 

So, Bath it was. We took the train from Bournemouth. Typical English country-side beauty passed in a blur because of the speed at which the train ate up the miles to Bath. When we got to Bath it was about 1 degree Celsius. Gloves, socks and shoes and a thick jacket did the trick however. And of course, a nice ice cream cone outside the train station. There is nothing quite like killing cold with cold. 

Source FlickR - Carmen Seaby

We got on a tour bus which promised to take us to all the places we needed to see to experience Bath in the limited time we had.

Enter tour guide Claire. With whistle around her neck, speaker horn in her hand and the widest most welcoming smile one can hope for atop an open air bus in the freezing cold. 

Source FlickR - Caro's Lines

Claire was great. She took us to the ‘touristy’ places and pointed out some not so touristy ones. And she told the most delightful stories.

My favourite story was one where King William III, one time ruler of Britain, was running very low on money. So, like all good kings, he levied a bunch of taxes on his people that made no sense whatsoever…One of these was The Window Tax.

He decided that each house could have only so many windows since each home was allowed to avail of only a certain number of hours of sunlight each. People consuming more than their share of light, were tried as criminals. As the bus wound its way through the unique lemony-beige coloured buildings of Bath, one could clearly see the peculiar squares out of sync with the rest of the bricks on the old houses; the squares that were put there to close up the excess windows.

Legend has it, that this is the origin of the term ‘Daylight Robbery’. 

Windowless buildings aside, Bath which has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, presents some of the finest architectural sights in Europe; the heart of which is the Roman baths. Around Britain’s only hot spring the Romans built a temple and bathing complex that still flows with natural hot water. This and the surrounding ruins are beautifully preserved and it feels almost like being transported back in time; the feeling is underlined by the ‘Meet the Romans’ gimmick where costumed characters roam among the tourists making you feel decidedly overdressed despite the biting cold. 

Source FlickR - Carmen_Seaby

Roman Baths neatly crossed off our check-list we headed towards the town centre and were suddenly greeted by the sight of the tower of The Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Bath. 

I don’t reach for my camera in places of worship. It doesn’t occur to me to do anything other than stand and stare and take in the peace and the history of the place. This Anglical church and former monastery was founded in the 7th century, reorganised in the 10th century and rebuilt in the 12th and 16th century. 

Source FlickR - Josh Kritzer

We stared and strolled around the majestic abbey and stared some more. It is a stunning and incredibly powerful piece of Gothic architecture. Unfortunately this was very late in the evening and the abbey was closed to visitors. But standing there with a cup of hot chocolate and good friends is a memory I’m not likely to forget in a hurry. 

Claire told us that the Jane Austen Centre was just around the corner so we ran off to look at this mini museum dedicated to Bath’s most famous resident and one of my favourite authors. The centre offers a snapshot of life during Regency times and how this beautiful city impacted Jane Austen’s life and work. There is also a gift shop at the centre offering everything from little replicas of ornaments and clothes and furniture of that time to Ms. Austen’s wonderful books. 

Jane Austen Museum - Source FlickR - Milenanelim

We had two more stops on our ‘must see’ list. The Royal Crescent, one of the world’s best known architectural landmarks, built between 1767 and 1775 contains 30 houses, one of which is now the Royal Crescent Hotel and another is open to public viewing. Just thinking about the Royal Crescent, lit up in that quiet darkness of a British winter evening, makes me wish I had all the photos we had clicked that day. The photos are back home in Bombay, one of them framed and sitting on my book shelf; only pride of place will do for something so very special.

Pulteney Bridge - Source FlickR DanieVDM

The bus tour then took us to the Parade Gardens; the best vantage point from which to view the Pulteney bridge. One of the most beautiful bridges, it is among a handful of bridges in the world with shops built into it. This bridge was built for William Pulteney by Robert Adams and was an attempt to connect central Bath to land on the other bank of the River Avon and make Pulteney’s fortune. 

The setting was incredibly romantic; and completely wasted on a group of seven hungry kids. So we ran off and got ourselves some piping hot fish and chips! 

As the saying goes, while near a Roman Bath, eat as the British do. 

We were bone tired at the end of our ‘relaxing’ day in Bath. As we made our way to the station to board our train back to Bournemouth, I realised that I had left my gloves on the tour bus. 

And despite imminent frost bite, I felt a strange satisfaction to know that I had left a part of me in Bath.