My Pensieve

Fish Out of Water

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Thu, 16 May 2013 06:18:00 +0000

The little stream continued to battle with the Andaman Sea. High tide pushed water into the stream every time a big jolly wave lashed at the shore. And when a gentle wave followed suit, the stream melted into the sea. I walked along the stream to look for its source when I saw them. Mudskippers. They were everywhere. Brown. Speckled. Some golden. Small and big. Everywhere! Dozens of them waddled at the edge of the stream lazily, leaping away when I stopped to observe them. While some stayed at the top edge of the water with just their eyes popping out, others stuck to the bottom of the stream. The source turned out to be a small pond, with more denizens - Hermit Crabs, tadpoles and plenty of little fish. I found the driest spot by the edge of the water and settled down to observe and photograph them, up close.

Mudskippers are fish out of water, literally.They are completely amphibious fish and belong to one of the largest families of fish, Gobiidae. They have the ability to breathe through their skin and also the lining of their mouth. This means that they have to keep their skin moist at all times and that factor limits their habitat to humid and swampy areas. Mudskippers have an enlarged gill chamber which functions like an oxygen cylinder by preserving a bubble of air, helping them breathe while they are out of water. This helps them survive and adapt well to intertidal zones and mangroves.

While I sat there, taking in their looks and behavior, they approached me slowly, one skip at a time. A few were just an inch away from me. They were unbelievably curious and bold, staring at me with those big, bulging eyes. And, no, I am not imagining things, they really do stare, hard. Very aware of their close proximity to me, I slowly moved my arm to adjust camera settings and as things turned out, they didn't like that at all. They all leaped away in an instant. Skip up close, stare, jump away at the smallest movement. Repeat. The first few times this happened, an eerie, unsettling memory those little green Compsognathus dinosaurs in the Jurassic Park movie series crept into my head. Dismissing vacuous thoughts of mutant Mudskippers, I went back to work.

Mudskippers use their pectoral fins to walk on land, in a type of motion that resembles skipping. They use these fins to propel themselves ahead, to hop or jump. In all fish, pectoral fins occur in a pair, and function as forelimbs. And in a highly developed state, these fins enable some species to do very specific actions - they help Flying Fish in their flight and Mudskippers in their walking motion. Male Mudskippers use their dorsal fins for displays during the breeding season and for solving tiffs.

Mudskippers spend a considerable amount of time outside water, on and in the mud. Their social interactions happen outside of water - mating displays, territorial fights, feeding, etc. While I mostly saw them just lazing around, there were a few of them here and there, fighting and feeding. Mudskippers mainly feed on insects, tiny organisms in the mud and small crustaceans. They dig deep burrows into the mud and stay in there at high tide, to avoid predators. They also lay their eggs in these burrows and the males diligently take care of their eggs by bringing mouthfuls of oxygen from the surface till they hatch.

However, the one memory of Mudskippers that will stay with me are those huge, bulbous, protuberant eyes on the top of their blunt heads. And when they sit around staring at you up close, its hard not to notice those fabulous colors -Turquoise, Yellow, Green, Red, Ochre, Black, Gold.

Their eyes are close set and movable. They pull either one or both their eyes into their heads and push them out in a brisk motion, as fast as one can bat their eyelids. It was fascinating to watch their eyes and the things they could do with them!

At some point around then I realized that I had lost track of time. My watch told me I had been there, watching these little guys, for almost two hours. But, they were not done with staring at me yet and I wasn't going to be bored anytime soon. Yet, the relentless heat and humidity on the island took a toll on me. All I craved for was to go sit in the sea, with only my head popping out, just like my new found friends. I bid adieu, thanking them for sharing their noon with me, and so graciously allowing me a peek into their peaceful lives.

Cinderella

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 03:53:00 +0000

It was a grey, damp evening. But, I had no reason to complain. The friendly neighborhood Shaheen Falcon was visiting again and kept me occupied for more than an hour.

Ten minutes to midnight, I was preparing to sleep when I saw a mix of brown and white fluttering at the edge of the balcony railing. I assumed it was a bat, but the sound of the wings didn't seem like that of a bat's. The fluttering stopped in a few seconds and the mysterious visitor settled down. It was very dark outside, the moon wasn't out in full force yet, and the silhouette hinted at a little bird. I couldn't risk turning the light on, any quick movement could scare the bird. I ran away to fetch my camera and out of desperation, used the on-body flash to take a few record shots first.

The camera revealed a very pretty little bird with rich brown-black markings on the wings and dark scales on the inner parts of the body and around the legs. Going by the size, shape, posture and the beak, I deduced that it could be a female/juvenile of a Robin/Thrush/Flycatcher, most probably in migration.

The bird was restless initially. It hopped around a couple of times, with its tail slightly up, making a faint krrrk-krrrkk call. It was a little skittish too, courtesy some noisy street dogs far below in the neighboring street. I was hoping that it would find a nice, cozy place and stay the night. And it did, like this ->

I watched it for 40 odd minutes and while the bird dozed away (I am guessing it did) I scouted for images and illustrations to try and put a name to the face. I sent images of the bird to friends and hit the sack. It was only the next morning when I was able to finally ID the bird, it was a female Blue-capped Rock Thrush (Monticola cinclorhynchus). The excessive markings on the wings and darker scales could be a result of long flights in the migratory season. When I checked in the morning, as expected, the bird had left.

Divya, Sridhar, Karthik and Shyamal - Thank you for your help!

Until next time, when Cinderella hopefully visits me again :-)

Quid pro quo

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 12:00:00 +0000

It is a bustling, vivacious world out there, is a thought I cannot evade every single time I am out in the wild. One could walk ten steps and observe a hundred different things happening at the same time. At sundown, a huge flock of Bee-eaters chirping, or a lone Pitta calling out mean the same thing - they are prepping to roost and retire for the day. But, that Nightjar clucking aloud at the same moment has just begun its day. A skittish Bulbul perching on a shrub could be very random behavior, but a Mormon picking a particular shrub to settle down on could mean something else. A bunch of Ants going up and down a blade of grass are definitely there for a reason and so is that Calotes hanging around an Ant's nest. For every unrelated event, there are a dozen related behaviors and for every behavior we think we understand, there are a dozen that we don't see or comprehend.

Relationships in the wild are mostly either obligate (where both species completely depend upon each other) or facultative (where they can, but they don't have to live together).

I once came across dozens of little insects, each the size of a mustard, clumped together under a leaf. They had some pretty red ants for company. I was later told that they are sap sucking insects called Aphids or Plant Lice. They are probably one of the most destructive insect pest species. The red ants belonged to the genus Camponotus and are commonly called Carpenter Ants. Aphids pierce leaves and feed on sap. Excess sap concentrates as honeydew, which attracts ants. In a display of Mutualism, the ants provide aphids protection from predators.The next time you see plant lice on a leaf in your garden, look around before you toss the leaf out. You might see the entire life cycle of a species on that very leaf!

Ants and Aphids

Mutualism is a co-operative interaction between two organisms of different species where they biologically interact and derive some positive benefit out of the interaction. However, this is not an obligatory relationship. Both species can function normally without this relationship.

Watching ants and aphids peacefully co-exist together built enough curiosity in me to observe ants more. And that is how I was introduced to Mealybugs and Treehoppers. Mealybugs are scale insects, considered as pests since they feed on plant juices and can induce leaf drop when they occur in large numbers. They become very serious pests in the presence of some ants, as these ants protect them from predators - again, a display of mutualism.

Ant tending to a Mealybug

Ants and a Mealybug

Treehoppers belong to the family Membracidae, a group of insects related to Cicadas and the Leafhoppers. Some treehoppers have also developed mutualistic relationships with Wasps.

Ant tending to a Treehopper

Unlike mutualism, Parasitic relationships are non-mutual, where one organism benefits at the expense of the other. Mistletoe, strangler figs, leeches, fleas fall into this category.
Insects like fleas are external parasites, they are wingless and have mouthparts adapted for piercing skin of mammals and birds to suck blood. Leeches are also blood suckers, they feed on blood from vertebrate and invertebrate animals.

Some members of the Mistletoe family are partial parasites. When birds like Flowerpeckers feed on the fruit of this plant, a sticky substance present in the fruits ensures that the seeds get stuck to their body. To get rid of these seeds, the birds rub their body against a tree, thus enabling seed dispersion - the roots penetrate the branch of the tree and the plant is born. The plant has green leaves and can photosynthesize, but absorbs nutrients from the host tree instead. Although the Mistletoe is a partial parasite, it is beneficial to the ecosystem, with a wide variety of species depending on the fruits. The plant is also a larval host for the very pretty butterfly, Common Jezebel.

Mistletoe Flowers

I find Strangler Figs fascinating, I think they add charm to a forest. Mostly found in dense, tropical forests, these plants begin life as epiphytes. Birds and other arboreal animals act as seed dispersers for these Ficus plants and they grow on top of other trees, by germinating in crevices on branches. The seedlings then begin their journey downwards, looking for necessary nutrients and simultaneously grow upwards into the sky, in the quest for sunlight. In the process, the original host tree is enveloped and often dies. As they grow, the fractals these roots and branches assume look eerily beautiful. I have seen the most spectacular specimen of Strangler Figs in Bhadra Tiger Reserve and Jim Corbett National Park.

Strangler Fig from Bhadra

A Symbiotic relationship, on the other hand, takes place between two species where they completely depend on each other for survival.
Symbiotic relationships can be broadly classified into Ectosymbiosis - where one organism lives on another (mistletoe, lice, cleaner fish) and Endosymbiosis - where one partner lives inside the other (zooxanthelles in corals, lactobacilli in humans)

Lichen, for example, is a composite organism which is formed as a result of a symbiotic relationship between fungi (mycobiont) and a photosynthetic partner, usually green algae (phycobiont). Algae can photosynthesize by virtue of being a plant. Carbohydrates are produced during photosynthesis, which in turn serve as food for the fungi.

Lichen

Lichens (rock flower) are some of the oldest living organisms on Earth and can survive in varied climates and altitudes. They grow on any undisturbed surface that receives ample light - leaves, branches, bare rocks, walls and exposed soil surfaces. Many lichens are vulnerable to environmental disturbances and their growth is inhibited in such cases. So, they can be observed to assess air pollution. They are used to prepare dyes, masalas and some medicines too.

Cattle Egrets following a herd of grazing cattle is a common sight in most suburban parks and villages. In forests, we see these Egrets around herds of Elephants, Deer and Gaur. They spend time around these large mammals feeding on insects and other small prey that are disturbed while they graze.
This type of a relationship is called Commensalism. The word originates from the term 'Commensal' which means 'sharing of food'. Here, one organism benefits but the other doesn't - and it is caused no harm either.

Cattle Egrets with a herd of Elephants

All bonds in the ecosystem are delicate and sensitive, they hang by a thin silken thread. The loss of one species in a relationship can spell disaster for the other species too. They give and take, but just the right amount, to maintain and enrich that critical equilibrium. While we know of and understand some of these connections and inter-dependencies between species around us, there are many that aren't even visible to the naked eye, that are still being studied. Many of these relationships have heavily influenced evolution.

We humans are social in nature and live in a sea of relationships - we are born into many, we build several, we are forced into some, we love being in a few that we care about and hate being in those we become hostages of. We are capable of developing close bonds with anything or anyone we spend a considerable amount of time with. We are constantly wriggling in and out of relationships, pretty much like all other forms of life we share this planet with. However, there is a difference. Humans can never achieve the kind of complexity in relationships that non-human forms of life can.

P.S Thank you, Karthik for helping me put mind and matter in a reasonable order :)

Unsung and Unheard

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:28:00 +0000

Some decisions are tough. More so when it involves walking through a dense jungle in the dark night, just to check on the sound of tree felling. One could step on a snake, slip on a rock or fall into a pit, and this is elephant – tiger country. Narrating how they walked a couple of kilometers in the middle of the night, Forest Officer Prabhuswamy recalled how they couldn’t even turn on the torch, for they could end up alerting timber smugglers about their presence. He, along with a couple of other watchers - Jayendra and Soma - recently caught a few timber smugglers. These courageous men don’t have a choice to make these decisions. It is their job, their call of duty and come what may, they will protect their home – the jungle.

40 year old Jayendra, a native of Coorg, joined the forest department as a MR (muster roll) Watcher in 1987. He continues to be an MR Watcher in 2011, with no hope of ever being promoted as a permanent watcher. Every morning, armed with a rifle and a wireless phone, he sets off with two other guards to patrol the forest and visit all the sensitive areas – forest state borders, caves and waterholes. He can get two days off once in ten days and he uses this time to visit his family in Bandipur town. His children attend school there and like all other guards, he is worried that with lack of guidance, his children too will drop out of school by the time they reach the 8th grade.

46 year old Soma, on the other hand, is a PCP (Petty Cash Payment) watcher and joined the department 11 years ago. His young daughter was married off to the first suitable match last year, Soma says wanted to reduce his burden. He is on the same lines as a daily wage worker and is aware that he will never be added to the muster roll, he belongs to the pool of lakhs of such PCP workers across different government departments and their fate hangs on a pending bill in the parliament.

Across 11 ranges and 38 anti poaching camps in Bandipur, there are around 250 PCP watchers and 57 MR watchers. All of them share the same plight as Jayendra and Soma, and some, worse. Their work is anything but hard, it is somewhere much beyond that - walking for an average of 15-17 kilometers each day, battling forest fires, helping villagers chase away elephants that enter fields in the fringe areas, taking on poachers and timber smugglers, to mention a few. Job insecurity, tough working conditions and the fact that they live deep in the jungle, isolated from the world and far away from their families doesn’t help the situation. These problems are magnified in the summer when the heat reaches its peak and the forest runs dry; and in the monsoon when incessant rains take over the landscape. Unappreciated, insecure and demotivated, they truly are THE unsung heroes.

The APC (Anti-poaching Camp) we visited is one of the better ones, there is a concrete structure with a proper roof, a separate chamber to store supplies and a trench around the cottage to keep the elephants at bay. It has an approachable road and the forest department jeeps can access the APC with ease. A tiny bulb hangs there, powered by a solar panel on the roof. However, things that we take for granted, like water supply and toilets are still a luxury. The hand pump of a bore well installed there was damaged by an elephant, so water has to be supplied in forest department jeeps, 45 liters once in three days. But, there are many APCs in interior parts of the jungle that are not easily accessible, especially in the monsoon. In such places, forest guards still live under leaking roofs, without electricity.

Mr Hanumanthappa, the DCF of the Bandipur range says that the living conditions of forest guards have largely improved since Project Tiger came to Bandipur - funding improved, uniforms and shoes were distributed, salaries became regular and food supplies increased. They are now given nutritious food and food provision has been increased from Rs 20 to Rs 40 per day. They now have enough rations for two meals a day and have been provided bags and water bottles to help them carry food when they go out for their daily patrols. The DCF pointed out that the guards need binoculars, jackets and umbrellas. The fire fighting staff require shoes, knives, torches and some masks to protect their faces from the fire and smoke. He has been trying to procure these items for his staff.

The forest department maintains a list with data of unemployed youth from local villages and contacts them when they need to increase their workforce. Some children of forest guards have also joined the forest department in similar roles. But, given the working conditions of these guards, their children have no motivation to take up jobs within the forest department, which has resulted in a huge shortage of staff. Outsiders will not last in this jungle, he says.

Yes, this also means that guards in any forest range which is not a Tiger Reserve don’t receive salaries for months. They live in very bad accommodation and patrol the jungles in rubber slippers, armed with a stick. Most of these guards are tribesman or locals from the fringes of the forest, with excellent knowledge of the jungle. They can track and guess human/animal movements in the jungle through a broken branch or footprints, information that can be very valuable to a poacher. There is always a threat of loss of loyalty. Vital information could leak out either innocently or for monetary gain. Some sort of commitment or attachment to a forest officer is the only factor that keeps them going.

Many NGOs have arranged general health check-up camps and provided first aid kits. The guards did admit to us that they don't know what medicines to use, as many of them can't read. Some guards from local tribes are not comfortable wearing shoes but wearing uniforms motivates all of them, they said.

The Kumble Foundation is working towards providing long-term solutions to some of these core issues. With an aim to improve the general health condition of the forest guards, they have collected details of health and medical support requirements. They intend to set up a group insurance for all the guards including temporary employees. Proposals have been made to the government too. Diinesh Kumble says, they are keen on supporting children of forest guards so that they can get vocational training, guidance and counselling once they complete their basic education. The Foundation is also looking for genuine requirements of assistance for higher education on a merit basis. The Jumbo Wildlife Award and Jumbo Fund have been set up with an initiative to reward wildlife champions and recognize the contribution of forest staff, researchers, NGOs and civil servants towards conservation.

In a jungle that has a rich diversity of species and is constantly in the spotlight with three states fighting over some space on the highway, it was eye-opening to meet the heroes who run the show silently. A vehicle passes by this road every 47 seconds, lakhs of people traverse the road every day. Yet, the tale of these guards is mostly untold. They desire very little - appreciation, security, family time ... and a ear if you can lend one, for, they have a story to tell.

P.S Thank you Diinesh Kumble and Shreyas Jayakumar for facilitating this meet.

Banded and Branded

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 06:24:00 +0000

We were busy looking for Treepies and Trogons when the call came. A King Cobra had been sighted in a farm and the residents of a nearby house wanted it to be relocated to the forest. The ARRS team was off to rescue and release the King. Did we want to go along and watch? Yes, we said. A huge YES.

Belagundi is a quaint, pretty village a little away from Bidri, about 25kms from Agumbe. As we drove down the ghats, we saw Prashant, Ajay and Dheeraj stop to pick up a semi-dead Ornate Flying Snake from the road. It was a heart-rending sight to watch the tiny, beautiful snake wriggling on the road. Its slender body had been crushed by a vehicle. We drove on, the Seetanadi river flowing along the road, lush green forests and areca plantations dotted the landscape. At Belagundi, we got off the vehicle and walked into a field, a small group of 10 odd people had gathered there, mostly local residents and some workers of the farm. They led us to a tiny stream by the edge of the farm and pointed at the location where the King had been resting the last two days, but now, only the tip of the tail was visible, the King had moved into some shrubs by the stream.

As the ARRS team moved around, to get a better view of the King, it struck me that these people had waited two full days to call and ask for help after they spotted the King. There was a house about 50 metres away from where the King had been spotted, there were children in that house. Yet, they waited, patiently, without disturbing their guest. Moreover, everyone there was concerned that the King could be injured as they didn't see it move around at all. Prashant explained that it is a possibility, or, it might be resting after a heavy meal - a big rat snake maybe? They would be able to confirm only after they see the King in its entirety. The concern they had for the King's well-being was touching. My heart swells with pride when I think of how tolerant and respectful these folks were about wildlife.

The King Cobra is worshipped in these parts, these people revere the snake. They will cause no harm to the longest, most venomous snake in the world.

Once they were able to locate the exact position of the King, they got to work. First, they cleared up the area where they would eventually bring the King out of the shrubs, so that they don't have any obstructions. All tiny bushes were removed, working space had been created. The team advised everyone watching to maintain a safe distance, not move around and maintain silence. While one person kept a constant watch on the head of the King, another held the tail and with a mild jerk, prodded the snake to move.

The King moved and we could now see more of its body, but no one had a clue of the actual length and size yet. More nudging, coaxing, pulling and the King was finally out. I gasped aloud, but I wasn't alone - a collective gasp from the crowd greeted an irritated King. A glinting blackest-black body with golden-bronze bands and a rich yellow underbelly, the 10 foot long juvenile male was a stunner, albeit in a compromised position at that moment.

He constantly flicked his tongue and moved around, clearly trying to find a way out of this ugly situation. Accuse me of being anthropomorphic, but who wouldn't get intimidated, scared and angry if they were being taken captive? Prashant held on to the tail, a tight grip and his attention was entirely on the movements of the snake. Dheeraj tried to cover the head of the snake with a bag that had an opening like a net, so that the snake would be forced to slither in and could be captured.

The first couple of attempts to get the King in the bag didn't work and that's when he started showing signs of agitation. He raised his hood and that magnificient pose is something I will remember all my life. The crowd watching this capture was enveloped in silence, no one moved, all the murmuring died down.

And then it happened, the King bared his fangs.

A sight that filled me with amazement, fear, respect, worry - all at once. Amazement, because I've always associated sights like these with Austin Steven's documentaries. Fear, well, the image explains it all. The King would not give up and go down, he would fight his way through this, Respect. Once released, would it find a safe spot away from human intervention? Would it be able to survive on its own in a new place? Worry.

Prashant and Dheeraj were finally able to coax the King into the bag. Once the snake was in, a knot was secured, ready to be relocated. They worked together as a team with superb precision and composure.

The King was then weighed and he turned out to be 8.9 kilograms. We all headed back towards the nearby forest patch, adjoining the Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary. After ensuring that the habitat was perfect for the King Cobra and that it was a safe distance away from any human intervention, the snake was released in the forest.

A relatively simpler task now - the knot was removed, some coaxing and the King headed out of the bag into its new home, or maybe it was the same old home, we will never know.

Once he was out of the bag, he moved away, graciously, down the forest path and into the leaf litter far away from us.

The entire rescue-release operation was carried out very professionally by the ARRS team. They were meticulous and followed all procedures to the last detail. Prashant said this was one of their simpler, easier rescues. Now, try and imagine a King being rescued from a well, or from a house. Goosechills.

The love-hate relationship between humans and snakes is something we all see everyday around us. A Rat Snake in the local park gets mistaken for a venomous snake and is beaten up by an angry mob. An Indian Cobra that wanders into a township meets the same fate. Russel's Vipers get crushed under wheels all the time. Snakes are seen as bad and dangerous creatures, as villians. For most people, the first instinct upon seeing a snake is 'kill it'. Ironically, snakes are worshiped by almost all communities through the length and the breadth of the country. Yet, when the same people encounter a live one, things change drastically. Numerous and varied religious superstitions - mostly negative ones - about snakes definitely don't help the situation.

On many occasions, people take the help of trained/experienced snake rescuers, who capture these snakes and release them in nearby jungles. The snakes live to see another day, but it is impossible to say that these relocated snakes survive. In a new, unknown location, with no idea of what kind of prey is available, disoriented, many snakes perish. If they do manage to find food, they need to deal with other resident snakes, who may not be too kind to their new visitor. So, the snakes are at the receiving end, always.

We can only hope that with more awareness, humans will start treating snakes with the respect they deserve and will let them live. We need these beautiful creatures, the ecosystem needs them, to maintain a balance. They don't need us.

P.S. Thanks Arati Rao for the title!

** I own the copyright to all the images in this post. Please do not re-use any of these images without my permission.

The King And I

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Mon, 23 May 2011 07:26:00 +0000

I wrote this as a guest post for Prashanth's blog Payaniga upon its five year completion. It then appeared in the Clay blog too. Now, its here.

My first memory of Agumbe is from a school trip to the Western Ghats. I was in class 8 and the famous Agumbe sunset was to be the highlight of the trip. Heavy rains and a landslide played spoilsport that year and Agumbe was moved to the ‘visit someday’ list. 15 years later, my wish came true. Dilan Mandanna, popularly known as Mandy, was going to organise a two day trip, with accommodation arrangements at the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station (ARRS). I simply had to sign up. I could finally put my newly acquired macro lens to some good use. After a successful leopard-tiger-elephant-hornbill-falcon sighting in Kabini the same week, I was looking to achieve nirvana with a sighting of the King.

Agumbe is a beautiful little village that sits on a plateau on top of the Someshwara Ghat, 643 meters above sea level. Surrounded by luscious green rainforests, it is known as ‘Cherrapunji of the South’ for a reason, it gets an annual rainfall of up to 11,000 mm. Agumbe is home to all the Western Ghats rainforest species of trees, mammals, birds, insects, frogs and snakes. However, the regal King Cobra, the world’s longest venomous snake is the King of the jungle in these parts.

A mad dash across the Majestic bus stand and a rickety 10 hour bus drive took me to a very rainy and wet Agumbe early in the morning. It had rained there all night. Aching muscles were forgotten the second Mandy announced that he had seen a male King the previous evening and was quite sure we’d be able to see him again. After dumping our bags and donning leech socks, we headed out to find the King.

His Highness was resting there, by the side of the forest path, right outside the bushes - 10 feet long, a rich brown, his scales glistening with raindrops, body all curved up as if to camouflage the inimitable length. He had devoured a heavy meal the previous evening and didn’t seem too keen to move, he just kept a watchful eye on us. In all my imagination, I had envisioned the King to be a spectacular snake, but nothing could have prepared me for this sighting. Goose bumps. Breathlessness. Loss of speech. Fear. Respect. I felt a mix of everything. I just stood there, gaping, with my mouth open. The beauty of the King is incomparable. The sound of a camera shutter next to me brought me back to reality, I had a camera in my hand to make an attempt to freeze this moment. Photographing the King is humbling, you are fully aware that you can do no justice in saving that intimidating stare for posterity, yet, you just go click-click-click.

The King Cobra has a striking distance of 2 m, around 7 feet, they are fast and agile. When threatened, the King raises its upper portion of the body, around 4-5 feet, so it basically looks at you straight in the eye and gives out a hiss that’s almost a growl, before doing its business. But, the King doesn’t like to bite. As much as possible, they avoid confrontation, they bite only when cornered or provoked. Before I forget, there is no antidote to a King Cobra bite.

ARRS was set up by Romulus Whitaker and has been operational since 2005. Many herpetologists, conservationists and researchers work on their projects based out of this research station. ARRS helps out in King Cobra rescues around the region. Though King Cobras are revered, they’re prone to some harm from humans when they venture into human settlements. Among many other projects, the King Cobra Radio Telemetry Project is currently operational here. With the help of telemetry, the researchers study snake movements. They record daily and seasonal activity patterns of King Cobras which helps in understanding their behaviour and eventually, in conserving this flagship species. The ARRS has a common dining area and common bathrooms. Serve your own food, wash your plates, don’t leave behind any plastic and give the staff their space to work is the way of life if you are a visitor.

It kept raining the entire day and we headed out to look for the King’s courtiers. A Green Vine Snake clung to a twig, completely camouflaged. Our presence brought out the black and white under its scales, a sign of aggravation.

A Malabar Pit Viper sat pretty in the bamboo, only a watchful eye can spot it, the shiny yellow scales give it away. It curls up into an S shape, defensive, its striking position.

A few steps ahead, an incredibly cute baby Nilgiri Keelback (Beddome’s Keelback) greeted us.

At every step we met wondrous new creatures - frogs, caterpillars, dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies.

caterpillar of a moth belonging to the Limacodidae or Euclidae family

The flora and fauna is so rich that you can spend an entire day photographing things at a single spot and you would still not be done with it.

A Malabar Trogon called for its partner, Yellow Browed Bulbuls zipped past our head. A Paris Peacock skimmed along, a Red Helen followed course. A Malabar Giant Squirrel dropped half eaten figs on our heads. A Crested Serpent Eagle called, gliding high up in the sky. I was in paradise.

Red Helens

Red Pierrot

White Bellied Treepies called out to us, so did Malabar Grey Hornbills. We went crawling across a huge field to shoot Malabar Larks and they took off before we got our best shots.

One evening, we made a trip to the Jogi Gundi falls. We walked under trees that made us feel like we are a few cms long, climbed over fallen trees, stepped over rocks, slipped down some leaf litter and reached a lovely waterfall with creamy white water gushing down the rocks.

Green colored moss-laden rocks, wild orchids, lizards and frogs added to the beauty of the scene.

Micrixalus saxicola

And leeches. They were everywhere, crawling up our leech socks till we flicked them away, on our bags, cameras, there’s no getting away from them. The only way to not let them bother you is by not paying them any attention, alas, I am yet to reach that stage. I’ve had my share of experiences with leeches in Valparai, but the sheer number of leeches here was distracting. Much to the amusement of everybody in the group, a leech made its way to my camera neck-tag and then on to my cheek and gave me a peck before I managed to flick it away. As morbid as it sounds, yes, I’ve been kissed by a leech!

It was a cloudy, rainy day and we didn’t expect to see the Sun set, but we still went along to the sunset point to check out the view. As expected, the clouds had taken over the valley and every time they drifted apart, I tried to get a couple of images. Finally, the shy Sun made a brief appearance before the clouds took over completely.

If you are staying at the ARRS, a night walk is a must. Agumbe is an entirely different person at night. It gets insanely dark and all kinds of creatures are up and about. Armed with torches, we set out to look for snakes, scorpions, tarantulas and frogs. One of the first things we heard was a female Sri Lanka Frogmouth calling and we followed its call for quite some time before we spotted the elusive beauty. Mandy told us that no Frogmouth images had ever been made in Agumbe, our records of the sighting would be the first.

Typical to rainforests, you can find exotic fungi at every step.

A vine snake was hanging around the evening before we left, it bid us adieu.

It was pack-up time already. We drove past ‘Dodda Mane’, Malgudi Days was filmed here and the ancient bungalow was the home of the endearing little Swami. On the way back to the ugly urban jungle, I promised myself that I would return to Agumbe, for a longer trip, knowing that no amount of time spent here can be enough.

Until then and forever, there’s one image that will remain etched in my mind from this wonderful trip.

The King’s stare.

** Please do not re-use any of these images without my permission.

Flora from Ganeshgudi

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Mon, 02 May 2011 07:40:00 +0000

When I asked Karthik to help me identify some species of flora I had photographed at Ganeshgudi, he helped me out, as always. Also, he suggested that I should read up about these species online and write a short post on them. Here it is.

Wagatea spicata / Moullava spicata --

Commonly known as the Candy Corn Plant, it is a robust creeper known to grow 5-20 m long. It belongs to the Gulmohar family Caesalpiniaceae. It is a native species and flowers all through the year. The specimen I photographed was quite high up and I happened to notice it thanks to a Black Lored Tit and a Greenish Warbler that kept hopping around the flowers.
Colorful, bright flowers appear at the end of branches, between 30-60 cms in length. The flowers are scarlet and yellow in color and do not open. Pods are oblong and hard. Leaves are double pinnate and each leaf has 5-7 pairs of leaflets. The roots of W.spicata are known to be used to treat pneumonia and tuberculosis. In Kannada, this plant is called 'gajjigaballi'.

Calycopteris floribunda --

Commonly known as the Paper Flower Climber, it is a large climbing shrub upto 5-10 meters long and has vines that are 2-4 inches in diameter. Some sections of the vine store water and forest dwellers are known to depend on this vine for water during the dry summer season. This species is largely found in the low-lying tropical evergreen forests of the Western Ghats. It is a native species and flowers all through the year. It bears grey bark and tenuous branches with thick fluff on the surface. Flowers appear in dense clusters at the end of the branches and are bright green in color.
At Ganeshgudi, we always spotted Scarlet Minivets amidst these flowers. The mix of yellow-scarlet-black-green made for a delightful sight.

The leaves have medicinal qualities and are used as laxatives to clear intestinal worms. The fruits too are used to treat jaundice, ulcers and skin diseases.

Entada --

Entada is a genus of flowering plants from the pea family Fabaceae. These creepers have long stemmed, thick, woody vines that grow vertically to reach out to the canopy so that they can access more light.
What sets these creepers apart are seed pods - the sheer size of the seed pods will grab your attention even amongst dense canopy. The first time I noticed an Entada creeper was in the Bhadra Tiger reserve. I remember, the seed pods were atleast 2 feet long!

Many plants of the Entada species are known to have medicinal properties and some of the seeds are sought after as pieces of jewellery and good-luck charms.

Until next time, here are some first flush of leaves basking in the early morning Sun.

Ganeshgudi

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:27:00 +0000

A sleepless night. Departure at 3.15AM. The highway mostly empty, except for huge trucks. Brightly lit up toll booths. Fleeting lights from villages and towns. 120 kmph on the speedometer. Trance and house music to keep up with the momentum. A well-laid out NH4. The journey to Ganeshgudi had only begun.

Considering the number of people who'd told me that Ganeshgudi is to a birder what Disneyland is to a 10 year old, it had been on the 'must visit' list for a long time. When Alexis and Neha graciously offered to take me along on a trip they had planned, I finally had the opportunity to check Ganeshgudi off the list (and add it to the 'visit again' list of course). At around 500 kms from Bangalore, Ganeshgudi is insanely far. While researching on the route and traveling options, we decided that driving would be the best choice. Since it would be a very long drive, Alexis decided to get his driver along.

National Highway 4 is in excellent condition and is well suited for a long drive. The landscapes on either side change by the second. Cotton fields and open barren land alternate with sunflower fields. A lush green Davangere kicks in out of the blue, brick making units convert the landscape to a bright red here and there. Ranebennur has the typical arid dry grassland habitat, Chitradurga is brown and rocky. The highway doesn't have good pitstops, there are very few places to eat or rest.

After a failed attempt to get 'benne dose' at Davangere - apparently none of the restaurants there serve breakfast before 8:30AM - we stuck to tomato sandwiches prepared by Neha for breakfast. Luck struck twice and we were caught at two railway crossings, trucks lined up in order next to us. If only city-folk could learn a thing or two from them.

Birding was effortless, it began as soon as the Sun came up and we were well past Chitradurga by then. A Black Shouldered Kite being chased by a perky Crow, rows of Laughing Doves on the wires, Drongos busy finding their first meal, Peafowl pecking at the soil in a field - they all gave us company in the long drive. As we turned off the NH4 into SH1 towards Tadas, a lake bustling with birds came into sight - Cotton Pygmy Goose, Lesser Whistling Ducks, Spot Billed Ducks, Great Egrets, Painted Storks, Pond Herons, Coots, Swamp Hens.

Cotton Pygmy Goose -- Male (L) & Female (R)

As we photographed a pair of hovering Pied Kingfishers, a very curious Spotted Owlet couple kept a watch on us. They jumped up and down the branches, with bobbing heads, bulging eyes, extremely wary, yet, very eager to befriend us. The scene was so delightful that I can play it out entirely in my mind even now.

Spotted Owlet

A Crested Serpent Eagle hovered over the fields by the highway.

Crested Serpent Eagle

With some excellent navigation by Alexis, who referred to the route mentioned on the Jungle Lodges site and Google Maps on the phone, we reached the resort by 11AM, 8 hours later. From Bangalore, we took the NICE Road towards Tumkur and then drove through Chitradurga, Davangere, Haveri, Tadas, Kalghatgi, Haliyal to reach Ganeshgudi. The Old Magazine House resort at Ganeshgudi is a property run by Jungle Lodges and Resorts. Surrounded by a thick moist deciduous forest, it is located on the Londa-Dandeli road. There are 5 cottages and a dormitory that can accommodate up to 20 people. The dining area is located on the roof of a charming bungalow, the Old Magazine House, in which ammunition was once stored during the construction of the nearby Supa dam.

As I got off the car, a Malabar Tree Nymph floated past, with its tantalizing flight, as an indication of the exotic birds and butterflies we were to sight in the next two days. This beauty had eluded my camera in Valparai and had just managed to do that again, for my hands were full of bags! I had only dumped my bags in the room, Alexis called out, he'd spotted a Rat Snake behind my cottage and Neha had just spotted a Scorpion scuttling away. It was a wild world there.

There are many birding spots in the resort, the best spots being the dining area and the bird baths below. A group of noisy Dark Fronted Babblers make their way to the bird bath. A shy pair of Chestnut Tailed Starlings await their turn, slowly hopping down the bamboo. White-bellied Blue Flycatchers, Oriental Magpie Robins, Blue-capped Rock Thrushes and Emerald Doves, all followed suit.

Emerald Dove

Chestnut Tailed Starling

Oriental Magpie Robin -- Female

Malabar Pied Hornbills flew about, high up in the canopy, an occasional one perching on one of the tall trees.

Malabar Pied Hornbills

In the evening, the naturalist at the camp Joma, led us on a steep, exhaustive walk up the hill. We trudged up, gasping for breath and saw a sight that literally took our breath (or whatever was left of it) away. Sepia toned still waters kissed the edges of hills. Thick clouds enveloped the Sun, creating a haze that obscured most of the hills in the distance.

Everything was aglow in the evening light - the Brahminy Kite that drifted along, its flight taken care of by the strong wind; Langurs on top of the canopy; Malabar Pied Hornbills finding that perfect perch to roost before the night ahead - they were all lit up.

We settled down to watch the sunset, quite a spectacular one it was. If not for all the haze, I think I would have been able to make better images.

As the Sun went lower, the Brahminy Kite glided past. A mix of white and golden brown one minute and turning into a pretty silhouette in the next. And then it kissed the Sun goodbye.

We walked back downhill, the leaf litter making the entire path very slippery. My mandatory slip-and-fall happened too. A male Sri Lanka Frogmouth called out and we began to track it with our torches. We followed its call and spotted it in the dense foliage, five minutes later. Back at the resort, we sat at the bonfire, listening to male and female Frogmouths calling out to each other with their distinct, loud calls. Dinner was simple and tasty. The cook had prepared the yummiest tomato soup in the world, I am not joking when I say that!

While you are in the Western Ghats, you don't need an alarm clock, a Malabar Whistling Thrush will wake you up, which is what happened the next morning. One started whistling right next to my cottage early in the morning, it woke me up and then soothed me back to sleep. I remember, there were three Thrushes on the second morning, each one sang a different tune, interspersed with each other's songs. Oh, how I love this bird!

While birding activity was relatively quiet in the evenings, a flying frenzy took place in the mornings, there were birds everywhere. This was the peak of the mating/breeding season and all birds were as active as they can be. A Heart Spotted Woodpecker called out as it whizzed past; White Browed Bulbuls sang their garbled songs; Puff Throated Babblers sang aloud; Malabar Grey Hornbills gave a fleeting glimpse of their flying finesse; Scarlet Minivets and Bronzed Drongos were busy in their mixed hunting flocks. A Barking Deer made a brief appearance one morning near the resort gate.

Scarlet Minivet -- Female

Nearby, a Malabar Giant Squirrel clucked loudly, busy feeding on everything in sight.

Malabar Giant Squirrel

An Asian Fairy Bluebird sat pretty, though we saw it several times we never heard its lovely call during the trip. A male Malabar Trogon made a rare appearance on the second day, so did a very shy Orange Headed Thrush. One sight I will remember for a long time is how three Racket Tailed Drongos chased a Common Kestrel. Other flagship Western Ghats species we saw were Ruby Throated Bulbuls, Little Spiderhunters, Forest Wagtails, Crimson Sunbirds, Vernal Hanging Parrots and Chestnut Headed Bee Eaters. A courting pair of Emerald Doves were a delightful sight, they would strut around on the ground all day long.

Emerald Dove

Apart from Blue Mormons, Southern Birdwings and many other butterflies, we saw Chestnut-Streaked Sailers quite often.

Chestnut-streaked Sailer

This was also the weekend during which the unimaginable happened, India won the Cricket World Cup. The staff had set up a small television in a hall that houses rafting equipment. Sri Lanka's batting session was mostly boring and we went out for some birding. During India's batting session, Joma asked us if we would like to see Tarantulas and we headed out with our torches. We spotted several Tarantulas, Wolf Spiders, Scorpions and a certain exotic looking red colored spider of which I only have a mental image. We also saw a Deccan Ground Gecko which is quite a looker. Unfortunately, we didn't have our cameras handy. Amidst all this spider spotting, India held on to the world cup dream and put up a superb performance. I never dreamed that I would watch India in a World Cup final game, in a remote jungle, on a tiny black and white TV screen which was running on a generator! But India won and all this just added to the thrill and excitement :)

When I commented about how this trip wasn't very fruitful from a photography perspective, I was told by the staff that this is not the best season for photography and I should go back there in November to make good images. It was time to head back and we decided, a second trip must be made here, hopefully in winter later this year. The long drive back on a very hot day took us 8 hours again. From Ganeshgudi, we drove towards Dharwad and then on to Hubli (bypass road), Haveri, Davangere, Chitradurga, Tumkur and reached Bangalore - the end of another memorable trip and a beginning to new memories.

Alexis's trip report is here and a complete list of fauna sightings from the trip is here on his blog.

There are many things I'll remember for a long long time from this trip... waking up to the songs of the Malabar Whistling Thrush, Neha's innovative bird names, the sunset, the Forest Wagtail behind my cottage, the Emerald Dove that almost hit my head as it whizzed past, the tomato soup, the bad coffee, the Drongo - Kestrel chase, the hoot of the Owl we never saw, the graceful float of the Malabar Tree Nymph, the bobbing heads of the Owlets... but one thing I'll remember longer than all these is a tree that wore its heart on its sleeve. Salut!

The Falcon Visits, Again..

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 20:43:00 +0000

After spending an evening with the Shaheen Falcon last month, I was craving for another sighting. And better images. My wish came true!

Wednesday, the 17th of November was a holiday for Eid. At around 1 PM, I was scanning the building as usual and noticed the Falcon perched just two floors below, on a pipe again. A small boy playing in a balcony close by kept the bird occupied and it watched him with interest.

Noisy Pigeons, people walking in and out of their balconies, Pariah Kites gliding overhead - the Falcon had many things to keep itself occupied. It watched everything in the surroundings and occasionally glanced at me too. Meanwhile, it preened, a lot.

Unlike last time, the bird seemed very edgy and kept shifting positions. In a while, it relaxed and took a nap. I saw the bird's eyes shut for the first time!

A couple of streets away, some kids were bursting crackers and I noticed the bird jerk and move every time it heard a loud sound. It began preening and scratching again, just before taking off.

I was quite disappointed that I missed photographing the take-off again. Little did I realize that I was going to get luckier :)

In about 5 mins, the bird flew right back in and this time, it settled on a balcony very close by, on the same floor as mine.

As soon as it settled down there, it *pooped*. And I did manage to photograph that moment.

A Common Emigrant flying around caught its attention and it traced its flight. Its amazing how they can turn and twist the neck around without shifting their body or legs.

Once the Emigrant was gone, I became the subject of interest and it looked at me, curiously and stealthily at the same time.

After spending another 5 minutes perched on the balcony, the Falcon took off..

..swooped down..

..and was gone.

For the rest of the noon, I saw the bird circling around the building. Several attempts to photograph it in flight failed, thanks to the bird's speed and other obstructions. Towards evening, I saw it perched on a pipe, about 7 floors below. When I checked again at 5:30 PM, it was gone.

And now, I wait again :)

Details of Sighting -

Date : 17 November 2010

Time : 1:00 PM - 5:30 PM

Place : Arekere, Bannerghatta Road

** I own the copyright of all images. Please do not use them without my permission.

New Blog Post Address

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:30:00 +0000

I've updated my Blog Post address.

The new URL is - http://radha-rangarajan.blogspot.com/

Please update it in your RSS/Reader settings and keep visiting :)

Thank you!!

Shaheen Falcon

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 23:13:00 +0000

A birding trip on the Sunday of 3rd October didn't prove to be very fruitful thanks to an overcast sky. I returned with just an image of a Pied Cuckoo, ranting over how the birds weren't kind to me that day. How wrong I was!

At around 5 in the evening, I stepped out to the balcony in my residence at Arekere, Bannerghatta Road and found a bird perched amidst some pipes, five floors below. I couldn't ID the bird, so I photographed the bird right away, before it could take off.

A quick look through the bird book and I knew it could either be a Peregrine/Shaheen Falcon or an Oriental Hobby. While the Shaheen Falcon is a breeding resident all over the country, the Oriental Hobby is a resident only in the NE and the Himalayas. The lack of streaks on the breast and belly of the bird caused some amount of confusion.

I messaged a couple of friends, desperate to confirm the ID. While I waited to hear from them, I watched the bird's behavior. It spent a lot of time just sitting still, at times its eyes were closed too and it seemed to be taking a short nap. In the interim, the bird also kept preening.

When I described the bird's colors to a friend, he said it could be a Shaheen Falcon. Though there was a stronger possibility of the bird being a Shaheen Falcon, an Oriental Hobby has been sighted here in Bangalore a decade ago, so the possibility couldn't be ruled out. I processed a couple of images and mailed them to get a better idea of the bird species.

Meanwhile, the bird continued to groom itself. I found it scratching and then fluffing its feathers. It also *pooped* a couple of times. It seemed as if the bird had fed and was taking some time off from flying. Loud and large groups of Pigeons didn't disturb it, neither did a bunch of Black Kites hovering above.

Thanks to the bad viewing angle, it became quite difficult to judge the size of the bird, but I was quite sure it was a little larger than a Shikra and an Oriental Hobby would have been smaller. A year ago, during the months of September - October, my Father had photographed a similar bird in the building, perched on a bicycle, 6 floors below. The image was from a point and shoot camera, with about 3x optical zoom. He remembers how crows tried to mob the bird and it took off, like a jet.

More discussions with friends and it was confirmed that the bird is a Shaheen Falcon (Falco peregrinus peregrinator), an Indian subspecies of the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus).

The bird spent more than 40 minutes on the perch and then quietly bid adieu, its a pity I missed the take-off.

And now, I wait for the Falcon to make its next visit..

Birds of Corbett

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:36:00 +0000

Corbett National Park is the oldest national park in India and has a wide variety of flora and fauna. The critically endangered Royal Bengal Tiger rules the jungle here and that has converted this national park into a popular ecotourism destination. However, the park has over 580 species of birds alone. Here are some of the birds I photographed in my recent visit to the park.

Indian Roller or Blue Jay (Coracias benghalensis) is a beautiful, bright bird and is the state bird of 4 states – Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa. The Roller gets its name from the aerobatic display the male puts up with its twists and turns during the breeding season. The birds have an assortment of colors like bright blue, turquoise, indigo and white on their wings and are a visual treat in flight. They are commonly seen in open grasslands, scrub forests and are often perched on dead trees and electric lines. They are easily one of the most photogenic birds around.

Chestnut-tailed Starling (Sturnia malabarica) is a member of the Starling family of birds. A sub species exists in the Western Ghats which has a white head. These Starlings are omnivorous and feed on insects, nectar and fruits. Like most Starlings, these birds fly in a tight flock and have the ability to change directions rapidly with perfect synchrony.

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela) is a bird of prey that is found widely across many different habitats in India. In comparison to other large raptors, the bird is fairly medium-sized. They hunt for snakes and lizards by flying over the forest canopy. They usually make nests close to a water body. These eagles have a prominent yellow eye and are a treat to watch and photograph.

White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus) was earlier known as the Shama Thrush. The bird is a melodious singer and has a rich, clear voice. It is also known to mimic other birds often. While photographing this bird, I recall how it kept singing. When other birds joined in, the Shama began to mimic songs and calls, including that of the Common Hawk Cuckoo, or the Brain-Fever bird! They are mainly insectivorous birds. During the breeding season, the female builds the nest in the hollow of a tree, while the male stands guard.

Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) is a common bird and can be found in various habitats like grasslands, scrub jungles and even away from water. They have vibrant colors and when perched together, they make a colorful sight. As the name suggests, Bee-eaters mainly feed on bees, wasps, ants and dragonflies. A Bee-eater repeatedly thrashes the prey on a branch to remove the sting from its prey before feeding on it.

For more images from Corbett, visit my Flickr page.

Kuala Lumpur Tower

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Mon, 24 May 2010 06:47:00 +0000

The Kuala Lumpur Tower or the Menara Kuala Lumpur is the 18th tallest freestanding tower in the world. Its construction was completed in 1994. The tower appears to be taller than the Petronas Twin Towers as it is built on a hill, putting its height at 515m above sea level.

The antennae on the tower reaches up to 421 m or 1381 ft. That makes it the 5th tallest telecommunication tower in the world. It is built to withstand wind pressure of up to 90mph.

Malaysia takes its tourists and tourism very seriously. The Kuala Lumpur tower is a mini-tourist spot and one can easily spend 3-4 hours at the tower. The tower is built on a hill called Bukit Nanas which has a thick tree cover with many birds. You can take a guided tour around the forest. The tourism department has also built a Malaysian village with small houses. It looks like a film set and is maintained very well. They also have dance performances every 30 minutes or so.

On the observation deck, you will be given a mini display with earphones. Every window in the deck is numbered. Choose the language of your choice on the display, head to the correct window and you can listen to a description of what you are seeing outside.

The views from the observation deck are breathtaking. You can get a bird's eye view of the city of Kuala Lumpur.

While traveling through the city, its hard not to notice and appreciate how well the tree cover has been protected. The city has a perfect balance of modern infrastructure and greenery.

Standing at the top of this tower, I realized how green the city is and why its one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

There is a free shuttle service available to go uphill and downhill. Do use it when you make a visit there.

A quest for vegetarian food...

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Wed, 12 May 2010 21:23:00 +0000

There are some basic necessities of life. Air, Water, Food, Clothes, Internet. Okay, the last one is debatable, but you wouldn't be reading this without the Internet, right? Anyway, for a vegetarian like me, the necessities read thus - Air, Water, Vegetarian Food, Clothes etc. So, when I was going to land in a city like Kuala Lumpur, I thought, its not like I am going to Beijing. Its just KL which has a large population of Indians and Malay-Tamilians. Vegetarian food must be available everywhere. How wrong I was!

After eating some bad food on board Malaysian Airlines, I thought it would be best to make up for it with a heavy breakfast in the morning. Travel weary, sleepy, jet-lagged and time-zoned, I spent the entire day sleeping at the hotel. A growling tummy woke me up at 4pm. It was time to get out and explore the city. A roadside eatery near the hotel had Indian customers and Tamil speaking waiters. After washing down masala dosa with tasty coffee we headed out to get our first impression of KL. Bukit Bintang is a busy downtown area of the city, filled with small and large shopping malls, roadside shops, cafes and foot massage centers. To beat the humidity, we ended up spending the evening inside BB Plaza, Sungai Wang Plaza and the Pavilion. Some crazy shoe-shopping perked up our appetite, there began our quest for vegetarian food.

The food court had a variety of cuisines and some extremely weird looking food, but no vegetarian food on any of the menus, which were mostly unreadable anyway. A bolt of optimism struck me when I saw KFC and McDonalds hidden away in a far corner of the mall. They should have vegetarian burgers on their menu right? I checked the menu and didn't find any mentioned. Here's what happened next.

I walk up to the lady at the counter in McDonalds and ask her if they have vegetarian burgers.

She looks surprised, asks me to repeat my question.

I repeat my question, slowly.

Her eyes widen, almost popping out. She looks at me head to toe, probably to ensure that I am not an alien.

(P.S. I think she's trying to see if ET will peek out of my backpack.)

She asks me if I want to eat eggs.

I say no, I don't want eggs. I am looking for a burger without egg, without meat.

Her eyes will now fall out any moment.

She excuses herself and runs to a colleague in the next counter, who turns out to be the supervisor.

They discuss in hush-hush tones, occasionally pointing a finger at me.

(P.S. Thanks to her expressions, all on-lookers are now convinced that I asked her for her kidney.)

The supervisor then walks up to me and explains that they don't make vegetarian burgers. But, eureka! They have French Fries, which is vegetarian!

Would I like to order Fries and Coke?

This happened to me several times over the next 5 days. Every time I asked for vegetarian food, I was greeted with looks that varied from disbelief, shock, surprise, sympathy and occasionally all the way to disgust.

That night, we gave up on the hunt for food inside the mall. Walking around the streets of Bukit Bintang, we came across a 'restoran' called Srirekha. It was a simple Indian restaurant with some real tasty food. The masala dosa I ate there is one of the best I've ever eaten. No, I am not exaggerating when I say this. A plate of thair-sadam to go with it, followed by some ice-cream completed the dinner. Other memorable meals in Bintang were at a Pakistani restaurant and at Outback inside the Pavilion. Subway was a savior, thanks to their concept of food customization. Ironically, we discovered a restaurant that advertised South Indian style plantain leaf meals on the day we were supposed to return.

Stay at the hotel included breakfast, needless to say, it was eggs and sausages. The waitress and the cook didn't understand the concept of bread/toast. So, breakfast every morning was at the same eatery - dosa, coffee and/or Thai coconuts. Now, these Thai coconuts were huge, the water sugary sweet and the coconut pulp was creamy and soft. For the heat and humidity in KL, they made for a perfect post-breakfast drink. Since we would travel around the city all day, the same exercise of hunting for places with vegetarian food had to be repeated many times. Apart from the meal at Srirekha, vegetarian food was mostly mediocre and quite expensive. The non-vegetarians in the group had a great time trying out different Malayan dishes and some Chinese food. They had many stories of frog soup, octopus, squid and some other 'exotic' types of meat.

Here's a travel tip for all vegetarians making a visit to KL. Browse through travel websites and make a list of places that serve vegetarian food. Keep it with you while you travel around the city and look-up places as and when you need to eat. The locals are very helpful and friendly, so you can ask for directions.

Back in Bangalore, I was waiting to get back home and gorge on the hot rice and rasam mum had prepared. A huge hoarding with an advertisement for Taco Bell greeted me as soon as I drove out of the airport. My eyes and brain, seasoned to look for the keywords 'vegetarian food' on any hoarding in KL, scanned this board too. And then I realized I was back home.

Chail - A Photo Feature

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 17:36:00 +0000

Chail, in Himachal Pradesh once served as the summer capital of the state of Patiala. It is situated at an altitude of 2250m above sea level and is higher than Shimla.

Chail is surrounded by forests of chir pine and deodars. The hills overlook the Sutlej valley. Shimla and Kasauli can be seen from here at night.

The Chail Palace, constructed by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh in 1891, is beautiful and elegant. The furnishing and decor have been maintained well through the years and it now serves as the Palace Hotel.

The Palace has lush green spacious lawns. It is easily one of the best places to stay if you are looking to spend a night in Chail.

There is a cricket ground and a polo ground in Chail. At 2444m, it has the highest cricket pitch in the world.

Long winding roads, untouched landscapes, chirping birds and a chilly breeze constantly accompany you as you walk around the town. Needless to say that the town is best explored on foot.

A book, a hammock, a drink in your hand and a camera by your side. This is all you will need to savour the feel of this picturesque town completely.

The next time you are looking for a quiet holiday up in the hills, head to Chail.

A Foggy Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:12:00 +0000

Woke up this morning to a stunning sight. Here's how the view looked -

And one trip led to another..

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:42:00 +0000

I spent an unexpected four days in Shimla this September. I ventured into the northern parts of the country for the first time. I saw the capital city for the first time. I saw the Himalayas and snow-capped peaks for the first time. Here's how it happened.

Club Mahindra announced a travelogue contest called 'My Trip of a Lifetime'. The link was passed around quite a bit on Twitter and Facebook and managed to grab my attention on the last day of the contest. I sent in my write up of the Valparai trip along with the pictures I took there. Going by the track record of how my luck has fared in contests like these, I conveniently forgot about it until the results came out. I was pleasantly surprised and deliriously happy of course! This meant more travel, more photography and meeting more people. It also meant that I had to convince my manager to let me go for a full work week.

Luck still played along as I worked out my leaves and headed out on this journey. Also traveling from Bangalore were contest judges Lakshmi Sharath, a travel writer and Arun Bhat, a photographer and travel writer. The other two winners, Kanchuki and Kongkona joined us in the Delhi airport. Three other judges, Cdr. Satyabrata Dam, a renowned mountaineer, Arun Nair, the editor of Clay and Kiruba Shankar, a blogger and columnist joined us in the Delhi bus station where we boarded an overnight bus to Shimla.

The Club Mahindra Whispering Pines Gables resort is located on top of a vantage point with a lush view of the valley in Mashobra, 15 kms from Shimla. The sunrise that greeted us on the first morning there made sure that I woke up at 5.30 every chilly cold morning just to catch a glimpse of it. And shoot tons of pictures. And look for incredibly tiny, beautiful birds making merry in the golden light. And drool over the mesmerizing view.

This trip also turned out to be one where I ate. A lot. Starting from the delicious and mouth watering breakfast spread, proceeding to lunch and a scrumptious dinner, I only ate, ate and ate. The sous chef Vikas personally ensured that we were being over-fed and his able group of stewards never let a plate go empty or a cup run dry. I particularly recall Balwinder, who was omnipresent. You just had to look up from your plate and he would appear out of nowhere, offering you more food. The resort manager Monish pulled all strings to ensure that our stay went well. Overnight camping trips, hosted dinners, barbeque in the lawn, packed breakfast boxes for an early morning outing, he took care of everything.

When I took breaks from eating, I did travel around Shimla. The group went to Kasauli the second day. A quiet little town, other than the customary mandir and market, there's nothing else to do or see. The third day took us to Chail, which more than made up for the first day. Chail is a quaint little town with a very old-world charm, partly because there is a ban on new constructions. Long walks in the amazing weather, lunch at the Chail palace, some lovely bird sightings (Eurasian Jay in particular) and walking around the highest cricket ground in the world .. we did it all. We camped out one night. When sweaters, rugs and sleeping bags didn't give any respite from the biting cold winds, we turned to raucous singing well into the wee morning hours. Tributes to Hemant Kumar, Rafi, Kishore and Lata ended with a grand finale of Govinda's 'Tujhe mirchi lagi to main kya karoo.' We trekked back to the resort through the hills in the morning and met an old shepherd who sat with his sheep and a dog in a beautiful meadow. In the evenings we walked up and down the Mall road, eating corn and kulfi and also made a couple of trips to India Coffee House. The visit to the Viceregal Lodge, which I blogged about earlier was memorable.

The return day journey from Shimla to Delhi gave me a first hand experience of road-travel up north. The lush landscapes of Punjab, massive highways, the lovely city of Chandigarh and New Delhi of course. I am yet to see a city as massive and well-planned as Delhi. The infrastructure took me by surprise and I invariably kept comparing it to Bangalore.

So, this is how one trip led to another. The best memories of this trip will no doubt be the breathtaking landscapes of the Himalayas. However, I will mostly remember this trip for the people I met and spent time with.

The journey continues. Till we meet again...

P.S. The pictures I took at Shimla are on my Flickr account. You can view them here.

The Viceregal Lodge - Shimla

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:16:00 +0000

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 was 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-see for anyone who visits Shimla.

When I Saw God in Valparai...

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:24:00 +0000

I recently returned to the city after a 5 day photography workshop and expedition in the Anamalais range of the Western Ghats. From the very first minute into the trip, I've been making mental notes on how to describe this trip to friends and family and also how to draft a write up for my blog. However, the entire experience of the trip has left me completely out of words. Yet, here I am, making an attempt to describe my experience, fully aware that I will not be able to do enough justice. This is a detailed account of the expedition and I hope you will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed re-living the trip by writing this.

I started planning this trip a few months ago when I came across a mention of this expedition on Kalyan Varma's website. I have been an avid follower of Kalyan's photography, his LJ and his sites. I knew that I would never be able to forgive myself if I let go of an opportunity to travel in the jungles of the Western Ghats and also learn the art of photography from Kalyan himself. Having nominated myself for the trip, Kalyan's email on the finalized dates came as an alert to me as I was yet to purchase an SLR for the trip. Based on Kalyan's suggestion, I landed at Jayesh Mehta's store and purchased my Nikon D90. This is also the only time ever that blowing up my bank balance brought me so much happiness :)
I left for Coimbatore on the night of 18th with my camera equipment and all my rain gear packed up. Since this trip was going to be with a group of people I had never met before, I had received ample amount of warnings and suggestions from family and friends on how to be safe and how to judge people (my failure rate is quite high with this judging part!). I know their intentions were in my best interest, but once I got back, I ensured to tell each one of them about the people I met there and how they got worried unnecessarily. One of the participants in the expedition, Sumeet, traveled in the same bus as me. Kalyan picked us up personally from Coimbatore. After a quick stopover for breakfast at Pollachi, where we met Dilan Mandanna (Mandy) and the rest of the group, we were headed to our destination - Valparai in the Anamalais range.

You can check my Flickr account to see photographs from this trip.

Day -- 1
Driving through the well-laid TN state highways, Kalyan mentioned that he has made a list of 12 Hotshots which are the most special species from the Anamalai hills. Our job was to spot and photograph each one of them. We were around the 4th hairpin bend when we spotted a hunting party (mixed flock) and a mighty Crested Hawk Eagle in the dry bushes. The Scarlet Minivet was the first Hotshot we spotted there. Up on the 9th hairpin bend, we got off the vehicles to look for the endangered Nilgiri Tahr which has made these grassy peaks its home. We were lucky to spot two adults and a calf high up on the hill, however, the distance didn't let us photograph them. But luck got luckier when we spotted two adult Tahrs engaged in a mock fight bang in the middle of the road. They gave us some lovely poses and the happy group clicked away. We also managed to provide some entertainment to the locals sitting by the roadside who must have thought we were crazy to photograph animals they see on a daily basis. How I wish they knew they were really lucky to see these endangered endemic species in their habitat every single day.

The endangered Nilgiri Tahr graze on the side of the road with traffic passing by..

Other Hotshots we spotted on the way up were the Indian Giant Squirrel, the Nilgiri Langur and the critically endangered endemic primates - Lion Tailed Macaque (LTMs as they are lovingly called). The fact that we could spot 5 Hotshots even before we reached Valparai gave us an idea of how rich the biodiversity of this land is. We also spotted a group of female Gaur on the way up. A couple of road kills on the way were stark reminders of the human invasion of their habitat. One of the road kills was a Pit Viper and was a part of the Hotshots list.
The beautifully laid out tea estates covered with mist and clouds add to the beauty of these hills. They are also the reason why the forests have been cut short in these parts. As much as these tea estates add to the beauty of the valley and bring in revenue, they have destroyed the forests here. Forest patches have also been replaced by Eucalyptus plantations, which again bring in money. They do not suit any animals or birds. Animals are forced to interact with humans in such habitats and human-animal conflicts almost always result in some kind of loss for both parties.

40 hairpin bends up, and we were in Valparai. The group was put up in rustic English bungalows in the middle of the beautiful Parry Agro tea estate. The bungalows were over 70 years old and well managed. They also had the best cooks and care-takers. In the days to come, we realized how rich the estate was in terms of the bird population there. The birds we spotted in the estate during the length of the trip were - Malabar Whistling Thrush, White Cheeked Barbet, Lesser Coucal, Oriental Magpie Robin, Red Whiskered Bulbul, Common Myna, Common Hill Myna, Plum Headed Parakeet, Flame Backed Woodpecker and the Streak Throated Woodpecker.

A bungalow and surrounding view in the Parry Agro estate..

After a yummy lunch and a much needed nap, we headed out to visit a rain forest restoration plot created and managed by the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF). NCF has invested a lot of time and effort in restoring forest plots to assist animal movement in these hills. We met Divya, Sridhar and Anand who shared with us a world of knowledge about rain forest plants and their relationship with the animals there. We spotted some birds that evening - Malabar Grey Hornbill, Rufous Babbler and Malabar Parakeets. We also saw a Barking Deer in the distance.
My first day in Valparai also brought in my first ever encounter with the infamous Leeches which are widely prevalent in these rain forests. My first reaction to a leech trying to climb up my ankle was total panic and fear. Someone from the group gallantly pulled it off and then I turned into an over-cautious leech inspector. We were armed with leech socks for the next two days and eventually I just stopped worrying about them. I am proud (and not so proud) to say that I didn't get a single leech bite throughout the trip. Though I suspect they didn't like my blood, I should also give myself enough credit for always brushing them off at the right time.
The group was usually split into two and both groups took turns traveling with Kalyan and Mandy. The night was spent driving around the hills with Mandy looking for the Large Brown Flying Squirrel. It is a nocturnal animal that sits camouflaged high up in fruit-bearing trees. The only way to spot it is by looking for its shining eyes which light up when torches are flashed up in the trees. We found several squirrels but were not able to photograph them as Kalyan was far away with the other group and none of us could figure out the right camera settings. Two Sambar Deer grazing by the side of the road gave us company for a while. Kalyan and group also spotted a lone Tusker. After a short bout of rain, we went around looking for frogs when Kalyan heard a Leopard call. We waited around for a long time but the elusive cat didn't make an appearance. Following frog calls led us to an Anamalai Gliding Frog sitting in the bushes. This frog hasn't been photographed much and is endemic to the Anamalais range. After taking record shots of the frog, we decided to retire for the night. Driving back to the estate, we spotted a majestic Brown Fish Owl sitting on a culvert.

Day -- 2
Though Kalyan had described the melodious tunes of the Malabar Whistling Thrush, also called the Whistling Schoolboy, none of us were prepared for the actual experience. We woke up in the morning to a magical whistling tune and all of us assumed that its a very happy estate worker whistling away during his chores. When we realised the music was created by a tiny bird that resembles a crow, we were dumbstruck. We spent the next 4 days listening to its music, enjoying it thoroughly and photographing the bird of course. One of the best memories I have of this bird is when Shiva, a fellow participant and me headed out one evening to photograph birds in the estate. We followed a Thrush and realized that the bird had company somewhere in the distance. Standing right in the middle of two birds, we were treated to a musical concert while both the Thrushes kept whistling to each other. I wonder if they were telling each other how their day went! On this day, we headed out to the Manamboly forest range, which is one of the best protected rainforest spots there and is excellent for bird sightings. Passing through the Puduthottam estate, we were greeted by dozens of LTMs which live in the jack fruit trees by the side of the road. This is also the only place in the world where these primates can be observed and photographed at such a close range, simply because they are used to us humans staring at them. Of course, they also attract a lot of noisy, insensitive morons who like to tease them. To handle these so-called 'tourists' and to track the LTM movements, NCF has appointed full-time guards. Other species spotted on the way were - Black Eagle, Chestnut Headed Bee-Eater, White Cheeked Barbet, Stripe Necked Mongoose, Lesser Coucal and the White Throated Kingfisher.

Birding in the Manamboly forest stretch..

Driving and walking in the Manamboly forest stretch was one of the best day trips of this expedition. It gave us a golden chance to understand and experience evergreen rain forests, first hand. This forest is a work of art. It is so beautiful that every view has a photographic quality that cannot be ignored. A dry log which housed hundreds of pretty mushrooms, colourful leaves, tall evergreen trees, rare bird species, butterflies and dragonflies - these were the things that greeted us at every step. We also photographed another Hotshot - Impatiens Flowers - some of which are endemic to the Western Ghats. With constant guidance from Divya, we were able to identify and understand hordes of plant, insect and animal species. This is also where we spotted a Hotshot - the Great Hornbill. I will never forget the whoosh-whoosh sound made by the colourful, giant bird when it flies. I have to agree with Kalyan when he says that the beauty of this bird is when it flies and not when it sits up in a tree. We stopped for lunch at the electricity board's scenic guest house where we spotted the Lesser Fish Eagle. Other birds spotted in the day - Dollar Bird, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Emerald Dove, Black Drongo, Changeable Hawk Eagle, Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo and Oriental Honey Buzzard. A couple of us spotted a Hotshot - Malabar Trogon, but were not able to photograph the beauty.
The find of the day was when Divya heard the call of the rare Wynaad Laughing Thrush. The bird is extremely shy and very tough to photograph. While we all stood on a culvert and watched the bird hop around inside a bush, Mandy decided to get a record shot. His never-give-up attempts only lead him to a Rufous Babbler hiding in the same bush but we came back with some lovely memories of the incident.

Trying to get a view of the rare Wynaad Laughing Thrush..

That night we headed out again to photograph a Hotshot - Brown Palm Civet - but the shy animal eluded us completely. But, we didn't know yet that we were going to witness one of the most memorable sights of the trip. Walking down the road, we saw a horde of Flying Squirrels sitting quite low down in the Ficus trees. All of us took turns using the external flashes to get proper shots of these squirrels as it is crucial to get ample amount of lighting. Also, we could not flash more than 2-3 times to ensure that the animal doesn't get blinded or stunned. Kalyan pointed out that one of the squirrels was sitting on a fruit-less tree so it would have to glide over to another tree for food. True to his words, with a bunch of LED lights lighting up the sky, the squirrel made a mesmerizing glide from a tree at one end of the road to the other. There was absolutely no sound in the squirrel's glide. As my eyes followed the glide, I couldn't help but admire what a great creation that animal is. Once it landed, I realized that all of us had unanimously decided to drop the cameras and just devour the beautiful sight instead. Nothing in the world could have stopped our exuberant babbling after a sight like that.
The merry crowd returned to the bungalow, thrilled to bits.

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.

Bala, Kalyan, Geeta and Sumeet photographing LTMs at Puduthottam estate..

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.

Kalyan and Mandy scouting for Great Hornbills at Seen God..

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. 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 nearby. 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 Travancore Flying Squirrel was smaller than a Large Brown Flying Squirrel and was more rufous in colour. We watched it scuttling around the high branches, munching on Cullinea fruits. Kalyan, armed with his 200-400mm VR 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 mandatory vada-tea stop at a beautiful little chai-kadai and gorged on yummy vadas.
En route to the plot, I spotted a wriggling tiny snake-like thing by the side of the road. We stopped to check and 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 creature it was. I wonder how many of these helpless animals have been destroyed by centuries of human habitat-building.

Trying to get a record shot of the semi-dead Shield Tail..

Upon reaching the plot, Sridhar gave us a demonstration 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.

The group tries to photograph Malabar Grey Hornbills hiding in the bushes..

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. 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. 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.

Woke up everyday to the tunes of the Thrush and this lovely view..

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.

The group poses at Seen God
photo courtesy Kalyan Varma
(L-R) Arun, Selva, Me, Sumeet, Shiva, Bala, Geeta, Avijeet, Kalyan, Mandy

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 find a footing. 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, trees, rain, cloudy mornings and misty evenings, vada and tea combos, melodies of the Thrush and most importantly the images we made 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!

The Sun Sets in Style

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:14:00 +0000

The sunset was pretty brilliant today.. Here are a couple of images..

Fluffy Skies

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 19:28:00 +0000

The clouds seemed to be in the mood to show off today. There were some amazing views in the evening. Through the noon, the clouds looked like white cotton candy :)

Her Choice

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:48:00 +0000

The first time mom hired a maid I was very little, about 8 years old. A well behaved and hard working young lady, S would speak only when she was spoken to.The oldest child in her household, she sacrificed her education. With her tiny salary, she ensured that her sister and brother went to school. Over the years, she pretty much became a part of our family. It was a common joke among our relatives that she was mom's adopted daughter. When mom started teaching at a school run by her friend, a copy of the house key was handed over to S so that she could continue her chores even if no one was at home. Defending strong negative vibes from family and friends, mom insisted that she trusted S like she would trust her daughters. S later got married to a small-time contractor and had two daughters. We have since moved out of that locality, but S has constantly stayed in touch. She calls mom once a month and even visits often.
Now here is why I am telling her story. Through the years, she has saved enough money and purchased a piece of land. She and her husband are registered voters and have a ration card. Her husband learnt how to drive so that he could get more employment opportunities. He now has an additional part time job. She is paying for her brother's education and he is studying his degree now. Her sister completed college and is married to an educated government employee. Her daughters are now in primary school and consistently fetch grades in the range of A and A+. Both of them can comfortably converse in English and Hindi. One of them has been learning dance and one is learning classical music. The local government school conducts computer classes in summer at a nominal fee, both the kids have been enrolled there. S and her husband have been putting aside money as an education fund for the girls. All along, she has been working as a maid and is continuing as one.
We hear of stories from the working class/'blue-collar' labour. We read them in papers, hear them from the help we employ - gardeners, drivers, maids. Most of them are tragic and sad. Drunken husbands, hungry kids, harassed by loan sharks, crying women..the list is endless. Some uncontrollable issues, but many problems that could be handled well with the help of education and better usage of common sense.
But S didn't take that path. She made a choice. She is not educated, but decided that her children would not take her path. She wants them to get jobs, earn well and lead a better life. S made a darn good choice.
In the words of J.K. Rowling, voiced by Albus Dumbledore, "Its our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
S, I would like to say I love you and I am so proud of you. You go girl!!

New Life

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 08:46:00 +0000

Woke up this morning to the sight of budding flowers in my balcony.. As always, new life is thrilling and beautiful!

Sunset..

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:43:00 +0000

As the Sun played hide and seek with the clouds for a long time, we were treated to a spectacular sunset today..
Some pictures from the office terrace..

Earth

noreply@blogger.com (Radha) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 07:44:00 +0000

http://ow.ly/1Fx0 - Watch the trailer of Disney's "Earth."