SanjeevSaikiaArt

The great divide, or the shape of things to come in advertising!

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 06:20:00 +0000

I usually don't post graphics or pictures created by others, but I felt that this infographic created by http://www.voltierdigital.com/ is a really useful one for everyone who wishes to remain relevant as a brand in the foreseeable future.

Have a look... and in case you are not able to see the infographic properly go to this mashable post where it is very clearly visible - http://mashable.com/2011/10/30/inbound-outbound-marketing/

10 ways to get the top 25 videos about the 5 best things that the 20 top people use for the 100 best sites about the 5 best things that use the 10 biggest mistakes that get the 10 best results!

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 12:19:00 +0000

When will everyone get tired of the 10 ways, 25 top things, 100 best sites that seem to have taken over the entire Internet, from social media to blogs to whatever, everything is about 10 ways…

The Internet needs a new way to share content and write headlines. Any ideas?

The Vinoculars, what I’ve imagined and dreamed of for years now, are actually here! Yipeeeeee… And now for the price…

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 06:45:00 +0000

Many a times I thought and labored about why a binocular and a digital camera cannot be merged into one awesome birdwatching device. I have searched the internet in vain looking for something that can do this.

Now, it is finally here - the ultra-awesome Sony Video Binoculars or Vinoculars, a dream come true for birdwatchers in all aspects (except the price)!

There are two model DEV 3 and DEV 5, and since for us birdwatchers there is no question that it is the ultimate device, let me get to the price right away. They plan to price them at $1400 (Rs. 64,300) and $2000 (Rs. 91,800) each.

That’s a lot, so let me start telling you about what they can do.

Go on! Click on it for a much bigger image.

Primarily, they can take 7.1 megapixel still images and 1080 high definition video. Their magnification is 10X optical through Sony G lenses (F1.9 to F3.4) with optical stabilization, and a very useful feature, a pair of backside-illuminated CMOS sensors that help capture good photographs in low-light situations. The 7.1-megapixel still images are captured in 4:3 aspect ratio and they also capture 5.3-megapixel still images in 16:9 aspect ratio.

There is built-in optical steady shot image stabilization and auto focus or manual focus.

Also there is a powerful microphone so that you can record bird song. Man… what a dream device!

The video capture is incredible, in 1080p high-definition recording at 60 frames per second and 24 frames per second. There is also 3-D still and video capture that sounds like an unnecessary extra, it must have gone a long way to increase the price of the Vinoculars!

By the way, the more expensive Vinoculars also have 20X telephoto like magnification through digital zoom, and geo-tagging through a built in GPS receiver (so you can tell others exactly here you were when you saw that rare bird!).

They weight 1200 grams as compared to 850 grams for a typical Olympus 10 X 50 binoculars. That’s just 350 grams heavier than a normal pair of binoculars.

This is all I need... no food no water no nothing, just Vinoculars!

These awesome devices work through two small cameras inside the Vinoculars and the 2-D still and Video happens through one of them, while for the 3-D both camera record.

I want them! I want them now! I am starting to save money right now for the November launch of the Vinoculars…

Birds-ctasy!

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 06:41:00 +0000

A little rain in the night meant that it wasn’t a very bright morning, so it was all very well that our plan got delayed. We were to reach the Ridge near the polo grounds by 7.30 am, but reached only at about 8.45 am.

A little bit of mist was still there in the air, as we turned our car into the first left after the statues of Gandhi Ji and his followers at the end of SP Marg. It was going to be our very first birding jaunt in this part of the Delhi Ridge. Right after the turning there were a few tenements of construction labourers, whom we asked for directions. We were told that the army polo ground was just down the road.

We drove over the rough road, and suddenly came upon a large regal tree, and the polo ground behind it. Oh the joy of discovering a beautiful place which is so near yet so completely hidden from us. The polo ground and the area around it was like a wind-blown hill station, especially on that winter morning. We got out of the car, and were struck by the crispness of the air and the sheer beauty of nature all around.

The tree next to the polo ground

We walked along a motorable road lined by tall trees, with the polo ground on our left and inviting forests to our right. We could hear a variety of birdcalls right away, and there were so many, that we quickened our steps to get into the forested area.

The road leading into the forested ridge

Our cameras were out, and we were just clicking away randomly, entranced by the greenery and the idyllic setting of the area. The amazing part of it all was that we were in the heart of Delhi. We were entering the ridge through the horse-riding trails, when we came upon a fork on the road that led into the forest. We paused, and then we took the road less travelled.

Leading up to the incline

And what a trail it turned out to be, we walked through a lightly forested area, and then the path began to climb upwards. We were actually walking up a forested hill in the heart of Delhi.

A forested hill in the middle of Delhi

The cold morning air was gently warming up, as the sun began to peep through the mists.

The view from the hill

Our first bird was a forest pipit, and it was a first time for both of us. We clicked away suddenly everything else forgotten.

Tree Pippit

Horse-riding trails

A twist in the tale

We walked away still excited with this lovely bird, when we came upon a place where there was a lot of hay on the trail, obviously for the horses, and here there was a sudden burst of bird activity. We saw one new bird here, and another one flitted past there, a flock of silverbills settled to our left when several lesser whitethroats began 'tsk tsking' to our right. We went into a kind of frenzy, rushing from one siude to another to catch a glimpse of a bird we had never seen before, of a warbler that wouldn’t stop for even a second, of a strange gray bird with a dark head. It was birds-cstasy for us.

We just stood there letting it all unfold around us. It was useless to try and capture everything, we just let the birds entice us in their intense dance of life. Our photographs would never be able to capture the thrill and beauty of those moments, nor the immense variety of birds we saw, but I don’t think either of us will forget the enchantment of that time.

The hay that the birds liked

Silverbill

Not yet identified!

In the middle of it all a jackal showed itself, and then a grey francolin ran past calling out loudly. We entered the woods, leaving the path, walking next to an anthill. There were bird calls everywhere, and birds flitting from tree to tree.

The anthill

We were in a trance, often breaking out into loud expostulations about how fantastic a birding place it was.

Rufous Treepie

Not yet identified!

Natural tree art, looking like a tusker!

A shoe in the trees

In all it was a four hour walk through the trails. At one point, we came upon the boundary wall of Buddha Jayanti park, and then suddenly on one tree we spied a lovely grey bird we hadn’t seen before. As we gazed upon it, I saw a flash of red, and a fantastically beautiful flameback woodpecker came into view, just about seven-eight feet away. We clicked photos with bated breath, when a brown headed barbet alighted on the same tree. It was too much, we were experiencing birds-cstasy once again.

Alongside the Buddha Jayanti park

A flash of red of the Black Rumped Flameback

Not yet identified!

Black Rumped Flameback

Brown Headed Barbet

A little green bird began to hover around us, and then it went to the park’s boundary wall and started to peck at it. We were amazed, and followed it for a while. The sun was out, the breeze was cool and birds seemed to be everywhere. Almost the entire walk through the ridge was filled with one birding surprise after another.

It was a perfect day of birdwatching, and it was coming to an end. We were not sad that it was ending, we were just glowing in the joy of this awesome tryst with nature. And we were tired, after all we had been walking and quite often rushing around, for over four hours.

Designer Fruits

Not yet identified!

Getting back to the polo ground took us some time, and we were pretty tired by the time we reached the car. Just as we came to the car, I shouted out to my birding partner, “What are those huge things in the middle of the polo ground?”.

Not yet identified!

I whipped out my binocs and was overjoyed to see at least fifteen Egyptian vultures peacefully sitting in the middle of the polo ground. We were a blessed pair of birders that day, and clicked away as the vultures stood their ground even as we approached them.

Egyptian Vultures

Egyptian Vulture

Egyptian Vultures

As we drove away, our only wish was that we should be lucky enough to have many more such wonderful birding experiences. Oh what a beautiful world we live in!

Birds, trees and butterflies at the Yamuna Biodiversity Park! - A Photo Walk.

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 10:31:00 +0000

It was a dreary January 1st 2011, when at about 8 am, we set out for the Yamuna Biodiversity Park. We had only seen the directions on the website of the biodiversity park, and went straight on the ring road after the ITO crossing, looking for a place where the road was split into two by a divider. We found it and took a right turn over a 'nalla', and entered the lane alongside the 'nalla'. This lane was supposed to take us to the biodiversity park, and was also supposed to have a few signboards. There were no signboards, and it took many turns and twists before taking us to the biodiversity park.

We had taken the wrong turning after the divider. We should have gone on straight on the ring road and taken a right turn after a petrol pump, where there was a signboard of the Yamuna Biodiversity Park.

Not withstanding that, we came to a road that went alongside the Yamuna river. On this road, we saw some pretty interesting areas where birding could be a possibility. Finally after reaching a place called Jagatpur, we reached the biodiversity park.

The time was 8.55 am, and we walked into the gates. We were met by a few grizzled old men sitting around a small bonfire. They told us that we could not enter the park wihtout permission or without the scientist-in-charge being there. However an old man was very helpful, and made a few calls, and on contacting one of the people in charge, he allowed us to go for a small round with one of the men there.

The man told us that there were many snakes in the park, and in the summers they are often seen on the paths, which is why it was mandatory to go with someone from the park.

We set out, and the first thing we saw was a signboard about the nursery.

A sign board that captures the basics of the park

It was a cloudy day, but the park was looking wild and inviting.

The wilderness is taking shape

A very large area and clear walking routes

Thick undergrowth perfect for small mammals and birds

We saw some interesting plants, including cactii.

From cacti to all kinds of exotic flora

The cactus-scape

We were taken to the main water body in the park, and then towards another part where there was more water. A bridge made of bamboo took us over a stretch of water. From this pretty bamboo bridge, we saw a cormorant.

The bamboo bridge leading to the butterfly garden

We got on to the bridge.

A cormorant waits patiently

We saw another cormorant.

Cormorant on a branch

We walked on and at one place, we were close to the boundary wall of the park, and were a little surprised to see heaps of vehicle tyres just beyond the boundary wall.

Notice the stacks of vehicle tyres amidst the wilderness

We were taken to the butterfly area, but the cold and damp and cloudiness had ensured that there wasn't a single butterfly.

A view of the butterfly park

A huge diversity of trees had been planted

A lotus pond in the butterfly park

Here is the central enclosed areas where the flowering plants are grown, which attract the butterflies.

The butterfly park

As we walked on, we saw some mounds and on the mounds a few plants protected by small hay shelters.

Saplings under small straw and twig structures, that protected from frost

Towards the main gate a few cottages were being built. A man was working on the roof with an interesting stacking of tiles.

A man on the roof of a part of the office buildings being built in the park

The same tiles were lying on the ground too.

Roof tiles on the ground

A close look at the plant shelters, which we got to know later protected them from the frost and the cold.

The protective structure over the saplings

An interesting part where the trees grow through the latticed ceilings of these wood structures.

A tree garden

Some of the completed cottages.

Cottages near the main gate

The gate from the inside.

The park's entrance from the inside

The path leading up from outside the gate. It makes a very neat and peaceful pattern.

The cobbled pathway leading to the entrance

The strict message outside the gate 'No entry without permission'.

The entrance from outside

Wilderness that thrills the heart

We were told that until one of the scientists came, we would have to wait. We were given chairs, so we sat down on them in the gentle sunlight. We got some biscuits and stretched out our legs, as the kind people in the park served us hot tea.

Sitting and sipping tea, as we wait for the park official to arrive

After ten minutes we were told that one of the people in-charge had arrived and we could talk to him in the office. As we set out we saw a sign that listed out the main highlights of the park.

A direction plaque

While walking to the office, we saw a very interesting stone that had been carved. The entrance to one of the buildings there was overgrown with vines and creepers, and looked quite interesting.

An interesting stone block in the park of the main office building

The huge stone block has nice carvings

The office building entrance with overgrown creepers

A closer look at the creepers and vines

We then met a person who was a little strict, but well meaning, he was in-charge of the administration. He assigned one person to take us around the park. When we got up to go for our trip, I noticed a flip book on a ledge with a nice quote.

The quote on a flip-book

And then started a journey through many trees and plant species. Here is the first, the 'ber' tree.

Ber tree

Ber fruit and leaves

Ber tree leaves

Foliage of Ber tree

Imli tree

Leaves of the Imli tree

Bark of the Imli tree

Foliage of the Imli tree

Our guide was a very polite and helpful young man 'Sagar'.

Our patient and helpful guide 'Sagar'

Young Jamun tree

Leaves of the Jamun tree

The Anaar tree

Leaves of the Anaar tree

More leaves of the Anaar tree

Cheeku tree

Details of Cheeku tree

Cheeku tree leaves and baby fruits

Leaves of the Cheeku tree

Young Cheeku tree

The 'Desi Keekar' or Acacia

Desi Keekar or Acacia

Leaves of the Imli tree

Young Amrood tree

Leaves of the Amrood tree

Close-up of leaf of Amrood tree

Another close-up Amrood tree leaf

Stalk of a young Amrood tree

A young Anaar tree

Kus grass that grows on the bank of the Yamuna

Amrood fruit on a young tree

After walking for a while we once again came to the main lake. It was filled with numerous wading birds.

A haven for wading birds

We spotted scores of Northern Shovellers, males and females. There were a few Tufted Ducks too.

Northern Shovelers

Northern Shovellers, Common Coot and others

Northern Shovellers

On a tree in the middle of the lake were many Great Cormorants.

Greater Cormorant

Then we spotted a Dusky Warbler.

Dusky Warbler

Well camouflaged Dusky Warbler

Northern Shoveller Female

Great Cormorants showing the white underparts and neck

Northern Shovellers

A Little Grebe came along.

A Little Grebe

Cormorants near the far shore of the lake

The surrounding trees were white with Cormorant Droppings. Supposedly it is very good as a manure.

Trees whitened by cormorant droppings

Northern Shovellers with Northern Pintail (??) in the background

Tufted Duck

Common Moorhen

Northern Shovellers

Northern Pintail ?? Fulvous Whistling Duck ??

Then we began to walk towards the butterfly enclosure, and on route saw many other trees and plants.

Malwa plant

Khajoor or Dates

Imli tree foliage

A growing Ficus Panda

Yellow Footed Green Pigeons

A closer look at the Yellow Footed Green Pigeons

Next we reached the Sapling Care House, where the temperature was kept warm in winters and cool in summers. This was done through an automatic sprinkler and by cooling screens.

Sapling Care House

The temperature controlled environment

Add caption

Individual sprinklers which can be turned at specific time periods

The temperature control panel

We were shown the Sefendas plant from which natural soap is made.

Sefendas saplings from which soap is made

Bamboo clump

Then we came to the Net House, which had a small hole through which I took a photograph.

Self explanatory

A small hole in the net house

Net view

We walked on seeing more trees.

Barh trees

Leaf of the Barh tree

Bark of the Barh tree

We went towards the bamboo bridge again, and saw a snake bird and cormorants.

Towards the Butterfly park

Typical pose of the snake bird

A funny looking cormorant

Bamboo bridge

I framed the bridge opening into the sky.

Bamboo bridge and beyond

Then followed another interesting session of flora watching.

Peepli tree

Leaf of the Peepli tree

We reached the butterfly garden. The central portion was enclosed by a thin wire mesh. We saw several butterflies but could photograph only two. In spring, this will be amazing.

Oroxylum tree

The Sisulphenia?? tree

Kachnar or Bauhinia tree

Flower of the Kachnar or Bauhinia tree

Buds of Kachnar

Kachnar tree

Aloe Vera adult

Cotton tree

Cotton tree with cotton bulbs

A closer look at the cotton tree

The cotton tree bulb

Lemon Pansy (thanks Nitu!) - A really pretty butterfly

Common Leopard (thanks Nitu!) butterfly on flower

Beautiful Common Leopard butterfly, pretty flower

Young Mehendi tree

Mehendi leaves

Sisulphenia??

We started our Flora walk again.

Teak tree leaves

Bamboo variety

Another type of bamboo

Desi Babool tree

This looked like a cycle out of the pages of history.

Ber tree

Sagar made us smell the leaves of several plants including Pudina and lemongrass.

Pudina leaves, out of focus though!

Karhi Patta plant

A young Meethi Neem tree

I caught a shy lady 'bird' on camera.

Shy Lady Bird

Small Kaju tree or Cashewnut tree

Flowering Peepli tree

Lemon Grass

Seimul tree bark

Close-up of the Seimul tree's bark

Another Seimul tree's bark

Anjeer or Fig

Haldi or Turmeric plant

Aloe Vera with the stalk growing out of the thick fleshy leaves that we are more accustomed to.

Lotus

A young Jamun tree

It was an amazing walk, and we vowed to come back at the earliest.

Arctic chemical waste dead poison river drain Yamuna - A Photo Walk!

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:38:00 +0000

It was a cold December morning, and we reached Okhla Bird Park. We stepped on to the bamboo bridge that joined the main path to watchtower no. 2. It was a sturdy and exciting bridge.

We walked to the watchtower and a little beyond right up to the water, but there were very few birds around. A purple heron was waiting to catch some fish.

Seeking more excitement, we came back from the watchtower and drove down the road that goes along the water body and on to the Kalindi Kunj main road. Surprisingly, there were a huge number of swallows flying over the water.

There were quite a few black headed gulls too.

We drove onto the main road and turned into the lane that goes along the 'nalla' flowing parallel to river Yamuna. We wanted to get aboat ride, but the fishermen there had shifted across the river on to the other bank. On the way back we saw a rapotor perched on a tree, it lookde like a Serpent Eagle but finally we agreed that it was nothing more exciting than a Black Kite.

On reaching the other bank, after driving into the road that heads out towards 'khader', we negotiated with a fisherman to take us around on the river. We stepped into the boat amidst an arctic landscape. It wasn't snow or ice though, it was industrial affluent foam that had formed a thick layer over the river water.

Here is the industrial waste arctic Yamuna river.

It looked very much like ice and snow, and it was blowing in the wind just like real snow flakes - yukkk!

As we went towards a sandbank in the middle of the river, we saw some river lapwings, with their tufts and slouching gait. The river by the way was so shallow at places that the fishermen had to literally slide it along the river bottom with help from bamboo poles wedged into the river's floor.

There were a whole lot of black winged stilts, and other smaller river birds like sandpipers.

We came round one of the electric towers in the middle of the river and were surprised to find many cormorants perched on the metal structure.

Here's a close look at the massive concrete bases of the metal frame.

On one of the sand banks there were several black kites. With the wind ruffling their feathers, they seemed to have all kinds of patterns.

Then as we took a route towards the Kalindi Kunj barrage, we saw the full glory of the river. It was worse than a drain, fishes would have been burnt by the toxic liquid that made up the river.

Something about it reminded me of the wastelands and evil of Mordor in the Lord of the rings. Here are a couple of views of the black bubbling toxic phlegm of a river.

If you ever travel on the Kalindi Kung barrage, I am sure you must have wondered what it was like under the barrage, and how the water was released on to the other side. Well here is what it looks like underneath the bridge.

Notice the water being released, and the arctic industrial waste.

The fishermen amazingly find fish even inside the arctic toxic waste. They are tiny half inch to an inch long fishes. If you see such tiny fishes in the market, I suggest you avoid them, because if they are from this part of the Yamuna, they'll contain only poisons.

Some more views of the arctic wasteland industrial spewed poisons.

Looks like a path made by an ice-breaker, but was actually done by a drain trawler.

Here's what it looks like from up close.

We went back feeling very angry and helpless. Someone please do something to save this river from apocalyptic annihilation.

Latest news is that my friend who had accompanied me, is on the verge of filing an RTI on this, kudos to him!

How to reach Yamuna Biodiversity Park - with photos, landmarks and contact number!

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 08:08:00 +0000

We made a few mistakes while reaching Yamuna Biodiversity park, so I thought I could take a few pictures to help others reach it (many were taken on the way back so are unclear, still they might help).

The basic route as currently given on websites and blogs is something like this, directions to Yamuna Biodiversity Park, Delhi:

Go along the ring road straight down ISBT (kashmere Gate), for a couple of kilometres beyond Majnu Ka Tila. Go towards Wazirabad, till you come to the big Wazirabad crossing (for ID – there is short divider here which splits the straight-going lane into two). Carry on straight and then take a right after the Wazirabad crossing. Go across a nalla. Once on the other side, take a left so that you are running parallel to the nalla. Now, look out for and follow the Yamuna Biodiversity Park signboards. Take a right again which will lead you to the Yamuna Biodiversity Park.

HERE ARE THE UPDATED DIRECTIONS FOR YAMUNA BIODIVERSITY PARK:

Go straight along the Ring Road pass ISBT, keep going straight till you come to the Wazirabad Crossing.

On the left it says Wazirabad!

The Road Directions near Wazirabad crossing!

At this point a divider appears on the road that splits the road in two, however there is a lot more too. There is construction happening on a large scale, and there are screening boards on both sides.

From the Ring Road, on your right there will be a nalla looking like this:

Continue on straight, on your left you will come across a power station looking like this:

On your left you need to look out for a signboard saying Yamuna Biodiversity Park (similar to the one shown below).

Now look for a Petrol Station that looks like this:

A very hazy picture, but you can still see a red horizontal teardrop on the left which is distinctive!

Now take the next available U-turn. Once on the other side of the road, look for this signboard on your left:

Turn left into this road, across a bridge over the nalla.

As soon as you see on your right, Boouby Builders and APJ Convent School, you will know that you are on the right road:

Here is the entrance approach to the gate:

Here is the gate:

THE MAP FOR THE PARK AS GIVEN ON THE DDA WEBSITE:

CONTACT NUMBER FOR THE PARK:

(011) 27616569

If anyone notices any errors in the directions/improvements please put in a comment.

Happy birding!

Fishing, birding, bathing and beering!

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:12:00 +0000

A trip to Marchula and Bhikyasen in the Corbett area.

We started from Noida at about 11.30 am, after several false starts. A critical component of the trip was going to be the incredible photography equipment that my friend KP from Bangalore had got along. Incredible by my standards, as the best I ever had was a Nikon digital camera that had 10X optical zoom.

He had a Canon D40 digital SLR with a plethora of lenses, including a 100-400 Canon, 70-300 Sigma, wide angle, 60 mm Canon besides several other lenses and accompaniments like filters, extenders and what not. The second most critical component of the trip was of course going to be the two fishing rods that he had also got along.

As we began to do the final loading of the bags in the car, which was a very complex task indeed, KP suddenly realized that he couldn’t find the battery of the camera. This was serious as not finding the battery, would render all the above mentioned equipment useless and our trip would be a disaster even before we set out. As for the camera’s battery, it was playing truant the second time. That very morning I had picked him up from another friend’s place, and there too at the time of leaving he had left the battery of the camera behind, and we had to turn the car back, search for it and bring it reluctantly along. The whole house including maids and helps went into a frenzy looking for the tiny grey black camera battery. After a few minutes the consensus was that it had got absent mindedly packed into one of the bags. We quickly got all the bags back into the house, and one by one started to unpack them. After ten minutes it was found inside a slot in the big camera suitcase. There was general joy and we got everything back into the car, and set out.

The journey was comfortable for a while, but then the roads began to crumble. The entire route had been a relatively smooth one until a few months back, but the recent rains had made large stretches of the road into stretches of potholes with occasional islands of intact road. Nevertheless, our spirits were high and we chugged along. There were frequent sightings of this bird and that, but we didn’t stop, our destination was many miles away and we didn’t want to do too much of night driving.

As we drove, KP mentioned that most of the towns that we passed looked like belched out industrial slag, and I agreed whole heartedly. We could see an inhuman desperation on the faces of the people who lined the roads as we passed through town after town. At places where it was particularly bad, we even imagined what it would be like to live there, and came to the conclusion that to be happy in life, each of us should spend 3 compulsory months running a hardware shop and living in such a town, so that we can better appreciate our so called terrible lives in Delhi and Bangalore respectively.

We stopped for a sad bit of lunch and a Thums Up bottle at a road side dhaba. Their toilet was well marked as ‘to let’. We ate very insipid yet chilly hot food, and then set off again.

Waiting for food at the lunch stop!

The toilet that was to let :)

We reached Rampur and then slowly, the quality of the towns and the people started to improve, and we began to see smiles on people’s faces. It was dark by the time we entered the forested area, and that drive was turning out to be quite something. Black eyeless darkness, that would suck out the marrow of your life if you let it. One interesting observation again by KP was that every hotel, motel and guest house on that road was called Corbett something and Corbett some other thing. We felt that it was outrageous and the Corbett family should charge them royalty.

Mahaseer Fishing Camps in Marchula was the very last of the resorts there. It was way way inside, and we took a long time to reach it. En route we crossed streams where the water reached up to the car’s floor, and that too fast flowing water. At places the road wasn’t quite there so the poor car had to really exert all of its limited energies to get us through.

In front of our luxury tent with Karan and the fishing guide.

When we finally reached Marchula, it was 8.30 pm. We got a really warm reception with at least five people fawning all over us. We were taken to our luxury camps, which were quite good indeed, and served welcome tea and some snacks. We couldn’t see most of the resort, not because of the dark, but because most of it had been washed away by the recent floods. We were told upon arrival that the waters had risen so high a month back, that at least ten tents and seventy percent of the lawns and landscaping had been completely demolished and turned into a mangled mix of sand and stones. We saw it all the next day.

The owner of the resort, Karan, was there as the repair work was on, and we met him. He was a warm and nice person, who mentioned that he had suffered losses that ran into eighty lakhs. He invited me to some night fishing, and I agreed as I wasn’t too tired. The night fishing was quite boring as all that was done was that rods with bait were cast and then the rods were pegged to the ground with big river stones. The idea was that as soon as a Mahaseer caught the bait, the rod would move and then the hauling in of the fish would begin. Nothing happened except that I heard a few stories about spirits and such. There was a crocodile somewhere along the river that had a dragged a cow into the river, and during the terrible floods huge mahaseers had knocked down one of the boys in the camp as he waded around trying to save ACs, furniture and other such things.

The next morning, we both were full of beans and after a hearty breakfast, were all set for a session of Mahaseer fishing in the river right in front of the resort. A local expert was called in who met us early in the morning before going off to talk to Karan.

We had just about finished breakfast when Bisht ji, who is part of the retinue at the camps came to us calling us excitedly. It seems Karan had spotted several large Mahaseer in the river, and we were to get our rods to try and catch it. We rushed with our rods and came to the spot in the river where three-four people were standing. Karan said, there are several big Mahaseer moving around in the river. The river incidentally was called Gadhera, and it met with another to finally join the Ram Ganga two kilometers down river.

Portrait of a wannabe Mahaseer fisher!

We got the line ready, the fishing expert made the bait and then the cast was made. Whoa… fifteen seconds after the cast was made, the fish caught. There was general excitement, and everybody rushed here and there. I ran towards the river, KP had the rod. Surprise of surprises, the biggest of the Mahaseer had swallowed the bait, and was pitting its mighty strength against us. I started to scan the river where the fishing line sank into the churning waters. The Mahaseer was trying to go towards the rapids, and if it did, there was no chance of pulling it out. It took about twenty minutes to slowly pull it in, and then we began to see how big it was. It was the biggest fish I had seen in the water. It was huge. Well here are the pictures, so you can judge for yourself.

I look like I have just won a gold at the Olympics, maybe this is the closest I'll get LOL!

With KP - Fishing for compliments!

The fishing expert reeled it in, and then we all took turns lifting it and taking photographs. When I held it, it was slippery and strong, but I was advised to put one hand under its gills and hold the middle portion of the fish very tightly. I managed quite well. I studied the huge fish very carefully, and was quite amazed by it, a slippery texture, which incidentally was like a shield for it, so if our hands rubbed off too much of the slime it could badly damage the fish, its amazing colour, its power, its shape, everything was fascinating.

The fish was on a leash like a pet

We took several photographs.

The intriguing texture through the water

The head of the enormous fish, looking almost like the shark in Jaws!

A bridge across the river

Karan with the catch!

Others catch a bull by the horns, I'm catching a fish by the tail!

'Badal' sleeps on a not so soft pillow

The Mahaseer was a massive 17 kilos, and was a beauty. The fishing expert put a nylon rope through the gills of the fish, and we left it in the water tied to a log for some time. Everyone admired it and took photos with it, after about ten minutes, we released it back into the river.

Releasing the mighty Mahaseer!

Wow what a feeling!

Our trip was a fantabulous success right away. We celebrated with beer and a massive lunch. Everyone in the camp was excited and talked about other fishes that had been caught, this one was amongst the largest.

The recent floods had completely changed the course of the river and had made it a very difficult fishing spot, but I guess we were incredibly lucky. As the day wore on, it was decided that we would go on to another place about 70 kilometers away called Bhikyasen which would be much better for fishing. We started out with the fishing expert after lunch.

On route we went through a place called Manila, which was like an Indian Switzerland. Rolling fields filled with Deodhar trees, it was breathtakingly beautiful. We drove past slowly as we wanted to reach Bhikyasen on time to do some night fishing. Some delicious ‘aloo paranthas’ had been packed for us by the folk at Mahaseer Fishing Camps and we ate them during the drive. I also ate my regular Cream Cracker biscuits, which can be my lunch or dinner during tight situations. On route we stopped in a town of a few shops and houses along the main road. We had a little bit of lunch in a very shabby concrete one room restaurant. The interesting bit was the resident mad man. Dressed in a black long coat worthy of a cow boy, a bandana and several beads and other strange trappings, this dark skinned sharp featured man was continuously walking up and down the road talking on his cell phone. It was only when you noticed that he was only holding his hand to his ears without any phone, that you realized that he was not normal. His blabbering during the short snatches that I caught as he purposefully walked across gesticulating with great seriousness was quite interesting.

“No no the car I am sending you is great, it is a jeep, the best I have. Don’t worry it’s going to come right to your house.”
Pause.

“What the price… the price of gold or bronze or magnesium… you can give anything, give two hundred rupees, give two thousand, ok just give two and a half lakhs.”

Pause.

“Yes the car is great, and I have a fleet of them. Good driver, don’t worry…”

We both observed him and the townsfolk indulgently gave him bidis to smoke as he stopped to ask for them while on his all important calls. We set out after a half hour stop.

Bhikyasen was the town, and our destination was a small ashram in a place called Kedar. When we reached this ashram which was by the banks of the Ram Ganga, we realised that the last bit of approach road was badly damaged by the recent heavy rains. We contemplated using wooden planks to get the car down to the ashram, but there would have been no way to get the car back up. So after some discussions and misgivings we parked it beside the main road and walked on downwards. The ashram was beautiful. Not large but with a big field and very nice living quarters.

An interesting view of the ashram in Kedar

The temple at the ashram

There was no provision for food, but on requesting the person who took care of the place, we arranged for some ashram cooked lunch for the next day. We unpacked and headed out to the river.

The fishing expert had got along live earthworms in lumps of mud and chicken gut. The process of putting the fishing hook through the chicken intestines and through the earthworms was a little weird. We made our cats and waited. We had our mandatory two-three bottles of beer and settled in to the night fishing. It was quite dark and the stars were bright. The sky looked huge, and KP pointed out the Milkyway. I was blown away by it. Like a long milky smear running across the night sky, the Milkyway shone down its millions of years old light on us. We spent a lot of time identifying constellations and contemplating UFOs and paranormal activities. We saw a shooting star that went right across the sky slowly and then beyond the horizon. It went slowly and steadily in a straight line and to both of us looked more like a UFO, but the fishing expert insisted that it was a shooting star. It was a surreal time, and we came back awed and tired, but no fish.

The night was chilly, and we settled into out beds soon. KP had got along a phenomenal book called ‘The Tracker’ by Tom Brown Jr. which was about a young American boy who learned the art of tracking from an old Red Indian tracker called Stalking Wolf. I began the book and was blown away by each and every page. It was his true story of how Stalking Wolf trained him to become a fantastic tracker and showed him the way to oneness with nature. I felt like stepping out into the night to do some feel tracking, which requires you to touch the ground with your hands and imagine what animals or creatures had gone by. Wow, the book is a must read for everyone who loves nature.

The next morning, we woke up early to do some bird watching. We walked through a village and came back after about an hour. The village was typical, and presented some beautiful opportunities for photographs.

Common stonechat

Turtle doves playing 'terrapin'

A Himalayan Bulbul amidst the greenery

The path to the village

The path through the village

A Striated Laughingthrush hops along cheekily

A raptor!

A Longtailed Shrike holds two wires together - just an illusion actually!

The Himalayan Bulbul comes closer

A black and white beauty - Oriental Magpie Robin

Early morning in the village

Walls with character

A yellow bloom

Though we saw many birds, photographing them proved to be very difficult. We got a few and then headed back after tea at a lazy roadside tea stall. The people who came by, lazed around and ambled through their peaceful lives, were simply amazing. Here are a few of them, and a few scenes from around that area.

A young boy from the village

A life well lived

Dazed and confused in the hills

A red bloom

Menacing, but actually a retired Govt. servant tending his house garden!

An electric off shoot

Zen and the art of boiling tea

Sitting by the roadside tea stall

Dramatic sparrows

Another wall with character

It was all very idyllic and dream like. Once back in the ashram, we had tea and set out for Mahaseer fishing. The fishing expert once again brought out his chicken gut and live earthworms, and we tried every trick in the book but couldn’t catch anything. There were umpteen nibbles as fish ate parts of the bait, but no real bites. Then we decided to cross the river over a rickety bridge, and settled down on a sandy bank to do some more fishing. We had our mandatory three-four beers and waited for a bite, but no such luck. Then we headed back, but on the bridge, we spotted several large Mahaseer in the water. With great excitement, we headed for a very craggy and dangerous rocky outcropping, to try and catch them. We tried a spinning bait, and could see the huge Mahaseer swimming after it and jumping to catch it, but despite several tries we just couldn’t manage to catch anything. After some time, we wound up and headed back to the ashram. Meanwhile we managed to take some photographs of birds hanging around in and around the ashram. A white capped redstart and a white wagtail were particularly pleased to be photographed.

The White-capped Water Redstart

Hornets and tree

The White Wagtail putting up a show

Bulbul on a wire

The priest of the temple in the ashram was in ‘maun vrat’, which means that he had taken a vow of silence, and conversed with us with flowing hand gestures. He had a very peaceful and joyous face.

On a 'maun vrat' - vow of silence!

A real purple-black beauty

Red dragonfly

The rickety bridge from where we saw the Mahaseer in the river

Lunch was inside a hall that would have seated at least three hundred people, and there was just the three of us. It was a delicious and simple lunch and all of us enjoyed it hugely.

After lunch, we packed our stuff and set out for Mahaseer Fishing Camps in Marchula. It was a long and tiring journey, but we made it around dinner time.

The silky river near the Mahaseer Fishing Camps

Dinner at Marchula was great, and the owner’s dog ‘Badal’ (Cloud in Hindi), and a pack of others kept us company. We sat around in the darkness looking at the ghostly white of the river bed and stones and the stars, and then turned in for sleep.

I read while and then turned to switch off the lights, and fleetingly saw some creature jumping about in one corner. On closer observation I saw a huge rat trying to enter the tent and then running out quickly. It kept making strange sounds for some time and eventually I fell asleep.

The next morning we woke up early to do some bird watching in and around the camp site. Our first session was amongst the trees and fields within the camp. Not too many birds but the morning was crisp and enjoyable. After going up and down some hill trails, we set out in the car to explore close by areas. At one spot we saw a beautiful black and white bird with a plume on its head, but before we could study or photograph it, it flew away. Later we felt that it was one of the forktails.

A long shot of a Long Tailed Shrike

The 'car that could'

A panoramic view of the Mahaseer Fishing Camps

Dried mud abounding in wild footprints

After tea in a sleepy tea-stall, we went back to the camp. Our driver who had gone off to visit his village which was in Pauri Garhwal and not too far away from Marchula, came back by 11, and suddenly the car was clean and looking so shiny and new that the entire camp seemed to look better because of it. After a nice breakfast we decided to cross the river and head for the forests across the river, where there were more chances of seeing birds. The crossing of the river was great fun as the strong currents were pulling us this side and that. My friend settled down near the river to fish, and I with one of the camp hands set out for the forest. ‘Badal’ the black Labrador also set out with us. We had a climb a steep embankment to reach the forests, and once over it we were in an area with shoulder high undergrowth, and loads of footprints. I was shown the pugmarks of a tiger and took a few pictures.

An old pugmark of a tiger

The forest and trees were so large and imposing that it felt good just to stand there and look at them. A very colourful bee-eater made an entry, and I managed to take a few photographs. Being afternoon, most of the birds had gone deep into the foliage of trees and remained hidden from us.

Chestnutheaded Beeeater looking away

Chestnutheaded Beeeater facing us

We went back to the river and both of us decided to have a river-bathing session. It was great fun, and we spent a good hour enjoying the cold river water and the warm sunlight.

The final bathing :)

Next we had a sumptuous lunch and then quickly packed up for our long return journey to Delhi. It was a fond farewell with all the people in the camp and we definitely wanted to be back again soon.

The journey back was largely uneventful but we talked of everything under the sun, and it was over without too much of pain. On route we took a few pictures of the Moradabad landscape where we thought we should spend two months every year so that we realize just how nice our own cities were.

A truly beautiful and interesting trip came to an end, leaving us inspired to do another one very soon. Hope you enjoyed reading about it!

The coal basket and the Bhagavat Gita!

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 05:11:00 +0000

This is a story I got by email, I thought I should share it with all of you!

An old farmer lived on a farm in the mountains with his young grandson.

Each morning grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his Bhagavat Gita. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! I try to read the Bhagavat Gita just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bhagavat Gita do?"

The grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water."

The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time", and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again.

This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house.

The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See grandpa, it's useless!"

"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out.

"Son, that's what happens when you read the Bhagavat Gita. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of Lord Krishna in our lives."

How to keep your peace with you!

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 06:15:00 +0000

This is going to be a short post, because it is very simple to keep your peace with you, even in the most difficult and trying circumstances.

Forgive. And as quickly as possible, forget. But don't you dare forget the lesson. The lesson being to completely and totally avoid those people and those situations/circumstances.

You either have to forgive someone or you have to forgive some situation/circumstance, and you can keep your peace with yourself. If someone makes you angry, in the quickest time possible, forgive that person. You are stuck in a bad situation or your circumstances are such that you are greatly troubled. As soon as the situation or circumstance ends, forgive the whole thing.

And you will be a peaceful person most of the time. There are also times when you have to forgive yourself. Just forgive. And let peace reign supreme.

Bombastic self important buffoons!

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 06:15:00 +0000

Everyone's met them, everyone's had to deal with them.

They have the loudest voice, they are completely and insanely focussed on themselves, and they are devoid of human emotions. And in their narrow minded quest to fulfill their bloated demented egos, they can do anything. Willingly destroy their own children's happiness, scare little toddlers so that they can feel important and powerful, attack the weakest to feel strong themselves. And if you manage to place yourself within their circle of influence, they will hound you till you decide to leave the premise, the neighbourhood, the town, the state, the country and even the planet if that were possible. They are God's way of teaching us patience and tolerance.

So, long live the bombastic self important buffoons.

Is life such a big deal?

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 18:44:00 +0000

You are born, you grow up, you die. Ahem... the end? Nope, I don't think so. It can't be. All this struggle with inner and outer demons lasting your whole life so that you can turn into food for earthworms. Doesn't quite add up. There has to be more to life than living. We are not organisms destined to breed and spread. We can't be. So you became very successful, you made a lot of money, you wielded a lot of power. So what do you do with all of that in the end, feel worthy. Worthy for whom? Yourself? You mean to say you did all of this so that you could prove something to yourself. Oh my God, that's a humoungous waste. Just be happy with the way you are, you'll save yourself a lot of unnecessary pain and frustration.

So what's the point? Why are we here, and what are we here for?

And here I will tell you a story.

Once upon a time there was a housefly who wanted to become the most awesome housefly ever. And he practised being an awesome housefly and being a perfect housefly. And he did become the best housefly there ever was. And then the housefly died. One man who had noticed that this housefly had become the greatest ever housefly, decided to write a book about it. He did, and the book became a bestseller, and the man became famous and rich. Then the man died. But he was remembered for years afterwards as the man who wrote the book about the greatest ever housefly. But this whole episode in the housefly's and the man's life wasn't a big deal really. But the housefly was happy while it lived and the man was happy while he lived, and that was a big deal for both of them.

So, if you live the best way you can, you'll be happy in your life. But it's no big deal really. Try to live happy, and let live happy. Happiness is better than unhappiness. If you have a mind that can unravel mysterious thoughts then you will find deep meaning in these words. Else you can just chill and be happy. And don't blame me if you feel you've read something that didn't quite add up, nothing in real life does anyway.

Anjaana, Anjaani and me!

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 18:21:00 +0000

Watched the movie, wouldn't say its average, so would put it at slightly above average. Ranbir and Priyanka look good, and the plot is considerably different from the usual fare. The shots of the US are quite nice and some scenes were quite funny. I would say, its just about worth a watch! It was 15 minutes too long, but managed to tackle 3 hours pretty okay.

So, if you've got nothing fantastic to do, you could go and watch it. Priyanka is nice eye candy. And now to get back to my existential dilemma...

Hyper-metro-surrealism!

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 11:48:00 +0000

From eyeing possible seat vacaters to nodding off holding your satchel, the metro ride is a study in abstract art. The crazed crowds in the metro mega station where all trains converge to the sheer contrast of the wind blown emptiness of a train heading home late in the evening. I can't make up my mind about the metro, sometimes I feel it is a wake up call to open my mind to the diversity of human kind and sometimes I feel it is a crushing force that stuns you by its whims and vagaries.

The metro in Delhi is like a force of nature, and we the metronomes who ride the metro are slaves to its mesmerising power.

Posting via email

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 19:50:00 +0000

Yup, this one's posted via email.

It's very simple, just log into your blogger account, go to settings and then click on the email and mobile tab. You will then find an option to complete the name of the email account where you will have to send an email to, to post automatically on your blog. Now, put in your 'SecretWord' and then from any email account at all, just send in the email.

If your email account tends to add some extra bits of stuff at the bottom of the email, just add #END at the end of your post.

We'll I am testing this out so lets see how it goes!

Waiting for the watchtower

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Sat, 15 May 2010 09:35:00 +0000

I was pacing up and down the road in front of my house. Everything was ready, I had woken up by 5 am and was ready to go by 5.15. All my books, binocs, water bottles, paper devices et al were ready. So what was stopping me from going to Okhla Bird Sanctuary.

Disorientation due to slow speed was.

A friend who stays a few kilometers away was to join me and we were to proceed together. He had decided to cycle down to my house, and it turns out, he lost his way because landmarks and turns came much slower than usual (i.e. when he drives). It was an unusual case of disorientation due to slow speed.

Anyway, a half hour delay later we were off. At 6.10 in the morning the freshness in the air and the freshness in the mind is something else altogether. The photographer duo were already there, happily chattering way about this that and the other, and of course settings of their cameras, angles, colour versus black and white and aperture versus speed.

Early morning the bird sanctuary looks pristine and inviting

We went straight for watchtower no. 1. Up till the great Peepal tree, we only saw crows. Once in the grassland after the temple, the air was abuzz with bird songs. There were prinias and babblers everywhere, but that was almost it. A few pied mynas, crows, a pied bushchat or two, and prinias and babblers.

A crow's profile (Copyright Yamini Chandra)

Striated Babbler (as corrected by Ramit, thanks!) in flight (Copyright Yamini Chandra)

As I walked into the grassland following the trail to the watchtower, suddenly there was a disturbance in the tall grass to my left and out came a dog. Earth brown in colour, with liquid hazel eyes and a wistful expression, the dog wordlessly looked at me, and came forward a few steps and then signaled me to follow.

The leader of the pack takes a water break

Since that moment to the time we left the grasslands and reached the temple, this dog was our constant guide and companion. The walk was really beautiful, lovely tall grass stalks on either side, the river nearby and a cool breeze. The others followed a little behind, as I walked pretty fast trying to dispel my nagging doubt about whether the watchtower actually existed or not. I kept looking in every direction but couldn’t see anything.

Bluethroat (Copyright Sanjeev Singh)

Bluethroat (Copyright Yamini Chandra)

I plodded on expecting to see the watchtower at any time, but nothing appeared. For a moment I considered stopping and taking photographs on the path itself. Just then the dog came back to check on me, and then went ahead again. I followed it.

The path was out of the world, it had an other-worldly beauty about it, and the constant sound of birds, the river nearby and tall grass that obliterated the inhabited world around, made it a beautiful experience.

Yellow Bellied Prinia (Copyright Yamini Chandra)

I took a few pictures of birds, but kept walking. To my right I caught a glimpse of stunning purplish blue, and it was somthing flat and wide. I looked closely and discovered a purplish blue kite that must have been swept by the wind to the middle of the grasslands.

The purple kite in the grass

My friends were left behind, and I was walking faster, bent on finding the end of the trail or the watchtower.

My friends approaching (if you look carefully, you will see one of them)

Suddenly a bare wooden watchtower came into view. It was pretty far off, but I could see that it was a watchtower with real character. No roof, but a gaunt and lofty feel, like it was the entry to a monastery somewhere in Ladakh. I felt like as if something magnificent and holy had been revealed to me.

Watchtower No 1 is real!!

I walked up to the watchtower and gazed at it. It was in a place that was so far from habitation (by city standards) that I felt cut off, delighted and elated. I was in the wild. The wind was blowing wildly, the birds were calling wildly, the tall grasses were obscuring my vision wildly. It was wonderful.

The Distant Birdwatcher (Copyright Sanjeev Singh)

Simply breathtaking, the beauty slowly unfolds!

A watcher on a watchtower (Copyright Sanjeev Singh)

I climbed up the watch tower and took in the sights around me. Slowly, like tasting a particularly delicious dish, I partook of the beauty around me. My friends caught up in a while. Everybody was tired out by the unexpectedly long walk, but it was well worth it.

After-the-walk-shoes + after-walk-rest

After-the-walk-shoes 1

After-the-walk-shoes 2

We hung around trying to see new birds, but they were all hidden. We talked, clicked and waited. I suggested that we wait till evening, everybody thought I was joking, and I guess I must have been.

View from the watchtower

Another View from the watchtower

Purple Heron in flight (Copyright Sanjeev Singh)

The way back was much more hurried, I had to catch an important appointment. It was one of the least fruitful when it came to bird species, but one of the most peaceful visits to OBP. I will savour this visit for a long time to come. Hope you can find some joy in the pictures of everything but the birds.

A squirrel making faces (Copyright Yamini Chandra)

Purple Sunbird (Copyright Yamini Chandra)

Pied Bushchat (Copyright Yamini Chandra)

Red Cheeked Bulbul (Copyright Yamini Chandra)

Pond Heron study (Copyright Sanjeev Singh)

Long Tailed Shrike striking a pose (Copyright Sanjeev Singh)

Greater Coucal thinking nobody can see him (Copyright Sanjeev Singh)

Common Stonechat (Copyright Sanjeev Singh)

Striated Babbler (as corrected by Ramit, thanks!) (Copyright Sanjeev Singh)

White Breasted Kingfisher (Copyright Yamini Chandra)

‘Why don’t the birds pose?’, ‘Half naked forest guards!’ and other bird watching revelations!

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:35:00 +0000

There were four of us this time. Peer pressure forced me to get out on time, and we were at Okhla Bird Sanctuary at 6.15 in the morning. The first thing everyone noticed was the sizzlers of OBP, and there was talk of birds roosting and then ‘roasting’ on the electrical wires. In very bad taste, but the wires do sound like they can fry an African elephant if it flies up and perches on one of them.

Two of my friends had super professional cameras, one a Canon DSLR and one a Sony DSLR, both with 80/300 zoom lens.

A beauty of a butterfly (Copyright - Yamini Chandra)

Yellow Bellied Prinia

There was an air of excitement, early morning freshness and birds everywhere. There were clicks galore from the two bird photography enthusiasts, accompanied by remarks like - ‘Whaa where did the bird go…’, ‘Oye yaar it flew away…’, ‘Why don’t they stay still for a second…’, ‘The birds are telepathic…’ etc etc.

That’s when the revelation hit them, ‘When bird watching. Especially when taking photos, birds don’t pose, they fly away just as you are clicking’.

There were frantic discussions between them on shutter speed, lighting, settings, zoom, manual focus et al, and meanwhile birds were flitting away everywhere.

Striated Babbler (Copyright - Yamini Chandra)

In my capacity as most experienced bird watcher I was pointing out rarities like pied mynahs, jungle babblers, ashy prinias, green bee eaters, purple herons, common moorhens and others, which drew ‘ooohs’ and ‘aahs’ as I puffed out my chest and experienced ‘renowned bird watcher’s’ pride.

We headed for the first watch tower, and en route there were many near misses by the photographing duo. I was meanwhile quietly and efficiently clicking whatever I could. It was when we had climbed up the watchtower, that I felt the first wave of humility.

Pied myna about to fly off (Copyright - Sanjeev Singh)

Greater Coucal making good his escape

One of the two showed me the quality of a photo he had taken, and I was shocked by the clarity and the clean framing… 12 mega pixels and years of photography experience was showing through so clearly.

Four Drongos (Copyright - Yamini Chandra)

Green Bee Eater with its evening snack (Copyright - Yamini Chandra)

Green Bee Eater with its evening snack still uneaten (Copyright - Yamini Chandra)

We spotted some flying spot billed ducks and everyone was thrilled with their many beautiful colours.

Spot Billed Ducks in flight (Copyright - Yamini Chandra)

Spot Billed Ducks still in flight (Copyright - Yamini Chandra)

Spot Billed Ducks Male and Female (Copyright - Yamini Chandra)

I spotted a raptor, which I then proceeded to photograph with minimal clarity. I exhorted everyone to take as many photos as possible. It was very far away, and it had a patchy light brown head. I have reproduced a photo of it, and to me it looked like a Juvenile Marsh Harrier. This particular harrier was being harried by several birds as it tried to eat something from the ground. It stood its ground for several minutes and after a particularly bold attack from a few birds, it flew off.

Juvenile Marsh Harrier

Two Raptors crossing each other in flight

There are several other birds too that I couldn’t identify, maybe you can help with those too.

Mystery Bird 1 (Copyright - Yamini Chandra)

Mystery bird 2 (Copyright - Yamini Chandra)

Looks like a cross between a Northern Pintail and a Greater Scaup!

As we reached the watchtower, suddenly a half naked person emerged from the water body. He was hollering something to another person who was further inside the water body. I looked at him with suspicion and indignation, which vanished by the time he donned his clothes and I realised that he was a forest guard.

I asked him what was happening, and he said that two young boys were trying to catch fish with their basket net. He and his colleague had chased them away, and captured the net.

I quickly took a photo of the unusual fishing contraption. The boys ran away but their ‘tokri’ net was in the possession of the forest guards. I was extremely impressed with the dedication of the guards who had waded into the water which was at places shoulder deep, to chase away these two miscreants.

Fishing Net Tokri

Same Fishing Net Tokri

By about nine thirty, we had had our fill, and headed back. There was a minor incident of buffaloes trying to edge us out of their traditional grazing route, but other than that it was incident free.

Oh, I nearly forgot to mention that whoever helps in identifying the two mystery birds, will get a very special reward from me.

‘Hasta la vista’, until the next time.

Rufuous Treepie (Copyright - Yamini Chandra)

Purple Heron about to torpedo into a fish (Copyright - Yamini Chandra)

Painted stork in flight (Copyright - Yamini Chandra)

Bronze Winged Jacana

Black Winged Stilts in flight (Copyright - Yamini Chandra)

Green Bee Eaters necking and pecking (Copyright - Yamini Chandra)

The curse of R, birdwatching, deceptive cellphone alarms and an angry bull

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 17:19:00 +0000

11.30 at night my friend R, ditched me in favour of a night of binging (who can blame him?). I decided to change plans from Yamuna Biodiversity Park to Okhla Bird Sanctuary. I taunted and teased R in an attempt to get him to come along, but he was helpless in the face of alcohol and women. I think at some point he wished me ill, and I brought upon myself, the curse of R.

I set the alarm to 5.29 am, 5.31 am and 5.35 am, and prepared to sleep.

Alarm Timings

Suddenly a few minutes after midnight I got a wave of inspiration to do something about a perpetual problem with my digital camera. When I am in sunlight or even bright light I can’t see the display. Which means that I can’t see the picture that I am taking, which means that I cannot take a picture. So I set about making a cardboard device to solve my problem. A pen, a pair of scissors, an old cardboard folder, scotch tape and a metal scale (which I found much later) were at my disposal. I first made a dummy with some white paper, made some minor changes to the die, and then constructed the all-light-digital-camera-display-enhancer device. I proudly reproduce it here. It may look simple, but I had to make pretty precise openings for the camera strap, the clicking and zooming switch and for sliding in the camera.

all-light-digital-camera-display-enhancer device

all-light-digital-camera-display-enhancer device another view

all-light-digital-camera-display-enhancer device yet another view

all-light-digital-camera-display-enhancer device aaargh yet another view

Well the great thing was that it worked wonderfully, I could take pictures in bright sunlight. But then the curse of R was upon me. Three things contributed to my not reaching Okhla Bird Sanctuary before 7.30 am.
1) The cellphone’s alarm was highly deceptive and I forgot to change the setting to every day, instead of weekday, as displayed below:

Deceptive alarm settings that regularly deceive me

2) I slept at 2.45 am as I was making the cardboard device
3) The curse of R was at work

I woke at 6.50 and hurriedly got everything together, and set out. I reached the sanctuary at about 7.35, and desperately started to take pictures of anything with wings. I took a few pictures of green bee eaters, and even the signboard for the two new watch towers. I had only been to the first one (Watchtower no 2) and was planning on going to the other one (Watchtower no 1), but my attempt, as you will soon find out, was foiled.

Not three leaves, one is a bee eater

The bold watchtower signboard

I would also, at this point, like to introduce you to the great sizzling electric wires of Okhla Bird Park. There are many high tension wires running overhead, that sizzle and crackle very loudly. It sounds like rain. Here they are in all their splendour, the sizzlers of OBP.

OBP Sizzler

Heavy Duty Sizzler

Where all the sizzlers start

Bee eaters sky gazing

The path to the first watch tower was as always really inviting and beautiful. En route I saw a huge number of birds flitting from one stalk of tall grass to another. I was feeling very happy with the ease with which I could see my camera’s display in the bright sunlight. Of course the birds had all made a very powerful pact to elude my camera at the very moment when I was about to click. All I got was bushes and sky and grass stalks.

The lovely path to the first watchtower (Watchtower No. 2)

My awesome shadow

Ashy Prinia

Same Ashy Prinia

A real beauty

Watch tower no. 2 looking dramatic

I climbed on to the tower and revelled in the cool breeze and the awesome view all around.

A forest in the city (notice the edge of a billboard)

They had recently a made a roof, and it was really nice. But the curse of R was at work. I decided to take the device off the camera for a while and try to catch some nice quick shots. Even as I thought that the wind might blow it off, the wind blew it off.

Dropped to the ground

Not too far away now...

I retrieved it with minimal difficulty, but once off the watchtower, I made my way back to the main path. While walking through the grass and the reeds, I got a few nice pictures of prinias and birds that I couldn’t immediately identify. Suddenly with a heavy grunty squawk a purple heron flew out from behind a clump just a few feet ahead of me. I saw another one land nearby. Very quietly and carefully I approached it, but it flew off. Yet I kept hearing this persistent grunt. I looked around for another purple heron, but this grunt was very different, it was heavy and angry.

Common Stonechat

The common stonechat again

Common stonechat female

Common stonechat female

A Long Tailed Shrike that came quite close

Pied Bushchat Female

Pied Bushchat

Plain Prinia

An Indian Koel that kept hiding himself from me, and succeeded very well

A pied mynah

Yellow Bellied Prinia

The mandatory second picture of the Yellow Bellied Prinia

Happily taking pictures, I started to walk up the incline to the main path, when a very angry red wattled lapwing rebuked me and flew off.

An offended Red wattled Lapwing ("did you do it")

It was then that I saw the bull. He was right at the point where I would be meeting the main path and he was in a bad mood. Grunting and bellowing, he was stamping his foot and raising dust and sand with his horns. He hadn’t seen me, and after a minute walked ahead. I sure didn’t want to meet him in this open area.

I took a few more pictures, including of a drongo which was perched on a barren tree, and then headed out towards the second watchtower, which was towards the other end of the path, beyond the great Peepal tree.

Drongo on a barren tree

Young buffalo in the grass

Sandbathing pied mynah

Still sandbathing

I caught a glimpse of the bad tempered bull walk towards the very path I would have to follow, so I waited a few minutes then proceeded on the path. Not knowing which way to go, I followed the wrong path, so I backtracked and went on the actual path.

Just then I heard a loud grunt. A few meters behind me and looking quite irate was the bull, eyeing me and grunting deep angry grunts.

I began to walk back to the Peepal tree. The bull’s horns looked quite sharp and he was big and angry, and I wasn’t Tarzan. I said bye bye to watchtower number 1. From the Peepal tree, I saw the angry bull walk up to a harem of cows. Then he looked straight at me and gave out a great bellow proclaiming his territory and his harem.

The bull in a bad mood

Giving out bad vibes

Bellowing his brains out

I walked on to the other side, where the wading birds were. En route I met another photography enthusiast with slightly better camera equipment than mine. Here is a comparison of our equipment.

His camera, view 1

His camera, view 2

My camera view 1

My camera view 2

There I caught a glimpse of a large raptor perched on a branch. With many white streaks on the back of its neck and head. It had a smallish head and a beak with a yellow tip, but beyond that I couldn’t see. Being very far away I could only take a few grainy pictures, I am reproducing the pictures with the hope that someone may be able to make out what it was.

An unknown raptor

Which raptor?

There was another bird I couldn’t identify, it seemed to be some kind of a weaver, but I couldn’t figure it out. If you can identify it from these pictures, do put in a comment.

Tried but couldn't figure this one out!

Another view of the same bird

Ciao, until the next time!

Two yellow footed green pigeons

Spot Billed Ducks

No wonder they are called stilts, look at the length of their legs, and there's more under water...

A council of Cattle Egrets

Purple Moorhen

Painted Stork, Purple Heron and Egret

Gulls and Ducks

How not to plan a bird watching jaunt

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:53:00 +0000

There are two main approaches to Sultanpur bird sanctuary, one that goes through the Hero Honda Chowk on NH8, and the other that goes through Bata Chowk, Bus Adda and Farrukhnagar. The last time I and a friend, who is a new birding enthusiast, took the Hero Honda Chowk route. We missed the Chowk and overshot by several kilometres, back-tracked and after a few minor detours reached Sultanpur. This time however, a very helpful gentleman at IFFCO Chowk (the crossing where the main Gurgaon Mall Road meets the NH8), advised us to take the shorter and easier route through the Bus Adda and Farrukhnagar. Both of us being terrible navigators, we felt thrilled to have found a much easier and better route to Sultanpur bird sanctuary. As we chatted excitedly about the birds we might see in Sultanpur and some that we saw as we drove along, including Indian Grey Hornbills and Indian Rollers, we suddenly found ourselves in an area that seemed extremely unlike the route to Sultanpur. A kindly gent, who proceeded to take a lift with us, informed us that we were about nine kilometres off-route, headed towards nowhere in particular.

Indian Grey Hornbills

Wood Sandpiper

We made two critical errors in our bird-watching jaunt. First, we didn’t decide beforehand where it is that we would go and do our bird-watching, and second, we didn’t bother to get detailed directions to our destination (reasonably difficult on this particular occasion as we didn’t even know where we would head out). Anyway, we reached Sultanpur at about 10.30 in the morning, whereas we should have ideally reached the gates of the sanctuary by about 6.30 am ( at this point I would like to add, that we started late, our rendezvous happened at Saket at 7.45 am, after which we had spirited discussions about where we should go birding).

Common Moorhen (Thanks to Pankaj, have corrected this!)

Disapproving Common Moorhen (Thanks to Pankaj, have corrected this!)

Naturally, I emphasise, naturally, our bird-watching results were dismal. We saw very few birds. The general conclusion was that they had all retreated to the highest branches and the most hidden parts of the most inaccessible trees
in the most inaccessible forested areas outside of Sultanpur, where our poor binocs (and much less my poor Nikon S4 Coolpix digital camera) would never be able to pick them out. Regardless, we had a rather good time, and enjoyed sitting in the shady grove of trees in the middle of Sultanpur’s dried up lake. While sitting on this raised little piece of land, we saw a funny little spider which had woven a very intricate web over the grassy ground, with a hole in the middle, and which would keep rushing in and out of this hole so quickly that it made us laugh.

Funny Spider guarding its web with a hole - the Funnel Spider as told by Sunila, thanks!

Spider waiting to dash inside

Also while watching the part of the lake where there was some water, we saw some very fishy behaviour on the part of the fish. Some, at least five of them, really huge fishes were purposely entering into the shallow parts of the water and were thrashing about with half their bodies out of the water. They seemed to be enjoying themselves and at times, in our imagination, they appeared like the backs of massive whales breaking the ocean’s surface. Was pretty weird behaviour and naturally in the absence of too many birds, I took a few pictures of them.

Acting fishy

Acting very fishy

Like a surfacing whale

To reach this raised place with trees, we had to walk through a considerable distance of the lake floor that had become covered with grass but had a very squishy squashy feel underfoot. It had a strange swampy feel, and we never knew when our next step would send our feet (in very non-outdoorsy suede shoes) straight through the grassy cover, into a few feet of mud and muck. As we walked back after sitting for a long time, we saw a Nilgai (blue bull) stepping into the raised area, my friend commented that we had been sitting in the Nilgai’s house uninvited.

The few pictures we took are carefully reproduced here. You will be glad to know that we have solemnly promised to each other that the next time we go birdwatching, it will be to the new Yamuna bio-diversity park, and we will plan everything very carefully and precisely. Well until the next time, ciao!

Purple Moorhen

Crested lark on a wire

Crested Lark on the ground

Crested Lark putting up a show

Crested Lark digging the ground?

Pond Heron with purpose

Long Tailed Shrike

Juvenile Painted Storks, Egrets and Purple Moorhen

Jungle Babbler flinging dried up leaves

Hoopoe

Greater Coucal

Red Wattled Lapwing

Drongo

Black Winged Stilt standing up

Black Winged Stilt sitting down

Caught these two in front of my house in Noida, a Yellow Footed and a Blue Rock Pigeon sizing each other up.

The haughty Yellow Footed Green Pigeon

Bad Birding Pictures, Good Birding Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 21:53:00 +0000

I have a 6 mega pixel Nikon S4 digital camera, that is as good or as bad as most digital cameras, except for a decent 10X optical zoom, and a swivel screen.

That said, I can now be forgiven for the quite sad to very sad quality of pictures that I took of birds I saw during a recent birding trip to Pangot.

The Jungle Lore Birding Lodge in Pangot, is such a wonderful place to holiday in, and if you are a birder (or are trying to become a birder, like me), then it is heaven on earth.

It is about 15/20 kilometers from Nainital, ahead of Kilbury. The road leading to Pangot, from the point where it turns off from the main Haldwani Nainital road, itself is a high. A meandering badly maintained but safe road that sees not more than two vehicles an hour, it goes through beautiful forests and swerves along streams and then reaches the hamlet of Pangot.

Red Billed Blue Magpie

I’ve been to Pangot many times, and sadly each time there is a little bit more construction around the Jungle Lore Birding Lodge. I feel a little bit sadder, but it remains and will remain a fabulous getaway. Just a few cottages, very carefully placed on a hillside, with just the right balance of trees, shrubs, open space and natural beauty.

As it happened on almost every visit to Pangot, there was an expert birding guide in the lodge, and he was relatively free. As soon as he saw my binocs hanging from my neck, he asked me if I was a birder. I replied with a ‘uh uh… kind of…’ answer, and told him that I was a very keen learner.

Ganesh was from Nepal but shifted base to India about seven years back and has since been working with Mohit Agarwal, who runs the lodge and several other nature-laden properties across India.

I sat in the porch of the main wooden kitchen cum dining cum meeting cottage, and started to spot birds. Ganesh was busy for some time, so I walked a little downhill and sat on a quaint little bench amidst trees and shrubs and low bushes. As I looked around, I saw a beautiful green bird with orange around the edges of its wings (Orange Flanked Bush Robin). I got clicking, getting some awful pictures, what with auto focus, that usually focuses on the background, lighting problems that doesn’t let any photo be taken unless it is bright sunlight and the many other problems of trying to take a picture of a bird that keeps moving and flying off, with a regular digital camera.

Verditer Flycatcher

All of a sudden I saw several other varieties of birds, and my heart started to
pound with excitement. It was a mixed feeding flock, birds of several species flying and feeding together in the forest as it becomes easier for them. I was overjoyed and didn’t know where to look, where to focus my binocs or what to click.

A little later I was joined by Ganesh who started to point out birds so fast that I became dizzy. His knowledge was incredible and his ability to recognize birds from their call was simply astounding. At one point Ganseh stood in front of a bush that held a couple of Black Headed tits, and began to make bird calls that were humanly impossible. I stared at him and quickly realized that his hands were making the sounds. That's when I saw his amazing brid-sound-making device. He had got it from a birding site abroad, and it was a round wooden piece that rotates around a metal centre, which then makes ultra realistic bird sounds. A very simple and basic mechanism, but must have needed great precision to make. Here is a picture.

Ganesh's amazing bird song device

Anyway, to cut a long story short, in the next few days I saw an incredible variety of birds, seventy percent of which flew away and vanished before I could focus the camera on them and in fact before I could switch on the camera after it auto switched off.

Most of the birds came hopping across to take a drink of water from the small bird pools in Jungle Lore Birding Lodge itself. The laughing thrushes, black headed jays and red billed blue magpies were constantly around.

Black Headed Jay

Frankly, I can write reams and reams describing all the things that happened, and I am tempted to do it, but I know how tiresome it becomes to read really long blog posts, no matter how interesting, so I am going to cut it short.

It was a good birding trip, and I saw a few completely new birds (lifers, as birders call them). The place is beautiful, the food is awesome, the people are extra kind and the birds are divine. Hope you can make it to Pangot sometime too.

Common Rosefinches, males and females

Green Backed Tit

Orange Flanked Bush Robin

Grey Hooded Warbler

Grey Bushchat Female

Grey Bushchat

Grey Bushchat

Common Stonechat

Common Rosefinch

Blue Whistling Thrush

Ashy Drongo

Tickell's Thrush

Spotted Dove

Russet Sparrow

Russet Sparrow

Russet Sparrow

Rufous Sibia

Rufous Sibia

Rufous Bellied Woodpecker

Red Vented Bulbul

Pink Browed Rosefinch

Oriental White Eye

Orange Flanked Bush Robin

Olive Backed Pipit

Himalayan Bulbul

Grey Winged Blackbird

Common Rosefinch

Turtle Dove

White Capped Water Redstart

Verditer Flycatcher

Turtle Dove

Striated Laughingthrush

Spotted Dove

Streaked Laughingthrush

White Throated Laughingthrush

Ruddy Shelduck (En route to Pangot at a barrage)

***

Footgolf

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:26:00 +0000

Yep, you read it right... footgolf. As I allowed my imagination to swerve wildly (most probably on the path of a bana kick), while trying to concentrate on my work at hand, I came upon a vision of Ronaldinho teeing off with a football (with his foot of course!).

Then I saw him being cheered by the onlookers as they saw the ball curve over the footgolf course, and land a few feet away from the first hole. Ronaldinho would give a short salute and walk off (without a caddy, as there are no foot golf sticks, just your own legs). The onlookers would, unlike the uppity golf crowd, be drinking beer, showing skin, cheering madly and doing Mexican waves.

Next we would have a veteran like Zinedine Zidane teeing off, with a precisely powered kick that would send the ball even closer than Ronaldinho’s. This would draw loud cheering from the crowd and Zidane would just smile and walk away.

The television audiences would be watching with bated breath as at the seventh hole, Ronaldinho is on a flamingo (footgolf lingo meaning three below par). He finally manages with two kicks what others do in five.

Footgolf can have all the biggest football stars as readymade superstar players, and could be a game of incredible skill and excitement. While they would go on playing their soccer games, footgolf would become an added on sport where they can win huge money and become mega champions.

Footgolf sounds like a very interesting idea to me. Any takers?

Google Wave

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 07:41:00 +0000

I'm quite interested in Google Wave, unfortunately no one I know has access to it. If you or anyone you know uses Google Wave, it would be great if you could send me an invite at sanjeev.saikia at gmail.com

Awaiting a wave of generosity from someone out there.

:)

A trip to Chandni Chowk

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:19:00 +0000

We took the metro. From Noida to Rajeev Chowk in Connaught Place, and then to Chandni Chowk, the famed amazing market that was maybe as old as the city itself. We changed the metro at one station. The number of people crowding into the state-of-the-art metro turned it into a most inconvenient way of travelling. But it was fun. The rush of people was such that when getting out, if we hadn’t pushed and shoved like mad, we would have got left behind. Getting on to the connecting metro was equally difficult. We managed to reach our destination station – Chandni Chowk.

We got off and walked a while and got onto a cycle rickshaw. On enquiring from fruit-wallahs (fruit-sellers selling from hand carts) and random people, we were told that our destination was the ‘Gharhi’ (watch) market. Through roads that were permanently crawling, we reached the market. The journey was most interesting with people, shops and transportation from what seemed like a different era. We walked into the dingy ‘Gharhi’ market, and looked into a few shops. It wasn’t what we were looking for. We got back on the rickshaw and headed towards Sadar Bazaar. En route we saw shops that dated back to 1940s and even earlier. Everything here was packed into unimaginably small spaces, be it buildings, cars, shops, roads, electric wires, billboards or people. There were people and more people and more people and still more people. We saw a haveli (old colonial kind of house) with several floors that was most intriguing. We tried to imagine who lived there now, and who must have lived there a hundred years back.

Enjoying the bustling marketplace from our cycle rickshaw, we entered a road that was incredibly choked with traffic (all of Chandni Chowk is incredibly choked with traffic, but this was something else altogether). All around us, there were a million cycle rickshaws, scooters, bikes, cars, mini trucks, vans, hand carts, bullock carts, cycles, jeeps, auto rickshaws, pedestrians and cows. As we inched ahead, suddenly our rickshaw went into turbo mode and shot ahead. A motorbike behind us got impatient and started to push us ahead. The rickshaw wallah was barely managing to avoid hitting pedestrians in front. He kept hitting the backs of other rickshaws very hard, but it didn’t evince any reaction. Hitting the rickshaw in front to stop your own rickshaw was a necessity and the norm.

We reached Sadar Bazaar and came to a section where rickshaws were not allowed. We alighted. Suddenly there was a commotion and we saw a policeman mercilessly whacking a man with a stick. The man was rolling on the road and whining, he looked like a wasted drug addict. I asked someone what had happened but the man only shrugged and walked away. We walked ahead and after much asking and enquiring discovered the ‘Gubbarey Wala Gali’ (the balloon alley).

It was very narrow, if you stopped at any of the teeny meeny shops on either side of the alley, it actually caused a traffic jam of the people walking along the alley. We were weaving in and out of the shops in that alley and several connecting alleys for about an hour, and we found everything we wanted, at one third the price. The bargain was great, but the whole experience was far greater.

When we reached the metro station to get onto the train, we discovered that we had been pick pocketed. Cool. We lost about 1500 rupees. We reached home, happy, sad (at losing the money) and filled with a sense of awe for this awesome amazing market called ‘Chandni Chowk’ (Silver Crossing).

Fragrant Peace

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:04:00 +0000

Title: Fragrant Peace
Size: 12" X 8"
Date of creation: 2009 Aug

Ancient Dancer

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:02:00 +0000

Title: Ancient Dancer
Size: 12" X 8"
Date of creation: 2009 Aug