SanjeevSaikiaArt

Why have policemen stopped helping us and started victimising us.

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 04:56:00 +0000

In the recent ghastly and inhuman incident concerning the five year old who was brutally raped, the police tried to shut up the parents of the child by paying them Rs. 2000. They also caused many hours of delay that would have been medically crucial for the little girl who was attacked by the beast. Then one of the senior policemen slapped a woman who was protesting police apathy in the above incident. In the Nirbhaya rape where a young woman was so horribly brutalised that her intestines came out, the police were equally, frighteningly insensitive and scary.

Today, policemen are feared as much as the twisted remorseless criminals they are supposed to keep at bay. Policemen have begun to victimise us. Buy why?

What have we done to them? And why us? Why not reserve that kind of behavior only for criminals?

I hear and read about incidents almost every day of how the police refused to register an FIR, harassed the victim (recently a 10 year old girl who had been raped was locked up in a police station for a few days, because her parents dared to approach that particular police station after their child had been raped), beat up peaceful protesters, asked for money etc. etc.

Policemen are literally turning against helpless common people. However, at the same time if someone is rich or important, they are giving them special preferential treatment.

But why?

Could it be that all of mankind is becoming meaner, harsher and less human with every passing day, or does it have to do with the low wages, insufficient numbers and bad working conditions of the police force? It could even be that dealing day in and day out with criminals and inhuman people have made the policemen inhuman themselves. Could it be that every good thing that policemen try to do just boomerangs, and gets them more and more frustrated? Could politicians be forcing policemen to act against their will, to the point that they just give in completely and become bad people?

It could be all of these reasons, but the important thing is why is it being allowed to happen at all?

If for some reason policemen are becoming more of a menace than a service, then it needs to change.

Can the media start talking about how to change the core of the police force, so that they can be saviors instead of terrorisers? We can't sit back and blame the police for everything, something has to give. Something needs to be fixed and we need to go and find that something and fix it.

Maybe we can start with the problems that policemen are facing. Let’s bring their problems to the fore and try to solve them. If the police system improves, policemen will be better human beings.

Let’s start with something. Really, we can’t let this happen to us, not in this day and age…

Meditating Paramahansa

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 10:23:00 +0000

Meditating Paramahansa - Black pen on acrylic - 3 ft X 2.5 ft canvas - Jan 2013

Difference between a Build-Great-Brands client and a Save-My-Ass client!

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 17:14:00 +0000

This one is for all the creative folks who are struggling to get some good work out!!

Types of content and what they are about!

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 17:35:00 +0000

Here's another infographic that is quite interesting, and I am sharing. It tell you about the different types of content around and what each kind can do for your brand, and what it takes to create each type and how much effort is needed by your TA to engage with it. Great stuff!

Arjun, Arjunah

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 13:26:00 +0000

ARJUN

ARJUNAH

Where is God asks Ivan

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 06:43:00 +0000

The similarities between Twitter and birding - an Infographic!

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 16:49:00 +0000

See the full size infographic here - http://twitpic.com/ar3q60/full

Marketing is changing drastically, the olde marketing ways are dead, traditional advertising is dead and buried, mass media is going to fade away... WTF?

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:39:00 +0000

Let's get one thing clear right away, I am not a marketing expert. I am a person who is keenly interested in advertising and therefore also in marketing.

That said, I can fearlessly begin with this potentially completely flawed post on what is happening with marketing these days.

Let me begin with why I am writing this post. It’s because I have come across way too many pieces of online and offline communication about what this post's headline talks about - Marketing is changing drastically, the olde marketing ways are dead, traditional advertising is dead and buried, mass media is going to fade away.... These messages, posts, articles, videos, comments, tweets… have been crowding my mind without quite forming any kind of tangible picture.

So I thought I should try and get a clear picture in my head (to the extent that is possible) by writing about it.

The basic discussions seems to be about the fact that it is no longer relevant to broadcast your message, now your message has to be discovered and shared.

The reason being that now nearly the entire planet is on the Internet, and nearly everyone is searching the Internet for information, reviews, tweets, posts, Facebook comments and such, to gather information before choosing a particular product or service.

That is absolutely correct. However, back when the Internet wasn’t there, whenever possible we used to ask friends and if we knew one, even experts, before choosing a product or a service. Now, this is happening on a much wider scale and everyone is doing it. Therefore it is a very very important factor to consider when marketing your brand. OK, got it loud and clear!

Now, social media is enabling groups of people to broadcast their message far and wide without spending any money on media - Twitter, Facebook, Google+ et al.

And it has brought down Governments.

Wow that’s amazing. However, can a brand do something like that, very doubtful. No brand can have a
cause as powerful as freedom from a dictator or freedom for an entire community. But most definitely a brand can do something in a smaller scale. That is fantastic, because it does not require any money to be spent on media. However, many people will be needed to create and feed the message into social media for it to become effective. And that will cost money!!

“Mass media like TV commercials, newspaper and magazine ads etc. is no longer effective”

Now, this is something that I find hard to believe. Huge amounts of money are being spent on making TVCs, designing press advertising campaigns and of course buying media space in TV channels and newspapers and magazines. Ok, one powerful change to consider is that many of the newspapers and magazines are now going online. Which means that the traditional way of developing ad campaigns for offline newspapers and magazines does not hold true in certain markets. In India newspapers and magazines are still mostly offline and physical. The change isn’t really being felt there.

TV commercials are still being viewed when people watch their favourite TV programmes or channels. However, a great ad is now seen by millions and millions more people because they go viral and are shared on the web. So what that means is that making a good TV commercial isn’t enough anymore, it has to be so good that it is shared. Cool! But after it is seen all over the Internet, do the people still go for reviews, comments, posts etc. etc. before they buy the product? I guess so, but they would never have bothered to find out about it if they hadn’t seen the ad in the first place. Therefore TV commercials are still highly relevant.

“A well orchestrated web campaign that broadcasts your message effectively across social media platforms is enough to build a brand and sustain it”

Frankly, with half the planet on Facebook and Twitter, it looks very possible. To tell you the truth, I really don’t know if this is true or not. Chances are it can build a brand, especially if it is a web based one. However, if the same brand had created an integrated campaign using digital and traditional media, it would have been much more effective.

So, maybe this is how it is done now-a-days -

First, get the TA right.

Second, get the message right.

Third, create a great media neutral core advertising campaign.

Fourth, adapt it completely to the web (Facebook page and all).

This may mean completely changing the communication while keeping the main message the same and maintaining synergy with the core campaign. And most importantly if it does not translate into a powerful web campaign, then revisit the third step. In today’s scenario getting it right on the web is maybe even more important than getting it right in mass media.

Am adding a very important point here thanks to Anand's comment below "There are about 80 Mn people who access the internet in India and about 900 Mn who have mobile phones...did you miss a trick by not including mobile in your analysis above".

We need to put a hugely powerful mobile campaign in place too. Adapt the core idea to mobile, with maybe slightly different creative renditions for regular phone audience and the top-end smartphone audience (we can even choose one of these segments depending on what profile of TA are to be addressed)

Fifth, adapt it to social media.

Sixth, adapt it to mass media – TV, press etc.

Seventh, publish, air and ship it.

Eight, sustain it on the web.

Ninth, sustain the community that it creates on the web.

There are a million more things that can be done like create web apps, mobile advertising, ambient advertising, Google ads, targeted web ads, guerrilla advertising, viral advertising, Facebook advertising, SEO marketing, etc. etc. etc.

All that notwithstanding, I feel that in an overall sense, this is what the 'new changed marketing' is more or less like.

I may be completely wrong, or partially wrong or horrendously wrong. That's alright, I am not an expert as I said in the beginning :D

I would love it if someone reading this gives me a correct picture or a better/simpler explanation. I would love love it. I really need to get my mind clear about this whole ‘new way of marketing/advertising’ shebang :D

Why don't passenger airplanes have giant emergency parachutes built into them?

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 06:30:00 +0000

It doesn't sound impossible, nor will it need new technology. Hey, I have no idea at all about exactly what size and number of parachutes will be needed to keep a passenger aircraft afloat, but it does seem plausible.

If we take a smaller private jet, I think it can have a built in safety parachute system, for emergencies. And with safety being the most important factor why not manufacture smaller planes with this safety mechanism built into them.

Just a thought that I wanted to share with you all :)

Do put in a comment if you know why it can or cannot happen!

Bird Checklist for Yamuna Biodiversity Park

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:18:00 +0000

The Birds Checklist for Yamuna Biodiversity Park!

Yamuna Biodiversity Park
Jharoda Majra (Near Village Jagatpur)
Wazirabad, Delhi
Tel: +91 11 2761 6569
Email: ybp@biodiversityparks.org

1. Alexandrine Parakeet

2. Ashy Prinia

3. Ashy Wood Swallow

4. Asian Koel

5. Asian paradise Flycatcher

6. Asian Pied Startling

7. Bank Myna

8. Bar-headed Geese

9. Barn Owl

10. Barn Swallow

11. Baya Weaver

12. Bay-backed Shrike

13. Black Bittern

14. Black Drongo

15. Black Ibis

16. Black Kite

17. Black Redstart

18. Black-breasted Weaver

19. Black-crowned Night Heron

20. Black-headed Gull

21. Black-headed Munia

22. Blackrumped Flameback Woodpecker

23. Black-shouldered Kite

24. Black-winged Stilt

25. Bluethroat

26. Blyth’s Reed Warbler

27. Booted Warbler

28. Brahminy Starling

29. Brown Rock Chat

30. Brown-headed Barbet

31. Brown-headed Gull

32. Cattle Egret

33. Cinnamon Bittern

34. Citrine Wagtail

35. Comb Duck

36. Common Babbler

37. Common Chiff Chaff

38. Common Coot

39. Common Greenshank

40. Common Hawk-Cuckoo

41. Common Hoopoe

42. Common Kestrel

43. Common Kingfisher

44. Common Moorhen

45. Common Myna

46. Common Pochard

47. Common Redstart

48. Common Redshank

49. Common Rosefinch

50. Common Sandpiper

51. Common Snipe

52. Common Starling

53. Common Stonechat

54. Common Tailorbird

55. Common Teal

56. Coppersmith Barbet

57. Cotton Pygmy Goose

58. Crested Bunting

59. Crested Lark

60. Crested Serpent Eagle

61. Darter

62. Dusky Crag Martin

63. Eurasian Collared Dove

64. Eurasian Golden Oriole

65. Euarsian Scops Owl

66. Eurasian Thick-knee

67. Eurasian Wigeon

68. Eurasian Wryneck

69. European Roller

70. Ferruginous Pochard

71. Gadwall

72. Garganey

73. Graceful Prinia

74. Great Cormorant

75. Great Crested Lark

76. Great Egret

77. Greater Coucal

78. Greater Painted-snipe

79. Green Bee-eater

80. Green Sandpiper

81. Gereenish Warbler

82. Grey Francolin

83. Grey Headed Canary Flycatcher

84. Grey Heron

85. Grey Wagtail

86. Grey-bellied Cuckoo

87. Grey-breasted Prinia

88. House Crow

89. House Sparrow

90. House Swift

91. Indian Bushlark

92. Indian Cormorant

93. Indian Cuckoo

94. Indian Grey Hornbill

95. Indian Peafowl

96. Indian Pond Heron

97. Indian Robin

98. Indian Roller

99. Indian Silverbill

100. Intermediate Egret

101. Isabelline Wheatear

102. Jungle Babbler

103. Jungle Bush Quail

104. Jungle Prinia

105. Laggar Falcon

106. Large Grey Babbler

107. Large-billed Crow

108. Laughing Dove

109. Lesser Coucal

110. Lesser Whistling Duck

111. Lesser White Throat

112. Little Cormorant

113. Little Egret

114. Little Grebe

115. Little Ringed Plover

116. Little Stint

117. Long-tailed Minivet

118. Long-tailed Shrike

119. Mallard

120. Marsh Harrier

121. Night Jar

122. Northern Pintail

123. Northern Shoveller

124. Open Billed Stork

125. Oriental Magpie Robin

126. Oriental Skylark

127. Oriental Turtle Dove

128. Oriental White-eye

129. Osprey

130. Paddyfield Pipit

131. Painted Stork

132. Pheasant-tailed Jacana

133. Pied Bushchat

134. Pied Cuckoo

135. Pied Kingfisher

136. Plain Prinia

137. Plum-headed parakeet

138. Purple Heron

139. Purple Sunbird

140. Purple Swamphen

141. Red Avadavat

142. Red-throated Flycatcher

143. Red-crested Pochard

144. Red-rumped Swallow

145. Red-vented Bulbul

146. Red-wattled Lapwing

147. Red-whiskered Bulbul

148. River Tern

149. Rock Pigeon

150. Rose-ringed Parakeet

151. Rosy Starling

152. Rufuous Treepie

153. Scaly-breasted Munia

154. Scarlet Minivet

155. Shikra

156. Short-eared Owl

157. Sirkeer Malkoha

158. Small Minivet

159. Southern Grey Shrike

160. Spanish Sparrow

161. Spot-billed Duck

162. Spotted Dove

163. Spotted Owlet

164. Tawny Pipit

165. Temminck’s Stint

166. Tifted Duck

167. Verditer Flycatcher

168. White Eyed Buzzard

169. White Wagtail

170. White-breasted Waterhen

171. White-browed Fantail

172. White-browed Wagtail

173. White-eared Bulbul

174. White-tailed lapwing

175. White-throated Kingfisher

176. Wire-tailed Swallow

177. Wood Sandpiper

178. Wood Shrike

179. Wooly-necked Stork

180. Yellow-belied Prinia

181. Yellow Bittern

182. Yellow Wagtail

183. Yellow –billed Babbler

184. Yellow-eyed BabblerPigeon

185. Yellow-footed Green Greater

186. Zitting Cisticola

Happy birding!

The Big Bird Day was a surprise, Ranjit Lal was a bigger surprise and the snake capturing was the final surprise!! Birding at Yamuna Biodiversity Park on 5th Feb, 2012.

noreply@blogger.com (Sanjeev Saikia) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:57:00 +0000

The plan was to set out from Noida at 7.30 am. We set out at 7.45 am, excellent by any standards. We took just 20 minutes to reach the Yamuna Biodiversity Park (YBP) as there was hardly any traffic. A note for others who go to YBP, when you see the first road sign proclaiming ‘Yamuna Biodiversity Park’ and see a bridge over the ‘nallah’ on your right, leave that one, and move ahead. Within 200-250 meters, you will see another small bridge across the ‘nallah’ and a similar road sign. This is the one you should take, and for that you need to go down the road for some distance and take a U-turn. Then go straight down the bridge and along the straight road till after about 200 meters you see YBP to your left. By the way, the first bridge takes you to the same Jagatpur area but you have to follow a very narrow and bumpy service road along the ‘nallah’ to reach the other bridge and then turn right, therefore better to take the second bridge after the U-turn.

Phew! Direction instructions over, now I can get down to the actual birding experience. Me and an office colleague Koushik had planned this trip for Saturday, but I wasn’t able to make it, so we went the next day, Sunday. When we reached YBP, Dr. A K Singh, with whom I had spoken to the previous evening, was at the gate. The first thing he said was, “Will you wait for the Big Bird Day group?”.

I literally jumped with joy as did my friend, because we had no clue that it was the Big Bird Day (the day every year, when a bird count happens all across Delhi’s main birding areas). Of course we waited, and soon met up with at least 20 birders, and amongst them a well known birder Dr. Oswal. However, at the helm of things was Dr. Faiyaz A. Khudsar, scientist in-charge of YBP. A very impressive person who quickly handed out bird-lists for YBP and started to mobilise the birding forces. He quickly and efficiently organised everyone into 3 groups. I and Koushik got attached to a group that would go through all the wooded areas, and would have three other birders and a guide from YBP, Mr. Mohan.

The Big Bird Day walk in progress, Mohan is right in front.

As we started to walk, I enthusiastically pointed out an Indian Koel hiding between the branches of a tree, and wondered who the three people with us were. Mohan, a wonderful naturalist and person, started to spot birds with great expertise, as we began our walk. A short , bespectacled slightly elderly gentleman with us, was making quite amusing remarks about the birds. He described one as wont to do a lot of make-up, especially with the lipstick. We were looking at the red-crested pochard which is found only in the YBP in the Delhi region. As I peered through the binocs I did notice that they looked like they had applied quite a bit of red lipstick.

A Red Crested Pochard, this photo is from the
FlevoBirdwatching site, specifically from this page -

http://www.birdsnetherlands.nl/uk%20visitors%20amsterdam.htm

At one point, to make some conversation, I asked one of the birders, a tall pepper haired person, if Dr. Oswal the well known birder was in the other group. He said, yes, and then he said, “There’s a famous birder amongst us too…”.

As I wondered who it was, he pointed at the short bespectacled gentleman and said, “That’s Ranjit Lal”.

I was awe-struck, I had not only seen his book on the birds of Delhi, I had read several of his beautiful fiction novels, which were centered around wildlife, birds, nature and people who loved nature. I especially liked his book ‘The small tigers of Shergarh’.

Suddenly we were doubly excited, and to add more excitement, a Zitting Cisticola came by – a lifer for me. The walk was in full swing and we had spotted upwards of 35 birds. There was an enthusiastic conversation on why a ‘Graceful Prinia’ was graceful and what was ‘oriental’ about the ‘Oriental Magpie Robin’. It was a delightful walk and at one point I demanded that Ranjit Lal allow me to take a photograph with him, and in his soft-spoken matter-of-fact way he said, “Oh okay”.

Me and Ranjit Lal (author of Birds of Delhi,
The small tigers of Shergarh and many more).

My friend Koushik was busy taking photographs, hanging back and then rushing back to the group, entering the bush and trying to get a better shot. At one point we saw a Shikra that sat on a branch and just as Koushik was about to take a photograph, it flew off, and another Shikra that we hadn’t noticed also joined it. We walked on. An hour into the walk, Koushik was trudging along wistfully beside me. I said, “Why the unhappiness?”.

“I want to take a photo of the Shikra, a good one, and I won’t leave without it…”, he said.

I wondered, till what time he would have to wait for that photo, and then forgot all about it. About half an hour later as we were walking along a slightly denser portion of the YBP, Mohan stopped us on our tracks to point at a bird sitting quietly in a small puddle of water, not five feet from the path. It was a Shikra.

Koushik had already rushed ahead and started to take photographs. Surprisingly the bird just kept sitting there calmly, as Koushik and Ranjit Lal both crept closer and closer trying to get better and better photos of the bird. At one point a lady birder with us, quipped, “Ranjit are you going to give the Shikra a hug”.

The Shikra, wetting its tarsi.

There were happy smiles all round as everyone got their fill of this beautiful bird. Koushik was beaming, someone up there had answered his prayers.

A common site of Rose Ringed Parakeets, but what's
uncommon is that they are a male and a female
and we can clearly see the differences between the two.
The male has a shinier green head, and
a much more distinct ring around its neck.

Along the water body, just 2-3 feet from us sat a
bunch of Red Avadavats, here are 3 females.

The male Red Avadavat, which becomes
completely red in the breeding season.

We headed back to the YBP office building, extremely happy with the two hours of birding (that was the official time allotted for the Big Bird Day birding session) we had done. As we stood around chatting about the variety of birds and other creatures in the YBP, and the fact that it hadn’t been opened to the general public, someone came by in a rush. He told Dr. Faiyaz that some workers were not being able to plant a tree, because they had found a small snake in the hole that had been dug up.

“Who is this person, who is not able to catch a small snake”, bellowed Dr. Faiyaz. I was a little surprised, and amazed by his ferocious energy and passion for all things wild and natural.

“Mohan go and catch that snake and bring it here”, he continued.

Mohan quickly took to his feet, but quicker were me, Koushik and the tall gentleman, all super eager to see how a snake would be captured.

It was a small snake, but a snake all the same. Mohan picked it up from inside the hole with unbelievable ease. The small snake was soon wound around his fingers.

“It’s a wolf snake, non-poisonous”, he said.

We crowded around it, as we walked back to the YBP office. Soon the snake was in Dr. Faiyaz’s hands. As he talked about it, the photographers clicked away merrily. My friend got some pretty nice shots.

Tiny, but ready to strike, the Wolf snake in
Dr. Faiyaz's hands.

Dr. Faiyaz and the Wolf snake, taking centrestage.

And with that we had to call it a day, and what a day it was - the surprise of the Big Bird Day, the added surprise of birding with Ranjit Lal and the final surprise of seeing a snake being caught by hand.

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!