Random Thoughts from Calabi Yau Space

Remembering the decade gone by

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 07:02:00 +0000

I'm sitting at a customer location in Phnom Penh, pondering over my inability to keep blogging regularly despite the fact that I do seem to have ample time to procrastinate everyday. Pathetic! I say to myself only to be drowned in the ocean of mental lethargy that seems to be filling me up over the last 2 years. Enough of gloom!

There are much reasons to be cheerful as a new decade dawns on us even before most of us are left scratching our heads on where the last 10 years went. A short flashback on some of my memories on the decade gone by:

2000

I began my career in June 2000 at Indus Networks and the memories still very fresh in my mind. The very first time I saw the ATM spitting out my very own bank balance (Rs. 10000) and really dint' know what to do with so much money!
My first experience with the Internet, Yahoo Chat, Google.
I bought my first two wheeler (second hand of course) for a mind numbing Rs 3400
The nights of fun, frolic and beer with friends in Hyderabad
The first encounter with WAP and the mobile mania

2001

Got my first passport on Feb 13th
Boarded my first flight , an Indian Airlines flight to Bombay from Madras enroute to Germany. Mom dropping me off at the airport and I still remember her face , proud that her son was joining the great big bandwagon of desi's marching towards a better future outside India
My first visit abroad to Germany in March. I remember pinching myself to remind me that this was not a dream.
First taste of German beer and my first visit to the Oktoberfest and the resulting worst hangover of my life
My first soccer game
Visit to Rome, Venice and Pisa, Brussels and Paris. I was living my dream!
My first cell phone, a neat looking Sony (forget the model) and my first call to dad and mom telling them about my purchase.
Working on the first GPRS capable devices

2002

Moving to Munich on a work visa for 3 years
Got my first camera a Canon EOS SLR
More football games and my first (of nine) visit to the fascinating Neuschwanstein Castle
The first time I was away from friends in family for more than 3 months
Feeling snow for the first time!
Bought my first Walkman (a Sony Discman) and first DVD player
Second visit to Paris
Going around Europe
Windows Mobile 2002

2003

Don't seem to remember too much here except that it was a year where I worked on an average for about 14 hours a day and spent well over 25 full weekends at work
My first visit to Switzerland
Birth of my nephew Thakkai Paya!

2004

My very first house (or was it 2005?)
My first trip to the United States and Portugal
My very first trip to a Formula 1 race at Hockenheim
Gaping at the magnificent Grand Canyon and trying my luck at gambling at Vegas (eventually ended up losing $30)
Picked up my first Xbox
Bought my first camcoder
Cousins wedding celebrations in India
My first iPod

2005

Getting married and my first honeymoon
My fifth Oktoberfest
The project with SWM (Stadtwerke Muenchen)
My first iPod Nano

2006

Losing my job at Aventeon and subsequent closure of Aveteon just 5 days after I had returned back from India
Moving back to Bangalore getting a job with Sabre
My first trip to Shanghai, Hong Kong and Thailand
Shattering news that my father had cancer

2007

Wife's battle with depression and dad's continuing battle with cancer
Trips to Mauritius and Jeddah

2008

The worst year of my life - losing my beloved father and wife
Working on the JetLite migration and first trip to Vietnam

2009

Coming to terms with my everything life had thrown at me and accepting the hard truth
Trips to Indonesia
Finding solace in god and nature
My very first digital SLR
First trip to Angkor Wat
Working on the Vietnam Airlines migration
My first iPod touch
Seeing a tiger and the elusive Lion Tailed Macaque in the wild for the very first time

Wow, certainly not a boring life! There have been so many highs and lows that have shattered the very fabric of my being. But if there is one lesson I have learned from the decade gone by it is that life has to move on and I realize with each passing day that the only person in control of your life and destiny is the almighty and I can only thank everyone in my life and the almighty for making me the person I am today.

What changes will the new decade bring? I hope they are positive and bring about peace and prosperity for every living creature that calls this wonderful planet its home.

Random thoughts - 17 Dec

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:34:00 +0000

Took about 7days to get my new passport and fora change they have printed the name,address etc and not written it by hand. Now the only problem I have is to carry 2 passports together.

My blogging frequency has once again been pathetic this year and I wonder how long I will let my mental lethargy take control of me. Plenty of new books are also waiting to be read.

The holiday season is here again and it's off to Rameswaram this time and hopefully a trip to Valparai to relax and spend sometime with myself and maybe catch a glimpse of those lovely Lion Tailed Macacques.

The iPod touch continues to amaze me and I'm in love with it. My latest obsession seems to be playing games on the iPod.

The new year begins with a trip to Cambodia. May the holiday season bring cheer,good health and happiness to all!

2010 is going usher in a brand new life as far as I am concerned and I am looking forward to it with eagerness and supreme faith in the almighty.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Hello world

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:53:00 +0000

Hello world. Can't stop marveling at the new iPod touch

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Road Trip to the "Iyer" Belt

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:22:00 +0000

Had a major road trip from the 24th to the 29th of August, clocking about 1500 kms on a nostalgic trip to Kumbakonam, Chidambaram and Trichy (an area I'd like to call as the Iyer Belt). The main purpose of the trip was to undertake a pilgrimage to certain temples in the above mentioned areas to correct some problems in my horoscope.

Started from Bangalore at about 8:30 AM with mom on 24th and proceeded towards Tiruvannamalai, making the customary stop at the Adyar Ananda Bhavan located a few kms before Krishnagiri. I was in two minds to either use the route via Salem, Namakkal and Trichy and most forums on the net advised against this and encouraged me to take the route via Tiruvannamalai.

The road to Tiruvannamalai from Krishnagiri is pretty good except for the occasional pot-holes. One can do 60-70kmh without too much hassle. I was surprised to see the Eastern Ghats emerge suddenly about 10 or 20 kms before Tiruvannamalai. The entire range seems to be thickly forested. We din't have time to visit the temple at Tiruvannamalai and headed to Kumbakonam via Thirukovilur, Panruti and Sethiya Thopu. We managed to grab a decent meal at Panruti. I was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the roads till Kumbakonam. Neatly laid out and the Swift was doing about 80 km/h on an average.

We reached the village of Tirupanandal (about 15 kms before Kumbakonam) at about 2:30pm and decided to check-out the location of the first temple which was supposed to be close to the village. We found ourselves at the gates of an old dilapidated temple at about 3:30 pm. The temple houses the Hindu god Rama. It was believed that the guru of the Asuras, Sukracharya prayed to Vishnu and Garuda at this temple and got his eyes restored in the process. The temple care taker gave us details on what needed to be done for the pooja the next day. We reached Kumbakonam and checked into a decent hotel called Rayas. An A/C room costs about Rs 1000 a night for two persons. We drove through the street where my grandmother used to live and waves of nostalgic memories gripped me. We used to spend our holidays as kids here. I always use to pester dad to take me for an evening walk and he would always oblige. However he is now gone only etched in my heart and memory for ever. So has grand mom and the place she used to live in (55 Mutt Street). The house has now become a hotel. But nothing else has changed here. It is as noisy and crowded as it was before. There was a sense of peace..some kind of bliss that I experience whenever I visit Kumbakonam which I find hard to explain or to express.

Mom was keen to go to our ancestral village of Swamimalai in the evening and I was only too keen to oblige. Lord Swaminatha captivates me like no other god does and we soon found ourselves at Swamimalai at 7 pm. The lord did not disappoint us and we were blessed with an excellent darshan as usual. Thursday's are considered auspicious as the lord adorns his diamond crusted "vel" (spear). We also made arrangements to have an "abishekam" done the next Monday. It was a long standing wish for mom to get this done. We drove back to Kumbakonam and had dinner at the famous Venkatramana hotel and crashed for the night.

We proceeded to the Ramar temple the next day and performed the necessary pujas. The next stop was Uppiliappan temple located about 10 kms from Kumbakonam. This temple is again dedicated to Vishnu. The main deity, Oppillappan (one without equal) or Uppillappan (one who does not take salt) is considered to be the elder brother of the famous Tirupati Balaji. The deity stands at an impressive 7 feet and is truly a sight to behold. Our next stop was the temple at Ayyavadi. The main deity of this temple is goddess Pratinkara (similar to Kali, a violent manifestation of Lord Shiva) and the temple is surrounded by burial grounds and the goddess is terrifying in appearance. She does not leave you with a sense of calm but with a sense of fear. No archanas or special poojas are performed at this temple. It is when one places like these that one truly comes to understand the enormity and vastness of Hinduism as a religion/philosophy and call me a fanatic but there is in my opinion no religion that comes even close in terms of being able to describe the very fabric of the cosmos and creation like Hinduism does. However I digress. After Ayyavadi we headed back to Kumbakonam for lunch (at Venkatramanas as usual). The change in weather from the cool confines of Bangalore to the sweltering heat in Kumbakonam was extreme to say the least.

We headed to my fathers ancestral village of Vaishtacheri (about 45 kms from Kumbakonam), passing the town of Mayiladuthurai on the way. Mom even showed me the hospital where my sister was born. If the trip was nostalgic for me, I could only imagine the flurry of emotions mom must have been growing through. We visited the temple of our Kula Deivam (Governing god of the family). The temple is situated in the middle of paddy fields and houses Sannasiappan. The keys to the temple doors were with a villager and he had gone to the fields to do his work and we ended up getting darshan of the lord from the outside. The village surroundings in this part of the world haven't changed for probably centuries. The peace and calm that one finds here is pretty overwhelming. I was sad to leave the village and promised myself to come sometime in the future, hopefully with my family. I was surprised to find out that Traquebar, a seaside town once a Dutch colonial outpost was only 15 kms from the village.

We headed to Thiruvarur on Saturday morning, the birthplace of my mother. Thiruvarur is home to the lord Thyagaraja (a form of Shiva) and visibly nostalgic mom showed me around the school she studied in and the places she lived in etc. We were fortunate enough to witness multiple abishekams (bathing of the idol in milk, curd, sandalwood paste etc) at the Thyagaraja temple. It was a fantastic experience and often as is the case with spiritual experiences, words cannot or do not seem to justify the feelings that one has during such experiences. On the way back we visited another unique temple. The temple was the abode of yet another avatar of Lord Shiva called Sarabeshwar. The main deity has the head of a lion and is shown holding Lord Vishnu upside down. The lord also has two wings on which sit the goddesses Kali and Pratingara. Legend has is that Vishnu in his avatar of Narasimha was becoming uncontrollable due to the blood he had taken when slaying the demon king Hiranyakashipu. In order to pacify the world, Shiva in his avatar of Sarabeshwar holds Vishnu while Kali and Pratinkara take out the blood of Hiranyakashipu from Lord Vishnu's mouth.

We headed out to the town of Chidambaram in the afternoon to see what arrangements needed to be made for the pooja we had to perform on Sunday (the following day). We were greeted by one of the temple poojaris who agreed to make all the necessary arrangements for the pooja the next day. Chidambaram did not seem to have any decent lodging and the ones that were decent didn't seem to have any car parking facilities. We decided to head back to Kumbakonam for the night.

We traveled back to Chidambaram early next morning and had an excellent darshan of Lord Nataraja followed by the pooja we had to do for Lord Chitragupta (who is Lord Yama's accountant). The poojari was kind enough to invite us to his house for lunch and we duly obliged. All the non stop driving was now getting to me and we got back to Kumbakonam and hit the sack.

The abishekam at Swamimalai on Monday was fantastic as usual. All through the trip the signs seemed to be positive all the time and this was very encouraging for the both of us. The only regret I had was that I did not bring along my digital camera and was left cursing myself everyday. We headed to Trichy later that morning and reached Trichy at about 12:30 PM. We headed out to the final temple we needed to visit and once again did a breif recon visit to find out what needed to be done to perform the puja.

The temple was situated at a village called Thirupainjili, about 20 kms from the main city of Trichy. The temple at Thirupainjili houses Lord Shiva and Lord Yama. This temple apparently is the place where Lord Shiva gave back Yama his life (after he had taken it protecting his disciple Markendeya at Thirukkadaiyur). We performed the necessary poojas the following day and headed back to Bangalore via Namakkal and Salem. The roads by theway are excellent and is four laned from Namakkal to Hosur.

We reached Bangalore at about 4 PM on 29th August and the odo read 1500 kms and I was well and truly exhausted physically. Mentally and spiritually this will go down as one of my most memorable trips.

Om Nava Shivaya! Thennarudaya Sivane Potri!

Kundremukh - An Unforgettable Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:11:00 +0000

1830 hours on 12th Sept - My body parts were all singing their own symphonies. My knees went right, while my feet wanted to rest, the body screamed for some warmth and the mind was blank. Sounds like a nice opening scene for some thriller movie but it wasn't. It was how I really felt after just having hiked for about 8 hours and 30 mins to Kudremukh peak and back. Flashback time....

As mentioned in a previous post, I have always wanted to see Kudremukh and jumped at the first (well not the first but the first feasible) chance I got. I was picked-up at 11pm on 11th night from Kinds Kemp at MG Road by the trip organizer Santosh. Giving me company were Dinesh (a photographer by profession), Sunil and Ram (both IT geeks like me) for the trek. I was happy to see that the group was a small one for I generally hate being in the midst of too many people (probably something to do with the sheltered atmosphere of the Nilgiris where I was brought up). The transport was comfortable too (a Toyota Qualis) and with the customary chai break in the middle of the night (actually 2 or 3) and a puncture later we found ourselves a few kilometers before what was to be our base camp at about 7 am the next morning and what a fantastic setting it was.

The monsoons magic spell can be seen everywhere and the Western Ghats is Karnataka are probably the best places in India to view this magic. There is so much greenery everywhere you see. The smell of the damp earth along with the singing of the birds, the droplets of water from the previous nights rain dripping slowly, making up their own music and last but no the least the silence of the jungle. No cocktail of alcohol or drugs can quite give you the kick of seeing, feeling and hearing nature in her true primordial form.

The base camp which was actually a small hamlet at the foot of the Kudremukh National Park, could either be reached via walk (about 4 or 5 kms) or via a 4x4 jeep and being the lazy city bums we were the decision was made to take the jeep and it turned out to be a real fun ride. The while 5 odd kilometer stretch is built only for a 4x4 and it is amazing to see the old Mahindra Commander (probably a 1970's version) handle the terrain with such ease. The ride took us uphill and we finally reached the house of our host (whose name I shamefully admit, have forgotten) and I would kill to have a place at such a location. The house was surrounded by Shola forests with the majestic grasslands of the park bordering it on all sides. Breakfast consisted of akki roti and chutney and after a quick wash we began the trek at about 8 am.

The trek started off with a brief climb and 5 mins into the climb, I was already panting and gasping for breath. We reached the first forest stream 10 mins or so into the trek and I had the first of many small falls and found my shoes drenched fully. But all that was forgotten when we reached the first clearing. The grasslands opened up in all directions and the scenery was splendid. It seemed so much like the landscape one sees at Eravikulam National Park in Kerala and Grass Hills at Valparai, Tamilnadu. Giving us company were hundreds of leeches waiting to prey on fresh blood that seemed to be coming so willingly to their territory.

The first part of the hike apart from the initial climb is pretty nice and flat and gives the hiker a chance to really soak up the surroundings. The shola forests we passed smell of rotting vegetation. The sun barely reaches parts of these forests and the result is that the conditions are pretty damp. Such is the wonder of nature that the keen eye can spot a whole host of living creatures thriving in the rotting damp vegetation too. About an hour into the trek we reached a huge bison swamp, still bearing hundreds of footprints of young, old, male and female Gaur. You imagine seeing a huge herd of these gentle creatures grazing away at dusk passing an occasional glance at their surroundings. There is also an old house, now in ruins that once belonged to person called Lobo who made the park and their surroundings his home many decades ago. Nature has quickly reclaimed much of the house and the surroundings which are now only topics for tea tables among the nostalgic.

I find a sense of peace a belonging (despite my body complaining for rest and other comforts) in the midst of such surroundings and I always get the feeling that somewhere I was made for a life in the wilderness. The mind quickly returns you to reality and agonizing hours of climbing that lie ahead. The climb gets steeper after the ruins and I was now taking a break every 5 minutes and poor Ram who was doing his first trek was worse off.

The next 3 or so hours were tiring to say the least and clearly the body was signaling to me that I was woefully out of shape. The panting became faster and the only rhythm I could hear was that of my heart that was working its sock off (probably 130 beats a minute) trying to pump blood faster into a body who demands were becoming unreasonable. The last trek I had done was more than 18 months back at Coorg and clearly the lack of stamina was beginning to tell.

At this point the mind really becomes a devil is disguise constantly prodding you to give up and take rest asking you what is going to come out of such a stupid effort.Nevertheless I forced myself to continue and screams of the guys who were already on top of the peak only encouraged me to give the last push and voila! I made it after about 5 hours of hiking.

No sooner had I sat down to catch my breath and have some food than it began to drizzle. With the vegetation offering no cover, we had to beat a hasty retreat from the peak which was already covered by clouds on all sides thereby robbing us of the splendid views that it offers on a clear day. We could only curse our luck and I for one was cursing the loudest because I conveniently forgot my jacket at home in Bangalore.

It rained non-stop for about 3 hours on our way back. Steady and heavy drizzle. My shoes were not cut-out for hiking and I was again cursing myself for not having a pair for hiking. I was slipping, prodding and falling all over the place and managed to pull my calf muscle too. The leeches in the meantime were having the time of their lives spreading to every nook and corner of the feet sucking warm blood. Stops were made every 5 mins to weed out the annoying creatures but it was impossible to get them all out. The terrain made it all the more difficult. Rocks and boulders strewn all over the path with small streams of water gushing down. It is one of those very rare moments in life where you are in pain, cursing your luck, wishing you were at a better place but at the same time enjoying the experience. After all who in the right senses would want to hike down a leech infested landscape for 4 hours in a downpour?

Flashback over.

Back at the hut we managed to get some hot water and after a refreshing bath I just found the nearest bed and fell flat and dozed away for a hour. Dinner was served at about 2000 hrs but was bosy was in too much pain to relish anything that had been cooked. I spent the night twisting and turning on my bed and at about 3 am I moved down to the floor and made myself a bed with the blankets that were available at dozed off.

We left after breakfast the next morning at about 8am, making a stop at a nice little waterfall a few kilometers down the road and then the famous Annapoorneshwari temple at Horanadu (which is magnificent) and at Hassan for lunch. I reached back home at about 2100 hrs beaten and worn down but having just experienced a trip that I will probably speak about with my kids and grandkids.

Thank you life!

Photos of the trip are posted on Picasa

Alternatively go to http://bit.ly/19lKDr

Hiking after a long time

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 08:11:00 +0000

The weekend will be spent hiking up the Kudremukh peak or at-least that is what I hope I will be doing. I've shelled out 2400 bucks to go along with an unknown group of folks up-to Kudremukh. I sure hope the visit is worth the money that is being spent. I have been wanting to visit the Kudremukh area for quite sometime, the foremost reason being the striking similarities in the landscape when compared to the Nilgiris and Munnar. The vegetation is almost fully comprised of the Sholas and Montane Grasslands and the scenery is supposed to be pretty stunning.

People also talk about wildlife sightings but I don't expect to find anything after the maha KLPD's I got at BR Hills and Nagarhole the past few weeks. This trip will purely be a hiking experience and it will be interesting to see if I can pull through. The only thing I am nervous about is how long the battery in my camera will last. It's sudden lost all its juice (its like 2 or 3 months old) and I need to recahrge it after taking 50 odd snaps. Another scary thought is about all the leeches. Post monsoon the grasslands will be teeming with these blood suckers. Also think its time to invest in some good trekking equipment without the knowledge of mom of-course.

Updates will be posted on Monday next week.

Paradise Found

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 05:01:00 +0000

Spent the last couple of days at the famous Kabini River Lodge that is run by Jungle Lodges and Resorts and the place has left an everlasting impression in the mind. The property is set in the banks of the Kabini Reservoir about 230 kms from Bangalore and as the cliche goes, you really need to be there to get a feel of the surroundings. Simply brilliant.

The drive from Bangalore took me about 4 hours and 30 mins. The road from Mysore to entrance of the Nagarhole National Park (also called the Mysore - Mananthavadi Road) is superb and is scenic too. Now the only problem is that from Mysore getting directions is a real pain. Everyone seems to have a route of their own and it took me a good 30 mins to get out of the city. I reasoned that the best way to ask for directions is to ask a traffic cop for directions to H.D. Kote.

The Kabini River Lodge occupies about 5 or 10 acres of land beside the Kabini Reservoir. There are other private resorts that have come up in and around the area too but are way beyond the budget of the middle class Indian. The entire Nagarhole area was the private hunting property of the Maharajah of Mysore before good sense prevailed (god bless Indira Gandhi) and the area was sealed off the the public and made a National Park.

The resort has 3 kinds of accommodation. Tented cottages (the one I chose), bungalows and individual rooms. The tents are the cheapest (3500 a night per person incl food and 2 safari rides). The middle of the property houses an old British type bungalow which houses the quarters of Col. John Wakefield (affectionately known as Papa John and the person responsible for making Nagarhole what it is today) on one side and has a conference room, with an attached bar of course.

I also noticed over the course of my 2 day stay that the property attracts the following categories of visitors:

The typical Indian family (papa, amma and the kids) visiting the jungles for the first time.
The honeymooners who obviously have other interests in mind than wildlife and being one with nature and such mumbo jumbo.
Retired people who come down to probably get a last and final glimpse of the big cats in the jungle.
Typical Indian group of men who stop over for weekend booze party and chat politics
Last but not the least the avid wildlife enthusiast and photographer to which I feel I belong

Part of reason why the facility attracts all kinds of people (and I have nothing against any of them as long as they learn to appreciate silence) is the comfortable accommodation that is provided and the food which I must say puts most city restaurants to shame.

Almost everyone who comes to Kabini wants to spot the tiger and leopard and is totally un-interested in anything else. Whilst this is understandable, it is rather sad that people come with set notions on what they want to see when coming to such a place. I for one and guilty of wanting to spot and photograph a big cat but I also have learned to appreciate nature and for a lot of city dwellers, this seems hard to come by. My hill billy instincts may have come to the fore here but again it's just my opinion.

The evening safari on the first day was not very eventful. I however did manage to get the first picture of an adult male Sambhar. Truly magnificent. A fully grown male weighs about 200+ kgs and maybe stands about 5 feet 8 in plus and it makes you truly appreciate the strength of the Tiger which is known to bring down such adults in one swift move!

Photograph 1: Male Sambhar, Nagarhole

We spotted a herd of female gaur towards the end of the safari but that was it. The monsoon season is clearly not ideal for spotting wildlife. The jungle is so green and the undergrowth of lantana so dense that we would miss spotting a tiger even if it were 10 or 20 feet away. But nevertheless the appearance of the Indian jungle after the rains is a sight worth beholding. Even for someone who is totally color blind like me, the array of colors you see in the forest is dazzling to say the least. The air is a little damp but the smell of the jungle is totally intoxicating.

I was left cursing my luck the next day morning. The driver turned up 10 mins late and the jeeps in front of us had luck on their side. They spotted a leopard just off the main road. We spent most of the time that morning waiting for the leopard to show up again but lady luck didn't want to do me any favors. The highlight was that the jeep got stuck in several inches of slush and without the 4 wheel drive it was left for us to heave and push the vehicle out of mess it found itself in. I met a couple on the safari and the guy has been visiting Nagarhole for the last 20 years! As he narrated his tales of seeing 5 tigers, tigers chasing gaur the likes I was left depressed wondering when I would have the chance to see such a spectacle.

The morning was spent reading a Kenneth Anderson book and was truly enjoyable! The evening safari was uneventful too till we came up to a herd of about 16 elephants consisting of both females and young males. I took a few snaps only to find that my battery died out! Was left cursing myself again. The Canon battery that I have seems to have developed some problem and it's going to cost me a fortune to get a new one. I also had to tolerate the constant giggles of a newly wed couple that came along with me on the evening safari and the chatter of an elderly gujju couple. I had half a mind to give them a mouthful but restrained myself. People who cannot keep quiet should not be allowed to go into the jungle and if that is made a rule, it would actually rule out 99% of the Indian population. We just cant seem to keep quiet for an extended period of time. It is a pity!

Photograph 2: Young male elephant, Nagarhole

Earlier in the day I also managed to get some snaps of the black cormorant and the painted stork. and afew close up photos of the Serpent Eagle. You can view these photos here. I was left feeling even more exasperated when I was told that the last group (made up of 6 old folks) spotted a leopard on the way back!

The safari on Tuesday morning was uneventful too bar the sighting of a mother and baby elephant. This time I had a Palakkad Iyer family for company and we spotted almost nothing and I found myself showing the children a few photos I had taken. Had a fleeting glimpse of the Malabar Pied Hornbill.

Each trip to the wilderness has taught me something and the I have come away with the feeling that I have been extremely privileged to be able to not only afford going on such trips but to have the god given ability to truly appreciate nature and silence. I left Kabini, committed more than ever to spend as much free time as I can in the pursuit of what truly is closest to my heart.

More pictures can be found at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/ganesh.raghavan/NagarholeSept2009?authkey=Gv1sRgCMXOppje2eyIWA#

More Info on Kabini River Lodge:

Bookings: Reservations can be made online at www.junglelodges.com. Weekends are almost impossible to get. My suggestion would be to use a weekday.

Time to Visit: Dec to April is probably the best time to visit Kabini.

Getting There: Approx 240 kms from Bangalore. From Bangalore head to Mysore and then towards HD Kote. Detailed instructions are found here

Clothing: Wear either greens or browns. Most people seem to wear all kinds of dark colors which is not advisable when visiting the jungle. Winters are pretty chill.

Other Tips: Carry medicines with you if you are the type that falls sick due to weather changes. The nearest medical shop is about 20 kms from the property.

Busy September

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 10:17:00 +0000

September is turning out to be an action packed month, at least as far as weekends go. Was in BR Hills last weekend and this weekend I will fulfill a long lasting wish to spend a weekend at the Kabini River Lodge. I am taking Mon and Tue off next week to spend 2 full days in the hope of spotting some good life and the big cats that have been eluding me for more than a decade now. I am hoping to improve on my photography skills too. So lets see.

Next weekend (Sept 12,13) is going to be spent hiking in Kudhremukh. I have always wanted to go there primarily due to the magnificent landscape. Shola grasslands everywhere you see and I am told that the vegetation is next only to Eravikulam. On the flip side leach bites beckon for sure, but hey you gotta give some to get some.

The last week of the month is going to be spent running around temples in the Tanjore, Trichy belt. Another visit to my ancestral (moms side) village of Swamimalai beckons and of course darshan of the magnificent Lord Murugan at Swamimalai. I don't any other temple idol looks as magnificent as the Lord of Swamilmalai after he is decorated with all those flowers, jewelery etc. A visit to Chidambaram, abode of Lord Nataraja himself, is also in the cards. For those wondering why the sudden enthusiasm for temples, it is because I have to perform a few special poojas at a couple of these temples to "correct" minor problems I have in my horoscope. Now before you start gasping and passing comments on my belief in such things, the only explanation I have to offer is that somewhere deep inside I believe in all this. Not a blind belief but one that is an outcome of a lot of pain and suffering that one has undergone.

The only thing that is complaining eight now is my car, at the thought of having to run another 1500 + kms this month. Life's rolling again!

Music

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:57:00 +0000

I was never one of those big music fans when I was school. Sports was more my kind of things and I while I could play for hours on end everyday, my patience with any kind of music was limited to a few minutes. Like a fine wine that matures and gets better with age, I find myself appreciating all kinds of music as the years roll by.

The years I spent in Germany really got my interest in music going and I personally feel that one gets to appreciate music so much more when one is alone (be it circumstantial or forced). I cannot think of any other medium that brings out the variety of emotions stuck deep inside our minds and consciousness.

Listening to old instrumentals gives me a sudden rush of feelings, raw emotions about my dear father a man I place at the uppermost pedestal in my life. Listening to a 5 minute track gives you a flashback of over 25 years encapsulating moments of joy, sorrow, happiness and just about every other emotion the human mind and senses are capable of feeling .

I forced myself to listen to a few of her favorite tracks and marvel at the response my system brings out, the soul cries, the heart pounds and yet the mind deep inside feels calm. The tune I am listening to now was one of her favorites and as I type out the thoughts rushing out of my mind, I can see, sense and realize what she meant to me, what she has taught me. The mind sees and although I cant touch, I can feel, unspoken thoughts, words - caressing, soothing...simply marvelous. Yes the pangs of sorrow and sadness are mixed into this intoxicating cocktail of emotions. You become aware of deeper realms of sensation that you normally don't feel. However a mind that is not strong enough to go through this surge of emotion can break down and I am grateful that I am in a position today to savor feelings that cannot be put down in words.

These feelings are however shared, experienced and held dear to anyone who begins to appreciate a gift that home sapien sapien is blessed to have gotten from the almighty and that is what sets music apart. Not everyone can calm their minds through meditation or other such mediums but even a wandering mind can be brought to a standstill by a piece of music, the basic notes of life. Peace!

The Weekend - Sept 29-30

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 05:27:00 +0000

I was really tempted to switch from Blogger to Wordpress last week but once again the cost of owning a domain and paying the hosting fee etc put me off. Wordpress though is pretty impressive but changing the font size etc is a pain the butt. Also I saw that the import feature that allows you to import blogs from Blogger to Wordpress doesn't work perfectly yet. So for the time being I stick to Blogger.

Heartening to see that my Mutual Fund portfolio is finally doing well and may come in handy when I decide to go in for a new image stabilization zoom lens. The current 70-300 mm one I have from my old Canon SLR did not work as I expected it to. With digital cameras the biggest problem seems to be with capturing wildlife or other pictures using a zoom of more than 200 mm. Even the slightest tremble causes the images to blur and no matter how steady my hands were the results were a little disappointing.

The weekend was spent in the serenity of BR Hills. Just being there,soaking up the sounds of the Jungle made me feel so blessed. Bumped into an old classmate from Lovedale. Dominic hasn't changed a bit and I was meeting him after 14 years. The safari this time (both the morning and evening one) was a big let down. Only managed to spot a few female Sambhar's, the usual spotted deer and a few bisons. The highlight (that lasted 5 secs) was spotting a mouse deer at about 6:30 pm on Saturday. I am told that spotting them is a rarity.

The lesson I learned from the experience was to go into the jungle with absolutely no expectations of seeing anything special. But I find this so difficult. My eyes are constantly scanning the trees for Leopards or the track ahead for a Tiger only to be disappointed at every bend. Come to think of it, I have always spotted wildlife only when I least expect to. I hope to put the lesson to practice when I visit Nagarhole later this weekend.

I decided to show mom Shivasamudram Falls and took the road to Kollegal and apart from a few stretches of bad roads (from the foothills of BRT WS to Kollegal and parts of the road from Kollegal to Kanakapura) the roads have been newly laid out. Shivasamudram was a sight for sore eyes. Simply breathtaking. It also was an eye sore for it was crowded to the max with the weekend crowd from Bangalore. As usual we do not seem to have any sort of respect for our surroundings and piles of plastic cups, paper plates scattered all around bear testimony to this.

I took mom to Bheemeshwari as well to see the Cauvery in all her splendor and got back home at 5PM dead tired (without lunch too). The evening was good to me as Kimi finally won the Belgian Grand Prix and Force India secured a podium finish.

It was very interesting to see Kimi's reaction after winning. He din't go around congratulating the team and was least interested when Stefano Domenicali came up to congratulate him. No champagne was passed to the team either.

It's a pity that Ferrari will let Kimi go next season for I believe that he is a more complete driver than Massa can ever be and with Massa's injury, Ferrari will not let him go next year for purely emotional reasons. I think Massa will be blown away by Alonso next year and Ferrari will find them scratching their heads at the end of the 2010 season. I won't be surprised if Kimi chooses to drive for Toyota or Renault (he will definitely need to take a drastic pay cut though). But Kimi being Kimi, may as well hang up his F-1 boots and take up rallying.

Pictures: I managed to capture some good pictures which can be found at http://bit.ly/4D65x

Journey to the land of the Khmer - Jul 31 to Aug 2

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:31:00 +0000

If there is one thing I am grateful for with regard to my current job, it has to be the opportunities it provides to visit so many different places, meet people from different cultures and backgrounds and ah! yes taste the various local beer brews that each country throws up.

I had the chance to finally visit Cambodia earlier this month thanks to Vietnam Airlines (my current customer) who graciously offered me free tickets from Hanoi to Siem Reap on Business Class (ended up being an economy trip one way but I will not bitch about that since I was traveling OC anyway).

The airport at Siem Reap reminded me somehow of Coimbatore airport. You get off the plane and just walk across the tarmac, straight to immigration. There was the customary Swine Flu paperwork and temperature check. Visa of arrival is available for Indian passport holders and it takes about 10 mins to get done. Costs $20 for a 30 day visa. I had made arrangements to stay at the Golden Mango Inn and they had already arranged for a driver to pick me up at the airport on a tuk-tuk (a 4-stroke bike that has a carriage welded to its back). The ride to the Inn was about 30 mins and goes through paddy fields for a while before entering Siem Reap town which has a lot of French architectural influence. You also see the standard Cambodian house resting on stilts. Somehow you feel you have entered a different world. Just how different, I would see the next day.

Day 1:
I got up at 4 and my Tuk Tuk driver Mao was already waiting for me. Nice bloke who spoke a little bit of English. We headed out towards Angkor Wat which is approx a 20 min ride from the Inn. I was told that the sunrise at Angkor is worth the trouble of getting up so early. I had to shell out $40 for a 3 day pass to visit all the temples in and around Angkor Wat. A 1 day pass costs you $20 and one is required to show the pass at the entrance of all the temples. Uniformed personnel offer you the traditional Cambodian greeting (pretty much like a Thai greeting) and take a look at our pass before letting you in.

The first thing that hit me when I entered the outer premises of Angkor Wat was the immense size. Although there was not light, the shadows cast by the buildings is an inspiring scene by itself. A sizable crowd had already gathered before the main temple and people jostle (albeit gently) for a good position to get those photo shots. Seemed like a page out an Indiana Jones book. The sunrise was not spectacular as the sky was overcast but nevertheless the scene in front of you is breathtaking.

The temple walls have fantastic carvings depicting the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Churning of the Ocean and the exploits of Suryavarman II who built the temple. Angkor is dedicated to Vishnu. The temple complex is massive and the carvings are out of this world. There are no idols in the sanctum sanatorium as one would expect in a temple. There are however numerous idols of the Buddha.

I had my new Canon EOS 450D with me and I had a blast trying out some of the features that the camera had to offer.

Pic 1: Angkor Wat - Sunrise

Next stop was Bayon. The temple has numerous carved images of the Buddha and is photographers delight. Totally Indiana Jones country.

Pic 2: Bayon
By 10 am I was sweating by the bucket. The humidity must have been like 99%. I went to several other temples. Most of the temple complexes are in a state of ruin and several countries are running restoration projects on several temples.

Another fascinating temple complex is Ta Prom. This temple is famous because the tress surrounding the complex have now grown inside the temple and it is quite a sight to see.

Pic 3 and 4: Ta Prom

The heavens opened up in the afternoon as is the normal case during the monsoon season in Cambodia. The skies cleared up at about 4 PM and gave me a chance to go back to Angkor Wat and click some more photos under better light conditions.

The evening saw me hiking up to a sunset point (Bakheng Hill) , about 2 or 3 kms from Angkor Wat. I was surprised to see at least a thousand people crowded around the temple ruins jostling for a place to see the sunset. Madness! The sunset is not as spectacular as it is on say a beach or other locations but sharing space with hundreds of people across cultures and different lands amidst ruins from a bygone era is pretty special.

Pic 6: The Rush Hour at Bakheng Hill

Pic 7: Sunset at Bakheng Hill

I headed back to town for dinner and settled down for a veggie quiche and choco mousse at The Blue Pumpkin. Pretty good. The default currency for trading in Siem Reap in the US Dollar although you can use the local currency too. I din't come across anyone using it at the restaurants. Mao, my tuk tuk driver suggested that we go to Kbal Spean and Banteay Srey the following day and finih the Grand Tour of Angkor (which is basically a set of temples at the out skirts of Siem Reap.)

Day 2:

We started off at 5 AM and went back to Angkor Wat to see the sunrise as the skies were clearer than the previous day. I spent 25 mins taking more photographs and we then proceeded to Kbal Spean which is located about 45 kms outside Siem Reap. We stopped at Banteay Srey, a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva first. I was completely blown away by the carvings at this temple site. I have never seen such intricate carvings in my life.

Pic 8: Sunrise at Angkor Wat

Pic 9: Banteay Srey

Kbal Spean is located at the Kulan Hills 25 km from the main Angkor group. It is commonly known as the valley of a 1000 Lingas.It consists of a series of stone carvings in and around the Stung Kbal Spean river. There are rock carvings of Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva. It stream is a good 1.5 km climb from the base and takes you about 40 mins to reach. Taking a hand towel is always a good idea and of course lots of water. I highly recommend having coconut water that is available in the small shops at the foot of the hill. They are totally refreshing.

Pic 10: Lingas at Kbal Spean

I then went downstream to a small waterfall which provided me another chance to play around with the EOS 450D. Some of the photos came out very well if I say so myself.

Pic 11: Waterfall at Kbal Spean

I managed to have some breakfast at Kbal Spean (old bread with some cheese..sot be $4!) and we headed back towards Siem Reap. Saw several more temple ruins and somehow I could never get enough of it. I was totally captivated by the place.

Cambodia is still living in a world that we passed a few decades ago. The atrocities of the Khmer Rouge are still visible when you visit the temples. Bands of musicians play peacefully at the entrance of most temples. All of them have been handicapped in one way or the other by the deadly mines that still dot the country side. Poverty is rampant and I could not help but feel an overwhelming sense of sadness and sympathy for the hundreds of children who are forced to sustain their families by selling souvenirs to tourists. The inequalities between the haves and have nots in this world is beyond repair. You can only be humbled and feel grateful for having a life that 80% of the planet cannot afford. Subtle are the ways in which god reminds you of how kind he has been to you.

More information on the temples of Angkor are available on Wikipedia and here

More photographs from my trip are available here.

Other Tips:

For the budget traveler visting Siem Reap, I highly recommend the Golden Mango Inn. A single deluxe room with AC costs $13 a night and the rooms are clean and very well maintained. The service is excellent too.

The bar street at Siem Reap has numerous restaurants catering to all types of cuisine. There are a couple of Indian restaurants too. Slightly pricey though.

International departure tax if $25 is levied when you leave Siem Reap. Only US Dollars are accepted at the airport so make sure you have enough change when you leave.

A tuk-tuk ride on the small circuit (covering Angkor Wat and surroundings) for a day costs about $12. Add $3 if you want to go see the sunrise.

A day trip to Kbal Spean and the grand tour will cost you $25-$30. Water costs about $1 a bottle.

Finally...she's mine!!!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:53:00 +0000

The wait is over....5 excruciatingly painful years...5 years of waiting...watching...looking at her..wishing I could make her mine..5 years of missed opportunities..bad luck..but all that's changed and shes finally mine and whatay beauty she is!!!

Buhuahuahuahahahuahuahuahuahua

Still Here

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:15:00 +0000

Been in Jakarta for the past two weeks and the last 10 days have been spent at the Jakarta Airport supporting an airline that has just gone live with our check-in system. But I don't seem to be doing much other than wandering from counter to counter and then heading into the lounge to check my email, watch TV without understanding a word of what's being said. Having said that the Indonesian people are gentle and good to work with and I've been going out with them for lunch the last 2 days and its been fun.

Wont be able to watch F1 this weekend as I will be on my way back to BLR (Yipeee!). Couldn't watch the Champions League quaters either. Damn! 4-4 Chelsea-Liverpool! Must have been an awesome match. The only consololation now is Bintang beer as I wait for my fried rice (for the nth time on this trip). Can't wait to have some plain rice, curd and pickle when I'm back in India .

My Foray into Web Sports Journalism

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:54:00 +0000

I stumbled upon this very cool Web 2.0 based sports website that allows people to register and then contribute, share opinions etc on all kinds of sports. I did sign-up for an account and also opted to write articles and post reviews on my favorite sports (Cricket, Formula1, Soccer and Tennis). The very first article I posted was on my favorite sportsman, Sachin Tendulkar.

Check it out at http://tinyurl.com/exqys

I wrote up another article too on my favorite F1 driver, Kimi "The Iceman" Raikkonen. Available here

A Hot Summer Morning and Cursed Luck in Blackbuck Country

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 04:38:00 +0000

The lure of photographing the majestic Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) got me off my bed at 4:30 am on Saturday morning when the rest of the city was still lost in its dreams. The ride up-to Maidenahalli Blackbuck Reserve was about 145 kms through Tumkur (National Highway 4) and then a State Highway (via Madhugiri) for about 60 kms. I wasn't expecting too much traffic but as usual Bengaluru threw up a surprise. I was caught in an early morning jam just before turning into NH4. There were about 60 trucks, all fully loaded waiting in front of me. The first thought that struck me was why my favorite magazine The Economist keeps insisting that India's infrastructure is at best pathetic. After 15 mins I managed to make it to the highway towards Tumkur only to be met by a 100 diversions on the road. The first impression anyone would get looking at the construction work going on at NH4 would be a total breakdown on planning, coordination and execution. The Indian in me has just taken off cribbing about everything without doing anything about it so I shall stop.

The NH4 opens to an excellent 4 lane stretch after about 20 or 25 kms after entering the highway. The toll station collects Rs 23 for a one way ride. One takes a right towards Siri just before hitting Tumkur town. Another right after 4 kms into the Siri highway takes you towards Madhugiri which was about 40 kms. The document I carried said that the roads were bad but I was surprised to see that the road was recently tarred and the Swift didn't have too many problems except on couple of minor stretches. I reached the unpaved road that leads into the reserve area at about 8 and was pleasantly surprised to see the landscape. It seemed to be more like an African Savannah. A kilometer into the stretch and I spotted the first herd of Blackbuck. The females grazing and ever watchful while the males were busy fighting each other. I realized into the first shot from the camera that getting a close-up of these magnificent animals would prove to be extremely tough. A little further into the road, a male Blackbuck in all his splendor seemed to be posing for the camera and by the time I could get hold of him in the frame he jumped and ran! It was the closest I would get a fully grown male all day. Sigh!

I managed to catch up with the forest watcher, one Mr. Murthy who was heading home for his breakfast. I was told to call the Ranger at Madhugiri to get permission to photograph and roam around the reserve. I did make the call and Murthy promised to be back after his breakfast which reminded me that I had a cheese sandwiches packed (by dear mom of-course) for breakfast. There are several trails that go into the reserve which one could traverse by car or jeep and I was brave enough to take the swift into these tracks and the experience of driving though jungle track was the only fun part for I never got to spot any herd. I managed to spot a lone male in the plains in front of me and decided to track him on foot and after gingerly stepping through the scrub and grass vegetation I thought I had come close only to find the male realize my presence and bolt! Darn! I walked back to the car and found Murthy waiting for me. We drove to a patch where he had seen a herd a while ago and we began tracking on foot. I spent the next 45 mins tracking a herd, creeping, crawling, hiding or trying to in the midst of the undergrowth to get closer to the guys only to come up short every time. I wasn't too disappointed for I was enjoying the entire exercise. Nature you beauty! The only annoying part was that Murthy kept insisting that my Canon EF 70-300 mm zoom lens was not up-to the task when I told him that I couldn't get a closeup shot! Rub it in dude! I kept saying to myself.

As I mentioned earlier, I was fascinated by the landscape. Here I was, in the middle of the plains of Karnataka, a 700 acre piece of land that looked right out of Africa. I imagine the entire area was once covered with these grasslands before Homo sapiens decided to usurp it from Nature for their greedy (and needy) needs. We wen't off to another location and this time I spent another 15 mins tracking a male only to be denied by this wonderful creature whose sensitive hearing capabilities always gave me away no matter how hard I tried.

I finally said goodbye to Murthy at about 11 and headed back towards Madhugiri. I managed to spot a couple of males on the way and took a few photographs. When I reached the tarred road, I decided to head back to make one last attempt. This time I decided to use a track that would its way into the park just before the main gates. I spotted a huge banyan tree that housed hundreds of Mynas. I spent a few minutes listening to their chattering before heading into the grass and shrubs vegetation to track another herd. This attempt went in vain too and I realized that the heat was draining me completely. I headed back towards the gates and took another track and this time I met a bigger herd of about 15 bucks and I decided to track them on car and this turned out to be a whole lot of fun! I managed to get close to two male bucks that seemed caught in their own world but before I could get a good shot they went behind a few rocks and I missed out getting a nice clean shot. I went in further and managed to snap a few female bucks only to find that I had run out of film. I din't bring extra rolls as I did not expect to shoot more than a roll. Disappointed I was about to turn back when I spotted two males coming towards the car.

Darn! Damn! &*#*!@!#&#(#()#&*#(#(@!$$&&&&!!!!!! Both the males stood about 10 feet away from the car and were posing away and I was using the all the swear words I knew in the dozen or so languages I knew (only the swear words unfortunately) on myself. Damn! Lesson learned - Always carry extra film rolls.

I spent 5 mins watching the males fight using their beautiful antlers to perfection. I turned back promising to come back after the monsoons with more rolls and hoping for better luck!

For those wanting to visit this unique place http://maidenahalli.googlepages.com/issues offers all the information you need. The forest department has almost finished constructing a guest house that will allow people to stay overnight.

I reached the outskirts of Bangalore at 2 pm and it took me an hour and half to reach home thanks to our wonderful politicians who have managed to fuck this once lovely city beyond repair!

Now for the visuals:

Photograph 1: Female Blackbucks
Place: Maidenahalli Blackbuck Reserve

Photograph 2: Adult Male Blackbucks
Place: Maidenahalli Blackbuck Reserve

Photograph 3:Landscape
Place: Maidenahalli Blackbuck Reserve

Photograph 4: Adult Blackbuck (Male)
Place: Maidenahalli Blackbuck Reserve

All Ye Men! Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 10:45:00 +0000

Never thought it was so simple but then again I should have looked more closely at the Blogger dashboard settings!

nilgiritahr.blogspot.com can be reached via www.ganeshraghavan.com! Sweet!

In the Land of Biligiri Rangaswamy

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:32:00 +0000

It's a boring (as usual) Tuesday afternoon at work. Yes, I have to do minutes from the call yesterday but it's a tad too boring. Speaking of boring, the past weekend was anything but boring. We (Mom, Sujeet and Supriya) set off to the K.Gudi Wilderness Camp located in the Biligirirangan Hills, about 250 kms from the claustrophobic confines of namma Bengaluru.

The journey took us a good six hours (we of course made the mandatory stop at Kamat's on the Bangalore-Mysore highway, had the usual Maddur Vada etc etc) and not surprisingly the roads after Chamrajnagar were pretty bad and I have come to expect this from most roads in Karnataka (If I ever have the kind of money Vijay Mallaya has, my first act of philanthropy would be to gift the Government of Karnataka a couple of road rollers).

We reached the gates of the BR Hills Wildlife Sanctuary at about 12. We moved slowly through the 10km section towards K.Gudi in the hope of seeing some wildlife. I was pretty amazed the the type of vegetation that grew in the area. The lower reaches are mainly shrub vegetation but I as we went up the vegetation changed to dry deciduous, grasslands, sholas and then to tropical evergreen at some parts. Truly wonderful and unique. We din't have any luck with wildlife considering the time of the day, but Supriya seemed horrified seeing a snake cross the road (managed to only get its tail). We spotted a couple of drongos, a few white crested kingfisher and the spectacular Paradise Flycatcher (no snaps unfortunately).

We reached K.Gudi at about 1:20 PM and were blown away by the place. There it was, a nice little resort tucked away right int he middle of a wildlife sanctuary. The tented accommodation we opted for was superbly done. The very first statement of bravado I made was to promise everyone that we would come here once a month. (Realizing what I has just said, I dint bring the topic up for the rest of the weekend).

We grabbed some lunch at the camp and needless to say it was good. I had some spasmodic bouts of depression when I saw some of the guys carrying their the digital SLR's and flaunting it. Someday I kept saying to myself (been saying that since the Rupee/$ exchange rate was at 35). The first thing I noticed when we reached the camp was that ominous clouds that hung over and I knew rain was not far away. True to my word, the rain came promptly at 1:30 and lasted an hour and a half. Reminded me so much of the Nilgiris.

We had tea at 4PM and got ready for the evening Safari. Our guide, Mr.Narayanan was a local tribal who is now employed by Jungle Lodges. With the gang of good luck charms I had, I was hoping to get a glimpse of a leopard this trip and the the entire group was hoping for the same. This was only made stronger by the fact that the previous evening the groups had spotted not one but two leopards. I even went to the extent of uttering the Gayathri Mantra before we started off. The photographic equipment that some folks got along was truly amazing (a lot of them had the huge telephoto lenses that I can only get to see on TV when they broadcast cricket matches). One of the jeeps broke down in front of the forest gate and we had to accommodate an extremely talkative gentlemen who would keep throwing random comments for the next 2 hours. But I've learned to live with such folks during a safari and concentrate instead on just admiring the natural beauty of the jungle. My friends on the other hand couldn't tolerate talkative folks (at least it gave us something to bitch about on the way back).

The group in front of us managed to spot a pair of wild dogs (Cuon alpinus- aka Dhol) and this information was communicated to the rest of the party through wireless but by the time we reached the spot, the dhols were long gone. We however managed to spot the elusive Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus) and the regulars (Bisons, Elephants, Spotted Deer, Sambhars etc). We even had a female elephant give the jeep a brief charge which got everyone excited. Enough of text. Time for some visuals.

Photograph 1: Whitethroated Kingfisher
Location: BR Hills

Photograph 2: Bos Gaurus Herd
Location: BR Hills

Photograph 3: Elephas maximus
Location: BR Hills

Photograph 4:Trees at a Water Hole
Location: BR Hills

Photograph 4: Female Gaur (Bison)
Location: BR Hills

I managed to stand up throughout the safari and inhale the fresh air that somehow always carried a strong smell of herbs and eucalyptus . Each breath I drew seemed to have a magical effect that was soothing the mind and I was on my own trip (a very enjoyable one I must say and one that's done me a world of good). The only gripe I had was the sight of a large number of eucalyptus trees that the forest department has planted in the midst of all the other trees. I can never quite understand the purpose of doing this given the fact that blue gum eucalyptus is notorious for sucking the water table dry. Education for the forest department anyone? I also made it a point to tell mom and my friends how lucky they were to spot a sloth bear. Its not often you see one in the jungle and these creatures are known to be very shy. It seemed that they still had their beginners luck going (which Sujeet will vehemently deny and counter argue by saying that they had planned all this all along and strategized etc etc).

We made it back to the camp at 7:30 and were treated to a nice little video on the Indian Wild Dog. The whole thing was shot in the Nilgiris. We headed back to the tents and settled down and had a few pegs of nice Bacardi rum. Sappad followed and we hit the sack at 9:30 and the lights were off. I could hear the grunts of wild boars just outside the tent and the calm was broken at times by the call of a barking deer nearby.

We were ready by 6:15 next morning and were kept waiting for ages by this couple who ambled towards the jeep at 6:40 am (the other groups had already left much to our chagrin). A customary sorry followed and we were off. Unfortunately the safari turned out to be a damp squib for everyone. We only managed to spot the same elephant herd from the previous evening, barking deer, a couple of bisons and the usual spotted deer. Still I managed to take a few good snaps. The one below has managed to some rave (OK I'm going overboard) reviews from friends.

Photograph 5: Early Morning
Location: BR Hills

Photograph 6: Early Morning in the Forest
Location: BR Hills

Photograph 7: Male Barking Deer (Muntjac)
Location: BR Hills

We checked out at 10 making a promise to return soon. We headed towards the Biligiri Rangaswamy temple that was about 20 kms from K.Gudi. Sujeet and I opted to stay in the car and let mom and Supriya go to the temple and we busy appreciating the scenery from the temple when I noticed that the left front tyre had suffered a puncture. We spent the next hour or so trying to replace the tyre and managed to draw hearty giggles and laughs from passers by and with the help of a taxi driver we managed to replace the tyre. Mom and Supriya firmly believed that the puncture was caused by the almighty himself since we did not go and visit him at his abode. I felt a strange sense of guilt of not doing so and quickly made a trip to see the lord who was in all in glory (decked with ornaments and flowers). It was a truly remarkable sight that made me all humble. No one messes with the almighty.

We made the trip back to Mysore through an alternative route and car took a severe beating on the roads (if you can call them that). We reached home at about 6 but my thoughts were still at the abode of the almighty who rules the Biligirirangans.

Still Expensive...

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 06:06:00 +0000

I had this brilliant idea of getting a domain name registered and moving my blog to my own hosted website. The problem seems to be that web hosting charges still see to be expensive especially when it comes to providers giving you space on the their servers. I looked at a couple of these domain registration sites and they seem to charge a bomb for a measly 500 MB space (something like 1500 bucks a year). With the commoditization of hardware, I was hoping that renting disk space on the web would be a tad cheaper. If Im going to use my own hosted website, I would love to put (like everyone else or at least the majority of us) pictures, videos and stuff on the website and I was hoping these guys offer like at least 5 to 10 GB of space. Maybe I'm wrong?

28 hours - 670 kms and a Broken Wheel Rim

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:28:00 +0000

Impressed with the number of posts I seem to be churning out this March? That my friend is partly because I'm pretty jobless and partly because of my renewed enthusiasm for doing something constructive during the weekends.

The weekend was spent road tripping across Talakad (well almost went there but the horrendous road condition prompted me to cut short the trip), Mysore, Bandipur, Mudmalai, Ooty and Lovedale within a span of 28 hours! I got back from Chennai on 6th morning and was all set to hit the road at 2pm with a childhood friend. My car must have been cursing me (if cars can even do that) for I was about to take it on another arduous journey. Its been 8months since I got the thing and its already clocked up 13000 kms.

Halfway towards Mysore, I decided on taking a diversion near Maddur to Talakad, the scene of an ancient temple complex that was buried in the sands on the Cauvery riverbanks before archeologists managed to dig it out. Talakad is about 53 kms from Maddur and it was about 4:30 and we imagined that we could cover the distance and watch the sunset at Talakad. Wah, I was becoming a romantic. Well plans were plans and we were halted about 25 kms before Talakad due to the pathetic condition of the roads. The front and rear suspensions of the car were literally begging for mercy. We stopped by a lake and decided to explore the bird life around the lake and the surrounding fields. I am not an expert on birds but I can guarantee that an ornithologist would have had a blast at this place. There were storks, eagles, pond herons, kingfishers, hornbills and plenty more. The sunset was beautiful and we managed to take a couple of good photos.

Photograph 1: Buffalo Lazing Around in the Water
Location: Lake near Talakad

Photograph 2: Watch the Birdie!
Location: Lake near Talakad

Photograph 3: Whatay Sunset!
Location: Lake near Talakad

Photograph 4: Reflections
Location: Lake near Talakad

We headed back towards Maddur after sunset only to find ourselves in New York! Hard to believe? Well that's what the milestone said:

We reached Mysore at about 8 and checked-in to the Ginger Hotel (www.gingerhotels.com). I'd highly recommend this place to anyone who wants to stop over at Mysore. The rooms are neat and comfortable and the price tag isn't too high (1700 for 2 persons per night all taxes inclusive). A chilled beer and dinner later, we hit the sack. We left for Bandipur at 4:30 am and the roads were pretty good till Gundlupet (Watch out for those unmarked speed breakers. They are chassis killers I tell you!). The stretch of road from Gundlupet to the entrance of Bandipur is horrendous to say the least (for about 12kms or so). You'd think you've been space lifted to the moon!. Wonder why Karnataka roads are so damn bad! Yeddy's gotta have a look at this road to beleive it. We reached the Bandipur Forest Department office at 6 am and had to wait for an hour or so before we could get on the safari bus. The forest guards warned us that there was very little wildlife to be spotted and that we ought to take the Rs90 safari by bus and not use the Jeep (Rs 400 per head).

The safari true to the guards words, wasn't spectacular. Large stretches of the jungle seemed to have fallen prey to the forest fires and all we saw were a couple of kingfishers, wild boar, chital (plenty of them), a male and female sambhar and a peacock. So much for all the excitement!

Photograph 1: Black Faced Monkey
Location:Bandipur

Photograph 2: Early Morning (Fanghorn forest anyone?)
Location:Bandipur

Next up was a drive through Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (the roads are ofcourse so muhc better once you cross over to Tamil Nadu (Tamilian pride? No sireee, just stating the facts)), to Ooty via the Sigur Ghat. I had traveled by this ghat road just once (when I was in 9th standard) and its an absolute thrill to drive. Forest on both sides, a good road with 36 hair pin bends. Breathing the fresh air of the Nilgiris was thrilling as always and as nostalgic too. We reached Ooty at about 10 and went around town buying those lovely home made chocolates, having fresh bun and butter at National Bakery (I'm glad that I am beginning to enjoy these small yet immensely pleasurable delights that brings be back to my childhood in the Nilgiris) etc. We decided to go to Lovedale and have a look at the school but all we could see was the Lovedale station. We were denied permission to enter the school because the frigging asshole of the Deputy Headmaster thought we would disturb the boys and girls who were preparing for their examinations. What a son of a bitch! I met Mr. Mani, my old Tamil teacher from school after almost 14 years and he hasn't changed one bit! (There a touch of gray hair here and there, the belly is gone but other than than the man hasn't aged a bit!). Disappointed, we left Lovedale cursing the DHM. We stopped by a one of my favorite places in Lovedale, Granduff Road and took some photos of the Ketty Valley. Floriculture seems to have taken off big time in the Nilgiris.

Photograph 1: At Lovedale Station
Location: Lovedale

Photograph 2: At Granduff Road overlooking the Ketti Valley
Location: Lovedale

We headed back towards Mysore at about 11:15 and on the way gave a life to a forest guard (who's number I stored) who apparently works at Vazhaithoppu (Banana Grove). This place was made famous by Kenneth Anderson who shot a man eating tiger here 30 or 40 years ago. I should probably plan on a trip here some day. On the way back we did spot a herd of 5 female elephants trying to salvage some food.

Photograph 1: Elephants
Location: Near Mavanhalla

We reached Mysore at about 1:15 and broke journey for an hour to have our lunch. I asked Shibu to take over the wheels till we reached Bangalore. The journey was uneventful till after Maddur when our man fell asleep on the wheel of the car for a second and luckily we only lost the wheel cap to the divider. There was silence for the rest of the way. We stopped over for a quick cuppa chai and reached Bangalore at about 7. The odo read 650 kms. Whatay weekend!

Lapakshi - Feb 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:35:00 +0000

I'll probably remember this trip for 2 reasons. Firstly I did not have a clue as to where Lepakshi was and ended up going half the way to Kolar before realizing that I was in a totally different direction and ended up biking an extra 2 hours before getting there. Secondly, when I found out that there were no places to have food. I had to make do with a packet of Good Day. The architecture at Lepakshi is outstanding and remains one of the few places where once can marvel at architecture from the Viajayanagra empire. Lepakshi is a small village located in the Anantapur District, in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is 15 km east of Hindupur and about 120 km north of Bangalore.

Here we go with the snaps

Photograph 1: Temple Corridor
Location: Lepakshi
Date: Feb 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300, ISO 200, Canon EF 28-85mm Lens

Photograph 2: Nandhi (Lord Shivas Vehicle)
Location: Lepakshi
Date: Feb 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300, ISO 200, Canon EF 28-85mm Lens

Photograph 3: Carving on a pillar (Closeup)
Location: Lepakshi
Date: Feb 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300, ISO 200, Canon EF 28-85mm Lens

Photograph 4: Pillar in the main temple hall (Closeup)
Location: Lepakshi
Date: Feb 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300, ISO 200, Canon EF 28-85mm Lens

Photograph 5: Main Temple Complex
Location: Lepakshi
Date: Feb 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300, ISO 200, Canon EF 28-85mm Lens

Photograph 6: Lord Shiva (depicted as a Lingam)
Location: Lepakshi
Date: Feb 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300, ISO 200, Canon EF 28-85mm Lens

Photograph 7: Lord Ganesha
Location: Lepakshi
Date: Feb 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300, ISO 200, Canon EF 28-85mm Lens

Photograph 8: Mandapa Ruins
Location: Lepakshi
Date: Feb 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300, ISO 200, Canon EF 28-85mm Lens

Western Catchment - October 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:26:00 +0000

Next set of photographs from my trip to Western Catchment in early October (2008). I had heard a lot about the place but this was the first time I got to go but only after some major sqabbling with the forest guard (courtesy my friend Balvinder). But in the end it was all worth it.

Photograph 1: Pugmark of a Tigress
Location: Western Catchment,Nilgiris
Date: October 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300, ISO 200, Canon EF 28-85 Lens

Photograph 2: Porthmund Dam and Lake as seen from Western Catchment
Location: Western Catchment,Nilgiris
Date: October 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300, ISO 200, Canon EF 28-85 Lens

Photograph 3:Another shot of Porthmund
Location: Western Catchment,Nilgiris
Date: October 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300, ISO 200, Canon EF 28-85 Lens

Photograph 4: Shola Grasslands
Location: Western Catchment,Nilgiris
Date: October 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300, ISO 200, Canon EF 28-85 Lens

Photograph 5: Nilgiri Langur Silhouette
Location: Western Catchment,Nilgiris
Date: October 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300, ISO 200, Canon EF 70-300mm Lens

Photograph 6: Another Shot of the Shola Grasslands
Location: Western Catchment,Nilgiris
Date: October 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300, ISO 200, Canon EF 28-85 Lens

Photograph 7: Shola Tree
Location: Western Catchment,Nilgiris
Date: October 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300, ISO 200, Canon EF 28-85 Lens

Photograph 8: Indian White Eye
Location: Western Catchment,Nilgiris
Date: October 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300, ISO 200, Canon EF 70-300 Lens

Enchanting Nilgiris - Trip to Pandiar

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 06:02:00 +0000

I was down in the dumps in October when I decided to take up my friends offer to visit him at Kotagiri in the Nilgiris. I realized that I hadn't been to Ooty in almost 8 years! The next couple of days were unforgettable. Not only did I experience the amazing splendor of the Western Ghats but the trip helped me reconnect with my passion for nature/wildlife.

Photograph 1: On the way to Pandiar
Date: October 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300 ISO200 Canon EF Zoom: 28-85mm

Photograph 2: Nilgiri Langur (Trachypithecus johnii)
Location: Pandiar
Date: October 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300 ISO200 Canon EF Zoom: 28-85mm

Photograph 3: Pandiar Landscape
Location: Pandiar
Date: October 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300 ISO200 Canon EF Zoom: 28-85mm

Photograph 4: Nilgiri Peak ( (height: 2,474 metres (8,117 ft))
Location: Pandiar
Date: October 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300 ISO200 Canon EF Zoom: 28-85mm

Photograph 5: Mukurti Peak/Ridge View from Pandiar (height: 2,554 metres (8,379 ft))
Location: Pandiar
Date: October 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300 ISO200 Canon EF Zoom: 70-300mm

Photograph 6: Silent Valley from Pandiar
Location: Pandiar
Date: October 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300 ISO200 Canon EF Zoom: 28-85 mm

Photograph 7: Herd of Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius)
Location: Pandiar
Date: October 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300 ISO200 Canon EF Zoom: 70-300mm

Photograph 8: Close-Up of Nilgiri Peak
Location: Pandiar
Date: October 2008
Equipment: Canon EOS 300 ISO200 Canon EF Zoom: 70-300mm

Wildlife/Nature Spotting at Bheemeshwari - March 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:44:00 +0000

Just noticed that I hadn't put up pictures from my trip to Bheemeshwari and Mekedatu in early 2008. I'd remember the trip for the fact that it gave me my first opportunity to photograph wild elephants. Of course I had seen them several times in the past but never had a camera to shoot these majestic creatures.

Photograph 1: Young Adult Tusker
Location: Bheemeshwari
Date: March 2008
Camera: Canon EOS 300 ISO 200 70-300mm Canon EF Zoom Lens

Photograph 2: Female Elephant with Calf
Location: Bheemeshwari
Date: March 2008
Camera: Canon EOS 300 ISO 200 70-300mm Canon EF Zoom Lens

Photograph 3: Sunrise
Location: Kanakapura-Bheemeshwari Road
Date: March 2008
Camera: Canon EOS 300 ISO 200 28-85mm Canon EF Zoom Lens

Photograph 4: The Cauvery In All Her Splendor
Location: Bheemeshwari
Date: March 2008
Camera: Canon EOS 300 ISO 200 28-85mm Canon EF Zoom Lens

Photograph 5: The Cauvery At Mekedatu
Location: Mekedatu
Date: March 2008
Camera: Canon EOS 300 ISO 200 28-85mm Canon EF Zoom Lens

After 12 Long Years!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 09:46:00 +0000

Whatay weekend! The image is frozen in my mind and will probably stay with me for a long long time. It was about 7:40 AM on a misty morning at Nagarhole National Park (now called Rajiv Gandhi National Park) and there she was..an adult tigress lurking in the undergrowth about 50 or 60 feet away from the bus.

I saw her beauty for all of 3 or 4 seconds (before the other idiots in the bus started yelling and clapping causing her to retreat further into the bushes and disappear) but it was a wait that I had endured for 10 or 12 years..to see a tiger in the wild.

Apart from that the trip was a totally enjoyable one. Mom, Sujeet and Supriya (friends) were all on their first ever wildlife escapade and they got to see a tiger. What luck I say!

Spotted a lot of Elephants, spotted deer, barking deer, Sambhar, Bisons etc. All in all a fantastic trip. My heart is really in the forest and I keep thinking (albeit never seriously) if I should be in a different profession.

For anyone who wants to visit Nagarhole, I highly recommend a stay at the Jungle Inn (www.jungleinnnagarhole.com). Room rates vary from 1800 Rs to 2000 Rs per person per night (inclusive of meals). A wildlife safari into Waynad (the Kerala side of the sanctuary) will cost you Rs 600 per person. Jungle Inn does not take you for a safari ride into Nagarhole as they do not have a contract with the Karnataka Forest Department which apparently asked for a sum of Rs 9 Lakh per year to renew the contract. (At least that's the story the Jungle Inn owner told me). The Karnataka Forest Department conducts its own safari and a very affordable Rs 98 or so per person and has safaris at 7am,8am,9am,3pm,4pm and 5pm everyday. You will need to take your vehicle into Nagarhole park to the visitor center and will then have to board a mini bus (with about 20 other people) that takes you for a one hour ride inside the jungle. (BTW we saw the tiger on such a safari after expecting to see nothing at all when we boarded..Lady luck sure has her own strange ways).

Enough of text..now for the action:

Snap 1: A female Elephant (Elephas maximus)
Location: Waynad
Date: 28 Feb 2009
Camera: Canon EOS300 ISO 200 film
Lens: Canon EOS EF - 70-300 mm

Snap 2: Early Morning Mist Through the Trees
Location: Nagarhole
Date: 1 Mar 2009
Camera: Canon EOS300 ISO 200 film
Lens: Canon EOS EF - 70-300 mm

Snap 3: Female Muntjac a.k.a Barking Deer (Muntiacus reevesi)
Location: Nagarhole
Date: 1 Mar 2009
Camera: Canon EOS300 ISO 200 film
Lens: Canon EOS EF - 70-300 mm

Snap 4: Young Male Tusker (Elephas maximus)
Location: Waynad
Date: 28 Feb 2009
Camera: Canon EOS300 ISO 200 film
Lens: Canon EOS EF - 70-300 mm

Snap 5: Spider Web
Location: Nagarhole
Date:1 Mar 2009
Camera: Canon EOS300 ISO 200 film
Lens: Canon EOS EF - 70-300 mm

Snap 6: Spotted Deer (Cervus (Axis)axis)
Location: Nagarhole
Date:1 Mar 2009
Camera: Canon EOS300 ISO 200 film
Lens: Canon EOS EF - 70-300 mm

Snap 7: Enchanted Forest
Location: Nagarhole
Date:1 Mar 2009
Camera: Canon EOS300 ISO 200 film
Lens: Canon EOS EF - 70-300 mm

Snap 8: Adult Male Bison (Bos gaurus)
Location: Nagarhole
Date:28 Feb 2009
Camera: Canon EOS300 ISO 200 film
Lens: Canon EOS EF - 70-300 mm

Valparai Visit - Dec 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Ganesh) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 08:44:00 +0000

I won't go into the gory details on why 2008 was and probably will (be barring a total annihilation of the planet by a meteor or WWIII or the act of some weird ass terrorist who decides to nuke Bangalore) be the worst year of my life! Too many tragedies but life still moves on. I am so fascinated by Homo sapien sapiens response to traumatic and life changing events and the species' ability to carry on with life! That topic is perhaps for another post.

December was the best part of 2008 and I got to spend a couple of relaxing days at Valparai and the expense of my dear friend and wonderful host Mr. Ashok Pandey. If anyone has ever tried to follow this blog (99.999999999999999999999% that this is highly unlikely) he/she will know how lazy I can be (average of say 5 postings a year!) so I'll let the pictures paint a thousand words!

Picture 1:The Elusive Lion Tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus)

We spent 2 days looking out for these guys and one day Aditya and me decided to give one last chance and what did we see? A group of 20 LTM's! For those who dont know these guys number only about 2000 and are found only in the Western Ghats

More Info: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion-tailed_Macaque

Date Captured: December (err dont know when)
Camera: Canon EOS 300 (ISO 200 Film, Auto Exposure, 28-85mm Canon EF Lens)

Picture 2: Sunlight Streaming Through the Shola Forest Canopy

This was an awesome shot of the jungle in all its glory (minus the asphalted road that was running in-between). This is the road from Valparai to Athirapally Falls in Kerala. Awesome (and tiresome!) drive

Date: December 2008
Camera: Canon EOS 300 (ISO 200 on Auto Mode, Canon EF 28-85mm Lens)

Picture 3: I say Whattay Place!

The Tamil Nadu Forest Departments shed at Konalar on the Eravikulam/Grass Hills Range and 10 kms from the nearest human being.

Date: December 25, 2008
Camera: Canon EOS 300 (ISO 200 on Auto Mode, Canon EF 28-85mm Lens)

Picture 4: Bos gaurus Alert!

Here were were walking around the tea estate when I suddenly see a family of 5 bisons happily chewing away at the vegetation about 5 feet to my left!

Date: December 24, 2008
Camera: Canon EOS 300 (ISO 200 on Auto Mode, Canon EF 70-300mm Lens)

Picture 5: Tahrs Ahoy!

A herd of Nilgiri Tahr at Grass Hills (Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary), Valparai in the way to Konalar Hut. Taken at about 8 am in the morning. I can't stop admiring these creatures. Seeing them tip toe across cliffs and see the speed with which they can climb in such a treacherous terrain is indeed inspiring!

Date: December 25, 2008
Camera: Canon EOS 300 (ISO 200 on Auto Mode, Canon EF 70-300mm Lens)

Picture 6: Grass Hills

The pic says it all!

Date: December 25, 2008
Camera: Canon EOS 300 (ISO 200 on Auto Mode, Canon EF 28-85mm Lens)

Picture 7 Sambhar

Saw this beautiful female Sambhar (Cervus unicolor) standing on the road to Manampally (Valparai again) power station and we were lucky to see her since the road is not open to the public. But thanks to Mr. Pandey we could get permission to see the place.

Date: December 24, 2008
Camera: Canon EOS 300 (ISO 200 on Auto Mode, Canon EF 28-85mm Lens)

More snaps in the next post (otherwise I probably will not post for another year!)