SImply Siddhartha

Rendezvous with Bhigwan

2011-12-10T15:41:00.001+05:30

The advent of earlymorning chill not only signifies the arrival of winter in Pune but also invokesexcitement in the hearts of the avid bird watchers making them jump about likea thoroughbred, champing at its bit. Backwaters of Ujani Dam near Bhigwan, asmall dusty town near Pune on Solapur highway, start fluttering with hundredsof Migratory birds and water fowls. With many species of resident and migratorybirds species visiting this place for feeding, resting and roosting fills morecolours in to the surf blue backwaters makes this place a must visit for allbirding enthusiasts.

Bhigwan can also betermed as “The Bharatpur of Maharashtra”, and just a visit to the place tellsyou the reason behind it.

Vast blue wet land interspersed alongwith green and not so green grass meadows which provide an ideal nesting andmating places for birds. The backwaters have an abundance of fish, and insectswhich is the basic diet of these birds.

A major factorcontributing to making Ujani dam backwaters a preferred destination formigratory birds is the fact that the water in Ujani dam is much shallow ascompared to other dams. This makes fishing easier for the birds.

December announcesthe arrival of migratory birds such as, Rudy Shellduck, Flamingoes (Greater andlesser), Gulls, terns and many more to the magical, blue backwaters of UjaniDam. Amongst the resident birds one can find Indian Roller, Common Hoopoe,Drongo, Kingfisher, Munia, Peasant tailed and bronze tailed Jacana, Woolynecked storks, Brahminy Kite and Red Adavat.

Common Hoopoe

Indian Roller

There are two major spots for getting on to theboats for bird watching namely Diksal and Kumbharwadi. We never had any ideaabout both of them so while having our cuppa chai at Bhigwan we enquired localsabout places for bird watching and they guided us to Dhiksal section of backwaters. After enquiring in Dhiksal from a few boat men for a trip in backwaters and observing that they were either too disinterested or were tryinghard to come out of there last night’s hangover, we decided to approach a ladyin her early 50’s to take us for bird watching on her boat. She agreed andasked Rs.500 for the trip as she said the main attraction, the lesserflamingoes, would be on the other end of the lake and considering the hot andsunny weather, rowing the boat was an ardous task. We agreed to her offer andgot onto the boat with mixed feelings filled with both apprehension about theboat journey and also excitement at the probable flamingo sightings.

Pond Heron

Purple Heron

Just a few strokes of the paddle in thewater and it gradually became clear as to why Bhigwan is considered as paradiseof water birds in Maharashtra. From Purple heron standing patiently in the water to catch its meal, toterns and gulls taking acrobatic sorties across the skies and over the water tocatch dragonflies and other insects, we were getting glimpses of this paradiseslowly yet steadily. As we were approaching the river bank with we suddenlyspotted a group of flamingoes on the other extreme of the green Island.

As we excitedly approached the flamingos,the boat lady warned us not to make any sudden movements and to remainabsolutely silent, since these birds are highly sensitive to human presence..As our boat touched the green island we put our feet on the green grass. Werealized that the grass was merely on the surface beneath it was all wet mudwhich made walking with shoes almost impossible without having to grab at eachother for support. The natural alertness of the birds meant that we had toapproach them in a crouched position with stealth and patience, making surethat at our every step we took at least three to four good shots of flamingos.Our patience and stealth paid us good dividends as we were able to get quite afew good shots of the Flamingos.

Lesser Flamingos

Also on this island we found a sparrowlark wandering around his nest, As we came closer to the lark it startedbecoming nervous about the eggs inside its nest on the ground. As we advancedfurther we got another surprise by way of an Oriental Panticole a rare birdwhich was making its nest on the ground.

As we went towards the other side of the islandwe were lucky enough to have a glimpse of the Eurasian spoonbill. Thespoonbills were ready to mate as it was evident by the yellow coloured tip ontheir beak.

Oriental Panticol

Eurasian Spoonbill

Sparrow Lark

The back waters of Ujani dam near Bhigwanpresents an excellent environment for birds to breed and grow and tophotographers like us it presents an opportunity to have a close rendezvouswith nature. Bhigwan visit is a must for all bird watchers and nature lovers.Go explore it!

Jim Corbett….A Wild Heaven…

2011-11-11T22:11:00.001+05:30

Jim Corbett….A Wild Heaven…

Firstof all I apologize to all the blog readers for not updating the blog for such along time. The time which has gone by between my Odisha trip and Jim Corbettwas a transition phase for me in all the senses. I was going to tie maritalknot in January with my long time friend Priyanka, I was happy for that but onthe other hand I had resigned from my job in HDFC Bank and was about to leave oneof the best boss, who happens to be a true mentor, friend and a great human being Animesh boss. Also I would be moving away from my belovedtown of Kolhapur. It was a period of mixed emotions for me. It’s not that Ihave stopped going in to wild, but for some reason or other failed to updatethe blog.

UsuallyI live my life only on weekends or holidays, but during this period I wasenjoying even in weekdays, being with family, wild and along with that copingup with all these transitions...

JimCorbett could really have been a tricky trip as we had no clue about the place,but thanks to an old time friend of my wife Mr. Rajesh Panwar, who happens torun an NGO in rural tourism around Jim Corbett I was not that worried. I knewRajesh through my wife as he also happens to be a wildlife enthusiast and photographerand that to a brilliant one and a keen bird watcher. It took just a few phone calls between us tobe friends.

Weopted to stay in Corbett village itself as it’s a place which has name ofhunter turned conservationist legendary Jim Corbett all over it. And trust meit was not at all a bad choice. In January the place was freezing cold, butthanks to the warmth provided by the Mohan and his wife who work in Rajesh’steam, it was giving us a cozy feeling. We reached the Corbett village in noonand post having our lunch, decided to give our backs a bit of rest. During thelunch with Rajesh it was decided that we will go for a small trek and birdwatching tour in the evening along with him. We left the resort at around 4 PMfor bird watching tour and initial sightings to go by I knew this promised tobe a thrilling trip. Just a few steps in to the trek we watched Jungle Owletsitting over a barren tree bark. The Owlet gave us some patient shots. But themain attraction of this trip was to get a few glimpses of endangered Vultures.Rajesh informed us that they have been feasting on a buffalo carcass for lasttwo days on the banks of river. We could see them flying in the sky and withthe silhouette formed in the sky we could confirm that these are vultures only.A walk few more meters in the forest we came across a vulture couple sitting ona tree, but the distance was too much to get a good shot. We continued our walktowards the carcass, and as soon as we reached there the alert vultures startedflying away and thanks to this I got some amazing clicks. A few more cautiousand silent steps towards the river bed gave me sighting of a juvenile vulturesitting still. Vulture sighting now days is as rare as a tiger sighting. Theselarge scavengers are getting extinct at a very rapid pace. With rapidurbanization, irresponsible disposal of waste and high usage of fertilizers,insecticides are resulting in to extinction of these scavengers. From anestimated population of 40 Million vultures in 1980’s to a few 60,000 in 2006,the drop in population has been the fastest in natural history. Vultures arenatures own waste disposal machines and ensure that the dead bodies do not kepton rotting the environment.

Jungle Owlet

Long billed Vulture

Long billed Vulture- Flight

Thenwe went to another bird watching trail, this time deeper in to forest andRajesh told us that, the patch we were going in to is frequented by tigers andSloth beers. As we went for the Dhikalatrail the beauty of Jim Corbett’s forest kept on unfolding itself. From Storkbilled Kingfisher to White Capped red start, many birds kept on coming andgoing. From the pink breasted Parakeets sitting on Sandal wood trees to theforest treppie. The time just flew by and we realized that its sun set time andan alarm bell for us to leave the forest as for past 2 days there was a newsdoing rounds that a man eater tiger is on the prowl in the area. Also we had booked Jungle safari for theentire day starting from the early morning next day.

White Wagtail

Alexanderine Parakeet

Pied Wagtail

Long tailed Shrike

Brown Headed Barbet

Rufous Treppie (Indian Treppie)

Afteran authentic Kumaouni dinner prepared at the resort it was time for us to sleepand ensure that we get up early in the morning. In the morning we left theCorbett village at 5 AM in the morning and even on the way to park we could seeglittering eyes in the forest around the highway and this made my convictionmore strong that this a wildlife sanctuary containing serious wildlife.

Aftergetting the routine formalities for entering the Park we were ready go insidethe park. Vasant was the assigned guidefor us through the Park. Also a bad news of tiger been shot by the local policegreeted us at the entrance of the gate. The tiger was shot without consultingwildlife officials and not even being sure that the tiger they were shooting isa man eater or not?

Itwas still dim sun light in the park and temperature was freezing cold inside.It was so cold that even with multiple woolen wear we could feel the pinch ofcold to our bones. As soon as we entered the park just few meters of driveinside the park and we were greeted with first the hunt of the night lying onthe way. It was a mature Male spotted dear. Looking at the wounds of thecarcass our guide Vasant informed us that it might have been killed by wolvesbut a leopard won over the hunt from the wolves and started eating it. This wasconcluded as the flesh was torn out of back part of the dear.

Kill in the Night

Itwas just a first few minutes in to the park and sunlight started increasing andcreating magical scenes with the landscapes and meadows of the park.

Morning Landscapes

Afew more meters and a giant Sambhar Deer fully grown with gorgeous display ofHorns greeted us on the banks of a dried river bed filled with moon whitecoloured with rock pebbles and rolling stones. Such was the contrast that itcreated a wonderful setting for a tremendous photograph.

Male Sambhar Deer

Justa few meters ahead as our Guide was putting pressure on him for showing us theglimpse of the main attraction of the park “Royal Bengal Tiger”, I observed acrested Hawk eagle sitting pretty on the perch of a tree and combing its wings. Early in the morning most of the mammals weremoving through the park trails to identify warm and sunny spots for them. Agroup of wild boars crossed the park with young ones occupying the centralpositions and adults occupying the extreme positions. It was just a few minutesin to the park and we were getting our answers of why Jim Corbett national parkstands tall amongst wildlife conservation success stories in India. What is the reason that it is amongst the veryfew tiger reserves which has increased its tiger population over last year andis now having over capacitated population of tigers. From landscapes containing meadows to talland old Sal trees, healthy dense population of herbivores like Cheetal,Sambhar, Spotted Dears, Barking dears, wild boars, no human intervention, nofreewheeling cattle/human movement inside the park. It’s a wildlife which isallowed to be growing up in a wild manner. Just a minor critique that I canmake on park management is that there is too much pressure on “Tiger Sighting” onguides and that directly puts pressure on tigers and their natural instincts.There are so many birds in the sanctuary which almost go unnoticed in the searchof much hyped tiger sighting. Concentrated efforts are taken by people likeRajesh Panwar and his team is doing their bit in direction of highlightingother colours of Jim Corbett as well. There are so many birds in and aroundpark that are worth exploring more than just waiting for tigers are at fewpoints.

Hawk Eagle

Male Spotted Deer

Male Wild Boar

Aftersome time in to the park a noise of “Cowoo…”, made the Vasant’s head turnaround and immediately he asked our driver to turn the jeep and head it towardsuphill. We crossed a small meadow and entered in to a small gorge like area.There we spotted a group of spotted dear with tail and ears in alert position.Vasant asked us to be dead silent as he was expecting tiger to be around as itwas an alarm call by a spotted dear. We waited these for around 10 minutes andthen moved ahead as there was no further activity and the group of dears startedcoming back to normalcy.

Tiger Pug Mark

Alert Spotted Deers by Tiger call

Evenafter our efforts in the first half we could only come across fresh pug marksof a male tiger and a few alarms calls by spotted dear which were near ourterritory. But the first half was full of Mammal sightings across the park.Also we got glimpse of Stripped woodpeckers, Crested and Himalayan bulbulsinside the park.

Himalayan Bulbul

Crested Bulbul

Short Legged Serpent Eagle

Woolly Necked Storks

Zitting Cisticola

Afteran exorbitantly costly yet an ordinary lunch inside the park we were ready forour second session inside the park. Our guide was still determined to show ussight of his majesty RBT, but we had to satisfy ourselves to the legends oftigers of Jim Corbett narrated by Vasant rather than the tiger itself. Secondhalf had more birds in store for us from wooly necked storks to Short toedserpent eagle. Second sessions was more of and wait and watch session ratherthan an exploration in to the wild. Guides passing by each other kept on exchanginginformation from each other on their interpretations of tiger locations andmovements. Slowly yet steadily a day inLegendary Jim Corbett was going by us, but we were not disappointed by withouta tiger sighting but for me it’s a process of going in to nature and learningso much each and every time.

Longlive Jim Corbett….

Roads Across Odisha-4

2011-05-11T22:27:00.002+05:30

Roads Across Odisha-4

Mangalajodi Bird Sanctuary

It was again an early morning start, and as always we had to be precise with our timings as it was also my last day at Odisha and I had to catch a train from a station nearby Chilka. We were scheduled to leave for Mangalajodi bird sanctuary situated in the Chilka waters. The Mangalajodi wetland (10 sq. km.) is a freshwater swamp to the northeast of Chilika Lake. Mangalajodi is home to over 3, 00,000 water birds of around 200 different species, both resident as well as migratory. Mangalajodi happens to be scheduled wetland of international importance under the Ramsar convention as well.

Pair of Bramhiny Shell Ducks

Little Cormorant

It was time for us to face our first instance of uncertainty, in what I should call a meticulously planned journey. Our driver for the first two trips had committed to us to be in front of the hotel at 6 o clock, but didn’t turn up. Also efforts to reach out to him on his mobile were futile. Thanks to a courteous hotel staff, an alternative cab was arranged for within half an hour and I and Satya left for our destination.

We had absolute no information on how to explore the waters of Mangalajodi, the geography and species as both of us were weak at recognizing water birds. A hoopoe greeted us on the banks of the back waters along with wagtails. But still we had no idea how to venture in to sanctuary. Nearby the banks were 2 men working on their boats and Satya ventured ahead to ask them regarding way to exploring the sanctuary. The person informed him that we had to get the receipt of the payment at the welcome counter of Mangalajodi, we informed him that it was close. After a short deliberation the person in blue shirt nodded and said that you can pay the money later and he will take us around. We looked at each other, no one in the sight till farthest of the points and to trust on someone like that and to go with him in back waters was a great risk, but somehow our instincts came in and we decided to board their boat.

We were not expecting much out of this trip while boarding the boat, but as soon as the boat went off, the boat man pulled out the bible of ornithology in India “Birds of Indian Subcontinent”, by R Grimmett, C Inskipp we were just spell bound. A person who hardly looks like literate person is referring to a book on birds?? Meet Madhu Behra, the eco guide and a proud conservator and member of Wild Orrisa. Wild Orrisa is the behind the scene catalyst for converting a tribe of Bird poachers in to avid bird watchers and die hard conversationalist.

Living Legend- Madhu Behra

Madhu Behera is true representation of modern day Valmiki, from being a poacher himself till mid 90’s when there were even less than a few thousand birds remaining in Mangalajodi area to making it a tremendous success story to make the latest bird census above 3 Lacs. Madhu bhai has been instrumental in conserving the birds of Mangalajodi. His own income had dropped from around Rs. 2,000 a day to around Rs. 2,000 a month. His life had changed and today protecting the birds seemed to be all that mattered to him.

With very few tourists coming to Mangalajodi made us ask him a question that how long can he and his family sustain such low income levels, and with so low levels of income why would he not go back to hunting? Madhu bhai smiled for a while and said “Ab to bird watching ka hi nasha hai, ab job hi ho bird watching hi pasand hai” (Now I like bird watching and no matter what happens he will not go back to poaching , but will continue bird watching only). And as we were just about to get emotional with this statement byMadhu bhai, Madhu bhai with all his excitement said “Black winged Stilt”. From “black headed Munia” to “blue throat bee eaters”, the names were flowing so smoothly out of his mouth that we felt that we were in company of a biologist. He was aware of breeding habits, eating preferences, migratory path of the birds… every thing that one needs to know about birds and was not even a high school pass out. Even some of the so called “bird experts” will run for their money in front of Madhu bhai’s knowledge. With all the knowledge about birds, Madhu Bhai comes to you with humility and openness to share his knowledge. Madhu bhai is not only an example of a conservation success story but also signifies where our education system has failed so miserably? Yes I am referring to the application part of education.

Pair of Black Winged Stilt

A Bronzed Tailed Jacana

A Purple Moorhen

As our boat rowed along the swamps we came across pacific golden plover, herds of Bramhiny Shell ducks, Bronzed tailed jacana, Non-breeding Pheasant tail jacana, purple moorhen, Terns, Weaver birds, Painted storks, Eurasian spoon billed…It was like watching a wild life film on water birds. On every stroke of the rower something new was coming in front of us.

Whiskered Tern

A Streaked Weaver

Large Egret

Black Headed Munia

Pacific Golden Plover

While on the boat we had breakfast of sweet bread and Banana along with Madhu Bhai and his cousin who was rowing the boat.

Just the time we were having our bread, some noises started to come from the grass lands and herds of small birds started flocking in the air all of a sudden and Madhu bhai made us point above, it was a Shikara on hunt in the skies, and the birds were alerting each other from the predator.

Eurasian Spoon Bill

A Grey lapwing

While being with Madhu Bhai, many questions started coming to my mind, why forest officials are getting paid if they cannot protect the resources for which they are getting paid? Why academic and other qualifications like proximity to bureaucrats are more required then the on field knowledge of wild life? Why our government does require NGOs to apply common sense and bring change in the society? The questions are enormous and I am quite sure that answers to these questions will snatch many IFS officers of their jobs and colonial bungalows where they stay with all the royal amenities.

Roads Across Odisha-3

2011-05-02T23:10:00.002+05:30

Roads Across Odisha-3

The Kuldhia Experience:

Dedication:

I dedicate all my travels till date to comrade late Dr. Kamla Prasad, whom I have affectionately call “Tauji” , whose spirit to travel has always somehow inspired me to reach out and explore the world around me. I also use to call him modern day “Rahul Sankrutyayan”, on 25th of March 2011, he lost his battle with cancer and his spirit became free to travel anywhere without limitations of this world. I will always remember the shear energy that he used to inject in his conversations with his shear presence and words. Tauji will always live in memories of everyone around him.

The Kuldhia wildlife Experience:

After coming back from Kunwaria wildlife sanctuary we took a good nap in Bhubaneswar, as we had to catch Jan Shatabdi express to Balasore early in the morning to reach to Kuldhia wildlife sanctuary, Balasore seems to be another Indian town stuck up in between its Indian name and it’s British Name. It was named Baleshwar in the older times, but British changed it to Balasore. I believe whatever be the name of the town in future; the taste of the Bada chaps near the railway station should remain same forever (the prize as well).

Kuldhia is famous for its Elephants, and I till now never had an experience of coming face to face with wild elephant and I was thrilled and excited with just a thought of it.

The Kuldhia plays a vital cog in the wheel for elephant corridor in eastern India. It is connected with Simplipal and Mayubhanj forest range and serves as a transition point for wandering herds of wild elephants. Kuldhia also boasts of around 300 native elephants, apart from the wandering population.

With expressways coming up in Odisha to give way for faster logistics, the elephant corridors and with them the Elephants are getting lost every day and the electrification of the forest boundaries, resulting in electrocution of elephants and young calves adding to the miseries of the giant pachyderms. And its not only the gentle giants who are getting agitated by all this, the humans are also at receiving end. When we reached the small town of Nilgiri to seek permission for entering the Kuldhia wild life sanctuary, the mood in the town was somber but filled with anger. The wandering elephants are running havoc in the nearby human settlements and local paddy farmers were out on streets let the governments know that even if a single elephant does trespassing in human territory, they will be dealt with harsh way. Readers might feel that this could be harsh step but the kind of compensation offered by government of Odisha for elephant damages is nothing but a joke. From partial damage of crop to full damage the compensation ranges from Rs. 500/- to Rs. 2000/-, it also raises a pertinent question that, is our government serious about protecting wildlife?

After receiving permission from leisurely paced Babus of the forest department, we proceeded towards our destination. As we entered the small tenements en-route to the sanctuary we observed the roads are in pathetic state in fact it seemed like a sabotaged road with pot holes depth ranging in meters. On inquiring the driver confirmed our suspicion and said that the road has been dugged up by the wood poachers so as to avoid any swift action from forest department when their men are at work.

As soon as we entered the sanctuary after showing gate pass to a name sake forest guard, we saw heavy activity in canopy of trees and we left our jeep to get few glimpses of elusive Malabar Giant Squirrel. Plethora of times that we have seen the Giant squirrel in the Jungles of Odisha and Karnataka instead of Maharashtra (Giant squirrel is state animal of Maharashtra), makes me believe that making an animal state animal or national animal does not necessarily results in its conservation and is just a symbolic representation. Extinction of Tigers is a story which under production and I suppose the giant squirrels in Maharashtra are following the same story line.

Malabar Giant Squirrel

We reached the Kuldhia forest guest house at around 11:30 AM. We were welcomed by a fully grown Peacock in the rest house walking around the circumference of rest house. Satya straight away went for a bath and I decided to look around for a few birds. Again I could observe big nests of Giant squirrel very close by to the watch tower and soon the forest officer in the rest house Manoranjan by observing me came to me to know what I am looking at.

Peacock

Till the time Satya came out, I had already befriended Manoranjan and had shot a few good pictures of Peacock and Giant squirrels. The food was ready by the time I took bath and it was time to start enjoying another course of sumptuous Odiya meal.

After having our food we took a walk around the FRH and then it was time to test the comforts offered by the bed in the room. After enjoying a power nap of around 1 hour, we asked Manoranjan to accompany us for a walk in the forest. He obliged and as soon as we entered the forest we could see an entire colony of plum headed parakeets resting on the top of the tall saal and teak trees. We kept on walking till the time we reached a big rock having a lot of den like voids. Observing closely we found excretion of a carnivore with hairs and high calcium content. We climbed up the rock to see if getting elevated helps us to uncover any wildlife, but failed to do so.

By the time we came back to the rest house we were informed by the cook named Hari Bhaina, that it is good time to sit at watch tower and wait for tuskers to come to the salt lick which lies directly in line with the watch tower. We were sitting there, as the sun was going down air was getting a cold. It was a perfect setting for a cup of Tea (chai) and biscuit. As we were enjoying our sips of hot tea, the discussions went in to snakes and their stories. As we were discussing the matter in great detail, all of a sudden Satya whiskered excitingly and asked us to look towards the salt lick. It was a young male Tusker who visited the salt lick. We went down the watch tower, but were warned by the forest officials not to go too close as tuskers away from their herd are vulnerable and susceptible to charges on humans.

Tusker In Kuldhia

It was a perfect start of the day -1, and just before our dinner we were getting more and more indulged in to wild stories of the sanctuary. The Hari Bhaina told us that there is a small temple of Jungle deity on the fringes of rest house. The Deity is known as Budhi Thakurani. The temple is said to be ancient and when the local king use to come to Jungle to capture elephants for domestication, he used to pay tribute to the deity before starting his operation. Also the Hari Bhaina has seen elephants come regularly at the temple and consume the Prasad offered to the deity. We decided to pay our visit to the temple as well in the morning. After having our dinner we went for a night safari with special permission from the range office.

As we left on our jeep with Manoranjan, I was keeping a watch on right side of the road and Satya was giving surveillance on the left side. As soon as our jeep passed a small bridge on a Nallah, I observed an odd leaf on the tree and directed my torch in that direction to observe that it was a fully grown Fish Owlet sitting on the bark of the tree. It gave us patient shots and then flew away.

Barking Deer

Fish Owlet

White Rumped Shama

On our course of Night Safari we also came across a barking Deer, unaware and not bothered of our presence. We came back the rest house and were too satisfied to go to bed.

Before sleeping we had already chalked out the plan to go to Risia Dam early in the morning to do bird watching.

Early in the morning we left for the dam and were surprised to see so many birds around the dam. We could observe that Manoranjan was a quick learner and had learnt the art of bird watching very quickly and was eager to learn more.

Oriole

Common Iora

Chestnut headed Bee Eater

Crested Bulbul

Sun Bird

It was not only birds who were more than happy to give us shots, but reptiles were also getting in line to do the same.

Chameleons basking in Sun

We had to leave dam site a bit early as Manoranjan had to report to forest rest house to relieve one more staff.

We left for the rest house had our lunch and left the Kuldhia rest house to go and attend our Friend Man Singh’s marriage in Cuttack. It was a truly wonderful experience of unchained and untamed wild life experience in Kuldhia.

Roads Across Odisha-2

2011-02-16T03:54:00.000+05:30

Kusanga forest range and the Satkosia Gorge

After spending a wonderful, captive and enervative day in the Kunwaria it was time for us to explore the Satkosia river gorge on the river Mahanadi from the Kusanga forest range side. Satkosia is the deepest river gorge in Asia and like any other gorge has two banks, one is the Anugul side (which is a big tourist attraction and has a lot of Tourist inflow), and the other one is from the Kusanga side. The Kusanga forest range is virtually a virgin tourist land. It gets reflected from the way the forest officials treat you. They give you a warm hearted welcome and while interacting with them one can never sense a sniff of usual Sarkari Babudom.

We decided to leave the Kunwaria forest guest house early in the morning by 04:30 AM and everything went according to plan. By the time the small town of “Charichak” (in Boudh district) came we could see the oil in the cooking pans of eating joints heating up and inviting us for another sumptuous breakfast. This time it was “Puri” and “Alu ki Sabji” that filled our hungry bellies, but it was the fresh piping hot “Jalebis” made the day for start for us. The “Jalebis” were so delectable that even while writing this post made my mouth has water in it.

After having breakfast we could listen to the chirping of the birds which was a definitive sign of birds increasing their morning activity. I must give credit to our luck; we again spotted a tree besides the road which was full of bird activities. It was a pair of “Scarlet Minivet” which was gracing the tree.

A Female Scarlet Minivet

A Male Scarlet Minivet

That stretch of road was like a prime bird territory, at every hundred odd meters there were Parakeets, group of Parakeets sitting on naked tree branches, fighting for the best placed perch; we enjoyed the entire stretch to the fullest.

An Alexanderine Parakeet

A Plum Headed Parakeet

On the road ahead we observed a jungle river flowing besides the road, and riding high on our luck we went a bit inside to explore some more bird life around the river and we were gifted by spotting of a “Copper Smith Barbet” making her usual sounds of “Tuk-tuk” on the tree top, on the rocky bed of the river were the usual lizards and chameleons were basking in the Sun.

Copper Smith Barbet

Thanks to a lot to these welcome stoppages in the journey we reached the Kusanga Range office by 09:30 AM. There we met Mr. Panda, the Forester for the Kusanga range, Panda ji is a plum Man, with deep and long mustaches and side locks and happens to be a rare pure vegetarian amongst Odiyas that I came across.

When we reached Kusanga, Panda ji was busy in getting the Autopsy done of a dead Deer found in the buffer zone of the reserve; Panda Ji told us that the body of the Deer had no visible marks or signs of injury or death due to old age, so it is compulsory to do an autopsy to determine the cause of death. This gave us signals that how serious forest department has become towards conservation of wild life.

As soon as Panda ji got free from the work, we left for the Satkosia gorge. At the entry of the reserve, just opposite to the first beat house at “Sitalpani” is the Guest house of PWD, which is said to be haunted by the ghost of the “Chowkidar” of the guest house, who died in the same guest house in a winter night. Almost all the Jungles have their equal share legends of places having presence of divine as well as evil powers.

The road to the gorge Snakes between the low foothills that sound the beginning of the Eastern Ghat Jungles, and as we were trudging through our jeep, I observed a banded racer snake resting on the forest floor, basking in the sun. I immediately asked the driver to stop to the Jeep and jumped from to the jeep to catch the snake, but the snake showed me why the word “racer” is so prominent in the name of the species. It just took off and within seconds was out of our sights in to the crevices of stones besides the road.

The Satkosia Gorge:

Satkosia is the meeting point of two bio-geographic regions of India; the Deccan Peninsula and the Eastern Ghats, and this multi dimensional geography contributes to immense biodiversity.

The Satkosia gorge is the life line of the “Satkosia Tiger reserve”, from the gorge the jungle reveals its shape, the jungles are undulated and the hill appear like a big elephant forehead and appears like a herd of sky blue elephants with the largest elephant being in the centre and the smaller ones on the periphery.

The Satkosia Gorge

I was astonished to see the size and flow of the Mahanadi River and was more than astonished to see the cleanliness of the river even towards the end of its journey. Perhaps this river remains so clean because most part of it flows through thick Jungles.

On the both the sides of the river are the enormous and long sandy banks. We were searching for pug marks all the way on the sandy banks, but failed to found any. The valley was echoing with the horns of Hornbills. To cross the river we took a dungy boat rowed by a long bamboo, operated by an old man perhaps in his early 60s. The secret to a successful and safe journey in such a boat is to be very still once you have boarded and settled in the boat and it is up float. One also needs to keep draining the water out of it, which comes through the small pores on the boat on a continuous basis. I was already anxious to be in such a boat without life jacket and by observing that the rowing bamboo which was approximately 15 feet long was getting entirely sub merged in the river made me very nervous.

The Man (Boat Rower)

The Machine (Boat in which we crossed the deepest Gorge)

We reached the Tikarpada side of the gorge and still I had not taken a sigh of relief as I knew it was only job half done, as we also needed to sail back to the Kusanga side on the same dungy boat.

We reached to the beat office of the “Anugul range”, the forest guard there was a young lad in his early 20’s, while talking to him in office, I observed a leopard skin kept on the cupboard, I could not control myself and asked the forest guard, that where it was seized and what has happened to person from whom this was seized? He told us that it has been seized from local, who already is facing cases in related to poaching and right now is out on bail. While talking to the forest guard on this his frustration and angst was clearly visible. Knowing this several questions struck my mind like, how on earth someone who has been found with illegal possession of an endangered and critical wildlife species can be allowed to get bail and roam free? What kind of courts and rules do we have? How can we counter organized poaching through such lame and handicapped set of laws? With such weak laws how our law enforcing agencies can actually enforce the laws on the poachers? Are we not wasting taxpayers’ money by filling water in pot from top with several holes in the bottom?

As we went back to the Kusanga range after crossing the river we kept on discussing the issues related to stopping the poachers and suddenly Sethi ji a forest guard showed us a long scar mark on his head which he received while fighting with the poachers who had come to cut wood in the forest area.

We stopped near the anti poaching camp, as Panda ji told us that there is a Salt lick at the back side of the camp. As we were approaching the salt lick we observed some heavy movement in the leaves of the tree and to our surprise it was a pair of “Malabar Giant Squirrel”, doing their usual acrobatics in the tree foliage. In Odiya a giant squirrel is called as “Nepali Musa” (meaning a Nepali Mouse).

A Malabar Giant Squirrel

It was already lunch time and our morning breakfast had lasted long enough to provide us energy to give way to the lunch which was waiting for us at the range office.

In the range office while waiting for the lunch, Panda ji showed us Plaster of Paris imprints of tiger pug marks, which were obtained during the last animal census. As the food arrived the rice and the mutton gravy tasted wonderfully well and made my believe stronger that the “chowkidars” of the forest departments are a different and exotic breed of cooks.

As the evening was falling down, we decided to leave the Kusanga and travel back to our guest house at Kunwaria.

While going back on behest of Sethi Ji we opted for an unconventional route which he claimed could save our 30Kms. The road passed through some of the extremely small villages of Boudh district. All the villages had government primary school, with a universal pictorial identity of kids sitting on pencil going to school. As our jeep passed through these villages apprehensive eyes of Men and women gave us a skeptical look and followed us till the time they could follow us.

By the time we reached the Kunwaria guest house it was already 6 in the evening and we started packing our bags to leave back to Bhubaneswar…

Stay tuned for the Kuldhia wild life experience from Odisha in the coming blog-post.

Roads Across Odisha-1

2010-12-14T22:38:00.003+05:30

Day -1 Kunwaria Forest Range:

Villages besides the roads:

As you go out on the roads of Odisha across the villages, the first thing that strikes you is that villages are extremely small in size. Even the district head quarters of Nayagarh is perhaps one of the smallest district head quarters that I have ever come across. The embankments’ of the Muddy fields containing half harvested paddy appears like a big patch work on land. Small grocery shops besides the roads having freshly cut stalks of green and yellow Banana along with small stocks of pulses, grains and spices to sell along with selling loose Beedis come and go. Almost every village invariably has fish filled lily-littered duck ponds. Kingfishers watch silently from the telegraph wires. Roosters and Hen along with chicks keeps running around the village roads. Villages nearby to the forest area have barbed fencing made up of” Babool” bushes to keep ambush hunters at bay from the live stock.

The villagers spread their newly harvested grain on the road to be winnowed and threshed by the wheels of passing by vehicles. Men naked above the torso and carrying a Green and red checkered “Gamcha” on the shoulders sitting beside their palm- thatched huts or working on the paddy fields. Women draped in “Sarees” without blouses, yet their appearance never suggests nudity.

“Bhaina” seems to be verbal replacement for bringing warmth while talking to a strange male. It’s a Odiya equivalent of” Bhaisahab” in Hindi, and” Anna” in south India. Odisha is a delight for a foodie like me. Odisha offers variety of food in different Genre like Veg, Non-Veg, and desserts. A typical day starts with sumptuous breakfast of “Bara” (Made up of Udad Dal), and “Chap” gravy (a thickish gravy made up of potato and Chana) served more often than not in a “Dona”. For people who having a sweet tooth can have a delectable “Chena Poda”, It s a preparation of Chena baked in dona leaves, it’s a caramelized and smoked dish and tastes distinctively vivid and is perhaps one of favorite sweet dish.

A lot has been spoken and written about non – veg dishes of Odisha, but I would like to give a special mention to the Veg delicacies of Odisha. If south India is famous for chopping vegetables to the infinitesimal finess, Odiyas make vegetables in as raw form as possible. The vegetables are cooked in mustard oil and when eaten with rice tastes like heaven. One delicacy which deserves a special mention is the “Dalma”, Its Dal based dish and is cooked with boiled vegetables in raw form, and even the potatoes are not skinned.

Day-1

Kunwaria Forest Guest House:

We left Bhubaneswar early in the morning by 7 o clock. It was a “Poornima” (a full moon night) and all the villages were celebrating the festival of “Baito Bantaro”, celebrated for cutting of crops and paying tributes to all the traders who earlier use to sail across the sea and rivers to sale across the trades.

On the way after having our breakfast, I spotted a tree on which leaves were swaying in all the directions. This was a definite sign of avian life on the tree. We stopped out Jeep at some distance away from the tree and started observing the tree. We initially found out that it was a group of the usual "Black Drongos" doing their usual chirping and fighting on the tree. But soon the surprises started flowing in. It was an "Immature Eurasian Golden Oriole" that came along and gave us so many patient shots, and soon a "White Rumped Shama" came along for a short while. We were so happy that we could not believe our luck. We didn’t even cared about the trucks and other heavy vehicles passing by us on the road, but it was a engraving experience of bird watching and photo shooting.

A White Rumped Shama

An Immature Eurasian Golden Oriole

Our bookings were done at the forest guest house. As we approached the guest house we found out that it was locked. We waited for about half an hour before “Trinatha Da” appeared approaching the Guest house on his almost antique black bicycle. On realizing that we had waited for about half an hour, he was very upset for keeping us waiting. It’s a typical looking forest guest house with well managed circular lawn forming the core of the entrance. Backyard of the guest house has old teak trees. Old teak wood furniture graces the bedrooms. Beds have rectangular frames to support mosquito net. In a quick decision it was decided that "Dalma" and Rice to be cooked for the lunch and by the time lunch gets prepared we will do some bird watching. We never ever thought that the trees around the forest guest house would have so much of surprises for us. “Lesser Golden Backed Woodpecker”,” Jerdons Cloropsis” were there. It was my first sighting of Cloropsis and was amazed to see and realized that why this bird is rarely seen even being in abundant quantity.

A Lesser Golden Backed Woodpecker

A Cloropsis

We also went out to Kunwaria Dam to do some bird watching. A "Grey Bulbul " was sitting on the bark of a bamboo tree, loads of colourful Dragon flies were moving around. We didn’t expect much as it was already noon and Bird life is almost nil during that part of the day.

A Grey Bulbul

We went to the Kunwaria Sanctuary in the evening. Thanks to a courageous driver our bolero jeep managed to trudge through the rough terrains of the sanctuary. We were accompanied by 2 forest guards. I would like to make a special mention to the condition of the forest guards in Odisha, and its not only about Odisha but for entire India. The condition of forest guards is quite miserable. Underpaid, Unarmed and no security for future. The forest guards are doomed to live in extremely sub-human conditions. The forests are fraught with danger. There are animals in the wild, man-eaters sometimes, and also the armed gang of poachers, out to cut trees and kill animals. These faceless people are a crucial cog in the wheel for the survival of wild life in India. While a wash of money is being pumped into various tiger reserves, these forest guards subsist on abysmally low salaries, lack of basic amenities and bereft of recognition. India’s forest staff operates in appalling working conditions: Guards use open toed footwear, they lack simple facilities like torch… jeep, wireless sets or gun. When they are posted in anti poaching camps in the desolate interiors of the forests, they lack both sanitation and protection against elements and wildlife.

The forest atop was filled with all kinds of birds specially Parakeets. While doing bird watching and chasing the hoof marks of Bisons on the forest carpet. All of a sudden there was a loud sound of a big Sneeze and as we tried to make sense of the situation, A large bison jumped from the bank of the river and crossed the river in one jump. What could we see, despite our cameras being in on condition we could not even think of clicking the shutter. It was such a close encounter that made us realize that the kind of power a Bison could posses.

A Small Blue Kingfisher

It was getting dark and despite it being a full moon night we didn’t wanted to take our luck to extreme, especially after the Bison incident. We reached to the forest guest house while buying the grocery and a Desi Chicken for the dinner. While preparing it was time for “Trinatha Da “to enthrall us by the legends and stories about the forest and Animals. The forest guests’ house naturally becomes the hub for getting the stories and legends between the travelers and the care takers. As the stories were engraving and gripping so was the dinner, the dinner was so very delicious that it surprised me that how such a well mixed food could be cooked without any mixer grinder that too on an earthen stove. The tasty food was a perfect end to a perfect day, full of revelations and explorations. Eyes were just so confused in the night that snap shots of entire day were not allowing them to close and the tiredness of the body was forcing them to stay awake.

Stay tuned to the blog for more of Colourful Emerald east….

Birding in Bhopal

2010-11-14T21:06:00.000+05:30

Birding in Bhopal

It was Deepawali holidays and I was in Bhopal after three years, apart from being caught up in preparation of my marriage and being busy meeting my relatives in Bhopal, I ensured that I take out time every morning to explore the avian life in and around Bhopal. My younger brother kept on promising me every evening that he will accompany me the next morning, but the desire to enjoy and explore the warmth offered by the quilt in the early winter morning kept on winning over his desire to go out and explore the nature.

Apart from going back to the road leading to Van Vihar national park from the Bhadbhada side, some where vaguely I remembered a picnic that we enjoyed in my childhood with some of the family friends in Kerwa Dam area. I knew that with my experience of birds that it is going to be a perfect spot to see the bird life in full swing.

As soon as I crossed the bridge of Bhadbhada Dam, the smoke of the vehicles started getting replaced by the smoke of Beedis smoked by elderly sitting squatted on the sides of roads enjoying the warmth of the sun. The narrow road leading to the dam has one more attraction to it apart from natural beauty; it boasts itself of having the magnanimous bungalow “Dev Shree” owned by one of the most infamous CMs of MP, somewhat directly responsible for Bhopal Gas tragedy, Mr. Arjun Singh. The poisonous vapours of deadly Methyl iso Cyanide could have never reached the serene environment of the Kerwa Forests in any conditions. Both the Bhopal Gas tragedy and Mr. Arjun Singh still live today although in entirely different life styles to tell their tales. Anecdote has it that Mr. Singh was in this bungalow only when the gas tragedy struck Bhopal. It was also birth day of Mr. Arjun Singh lying during that time, so the usual anti environment banners printed on flex material sponsored by political sycophants were also gracing the way to the bungalow.

After reaching Kerwa Dam after watching the board at the entrance I realized that there is an eco tourism complex developed in that forest. But there was only a board to welcome me and there was no staff at all in the area. As soon as I started my exploration a couple of “spotted doves” was sitting on the barks of a barren tree.

The chirping of birds was in full flow. And soon there was a young “Shikra” came down on to sit on a eucalyptus tree. It was such a good specimen that I kept on viewing it for a long time.

My focus on the Shikra got broken by constant sounds of Parakeets coming from nearby trees. As I ventured in to the forest trail the voice of Parrots kept on increasing and after some time I realized that the voice is coming from the tree above me. Spotting the green Parakeets amongst the green foliage of trees was a big challenge and tested the muscle strength of my neck to the fullest. Finally I spotted the parrots and got one of the prized catch of this parakeet taking a leap from its perch.

A bit deeper in to the trail I spotted a couple of “ Grey Headed flycatcher “ , busy in arranging the breakfast by taking small but quick leaps in to the air to catch flies and insects in the air and then coming back to the perch after doing a few somersaults in air.

I also spotted a pair of spotted kites, but they were very quick to leave their perches.

It was first time for me that I have spotted a “ Scarlet Minivet”, in the Jungle and I was absolutely delighted by the its Sighting.

A “Pied fly catcher Shrike” was enjoying its breakfast search on the floor of the forest.

I went near the river in search of the some more birds and luckily I found out a colony of “Fan tailed Prinia” and “Sun Birds”. I just sat down there for some time quietly and was blessed with two close up shots of “Prinia” and “Sun Birds”.

Karnala Bird Sanctuary

2010-11-06T13:36:00.000+05:30

Karnala Bird Sanctuary

How to Reach: Pune to JNPT Exit via Express way then take the High way to Goa. The sanctuary lies on left hand side about 5 KMs on Goa Highway.

After reaching Karnala and seeing the entry of the sanctuary the first thing that I felt was that this trip is going to be a waste of time as the sanctuary lies so near to a busy National highway that its impossible to think of a healthy avian population near.

We decided to follow the " Hariyal Trail" and eventually the very first steps in the sanctuary made me realize that looks could be deceptive. As soon as we entered under the green canopy of high trees we observd a colony of Black Drongos.

Drongos were every where with a few surprise sightings of Rufus Woodpecker.

A Young Black Drongo

A Bronze Drongo

The common red vented Bulbul was a common sight but there were young ones as well with constant chirping in front of their mother for food.

A Young Bulbul Chic with Mother

It was extremely humid under the trees but the sightings of the birds were creating one mirage after other and making us go from one tree to another, from one place to other. This male Asian Koel was a not vary of our camera and gave us a few shots before leaving for higher canopies.

Asian Male Koel

There was an entire colony of Sunbirds and by the time we reached there they were active n all the senses and made us adjust our shutter speeds to the maximum.

A Female Sunbird

A Male Sunbird (ready for mating)

A Male Purple Sun Bird (Not ready for mating)

For those avian lovers who do not know the difference between a Male sun bird who is ready for mating and the one who is not ready for mating is the black strip on the throat. The ones with these strips are not yet ready for mating.

The Eurasian Golden Oriole is one of the easiest birds to spot in the jungle. The bright yellow body clearly emerges out in the Green Golden Foliage.

A Eurasian Golden Oriole

Karnala is not all about keeping your necks towards skies, it also has a colorful and vibrant territorial life as well. there are crabs, Lizards, Chameleons and my favorite dragon flies.

A Signature Spider

A Dragon Fly basking in Sun

One of my cherished moments in photography is going to be the snaps of this Skink Lizard coming our of wet bushes to take a Sun bath. this Skink lizard was full of so many colors and patterns, all this was making her a promising proposition for taking an ultra close up. I also feel that this Lizard was carrying eggs as it is seldom to see such a huge bulge on the belly and such a slow moving Skink Lizard.

The Skink lizards are one of the most diverse species of lizards found in different colors and variations.

In my view Karnala is a must visit place for every nature lover, and I have promised this place that I will keep on visiting this place as often as possible...

Dandeli-Revisited

2010-10-22T00:57:00.000+05:30

Dandeli-Revisited

After spending 3 days in Dandeli, as soon as i came back to Kolhapur, I called up Satya straight away. I did so because I knew one thing for sure that informing Satya about such a wonderful place will guarantee my one more visit to this place.

When we both decided to spend a weekend in the thick dense forests of Dandeli, one more adventure was adding to the taste of it, it was going to Dandeli from Kolhapur on Bike. Although the Bike passed all the endurance tests during the trip but just to add a bit of excitement to the trip threw up some tantrums at the culmination of the trip.

After reaching Dandeli and having lunch it was time to feel depressed. The retreating monsoon was falling heavily over the entire valley, making us feel that all the dreams that we have weaved were about to be washed away.

The clouds started clearing by the evening, and once the clouds got cleared we went to go to have a view of Sunset point. As we were uncertain about the rains, we decided not to carry our camera. Observing the sun coming down and seeing the shades of clouds and water change to the rhythm of setting sun was amongst the most soulful moments that can come across anyone.

In the night it was arranged that we would be going to Jungle Safari early morning by 4 o clock. In the morning we went to Safari and again not to mention we only came across a Sambhar Deer in the entire Safari. But a Giant wood spider, perhaps the biggest ever I have ever come across in my life was the catch of the Safari. The water droplets dripping down the web silk of the spider was one more sparkle in the entire spectacle.

A Giant Wood Spider

While coming back we enjoyed the bird watching trail lead by Anna, one of the things that I have always appreciated about Anna is the fact that how can someone being near to illiterate and having no knowledge of English can have knowledge about so many birds at the tip of the tongue. We came across Grey Wagtail, Red Whiskered Bulbul, the omnipresent Green Bee Eater, Falcon, on our bird watching trail.

A Grey Wagtail

But the most prized catch of this trail was fresh Pugmarks of a leopard. The stealth with which the leopard moves around i Jungles some how makes me believe that this feline would be able to survive through this poaching and loss of habitat threat.

Leopard Pug marks- Towards a Bleak Future

I still believe that Dandeli is perhaps the perfect paradise for bird watchers like me. The place not only have birds but also has some of the most vibrant and colourful butterflies and dragon flies.

Crimson Rose

A Female Purple Rumped Sunbird

A Female Loten's Sunbird

After watching birds satya had a desire to watch the Malabar Pied Horn bill, and we roamed around 22 KMs to reach to the Timber yard area where it is supposedly a colony of Hornbills, but even after not having any sighting of Horn bill we were not at all disheartened, both of us were smiling on our decision to go to the Timber yard. It was a Malabar giant Squirrel (Ratufa indica), gracing on the perch of a tree and enjoying its meal.

Malabar Giant Squirrel

This was an amazing site to watch this Squirrel move from one bark of the tree to other, exploring the tree. The swift movements of this squirrel in its lusty and cozy skin overcoat were a treat to watch. Each snap that we took made us feel that we should click one more snap. Finally it was getting late and we paid our adieu to this magnificent Animal.

It was time to say good bye to this wonderful place called Dandeli...

Reptiles in Dandeli Anshi Tiger reserve:

2010-09-29T23:37:00.000+05:30

Reptiles in Dandeli Anshi Tiger reserve:

Till now in all my visits to Western Ghats, trip to Dandeli Anshi tiger reserve has to rated amongst the most satisfying trips to the Ghats. The trip will also be memorable for me as it was first time that me and my new SLR camera were in the woods together.

It always happens with me that as soon as I reach in vicinity of a forest, the forest starts shaping up my feelings and thoughts, and invariably I turn off the music of my car stereo and start listening to the Jungle tunes. This jungle was raising my expectation levels to some extra ordinary level. With this expectation I was anticipating sightings of Frogs (especially the tree frogs), Snakes (Russels or Malabar Pit viper), the omnipresent Bison, and the Giant Malabar Squirrel. I was getting excited by the prospect of coming across brightly colored and textured frogs sitting stealthily amongst the dry leaves and on the tree branches. For any wildlife photographer Frogs would always come in top slots as they camera friendly, can be easily spotted and above of all are extremely colorful.

As soon as we reached Dandeli and checked in to our resort, after taking breakfast we took off to a very short yet exciting trek behind the hills of the resort which leads to the view point.

The first very steps in to the trek and guess what, a vine in the bushes moved in somewhat different manner and a fellow trekker spotted the movement and just said “Snake, it’s a Snake”, as soon as I heard it I was spell bound and my first visual confirmed me that it’s a Semi Venomous (Non venomous to humans) “Vine Snake” (Ahaetulla nasuta). It was a very short rendezvous. As soon as the Green Beauty realized that its mystic camouflage has been identified, it took off and started moving away from us towards the dense bushes.

A Vine Snake

Moving forward we took pictures of some amazing insect life in the forest, and we reached to the view point, the view point was so very wonderful that no matter how much I improve my writing skills I will fall short of describing it. The view point presents panoramic view of back waters forming through the three different rivers, of which the water of river “Kali” was making its prominence clear with Black appearance.

When we came back in the resort in the night it was time to spot some frogs around the area of the resort. The resort staff was aware of our desire and one of the staffs spotted a wood frog and alarmed us. We reached with our cameras and a flash light.

That was not all of it. That night and the next night we captured frogs of different colours, shapes and Sizes.

While driving back to Kolhapur we spotted this Juvenile Lizard basking in the sun besides the road.

We also spotted a Cobra Snake but by the time we could shoot him it was gone.

While coming back from Synthia rocks we got our consolation prize as the sighting of this “Jackal Couple”

Birds and Butterflies in Anshi- Dandeli Tiger Reserve:

2010-09-23T00:04:00.001+05:30

Birds and Butterflies in Anshi- Dandeli Tiger Reserve:

I dedicate all the photographs on this blog post to all the naturalists of “The Old Magazine House”, where we had stayed. The naturalists, in fact the entire staff of “The Old Magazine House” is so eager to help people explore the full treasures of the Jungle. This gesture gets reflected even in the food prepared by the master chef Vasu. The food is made of not only fresh vegetables but also with fresh spices. The Dal and the Rice are fried using fresh Bay leaves (Tej Patta) and yields a terrific flavor to the food.

The food is absolutely right mix of spices and is as homely and light as it gets, so that while roaming in jungles never makes one overly thirsty.

If one comes to Dandeli Anshi reserve in monsoons with huge expectations of Animal sightings then I must say that a huge disappointment awaits him. This is true not only for this reserve but for all the reserves of Western Ghats. The jungles are so very dense that one cannot see anything beyond 10 meters ahead.

Although the monsoons brings in a lot of opportunity to observe birds and butterflies as this marks the nesting season for these species.

The time tested ground rule of keeping your eyes open near water bodies while doing bird watching proved out to be right again as we saw birds like White Breasted Hen, a pair of White Wagtail, Little Cormorant, Eastern Skylark, A nesting pair of Indian Robin, Green Bee eater, White breasted Kingfisher and many more birds around water body

Little Cormorant

A White Breasted Water Hen with two chickens in Crocodile territory

A Pair of White Wagtails

A Bramhiny Kite

An Indian Robin Couple

Birds in the Trees:

One point that I would like to make that the one of the points that go unnoticed staying at places in midst of nature that one requires no morning alarms, the chirping of the birds in the nearby trees makes up a perfect alarm sound which no alarm clock ring tone can beat.

Some of the birds which are worth mentioning that we spotted in the trees and bushes were Black Drongo, Black headed Cukoo Shrike, A pair of Heart spotted Woodpecker, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Common Golden Backed Woodpecker, Malabar Grey Hornbill and Orange headed Thrush.

Black headed Cukoo Shrike

Heart spotted Woodpecker

Orange headed Thrush

A Male Malabar Pied Hornbill

A Female Malabar Pied Hornbill

If this was not enough we were blessed sightings with some of the butterflies so big that one can get confused with them being birds. Colourations so perfect and stylish that will give any fashion designer run for there money and for sure will never ever run out of fashion.

A Bird Winged Butterfly

A Pair of Butterflies

Insect Life in Dandeli- Anshi Tiger Reserve.

2010-09-17T00:11:00.001+05:30

I am yet to come across a better stress reliever for me then exploring the nature and Jungles. This extended weekend offered me yet again an opportunity along with my three cousins to explore the Jungles of Western Ghats. The reason why I always have loved to visit Western Ghats is the fact that it not only offers breath taking landscapes and kaleidoscopic view in to Animal life but also due to the fact the air flowing through the Jungles of Ghats is as pure as it gets. The Air has an invisible tint of Green shade mixed with it. This shade can only be felt when this air flows through the nose to the lungs.

We decided to go to “Dandeli Anshi Tiger reserve” near Belgaum. The Sanctuary offers one of the richest patches of wild life offered in the Western Ghats. The reserve boasts of a healthy feline population (13 Tigers, 37 leopards and around 41 black panthers). The sanctuary lies around the Kali river basin. The Kali river is called so because it flows on the Manganese bed, which gives it a black texture and hence the name. The 10 Km patch of Kali River has a population of around 200 crocodiles. The most interesting part of this crocodile success story is that there have been very few human- crocodile conflicts recorded, and very few of them fatalities out of these conflicts. The reserve also has back waters of the “ Supa Dam” providing other core water body for the animals and birds of the sanctuary.

Thanks to an excellent travel advisory by comrade Karamveer, we ensured that we our bookings were done in “The old Magazine House”, one of the properties owned and Managed by “Jungle Lodges and resorts Ltd”. And I must say that the decision proved every bit true. Thanks to the excellent location and knowledgeable staff of the “Old Magazine House”, the trip became so fruitful that I have decided to publish two more posts on my adventures in the Dandeli Anshi reserve.

In this post I will be sharing with you some of the photographs and my experiences of the insects found on the floor and on the woods of the reserve.

The Pill Millipede: This creature can be found on the floor of the jungles lying beneath the bio mass of the forest.

They have thirteen body segments, and as a defensive strategy against predators, as soon as they sense a invasion in their territory they wound themselves up and form a ball. It’s a treat to watch them fold up in front of your eyes.

Spiders- “The Eight legged freaks”:

The Ghats are home to some of the most fearsome and spiders. Each one varies from each other in the dwelling place, hunting styles and persona.

The Signature Spider:

This spider weaves zigzag stripes in its web, and holds its legs together in pairs. It holds its legs in pairs to disguise itself as a four legged creature and to not appear to look like a spider. These spiders are bright coloured for a specific reason. The bright colours of the spider attract insects such as bees and wasps making a easy meal for the spider.

The Wood Spider:

This spider belongs to the golden orb weaver family, and the silk is the strongest of any spider. They're said to be docile but, yes, the spider is somewhat poisonous, and the bites said to be painful because of the size of the fangs.

A Giant wood spider having lunch

The Tarantula:

We were lucky enough to get the sight of this Terrestrial Tarantula in the night. In the day time, I went to observe the burrow of the spider in the day time and found out that the burrow was lined up with the silk to stabilize the burrow. This species is typically a nocturnal species.

Some other Insects

A Dragonfly having some rest

Basking in Sun

A Caterpillar

Rush Hour

A Horn Beatle

A Giant Centepede

A Carpenter Nest

A Ground bee Heave

A Snail Basking in Sun

Trip to Bhandadara Lake

2010-08-28T23:47:00.001+05:30

Trip to Bhandadara Lake

It was again time for bag packing as my office started following the practice of allowing one Saturday off every month. How could I have missed this chance? It has been almost 3 years that I had done my last trek in the hills of Bhandadra and Ratangad, and this time around it was the challenge of climbing the highest peak of Maharashtra “Kalsu Bai” had made the collywobbles in my stomach going high.

Best part of this trip was that our booking in the MTDC resort was done well in advance, and it was time to put the hospitality levels of resorts run and managed by government bodies to the test. My prejudice of Government officials wasting the public properties and money with unscrupulous ease had started taking over my thoughts, and even before we checked in the resort. My prejudices got endorsement when I saw a 50 odd year chap sitting at the welcome desk of the resort.

As soon as I watched our cottage and its location, my jaws dropped and the scenic beauty ahead of our cottage made all three of us shell shocked. The view out of MTDC resort at Bhandadara was so exotic and breath taking that while writing this memoir I can still feel the gust of winds blowing across my ears, the sight of a lake full of water and embanked by mountains on the side lines laced up with white clouds. The Wooden benches in front of the cottage were inviting enough not be ignored.

Apart from trek and roaming around in cloud laden valley there was one more thing which was on our mind, and it was the flavor of fresh water fish that was amongst our priority list. (Fish has to be on priority list when your two fellow travelers are Oriyas).

Thanks to our slow yet unsafe cab driver, by the time we checked in the cottage it was already lunch time and we ordered for the lunch. Fish curry and rice was the dish that we zeroed in. Even while writing this post,the taste of that heavenly fish curry is making my mouth filled with water. The fish curry was a perfect blend of assorted spices and with a base of tomato gravy with fish being not fried but cooked inside the gravy itself, making both the flavor of fish and gravy intermingled with each other. The taste of fish curry and the love and affection with which it was served made my prejudices against government managed programs go away.

After having our food we decided to roam around a bit and the “Konkangada” gorge was our destination. On the way it was mist and clouds all the way escorting us. Every curve of the road was offering a cascade. The green mountains were hugging the white clouds filled with rain waters. This romance between the clouds and mountains laden with green tops is just a treat to watch. The white stream of waterfalls running through the green canopy appears to be coming right from the heavens. We were witnessing the spectacle of nature unfolding itself with life giving water, which sprinkles on the parched earth in the form of monsoon.

By the time we came back it was starting to get dark and it was again time to cherish the flavor of fish curry and this time around we had ordered for a fish fry.

Next day in the morning we went off to Kalsu Bai. We started the trek to Kalsu Bai and to my bad luck for the first time it had happened to me that I had to opt out of a trek that too for so much awaited trek. All of a sudden from no where my back became so stiff and it was paining like anything. ISatya and Man singh went ahead with the trek. I waited for 4 hours for satya and Man Singh to come back from the trek. During the time when I was waiting for them to come back I roamed around, observed birds and found out a way to a beautiful waterfall. As Satya and Man Singh came back we went to take a shower in the waterfall.

In all as usual it was again a satisfying trip to Western Ghats.

The Doodh Sagar Water falls

2010-07-18T02:37:00.000+05:30

Onset of monsoons makes the greenest patch of forests in India goes greener. It’s not only the Greenery of Western Ghats which makes me stand on one feat to go to the Ghats but the aromatic fresh air that makes you feel green from the inside, colourful wild flowers dancing in the mild breeze, birds and insects making their peculiar noises, little water-falls like white lines on a green canvas, clouds floating over the trees and mountain peaks, the scene and experience is nothing but the bliss of heaven on earth.

A Flower drenched in Monsoons

Last weekend I along with 3 of my close friends Satya (Aka Love Guru), Man Singh (Aka Maniya), and Ashish (Aka Khaj) decided to do a trek from Castle rock railway station to the Gorgeous “Doodh Sagar Water falls”.

The Castle Rock Railway Station

At the time of start the trek sounded like one of the easiest treks that we will have, but this off beat trek along the sidelines of railway track threw up its own challenges. Lining on the side ways of trek was extremely thin and the walking on the rocky bed of railway tracks was extremely cumbersome. Finally we retorted to placing baby steps on the concrete rails of the trek.

The sign board of Breganza Ghat section introduced us to the first curves on the railway tracks, and very soon came along our first tunnel. One needs to be ultra cautious in railway tunnels as these tunnels attract a lot of mice because of food items dropped from the train by the passenger, which in turn attracts Snakes in the surroundings.

Curvy Tracks

Inside a Tunnel

Once we reached Caranzole railway station, we decided to board a Goods train going towards Doodh Sagar so that we can spend more time with the Cynosure of the trip i.e. the falls itself. We requested the goods train driver to provide us the lift till Doddh Sagar Falls, and the railway engine driver obliged. Boarding the railway engine made me nostalgic and took me to those days of my childhood when I had a lasting desire to become a railway engine driver. Journey on the extended platform of a goods train sponsored by the benevolent Indian railways is a treat for any off beat traveler like me.

It was raining heavily as we went deeper in to the Ghats. Mother Nature was giving us best example of “How if we take care of the nature, the nature will take care of us”.

Water Drops on the Tracks (Photographed By Satyesh)

We left the train ride at the Doodh Sagar railway station. And as soon as the train and its noise was gone our ears were getting senses of aquatic acoustics. As soon as we crossed the next tunnel ahead of us the volume of water fall was getting more and more pronounced. This was coupled along with the absolute white sight of a water fall amidst a green frame.

As we reached closer to water fall I could see a smile on each one of the face present near the fall. It took me a lttle bit a time to adjust myself with magnanimity of the sight in front of me. Water plummets hundreds of feet in large volume, in cascades, forming one of the most spectacular of all natural phenomena.

Doodh Sagar Waterfalls

One of my all time favourite flavour has been the tasteless water flowing through the untamed and musical cascades in the Ghats, and I was not going to miss a single opportunity to taste the water of the Doodh Sagar water falls. I quenched my thirst and the taste and coolness of water quenched my desire. I sincerely feel that to experience the real charm and the magic of the falls, one need to personally be there.

It was raining heavily near the falls and after some time we realized that it was not the rains but actually the clouds full of water around us which were making us drenched from head to tow.

We took back a passengers train on our way back. One of the astonishing things about the tiny station of “Doodh Sagar” is the fact that it has a big hear as big as the water fall that it hosts. There is a note written on the station that “Tickets will not be sold at this station”

The Castle Rock

As we were coming back I was thanking the god and Indian railways all the way for providing so much of delightful experiences in a single day.

The Magical Ghats

2010-06-14T23:51:00.000+05:30

The Magical Ghats:

Its again Monsoon times in Ghats and like a frog, I eagerly wait to get any chance to visit Ghats.

The taste and smell of water running small and big cascades, the Jungles full of fruits like Jack fruit, Jamun and Karonde. Before this rain mania enthralls me completely I would like to publish collection of some of my photographs which I have taken during my visits to Ghats in summers.

An Old Chameleon - Basking in the Sun

A Juvenile Serpent Eagle - Looking for Food

Lunch Time- An Eagle with Snake in Claws

Birds In Western Ghats

Sky on Fire- Death of a day

2010-05-15T21:49:00.001+05:30

It is again that time of the year in Western Ghats, when Clouds come floating into, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to the sunset sky. Every day more often than not the sunset brings a new surprise.

Sometimes while watching sunsets from sea coasts, lake shores and mountain ranges I keep on wondering that how a death-bed can be so beautiful, death bed of day.

It was 5 O' Clock in the Kolhapur and the clouds were doing the usual hide and seek. Softly the evening came. The sun from the western horizon like a magician extended its Red wand on the sky scape. Wrinkling vapours arose; and sky and water and forest Seemed all on fire at the touch, and melted and mingled together.

The sacred lamp of day now dipped in western clouds his parting day.

"Koi lauta de mere Beete Hue Din"

2010-04-25T19:20:00.002+05:30

"Koi lauta de mere Beete Hue Din" ("कोई लौटा दे मेरे बीते हुए दिन ")

To the best of my memories and the anecdotes told to me by my parents about my childhood all I can gather is that when I was a kid, I always wanted to grow up as early as possible. I wanted to grow up, so that I can be myself. I can make my own choices. I can go independently where ever I wish to. In my view the biggest difference between children and grown up young is the fact that children do not give themselves options and get stuck on their demands like said in a famous Gazal “ दिल भी एक ज़िद पे अड़ा है किसी बच्चे की तरह, या तो इसे तू ही चाहिए या कुछ भी नहीं ”. Whereas, as we grow old we start to give ourselves more choices and alternatives.

Now when I see kids, I want to revisit my childhood. Suddenly I do not want myself to give too many choices and alternatives. I do not want to plan too much about what to do and what not to do. I want to paint on the walls without caring about the beating to be followed up after it. I want to start giving more importance to myself rather than my clothes and appearance. I could remember those dry knees of mine with striking bold marks of dirt and lime powder of walls on it earned by getting the knees rubbed against the walls while playing one game or another. I never ever thought of cleaning them. For me the best appearance of mine was my happiness reflecting through a chuckle in my cheek. I could remember falling in a big nullah once near my home while trying to just take a walk on the wall of nullah. There was no end objective or goal attached to that walk around that nullah, but still it was done. I want that in-objectivity back.

I could remember that being in lap of Ma, Papa could take away all my fears and anxieties. Lap of my parents was home to all the assurances and place filled with so much comfort in it that no luxury hotel in this world could even think of giving it competition.

I wish could go back to my childhood where the only punishment to my deeds (mis-deeds) was a simple touch of my ears to by my hands and that’s it all that’s it, the incident was over.

I wish I could turn back the time to a kid once more. When for anything or work was only a master stroke when I was made a part of it to do it. Even a wild stroke of Nail paint going haywire to the finger would appear to be a perfect stroke….

I miss my childhood….

“Koi lauta de mere beete hue din”

Konkan Calling

2010-04-04T01:13:00.001+05:30

Konkan Calling

If we feel that life getting unrealistically fast and furious, here is a good place away. A place so far away that it even makes one forget the meaning of fast life, targets, deadlines, appraisals and so many more words and phrases which take away the blissful happiness from mankind. A place which is so laid back that people yawn before giving you directions.

Konkan is “Gods own country” in all senses. In terms of geography it has two natural boundaries, the Western Ghats on the east side and the Arabian Sea on the west side. In terms of natural bounty the region has some of the most precious natural offerings like Beatle nuts, Coconuts, Kokum, Cashews, Sea food, the famous Alphonso or locally called “ hafuz” mangoes. In the early summers some trees are laden more with mangoes than the leaves.

Konkan has Lavish, Pristine beauty. The beauty comes from It’s a thick green stretch, with number of untouched clean beaches coupled along with White sand, blue seas, green mountains, paddy fields, rivulets and Back waters. Apart from natures Marvels the Konkan region is also home to some of amazing forts built on sea shores and in the Sea.

The Anjanvel Light House

Vijaydurg Fort

I just love driving around in narrow yet conditioned roads in Konkan. There are countless sleepy little Konkani villages with thatch houses and lush green fields all the way till the horizon and every village having a Famous Ganpati Temple inside it.

Most of the houses have typical Konkani ‘vaadi’, full of coconut trees in there back yards.

If one is connoisseur of good food then Konkani food is not to be missed. The food is made with coconut grating forming the base of gravy with a good does of coriander powder. The Konkani food is Spicy, when I use word spicy I do not mean that food is hot and filled with Chilies. The word “Spicy” here means that one can actually gauge flavours of all the spices used in the gravy disticnly, yet making the gravy as smooth as Singing by Pandit Kumar Gandharv.

Radhanagari in summers

2010-03-20T21:29:00.003+05:30

Radhanagari in summers

We left Kolhapur at around 6 o clock in the morning on our bikes and with the amount of Chill in the air no one could say that it was a summer morning. The weather was giving us the best lessons on how trees could protect earth from Global warming.

We reached at the entrance of the Sanctuary at around 8'o clock. While registering ourselves at the Forest department we enquired about the results of latest Wild animal census conducted in the sanctuary. The Forest officer told us that there are 3 Royal Bengal Tigers, around 15 leopards and more than 650 Bisons in the reserve. The numbers sounded quite a handful for a reserve that is spread in 350 Sq Km of area. The Range officer also informed us that a Tigress in the reserve has given birth to two cubs. This came as a zephyr of relief for all of those like us who are concerned about the disseminating Tiger population in India.

It was such a pleasant feeling to see a low group of cloud over the Radhanagari Lake; I had witnessed a similar scene in monsoons as well. You can see the picture by clicking on the following link http://simplysiddhartha.blogspot.com/2009/08/hiking-in-radhanagari-wildlife_26.html

We happened to be the first group of people to have entered the Sanctuary that day. This made us witness amazing amount of Pug marks left by the Animals during the last night. All the signs of the Pug marks on the trail were shouting loudly that the Sanctuary is still lively and active.

The best part about the Radhanagari wildlife sanctuary is the fact that there are 3 watch towers provided at the prominent animal sighting locations; all these locations provide a clear view of the water reservoir.

To our misfortune we could not take the snaps of the wildlife that came in front of us. They were a bit too quick for our cameras. We came across, Wild Cat, Wild Cock, Pea-Hens, and not to mention Beautiful species of camera friendly butterflies of Western Ghats.

While exploring the interiors of the jungles and searching for Snakes we came across a cave fully occupied by the Bats.

The Mystical snakes eluded us this time as well.

For me sightings of Butterflies has such a calming influence that I tend to forget the heat, the terrain, the tiredness everything.

While during the exit from the sanctuary some of the beautiful flora of the Jungle waived good bye to us.

Hiking in Rangna (Rangana) Forests

2010-03-01T22:44:00.006+05:30

The Mission: Hiking to the Rangna fort for a stay of Two days and one night.

The Challenge: Hiking in Hot Summer weather, coupled along with treacherous mountain trail infested with herds of Bisons and Russell’s viper Snakes.

We a group of seven hikers led by Narayan Vishwasrao Shinde started hiking from Gargoti to Patgaon on our Vehicles and from Patgaon onwards it was we, our hatch bags and our legs.

The Team and the Mission in the backdrop

We had selected the Hiking days in such a manner that the night that we stayed in the fort was full moon night.

At the Top of the Peak

We started our hike around 1 o clock and reached to the top of the hill so as to enjoy the sun melting down in the Ghats. The Sunsets from the cliffs of the Ghats is a mesmerizing and sublime experience. It was also those mystic day in which a full moon and sun makes a joint appearance. We could also notice the sea line of Malwan coasts in the far away west.

As soon as the darkness fell, moon took the centre stage and enlightened the entire Jungle with Milky light.

One thing that struck me during the night that I cannot even recall ia single night in my entire life when I have not heard any tonking of the horns and cacophony of the urban life.

We started preparing our food while having a mild drink. After having our typical Kolhapuri food, we went out to fetch some water search for some snakes and wild life in the Jungle on the way to the pond. All we came back with was a barb of a porcupine (Syahi). During the time of preparation of food we could hear mating sounds of Owl in the Jungle and as soon as we flashed out our torch light on the perch from where the voice was originating we got to see two glowing eyes on the top of the perch which made the confirmation to our guess of these voices belonging to Owls.

As the night fell so did our tiring bodies as well. It was a much needed and a very refreshing sleep for the entire night.

As we all woke at 07:30 AM, we went to Mother Nature attend our nature’s call. As soon we were fresh we went out to explore the Fort and the dense Jungle in its fold.

It was steamy hot in Jungle and dense forest bushes added to the heat. As we went to the south of the fort on the South Gate of the fort a delightful surprise was awaiting us on walls of the Gate. It was a Chameleon, one who was not shy of sharing all its camouflage skills.

While roaming in the hot jungles appearance of these flowers made a welcome sight.

Sight of this big rock spider was also one of the memories that I will cherish forever amongst my expeditions.

We also went to the east side of the fort in search of Snakes and Vultures but only one of them obliged. We came across this Vulture in the rock seats. To identify the seat of these vultures on the rock faces is quite easy. Just look at the white spots on the rocks, these marks are of the excretion of the vultures on these rocks.

We started our descent at around 4 PM and we reached Patgaon by 06:45 PM. In all during these two days we all had walked around 45 KMs. Although the trek for physically enervating, but it was nothing as compared to the mental refreshment that we received.