Trip to Gir National Park, Gujarat : Majestic Asiatic Lions

Two Lions(the "Brothers" perhaps")

Gujarat has been beckoning us since a long time and the urge to see the Asiatic Lion was very high. However for many years, our love to watch the Royal Bengal Tiger took precedence and we spent multiple visits to the Tiger Sanctuaries.  Peak summer (mid may) is when we decided to visit Sasan Gir and while we were apprehensive of the heat wave sweeping Gujarat then, we were resolute to make this happen. Landed in Ahmedabad and after a day trip of sight seeing in Ahmedabad we moved on to Somnath Temple and finally landed up in Club Mahindra Sasan Gir.

Needless to state we have made the safari bookings online through Http://www.girlion.in. With these online bookings being enabled in most wildlife sanctuaries life is much easier to plan. Spoke to couple of local guys and got the vehicle organised through them as the ones being provided through Club Mahindra was too expensive.

As always the first trip is always the one full of anxiety. So early morning we got ready and went to Singh Sadan at the entry of the park gate where the permits are given, jeeps allocated and guides assigned(not much different from other parks). Well what was different was what our guide Prashant(name changed) shared with us. After he boarded the gypsy with us he went about explaining the park, lay of the land, routes(which are named 1,2,3,4 etc), mammals, birds. Our trip began and we were quite excited to be here finally. 

Almost 90 minutes went by and the jungle was by and large very quite with the only sighting of a few spotted deer and resident birds. Then we suddenly saw a man in bike riding very fast and he took off the road and into the side tracks. Our gypsy driver started racing along with him. Puzzled, we  didn't know what was happening and asked the guide. Then the un-reveal happened - he said there are "Trackers" in the forest(appointed by the govt.) and if you pay them they will lead to the lion or lion pride. Really was our question? The guide went on to add that for more money the tracker and forest officials would even steer the lion towards your vehicle. Well we didn't believe these and true to ourselves we went about exploring the jungle further and returned home without sighting any lion. Some tourists from the resort returned with smiling faces and yes they had spotted a lion in the same route we were. Having spent enough time in jungles in the last ten years we were happy to leave things to the nature to unfold itself.

Crocodiles at Kamleshwar Lake

Our afternoon safari began and now we had a new driver and guide. Both were quite enthusiastic and understood that we would be interested in seeing birds too. Took us to the Kamleshwar lake where we did see crocodiles in the lake bed, lot of Asian paradise flycatcher, Martins and swallows, other resident birds. 

As the journey continued, we spotted a village and not surprising as most national parks have some settlements still within them and these belonged to the "Maldharis" who are nomadic herders  moving around with their livestock. Some distance from this place we saw a large population of Buffaloes and a man in traditional Maldari dress bathing them. What a sight...the Buffaloes were enjoying the cool water and the man while bathing them was giving them a body scrub too. Our guide gestured me to follow him and said this is a good place for birding as there was water and it attracted a lot of birds - well why not we sighted Flycatchers, Shikra, Tickel's blue flycatcher, Babblers and Oriental White-eye. 

Maldhari and livestock ---cool bath

As we continued our journey we did hear the roar of a lion in some distance and our guide and driver started locating the source and we halted at one spot, with one more gypsy there. Lo and behold we saw the majestic lion walking towards us from the undergrowth. Well the excitement was palpable and our cameras went on click click click. However we noticed something was wrong as the lion kept looking towards the undergrowth. What unfold was shocking - a guy in khakhi uniform with a long stick was gesturing and making sounds at the lion. Our guide explained it was one of the trackers and the lions have got used to this. Quite disappointing!!!

We continued and within the next ten minutes we saw a few vehicles parked some distance ahead. Our jeep driver accelerated and said "saheb juroor dono bhai milgaye hain" and why not two majestic males were siting below a tree and the view was majestic. Well you can guess the two were surrounded by six trackers...Our respect for the wildlife park started diminishing quickly and our guide noticed it. He said if the govt didn't resort to this then the tourist flow would decline. After some more birding we returned to Club Mahindra. 

Still there was some expectation to see a pride of lions and next day last trip turned out lucky. A few minutes into our safari we encountered the most visible pride of 10 lioness and cubs walking beside our track. A few gypsies(vehicles) were there and we watched them to our hearts content.Well this is the pride that is sighted the most and those who follow environment/cricket news might have seen the controversy around Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja and his wife Riva posing with this pride of lions.Well at that moment we enjoyed the experience of watching the pride walk along, rest, oblivious to the human presence. An experience that  we had been waiting for since many years and it got fulfilled.

The Lion Pride

Overall a very mixed experience with the positives being the sighting of the Asiatic Lion whereas the practice of trackers used by the government was a disappointment.

Read More

Trip to home of Demoiselle Cranes,Khichan, Jodhpur

Demoiselle Cranes, Khichan

As we were motoring Jodhpur to Jaisalmer, Hukum Singh our driver suggested “would you like to see Khichan?”

Our target were the Jaisalmer Fort, Thar desert, the camel ride and if possible see the Indo-Pak border from a distance. How does Khichan figure in this? When asked to clarify Hukum Singh said “Sir bahut chidiya(birds), lot of them”. Then I recalled to have read/seen somewhere perhaps in the NDTV about this village surrounded by arid lands and at the outskirts of this there was a big pond/lake (with knee deep) water during the winter season. 

Thousands of Cranes

Long back (five decades) a villager Ratanlal Maloo returned to his village Khichan(in Phalodi Tehsil, Rajasthan) and was given the task of feeding pigeons and sparrows. One day he noticed a different bird looking for food, though not an ornithologist, he could at least discern that this bird was a special type. The curious villager approached the bird and threw some grain. The bird was more cautious and it won’t go near the grains unless the helpful villager retraced. Reading the mind of the bird, the villager went back a few steps and stood still and the bird managed to nibble the grains. This continued for few days and one day the bird disappeared. He asked others in the village and they told him the bird was called kurja(in Rajasthani) or Demoiselle crane. Ratanlal was crestfallen, “what happened to the visitor? Poaching?” God forbid. But lo and behold next year the crane (and Ratanlal could identify as it was limping) came accompanied by other birds and this time more courageous. That year he had to feed more birds, that flew in a few thousand miles from the feeding grounds in Mongolia and Eurasia.

At the pond

I was wonder struck while listening to the narration from the keeper of the Chugga ghar. As he was narrating the story, a few kids gathered each carrying some grains. While listening to the narration I was looking around. There were cranes and cranes everywhere probably a few thousands, some flying at low height, others eating the grain and occasionally pecking each other. The noise was something that I had never heard…imagine a few thousand birds calling each other. My daughter Jayashree went close and clicked photos copiously.

The pond was filled with birds and photography was an easy job. My four year old granddaughter Annika, snatched away my camera and went click, click, click. She was thrilled though on most occasions she was off the mark. Two foreigners, bare-footed & disregarding the mud went very close. They must have been good photographers and wildlife enthusiasts. Definitely this place is a treat for wildlife photographers.

awesome sight

The keeper was narrating tirelessly, “Do you know sirs, It became very taxing for Ratanlal to feed so many birds. Ratanlal had to seek help from the village panchayat and soon other villagers joined in this conservation effort. Soon after, the Govt of Rajasthan pitched in and funds are released for feeding the birds.  The villagers continue to protect the cranes and Rajasthan is a place where many animals are protected by villagers whether it is the peafowl, Chinkara or the Blackbuck.

Today Khichan has been was declared a World Heritage site by the International Crane Foundation and the cranes are enjoying their annual five month stay in this place. This would not have been possible but for the initial leadership shown by Ratanlal also known as “Birdman of Khichan”. He is no more(passed away in 2011), however he has left behind a good example of wildlife conservation.

The heat was oppressive and we had to reach Jaisalmer by lunch time. Though watching the cranes was irresistible, we had to say good bye to Khichan.

(Contributed by Bipin Bihari Mishra and photocredits Jayashree Mishra )

Read More

Trip to Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, India

One-horned Rhino

A very short drive from Guwahati i.e. ~45 Kms, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary holds the distinction of having the highest density of One-horned Indian Rhinoceros in the world. Located in the plains of river Brahmaputra, it is situated in the Morigaon District of Assam. Roughly 40 sq Kms in size it is house to almost 90 Rhinos and the ones that we saw were infact quite large. During the monsoon season, the flood waters of the Brahmputra flood this park and the animals move to nearby regions.

 

Lesser Adjutant

Apart from the one horned Rhinoceros, Pobitora hosts a lot of migratory birds during the winter season and in the last count in 2012 approximately 5000 migratory birds of ~30 different types were seen.

 

Jeep rides are available though limited (due to the necessity of an armed guard accompanying you - like in most of the Rhinoceros National parks in the NE India), and so also you can have the pleasure of an elephant ride through the sanctuary. Incase you are interested in bird life then you can access the vicinity of the park for some photography...however there is always the threat of one being approached by a Rhino(exercise adequate caution please). For the children there is a Hadook Hanging bridge...which one can experience during a short 2-3 mins walk.

Migratory Birds

 

One can get there through multiple routes and we used the one through Chandrapur. The visit was a short one and good one.

(Contributed by EnigmaticIndia Team)

Read More

Trip to Butterfly Park- Ovalekar Wadi, Thane

Blue Tigers

Hidden in a quiet lane off Ghodbunder Road in Thane is a butterfly park called Ovalekar Wadi. A friend told me about this park. I had never visited a butterfly park and the images that came to my mind was of enclosed netted spaces.

Striped Tiger

Five of us set out on an early morning in August. The Park is open only on Sundays from 8 AM onwards. We were in for a surprise. Rajendra Ovalekar the owner of this park has taken pains to maintain natural surroundings for the butterflies. There are a wide variety of fruit and flower bearing trees. Care is taken in rearing the larvae of butterflies in containers. This ensures that the larvae survive the difficult phase of their life. 

   Common Crow

Rajendra Ovalekar told us about how he started the park- 5 years back he attended a program on butterflies by BNHS - Bombay Natural Historic Society . He was so inspired that he decided to convert the agricultural land that he had into a butterfly park. His parents stay in a house within the park and he visits over the weekends. During the set up and for the first couple of years he got a lot of support from Isaac Kehimkar an avid naturalist and butterfly expert.

Mr Ovalekar was there to take us for a tour around the park explaining the life cycle phases of butterflies- we saw pupa, cocoons and caterpillars. The park is home to more than 100 species of butterflies.  We spotted quite a few varieties of butterflies. These included:

Striped tiger

Plain tiger

Blue tiger

Common Jezebel

Common sailor

Common crow

Great Eggfly

Common rose

Peacock Pansy

Common baron , to name a few

The light was just perfect. The previous day there were rains and we were quite apprehensive. We spent a few hours  photographing. Realized that photographing butterflies needs loads of patience and quiet. A little sound and off they go. It was a very refreshing experience. If you want to photograph then its a good idea to go as early as possible. Butterflies tend to get more active as the day progresses.

A wonderfully refreshing place that feels completely out of the world. We spent some time sitting on the grass and observing. There are also arrangements in the park to have home made breakfast made by Mr. Ovalekars family.

A highly recommended place. It is located at Owla village , Ghodbunder Road, Close to Suraj Water Park.  Don't be deterred by the dusty potholed filled road off Ghodbunder road- that lasts for a short while. The park has a car park. You can find more details about the park in their Facebook page

(Contributed by Jayashree Mishra)

Read More

Trip to Thattekad - Birder Paradise, Keral

During our last trip to Kerala, we decided to go to Thattekad famous for the Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary.  It is a short drive of 45 - 60 mins from the Kochi (Airport) or 45 Kms from the closet railway station at Aluva.

This place has one of the richest bird habitats in India compared close to the Himalayas and bird species of ~250-270 can be seen here. One of the most sought after ones being he Ceylon Frogmouth.

We  checked-in at the Hornbill Camp a nice resort amongst coconut grooves and other plantations. It is nicely located along the banks of the river Periyar and overlooking the Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary. Nice place to stay with Swiss tent accommodation.

There are a few other places around - Soma Bird Lagoon,Home Stays (Gireesh Chandran being the most sought after as he has good access to the Bird Sanctuary) and if you go around 50 Kms a few more places to stay.

We did couple of Birding trips from the resort to the nearby Urulanthanni Reserved Forest and we sighted the Ceylonese Frogmouth, Black-naped Monarch, Green Imperial Pigeon, 

Southern Hill Myna, 

Vernal Hanging Parrot and the Malabar giant Squirrel.
The Hornbill Camp has water activities including kayaking in the serene waters of Periyar river. One can also opt to cycle around the plantations & nearby areas.

For the bird lovers this is one of the places in India to visit definitely and you can plan up-to three days here.

Read More

Snake Charmers of India

Snake Charmers at Jaipur Palace

As we were concluding our day tour to the Amer Fort, Jaipur, we were quite astonished to see two

snake charmers (“Sapera”, “Sapela”, “Sapuakela”) wearing colorful turbans having two bamboo baskets in front and many “pungis” dotting the ragged piece of cloth they were sitting on. I had not seen a snake charmer since decades and this was a miracle.

Snake Basket @ Padmasekharpur Odisha

Childhood memories started fleeting by and I remember the summer holidays when all cousins would gather at our grandmother’s place. Back in the 80’s snake charmers in cities and towns were quite common and we would wait eagerly to call them home at least once during the summer break.  The “Sapuakela” would come with multiple baskets each having a separate species of snake and enchant us for an hour or so and taking back with him a few Rupees.  I vividly remember seeing the Cobra, Rat Snake, India Python, Russel Viper and the Sand boa. The swaying moment of the “pungi” and the Cobra would be in unison and we always thought that the snake was responding to the sound. Little did we know those days that snakes are deaf and they tend to follow the movement of the “pungi”. Years passed by and we would follow a similar routine every summer, we grew up and routines changed. The country went through a phase of urbanization, development and environment/wildlife conservation and when I look back we lost touch with the “Snake Charmers of India”.

Back to present day, I was eager to relive the olden days and was excited what was in store. As one of the snake charmer lifted the hood of the basket, there arose the majestic Indian Cobra also known as spectacled cobra, Asian cobra or Binocellate cobra. 

Snake Charmer with Cobra@Jaipur Palace

At this point of time, the conservationist in me decided to go on the back foot and allowed the child in me savour the moments. While we failed to capture the moments on video, the following video one by "Dustin Kerschtien"matches what we experienced. 

Days passed by post the Jaipur trip and I forgot about those beautiful memories, until the day when I heard Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi addressing people at the Madison Square Garden(Sep 2014). "India was once known as the “land of snake charmers”. Had it not been for Indian Americans, who have excelled in various fields, that image would not have changed. During a foreign trip I was asked whether India was still about “snake charmers”. I said, "Our ancestors used to play with snakes, we play with mouse”.

It intrigued me again to revisit the topic of Snake Charmers of India and I set out to understand what has happened to Snake Charmers all over the country. India  has around 250+ species of snakes and alteast thousands of people who have knowledge of this trade(snake charming) in different pockets of the country. Over the past few decades many of them have taken up to alternate professions/trades (like agriculture, govt jobs, begging etc.) after the passage of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 which made Snake Charming illegal. Many protests have happened in the country during this period however our need to lead on the forefront of wildlife conservation deafens this noise.This informative video by Vivek Mishra is worth watching.

The main question I have in mind "Is this trade dying?" Definitely not is my thought and it should not be allowed to just cease one day. The centuries of wisdom the “Saperas” have with them should be used and is being probably being used at many places. With the lack of primary healthcare in villages, the villagers are often depended on “Sapera’s” to treat snake bites as they have access to traditional herbs & roots that may heal.  On the other hand to help them generate livelihoods the governments have legitimized Snake Charming in tourist places like in Amer(Jaipur) Fort. More efforts are needed by the government, animal conservation groups and citizens of India to help them generate livelihood. 

Back to my research, I stumbled across an ethno-botanical study “From charmers to educators: Using indigenous knowledge for conservation education“ conducted by “Bahar Dutt, Rachel Kaleta and Vikram Hoshing”.  The study concluded beautifully as follows: “To conclude it would be easy to just let snake charming come to an end in an era of globalization and mass communication. On the other hand, a lot can be done to save the traditional skills of this community caught between their past and modern conservation laws. The employment of snake charmers as ‘barefoot conservation educators’ and the recognition of their indigenous knowledge would not only protect their culture and identity but also assist in the protection of thousands of snakes killed through ignorance”.

As you are browsing through this extensive study, I leave you with this beautiful dance form Kalbeliya from Rajasthan which is performed by nomadic tribe who are snake charmers.

Contributed by Sandip Mishra

Photocredits (EnigmaticIndia team and Saumya Parida)

Read More

Who is Enigmatic India? and Who will Enigmatic India be?

At heart, we are a team of birdwatchers, tiger admirers, nature lovers, fascinated by history and keen travellers. Our love for birds, animals and nature started very early as a hobby. We explored trails, found birds and learnt about other flora and fauna for the fun of it. Our love grew and evolved into Enigmatic India.

When we started Enigmatic India, our intention was to travel, experience, share and give back. We did that in good measure. We allowed the myriad experiences to stoke and provoke us and discovered a bunch of more things we could do. We got intensely involved with some causes and supported them. We invited our family and friends to participate and were pleasantly surprised by the participation.

For everyone who has supported us and continue to encourage us, here is a summary of our experiences, some of them thrilling, some mundane but nonetheless exciting.

1 – once, we got lost once in the wilderness

2 – twice, we encountered poachers
2 – two feet is the closest we got to a tiger – we froze
3 – charities and causes we have supported
3 – product lines we have experimented with
5 – editions of our calendar delivered
7 – corporate entities purchase products in bulk from us
19 – is the total number of Indian states we have travelled in
20 – UNESCO world heritage sites visited by us
46 – is the number of hotels we stayed at and reviewed
89 – guides helped us explore our experience in Enigmatic India
268 – species of birds we spotted and identified
500 – rupees charged for allowing us to view the photo of a defecating tiger
1700 – likes on FB, a small start with social media
2011 – is the year we launched Enigmatic India
4000 – calendars were designed and delivered by our team
11254 – photos of flora & fauna in our photo library, and growing
17900 – unique number of times our blogs have been read and viewed
65000 – kilometers travelled by road by the team
140000 –rupees is the total donations we made with proceeds from our products. 
300000 –number of times one of our photos has been viewed

Some risky, some outright stupid, 5 years just passed and we feel we have not even started. In hindsight, some of these look too large to be true. Some of our photographs were bad; even we would not look at them. Others turned out well; we got over 300k views on one of them. To think that we encountered poachers and stared them in the eye and not knowing what to do, now seems stupid.

Despite everything, at no point, did we feel stressed! We continue to be happy people, engaged in what we love doing most. In five years, our resolve to give back to the society has continuously strengthened.

As we evolve, we realize the need to structure our operations. Too many things were haphazard in our interactions. We thank you for the patience in dealing with them. We are fixing those issues. We are happy to share Enigmatic India is now incorporated as a private limited entity. Our operations have been, are, and will always remain to be fully transparent.

We engaged with Shibumi Design team to give us a new identity and we are very happy with the results, unveiling soon. We are deeply engaged with a product design and production team to explore some exciting new products, our first product experiments are done some of you have seen the results. We are thrilled and eager to bring them to you.

We have come this far and this leads us to ask ourselves, “Who will Enigmatic India be?”

When we started Enigmatic India, we had no idea what lay ahead and we did not imagine we would come this far. Today, we are building a purpose around what we do. We endeavor to

-        Contribute to conservation of wildlife in all means possible
-        Share experiences through writings, photographs, classes and products
-        Build sustainable models to independently support our initiatives
-        Offer products, services and community based programs relevant to Enigmatic India
-        Provide meaningful opportunity for the inclusion of local artisans
-        Generate meaningful livelihood in relevant areas that we can

We will continue to discover, explore and unravel people, places, food, history, culture, heritage, nature, wildlife and the many other myriad facets of India.

We are committed more than ever in our contribution to conserve wildlife. Similar causes will continue to be a major part of our efforts. We resolve to participate more with nature and give back in all ways we can and inspire others to participate.

Like a spirited teenager, we are super excited about the future and we embark into next 5 years with spunk, eager to see more and do more.

To Experience

Respect
Learn
Share
Teach
Participate
Save and
To be aware,

This is Enigmatic India.

Read More

"Wildlife has a culture. The culture of sticking to the rules of nature"

Bird Feeder

Living in upscale community in a city, traveling in an expensive car may be a luxury in some sense. Breathing fresh air, living in less noise and light polluted environments, listening to bird calls while being at home is also a luxury. One would prefer the latter option given the current chaotic metro city conditions.

A sprawling university campus, a small reserved forest, an agriculture land at the edge of the city, a water body that supplies drinking water to the town offer excellent window into the biodiversity.

Keeping the environments clean and hygiene not just meant for the human beings. One should
understand that wild life has a culture. The culture of sticking to the rules of nature. The otherwise cultured human being should maintain a clean environments so that the wild animals do not become scavengers. It’s also important to keep the man made scavengers away from the wildlife habitats. A science paper in UK published that there would 50% more passerine bird diversity in city gardens if crows are kept out.

Placing a nest box at home is helpful for the birds that cannot easily find a nesting site. Conveniently placed earthen pots (meant to grow plants at gardens) filled with water, is much more useful for birds, particularly during the summer months. Birds (even mammal like squirrels) are known to use water from such arrangements. Ants and insects use it to cool themselves. Cuckoo wasps congregate on them for cooling. These sources of drinking water and birdbaths give excellent opportunity to study birds and their behavior.

So please go ahead and contribute your bit to conserving nature and environment.

Contributed by Anand Kalinadhabhatla. He can be reached at G+, Facebook
(photo courtesy: EnigmaticIndia)

Read More

Why I love travelling - "To explore the world"

I have been travelling since I was three years old and now it is one of my favourite things.

One main reason why I travel is to explore the world.

More than cities I go to jungles and historical places. I love jungles as I get to see a lot of animals and birds. Jungles are a good place to take pictures, so I started taking pictures. I tried my hands with the DSLR camera when I was pretty young. I would click anything that I would see in front of me. That is how I realized that I could become a good photographer.

Travelling helped figure the things I was good at. Going to historical places for me is a must because these places take me back in time.  I find forts and palaces very interesting and I love the architecture of the Mughals, the most. The geometrical designs on the windows are one of my favorites. (Nature and Geometrical designed inspired sketch  by me)

During one such travels, when I went to the Gwalior Fort to watch the Light & Sound show, there were hardly any people there and we were sitting on the open in a chill winter night. I found the show interesting and the story of the fort and the dynasty was very tragic. When we were watching the show a strong wind blew and we felt the chills. After sometime we realized that clouds were passing through us and that meant we were in the clouds! That was a very cold and nice   experience.  When travelling you have many good and bad experiences that you will never forget.  At the end of that day you will have fun and you will learn a lot.
 
Also, while travelling I collect a lot of things that belong to the place - like souvenirs, handicrafts or even small things like pebbles, sea-shells etc. I create designs from these articles and one of them is shown here(sea Shells).

I love trying out new types of food because I am a foodie. Eating different types of cuisine belonging to the place is a very good enriching. The food of the place can tell you a lot about the culture of the place. When I travelled to Gujarat along with my classmates, I had paneer(cottage cheese) every day and lots of vegetarian food, which may indicate that Gujarat is primarily a vegetarian state.

So, while travelling please try out new things like cuisines, local handicrafts and finally don't harm nature.

- Contributed by Shreya Mishra

Read More

Why I love travelling - "To find physical and mental limits"

The unknown places help me discover myself, and the known ones help me feel at peace. It allows me to be myself, go funky, try out local dresses, and most importantly helps find my passion!

My mom once said: “Dude! We’re going on a jungle trip!!! It’ll be amazing!!! Get your camera!”

I had a fear of dogs then and I was going to see tigers! I was scared! Being too young, I thought that I would be eaten by the carnivores in the safari… How foolish?!

That one trip to the jungle helped me find a photographer in myself!

I travel to see how it changes me. I used to hate touching the vim bottle when I was young! Thanks to the Himalayan Excursion, I now wash my own mug!

I travel to find my physical and mental limits. Sleeping at 11:30 pm and waking up at 4:30 am; and trekking are very stressful! But that cannot be your limit. I push my limits to the farthest possible point at times I travel!

I have become so open minded and accepting to the people around. When I see a local dressed up according to their culture, I just let them be. But some of my friends, who do not often travel, see them, the burst out in laughter and make that person conscious.

I am curious to know what it is living in places other than where I stay, what they eat, how they behave, what they talk, do they also have emotions like me? Do they also sing and dance? What do they do when they are happy? And of course the wonderful life of plants and animals...

The world is so beautiful...I have just started...And have many miles to go…Do you want to join me?

#Nikhil Kumar

Read More

Trip to Horsely Hills, Andhra Pradesh

Horsely Hills is a hill station (around 1200 m above MSL) in the south of Andhra Pradesh, rather closer to Bangalore. This was a destination that we somehow did not try to venture in the last 15 years of stay at Hyderabad. Finally, decided to beat the scorching heat of Hyderabad and planned a 2 days stay at Horsely hills.
 The drive to Horsely hills from Hyderabad was a good one – along the Bangalore highway. The roads were beautiful and we reached Anantapur in 5 hours.  Had lunch at a “Reliance A-One” Dhaba near Anantapur and headed off to Madanepalle on the NH 205. The road changed from the 4 lane to a two lane with a lot of incoming heavy vehicles. The progress was slow and we started seeing the “Haritha Hill Resorts” signage boards. Suddenly at one point about 20 kms before Madnapalle there was a signage to take a right U turn to Horsely hills.

We paid a toll tax at the foot of the hills and ascended the ghat roads. It was a good drive with a lot of greenery – spotted some langoors waiting for the passengers of vehicles to feed them. We reached the Haritha Hills Resorts and checked into the Windfalls cottages. It was already evening and we decided to retire to the bed after having dinner at the Haritha Restaurant where the food was average and limited.  The next morning we explored the Horsely hills – primarily it housed the Haritha Hills Resorts, Lake Gangotri, Highview seeing place, Gaalibanda, Forest Department’s Environmental park (with a small zoo) and Governor’s bungalow, one private resort(small one though) Horsley Hills Museum, BSNL office, a police outpost, residential quarters for the staff and a few stalls for tea/milk/general groceries.

The high view seeing place was good with a very panoramic view of the surrounding hills and the constant sound of the winds. However the place was littered with broken glasses (from the wine and liquor bottles thrown by tourists) and one had to be very careful. We spent couple of hours and then decided to drive down to Madanepalle to buy some mangoes and see the place. On the way to Madanepalle, I noticed a board showing “Rishi Valley School” and recalled a conversation with my friend about a bird sanctuary in the same place. Thanks to internet, did a quick search and got the contact of the school. Called them up and enquired about the bird sanctuary and were asked to come and meet the administrative officer. We took a detour and went to Rishi Valley School, its located in pristine surrounding amidst the rural back drop. There I was directed to speak to Mr Shantaram who runs the Institute for Bird studies. He agreed to take us around the campus the next day morning and I was very excited. The rest of the day was spent both at Madanepalle buying mangoes and at Horsely hills enjoying the cool breeze during the hot summer, exploring the place again. The disappointment was that the museum was not open during all these days.

The last day of our stay at Horsely Hills, I woke up in the morning ready to go to Rishi Valley school. My family members decided to stay back and get ready for the long journey back to Hyderabad. Mr Shantaram was there waiting for me and he took me around the campus – a 2 hour journey showing the farms, water conservation, dairy farms, water treatment, and also some birding. Apparently this place is a bird sanctuary and Mr Shantaram also runs a distance education program on bird studies.  It was too cloudy and we spotted around 20 types of birds and the count here was around 200. Satisfied, I thanked Mr Shantaram and agreed to visit again later in the year.

Rushed back to Horsely Hills and after having the breakfast & taking bath we departed for Hyderabad. The return journey was good except for a small hold-up at Anantpur where there was a crowd gathering due to a political leaders visit.

Overall our first trip to Horsely hills was a good one.

Read More

Trip to Chilika Lake, Mangalajodi, Orissa

Chilka Lake in Orissa is the largest inland salt water lagoon in Asia, and measure around 1000 sq Kms. We have visited Chilika Lake quite a number of times since our childhood days. Our trips were always very typical with the tradition boat ride to the Kalijai Islands, looking out for the Irrawaddy dolphins, enjoying the lake and the coastal food – fish, crabs, prawns etc.

Since we took up to wildlife, our focus changed towards the migratory birds that come to Chilika Lake (during the winter) from all over the world especially the cold northern countries. They make Nalabana( which is a designated Bird sanctuary) their home for a few months before moving homeward.

During my last visit to Bhubaneshwar, I came across a flier in the newspaper about a place called Mangalajodi, 75 Kms from Bhubaneshwar, which was promoting Ecotourism and birding activities. This area is a notified Wetland and the same migratory birds that visit Nalabana also make this place their nesting ground.
   

Black Tailed Godwit

Early in the morning we travelled to a place called Sunderpada and got a glimpse of the huge tracts of land being used for fishery activities. Also, we walked about the channel to get a view of the Open Billed Storks, Black Tailed Godwitt, Nothern pintails, Shovelers, Painted Storks, Shelduck etc.

Then we quickly moved to Mangalodi where we met with the birding guides promoted by the village eco-tourism. This place was once infamous for bird poachers who earned their living by killing, catching and selling these beautiful birds and their eggs. The local village committee and a wildlife NGO, WildOrissa have converted these poachers to protectors of the birds.

 As we navigated along the various channels in the wetland we got a glimpse of the wide variety of migratory birds- never seen before. The 2 &1/2 hours of boat ride was very enriching and definitely a bird watcher’s paradise.

To view more pictures please click here

Read More

Trip to Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Sambalpur,Odisha

Last year during our annual visit to Orissa, we decided to explore lesser known places. Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary situated in Sambalpur, Orissa caught our attention. Located 40 Kms from Sambalpur adjacent to the waters of the Hirakud Reservoir, this Sanctuary has two reserve forests i.e. Lohara and Debrigarh Reserve Forests.

We reached Sambalpur and next day morning drove down to the sanctuary. The early morning drive along the Hirakud reservoir was very nice. After taking permissions from at the forest check-post we started our journey…Being the summer season the forest wore a dry look with dry bamboos clumps dotting the forest line. Soon we spotted the Chital, Indian Peafowl and a herd of Indian Bison (Gaurs). You should plan to go in a Jeep or SUV as the roads are not motorable enough for cars.

We went to the watch tower along the banks of the Hirakud Reservoir and as we were moving back, we saw two sloth bears crossing the road behind us. We stopped to click some snaps, however they soon disappeared into the thickets.

It was getting hot and after exploring a bit more we decided to move to the Eco-tourism complex developed by the Forest Deptt. The place

was impressive and while we waited for the food, we did some birding activities to capture flower peckers, Oriental white eye, tree pie, red vented bulbul, drongo etc. It was getting hot and after having our lunch we moved back to Sambalpur.

You can visit the official website at http://debrigarh.org/

To view more picture please click here

Read More