Friday, July 30, 2010
All in a day's work
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
The fabulous Bharatpur trip
Monday, May 3, 2010
APRIL- The Month of The Ash Cloud Crisis
Thursday, April 1, 2010
A Wonderful Weekend of Yoga, Relaxation and Fun at the beautiful SOLE EAST Resort in Montauk Long Island.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Inked !
Friday, February 19, 2010
Coz it's around the corner : HOLI !!
Bonfires are lit the day before, also known as Holika Dahan (burning of Holika) or Chhoti Holi (little Holi). The bonfires are lit in memory of the miraculous escape that young Prahlad accomplished when Demoness Holika, sister of Hiranyakashipu, carried him into the fire. Holika was burnt but Prahlad, a staunch devotee of god Vishnu, escaped without any injuries due to his unshakable devotion. Holika Dahan is referred to as Kama Dahanam in Andhra Pradesh. The main day, Holi, also known as Dhulheti, Dhulandi or Dhulendi, is celebrated by people throwing colored powder and colored water at each other.
Holi is celebrated at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month Phalgun (February/March), (Phalgun Purnima), which usually falls in the later part of February or March. In 2009, Holi (Dhulandi) was on March 11 and Holika Dahan was on March 10.
Rangapanchami occurs a few days later on a Panchami (fifth day of the full moon), marking the end of festivities involving colors.
Differences of any sort are drowned in the colored waters of Holi and people just enjoy being a play animal. To further enhance the festive spirit of Holi celebrations we have a social sanction to get a kick with the tradition of bhang. Then there is total wildness as people dance to the rhythm of dholak and sing traditional folk songs.
Children particularly enjoy the festival as they throw water filled balloons at passersby...and if anybody stares. Besides, they have their water missiles, called pichkaris to drench even those who are far away.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The Unforgettable Bharatpur Trip
They say it is a birder's delight, but I feel it is any wildlife aficionado's delight. Even after repeated visits to Keoladeo, 185 kms from Delhi, the sight of an enigmatic Dusky Eagle owl never ceases to fascinate me, and this time around I had my precious Nikon Binocs -god bless his soul whoever(Hans Lippershay?) invented it.
The first day just walked around the park for a couple of hours, we did not have much time. The
Next day, I had decided to spend the whole day at the park, so convinced the Naturalist to have a heavy breakfast and stick with me till cows came home! The start was a great one as we spotted a pair of Collared scops owl on the top perch of the magnificent Sal tree. This time of the year Bharatpur gets its annual migratory visitors hence we were lucky to see few Rudy Shelduck which are local migratory (Ladakh). What a beauty, grace personified! Very close to the water body we saw this group of men with huge cameras which looked almost like Bazookas, filming something. With a polite smile, I ventured into their domain and there right in front of me a Black Neck stork!
Whoever named it black necked was indeed colour blind because the neck was a deep shade of turquoise. I guess I am not as qualified as the British Group of Ornithologists who are in this name game.
Few kms into the park, this guy reacting to’information’ made me walk into the park for about a km and there I see this huge Rock Python lying (sprawling) in the sun, basking in its glory. This is my debut with snake sighting, and what a debut! I was dumbstruck. What a gorgeous creature! it was approx. 11ft long. He was resting after a morning meal, completely oblivious to the attention he was generating. 'Mast' in his own world.
When will we learn to be like them?