Travel In Home

Nature calls..

There are some moments in life when you realize that the most simple things in life are the ones that we ignore the most, take them for granted and assume that they are always there..

They also happen to be the finer things in life which we cannot do without - the birds, the bees, the trees, the flowers, the deer, the ants, the spiders,the grass, the thicket and before I say like Keats "and the fruit tree wild..", let me tell you that my vain attempt at poetic prose is inspired by the 3 days spent in a Naturalist Training Programme organised by Jungle Lodges.

I went bird watching for the first time and it was amazing to wake up to an orchestra every morning. We spotted close to 20 species and some of them stay quite fresh in my mind. The special moments were the sighting of the Tickell's Blue flycatcher and the paradise fly catcher, the purple sunbird,the small minivet,the golden oriole,the Eurasian eagle owl, the red wattled lapwing and the blue bearded bee eater. However, it wasnt just them.

It was about realizing that all nests may not belong to birds, but could be that of a social spider .It was also about looking at the differences between the red vented bulbul and the red whiskered bulbul,the magpie robin and the Indian robin,the spotted dove and the laughing dove, listening to the call of the puff throated babbler, the sighting of the coppersmith , the sillhouttes of the wing patterns of the swift and the swallow in flight,the eye of the oriental white eye,the brown cap of the pygmy woodpecker and the white browed fantail. The colours are still so vivid in my mind and I realized that just watching these birds and their behaviour can be so addictive . I wondered what really took me so long to get to the world of birds.

But its not just the thrill of seeing and discovering birds..its also about discovering the world around you that makes you alive and gives you an identity.Its also about telling you that there could be a world soon when all these will slowly die or disappear as their habitat gets taken over by man.Its also about discovering that for every species of plant lost, we lose 30 species of organisms. There is drama,tension, mystery, colour and wonder in this world which we often miss. Unfortunately there is also death and decay here which we are indifferent to.

On a different note. Some quick updates here...
This blog has been selected as the featured blog in Best Indian Blogs and Im quite kicked about this..Thanks guys for reading my blog and making this happen. Im off to a new destination day after, a hill station ,a fort and a forest rolled into one..Any guesses ? You can look for answers in Cerebrate . Ive been missing out on all your posts and will catch up when I am back next week.

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by Jour ~ Monday, March 30, 2009 0 comments

Bridges and Rivers

I had not planned to travel in March - in fact I didnt have any destinations or holidays in mind . However, a couple of pilgrimages and family trips took me to into some of India's beautiful places. And I crossed several rivers .They were dry , but the sheer beauty of seeing water in a dry landscape is an amazing experience .

There is the River Tunga in Sringeri in Chikmagalur with such amazing fish which are both protected and revered..

There was the River Bhadra in Chikmagalur near the Kandya temple and at Kudre Habbi with some amazing rock formations caused by the force of the water

The two rivers join to form Tungabhadra. We crossed the river at Mantralaya , but there was hardly any water there.We moved on and the River Krishna stopped us , but we couldnt stop by at the bridge to take a picture. However, we were able to take quite a few of its tributary River Bheema in Yaadgiri.

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by Jour ~ Tuesday, March 24, 2009 0 comments

Updated: San Lorenzo, Rome

Our article on San Lorenzo fuori le Mura (St. Lawrence outside the Walls) in Rome has just been updated with lots more information and a gallery of over 100 photos from our visit in April 2008.This basilica stands over the grave of St. Lawrence, a Roman deacon who was martyred by roasting on a gridiron in 258 AD. He famously called out to his persecutors, "Turn me over, I am done on this side!"

by Jour ~ 0 comments

In the News: Hatshepsut Found

I got my latest issue of National Geographic in the mail today, and the cover story is an interesting one (but isn't it always?). It reports that the body of Hatshepsut - the female pharaoh who ruled Egypt in the 15th century BC - has been discovered!Well actually, the body was discovered a century ago. But it has recently been identified as Hatshepsut thanks to a tooth in a box with her name on

by Jour ~ Saturday, March 21, 2009 0 comments

Images of India - On a hot summer day

Of late Ive been driving into rural India more often than once. Almost every trip has taken me into this rustic world where villages and small towns seem to beckon me. This has probably been so over the last six months and probably barring Chennai and Hyderabad, I havent been to a city . I just returned from a weekend trip only to become a casualty to Bangalore's pollution, heat and dust. Maybe thats why Im advocating a holiday to a pollution free world

In a way, I seem to be more inclined towards villages than small towns. I believe rural tourism has great potential - not just portraying the stereotypes or "real India" as the guide books say, but a connect back to the simpler,more basic way of life . What do you think ?

by Jour ~ Wednesday, March 18, 2009 0 comments

Images of India - a drying yard in a coffee estate

I was in Malenadu last week, on my way to Sringeri and we transited through the coffee country - Hassan, Belur, Chikmagalur.If you followed my twitter updates, you would have got a feel of the journey.

I was at a couple of coffee estates , which have a colonial feel to them.One of the plantations is up hill in Chikmagalur near Balehanoor and we drove into the drying yard. There was less coffee and more spices, especially green pepper in this drying yard .

Persuaded by Gopal and Deepak I've enrolled for the photoblog contest.Pls vote for me here and dont forget to vote for Deepak and Gopal as well.

by Jour ~ Thursday, March 12, 2009 0 comments

Faces of Chennai

images from the photowalk - You meet many faces when you walk down the road and some stay with you..

by Jour ~ Sunday, March 8, 2009 0 comments

Chennai-moments and monuments

Our photo-walk continues as we walk past the Churches -Wesley and St Andrew's Kirk.It gets hotter, but we pause by capturing a few moments and monuments on the lens.

Pink seems to be the flavour of the season - the Govt Arts college and the Egmore station .

We continued looking at some old houses, offices ,shops, hotels until my battery ran out..

And something that made us go dead in our tracks !

by Jour ~ Monday, March 2, 2009 0 comments

On the street where I live-Chennai

A beautiful Wesley Church lies a few houses away from my house, a part of which faces the Poonamallee High Road . It was just another monument until a few days ago.

by Jour ~ Saturday, February 28, 2009 0 comments

A landmark of Chennai

Vamsee had tagged me a while ago and the rules were fairly simple. I had to select the 6th picture in my 6th folder and write the story of the picture. To begin with, Ive altered the rules a bit here. Its the 6th picture alright, but its from my latest folder - the Chennai photowalk that started at Dasaprakash and went on till Rippon Building. Ironically the latter is the landmark of the city, but my post speaks of the former.

When Aarti told me that the walk started from Dasaprakash, I couldnt say no . After all, I lived down the road. This was my area and it would be fun to discover it through a lens. Secondly, the hotel has several fond memories - of playing as a kid, enjoying the icecream in the parlour , meeting friends and being treated by parents in the restaurant. The dasaprakash dosa was the most delicious dish ever tasted. This was of course years before fast and junk food took over our lives .

Sadly however, the hotel doesnt offer services anymore .In fact no one knows whether it does or not, but it has an empty look about it.The picture says it all. Family disputes followed by litigation, union strikes have been the cause - but if rumours are to be believed, there is a talk of a buy over and a revival. Until then, the landmark lives on as a reference to the traffic junction opposite the building,as one haggles with the auto driver .

by Jour ~ Friday, February 27, 2009 0 comments

Back in Bangalore -

Travelling is often passing one milestone and moving on to the next. I am now back in Bangalore and lazing around in the summer heat.My thoughts however go back to the photowalk in Chennai last Sunday.

I walked up to the milestone(in the previous post) to take a picture of it from the other side. It was at the intersection of Egmore over bridge and Poonamallee High Road in Chennai. With all the muck lying around, it was written in Tamil -

Poondamallee - 22kms
Bengalore - 328 kms..

The Poonamallee High Road leading to the village is one of Chennai's main arteries and it also connects to the highway - NH4 between the two cities. Well, I didnt take the road this time, but the late evening train. By road or rail, commuting time between the two cities is just under 6 hours (oops - had written years by mistake..my dad called to correct it..and in the meanwhile quite a few comments as well..)

by Jour ~ Thursday, February 26, 2009 0 comments

At home in Chennai

A friend seeing my status on Facebook asked me "What, you are on a jaunt again ? " I relied saying " Home ." The status said that I was heading to Chennai aka Madras . His prompt reply was "I thought Bangalore was home." I was planning to reply - " Bangalore is where I live, but Chennai is home ." I went for a photowalk today, my second and the 17th organised by the photowalkers . The walk was not just in my hometown, but also in my locality and even though the weather was very hot , I couldnt resist the walking down the streets .Incidentally, my story on the birth of the city was published in Jet Wings in the January issue.
(The milestone says 3 Km to Chennai - from Egmore over bridge to Fort St George -Parry's corner )

by Jour ~ Sunday, February 22, 2009 0 comments

Back from Bheemeshwari and its a fishy tale again..

The 40 kms stretch of the Cauvery in Karnataka is home to Mahseer, one of the most famous sport fish loved by anglers all over the world."Angling is all about a game of wits between the fish and the angler and the mahseer, 100 pounds and more gives a real fight ..."

I made an unplanned day trip to Bheemeshwari, on the banks of the river where Jungle Lodges runs its Cauvery Fishing Camp. I was listening to a presentation on angling and eco tourism and was fascinated by the mahseer. It is indeed a big fish and a prized catch .I had been there a decade ago to do a TV show on the location and it was wonderful getting there again ..

My Bheemeshwari trip was courtesy JLR who had a IFS training camp for all IFS officers across the country..And it was wonderful listening to some wonderful presentations on eco and wildlife tourism in an eco-wild setting..Needless to say, I did see some jackals , a small snake , the Indian giant squirrel , plenty of avifauna including the wagtails and stood fascinated as a gillie showed us how to catch a Mahseer .

by Jour ~ Tuesday, February 17, 2009 0 comments

Happy Birthday, Oregon!

Today is the 150th birthday of my beautiful native state of Oregon - it became the 33rd U.S. state on February 14, 1859.Being away from Oregon for three years has given me an even greater appreciation for it, and I pledge to do it more photographic justice come spring!That's our state flag at the top, featuring a sunset on the Pacific Ocean and the famous covered wagon of the Oregon Trail. The

by Jour ~ Saturday, February 14, 2009 0 comments

Fishing Tales -Inside Story

“ Can you see that light, madam ? It has seven bulbs.” Balu points across the vast expanse of waters to a long horizontal contraption with outstretched rods. ”That’s a Cheena vala,” he says, referring to the Malayalam word for the Chinese fishing net believed to be brought into Kerala by the 14th century Chinese mariner, Zheng He.

I am at the Ashtamudi Lake , near Kollam sailing around the islands .Balu is from the local resort and is accompanying me on my morning cruise.He speaks fluent Tamil and Hindi and says he picked it up from the tourists .

The entire water scape is littered with these shore operated stationary nets. Long metallic and wooden rods jut out into the waters ,held in place by ropes. We sail a bit closer to take a look. The structures are more than 10 metres high .The rods stretch out as the birds perch on them and nets are outstretched on them.

Balu explains the process and says that fishing usually starts in the night. A net can be operated by a team of about five fishermen. They normally lower the net and submerge it at a certain depth. The lights suspended from these rods are placed on the surface of the waters and are used to attract the fish and crustaceans. The electric cable stretches out from the fishermen’s homes from the bank to the contraption .

“You can find more than 1000 of them ,” he says referring to the Chinese fishing nets . Popular in Kochi, , they are used by the local fishermen here to catch mainly prawns and crabs. Balu tells me that on a lucky night, the catch can be anything around 4-10 kgs.

We move on passing islands and islanders as Balu points out to “seacrows” .These cormorants were perched on the rods that were immersed in water. “This is Karimeen fishing,” he says referring to the pearl spot fish which is a delicacy in the backwaters.According to him the fishermen promote breeding and even cultivate “fish sanctuary.”He shows me the fish which is probably the size of the palm .

“The fishermen , even women catch by hand,” explains Balu , “We call it Vellavali.”I ask him about the rods and he explains that they are stems replanted on the waters . The fish he says feed on the leaves of plants that are littered below the surface .Stems are placed above the water and the nets are cast around them to catch them in the night. I listen fascinated as Balu tells me that lanterns are used by the fisher folk and karimeen auctions happen early in the morning .

It is Sunday and the backwaters are silent. It is a five day week for the fishing community. As we sail back, Balu sums up ,” There are different kinds of specialists for various varieties of fish and each technique is different from the other, even the nets ..” Its amazing, I thought how we take such simple things for granted.

The Inside Story is a fortnightly column published in the Metro Plus, The Hindu every Monday. Its not my story, but the story of the destination . I decided to reproduce some of my published columns and start a new series.

by Jour ~ Wednesday, February 11, 2009 0 comments