Guest Post - Kutch Diaries Part 2

Bhubaneshwar is often called the city of temples . It is impossible to know exactly how many temples there are, but it has been estimated that there might be over 700 temples in the city. This number, while impressive, is just a fraction of the original number, which, sometime in the 13 th century, would have been about 7000. Wikipedia has a page dedicated to the Hindu temples of Bhubaneshwar , where 93 temples are listed. All these are ancient temples, built between the 7 th and 13 th centuries CE. Bhubaneshwar was once known as Ekamra Kshetra , the sacred mango grove. We know this name from an inscription at the Ananta Vasudeva temple, which mentions the name of the place, and the main temple (that we now know as the Lingaraja temple) in the mango grove. Ananta Vasudeva Temple, with a sculpture of Trivikrama in the niche It is extremely interesting to note that the Ananta Vasudeva temple is the only temple to Lord Vishnu in this city. Varaha, Ananta Vasudeva Temple Located v...

Guest Post - Kutch Diaries Part 2

In this, his second guest post, Niranjan continues his reminiscences of his Kutch trip, with a more detailed report of the fifth day spent on the Rann of Kutch. To read his earlier post, click here.

We started from Zainabad to Moti Virani, Kutch district on the morning of the fourth day of our trip – 28^th December. We reached our destination by evening and had ample time to cool our heels and take some rest before embarking on another adventure into the wild. We were greeted with a terrific lunch. Whoever says that Gujarati food is sweet, should try out Kutchi food. It is very spicy and reminds of Andhra J

29, December, 2011

The morning began with a journey to the Banni grasslands Reserve. One sight of this place will remind anyone of the Savannah grasslands.

The day began with our capturing the brilliant sunrise and being treated with the sightings of many Montagu’s and Pallid harriers looking out for their early breakfast.

Pallid Harrier:

Montagu’s Harrier holding its prey in her legs

On the way, we also spotted Chestnet-bellied Sandgrouses:

After capturing many more Harriers, Common cranes and Indian Nightjars on the way, we made a stop in the open for having a breakfast. There we were greeted with a Red-tailed Wheatear on the rocks next to our car.

After having a breakfast, we started moving again and exploring the landscapes for more birds.

On the way, we saw Nomads passing...

by. I was told by the Naturalist, Mr.Jugal Tiwari travelling with us, that these nomads go on for days in this desert surviving only on Camel’s milk!

On the way, we were greeted by the Desert Wheatears:

We were ably guided by Mr.Jugal who runs an NGO in Moti Virani called CEDO(Centre for Desert and Ocean). We then went to an open area, where we saw Stoliczka's Bushchat.