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Temples of Kashi - The Tilbhandeshwar Temple

The city of Kashi is filled with temples, big and small, old and new. There are temples at every corner, and you never know where you will stumble upon a small shrine. There are idols beneath what remains of trees (there are hardly any trees any more within the core area of the city), there are saffron covered forms resembling deities which seem attached to walls, an especially incongruous sight when the idol itself appears to be old, while the wall is evidently new…. And there are surprisingly large temples rising from what appear to be a bunch of houses. The city is sometimes colloquially said to be as old as time, and some of the shrines and temples are said to date back to times unknown, at least the deity itself, if not the structure. Not much remains of the ancient structures anyway. The city has seen more than its fair share of good and bad times. It has seen the heights of grandeur, and the lows brought about by destruction. The city that exists today has grown so haphaza...
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A couple of birds.....

I started getting interested in birds only when Samhith began noticing them and asking their names. When I realised that his interest made him conscious about being quiet and calm while we were looking at birds, I decided to encourage him just to teach him some patience. You can see the influence he has had on me, just by going through my blog. But you can really gauge his influence when you see the pics below. These were taken by my sister-in-law, Sandhya, when she was on a trip to Chidambaram. Till now, she has shown no interest in birds, but thanks to him, the whole family has jumped on the birding bandwagon!  

I have no idea about the names of the birds, so if any of you do know, please leave a comment....



This is the best one - a bird inside its nest...... again, I have no clue as to the name.....


She actually took a lot more photographs, but they were not all that clear, and I could not put them up! But as of now, thanks to Samhith, there is a whole new family of birding enthusiasts!!!!

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  1. jayasreeFebruary 16, 2010 at 3:12 PM

    Thats good to know that Samhith has inspired you all. So we too can expect some virtual birding here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MridulaFebruary 16, 2010 at 4:10 PM

    Anu I am not 100% sure but that kind of nests are made by tailor birds. I unfortunately cannot identify the bird.

    ReplyDelete
  3. chitraFebruary 16, 2010 at 5:22 PM

    Nice interest you have all developed. now all of you will be looking for birds when you are out. To tell you the truth I don't know any thing much abt. birds other than the common birds we find around.

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  4. sriFebruary 17, 2010 at 4:55 PM

    Thats so cool, how one can infulence all others in the family. Thanks for the lovely pictures, in this fast paced world we dont even have time to look at flying pigeons, yet alone sparrows or anything.

    Try to keep some bird feed at home :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hema - AlankritiFebruary 24, 2010 at 11:28 AM

    Hi anu,,great to see a birding enthusiast in Samhith..my kids aged 12 n 10 love birding too..we are members of this adventure group called Sprouts..u can find them on the net..my kids have learnt a grat many birdnames thanks to the interest generated by the outings we have had with Sprouts..Cheers
    Hema

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  6. Anuradha ShankarFebruary 25, 2010 at 8:38 PM

    @Jayasree: Oh yes, i shall certainly try!

    @Mridula: even i wondered if they were tailor birds, but the pic is unfortunately not too clear...she took this one at dusk....

    @Chitra: Oh yes, it is a recent interest, but i find myself noticing more and more birds all around me...... till recently i too knew little...

    @Sri: you cant imagine the influence a kid has on the family.... which is why i just love being a mom!

    as to bird feed, we feed lots of birds... unfortunately, it is the crows which hog all the food... and barely allow the smaller birds near it...we get bulbuls and other birds when the crows have had their fill...

    @Hema: thanks so much..... I was so interested in Sprouts that I checked it out, and have decided to join too.... lets hope to meet sometime there...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hema - AlankritiFebruary 25, 2010 at 8:42 PM

    Fast work Anu..lets hope we meet soon:)

    ReplyDelete

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