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Odisha Part 6: The Yogini Temple of Hirapur

I fell in love with this temple the first time I set eyes on it. Back in 2017 , I had been excited to see yet another Yogini temple, when I visited Puri. The resort I was staying at (and writing for), had arranged for a car and driver to take me around. The driver was happy to take me to most of the places I wanted to go, but when it came to Hirapur, he was appalled. He knew of the temple, but had never been there. It was a tantric temple, one not visited by women, and certainly not women travelling alone. He tried to convince me not to go, but my stubbornness and persistence paid off, and he reluctantly agreed when I told him that if he didn’t take me, I would find another driver who would. All along the way, he kept going on about the sinister things that happened at the temple, the tantric rituals that were performed at night…. An Odisha brahmin who took his religious duties very seriously, to the extent of stopping the car to perform the sandhyavandam when he deemed it time, he...
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Purple Rumped Sunbirds and Tailor Bird - Sky Watch Friday

The monsoons having officially begun, the trees near our house have been pruned. I wondered if this would mean that lesser birds would visit our place, but was surprised to see that in fact, I saw more of them, thanks to the lack of leaves which helped them camouflage! The best thing was that I managed at last to photograph the purple rumped sunbirds which flutter amidst the flowers all day long.....




Here is the male.....




and here is the female....




and here is one.. I guess it is a juvenile. Look at the red patch on the head. I wonder, is it a male juvenile? Any ideas you birdwatchers out there?

And finally,here is one which looks just like the female sunbird, but for a red patch on the head. It is a Tailor Bird! Thanks Mridula and Team G Sqaure for the ID




Here are some more pics in the form of a collage....


For more shots from around the world, go to Sky Watch Friday


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Location: Chedda Nagar Rd, Kurla, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

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