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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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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 – 28th 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.



On the way, we were lucky to catch a glimpse of the Common quail which is amazingly swift :



We also sighted an amazing number of Common cranes on the way back.





After an hour at lunch, we started again for the Banni grasslands for more of bird-watching.
We were lucky enough to capture Sociable Lapwings.



Grey Francolin:



We saw the MacQueen's Bustard at a distance, running from our jeep J



The 5th day of the trip of Kutch finally finished with a lovely sunset…


And before I sign off, here is one last pic...one with my friend, Nirvita in the frame....  



The trip was not yet over, and more was to come. Look out for my next post about the final days of our trip!



Related Post:
Kutch Diaries Part 1 









Labels:
Location: Rann of Kutch, Gujarat

Comments

  1. Mridula DJanuary 19, 2012 at 4:04 PM

    Amazing pictures. 

    ReplyDelete
  2. Indian BazaarsJanuary 19, 2012 at 4:56 PM

    That was quite an illuminating post! It was good to know about the Centre for Desert and Ocean! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Saandip NandagudiJanuary 19, 2012 at 5:21 PM

    Nice photographs.. is it the Demoiselle Cranes ??

    ReplyDelete
  4. RosesandgiftssJanuary 19, 2012 at 7:45 PM

    Amazing pictures..........
    rosesandgifts.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. PN SubramanianJanuary 19, 2012 at 9:34 PM

    Terrific shots. The Banni grasslands looks like a paddy field ready to be harvested!

    ReplyDelete
  6. ArchanaJanuary 19, 2012 at 10:44 PM

    Superb pictures! Hard to say which one is the best, but I loved the camel legs!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Niranjn CJanuary 19, 2012 at 11:01 PM

    Thank you Saandip. Those are Common Cranes ...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Niranjan CJanuary 19, 2012 at 11:08 PM

    Thank you Sir

    ReplyDelete
  9. Niranjan CJanuary 19, 2012 at 11:09 PM

    Thank you Archana 

    ReplyDelete
  10. Niranjan CJanuary 19, 2012 at 11:09 PM

    Thank you :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Niranjan CJanuary 19, 2012 at 11:10 PM

    Thank you Mam

    ReplyDelete
  12. ZephyrJanuary 20, 2012 at 8:02 AM

    The birds are out of this world. What a wealth of feathered friends our  country has!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Niranjan CJanuary 20, 2012 at 8:56 AM

    Thank you Zephyr....

    ReplyDelete
  14. Santosh bsJanuary 20, 2012 at 10:31 AM

    the LRK and GRK are wonderful places for bird watching and it seems you have seen a lot of them... great :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Niranjan CJanuary 20, 2012 at 5:14 PM

    Thank you Santosh :)
    Yeah, had an amazing no. of sighting :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. RamakrishnanJanuary 26, 2012 at 9:18 AM

    Awesome photographs of an amazing place. Great adventure indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Surekha S JethaliaFebruary 3, 2012 at 3:22 PM

    beautiful pics and wonderful place

    ReplyDelete
  18. ahmedabadonnetFebruary 4, 2012 at 1:55 PM

    marvelous snaps...
    ahmedabadonnet.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anu ShankarFebruary 23, 2012 at 10:56 AM

    Thanks a lot, Surekha!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Ranthambore National ParkMarch 12, 2012 at 2:57 PM

    I love your blog its look nice and attractive. I like wildlife sanctuaries and visited many wildlife sanctuaries. I love wild animals and clicking too many photos of them. I have a good experience of wildlife sanctuaries trip. Photos are really awesome of your blog. I always keep in touch with your blog and going to bookmark also.
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete

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