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Tanjore and Mysore Paintings at the CSMVS Mumbai

A chubby, naked, fair Krishna , holding a butter ball, covered in golden ornaments, Yashoda by his side, an indulgent smile on her face, even as her finger is raised in admonition. Rama and Sita seated on the throne, Lakshmana on one side, Bharata and Shatrughna on the other, surrounded by sages and kings; Rama a distinctive green in colour. These are both popular themes in Tanjore Art. I first saw both these in temples, the Navaneetha Krishna in many homes as well, if not original, at least a recent replica or just a copy. The Ramar Pattabhishekam I have better memories of, having seen it often at the Matunga Bhajan Samaj in Mumbai, as well as at my mother-in-law’s ancestral house in Thanjavur. The latter especially is close to our family’s heart, and it’s an exquisite piece of work, the expressions on Rama and Sita’s faces as intricately done as the gold work that surrounds them. Navaneetha Krishna Beautiful as they are , to me, they are associated with divinity more than just wor
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A New Visitor to my Backyard - Long Tailed Shrike

I have been getting a bit bored of the bird photos I have been posting.... I have loads of them, but they are of the birds I see every day.. and I am losing my enthusiasm for them. I was just sitting at my desk looking at my bird photos and wondering which one to post today, when I heard a sound. Now, I have often run to the window at the slightest sound, wondering if it was a bird, but I have often been wrong, or just got a glimpse of a bird as it flew away before I could identify it. I was therefore not too excited or hopeful. However, there it was, perched on a tree on the other side of the jogging park. I could barely get a glimpse of the bird, but it seemed busy calling out, so I took out my camera and got clicking. This is what I saw...



I kept clicking till the bird finally tired of calling out, and flew away. It was then time to go unearth my bird books and try to identify it.


It turned out to be a Long Tailed Shrike, or Rufous Backed Shrike.


From what I could understand from the books and Wikipedia, the bird appears to be quite common all over the Indian Subcontinent, and prefers scrub and open habitats. I wonder what it was doing in the middle of the concrete jungle!! 


In any case, I clicked so many photographs, and am so thrilled to see a different bird for a change, that I am posting more of the photos.... as it warbled away ... perhaps searching for its mate? Trying to find its way back?






As I finish this post, I am still wondering what the bird was doing so far from its normal habitat, and hoping it finds its way back to where it came from. There is one thing I am thankful for, though.... it brightened up my day, and gave me something to write about!!
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Location: Chedda Nagar, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Comments

  1. MridulaOctober 4, 2012 at 1:05 PM

    I know that feeling when we want to see different birds rather than the usual ones :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarOctober 4, 2012 at 9:13 PM

      i guess you do :D and you get to see so many more than me!!!

      Delete
  2. IndraniOctober 4, 2012 at 8:14 PM

    Probably in a migrating mode.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarOctober 4, 2012 at 9:13 PM

      hmm.. thats quite possible, Indrani! never thought of that!

      Delete
  3. IndraniOctober 4, 2012 at 8:14 PM

    Probably in a migrating mode.

    ReplyDelete
  4. chitraOctober 4, 2012 at 8:45 PM

    Nice poses you gt Anu..

    ReplyDelete

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