My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.
We were at Sringeri, visiting the Kala Bhairava Temple at one end of the village. We finished our prayers and came out, and as usual, I was trying to get a decent shot of the temple, when a movement on a tree nearby caught my eye. At first, it was difficult to see anything but a huge spider web.. But then, with the camera zoom, I managed to spot the creature that had created that web - a Giant Wood Spider..
I first saw these spiders at Corbett, but hadnt managed to get a photo.... We saw many more at Sringeri, but for various reasons, I never got a decent pic. This was the best I managed with my camera, and I was thrilled at having captured it at last!
Apparently, the huge spider is the female of the species, the male being much smaller....To get a better idea of these creatures, click here.
Have seen these in sringeri but am invariably without a camera or unable to get half a decent shot.. Neat capture..:))
ReplyDeleteThanks Aarti!! that has happened to me too :D but this time I was lucky!
DeleteAwesome shot. Never seen such a big one.
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THanks Niranjan!!! Once you see one, you keep seeing them wherever u go!
DeleteThanks, Anu. I saw one of these at a hotel bathroom in Kovalam Beach at Trivandrum and didn't know what they were called. Now I know :-)
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