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.
Last weekend, when I asked Samhith if he wanted to accompany
me to Sewri, he replied, “But I have already seen flamingos!” I tried
explaining that Sewri wasn’t just about flamingos, but he remained unconvinced.
I signed up for the Sewri walk by Travel-Logs nevertheless, and dragged him
along, remembering a time when Sewri, to me, meant even less.
While I was growing up in Mumbai, Sewri was simply a railway
station on the Harbour line. That is, till the flamingos began arriving in
hundreds, and then thousands.
I still remember the excitement I felt, when a
friend told me about them, and I headed to her house for a glimpse of these
exotic birds from her bedroom window. They were simply pink specks in the
distance, and lacking good binoculars, they remained just that. It took me
years to venture once again to Sewri, and see the birds up close. That visit
led to many more, and, through the high magnification, telescopic lenses of
avid birdwatchers, we soon familiarised ourselves with not just flamingos, but
also sandpipers, herons, plovers, and many more water birds. Since then, every
year has seen us heading to Sewri for our date with the birds. Soon, Samhith
learnt to connect the name ‘Sewri’ with the flamingos.
Little did we realise that there was so much more to Sewri
than just these avian visitors. It took a walk this Saturday afternoon with
Travel-Logs to show us just how interesting this little corner of our city was!
We met our hosts from Travel-Logs at the Sewri Jetty at 4 in
the evening, and were pleasantly surprised to see a huge flock of flamingos. The
sheer variety of birds we see in the mornings were missing, but they were more
than made up for, by the near presence of the flamingos and a flock of
seagulls.
I had never seen Gulls before at Sewri, and was fascinated
by them. All attempts to capture them in flight were in vain, and after a
while, I gave up, and simply sat and watched them swoop down and grab their
prey.
Speaking of prey, we saw mudskippers again, and caught this one in the water...
There were sandpipers here and there, though am not sure of
the exact name. Any of you who can help me out, please leave a comment with the
names of the birds...
A sole Black Headed Ibis pottered about, pecking in the
mudflats, surrounded by Egrets.
A couple of Pond Herons showed themselves too...
And finally, just as we were almost ready to leave, we spotted
a couple of Little Ringed Plovers, which urged us to stay just a little while
more...
And all that was just the beginning..... We had yet to go a
long way... and re-discover a part of our city I knew almost nothing
about. And just to keep you guessing, I
have decided to do this as a series.... so you can look forward to something
interesting to read in the next few days. Incidentally, I shall be travelling
again tomorrow, to a place which has eluded me for long. I will be gone for
less than a week, and when I get back, I will hopefully have loads more to show
you!
I thought flamingoes would have left Sewri by this time.
ReplyDeleteI thought so too, Bindhu, but apparently, the birds are still very much here.
DeleteExcellent frames!!
ReplyDeletehttp://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2013/03/kochi-muziris-biennale-2012.html
Thanks Niranjan!
DeleteExcell photos! Which camera do you use?
ReplyDeleteThanks Suneel! I use a Nikon p510
DeleteI've been in Mumbai for so many years and still to see the flamingos ! Actually, I have not even been to Sewri. So...
ReplyDeleteGreat post and great pics, Anu. Looking forward to reading more in this series.
Come along with us, Sudha... and we can see the fort too!
DeleteWhat a wonderful post, and so happy to see Flamingos in another city of India.. Coincidentally I spent a few weekends in March, visiting Flamingos in Gandipet Lake Hyderabad.
ReplyDeleteLovely post Anu! I have never been to Sewri, will try to visit some time soon! Thanks for the beautiful shots!
ReplyDelete