The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
The drive from Wayanad to Mysore took us along the Kabini river, and through the Nagarhole National Park. On our way to Wayanad, we had surprised a Gaur and an elephant on the road, apart from numerous deer. The return journey saw the animals well out of the way, and it would have been a boring drive, except for the number of birds we happened to notice. While most were fleeting glimpses, barely enough for proper identification, this one made out day.....
From our bird book, it appears to be a Changeable Hawk-Eagle, a name which is as interesting as the bird itself!
Salim Ali, in his book describes it as "A slender forest eagle in various confusing colour phases. Normally brown above; white below with black longitudinal streaks on throat and chocolate streaks on breast."
Some subspecies among these birds have a crest. Others do not. And, as Salim Ali says, the colours vary too. This is what gives it its name. Interesting, isn't it? That a bird can either be a hawk or an eagle? or maybe we simply don't know what to call it!
No matter what it was, the bird surely made our day. It was one of the highlights of the trip, more so since it was Samhith who spotted it! Besides, it stayed put for a long, long time on that branch, while I tried to click a decent photo without getting out of the car and scaring it away. It took quite a bit of effort, but the results are worth it, don't you think?
That seemed to set the tone for the rest of our trip, and we seemed to see birds everywhere in Mysore!!! Watch out for my other posts to know which ones we saw!
What a sighting and what a click, particularly the last one!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mridula! we got lucky this time!!
DeleteLovely sighting Anu! Wish I could see it too. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Atula! we were really really lucky that samhith spotted this!!! keep your eyes open! you never know!
DeleteIt is certainly the Changeable Hawk Eagle. Wonderful sighting and really shots. Must have been very close
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Rajesh! yes, it was really very close. and i was so lucky that it didnt fly away while i was trying to get a better click, so the efforts paid off!
Deletewhat a spectacular bird! Great capture :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Amrita!
DeleteBrilliant click!!
ReplyDeletehttp://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2013/09/bandipur-into-wild.html
Thanks!!
DeleteNice capture. It looks like a combination of Eagle and Owl.
ReplyDeleteTHank you. yes, it does look a bit like an owl too!!! interesting bird, isnt it!
Delete