During my recent trip to Uttarakhand , I was faced with a problem I had never encountered before. We were passing through Delhi, but we had hardly any time in the city. On earlier visits when I have had to change trains/flights at Delhi, I have always arrived in the morning and left again at night, visiting relatives in between. This time, I was arriving in the city at night, and leaving again early in the morning. There was hardly any time to visit people. I would only have a couple of hours with them before I’d have to leave again. For the first time, we considered booking a hotel, but there again, we were hesitant about the actual hotels, the costs involved, and the logistics of getting from the airport to the railway station and then back again from the station to the airport. That’s when we remembered reading something about a corporate-managed lounge at Delhi station. We soon figured out that we could book online and pay by the hour. Besides, we also learnt that there wasn’t ju
On the occasion of Earth Day, I am sharing with you, some of my images from Dandeli, in Karnataka.
Not too long ago, Dandeli was at the heart of the mining operation. The land was rich in iron ore, and the place was dotted with iron mines, and, as the forest was cleared, with paper mills. Soon, the forest started disappearing, and the the mighty Kali River became a trickle.
Thankfully, the people woke up, and efforts began, to reclaim the land and restore it to its former glory. That was just over a decade ago, and this lush greenery is proof enough, that it has indeed worked.
The forest is back, and is today a protected area, the Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary. While the big cats have indeed returned, it is the Malabar Pied Hornbill which is the pride of this forest. These birds need the forest to survive, and are thus the best indicators of the health of the forest. That we saw flocks and flocks of them wherever we went in Dandeli, can only speak volumes about the effects of conservation.
On this Earth Day, let us hope that we are able to preserve what is left of our beautiful planet... for ourselves, as well as our children.
I visited Dandeli in Jan 2014 on an invite from Dandeli.com a website which helps promote tourism in an environment friendly manner in the area.
Your blogs are always so intereseting such excellent photos! Thanks for sharing. Ruth K.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Ruth!
DeleteI have been to Dandeli and it is indeed a beautiful place
ReplyDeletegood to hear that, Rathina Sankari! Its really a beautiful place.
DeleteYou get such great pictures of birds. I really enjoy seeing the native species that you photograph during your travels. Thanks for such an interesting blog! I always look forward to your posts.
ReplyDeleteThank you, so much, Natalie!
DeleteWonderful captures from Dandeli.
ReplyDelete