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Odisha Part 6: The Yogini Temple of Hirapur

I fell in love with this temple the first time I set eyes on it. Back in 2017 , I had been excited to see yet another Yogini temple, when I visited Puri. The resort I was staying at (and writing for), had arranged for a car and driver to take me around. The driver was happy to take me to most of the places I wanted to go, but when it came to Hirapur, he was appalled. He knew of the temple, but had never been there. It was a tantric temple, one not visited by women, and certainly not women travelling alone. He tried to convince me not to go, but my stubbornness and persistence paid off, and he reluctantly agreed when I told him that if he didn’t take me, I would find another driver who would. All along the way, he kept going on about the sinister things that happened at the temple, the tantric rituals that were performed at night…. An Odisha brahmin who took his religious duties very seriously, to the extent of stopping the car to perform the sandhyavandam when he deemed it time, he...
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Birds from my window - Asian Koel

Since the last few weeks, as I have been busy by the comp, writing my Sikkim series, the Asian Koels have been creating a racket! They choose the time I am inspired to write, to call, and I rush with my camera, leaving everything behind, only to see them hide behind the leaves - the male, that is. The female has remained so well hidden, I have yet to see her! And then, this morning, Samhith's bus was late, and I was bidding him goodbye from the window, I spotted this chap.... 




Camera in hand, I waited for him to come out, or his partner to show herself, but in vain. I turned to the comp, and began typing, and there it was - the frenetic call. I ignored it for a while, but then, it has been a long time since I went birdwatching. I have to be satisfied with the birds I see from my window, so off I went again, with the camera of course. There were two males around, though the female was missing. And then, just by fluke, I captured this....



The Asian Koel with a berry from the Ashoka tree in his mouth! I might have not seen the female yet, but clicking this pic made my day! 

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Location: Chedda Nagar, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Comments

  1. Shubhakara Mahadeva SarmaApril 23, 2015 at 4:18 PM

    I am also seeing some Koels of this type from our kitchen window on some occasions but never had an idea of catching them through my camera. Hope I will catch one and post it soon. It was interesting to read your article. Fine!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AzulMay 10, 2015 at 9:37 PM

    Wow! Its beautiful and those eyes are absolutely charming.

    ReplyDelete

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