Skip to main content

Featured Post

2023 - The Year That Was

Places impact you for a variety of reasons. And the same place impacts different people in different ways. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual experiences, where every single person’s experience is unique. And personally, every spiritual experience is unique, the same person can have different deeply spiritual experiences at different places, at different times. This thought has emerged because of my own experiences over the years, but especially so this year, with different and unique experiences at various places I have visited recently. I began this year with a visit to Baroda (Vadodara) with friends. It was meant to be a relaxed trip, a touristy trip, with our sons. We enjoyed ourselves to the hilt, but the highlight of that trip was a visit to the Lakulisha temple at Pavagadh. It was the iconography of the temple that I connected with, and I spent a few hours simply lost in the details of the figures carved around the temple. There was an indefinable connect with
6 comments

Kabini Part 2 - A Boat Ride

The river Kabini is the heart of the Nagarhole National park, and a boat ride on the river is an integral part of the stay at the Kabini River Lodge. The incessant, unseasonal rainfall had marked our stay so far, and heading to the jetty for our boat ride on our second evening at the lodge, we kept our fingers crossed, hoping for clear skies. 

The Jetty... at the Kabini River Lodge




The weather was clear when we set out. However, within minutes, the skies turned dark, and it began to rain. We thought that was the end of our boat ride, but just as quickly as it had started, the rain stopped, and a rainbow appeared in the sky.

The River, with the overcast sky...

And the Rainbow...



Soon, birds began to appear… Cormorants…

Cormorants


Cormorant


River Terns…

River Terns in flight


Snake-birds or Darters…

Snake Bird, or Darter


A variety of Kingfishers…..Pied Kingfishers…

Pied Kingfisher


Common Kingfishers…

Common Kingfisher


And the White Throated Kingfishers too.

Pied Kingfisher (top) and White Throated Kingfisher (bottom)


Lapwings…

Lapwing


Grey Herons…

Grey Heron with a fish in its beak


Painted Storks…

Painted Stork


And White Ibis….

White Ibis


Flocks of herons flew homewards as the light began to fall…



And hidden in a bunch of fallen branches, we spotted a flock of Night Herons, both, adult and juvenile!

Can you spot the Night Heron? 


Night Heron - Juvenile

Night Heron - Adult

Night Herons - Juvenile and Adult

An Osprey swooped over us and perched on a branch…

Osprey in flight

Osprey




And yes, there were crocodiles too, in the water… and out!

Croc! 

Crocodile - so well camouflaged!



A herd of spotted deer were the largest animals we saw!



And we came across people... fishing in coracles




And in the fields.



The sun was setting as we made our way back to the jetty.







As the orb dipped over the horizon, and the night sky glittered, we thanked our stars for a wonderful evening… and wondered what the morning would bring! 

Related Posts:



Labels:

Comments

  1. NatalieGDecember 23, 2016 at 8:28 AM

    The varieties of kingfishers are wonderful to see! I love your sunset pics too. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarDecember 24, 2016 at 2:39 PM

      Thank you Natalie! We love seeing all these varieties of Kingfishers. and there are many more, that I have yet to see! as for the sunset, I guess we can never tire of watching them, whether at home, or out!

      Delete
  2. RajeshDecember 23, 2016 at 12:10 PM

    Beautiful tour of National Park with lovely birds.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ghar ka khanaDecember 23, 2016 at 8:35 PM

    Enjoyed the boat ride with you,thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarDecember 24, 2016 at 2:40 PM

      Thank you Ani! Glad you enjoyed it! It was a pleasure to share our experience!

      Delete
  4. IndianeagleFebruary 8, 2017 at 3:27 PM

    beautiful nature.... And Thank You Very Much.........

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarMarch 17, 2017 at 5:39 PM

      Nature is always beautiful! there is so much to see and enjoy!

      Delete
    2. steve smithJune 28, 2017 at 6:31 PM

      Yes you're absolutely right

      Delete
  5. UnknownAugust 6, 2017 at 8:44 PM

    I want to thank you for this exceptionally awesome write up along with the pictures. Nature is always mesmerizing. I myself had Kabini experience and must say the view is just awesome...I went for long walks by the river either during dawn or in the evening...Moreover the boat ride is the best ever option for an exclusive "boat jungle safari"..

    ReplyDelete
  6. DeveshSeptember 1, 2020 at 2:00 PM

    I enjoyed reading this post so much! Thanks for sharing this tips
    I really like the way you describe the post..

    ReplyDelete
  7. writerJune 10, 2021 at 4:38 PM

    Nice pictures
    https://evereach.media/blogs

    ReplyDelete
  8. kellyrossJune 26, 2021 at 1:01 AM

    I really enjoy simply reading all of your weblogs. Simply wanted to inform you that you have people like me who appreciate your work
    Professional Blender Mixer Juicer

    ReplyDelete
  9. Feel BohemianAugust 16, 2021 at 2:33 PM

    Nice Article with beautiful Pictures. https://feelbohemian.com.au/

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw
9 comments
Read more

Review of Executive Lounges at New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS)

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
1 comment
Read more

Rama Temple, Gokarna

To my right , the waves rush to the shore, eager to merge with the sand. To my left, the same waves crash against the rocks, their spray diverting my reverie as I ponder over the beauty of nature, and wonder what first brought people here. Was it this beauty that encouraged them to build a temple here, or was it the fresh, sweet spring water flowing from the hill here that made this place special? No matter what the reason, I am glad my auto driver brought me here. We are at the Rama temple in Gokarna, just a few minutes away from the Mahabaleshwara Temple, yet offering so different a perspective.
3 comments
Read more