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Temples of Kashi - The Kardameshwar temple

The absence of ancient Hindu structures in Kashi is something I have always lamented about. The shrines are certainly ancient, and that is something that has always attracted me to the city. However, I miss the beauty of the ancient structures that we see at other sites. This feeling is intensified when I see marble and concrete and tiles in temples that once would have been beautifully adorned with evocative sculptures, and worn by the passage of time, touched by the hands of seekers who came before. This time , this desire to see some remnants of an ancient Hindu structure in Kashi came true when I managed to visit the Kardameshwar Temple. The Kardameshwar temple is not one of the main temples in the city. It is part of the temples on the Pancha Kroshi yatra, a pilgrimage which takes one on a circumambulatory tour of the whole city. The temple is located on the outskirts of the city, on the western bank of a tank called the Kardama Kund. The Kardameshwar temple is one of the...
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Wildlife in the Desert

Black Bucks ran across the road, peacocks danced as we watched, birds flew into the air, and insects and reptiles scuttled into their safe havens at our approach. Our recent trip to Jaisalmer was full of such 'wild' encounters! 
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Indian Tiger Centipede

Over a foot long, it was longer than any centipede I had ever seen. Yet, it was certainly a centipede. That was the only thing I was sure of. 
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Mud Wasp

What do you do when you see a wasp? Stay out of its way? What do you think we do? Click it of course!!!!
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Corbett Falls

In an area surrounded by mountains and inter-crossing rivers, a waterfall comes as no surprise. However, when you enter a gate just off the highway, drive along a lane leading into a dense forest of teak, and then alight to walk through a narrow path cut amidst the dense undergrowth, you know that this is something special! I was at Jim Corbett National Park as part of the Club Mahindra Bloggers Trip, and we were visiting the Corbett Falls, situated 25 Km from Ramnagar and 4 Km from Kaladhungi, on the Kaladhungi – Ramnagar Highway. The falls were an unexpected treat, giving each one of us something to remember it by… For some it was the waterfall itself, the sound of gushing water drawing them from a distance, for some of us, the inviting sound was drowned by other sights and sounds along the way, and we tarried here and there, to revel in the glory of nature or take a pic of an insect basking in the morning sun. No matter what our interests, when we finally did get to the ...
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Grasshopper.. oops! sorry.. Cricket!!!

I have written earlier about how we have become interested in insects thanks to photography and blogging.... Of late, however, there has been a change. These days, Samhith no longer calls me to take a photo of an insect. He simply takes my camera and tries it himself! Of course, many of his attempts did not bear fruit, but here is one of his successful endeavors.....
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Beginning of new lives.....

We visited the Maharashtra Nature Park after more than a month last Sunday, and the changes were startling, Where it was always green before, the monsoon had brought in an added brightness, and even Samhith noticed the wonderful smell of wet earth mingling with the fragrance of different flowers and herbs.
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Mating Insects

You never know what you will spot when you spot when you amble along a path lined by trees. The Maharashtra Nature Park was a treasure house of insects - we didnt have to look for them.
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Camouflage

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Grasshopper

My usual reaction  on seeing an insect used to be to scream. That is, until I started blogging. Now, I rush for my camera! Samhith seems to have picked up this too, and for once, instead of shouting about an insect in the loo, he quietly came to me, and asked me to come and take a photo before the insect flew away.
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Termite hills / Termite mounds

There is something fascinating about termite hills or termite mounds, (ant hills as we usually call them).  You don't agree? Well, most of my family doesn't either, except Samhith of course! He has the same fascination for these huge settlements built with nothing but mud, and stops every time he sees one! Tirupati abounds in these termite hills - the Lord himself is said to have appeared in one, so undoubtedly there is something special about them! Well, we have seen many ant hills, some small, some even bigger than me.... See this one we photographed in the Zoo... Its about 5 feet high! We have often wondered what it would be like, inside this hill. It is believed that snakes live there too.... whether before or after the termites, I am not sure..... However, this time, the zoo not just gave us the opportunity to see some caged wild animals, but also some un-caged ones, among which were some termites - the hill had broken, probably thanks to some careless tourists - ...
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Unidentified Insect

These days , Samhith runs to get the camera the minute he sees an insect in the house! Of course, since he is not yet allowed to use it, it is me he pesters to take photographs! Here is one which turned up yesterday taking advantage of the window Samhith had conveniently left open. It looks like a cricket, but don't know exactly. I tried to ID it, but to no avail. Any ideas, anyone? I was especially intrigued by the yellow spot on the side.  P.S. I am out of town, and will be back soon. Please do leave your comments and I shall reply when I get back.
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An Oleander Hawk Moth - Ever heard of it???

Waiting for the school bus is usually boring, but in the rains, we have really begun looking forward to it, and even get ready early, just to see what we can see! Over the last few years, we have really developed a fascination for snails, so much so that samhith spots them wherever we go! But then, the monsoon brings us so many surprises, and there was another one for us a few days back....... As we stepped out into our compound, we noticed this moth on the sewer cover - definitely a place we avoid... But this one was so interesting, we went to take a closer look......and many many pictures too.... It took me a while to identify this one , but Wikipedia informs me that this one is an " Oleander Hawk Moth ", a migratory moth found in Asia and Africa, which flies off to Europe during the summer! And its caterpillar feeds solely on the leaves of the Oleander tree (the ' Arali ' in tamil), which are highly toxic, but interestingly, these caterpillars are immune to ...
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Camouflage!

We noticed this insect just because it jumped as Samhith was trying to pick up a stone! Otherwise we wouldn't even have known it was there! Any idea about which insect it is?
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Getting closer to Nature - BNHS Family Camp

Every journey is a pathway to knowledge , or so it is for many moms, who try to look for opportunities to teach their children no matter where they go. Regretfully, I am slowly arriving at the realization that I am just like them all. I keep looking out for something for Samhith which will be fun and out of the ordinary, but with an element of education. Among my first attempts in this direction was the flamingo watch trip organized by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), which Samhith really enjoyed. You can read about it here . Emboldened by our first venture , I signed up for the Family Camp organized by BNHS at their Conservation Education Centre (CEC) at Goregaon. I wanted to not only teach Samhith more about nature, I also wanted to give him a taste of staying overnight with others apart from our family members. It was easy to sign up for the camp, the forms being available on their website . I simply had to send them a cheque along with the form. The charges were Rs.1...
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