Podar Classmates' Meet (1961-71)

January 26, 2014

Endless affection and love flowed during our Podar classmates' get-together yesterday evening.

40+ years between then and now simply did not exist. It is a long time to remember many things as I am speaking of our time during adolescence and our early teenage years.

The world was very small then. My biggest embarrassment was facing mother when we did not reach home before 7 pm for prayers and greatest anxiety was whether I would be able to exchange my duplicate stamp next day in the classroom with the one that my friend possessed. My idea of pranks was sitting at the bench near the window at the back and produce smoke by training the magnifying glass on a paper and the fear was when I also burnt the wooden bench.

A sort of melancholy would descend upon me if I go on reliving those innocent days any further. Just posting the pictures from our meeting yesterday.

Regulation Group Photograph

A usual disarray just before the final setting

The gracious hostess regaling her audience

Ravi catching someone unawares

Sanjay explaining his painting 

Some one-to-one meetings

Of Green Hills and Other Colours

Sahyadri mountain range or the Western Ghats running along the west coast of India is a great place to be during and soon after the monsoon season. Pictures speak for themselves and the one I love the most out of my pictures is this :

 

We spent our time at Tapola village, about 25 Km from the popular tourist spot of Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra. The resorts of Mahabaleshwar pride on swimming pools, multi-cuizine restaurants, fun-zones and spas to pamper the city guests where as this place boasts of nothing but peaceful time with Nature. 

The above picture was shot from the lush green (should have I said that !) hillock just behind our tents. We were at Nisarga whose name easily pops up on search engines. Basic tents but spacious enough for 3, clean rooms and attached toilets which work efficiently and hot and homely food made to our order. Would any one want to spend a week doing nothing except lazying around on a cane jhoola or going for leisurely walks on empty roads or a boat ride in blue calm waters of Koyna river very close to the confluence of 3 rivers ?

The route to this place passing through Mahabaleshwar is also not less enchanting :

This place is quite close to Kaas plateau known for the tiny colourful wild flowers that grow only for a few weeks during  August / September. Declared now as Biodiversity World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. We did not make it to Kaas but flowers were all over wherever we set our eyes and wherever they managed a slightest foothold even on the rocks on the roadside.

 

 

   

So close to Mahabaleshwar, we did make our regulation visits to number of 'Points' and a few names still in the memory are Wilson, Babington, Kate and Lodwik Points. There were few more like Arthur and Savitri  where the fog totally overwhelmed us and could not do anything but enjoy the local ''bhutta'. Very vitalizing. And as we drove around without any map in hand or with no particular destination in mind, it was just impossible not to take a few stops wherever we sensed photo opportunities :

 

Needle Hole at Kate Point. Can you also imagine elephant ? In fact I can see more than one.

Lastly birds, which I do not like to miss whenever I go to a place with or even without vegetation. Plenty of them were spotted but the one I would post here is a Malabar Crested Lark enjoying its time on Panchgani Table-land.

Thank you.

A Yesteryear Well

Here is a stone stepped well atop Nandi hills, about 60 Kms north of Bangalore and about 30 Kms from Bangalore airport. The well itself was not open to visitors and am not sure if this is a right way to maintain our heritage.

A man made construction, whom are we saving it from by not opening it to the public !

Could not find much information about its history. Can anyone help ?

I often try to visit this place when I am in Bangalore for bird watching but spend some time around this well.

Hypnotised by Hypnotique

I was hypnotised recently by this colour shade when I was moving around Bangalore.

I remembered my good friend talking once about this shade Hypnotique when it came to Lipstic, Nail polish and wall shades.

See if you agree.

This fort called Devanhalli Fort about 60Kms north of Bangalore built in 16th centure is also known to be the birth place of Tipu Sultan

Big Banyans in India

Giant Banyan trees in Botanical Garden in Kolkata, Theosophical society in Adyar, Chennai and then the ones near Ananthpur, Andhra and Bangalore are all 400+ years old and are spread over a couple of acres. But even the one below ( seen near Barrackpore near Kolkata ) and many others which are seen all over India are no less spectacular.

Given Time and Care, they all would grow into Giants.

Bats of Bhandardara

Surprising that none of the blogs nor those who have been to Bhandardara mentioned about this phenomenon. It was a casual talk with a local Nature Club member who mentioned about large number of bats flying over the Lake Arthur soon after the sunset, as an event not to be missed.

So armed with my camera I spent almost an hour sitting high on the slope leading to the lake until it was quite dark waiting for the bats to fly over us from behind. Later I also got convinced by the explanation  that it was 'Datta Jayanti' festival that must have kept them away ! Not that the bats took an off to celebrate festivals but he was actually referring to the day long music that was blaring from a near by temple.

So again I returned to the same spot next day at sunset. Was about to return totally disbelieving that the news provided by the local Nature lover could be so much away from the truth. But at that very moment, my sharp eye daughter pointed in the distance on the other side of the lake. Oh  My God ! I just gasped.

Thousands of birds flying in northern direction and it took us some time to recognise them as bats. I was totally unprepared without a proper tripod for the camera as it was quite dark by now. I still managed some shots. Can anyone explain this ?

Atleast for 15 minutes we were straining our eyes and the local migration looked endless. Millions ?

Surely they were there even on the earler day. Just that we were looking in the wrong direction.

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Hidden Beauties

It is so depressing coming across unprofessional restoration efforts all over India on historical monuments. But at the same time very refreshing to coming across some of our hidden architectural beauties as one travels. Here is part of Gopuram of Durga Devi Temple in Sadashivgadh near Karwar, Karnataka.

The most beautiful Butterfly

Walking around Sadashivgadh, Karwar in search of birds my eyes caught this small brilliant yellow-black bird hopping from one flower to another. See what I found ....