Published by Vinayak Hegde on 17th December 2008
Recently I went over to the Strand Book stall’s 60th Anniversary sale which is on till Dec 28th. There was a decent collection of books (though not more than the typical 20% discount). Among the books I bought was ‘The book of Indian Birds’ by Salim Ali. This book brought back fond memories of my childhood. My parents were members of BNHS (Bombay Natural History Society) and regularly took me out to talks and slideshows (Salim Ali was associated with BNHS for a longtime). It is a nice guidebook with lots of interesting information though by no means exhaustive.It contains informative entries on more than 500 birds found on the Indian Subcontinent. I used it to identify the Small Bee-eater in Udaipur and the River Tern near Bhadra Dam in Chikamagalur.
I took this picture at the Maharana Pratap Memorial (Moti Magri) overlooking the Fateh Sagar Lake in Udaipur. The Small Bee-eater (Merops Orientalis) is distinguished by Reddish Brown head and neck and it’s tails fears which prolong into blunt pins. You can see the Bee-eater actually has a bee in it’s beak. It found all throughout the Indian Subcontinent.
The River Tern (Sterna Albifrons) can be distinguished by it’s yellow beak and black cape and is a noisy and a gregarious bird. It is found all round the Indian Subcontinent (except Sri Lanka) and usually seen near river banks and lakes. This picture was taken near the Bhadra Dam (We stayed in the nice Jungle Lodges log huts nearby).
The pictures have been crossposted to my Photoblog
Published by Vinayak Hegde on 8th December 2008
Lake Wanaka is the 4th largest lake in New Zealand and located on the South Island. It was formed by a u-shaped valley of a glacier which melted in the last ice age. The Southern Alps are on it’s western shores and the Wanaka town lies at it’s southern tip. It is very close to the Queenstown – the adventure spots hotspot and the birthplace of modern bungee jumping.
More technical details about the photo at my photoblog (click on Image Info).
Published by Vinayak Hegde on 24th November 2008
The Krishna temple was built by the Krishnadevaraya who ruled over the Vijayanagara Empire in 1513 AD to celebrate the conquest of the eastern kingdom of Udayagiri or Utkala (in the present day Orissa state). The temple is built in such as way that the inner sanctum of the temple (seen in the picture) is well lit up throughout the day by small cavities in the roof which let the sunlight through.The temple is currently not used for workship and the main idol of the temple has been removed.
The carvings are spectacular with the Yalis (the mythical lion) on the pillars and the entrances to the temple hall flanged with impressive carvings of elephant balustrades. This is one of the few temples where the epic stories carved on the walls of the tower. This is fairly an intact specimen of a Vijayanagara era temple.
More technical details about the photo at my photoblog (click on Image Info).
Published by Vinayak Hegde on 27th October 2008
Situated on the way to the route from
Delhi to Ladakh,
Manali, situated on the banks on the Beas River is a popular hill station in the north with clear views of the
majestic himalayas. We stayed here for half a day on our way to Ladakh. This was the view from our first floor lodge house.
More technical details about the photo at my photoblog (click on Image Info).
Published by Vinayak Hegde on 17th October 2008
Nahargarh is one of the lesser known forts in Jaipur, Rajasthan as compared to the more well known Amber Fort and the Jaigarh fort. The Palace inside Nahargarh fort has nine chambers for the nine queens around a central courtyard. The rooms are decorated with beautiful frescos. (See in Wikimapia). The spires which adorn each of the rooms are seen through one of the several windows and doors that open into the courtyard.
More technical details about the photo at my photoblog (click on Image Info).
