Nagarhole and Irpu falls

My photography sorties into places like Hesaraghtta, Valley School etc. led me to wish for more....and like any other newbie snapper, I was also getting drawn towards capturing forests and wildlife.

As they say, there is a lot of power in thought. Within a month of this thought getting into my mind, an opportunity came along to make a trip to Nagarhole. Have heard a lot about this wildlife sanctuary from my friends who are into photography.

Coaxed my wife and son to join me on the trip and I was on my way on a Friday afternoon. Drove for about 7 hours at a reasonable pace and reached Kutta by about 10.30 at night. Kutta is a small place about 5 kms from the Nagarhole sanctuary and offers a good variety of homestay options, which are quite clean, decent, and real value for money. Compared to a per person cost of about Rs 5000 plus at the Jungle Lodge, you pay about Rs 2000 per person for an even better stay. And you get personalised service.

Got up in the morning at 6.00 am and reached the Nagarhole sanctuary for the safari trip. The drive upto the safari starting point was a good starter for the trip. The forest is quite beautiful and especially the early morning ambience, with the chill in the air and mistiness  all around, is really refreshing,

At the safari start point, they have a few noisy buses to take you around. I got to know that there are some jeeps as well but most of the times, they are busy on duty for visiting officials and general public does not get this option. The safari trip is always a game of chance, and my luck was probably left behind in Bangalore. My quest to see elephants and tigers remained unfulfilled. However, there were deers and stags, and a few wild boars, which sort of made up the safari to some extent.

It is human nature that we love something which is partially seen and partially hidden, and it was no different for me when I could manage this click of the animal half hidden behind a tree.

Another boar, and this time a close up.

Sighted a vulture which was sitting near the carcass of a buffalo.

It was now time for us to head for breakfast, which turned out to be a typical coorgi affair with rice rotis and sagoo. A fresh breakfast is always welcome and we ate to our hearts content. With our stomach full, it was time for the next item on the agenda. Irpu falls, which was about 10 kms from Kutta.

I had read a lot about shooting waterfall pics with slow shutter speed and hence had brought a tripod from Bangalore especially for this purpose. Reached the base of Irpu falls and then walked up with my gear on the stony stairpath for about 10 minutes to reach the waterfall. Once I saw the beautiful waterfall, realised that the uphill climb was well worth it.

While my wife and son got about enjoying the scenery, I got busy into setting up the tripod. This was my first experience with a tripod, and after juggling around the nuts and screws for sometime, finally managed to set it up. Started clicking the waterfalls with different shutterspeeds and from different angles.

This was the first one.

The next one was at a slower shutterspeed.

Felt happy with the result and this time tried a different perspective.

Overall I felt happy with my first waterfall clicks and that too with a tripod.

On our way back to the homestay for lunch, saw an old man sitting near the road. The man was lost in his thoughts, looking quite haggard and something in his appearance and the setting made me reach out to my camera for a quick snap.

Had a simple lunch at a roadside joint. Post lunch started out for Tholpetta sanctuary, which is quite nearby, in the quest for a sighting for elephants. On the way to Tholpetta, got a couple of interesting clicks.

My luck still eluded me at Tholpetta as well. The safari at Tholpetta was boring and uneventful. In fact there was hardly any sighting of any animal in the entire hourlong journey. Felt disappointed and contemplated another safari trip back at Nagarhole sanctuary. A local guy however, advised us to simply drive through the Nagarhole road instead of taking the safari. Decided to take that route and drove down in my own car.  More sightings of deer and peafowl followed but that was not what I was looking for. It was getting dark by now and reluctantly started back towards the homestay. Just as we were reaching the exit gate, saw a group of people staring towards the bushes on one side of the road. Stopped my vehicle, and suddenly lo and behold, this is what I got to see ....

The elephant emerged from behind some trees, gave me about a few seconds to click and before I could try different other angles, it quickly disappeared behind the bushes. From the sounds we could make out that it was walking parallel to us in the thick bushes. In a few minutes, there were more sounds and we realised that there was in fact a large herd of about 10-12 elephants which was walking in the bushes about 100 feet from us. It was quite scary, and yet a very exciting feeling. We could catch fleeting glimpses of the large elephants but by now it was very dark and we were in a lonely track. The elephants were becoming quite noisy and we decided to exit the scene quickly. Anyway our day was made and the objective of the trip was now achieved.

The next day morning, we were on our way back, after breakfast. Just as we started, saw a beautiful sunbird perched high atop a litchi tree.

On our way back to Bangalore, we stopped for sometime at Karanji lake in Mysore. Some more clicks.

Reached Bangalore late in the evening with great memories of a a very enjoyable trip.

Nagarhole, Irpu falls and Karanji lake are lovely places and well recommended, for photographers as well as a nature lovers.

Valley school - the birding hotspot

Energised by my Hesaraghatta birding trip, I now decided to explore other birding hotspots in Bangalore. Top on the list were Nandi Hills and Valley School campus near Kanakpura Road.

Was thinking about these options over the past few days when I incidentally bumped into Narayanan Srinivasan (Srini) who lives in the same apartment complex as mine. From his facebook profile I had observed that he was an avid photographer and hence broached the subject to him. He was quick and positive in his response and we agreed to explore Valley School area, being nearer to our complex.

Started off from JP Nagar at 6.15 am and within 20 minutes we reached the right turn on Kanakpura Road leading towards Valley School. Sunrise was about to happen and the chirping of birds had already started. Just as we entered the small road leading towards Valley School, Srini's keen eyes observed a hoopoe in the misty background. Our clicking started off in right earnest.

Would have been great if the sunlight was more but we were still happy to start off on a great note. Hardly a few moments had passed and we observed another bird perched on a distant tree - looked  like some type of a kite or an eagle.

We moved on and reached the valley school campus. Made the entry in the visitors register and entered the semi-forest. The slight chill in the morning air combined with the freshness of natural surroundings was really invigorating. Walking along the long path leading to the grasslands was a great opportunity for us to share notes about our backgrounds and interest in photography. Srini has been into photography for more than seven years. Being a complete novice in this field, I happily absorbed some of the tips which he shared on cameras , lenses and accessories. By this time, the sun was also up and we got the chance to click some landscape snaps.

The next couple of hours were spent walking our way through the shrubs and the grasslands, looking up the trees to spot the small birds. Our sightings were many, including bee-eaters, drongos, mainas, robins and other  small birds.

While roaming around the grasslands, we saw about 8 to 10 other birders who were trooping in with their equipment at different points in time. For us however, it was time to go back, and a bit reluctantly, we were on the path leading towards our car. The return journey was no less fruitful, as we saw a beautiful bulbul perched on a nearby tree.

I also used a moment to take some abstract snaps, which is something I really love to do.

The so called "dessert" of our birding sojourn came in the form of a few parrots who gave us some beautiful clicking moments.

Kudos to Srini for sharing his valuable insights and for the wonderful company during the outing. Here is a compliment to him - in the form of his snap clicked during the trip.

Will be back soon to Valley School area in near future !

2014 reflections

As is customary towards the end of every calendar year, one sits down to reflect and ponder over the year gone by. Walking down memory lane, we start thinking about the events which transpired in different arenas – personal and professional developments which impacted us during the year, the political developments happening all around us, and everything else which made news – sports, art, culture and so on ……and 2014 in that sense was indeed a happening year.

Personally for me, 2014 was indeed a milestone year. It was a dream come true to become a partner in one of the largest accounting firms and it was indeed a culmination for all the hard work and efforts that I have been putting in over so many years. Along with recognition, it also brings many more opportunities and challenges and I am looking forward to scaling newer boundaries in the days ahead.

From a more general perspective, one would guess that the most important development of 2014 was the anointment of NaMo as the prime minister  of India. It was a remarkable journey for the man who was derided by so many people for so many years to script a dream turnaround of fortunes, both for himself as well for his party. He walked into, rather stormed into, the parliament with a stupendous majority. Clearly, he has woven a lot of dreams for the masses and has generated a lot of positive hopes. The start has been good, but one would really need to wait and see whether and how  he is able to implement the visions that he has set out to achieve. One thing is for sure, whether he succeeds in his mission or not, but he has surely stirred up the nation towards a new era……

Talking of a new era brings us to an event which happened towards the fag end of the year. The sudden retirement of Dhoni (Mahi as he is fondly called) has been clearly unexpected and done in a dramatic manner. With his retirement, an era in Indian cricket ends and the new era begins with the likes of Kohlis and Rahanes taking centre stage. A new generation always promises change, and hopefully Indian cricket will scale greater heights in the days ahead.

In fact from the perspective of sports , the real story of the year lay elsewhere from cricket. The plethora of Premier leagues which took place during the year, in many senses sparked a revival of sorts in Indian sports. In the earlier part of the year we had the Badminton league, which was followed quite widely. The Kabaddi league was a stupendous success and it helped to bring a dying game back into the centre stage. And towards the end of the year, the Football league also was a reasonable success. Hope all these events signify a positive turnaround for sports in India.

The successful launch of Mangalyaan was a milestone event for India in demonstrating our technological prowess , particularly considering the fact that it was achieved with a very nominal budget.

2014 would also be remembered for some tragic incidents, especially in the Asian region. Clearly it was not a great year for the aviation and the shipping sectors, with several civilian flights going missing or being shot down and ships catching fire or sinking in some parts of the world. Even more tragic was the rise of terror events especially the barbaric killing of innocent school children in Peshawar. Humanity took a beating. It would take a lot of efforts on the part of all mankind to help in bringing back the spirits of hope and faith.

And yet, the optimist in me sees a lot of hope in the future. 

I feel hopeful that the new prime minister with his energised team will chart out newer paths for the country. If his visions of "Clean India" and "Make in India" indeed take roots, it could well be the proverbial catalyst for the Great India story.

I feel hopeful that the spirit of entrepreneurship in India will continue to rise and prosper. All around me, I see young turks trying to venture into unknown paths. They have their own vision of newer and improved services and products and it is this spirit and the determination that signifies a possible positive turnaround.

I feel hopeful that the young generation is hungry for change. And this applies to all spheres of activity. Students no longer think only of becoming doctors or engineers, but are rather seeking out newer streams in law, finance, journalism, media and so on. A budding sportperson no longer wants to only become a criketer - there are so many potential opportunities in other sports. And technology is ushering in changes in so many other activities - the way we carry our businesss, the way we do our shopping, the way we transact with government authorities and even the way we communicate with each other in our social groups.

Looking forward to a great and happenning 2015.

My trip to Hesaraghatta grass lands

The search results for birding hotspots around Bangalore mentioned some frequently visited places - Nandi Hills, Valley School campus near Kanakapura Road and Hesaraghatta Grasslands. After a lot of deliberations, decided to go for Hesaraghatta, presuming that the probability of bird sighting on a larger grasslands could be that much more.

Started from home around 6.15 am (from J P Nagar) and took the NICE road to Tumkur Road. From Tumkur Road took right towards Dasarahalli signal and took left from there for about 15 odd kms to reach Hesaraghatta lake.

The sight of the lake was awesome and in a perfect natural setting. My web search tells me that the lake had dried up for several years in the past and had only filled up with the bountiful rains of last year.

Anyways, started off in earnest on the foot trail around the lake for my first serious birding quest in Bangalore. The beginning was not bad with a few sightings of common birds seen around water bodies.

The place was desolated and there was no one around for miles. Felt a bit scared especially considering that the entire area is BWSSB property and there was a notice for tresspassing not allowed. Discretion being the better part of valour, gathered my equipment and came back to the car. 

As I started again, saw some notice boards giving directions for Taj Kuteeram and Eco Village. Thought about giving it a try and started towards Eco Village. Never realised that the real fun part had started then. The route towards Eco Village is set amidst nature and the small road takes you towards the real grasslands. It is really unbelievable that so near to Bangalore is a place that almost resembles Savannah environment. For miles and miles you just see grasslands and shrubs and no human habitation around. 

Though there were not too many birds, but while I was driving around, stumbled across a beautiful bird (in fact a couple) and the clicks that I managed to get, made my day.

The setting was so natural, felt like staying there for few more hours. But then realisation dawned that my family is waiting back at home and grudgingly started on my return journey. The return trip till the main road yielded some more sightings.

All in all, a wonderful outing for me. Felt so good to be all alone amidst nature and returned home with a mental noting to return again .....hopefully sometime soon.