Chikmagalur

Chikmagalur is the place which I like most among the places which are in weekends drive from Bangalore. I have been there 5 years before just after my marriage and really loved the hill surrounded Coffey producing state. Rima, my wife was asking me to revisit the place for a long time. This time Nemo, my almost 2 years old son was also with us, so we were looking for a resort which would be close to the nature. I wanted Nemo should feel the pure nature as this generation is really unfortunate in this.

After lots of Google search I found one place which I really liked by seeing the images posted in the web. Hunkal Woods, an eco friendly resort 20 KM far from Chikmagalur is midst of a 1000 acre lush green Coffey estate. This time my best buddy Probal Sen who himself is a nature lover has also decided to visit this place with us.

After making a reservation over phone, we started our journey on Saturday very early morning. Nemo was so energized that he woke up at 3 AM while we started. The road was beautiful for first 100 KM but after that the road was narrow. However I enjoyed the drive and after having a five hours drive we reached Chikmagalur. Hunkal Woods is approximate 25 KM from the Chikmagalur town and it took another 20 minutes to reach the first signboard of the resort on the main road. The road was very scenic, through the lush green hills and Coffey plantation. But the last 3.2 KM stretch from the main road to the resort gate is pathetic. A true 4WD vehicle is required. It was a litmus test for my TATA Indica which is built for the Indian road. It took me 25 minutes to cross that 3 KM stretch and to reach the main gate of the resort. Everybody in the car was praising TATA Indica but nobody mentioned my driving skill.

As soon as we reached the main gate of Hunkal Woods our tiredness of driving such a long distance disappeared. The resort is surrounded by hills and big trees. Barbets were calling from the trees and a cool breeze from the hill side was touching our body and soul. As soon as we parked our vehicle the guest in-charge Mr. Nizam welcome us. The resort has one main British style Bungalow good for a group of 6/7 people and 3 more cottage type rooms. We have been given the cottage type rooms. The rooms were decent and clean. We dropped our luggage inside the room and sat outside to feel the nature. We were greeted by warm Coffey. After spending some time inside the campus of Hunkal Woods we decided to have an early lunch and to take a small nap. The vegetarian lunch was fantastic. The dining area is built a little far from the main building and surrounded by thick jungle. It was just like we were having our lunch midst of the nature. There is a “Machan” built inside the campus on a tree top. After lunch we relaxed for some time on the Machan, literally top of a big tree. Then we decided for a quick nap to get more energy for the evening.

Machan - Ideal to relax in the lap of the nature

Hunkal Woods Property. Main Bungalow and the Machan is in left side

 

In evening, Nijam took us to the view point, a quite good 1 hour trek to the top of the hill. The trek was deep inside the forest. We could spot lots of birds while we were trekking to the hill top. While we reached the top it was almost dark. The sun set some times back leaving the last red light in the sky. The cool breeze and the last light of the day in the horizon were creating a heavenly atmosphere on the top of the hill. We were at the top for some time to feel the nature and then started to get down. It was almost dark at that time and we found ourselves in complete darkness while we were in the mid of the way. Due to the darkness we took the main road while coming down and it proved very fortunate to us. There was a vehicle coming down in that road and we were picked up by them and dropped in-front of the resort gate. It saved an hour in that evening. 

Last light of the day from the top of the view point

 

We have ordered some non-veg dishes for our dinner and those foods were taken from the nearby town by Nijam. He was such a fantastic guy to provide all kind of help in time. We enjoyed the evening in the dining area with some snacks and drinks. The area was tastefully illuminated with dim light inside the darkness of the woods. We met Mr. Ananth, the manager of the resort and his family at dinner. We chatted a long time with them. We bid good night at around 10:30 at night and went to the bed. It was cold outside and the continuous breeze from the hill side was making it more pleasant.

The next day started for me and Probal very early. We got the Coffey at 4:30 in the morning and were ready by 5:30 to visit a nearby lake. We observed a beautiful sunrise on our way to the lake. The sun came out behind the hills and the first ray of the sun was playing with the mist and was creating a golden atmosphere all around. After witnessing the magic of the sunrise we headed towards the lake and reached soon.  A big lake in the foot of the hills and lots of water lilies were making the place out of the world. The calmness of the vast lake and the warm of the morning sun were soaking all the pollution we have taken from the city from our body and mind. We were there for some time and enjoyed the bliss of the nature in full. Then we started heading back towards the resort. On our way back, the hills of Chikmagalur were coming out from the layer of the mist and the landscape was fantastic.

Sunrise in a misty morning at Chikmagalur

Early Morning at Lake

Early morning at Lake

 

After reaching to Hunkal Woods we spent some time exploring the big area of the resort. We also observed the coffey plantation and the coffey producing units. We found lots of birds inside the campus. Time was approaching fast to have lunch and bid a good bye to Hunkal Woods. It was the final hour of our 2 days stay in nature’s lap. Soon we finished our lunch and took a little rest and were ready for another 5 and half hours drive towards the hectic city life.

It was 4 in the afternoon when we said good bye to the Hunkal Woods and the Coffey estate finally and started towards our city life with a promise that we will come back again for a longer stay to rejuvenate our soul.

Hunkal Woods

Hunkal Woods main Bungalow

A Sunset Story

I had a long wish to capture the beauty of the sunset over some ocean. The opportunity came suddenly when I had to travel to Kualalampur for 3 weeks due to my office work. As soon as the opportunity came I was looking for a week end trip to Langkawi Island which is a one night journey from Kualalampur city.

As per the plan, one Fri day night I found myself boarding in a Volvo bus which will take me to Kuala Perlis and from there I have to take a ferry to reach Langkawi Island.

I didn’t have much time except one full day and one morning in Langkawi, so I had only one evening to capture the beauty of the sunset over Andaman Sea. But from morning the sky was overcastted and I was not happy to see the clouds in the sky. The horizon was fully covered with the cloud and I didn’t see the face of the sun.

Till afternoon I couldn’t see the sun and by then I was very upset. I didn’t have anything except to depend on my luck. But I didn’t leave the hope, so I started exploring the best place in the beach from where I can capture the sunset if really it is going to be happened.

Now the “Wait game” started. I can remember, I was reading my watch frequently and was observing the cloud formation in the horizon. My heart was running high to anticipate whether I could see the sunset or not.

At last, when I lost all my hope, suddenly I noticed the sky was little clear than earlier. And within minute I found the golden light of the setting sun on the sea and beach. But the sun was still under cloud cover. I was ready with my equipments, so without wasting a second my whole camera set up started working. And, within minutes the nature started playing with colors in the canvas of the sky. The sun remained hidden behind the cloud but I was thankful to the nature to allow me to witness the riot of the color in the horizon over the Andaman Sea. I still remember the 10 minutes of the evening was most beautiful time I ever had. I continued shooting the landscape till the last light of the day and even in the darkness. It was such an amazing experience that I will cherish my whole life.

The series of the images I made there....

The first show of the light

The play of color has been started

Nature was playing with the color in the canvas of the sky

The night was approaching over the island

The island at night

The Rainforest Expedition, Agumbe (Video)

This video is made on a short trip to Agumbe a rainforest in north Karnataka state of India. This is just a glimpse of the landscape and the flaura & fauna of this unique landscape....


(Larger version at youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACabvkVkvQA)

The King of the Rain Forest

It was my long time wish to stay inside a rain forest and experience the amazing fauna of a typical rain forest. But after many planning the visit was pending for a long. But this time I was determined to travel to Agumbe, a place at Shimoga District in Karnataka. This place is actually lying in the Thirthahalli taluk and the Malnad region. Agumbe is among the places in India that receive very heavy rainfall earning it the sobriquet, "Cherrapunji of the South".

Agumbe Rainforest Research Station (ARRS), founded by renowned herpetologist and snake conservationist Romulus Whitaker was my destination and shelter of my 3 days visit. Arnab, Anirban and Shreyan, 3 of my colleagues were also very interested to visit the place and they also packed their bag with me. There is only one bus goes to Agumbe from Bangalore every night. So, we got into that bus on one rainy Friday evening from Bangalore Kempegowda Bus-stand. The night passed away in the bus and we touched the wet ground of Agumbe on Sat day early morning. It was a small town, drenched in rain. We have a cup of fine Coffey at bus-stand and hired an Auto Rickshaw to go to ARRS. The research station is 2/3 km far from the town and deep inside the forest. Soon, we reached at ARRS and found the Leopard Cottage (Where we would be staying for next 3 days) surrounded by greens. It was the time for our eyes to adjust with the greens around as they are not used to in city life.

Trekking Route near ARRS

After having breakfast, we were trying to explore the surroundings and found lots of frogs, grasshoppers, praying mantis and lots of unknown colorful insects and off-course leeches around us. My camera came out of my backpack and started working. Rain was giving its company and it was lush green all around. We were tired after a hectic bus journey and decided to take little rest after lunch. After a quick nap we also trek around the campus and went towards a stream which was flowing in full strength. The day light was disappearing fast and night was knocking at the door. During our trek I found a beautiful golden frog was posing infront of my camera. As soon as night came, all surrounding changed totally. It was pitched dark as the station runs by solar power and it has very less lights to save the power. We had torches with us but my 5 cell torch was appearing like a candle in that darkness. And the sound of crickets from the jungle in that night – wow it was something to feel. We decided to go for a trek along with the researcher of ARRS to trace mammals around the campus. We all were searching for mammals by using our torch. It was fun. Few people searching for mammals using torch lights in pitched darkness in the kingdom of snakes. Every step was made with extra care. After a search of two hours we could manage to spot a hare and couple of Slender Lorries and few scorpions. After a hectic day it was the time to take proper rest at night. We went to our bed not knowing what is waiting for us next day.

A Golden Frog was found during the night trek

A warm sunlight welcome our next morning. After a proper rest our energy level was on top and we started a trek towards the same stream in morning. The road was surrounded by thick jungle. The path was slippery due to heavy rain last night. A continuous sound of crickets was coming from the jungle. We were walking inside the meadows carefully. But nature has something different in his mind. He played with us little. I realized soon that our extra carefulness also a joke to natures camouflage when I just stepped a Malabar Pit Viper. I even didn’t realize that I crossed it and my friend discovered something is moving when I stepped out. To my horror I just realized I was almost stepping on a venomous Malabar Pit Viper. Now it was the time to handle it carefully to watch its behavior. I did with a small stick and the viper was in a striking pose. Later my friend handled it which allowed me to click some images of this beautiful creature. This was our first meet with any snake in the kingdom of snakes. Till then we were not aware what is waiting for us for the day. We spent a good time with the Pit and let it go. We headed towards the stream.  After spending some time in the stream we came back to ARRS. 

Malabar Pit Viper in striking pose

We had our lunch and I decided to head towards the town. Shreyan was accompanying me and the other two decided to take some rest at cottage. On the way to town I was actually trying to capture the sound of crickets which was continuously coming from the forest. It was an awesome moment; we two were feeling the forest truly. After spending some time in forest we headed towards the town for some Coffey. We spent almost an hour at town and then decided to come back to ARRS. We decided to hire an auto to reach soon at ARRS. And I will thank this decision to my whole life. As soon as we reached ARRS, we heard that one cowboy was shouting that he has just seen a big snake. We immediately along with the ARRS volunteers ran to the spot. And to my utter disbelief I found a black tail of a snake is going inside a patch of bush. My adrenaline was high as I knew what we have spotted. When we spotted the head of the snake we knew at that time we were meeting the King of Agumbe just inside the ARRS campus. The King Cobra was around 10 ft long and it was comfortable inside the bush turning its head towards us, watching every activity. My fingers were busy on the shutters of the cameras and to my sheer luck I was shooting a 10 ft large King Cobra in daylight with a 100mm macro lens from just 4/5 ft away. Suddenly the snake changed its position and its head was towards us. We felt the distance was not very safe for the king and we should respect the lethality of this beautiful snake. I ran back to my cottage which was very near, awake my two other friends, grabbed my 70-300 lens and came back to the same spot. We all were then in a little safer distance. We watched the beauty of the rainforest for more than 40 minutes and then decided to leave the place and let the king live in peace. It was a moment of my entire life. Everybody was telling about our luck to spot the king in 2^nd day. I was thanking my God. On the way back to the cottage we spotted a rat snake and a green vine snake too. We spotted the King again just after couple of hours inside the field searching for food. It was dark at that time. We went there with torches and found it was aggressive at that time. We were just observing its behavior as there was no chance of photography in the darkness.

The King

 

The night was again pitched dark and full of noises from the forest. We had our dinner early and were very careful while coming back from dinner hall to Leopard Cottage. I was using a search light then to scan the pathway as the King was in the campus. Soon we reached the cottage and just for curiosity I switch on the search light and started scanning on the field where we spotted the King last time. Instead of King I could spotted a Big Krait there and it was moving. The krait was not even 15 ft away from our cottage and soon we could spot the King too in the field. It was a fearful experience to spot two snake eater tremendous venomous snakes just 15-20 ft away from the cottage. I was thinking the King is hungry and there is a chance the krait will fall under its prey. I was not sure if King considers Kraits as it prey. Suddenly it started raining heavily and we lost the two snakes in that intense rain. We waited for long but there was no sign of stopping the rain. We came inside the cottage, locked the door scan the whole room carefully and went to the bed.

A warm sunshine welcome our third day at Agumbe. We were expecting the king or krait again infront of the cottage but couldn’t see any of them. The horror of night disappeared with the broad day light. It was our final day at ARRS. In morning we went to see Yogikundi falls which was 6 KM away from ARRS. We took an Auto-Rickshaw and went to the falls. The final stretch was a km trek through the forest. It was a beautiful falls flowing in full strength empowered by the monsoon.

Yogikundi Falls

After coming back to ARRS, we again went on a search of the King, but no sign of it. We had a trek inside the forest towards the stream. We spotted many frogs on the way. We spent almost an hour in the stream. The water was cold and was flowing in its strength. On our way back, I just noticed one snake fall from a tree in the water of the stream and it started swimming. We did an extensive search of the snake in the water and surroundings but couldn’t.

With ARRS Team Members at stream

While we came back to the campus we spotted another pit viper on a tree. It again started raining. We had our lunch and went back to our cottage. The rain didn’t allow us to go outside and we were also packing up our entire luggage. The time to bid good bye to ARRS was approaching and we all were sad.

The Stream near ARRS

Finally we started our journey back to Bangalore at evening saying good bye to all ARRS members and the amazing forest with a promise, we have to come back again. The three days went just like a dream. Meeting the king was an extreme experience.

Few Random Images:

Golden Frog. The image also captured the wet habitat of this frog

Bush Frog

A Colorful Insect

Tortoise Beetle

A video on this expedition which represents the glimpse of the unique landscape and its flora & fauna

Orchha, A Small Historic Town on the bank of Betwa

Orchha is a place with historical importance. This is a small town in Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh. This historical town lies on the bank of Betwa River.

I had to visit this place during my filming of The Last Hope, my short documentary film on Asian Vultures.  I visited the place to find vulture chicks. 

With no prior idea about the place I collected some information that there is a good population of Long Billed Vultures at Orchha. And I had to shoot some footage of vultures’ chick, so decided to check the place once on the month of March, 2011.

As per plan, one evening of late March I started my journey from Bangalore by “Samparkranti Express” which took more than 28 hours to reach Jhansi, which is the nearest railway junction of Orchha. I booked my hotel from Bangalore and they arranged a car for me to pick me up from Jhansi which is 15 km far. I reached Jhansi at around 3 hours in morning. This is the first time I touched any city in central India ever.  My car was waiting outside of Jhansi Railway station which took almost 20 minutes to drop me in the hotel and quickly I freshened up and took a quick nap. However I woke up early and had a quick breakfast. I was ready to explore the town and to find out the best places where I can collect the footage of vultures’ chick.  At the first sight the town seems so beautiful. It was a small historic town with lots of memorials of “Mughal” (Hindi word) Era and with beautiful people. I was happy to see the town is small so I didn’t have much trouble to find out the right places as I didn’t have much time to spend at Orchha.

My driver was a young lad with full of enthusiasm. He guided me to “Jahangir Mahal” (Hindi Word) which is the biggest palace in Orchha. I found the whole town is not very crowded with tourists but many foreigners who actually doing some research on either Indian history or on ancient palaces. When I came to the top of the “Jahanghir Mahal” (Hindi Word) I noticed a group of Long Billed Vultures, but I couldn’t be much happy as there was no sight of their nest and they were sitting in a place which is not ideal for any good footage. 

Jahangir Mahal

Soon, I came out from “Jahangir Mahal” (Hindi Word), my driver took me another place called “Biwi ka Maqwara”(Hindi Word). This place was much smaller than “Jahangir Mahal” (Hindi Word) and no tourist at all. As soon as I reached there, my heart jumped in joy and hope. I could see the nest of long Billed Vultures from the gate. I could see many Long Billed Vultures around the palace. The small river Betwa was flowing just by the side of the ruins of some old monuments. The place was calm and beautiful. The gatekeeper of the palace stopped me for ticket and after checking my ticket when he came to know that I was there to film the vultures and I am making a film on vultures he was really helpful to give me the information from where I can get the footages. I entered the one of the monuments of the palace and placed myself in a place from where I can collect the footages of the vultures. I spent 4 hours and was really satisfied to collect some good footage of the Long Billed vultures, its chick and the conversation between mothers and chicks. 

Long Billed Vulture on the top of one of the monuments

After a satisfactory work I came back to hotel for lunch. At that time temperature was rising rapidly and the sun was very harsh at noon.  After taking a good shower and lunch I jumped into the bed for a good sleep as I was very tired. Again I left the hotel at around 4 PM in evening to the same place where I was in morning. Central India is known for very hot and dry weather in summer, and in the beginning of summer Orchha was not the exception.  In the evening 4 there was plenty of light and it was hot. However this time I went to another monument of the palace and found a chick which is younger than the morning one. My evening went behind the camera shooting the beautiful chicks in different angle.  I was truly satisfied the way the day one gone. With the soft light of the setting sun the ruins of ancient “Mughal” (Hindi Word) Era was looking fabulous in the side of River Betwa. With the light gone I didn’t have many things to do except coming back to hotel, reviewing the images and footages I had taken the whole day and finally go to bed after having a good dinner early.

Ruins beside the river Betwa

The next day started very early for me. I met Dr. Patrick Benson, one of the famous vulture scientists in the word who is known for his cape vulture work for more than 25 years. He came to Orchha to count the number of chicks of this nearly extinct breed and to observe their health and behavior. We have been introduced earlier by email and knew each other. But meeting with this great personality was a big experience for me. We went to the same “Biwi ka Maqwara” (Hindi Word) and went on a top of a monument from where we can watch the vulture movements. Pat has given me an interview for my film stating how fast the decline of the Asian Vulture happened in India and this subcontinent. The time was running very fast; Pat was working on his project and I was filming his work, vultures and chick silently. In between work Pat was sharing his experience and knowledge with me which was all valuable piece of information to make a documentary film.

Biwi ka Maqwara

It was the last day for me at Orchha, so I was trying to collect footages as much as possible. So we roam around the whole day around the town. Though the summer was scorching but it couldn’t stop us to visit all the monuments and ruins in that town. Even we climbed to ”Laxmi” (Hindi Word) temple which was quite high under the mid day sun to find vultures and chicks. We went to one temple which was a bit far from the town, but when we reached there the Orchha was visible from the top of the temple and it was so beautiful. I was happy that I could utilize the days properly and by then I almost had all the footages I require. In evening the time came to say good bye to Dr. Pat. I thanked him for all the help and rushed towards the hotel. I had to pack up and to leave for Jhansi. 

Orchha Town from far. Left is Jahangir Mahal and the top monument is Laxmi temple

2 days in Orchha took me those old days where a small town beside a small slow moving river. People are used to with a very slow and peaceful life. One can feel the history around this place and the town has it unique charm around it which is quite far from the city madness of 21^st century.

Climibing Laxmi Temple in search of Vulture chick

Dr. Patrick Benson