Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Kala Ghoda Festival 2024

Had been to the Kala Ghoda Festival and took some general pictures of Mumbai, like this night shot of the Mumbai University
Sauntered into the Westside store (opposite Kala Ghoda) and saw these young boys from Live 101 keeping the customers entertained. They were playing my favourite song by Bob Marley.
Marley's classic song No Woman No Cry was inspired by his experience living in the trench town area of Kingston, Jamaica. The song reflects the hardships and struggles faced by the residents of the ghetto with its lyrics portraying empathy and hope for better times. The song was recorded in 1974 and the live recording was released as a single in 1975.
The song is meant as an encouragement that life is worth living for - a beacon of hope shining in the darkness. The title and the main refrain "No Woman no cry" means, Woman, don't cry.
Another non festival picture was this pretty woman trying to sell some trinkets at the Regal crossing.
Mumbai was looking all colourful with the new double decker electric bus
Took me back about six decades when I travelled by tram on the same road and the fare was 10 Ps from Byculla to Regal.
We patronized an old Parsee joint Jimmy Boy in the area for dinner. The "sunny side up on kheema" not only looked great but was really yummy.
Their concept is to serve Lagan nu Bhonu (Parsee wedding food) at their restaurant. Jamva Chaloji.
It was heartwarming to see this study centre in the heart of the city where students coming from underprivileged backgrounds can come and study and fans and lights and charging points are provided for them. These two pictures below explain it all. (behind that board you can see youngsters sitting and studying)
Now for some festival shots. This catapult reminded me of the ones we made by cutting the Y from a guava tree and tying rubber strips from discarded cycle tubes. Now it is a part of the Channapatna toys in one of the stalls.
I was impressed by the pencil sketch done by Ashish Mahajan at the Cooperage Bandstand Garden. Had a chat with him and he said that he usually takes about 6 to 8 hrs to finish a pencil sketch of a portrait. (you can see him in action in the video) The charges too were cost effective.
We saw this pottery workshop where one gets a feel of the potter's wheel.
There was an exhibit by the Indian Navy opposite Lion Gate with the title Lest we forget. It was crafted from the recovered memorabilia of INS Vikrant as an offering of everlasting tribute. This too took me down memory lane when I was posted on duty on the Vikrant from the NCC during the Navy week, way back in early 70s.
There was a stall by The Good Doll where each product is handcrafted by women from underserved communities using natural and upcycled materials that are ethically sourced from within the region.
Kala Ghoda is an yearly event and it is a good platform for people to showcase their product/talent. This was started on a small scale 25 years ago.
Hope to click more pictures next year.

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Diamond crossing

Always wanted to see the diamond crossing in India, so I made it a point to visit it during my first visit to Nagpur.
It is said that this is the only double crossing in Asia. Another landmark is the zero mile stone of India which is at the heart of the city. The pillar was erected in 1907 and is made of sandstone.
One of the Metro stations is also named Zero Mile.
Talking of Metro, I took a joy ride in the Metro to the Airport and back, and found the occupancy pretty appreciable in spite of it being a Sunday. This metro also goes over the viaduct  which is Asia's longest multilayer viaduct.
From Nagpur we drove down to Tadoba. The drive itself was enjoyable, especially the rustic countryside. One has to make way for bullock carts and cattle crossing the path but a little patience makes it a win-win situation.
It is good to see children going to school, either by foot or on bicycle.
We halted at a place known as "Tathastu" and I liked the service and ambiance of the place. Their restaurant was named Foodpecker and the bar was named "Bottleneck"
There was a crooner by the name of Ahatesham who entertained us with his guitar.
I made a separate video on him. 
Most of the visitors go to Tadoba with the intention of sighting a Tiger.  We were lucky to see many wild animals and birds.This tall Nilgai was intrigued by our presence.
The black buck looked majestic.
The blending of the Owl with the bark of the tree was perfect.
The darter had a way to dry his wings as can be seen in the video.
The open bill stork looked pretty in the tall grass
The bamboo trees had flowered well and the guide said that next year there is going to be a dense bamboo jungle. He said the last flowering happened 45 years ago.
The video will give you a better picture especially of the leopard walking across to join its mate in the shade.   

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Victoria Falls

The guide said that it is very rare that you sight a Southern Ground Hornbill and we were very fortunate to see one on our long drive through the Delta.
Another Hornbill was the Trumpeter Hornbill which was sitting motionless in the rainforest near the Victoria Falls.
Speaking of birds, we saw this Green Woodhoopoe in the same rainforest.
Being at the Falls was a different experience and when you see the constant spray, you realise how the greenery thrives all around it.
The sheer volume over the height of the falls is so great that before getting anywhere near the ground, the water is buffeted by the strong rising winds and turned into mist. If you stand here for more than a minute, you are sure to get fully drenched.
Never knew that white water rafting takes place deep down in those ravines.
Made a short video on the Victoria Falls which is one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

Friday, October 13, 2023

Elephant Sands

This is one of those places where you get to see as many elephants as you want, in all shapes and sizes.
If you are staying overnight in one of the tents then it is all the more exciting as the flow of traffic (of elephants) is more in the night.
We drove down from Francistown to Elephant sands. One of the observations I made during our overnight stay is that they move very silently. They may be standing right next to you and you will not be aware of them.
From the videos you may get the impression that they are docile and tame. The fact is that once they know that you are not a threat to them (or their family), they won't harm you. I like the way they come bounding down to the waterhole when they sight the water.
Even after reaching the waterhole they don’t start drinking right away. They first splash themselves with water, cool themselves down a bit and then slowly take small sips of water. I saw two of them drinking alternatively in a synchronized fashion.
At times there are skirmishes among themselves and the Tuskers like to exercise their might and leadership. On the way to the Elephant Sands, our vehicle got bogged down. We knew that pushing it won't help but still we gave it a try. Finally got it towed by another vehicle which was passing by.
Birds too hover around the waterhole and they take turns in quenching their thirst.
saw somee Pied crows:
I saw an odd looking bird along with the Myna. It looked like a juvenile vulture but later when I got it identified I learned that it was a molting Myna.
It is a different experience to spend the night in one of those tents hearing the occasional trumpeting sound at regular intervals. The next morning I saw some ostriches grazing not far from our tent.
Going through the short video will give you a better idea of the place and our experience over there.

Saturday, September 23, 2023

Bush Telegraph

It is very rare that you get to see a leopard with her kill and her young one on the very first trip you make to Africa, thanks to Option.
Option is the name of the tour guide who was with us for the last three days of our tour of Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Option was not only knowledgeable about wildlife, he had a sound knowledge about the history and geography of everything. He has this habit of exchanging information with his counterparts and he calls it "bush telegraph"
His grasp on the geological background of the terrain was admirable. When we camped at Savuti, during the campfire, he explained about the stars and I was stunned at his knowledge of constellations.
We were at the edge of our seat listening to one of the strategy executed by the lions of how they managed to feed on Elephants. When the waters receded all the animals migrated to other areas whereby there was nothing for the lions to feed on. They decided to feed on the mighty elephants. As they could not constrict and choke them (their usual strategy) they managed to bleed the elephants to death by cutting open their main artery, a process which took three to four days. There were casualties on the lion’s side too, but the pride managed to feed and sustain themselves.
In Option’s words “ When we think we know everything, Nature manages to rewrite history”
The additional advantage that he had was his great sense of humour and a good grasp of the language. You can hear from him in the video. Those of you who would like to engage him can contact him directly on Whatsapp +267 7241 7407 or mail at optionmooketsi@rocketmail.com
Coming back to our main story, as usual Option kept collecting information from his bush telegram and when we told him that we spotted a jackal he said "forget the Jackal for the time being, I will show you something that you will never forget" He drove us directly to the spot where the leopard was resting after having her first fill of the Steenbok. It was later that we noticed that she had a cub too. (The leopard spots really help in the blending in.)
The leopard decided to move to a quieter place, so she picked up her kill and moved to the interior with her cub in tow. It was our luck that she walked right in front of our vehicle, so I could capture her movements in the video.
In another instance, we saw a leopard stalking and crouching waiting for the charge. He was waiting to see if he could reduce the distance between the prey and him. The waiting game went on for a long time and we had to leave before some action took place.