Off to Kechala, Koraput district, Orissa .........

We are off to village Kechala, Koraput district in Orissa for our annual school trip.

Looks like it is going to be a good 40 hour journey, first part of the journey starts from Hazrat Nizamuddin station at 8.40 am in Samta Express, which goes through Bhopal, Nagpur, Raipur & we get down at Rayagada at 15.00 hrs tomorrow. Then another short train journey & then another short bus journey, then finally another by ferry to reach an island called Kechla !! Phew !!

There are 37 of us plus 4 teachers, we come back only "next year" on the 8th of Jan.

So it is Happy New Year to you all & wish you the best in 2010 !!

Adios amigos

Whisper of the Wings series.......5. Hoopoe

Hoopoe very rarely sits on my balcony, probably i must have seen it only about a couple of times in the last 3 years.

But i can always see it flying around, the wings flap in the similar way as the Woodpecker. I also see it in the park opposite my house feeding away busily on the ground, with its long beaks.

This photograph is taken when the hoopoe was sitting on a tree just outside my balcony.

At the movies again...... 3 Idiots

Was it 3 idiots or 4 idiots ?

If we include the professor also, then it becomes 5 idiots !!

I had enjoyed Munnabhai MBBS, so when i heard that the same director had made 3 idiots i wanted to go & see the movie. I wasn't disappointed, i quite enjoyed the movie.

The only unwanted part in the movie was the extended child birth drama, some how it did not make any sense to me, otherwise it was thoroughly enjoyable.

Lots of dialogues like the name of the dogs as megabyte, gigabyte etc, the definition of a machine among many other things were really funny, infact there were numerous laughter moments.

All of us had good fun !!

Merry Christmas !!

Merry Christmas to all.
Me & my friend K, who is staying with me got this Christmas tree decorated, it does actually look good, some friends did come over in the evening, it was a cold evening at around 7 Celcius, we had good food, cake & just chilled watching some movies...........
Untill next year !!

At the movies again.... to see Avatar

Me & my friends went to see Avatar. Overall i liked the movie very much, but the graphics & the 3D were too good.

Whisper of the Wings series.......4. Red Whiskered Bulbul

Looks like a rock star !!

Red Whiskered Bulbuls are a frequent visitors on to my balcony, here is one of the rock stars !!

Whisper of the Wings series.....3. Rufous Treepie

Rufous Treepie.

When this Dendrocitta vagabunda comes onto my balcony it is usually with a lot of announcements, all the 5 or so different musical calls are made. Its like look i am here or i 've come, every one else watch out or some thing like like that.

Whereas sometimes it sits very quietly on the Jamun Tree next to my house eating the small jamuns, sometimes one does not even realise it is there.

Its very difficult to say from male & female.

'Mirambika gang' at the Humayan's Tomb

As part of one our school project on the Mughal Empire we headed to Humayun's Tomb last Saturday.

The complex has among many other tombs; a main tomb for Emperor Humayun & for his wife Hamida Begum.

Humayun's Tomb is a show piece of Mughal architecture & Persian gardens. The main architect of of this World Heritage Site was Mirak Mirza Ghayas from Afghanistan.

There are several monuments leading up to Humayun's tomb & one of the most prominent among them is that of the whole family of Isa Khan Niyazi, which predates the main tomb by 20 years, built in 1547 CE.

By the way, this handsome looking man is not one of the Mughals !!!

Infact he is one of our favourite teachers, he is known to us as Kavi bhaiyya & here he is introducing us to all these histories & during one of our breaks he is explaining a few things to us & also reminding us that we have not come here for gallivanting & to be bloody serious !! (& that was in his own words)

These are photographs of the main tomb, please click on it to enlarge.

The stairways are so narrow & steep, I wonder why !!

Even Humayun had died (some where else) when he fell down a stairs when he ran to be on time to attend prayers !!
The Charbagh (four Square) gardens, spread over 13 acres changed rapidly since 1556. The decline of the mughals was a contributing factor, since the capital was already shifted to Agra in 1556, then the upkeep of the garden was costly & almost impossible. Then the British took over, 'though around 1903-1909 the Brits did try to restore a few things.

Again during the Partition of India, Humayun's Tomb was a major refugee camp for almost five years, then again the gardens were unfortunately considerably damaged & also there was serious damage to the water channels & chief structures.
First the Archaeological Survey of India & now Agha Khan Trust for Culture have been trying to restore Humayun's Tomb back to its original glory, with all the gardens & the water channels. Infact there were people from Agha Khan Foundation to guide us during the walk.

We ended the walk with a shared & sumptous lunch (nana had packed some Veg Paella !!) & there was also a birthday cake which was cut for one of my friends !!

I did enjoy the walk.......... so, until next time

au revoir to all !!

Whisper of the Wings series.....2. Purple Sunbird (female)

This is the Female Purple Sun bird, likes to come & taste a bit of honey from the flowers in the balcony.

Looks stunning against the red flower, isn't it ??

Sultanpur 29.11.09, with the Shrikes & Blue Throat among many others

Its been a year since we went birding to Sultanpur, so when we heard that there was a trip scheduled i was thrilled

An Yellow Crowned Woodpecker was doing hide & seek with us

Just as we were walking i thought i heard a noise similar to somebody clicking away furiously on the camera, then i realised it was a Blue Throat. It was bang in front of me on the pathway, i crawled on my knees to reach closer to it.

Then some Lesser White Throats, Hume's Warbler's, Common Chiffchaffs kept us interested. So was an over flying Honey Buzzard & a Marsh Harrier.

A Roller bird was looking delightful as ever.

Then the Olive Backed Pipits captured every one's interest

So were the Red Avadavats, who were posing for us

And so with the Silver Bills

The Southern Grey Shrike was not even bothered by my presence !!

The Minivets made a stunning splash of colour

We also saw Black Rumped Flame back, Horn bills, Tree pies, Coucals, a Black Shouldered Kite sitting & preening away. Stone chats, Plain & Ashy Prinia, Large Grey Babbler, Shikra, Drongo, Indian Robin & Pied Bush chats also made their presence felt.

Partridge's made their presence with their lovely calls. I tried to click a Common Quail, but stood no chance !!

At the water hole there was over 2,000 water birds Common teals, Gadwals, Northern Shovelers, Grey lag geese, Bar headed geese, Common Pochards, Northern Pin tails, Coots & Wigions.

The resident water birds included the Common Moorhen, Purple Swamp hen, Great, Intermediate & Little cattle Egrets, Purple & Grey Herons, Black Headed Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Painted Storks. So were the White Tailed Lapwings, Wood sand Pipers. Barn swallows & Plain Martins looked busy as ever.

Here is a video of an Egret Fishing & enjoying its meal !

Just as we came out some one told us, Great White Pelicans have flown in & also there was a pair of Sarus cranes. But we were tired & hungry, so will check them out next time.

From 7 am to 12 noon we saw almost 60 species of birds, now isn't that amazing ???