Winter vibes

2025-26 winter has been the most bone chilling I have ever experienced in Bengaluru since I descended in this chaotic city. The mercury was dipping to single digit during early morning hours or night time. La Niña was brutal, sending chills throughout the winter with minimal respite. As the February dawned, the reversal happened to El-nino where we experienced hike in temperatures jiffily. The El-nino is still battering our country with monsoon deficit stretching beyond 30% and unfortunately there are no signs of it recovering. Here are some of the glimpses I captured randomly over period of time during winter

The gentle morning sunlight streaming through fog and skeletal vegetation creates artistic ray patterns during early morning hours.

The Sunrise at Sonda village located atop western ghats was majestic despite the nippy weather

Most of the moods come out from the street dogs. These guys curl up and cover for winter chills after chaotic howl at nights. Some of them use fallen leaves as bedding to keep warm.

This one specifically sneaked inside the rainwater drain to feel extra warm

The shady part is not in demand with most of the folks!

They lie down wherever there is empty space

Not all part of state are experiencing similar temperatures. This was scene from Honnavar where Dog took shelter beneath the shade over wet sand to battle humid mid-day.

The dog was drowsing while standing up. Looks like someone disturbed its peace but it continued its nap while standing up. Captured in Sonda village again

The dog is like even in this peaceful forest, I cannot take peaceful nap. The dog was skeptical even with tiny commotion especially moving cows :-D

The trees have almost shed their leaves. Their skeleton seems like veins in our body.

The natural tones of such trees appear almost monochrome, even when captured in colour. Perspective matters most of the time!

Makara sankranthi sunset - 2026

Yet another Makara Sankranti sunset. The reference point in Hindu calendar where sun trajectory begins shifting north. It also marks outset of mild summer from cold winter

This season, the cold weather has been harsh and bone chilling. Never experienced unprecedented winter  weather in Bengaluru till today. I have desperately waiting for warmer Days to arrive and coincidentally, the dawn of uttarayan began with warm weather. Not sure how long it will last. The met department has predicted nippy weather till January. Hence show would go on. The clouds provided bit of warmth as a temporary relief to long cold days.

In our routine stroll at terrace, we witnessed the clouds playing hide and seek with sun. It was warm and colourful. Worth pausing the walk and getting a snap.

People make use of constant mild wind to fly kite and enjoy festivities. This is the activity which last for few days.

Not an easy task. It needs skill and experience. Many such kites were cut or grounded. Only few such were flying.

ಬ್ಯಾಕೆಂಡ್ - ೩೦

ಹಲವಾರು ದಿನದ ಬಳಿಕ ಮತ್ತೆ backend ಸರಣಿ ಸ್ವಾಗತ ಸುಸ್ವಾಗತ. ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು ಹಾಗೆ ಮೊಬೈಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಉಳಿದುಕೊಂಡಿದೆ. unicode ಟೈಪಿಸಲು ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಸೋಮಾರಿತನ. ಈಗ motivation ತಗೊಂಡು ಕಡೆಗೂ ಒಂದು ಬರೆದಿದ್ದೇನೆ ನೋಡಿ!

SOUND HORD

ಹೆಬ್ಬಾಳ ಇಂದ ಹೆಣ್ಣೂರು ರಿಂಗ್ ರಸ್ತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಚರಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾಗ ಕಂಡ ದೃಶ್ಯ. ಟ್ರಾಫಿಕ್ ಏನೂ ಅಷ್ಟು ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ ಆದರೂ ಈ ವಾಹನದ ಹಿಂದಿನ ಬರಹ ಕಂಡು ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿಗೆ ಸಮಂಜಸ ಎನಿಸಿತು.

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಟ್ರಾಫಿಕ್ ಹೆಚ್ಚು. ಆದ್ದರಿಂದ sound ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ hard ಆಗಿ ಹೊಡಿಬೇಕು ಅಂತ ಗಾಡಿ ಮಾವುತ ಬರೆಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಅನ್ಸುತ್ತೆ. hard ಗಿಂತ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಬೇಕೆಂದರೆ ಅದು hord ಆಗುತ್ತದೆ. 

ಅದು ಬೇರೆ ಮೂಟೆ ತುಂಬಾ ಹೊತ್ತುಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗುವ ವಾಹನ. ಗಾಡಿ ಬೇರೆ pickup ಕಡಿಮೆ. flyover ಏರುವಾಗ ಪಾರ್ಟಿಗೆ ಉಸಿರೇ ಬಾರದು. ಮಹಾನುಭಾವರು timepass ಮಾಡಲು 

ಕಿವಿಗೆ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದರೆ horn ತುಂಬಾ ಜೋರಾಗಿಯೇ ಹಾಕಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. horn ಹೊಡೆದು ಹೊಡೆದು ಕಡೆಗೆ ನಾವೇ ಸಿಟ್ಟಿನಿಂದ hard ಆಗುತ್ತೇವೆ ಅನ್ಸುತ್ತೆ. 

ತಪ್ಪಾಗಿ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದು ಅಂತಾ ಗೋತ್ತಿದೆ. ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ ತಮಾಷೆಗೆ ಹೇಳಿದೆ ಅಷ್ಟೇ! ಏನೇ ಆಗಲಿ ತಪ್ಪಾಗಿಯಾದರೂ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಬರೆದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. Even a stopped clock is correct twice a day ಅನ್ನೋ ತರ!

Vandiyur Lake Park, Madurai

This was ad-hoc visit in our Madurai-Rameshwaram itinerary. We had quite tiring stay at Madurai due to lack of sleep and hit weather. The congested area nearby temple where we stayed increased our stress. The morning before heading to Rameshwaram, we were hunting for good breakfast area at the town. The nearby areas of temple town did not have good restaurants and bit unhygienic as well. The Parvathi bhavan along the Rameshwaram route was the one which looked promising. Even though some of dishes were spicy, the restaurant lives up to the mark as rated in google.

Once breakfast was done, our eyes wandered towards the lake park nestled right in front of the restaurant. This was in my wife's list of must visit place in Madurai. Even though the sun was dazzling and long journey ahead, we decided to have brief walk along the park. This was worth as well!

Here is map of lake park

We walked few metres before reaching the main gate. We spotted the park ticket counter at the entrance but did not see anyone collecting the fare. Perhaps, this is only applicable during evening hours? I assume that the morning visitors are mostly locals and arrive here to warm up.

The park is well maintained and clean. There are plenty of vegetation and greenery all around. 

Recreational facilities like boating and kids play area entertain the visitors. The boating was closed and might open during evening. We spotted the fare counter for boat ride.

Kids Ball pits arena

The lake bed was also well maintained. The lake pier was closed for ramp walk. We visited during unconventional hours looks like. Views from entrance of pier.

Seems like they allow morning hours fishing.

A large skating yard is constructed for skate learners.

Overall a must visit spot if you are in Madhurai. East Madurai seems to be the best maintained part of city. The temple area did not impress us much but the aura of east, negated all those myths. Hope the authorities work to tidy up the temple and surrounding areas also!

Thanks to overnight mild thunderstorm, the morning was azure and atmosphere was clean. Though weather was sweltering

Couple of signature lake view apartments springing up in far east shore. Perhaps best bet for real estate tycoon to grab extra bucks from buyers. Lakeside residences are a boon in hot-weather regions, thanks to the cool breezes they offer—unless a mighty downpour causes the lake to overflow

Disappointing depart though. We unnecessarily squandered time nearby temple area just to witness the clumsy streets. This would been ideal evening hangout for kids with dedicated play arena and evening boating. The docked boats and ticket counter suggested that boating activity was prevalent.

That was quick stop. I wish it could have been longer. When you visit Madurai with kids, don't skip to entertain them in this park along with spiritual journey! Here is quick video from lake.