BR Hills Sunrise

Travel plans of 2024 began on peak Summer month i.e. May with one day stay at BR hills Mayura hotel. We landed safely before check-in time. The thunderstorm season was just outset and greens were gradually blooming. Region was drenched in heavy thunderstorm during the evening time for nearly an hour. For sure, the sunrise would be awesome sight during sunset or early morning. Unfortunately, the evening was covered with mist & hill was buffeted with winds.

Around morning 6AM, wife excitedly woke me up sighting the gorgeous sunrise scenes. Summer sunrises are quite early and I immediately rushed to viewpoint of BR hills to witness magic of nature. The Sun had woken up almost 75%. Still the presence of clouds made it possible to capture few colorful scenes despite landing late.

The shining clouds, the cascade of hillocks, the fog, dancing clouds beneath were perfect elements to capture landscape scenes. I have mobile version of these pictures, but for now I am posting DSLR shots. Hope you enjoy!

ಬಹುವಚನ ತಂಗಿ, ಎಡವಟ್ಟು ನಿಂಗಿ!

ಬಹಳ ದಿನದ ಬಳಿಕ ನಿಂಗಿ ಮತ್ತು ಗುಂಡ ಊರಿನ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಕ್ಕೆ ತೆರಳಿದ್ದರು. ಹಲವು ನೆಂಟರ ಬಳಿ ಸುಮಾರು ೭-೮ ತಿಂಗಳು ಬಳಿಕ ಮಾತನಾಡಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಯಿತು.

ಗುಂಡನ ಚಿಕ್ಕಮ್ಮನ ಮಗಳು ಕೆಂಪಿ ಜೊತೆ ನಿಂಗಿ ಮಾತನಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಳು. ಬೇಸಿಗೆ ಸೆಖೆ ಜೋರು ಬೇರೆ. ಗುಂಡ ಕೂಡಾ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಸಾಥ್ ನೀಡಿದನು. "ಇವರಿಗೇನೂ ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ ಪಂಚೆ ಸುಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡರೆ ಆಯಿತು. ಯಾವ ಸೆಖೆಯೂ ಗೋಚರಕ್ಕೆ ಬರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ನಮ್ಮಂತವರು ಸೀರೆ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡವರಿಗೆ ತಿಳಿಯೋದು ಸೆಖೆಯ ಧಗೆ!" ಎಂದು ನಿಂಗಿ ಗುಂಡನನ್ನು ಕಿಚಾಯಿಸಿದಳು. 

ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಕೆಂಪಿ ಸಾಥ್ ನೀಡುತ್ತಾ " ಅವನಿಗೆ ಏನು ಊರೆಲ್ಲ ಬರಿ ಟವೆಲ್ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡೆ ಓಡಾಡುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಸೆಖೆ ಇಲ್ಲ ಅಂತ ನಮಗೆ ಬುದ್ಧಿ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾನೆ" ಎಂದು ಎಲ್ಲಾರೂ ತಮಾಷೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾ ಮೈದುಂಬಿ ನಕ್ಕರು. 

"ಯಾಕೆ ಎಲ್ಲರ ಮುಂದೆ ಮರ್ಯಾದೆ ತೆಗಿತಿಯಾ" ಅಂತಾ ತಂಗಿ ಕೆಂಪಿಗೆ ಗುಂಡ ಮುಜುಗುರದಿಂದ ನುಡಿದು ಕೆಂಪಿಯ ಬಾಯಿ ಮುಚ್ಚಿಸಿದನು. 

ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಹೊತ್ತಿನ ಬಳಿಕ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಊಟಕ್ಕೆ ತೆರಳಿದರು. "ಅಲ್ಲ ರೀ, ನಿಮಗೆ ಊರಲ್ಲಿ respect ಕಡಿಮೆ ಆಗಿದೆ ಅನ್ಸುತ್ತೆ?! ತಂಗಿಯಂದಿರೆಲ್ಲಾ ನಿಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಅಣ್ಣ ಅಂತ ಬಹುವಚನದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತನಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದವರು ಈಗ ಏಕವಚನದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಭೋಧಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ!? ಏನ್ ನಿಮ್ಮ್ ಹವಾ ಮಟಾಷ್ ಆಯ್ತಾ ಹೇಗೆ" ಅಂತ ನಿಂಗಿ ಗುಂಡನನ್ನು ಗೇಲಿ ಮಾಡಿದಳು. 

"ಹಾಗೇನಿಲ್ಲ ಕಣೆ. ನಾನು workout ಮಾಡಿ ಈಗ ತೆಳ್ಳಗೆ ಆಗಿದ್ದೀನಿ. So ಅವ್ರಿಗೂ ನನ್ನ ಏಕವಚನದಲ್ಲಿ ಕರಿಯಕ್ಕೆ ಮುಜುಗರ ಆಗ್ತಾ ಇದೆ. ಎಷ್ಟು young ಅಣ್ಣನಾ ಸಲಿಗೆಯಿಂದ ಮಾತಾಡಿಸ್ಬೇಕೂಂದ್ರೆ ಬಹುವಚನ ಸರಿ ಹೋಗಲ್ಲ ಅನ್ನಿಸಿರಬೇಕು. ಅದಿಕ್ಕೆ ಅಷ್ಟೇ. ನನ್ನ ಮೈ-ಕೈ changes ನೋಡಿ ನಾನು ಅವ್ರ age-ಗೆ ಸೇರಿದ್ದೀನಿ ನೋಡು. ನನ್ನ ಹವಾ ಇನ್ನು ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಆಗಿದೆ ಕಣೆ. ಅದೆಷ್ಟು ಸುಂದರಿಯರ ಕಣ್ಣು ನನ್ನ ಮೇಲೆ ಇತ್ತೋ ಏನೋ! " ಅಂತ ಗುಂಡ ಜಂಭ ಪಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡನು.  

ನಿಂಗಿಗೆ ಏನು ಹೇಳಬೇಕೋ ತಿಳಿಯಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಊಟದ ನಂತರ ಇಬ್ಬರೂ ಮನೆಗೆ ತೆರಳಿದರು. ಮನೆ ಸೇರಿದ ತಕ್ಷಣ ನಿಂಗಿ ಗುಂಡನಿಗೆ ಚಿವುಟಿ ಕೋಣೆ ಬಾಗಿಲು ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡಳು. ಆವಾಗಲೇ ಗುಂಡಗೆ ಮಾನವರಿಕೆಯಾಗಿದ್ದು ಮೇಡಮ್ ತುಂಬಾ ಉರ್ಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಅಂತಾ ಮತ್ತು ಅವನ ಮಾತನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿಯವರೆಗೂ ಅದುಮಿಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡು carry ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾಳೆಂದು! "ಓಹೋ! ಮೇಡಂ ಅದಿಕ್ಕೆ ತನ್ನ ಇಷ್ಟವಾದ 'ಮೈಸೂರ್-ಪಾಕ್' ಅನ್ನು ತಿನ್ನದೇ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದು. ಇರಲಿ ಸಂಜೆ ಸರಿ ಹೋಗ್ತಾಳೆ" ಎಂದು ಮನದಲ್ಲೇ ಗುಂಡ ಸಮಾಧಾನಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನದ ನಿದ್ರೆಗೆ ಜಾರಿದನು. 

Monsoon Diaries (13/06/2024) - Gorgeous sunset post heavy showers

Today it rained considerably in my area. While travelling from office to home, the intensity of rains were significantly high which was pleasure to watch. The heavy drops pelting the windshield is something pluviophiles enjoy a lot! The usual scenes of two wheelers taking shelter under the bridges were common which results in long traffic jams. As I approached my area, the rains were completely stopped. Wife said that it rained an hour back and now it has stopped. Its weird season. It rains in one region and as you drive further, other region completely is dry. This is not uncommon though! Especially during thunderstorm days, one area can clock as big as 100mm, in contrast, the nearby areas may score hardly 20mm. Its matter of luck I say!

After sipping fresh hot tea and evening snacks, it was time for evening walk. The drizzles interrupted our walk which shoved us away from terrace. The sunlight was alive and sky was glowing. It was perfect for sunset shoot. The vivacious atmosphere was soothing for eyes.

The rainbow popped up at the other end of horizon thanks to combination of rain and sunlight. My kids too loved them!

A short timelapse this time due to rain interruption.

The Onlooker!

A cat staring at my camera while receiving ironed clothes. Seems to be fostered by the iron shop owner. Not nervous guy, allows us to pamper. It seems like cat is asking to fill pot to escape from summer water deprivation in Bengaluru

Monsoon Diaries (16/06/2024) - Beautiful Morning

Today I have engagements. Planned to visit relative home for refreshing myself. I thought no documentation for today. But things turned positively since I woke up at 5:50AM on Sunday. Waking up on holiday was rewarding in deed! You will realize soon as why it was fruitful to wake up early on holiday.

The sky looked awesome wrapped in a maze of hanging cable. The Sun was colorful and glowing. The mild glow helped mobile camera to capture the scene cleanly!

This prompted me to immediately step towards terrace which enabled to me grab clean shots devoid of distracting elements!

The blue part of sky had artistic clouds. Looked like glued to sky!

The afternoon posted a different picture altogether with heavy clouds. The evening rains were light though. No evening pictures or timelapse this time. Had other engagements. Moreover the monsoon at its worst did not pose much interesting data :-(

The monsoon is still at backfoot. No signs of revival yet. Hopes are high from 18th June for revival. Pray god that it materializes. Meanwhile, the morning Sun

Monsoon Diaries (12/06/2024) - Busy Northwest, confused clouds, little rain

Today evening, the sky was relatively calm with high winds and passing clouds. The atmosphere instantly turned dark and large mass of cloud started moving towards north west. I thought steering would be from west to east but clouds moved from south-east to north-west. That's typical monsoon steering. We saw rain shaft dropping rains on those regions (visible in picture).

A thin rain cloud mass was moving overhead. The wind speed increased and thus confusing clouds. The strange variation in wind speed jammed the clouds and thus resulting in confused pattern. The rains were faint though. There wasn't any significant rain though :-(

Later the cloud mass over north-west too looked confused! The nimbus clouds turned stratus after dumping significant precipitation.

Overall a good scene to capture. Here are two timelapses captured quickly. Since clouds were fast moving, it was a easy quick grab. Rest of the time went in capturing the drama all over!