It's still green out here!

October 17, 2018

The protracted rains are sustaining the verdancy of our village thanks to the prolonged humid weather. The rains have finally crossed 4000mm annual mark this year and hopefully we still have more due. Despite the healthy rains, the sizzling Sun is sucking up all of those ground moisture. Today, I landed at my village from long tiring journey. Consequently, the fatigue body flattened during the morning hours. When I woke up, it was almost lunch time. Rejuvenated by the long sleep, I set out for short stroll along the village trail. My little ones were deep in slumber hence I could easily go on for a quick walk. The azure skies were literally tempting to grab those pictures amidst the grueling weather. The rains have wiped off haze from the sky and it was beautiful occasion to shoot the grandeur of nature during the mid day. Even under the intense condition, the pictures turned out to palatable and here are few.

We could intermittently here the distant rumbles over troposphere but it rained naught.

And yes, you will spot these thick clouds, 360 degree.

It's green everywhere!

Cloud Mirrors

5th October 2018

The September rains lingered over to October thanks to humid weather and out of blue low pressures at Arabian Sea and adjoining Bay of Bengal. Yes, it still humid here in Bangalore providing a feel of summer weather. Despite the onset of Autumn everywhere, it feels like onset of spring here. The sizzling weather is fostering the rains to stay longer than usual. The protracted rains also portraying stunning skies during the evening hours. During break time, the isolated clouds reflect magically onto the water bodies luring the photo hunters like me. I documented one such occurrence in Rachenahalli lake for couple of days. The calm winds ensured zero ripples over the lake. Consequently it was easy to shoot these cloud mirrors during evening hours. Never knew blue hours could be so much exciting in the city too! Here is short collection for you.

I have been hearing about the slithering serpents crossing the human trails over the lake promenade. The thing which was superficial, turned to reality in one the strolls. I spotted a short snake equating the color of concrete but fortunately from quite a distance. Such snakes are hard to spot unless they are moving. Myself & friend were caught off-guard but cooled down once it crossed the trail. The after shocks were persistent till we exited the lake boundary!

Conclusively,

Before you behold for skywatch, scan your ground
Before you get seduced by golden sun and glowing clouds, guard your ground!

Serendipitous visit to Yagachi Reservoir, Belur

9th June 2018,

I was driving with new Swift to Udupi from Bangalore with loads of apprehension. The trepidation stemmed from the torrential rains pounding the Western ghats area leading to series of landslides and road blocks. Thanks to authorities, the Shiradi ghat road is closed for long time increasing the sorrows of citizens. The shortest path which is Charmadi ghat is narrow and the loosened soil cannot bear heavy traffic towards coast. Flooding in western ghat areas coupled with landslides increased my doubt to travel via Charmadi ghat. The other option was Mysore route which was obtuse. Somehow, I decided to take Charmadi ghat route hoping for lesser traffic during morning time.

It was not smooth drive. The monsoon fury started way too early at Yediyur and I had tough drive all the way till Belur. My path from Belur was miscued due to my overconfidence. I had not turned on GPS assuming that, the deviation is somewhere along the Belur-Chikmagalur highway. 3kms passed, I spotted this reservoir. That's all is required to enhance your journey. I had brief stay enjoying the gusty winds along with steady drizzle. Once the stay concluded, I fortunately inquired local vendor nearby on the route to Kottigehara. It was then realized that route lies within the Belur town and not outskirts. I thanked him and back to Belur and then way to Kottigehara :). It was not disappointing turn either towards wrong route. I was fortunate to visit Yagachi reservoir as well fortunate to get back on track later on!

A tiny park to unwind with the wind

About Reservoir

Built across Yagachi river, a tributary of Hemavathi river, the reservoir serves irrigation purpose alongside drinking water to Hassan and Chikmagalur districts. It was built around 2001. Looks like  many recreational activities are available here like kayaking. The entrance to the crest of dam is prohibited due to security reasons. Authorities have built park nearby to behold the nature. The reservoir area is not so populated. Positive ambiance fills this place due to the rural charisma and pristine nature and of-course, sparse population. Food options are feeble proximity to the dam since Belur is nearby. Only tiny vendors like cucumber, tender coconut sellers could be spotted. The car parking is not so vast but enough to cater transiting tourists.

The Dam Gate

Also a short video as souvenir to my visit.  It was windy and rainy day during with umbrella turning upside down. With one arm on the umbrella handle and other on heavy DSLR, it was impossible to produce a steady video. Consequently, some clips are shaken too.

Charming Charmadi

09 June, 2018

Its rainy fury over the Western ghats. The hills are collapsing like flowing water, the rain gauge is crossing 200mm everyday, the rivers are entering the human habitats, the skies are exploding, the rains are unrelenting, towns are morphed into islands, the roads caved in, . The skies together with rainforests are enraged due to human malpractices. When pristine rainforest is morphed into rubber plantations, when tall pinnacles are culled for tea plantations, when resorts engulf the bio diversity hot spots, the disaster ensues.

Time to restore the lost treasure for future generations

These pictures were snapped when Monsoon had just begun its show. Now the picture is entirely different. Some places are not even in picture due to the ruckus created by monsoon rains.

For now, get ready to immerse in the beauty of nature and behold its divinity.

A winding path at Kottigehara

The pinnacles of rainforest

Apart from the eternal greenery, the Charmadi ghat is also known for myriad of unnamed seasonal waterfalls which are pleasure for eyes and soul. You spot them every 500m during monsoon season diving right onto your feet! Most of them is seen beside the main highway. Many of them lurking  deep inside rainforest which are accessible only after monsoon season. The monsoon glory of nature obliviates the torment and rejuvenates the moment. Watch out for leeches amidst the excitement.

A saunter followed by rains

Sep 13, 2018

Today is Ganesh Chaturthi and I am at home alone writing this post. Need of travel to native in subsequent week withheld my festival visit. Consequently, I celebrated alone at home with my own cuisine :D. Unfortunately nobody distributed sweets today on the festival occasion. That is when your mind veers towards home for those festive yummies.

Back to post, today evening as usual my friend joined the walk along Rachenahalli lake. Nowadays walk along the lake involves completing the circuit of 3kms. This long heavy stroll not only freshens you up but also helps in burning considerable calories. Today, it was different in Rachenahalli lake with massive clouds hovering around the region. I thought the clouds would tantalize by not pouring even a drop. The situation was as predicted until the clock the reached 7PM. Later on, the clouds gathered around the region dissipating huge amounts of rains for an hour. I escaped the wrath of rains by reaching just on time to home. The rains coupled with light winds, lightening & thunder further lowered the mercury levels but not the enthusiasm of festival. Following are the pictures shoot during our long stroll of nearly an hour before storm broke out.

Authorities have setup artificial pond to immerse the Ganesh idols installed at various houses/establishments. Some conclude the pooja on the same day while few prolong it to week. The lake had considerable gathering of devotees waiting for their to immerse the deity of intelligence. I too enjoyed the festive fervor along with snacks distributed by the people. As the rumble over sky amplified, it was time to leave the place and reach home to avoid soaking in rain. The rains beat down again for an hour. The humid weather during the daybreak hinted at more rains in coming days.

THE IMMERSION POND

Ganapathi Bappa Morya!

OM GAM GANAPATHAYE NAMAHA

Lalbagh Independence Day flower show - 2016

13th August 2016

Last weekend, we visited the flower show for the first time in our history. Despite landing in Bangalore for almost 8 years, I have never witnessed Flower show. This time it was opportunity for me and my better-half to witness the carnival of flowers during the Independence day. We reached the crowded Lalbagh on an overcast Saturday (2 days before 15th August) and drenched in beauty of florets and monsoon rains :). Being weekend, soaring crowd was not surprise. The authorities charge 60/- per head on holidays but camera fee is free :). Variety of flowers have been displayed inside the glass house but the time is limited for photographers. This is again attributed to ever amplifying crowd. The police officials whine at you if you prolong even a bit to step ahead. The situation becomes worse if the fumigation is turned ON and now its your turn to fume! The area inside glass house is intermittently fumigated to maintain freshness of flowers.

We faced similar situation on our entry to glass house however atmosphere cleared after a while. Somehow, few shots turned out well despite the pushy crowd :). It is difficult to stave off thronging people during these days. One option would be to visit on weekdays especially Wednesday.

Every occasion of Independence/Republic day, authorities choose a theme to This time, the theme chosen was the Indian Parliament made of red roses. It is difficult to describe though since we had little time to view it. However the sight was awesome to watch and people were deluded in selfies to document their visit :). I was no different either :D but limited to subject than selfies ;).

Once done, we strolled towards Lalbagh to relax under setting sun. Few mins later, the clouds gathered over the skies of lake bed and there was downpour for 10mins. We took shelter under the roof of one department structure. After the rains, I took snaps of glistening sunset to conclude the day.