A liitle bit of rain

After days of tantalisation, the pre-monsoon rain finally showered our region but unfortunately just to show its presence. It rained rapidly for a while just to marginally wet scorching ground. The wetland soon turned dry-land due to prolonged dryness on ground. There wasn't enough rain for the ground to gulp. It seemed as if they poured just to cool my anger.

Meanwhile this male peacock was seen perched over the distant tree. Looked like he got wet in rain was drying up his body over tree top.

I desperately miss my telephoto lens which has disabled me to capture such distant beauties. Egrets don't even allow you near them. Somehow stealthily I try to grab their pictures but egrets are quite sensitive to human movements. Not even single picture has come good in my 70mm lens. Peacocks are comparatively less nervous but still elusive for a 70mm. Looks like need to have closer friendship with cattle through which we can convince egrets for a photo shoot :-)

After heavy shower for meagre ten minutes, the clouds dispersed and sky opened up. The moisture clouds turned to insignificant silky canvas which provided good tonal contrast to capture blue sky over green sesame fields. These were captures post rains.

The fallout of such short spell of rain was visible after rains receded and high humidity set in. The positive part was we had slightly cooler night to experience but not without fully throttled fan.

The cat warrior

This cat belongs to my cousin brother, came out of nap after lethargic day. He climbed the guava trees for possible preys or lookouts and then stepped over the roof which is common with cats. I just mocked its footsteps and visage with that of a king who ascends his throne after winning battle. No offence intended towards poor and innocent cat. Hope you take them lightly if you feel offended :-). Here it goes!

The king is ascending towards the throne after day long battle [ sleep ;-) ]

Ahhh.. let me make sure if path is clean so that I don't commit blunder

And the great king has ascended the throne beholding the roar of his dear citizens

Yawn.........

The king has reached the throne and let the celebration begin. Let the atmosphere roar and air crack in rage

Don't exaggerate simple things you dolt. I suppose you are not following steps of Indian Press :-). I am not here for show-off. Don't tarnish my name. Get the camera out of my sight and allow me to concentrate on prey and enemies :-D

The END Of warrior story

Rainbow but no Rain

The lock-down is helping me to gawk at some of natural phenomenon over sky. Thanks to high humidity, we have pre-monsoon clouds hovering around village. Today also the sky darkened for a while triggering hopes of rain. Unfortunately apart from thunder, there was no excitement. The rains did not appear, not even a drop. This scene felt akin to noise created by Indian press on petty things without fruition. Just to increase TRP.

Jokes apart, it was another disappointment in terms of rain. The heavy clouds again dispelled as they neared our village. After a while, the clouds dissolved and the sky opened up. Probably they dissipated few kms away towards east. A rainbow arouse from the remaining clouds and stayed for 20 mins. How do I know the duration? Because I kept timelapse from start to end. The rainbow is like hope rather being colourful, vivid hope. Hope that rains would appear over the region soon.

Meanwhile, I shot few snaps before keeping mobile for short timelapse. A short coconut twig acted like tripod which enabled steady aligned timelapse despite the heavy breeze. As fallout of the clouds, the humidity further accentuated late in evening. Last time it rained all over region except ours. That is called bad luck or jinx. Hopefully, the rains would cleanse my superstition soon.

Here is yet another timelapse of fading rainbow after disgruntling blog

Pre-Monsoon clouds and dissapointment

April 07, 2020

It all started with thick clouds mustering up at eastern horizon with thunder. Hardly 15 minutes later, the clouds broke apart on reaching head above us. That was clear indication of rains below par. The troposphere was still belting out and we were shivering. The rains however were shear disappointment. But there is hope of further rains. The atmosphere cooled down for couple of days which means it would need few more days to regain humidity and re-trigger rains.

These clouds look heavy but ran away without moisture

The dark monolithic clouds which triggered hopes of heavy downpour, dispelled after a while. We witnessed flashing troposphere with loud roar. Hardly any rain to dampen the baked ground. Even though disappointing, my spirit did not dampen to capture the sky and flying clouds.

The disgusting part was that this was local phenomenon. Paltry rain with nerve wrecking thunder which threatened to destabilise electrical equipment. Not even a little rain entered our well. Even though mercury plunged, the absence of rain was lamenting part. It rained heavily at Udupi for nearly 90 minutes but it was feeble in our village 16 km away. Towns couple of km away also recorded considerable rains with artificial streams flowing over the surface. How interesting is nature. Mathematical models also fail to predict their pattern.

Finally a short timelapse to enjoy after streams of disappointing statements.

Full lane concrete paver

As you are aware, the 4 lane work from Hasan to Sakaleshpur has gained full momentum. The curves nearby Sakaleshpur are straightened and dust is raising all over the region. The national highways have multiple layer of construction of which one of them is to to pave concrete before the actual asphalting work is carried out. Several modern equipments are being used to speed up the road work and as well to have long lasting touch. One of the equipment that has been grabbing much of my attention during every travel towards Bangalore is this full lane concrete paver. This time during our travel to hometown, I captured few pictures of this gigantic equipment. There are one or two of them in entire stretch enabling faster road work. This equipment facilitate a one go concrete paving on entire lane and thus reducing possibilities of unevenness, cracks and other construction errors. Hopefully in coming days we will enjoy aeroplane drive from Hassan to Sakaleshpur of-course with toll fee :-). I do not know how the people will embrace the new toll fee given that the Bangalore-Mangalore stretch already invites toll of Rs.220/- overall.

The equipment adjoining to existing National Highway

Unfortunately, on the other hand, the road-work is completely stalled between Gundya and BC Road. The artificial valleys and abyss created by construction companies are paving way for innumerable accidents. It is learned that delay in land acquisition is leading to slackness of road work. The other lamenting part is the obliteration of thousands of natural vegetation. This is the right time find balance by widening the road and freezing it. No more widening post this work which means authorities should limit the vehicle movements in future.

Village during lockdown

The country is under lock-down for 21 days. I am at a place where density of living beings is high. Fortunately, we are bound by dense vegetation not people. But that does not mean we are safest, we still have to exercise caution. The lock-down is suffocating human respiratory system but at same time is relaxing nature's airways. Nature is trying to teach mankind that our greed is crossing limits and needs lock-down. The balance needs to be restored. Let's check our greed and be in harmony with mother nature.

There are many opportunities photographing in our village. The pandemic which has shut down entire world is constraining our photographic hobby as well. But there are many things to explore nearby my village. For cities, lock-down might seem enigmatic but for villages like mine, it's always virtual lock-down throughout year :-). That's best part of being in secluded location. The nature is fresh always and has become more refreshing due to cut down in vehicular movement. While Twitter is loaded with viral tweets of corona virus, the morning village is loaded with refreshing tweets of early birds. The virus is choking the lungs of human lives but in contrast healing the respiratory system of mother nature

Summer is brewing up here in coastal Karnataka. The humidity in coast is raising. It is not possible to live without full throttled fan. The teas and coffees have taken back seat. The fresh lime juice, cucumber, butter milks are dominating the table. The mud pots are cooling the drinking water. On the other hand corona virus is taking toll on businesses, daily life. The jeopardy is not yet over. I am also working from native village. Despite the yearning to visit the kapu beach, the virus is threatening us. The fear is still looming.

Consequently, the scope of photography is restricted to only nearby our house. The humid weather is attracting clouds and resulting in scattered rains. Today morning, I captured those patchy clouds during sunrise and enjoyed the sun peeking from the eastern horizon. Such a splendid scene of golden sun amidst the diffused clouds. Hope you relish it too!

When incurable virus outbreaks, it is better not go out and stay indoors.if you are within nature you will have the privilege to enjoy the resplendent sunrise or sunset like above. Also a heart touching sunset during evening.

Human greed is unmatched. With corona outbreak, the human civilisation is rattled but nature is blooming. The people who ignored are helpless now. The air is clean and wild is fearless. The nature always strikes a balance. Be it torrential rains from past 2 years or un-seasonal rains this year, nature knows how to reclaim its space. Lets be complacent and honour the laws of nature and probably only solution to chaos

Shivaganga falls, Sirsi taluk, UttaraKannada district

In our recent visit to sonda vadiraja mutt during year end holidays, we covered iconic natural historical places near Sirsi. Nestled in deep forests, the region has some of the wonderful natural wonders to visit. Even though we could not cover all of them, I was satisfied with visit of Shivaganga falls, Unchalli falls, Banavasi, Marikamba temple, Sahasralinga and Manjuguni temple

This post is short briefing of our visit to shivaganga falls. The falls located amidst dense jungles of Western ghats near Vanalli village located 32 kms from Sirsi town. The Google maps helped a lot in reaching destination. Being far from civilization and midday, the visitors were feeble at the area. 200 steps down, you reach viewpoint where you can have beautiful distant glimpse of thundering waterfall.

If you can downtrek for one km which is steep & arduous and cross treacherous boulders, you can have closer glimpse of it.  We wanted to have the downtrek and have closer look of waterfalls. Someone who had just climbed back from downtrek warned us that it would be impossible to achieve with kids. There are lot of hurdles to cross before achieving the target. Hence we refrained from further down-trek and returned to view point. Despite the unachieved target, I was delighted to visit the waterfall and enjoy its majesty. Someday I will plan for detailed expedition to this place. The visit for me was long pending dream fulfilled.

How to visit

From Sirsi town, the falls is 35 kms distant. Turn on google maps and you will reach the destination.  A slight hiccup though during last 500m of the travel. The maps marker points to unknown location. You may feel as lost for sometime. A rickety plaque welcomes you to the shivaganga falls view point 500m before the destination. Make sure to notice this. From here, downhill along the ballast road leads you to the view point.

Best time

Winter is best time to visit. Since 2019 witnessed excess rainfall, the waterfall still had exuberant flow. December would be ideal timeline for the visit. Enjoy the drive from Sirsi to shivaganga falls with dense rainforest, intermittent wild animals. The roads are manageable with rare wear outs. Waterfall can also be visited during Monsoon season but down-trek is almost impossible due to tough terrain and biting leeches. It may be only practical to see it from view point.

Food

The route is absolutely uninhabited with rare traces of human presence. Especially after Vanalli., the human activity is hard to notice. Despite being 35 kms from main town, it feels as if we are on a long journey due to myriad curves, dense jungles and narrow roads. The strenuous drive may render the driver famished in early stages of journey itself. There are no shops as well. Hence, make sure to carry ample food and liquid along with you. Also keep your vehicle in good condition since there is neither repair centre nor petrol pumps throughout the route. The waterfall location had a small snack/beverage shop but was closed. Hence it is not possible to rely on this.

Last but not least, maintain cleanliness and preserve the sanctity of place.

And finally, here is short video of visit. Hope you enjoy it. Due to hazy mid day atmosphere, the pictures did not turn out well. Hence my presentation is restricted to only videography.

Winter clouds

Nov 9, 2019

Slew of cyclones both along Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal is keeping troposphere active with clouds. This time monsoon extended its presence beyond october and on the other hand, we have vigorous spell of North-East monsoon in coastal Karnataka thanks to cyclone kyaar. For the first time, the coast felt the brunt of cyclonic activity but fortunately not to the maximum degree. After ravaging the coast for couple of days, the cyclone swayed itself towards Gulf nations and fizzed out in transit.

These were the pictures shot during winter time in Bangalore when sky should have been deserted except for Sun :-). Hope you enjoy the evening snaps.

ಹಾಗೆ ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ - MRPಗಿಂತ ರೈಸು selling ಪ್ರೈಸು

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಮಾರ್ಟ್-ಗಳಿಗೆ ಬಿಲೋ ಎಮ್.ಆರ್.ಪಿ ತೋರಿಸಿ ಜನಗಳನ್ನು ಆಕರ್ಷಿಸೋ ಹುಚ್ಚು ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ನೋಡಿ. ಜನಗಳು ಕೂಡಾ ಮೋಡಿ ಹೋಗೋದು ಮಾಮೂಲು. ಎಮ್.ಆರ್.ಪಿ ಗಿಂತ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಅಂತಾ ಅವಶ್ಯಕತೆ ಇಲ್ಲದೆ ಇರೋದನ್ನ ಕೂಡಾ ತಗೊಂಡು ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಧನನಾಶಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣರಾಗುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಮಾರ್ಟ್ ಗಳಿಗೂ ಅದೇ ಬೇಕು. consumption economy ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಜನ ಉಳಿಸೋದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಖರ್ಚು ಮಾಡೋದೆ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ. ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಇಂತಹ ಮಾರ್ಟ್-ಗಳ ಮೋಡಿ ಮಾತುಗಳಿಂದ ಜನರು ಉಳಿಸಲು ಹೋಗಿ ಕೈ (ಅಥವಾ ನೋಟು) ಸುಟ್ಟಿಕೊಳ್ಳೋದೇ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ವರ್ಚುವಲ್ ಮನಿ ಬೇರೆ ಇದೆ ಜನರ ಬಳಿ (ಡೆಬಿಟ್, ಕ್ರೆಡಿಟ್ ಕಾರ್ಡ್, ಮೊಬೈಲ್ ವಾಲೆಟ್ ಮುಂತಾದವು). ಗೀಚಿದ್ದು ಲೆಕ್ಕಕ್ಕೆ ಸಿಗೋದಿಲ್ಲ, ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಬ್ಯಾಂಕ್ ಬಾಲೆಂಸ್ ಸೊನ್ನೆ ಆದಾಗಲೇ ಜ್ಞಾನೋದಯವಾಗುವುದು.

ಇರಲಿ ವಿಷಯಕ್ಕೆ ಬರೋಣ. ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ ಪಕ್ಕ ಕೂಡಾ ಇಂತಹದೆ ಎಮ್.ಆರ್.ಪಿ ಕೆಳಗೆ ಮಾರುವ ಮಾರ್ಟ್ ಇದೆ. ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ ಆಗಾಗ ಒಣ ಕೆಮ್ಮು ನಿವಾರಿಸಲು ಸ್ಟೀಮರ್ ಅಗತ್ಯವಿತ್ತು. ಅದಕ್ಕೆಂದೆ ಮಾರ್ಟ್ ನುಗ್ಗಿದೆ. ಚೆನ್ನಾಗೇನೋ ಇತ್ತು. ಅಲ್ಲಪ್ಪಾ ಸರಿ ಇಲ್ಲಾಂದ್ರೆ ವಾಪಾಸ್ ತಗೋತಿರಾ ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಮಲೆಯಾಳಿ ಮಿಶ್ರಿತ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ "ಸರಿ ಇದೆ ಸರ್" ತೊದಲುತ್ತಾ ಮಾತನಾಡಿದ. ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಒತ್ತಾಯಕ್ಕೆ ಮಣಿದು, ಅದನ್ನು ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆ ಮಾಡಿ, ಆವಿ ಕೂಡಾ ಬರಿಸಿದ. ಬಿಲ್ ಕೌಂಟರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ದುಡ್ಡು ಕೊಡಲೆಂದು ಬಂದಾಗ ನನಗೆ ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯ ಕಾಣಿಸಿತ್ತು.

ಅಲ್ಲಾ ಮಾರಾಯ್ರೆ, ಎಮ್.ಆರ್.ಪಿ ಇರೋದು ೩೬೫ ರುಪಾಯಿ ಇವನು ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ೫ ರುಪಾಯಿ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಮಾಡಿ ೧೪ ರುಪಾಯಿ ಡಿಸ್ಕೌಂಟ್ ತೋರಿಸ್ತಾ ಇದಾನೆ. ಒಂತರಾ ಹಗಲು ದರೋಡೆನೆ ಅನ್ನಬಹುದು. ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಜನ ಎಮ್.ಆರ್.ಪಿ ನೋಡೋದೆ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಮಾರ್ಟ್-ಗಳ ಸ್ಟಿಕ್ಕರ್ ಮೇಲೆನೆ ನಂಬಿಕೆ ಇಟ್ಟಿರುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಅಂಗಡಿಯವರಿಗೂ ಅದೇ ಬೇಕೆನೋ. ಬಹುಶ: ಎಮ್.ಆರ್.ಪಿ ಮೇಲೆ ಸ್ಟಿಕ್ಕರ್ ಅಂಟಿಸೋ ಬದಲು ಬೇರೆಲ್ಲೋ ಅಂಟಿಸಿರಬೇಕು. ನಾನೇನು ಚೌಕಾಸಿ ಮಾಡಲು ಹೋಗಲಿಲ್ಲ ಯಾಕಂದ್ರೆ ೩೫೬ ಎಮ್.ಆರ್.ಪಿ ಗಿಂತ ಕಡಿಮೆನೇ ಅಲ್ವೇ? ನನಗೇನೋ ತಿಳಿಯಿತು ಆದರೆ ಅದೇ ಎಮ್.ಆರ್.ಪಿ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಮಾಡಿ ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಎಮ್.ಆರ್.ಪಿ ಬೆಲೆಗೆ ಸೆಲ್ಲಿಂಗ್ ಪ್ರೈಸ್ ಇಟ್ಟರೆ ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಜನರು ಗಮನಿಸೋದು ಇಲ್ಲ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಮಾರ್ಟ್-ಗಳು ತುಂಬಾ ಲಾಭ ಮಾಡೋದು ಅನ್ಸುತ್ತೆ.

ಬಿಲ್ ನಂತರ ವಾರಂಟಿ ಕಾರ್ಡಿಗೇ ನಾನೆ ಸಹಿ ಹಾಕಿಸಿದೆ. ಪಾಪಿಗಳು ಅದನ್ನೂ ಮಾಡಲ್ಲ. ನಾವೇ ನೆನಪಿಸಬೇಕು. ಬಿಸಿನೆಸ್ ಮಾಡಿದವರದ್ದು ಜಾಣ ಮರೆವು ಅಂದ್ರೂ ತಪ್ಪಾಗದು. ಒಂದು ವರ್ಷ ವಾರಂಟಿ ಇದ್ದರೂ ಉಪಕರಣ ಕೆಟ್ಟಿದ್ದರೆ ಬದಲಾಯಿಸಲು ಗೊಣಗೊಣ ಅನ್ನುತ್ತಿದ್ದ. ಅಲ್ರೀ ಬಿಲ್ ಕೊಡ್ತಾರಲ್ಲ ಅದೇ ವಾರಂಟಿ ಅಂದ್ರೆ, ಮಹಾನುಭಾವರೆ ಅದು ಪ್ರಿಂಟೆಡ್ ಬಿಲ್, ಕೇವಲ ಎರಡೇ ದಿನದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಳಿಸಿ ಹೋಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಮತ್ತೆ ಐಟೆಮ್ ಹಾಳಾದರೆ ನಾವೇನು ಮಾಡೋದು ಹೇಳಿ.  ಅಂದಹಾಗೆ ಐಟೆಮ್ ಸಧ್ಯಕ್ಕೇನೋ ಸರಿ ಇದೆ, ಮುಂದೆ ಹೇಗೆ ನೋಡಬೇಕು.

Beautiful sunset in and around panchamukhi

October 4, 2019

The monsoon of year 2019 was yet to begin withdrawal phase. The rains are here to stay still. The monsoon has picked up momentum again in Karnataka and consequently there has been deluge in most parts of North Karnataka as well. The nature of soil in North Karnataka makes the water percolation slower. Even pinch of rain forms large puddle and takes days to dry up. Hence most of the canals and roads were flooded with water thanks to persistent rains.

This time, during our visit to Mantralayam, we visited the panchamukhi anjaneya temple as well. It is customary to visit this mythological temple connected to Mantralayam. Unlike the previous visit, current visit was unique one. It was unique because, we did not have dependency on public transport. We had our own vehicle and ample to time to explore the beautiful historical temple. Unlike our other visits when the drivers of tum-tum were pestering us to return in few minutes, this time it was comfortable & satisfactory visit extending to nearly 90 minutes. The second exhilarating fact was that the rural world of panchamukhi was canvased with lush greenery with dazzling sunset preparing for golden art exhibition in partnership with monsoon clouds. It was worth stopping every 100 mts. The lush paddy, cotton and jowar fields with rockhills & sun as backdrop provided some exhilarating photo shoot opportunities all through the rural road. But there was not so much time.

My previous visits portrayed arid vegetation but this time it was one of the heartfelt one. I was bit annoyed for not making full of this opportunity due to time constraints.

Nature exuded so much beauty but I did not have sufficient time to cherish and capture them. The beauty of monsoon was evident on the hillocks and fields and sky. Visiting these places on rare occasion not sure when will opportunity knocks again.

Here is a video of our short visit. Hope you enjoy this short video and immerse in divinity!