ಮಳೆ ನಿಂತು ಹೋದ ಮೇಲೆ

೦೩ ಜೂನ್ ೨೦೨೧

ಅರೆರೆ ಯಾವುದೋ ರೋಮಾಂಟಿಕ್ ಮೂಡ್ ಅಲ್ಲ ಮಾರಾಯ್ರೆ. ಇನ್ನೇನು ಮಳೆಗಾಲ ಹತ್ರ ಬರ್ತಾ ಇದೆ. ಹಕ್ಕಿಗಳೂ ಕೂಡಾ ಖುಷಿ ಪಡುತ್ತಿವೆ. ನಮ್ಮ ಬುಲ್-ಬುಲ್ ಹಕ್ಕಿ ಮಳೆಯ ನಂತರ ಯಾವಾಗಲೂ ದಾಳಿಂಬೆ ಮರದ ಬಳಿ ಬಂದು ಹಾಡುತ್ತೆ ನೋಡಿ. ಇವತ್ತು ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಕಡಿಮೆ ಹಾಡಿದೆ ಯಾಕೋ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ತುಂಬಾ ಬೇಸರದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರೋ ತರ ಇತ್ತು ಮತ್ತು ಅಷ್ಟೋಂದು ಚುರುಕುತನ ಕೂಡಾ ಕಾಣಿಸಲಿಲ್ಲ ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ. ಬಹುಶಃ ಅದರ ಗೂಡಿಗೆ ಏನಾದರೂ ಆಯಿತೋ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಯಾವತ್ತಿನ ಹಾಗೆ ಹಾಡಿಲ್ಲ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಅದರ ದನಿಯಲ್ಲು ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಶೋಕ ಎದ್ದು ಕಾಣುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಏನೇ ಆಗಲಿ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿರಲಿ. ಈ ಹಕ್ಕಿಗಳಿಗೂ ಬದುಕೋ ಹಕ್ಕಿದೆ.

ನಾನು ಕ್ಯಾಮರಾದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲವು ಚಿತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ಕಿಸಿದೆ. ಅದರ ಧ್ವನಿ ಕೂಡಾ ಇದೆ ಕೇಳಿ ಕೊನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ. ಮಳೆ ನಿಂತ ಮೇಲೆ ಅದರ ಧ್ವನಿ ಕೂಡಾ ಬಹಳ ಇಂಪಾಗಿ ಕೇಳುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಲಾಕ್-ಡೌನ್ ಬೇರೆ, ವಾತಾವರಣವೂ ಶುಭ್ರವಾಗಿದೆ. ಹಾಡು ಕೂಡಾ ಶುಭ್ರವಾಗಿ ಕೇಳುತ್ತೆ. ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯದಾಗಲಿ!

 

ಅದರ ಸುಮಧುರ ಗಾನ ನಿಮಗಾಗಿ!

ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು ಹಕ್ಕಿ ಸರಣಿಗಳಿಗಾಗಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ಕಿಸಿ :  NKBirdSeries

Monsoon 2021 has set in

04 June 2021

After declaring onset of South-West monsoon over Kerala yesterday, today MET department officially announced the onset of monsoon over Karnataka. Numerous criteria has to be met to declare the onset of monsoon. Even I do not have knowledge on them. For sure, strong moisture laden clouds from south-west are one of them. Today we will officially bid adieu to our pre-monsoon showers which are our real heat saviours. Bangalore as city also gets its majority rains from pre-monsoon showers. Here are final pictures of pre-monsoon skies of 2021.

Today morning hours, coastal Karnataka was hammered by heavy rains from Arabian sea clouds. It was welcome scene as we saw lethargic cloud activity after frequent cyclones over Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal. Today the build-up was strong and rains were heavy. Hope to see good monsoon progress from now onward. Meanwhile, Bangalore also witnessed heavy evening rains which I captured in my mobile camera. The cloud direction was though confusing. At first glance, clouds moved from north-east. Later, they moved from south-west. Perhaps the air was swirling. Here are couple of videos to rejoice.

Bygone golden time

Here is assorted pictures of sunrise/sunset pictures from bygone golden times. I call them "Golden Times", because they feel extremely precious now.  We long for exotic trips but God teaches us lesson when we loose control. He makes you realise that there is so much beauty in your backyard to cherish. He makes you realise the importance of every critter on this earth. The morning/evening golden light of Sun is now elusive as well. With people locked inside house even the backyard gazing of golden light is turning out be daunting task. The pandemic though slowly reducing, cannot be deemed as extinct. Extreme vigilance and discretion needed before venturing out. We pray God to heal this pandemic soon and relieve people from disease. At the same, let us promise god to be less greedy, honour every creature on earth and enjoy the simple life surrounding us.

This is picture of sunrise from Amruthahalli lake. This lake restored my hope of bird photography. It wiped off all the delusions from me which were stuck while returning from native. This lake is best example that beauty is present everywhere. The evening walk to this lake was major rejuvenation for me. Hopefully we soon see them open.

Nearly after an year, we visited the Jakkur lake when the pandemic was quiet. Here are couple of pictures of sunset. Soon the pandemic surged which disabled us visiting this beautiful place as well. I was elated at this place while spotting pelicans and other birds. Hope to see the place soon.

There is nothing joyous other than clicking the golden hours from my village. These were snapped right after declaration of monsoon withdrawal. Perhaps, the first cloud free day we had in November. The majestic landscape with greener ground is something exciting to click. Here are the pictures from mobile camera. 

And finally our deity Shri Krishna. Let us pray again lord to heal the pain on the earth and lead us to path of simple living. This was captured around August 2020 when the entrance temple was prohibited due to prevailing pandemic.

Action packed Sky

17 May 2021

As Cyclone Taukate departs from coastal Karnataka, the summer rains are back into action. The weather which was windy and cold from past two days suddenly turned humid and culminated in short burst of heavy shower. The shower lasted for 20 mins but humidity persisted day long. Here is a short clip from that sharp shower

As usual, we went for our daily terrace visit at 5:30PM and undoubtedly the sky was action packed. The troposphere was covered with thick nimbus clouds. The sky was turned into battlefield for thick clouds which resulted in thunder and lightning at distant horizon. Perhaps, few areas of city would have been blessed with bountiful rains. Few cloud moved due west resulting in rain shaft. It was amazing to watch the phenomenon. My mobile camera captured timelapse of entire event with few pictures of rain-shaft to conclude. The Arcs of lightning too were alluring but one of my son injured his leg which prompted us to return back home. Here are the pictures for you!

The cloud activity sustained for couple more days. We are getting ready for onset of monsoon and the sky seems to be spruced up to welcome the monsoon clouds. Few more clouds to rejoice but unfortunately they did not make it overhead.

Mandaragiri Hills and Lake, Tumkur District

02 April 2021

Mandaragiri hill was in our list from quite long time. The beautiful rock hill situated near Tumkur is pilgrimage centre of Jainism. The lake overlooking from hill is yet another attraction. This Good Friday, we planned to visit this well-known place and it turned out to be Good Travel Friday despite initial hiccups.

One of my son complained of stomach pain early in morning which slowed our plans for a while. Initially, we were sceptical of travelling under hot sun which would dehydrate and aggravate stomach ache. Fortunately, he soon recovered in couple of hours. The travel plan remained unabated. Our actual schedule was 8AM but due to hiccups, it got delayed by 2hrs. It was 10:15AM when we started. Being holiday, the city traffic was relatively sparse. Barring the traffic jam at Jalahalli cross, we had smooth drive till Bangalore-Pune National Highway. The toll gates too were relatively less crowded which enabled us to sail through within shorter time. Complete journey was smooth despite the radiating Summer Sun. Weather was dry and temperatures are soaring. Even before reaching destination, we had guzzled nearly a litre of water.

The last 1.5kms deviation from highway was also nicely laid but narrow. There are no clear road signs to reach the place. The map is bang on target. It was 11:45AM when we reached the Mandaragiri hills. We were excited to see the stairs leading to the Jain temple and hoped to start as early as possible. The designated parking area comes with an entry cost of Rs.40/-.

We walked till the stairs from parking area. It is also possible to park near stairs and start climbing. We were not aware of that fact due to which an additional 300mts had to be walked. The other scepticism was if our 4 years toddlers would make it to summit or not. Those apprehensions were eventually wiped out by enthusiastic kids! It was exactly 12:00PM when we outset our climb. The steps are carved out in granite hill are not even. Few places have lesser height while few steps are steep. At few locations, the stairs are steep. We took intermittent breaks to enjoy the nature surrounding the hill and also to rest for a while. Within 15-20 time-frame, we had climbed those 420 steps and ready to explore.

The hilltop primarily consists of multiple Jain temples which are worshipped on daily basis. The priest everyday climbs the hill at morning and descends during 5PM. The hill looks to be operation till 6PM. The temples are being renovated from community donations which includes assistance from Dharmastala temple chief Dr.Veerendra Haggade. Even the temple outskirts are being beautified with traditional Jain architecture. 3 shrines located atop rock Hill. The primary shrine sees a traditional temple pillar. The shrine has fabulous carvings at the ceiling of navagraha deities. The wooden pillars inside the shrine echoes the antique traditional houses of landlord. The interiors of shrine now has fresh glossy look smeared with  touch-wood and oil paints. The other two shrines are simple and well maintained.

The major attraction from summit is none other than lake which overlooks from hill. I was surprised to view the lake filled with considerable capacity during summer. Priest informed that check dams helped to increase retention capacity of lake. We descended the hill from the other side of climb to have closer look. A mud road leads to the lake which we planned to explore later.

Apart from lake, the mystical boulders standing over the hill was mesmerising sight. After a brief exploration of surroundings, we guzzled yet another litre of water. The kids were extremely thirsty which resulted in finishing additional litre of water. It was sweating as well. Due to continuous blow of cool wind, the midday hike at 12PM did not seem to be as strenuous as predicted. The radiating Sun was still unbearable. We had carried cap for kids to offset the might of Sun. On the other hand, me and wife, had no protective cover to beat the blistering Sun.

The descent was extremely easy. Make sure you do not loose control. Hardly 10 minutes if I calculated. 

We walked towards snack shop nearby and savoured tasty Madhur-Vada and Dry-Jamoon to temporarily douse the hunger. The details of snack shop are at the bottom of post.

Once done, we visited the temple near parking area which hosts statue of Jain Teerthankara. The temple needs to be visited with bare foot. We were not interested to visit the temple since path was infested with sharp stones and intense heat made it impossible to walk bare foot. The other attraction was dome shaped structure which the clerk mentioned as house of chairman.

The next destination was the lake itself. A drive for nearly 1km through bumpy muddy road, we reached the lake shore. That was truly majestic view. The view would be extraordinary during Sunrise. I expected to spot few aquatic birds here but was disappointed. The intense heat would have prompted birds to stay in their nests. I saw couple of egrets but not much apart from them. The lake front is not secure for playing due to lack of protective guards. We just stepped on the water for a moment to feel the coolness amidst bristling heat. After relaxing at lake shore for few minutes it was time to leave for Bangalore.

On the way, we had ordinary meal at Namasthe-Bengaluru restaurant. The restaurant is grand in look but meals was not up to hotel's physical appearance. The menu also looks expensive. The meal feedback is ordinary which is priced at Rs.105/-. We resumed our journey to Bangalore with dissatisfied tummy. One more hour of drive, we reached home tired.

The place and visit:

The place is excellent and worth the visit. Please visit during early mornings to enjoy the Sun raising over the lake. The summers should be avoided due to intense heat and parched vegetation. The rock hill does not get heated due to its implicit property. Similar phenomenon we saw during Lepakshi visit. The monsoon season around August-September would be best to enjoy the verdant nature. The place does not receive rainfall like coastal areas. Hence no need to worry about slippery path. The winter season also worth the visit due to reduced radiation. The marble flooring atop the hill is nasty. It is example of flawed engineering I feel. The marble floor gets heated up quickly due to Sun heat. It was impossible to walk over the marble flooring. The presence of carpet at isolated locations are bit relief but still not perfect. Hopefully the renovation committee has additional plans to construct roof or cover area with non heating elements.

Food option:

A small vegetarian snack shop called Chandrakanta canteen is located near parking area. They serve cool-drinks, ice-creams and selected eateries. The  selected eateries during our visit was rice-sambar, chitranna, madhur-vada, idly-vada. Sweets include badushah, dry/syrup jamoon and holige. Apart from routine food option, the shop also offered spicy snacks made up of puffed rice like churmuri, tomato masala etc.. Note that this shop is open only during weekends or government holidays when visitor count is high. If you have plans to visit during working days, please plan your food. The prices are also reasonable. We paid Rs.10/- each for Dry-Jamoon and Madhur-Vada.

Small vendors also sell heat saviours like cucumber, cane juice, tender coconut and seasonal raw mangoes.

Reaching the place:

Google maps should be enough. Quite easy to reach from deviation at Bangalore-Tumkur highway.

Toilet:

A public toilet is constructed at the base which is ill-maintained. There are no additional charges but ill-maintenance renders it completely useless. Bank upon the toilets adjacent to petrol bunks or restaurants!

To conclude, please to do not trash the place and maintain cleanliness near throughout especially lake area. Respect the religious sentiments.

A short video as usual at end of post