Andaman visit 2024 - summary post

Andaman Diary - Day 1 - Cellular Jail views

Andaman Diary Day 1 - Burmanallah beach and beyond

Andamans Day 2 - Kalatang - birds and butterflies

Andamans Day 2 - Garacharma Wetland - waders

Day 3 Andaman - The road to Rangat

Andaman Day 4: Dhaninullah morning in verse

Andaman Day 4 and 5 - Rangat scrub and open forests

Andamans Day 5 - The Andaman teals, and Daurian Starling show and other sidelights

Andamans Day 6 - The Black Baza of Kalatang and the history of names

Andaman Day 6 - The Indian Navy's Samudrika museum at Port Blair

Andaman journeys - Lucky last day

Andaman Last Day - The Andaman wild pig

The Achaleswar temple at Mt Abu and the fascinating story of the attacking bees

 6th December 2023

Mt Abu

As usual, I was confused, I had understood that we were going walking to Guru Shikhar, which is the highest point on the Aravallis near Mt Abu, but instead we were here.  

The colourful elephants at the entrance did not raise my enthusiasm to go in.

I peered through the covered tunnel passage to see this.  Still not enthused enough to remove shoes and go in, I hung around outside initially until Arjun hurried back out and said that we were being given a history talk of the place by Mr Daivat Singh of Sirohi!  

And so in I went and was so glad I did, as we were enthralled with some great storytelling  of legend and history of the Achaleswar temple, told with humour, personality and objectivity.

The previous night at dinner, Nino,  had shared some legends of Mount Abu - Arbuda the serpent who saved Nandi over here, and another one about how Devi Parvati's lips (arbuda) fell here, and hence Arbuda, became Abu....

And now, we heard of the legends related to this temple.  The region was prone to tremors and instability and the local chieftains prayed to Kashi Vishwanath, who stabilised the hills by placing one toe...and so it moved from chal  to achal or stability.  (The deity within is not a typical lingam but a toe like protrusion in a hollow. The hollow is the hole caused by the toe if I got it right, and goes all the way to naraka)

The legendary bees of Mount Abu

Another Alauddin Khilji story.  As he was making his way from Ahmedadabd, his henchmen mentioned about the riches of  the temples of Mount Abu, and so up he came with his 1200 plus horsemen, looted Delawara temples and set his sight on Achaleswar.  The local warriors were only 100 strong, and decided that rather than dying and causing bloodshed at the temple, to go and meet the incoming troops head on, and so off they went, fighting ferociously - and miraculously the angry bees of Abu came buzzing along and attacked and stung the Khilji forces, and only them...making them turn tail, surrender arms and basically leave the place.

I mulled and pondered and decided those must have been those rock bees - Apis dorsata - the "rajput" bees - aggressive defenders of their territory!

The surrendered arms and other weapons were melted into a Trishul and offered at the temple, the account goes.  

The bees of the rocks of Mount Abu also caused another hair raising adventure, which I read here.

Re-discovering the beautiful marble carvings

These marble carvings seen below were hidden behind chunaam and plaster and revealed only in 1979 by accident!  Mr Daivat and even Priya remember the chunaam pillars and facades.  Some "damage" accidentally displaying what was under.  Since then, they have been slowly and carefully cleaned and the beauty revealed.

Whether this was done to protect the pillars from harm or it was an act of careless beautification was unclear.  It's quite astonishing how there is so little documentation at institutional level...everything is word of mouth.  Quite contrary to the British obsession with classifying and documenting?

I admired the delicate filigree-like rosettes, monkeys, Devis, apsaras and assorted figures around the doorway.  Marble slabs, whittled away with perfect artistry.

There are two new restored figurines - find them.

And these delicate drawings, with bricks underneath

I was fascinated with this lovely couple - welcoming smiles - a Very Greek beard (according to me).  Is this Agni, and is that a lightning bolt in his hand, I wondered... hmm but no potbelly of Agni, the ears look like that of a Learned man...so anyways I do not know who he or the beautiful lady are.

I loved the aesthetics of this.  The arms of the dancers bring a movement, and made my eye travel upwards.

OK, now this waist is unreal.

There was a crooked house...In today's context...Koteswar would be appropriate.

Achalgarh fort..way up there.

And so we emerged out from the 13th century again, back to 21st century India, greeted by a different kind of Nandi, 

and Lucky's Wax Museum! 

Anyways, the moral of this story for me was never judge a temple by the well meaning beautifications outside.

We wound our way up some beautiful Aravali landscapes - scrubby, with small lakes in the valleys.

We shared a ride with Arjun and Gapi in their little chariot that Arjun hustled around the hill curves with skill and casual ease (while I kind of hung on) - we were now up on our way to Guru Shikar - the highest point in the vicinity, where we encountered further 21st century Indian architecture and garbage (lack of) management.

It was advisable to keep one's eyes on the distant vistas and admire the spectacular views.

In averting my gaze from the foreground muck, I almost missed the Brown Rock Chat sitting on the rock and posing this way and that.  She cheered me up, but also made me feel so shameful...how we spoil things for every creature on this planet, uff!

The delightful Wordsworth Lodge was where we headed for lunch.  The website has the Wordsworth story in a nutshell.  Some lovely pictures too.

There is a romantic history behind this lovely Boutique Hotel, hidden on a forested foothill of Gurushikar, the tallest mountain in the Aravali Range. In 1965, an English woman named Diana Wordsworth, a collateral descendant of the poet William Wordsworth, travelled to India to work on a film about the Ganga and fell in love with the country and with a colonel in the Indian Army, Buddha Sen. The couple resolved to retire together and began a search for a likely spot in one hill station or another. At a chance meeting with Fateh Singh Rathore, who would one day become India’s best-known defender of the tiger but was then a young game ranger stationed at Mount Abu, he suggested they consider Rajasthan’s best-known hill station, instead.

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​He helped them find the perfect spot on which to build their home. It was designed to complement the unique landscape by a rising young Mumbai architect named Rumy Shroff, but Fateh helped with every aspect of its construction. Sadly, the colonel passed away before the house was finished and when Diana Wordsworth died in 1984 she left it to Fateh whom she had come to see as her surrogate son.​

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Now, Fateh’s son, Dr. Goverdhan Singh Rathore, has lovingly restored and renovated Wordsworth Lodge so that visitors can experience for themselves the spectacular views and serene natural surroundings just as they were more than half a century ago.

I sunk into a chair on the verandah surrounded by trees, breathed the foresty air and watched.

I was also being watched.  A grey langur mother and baby stared, alert to danger.

A Treepie watched, hoping for some morsels.

And it was on to lunch - and then much confusion about walking or driving to Trevor Tal, or back to the hotel etc etc.

 

The history of Mount Abu as told by Mr Daivat Singh Deora

I wondered how Mount Abu had all those princely houses clustered together, and I discovered this video with an explanation.

We met Mr Daivat Singh and his lovely wife Kirti, and enjoyed their gracious hospitality and tremendous food on our visit to Kesar Bhawan as well.  What an enchanting evening that was - a gracious setting that is Kesar Bhawan.

Pictures of the Bhawan here.

"Kesar Bhawan Palace was built in the year 1868 A.D. by His Highness Maharajadhiraj Maharao Umed Singhji of Sirohi. It has been converted into an eco-friendly heritage hotel by Maharaj Daivat Singh of Sirohi whose ancestor Maharao Lumbha conquered the hill of Abu in the year 1311 A.D. and brought the area in the domain of the princely State of Sirohi, which was founded in the year 1206 A.D. by Rao Manning Rai."

I was so busy savouring the delicious fare that I did not photograph the evidence of those lovely fresh green puris whose name I don't remember, the unique smoky khadi, hot missi rotis....and the large array of desserts not eaten.

 

eBird -- Sterling Mt Abu -- 04-and -5 Dec-2023

Sterling Mt Abu 
04-Dec-2023 
4:35 PM 
Traveling 
0.87 km 
58 Minutes 
All birds reported? Yes 

30 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 
15 Laughing Dove (Little Brown Dove) 
8 Red-wattled Lapwing 
1 Changeable Hawk-Eagle 
1 White-throated Kingfisher 
5 Rose-ringed Parakeet 
1 Ashy Drongo 
4 Red-rumped Swallow 
2 Red-vented Bulbul 1 Indian Robin
15 Jungle babbler 
35 House Sparrow
1 Gray Wagtail
1 Little Cormorant

Number of Taxa: 15

We walked down from Sterling onto Pilgrim Road. A casual stroll after an afternoon snooze that followed an overnight train journey that reminded us that India had over one billion people. People who are generally courteous and adjusting, but with no sense of 'personal space'. Interestingly, no in your face aggression that I was mentally steeling myself for, as we jockeyed for seats and luggage space in an overcrowded compartment, with the usual negotiations for those lower berths.

What a help to have Vish lift those bags with ease. 😄

So, it was good to be out and on our feet, relative quiet, and bird song A little nullah flowed by the roadside.

It was a sunny evening with clear blue skies. In contrast to the battering my dear Chennai was receiving at the hands of Cycline Michaung. I missed Vish, working in hazy Mumbai, whom we left behind.

Cacti, lantana, neem, palm trees dotted the rocky hill face. 

 

The Changeable Hawk Eagle was the highlight of our stroll. Sitting in a neem tree, while the babblers moved in agitated fashion all around.

5th December bird checklist

The CHE flew across the nullah - we probably startled it, and fixed us with a glare.  The parakeets and babblers feasted on grains put on the temple wall, buffaloes with immense horns made their way up the hillside, and we stayed out of their way.

We were off to the other side of Mt Abu - closer to Delwara temples,  later in the day.   

The reptiles at Kalyani dam and other reptilian moments

21st October 2023

Sekar and I joined our fellow MNS friends for a weekend driving trip to Talakona in AP, as part of the MNS' 45th year celebrations.  We were car pooling and driving.  A 5am start, and a halt at PS4 Tiruvallur for breakfast, and we were on our way, when there was a decision to go to Kalyani dam, close to Tirupati.

Bhuvanya and family were in the front car and sending directions and locations. Forest Office permissions are needed to go to the dam.  We reached the dam around 1030 in the morning, passing through a large Police Training College at Rangampet.  I loved the boards - Mess, squats area, Dining, Garden, Hand Stands....there was an interesting array of fitness and training apparatus!

Through the rear of the Academy, and into the area around the dam.  members who had come a decade ago remarked that there was no Academy at that time.

The dam is built across the Swarnamukhi river and is one the main sources of water for the town of Tirupathi.

It was warm and sunny, as we ambled across the bridge listening to bird calls and watching the stone formations all around..

The reservoir was not full.  Little Cormorants skimmed low over the waters.  

Members who had been here a decade ago mentioned that there were many accessible trails all around.  now it felt like these were all closed.  Sudhakar reminisced - "Kalyani Dam is the entry to 'Pulibonu' There is an old well near which Kenneth Anderson camped when he went on search of a man eater  and the  entrance to the thickly forested Shyamala valley. There used to be a  rest house with beautiful views situated on a hillock overlooking the reservoir.  You needed a Jeep to drive to the well. There is a  lovely camping spot near Nacharamma Cheruvu by the side of a lake surrounded by wooded hillocks."

We walked along the dam - listening to white browed bulbuls gurgling, and drongos calling.  

Every one was suddenly peering at the wall.  And this was the reason!

Granite Half-toed Gecko (Hemidactylus graniticolus) - Yuvan announced.  The poor thing seemed frozen in fright, and seemed not to want to go into the crack, which would be the first thing we thought it would do, given a group of curious MNSers peering from a distance - some through binoculars and others through their long lenses.

Finally, it kind of gingerly crept in, right at the edge, just out of reach.

We discovered the reason - in the crevice was a much larger Bengal Monitor!  What gorgeous markings on the body! They could prey on the gecko, which would explain its reluctance to go into the crevice.  We moved away, to "not cramp its style", and the two continued to co-habit the crevice, until we left. 

We wandered back to our vehicles, only for Sunil to discover he had a flat tyre.  Some of us moved ahead to the Police Academy gate - only to discover a chameleon!

Aaditya took this nice picture of the Indian chameleon in full glory.

On to Talakona, then!

Oct 23rd - and Padmaja spotted movements amidst the rocks at the base of the watchtower.  What camouflage -  this (I think) rock agama!  

We were just coming down after some fabulous views of the Seshachalam hills (that requires a separate post), a sighting of a Short-Toed Snake Eagle, and the most amusing incident of young Harshid doubting and dubious that "Older" Sekar could have a mother.  Doubts were only cleared after a phone call to the said mother were made.   Bhuvanya's consternation was even more amusing. 

The snake among the bushes

And then there was the time when I, (yes I) saw a snake in the undergrowth and no one else did.  I was meandering along the path behind the men's dormitory along with the others, when something rustled in the leaves to my left - I expected a skink or an agama, and stopped to stare.  Instead I saw this long slithering body of a snake, brown and green with markings on it, now gliding soundlessly.  Since snakes do not have ears, I decided to shout -Snake!! Sekar, Bhuvanya, Tara and Sunil came hurrying back to where I was.

And now ensued a moment of comic, lost in translation and excitement type conversation

They - Where?
Me - Among the leaves!

They - There are leaves everywhere!

Me - See the stick going perpendicular

They - there are many sticks

Me - That one!!

They - Is it moving?

Me - No - Its super still...frozen.  Look there is the head.  (I try to show them via my phone camera, but not luck)

Sekar - OK I see it.  its brown with markings.

Me - Thinking Phew - finally one person sees it!

Sunil - Yeah I see the tail

In flash its gone...without a sound without disturbing a leaf.

I come back and check with Yuvan.  We play 20 questions - 

Yuvan - rat snake?

Me - No!  it had markings.

Yuvan - Well did you see the face, and did it have stripes?  (He's gesticulating around his own face, and to me it looks like he's asking whether it had a moustache or beard.)

Yuvan - Round pupils?  

Me - (Crossly) I dont know!  I was busy trying to make these others see the snake.

Yuvan - how long was it?

Me - about 3 feet long

Sunil - What?  Half a foot and Bronzed - says he who saw only half a foot near the tail.

Sekar (being a good husband) probably two feet I would say

Yuvan - hmmm..Cobra?

me - No!! I didn't have a hood

Yuvan - (Rolling his eyes) It does that only when threatened. (grumbling and looking to Vijay to save him) - One is saying bronzed and another is saying brown and green.  One is saying long, other is saying short....

Me - (Protesting) but it's not Cobra colour!  it was more like Russel viper markings without a Viper face - the face was plain.

Vijay (helpfully) - Checkered Keelback probably - near the river?

Yuvan agrees quickly, wanting to the end the conversation, me thinks..

The id remains undecided, until I return and look up the Snake book and the internet.

Checkered keel back Indeed!  Fowlea piscator

And now I know where Yuvan's questioning was heading - Stripes on the face, round pupils...

And I should have said "Checkered pattern"....

Next time.

PS - There was another Bark Gecko I saw one night on a tree (Thanks To Hrishu and his torch wanderings).  It is so well camouflaged - that I can't find it in my pictures now.

Travels along the Thamirabarani - Day 1. Tirupudaimarathur temple and bird conservation centre

 

Here is our trip report wonderfully summed up by Gayathri.  Italicised comments are my additions and can be ignored, as they are usually some frivolous details that are important to me.   

THE THAMIRABARANI LANDSCAPE | MNS TRIP REPORT | 17th APRIL to 20th APRIL 2023 | By Gayathri R

The perennial Thamirabarani has significant environmental and cultural importance to southern Tamil Nadu. It is born in Agasthyamalai, also called the Podhigai Hills and is 130 km long. Our aim was to explore Ainthinai in the Thamirabarani region which denotes the five geographical landscapes– Kurinji(mountainous regions), Mullai(forests), Marudam(cropland), Paalai(desert) and Neithal(seashore). 

As I was keen on exploring the Tan Porunai (Sangam name for the Thamirabarani) landscape, I quickly hopped on to the trip with MNS. We were a set of 21 people and the journey started on 16th April 2023 with the night train from Chennai to Tirunelveli. 

Latha, Sheila and I were in one compartment, and got stuck with an ace snorer, who spent his waking time on the phone and sleeping time snoring.  

Day 1: 17 April 2023–

Midnight rendezvous - Raji was to get on at Trichy at midnight.  Station comes, train stops;  Sheila - who is in the lower berth - goes to investigate, no sign of Raji.  I call Raji - and she says they just announced the platform, and she was coming.  Earlier in the night we had asked the TTR and he said the stop was for 3 minutes.  I panicked - where is this friend of mine?  Was she going to miss the train?  From the other platform?  Finally we saw her in the distance!  But she was not hurrying!! turns out that the train had arrived 10 minutes early,, and so the stop was 13minutes!  So she did board and did make the trip, yay!  Raji and I were on a trip together after years!  She was with the boys Samrudh and Aditya, and we went back to sleep for the few hours until daybreak.

At 6:30, on the morning of 17th April 2023, a couple of us joined the group at the Tirunelveli junction. My eagerness transformed into a feeling of warmth once I met with the bubbling (and babbling) group of people. As a first stop, we went to catch a glimpse of the mighty Thamirabarani, as suggested by Ajith, a young lad who was our driver and a support for the trip. 

The multi-coloured painted bridge that we all took pictures of, as we had our first glimpse of the river that defined and accompanied our trip.  

We malingered as we are wont to do - watching the dragonflies, taking selfies and just being delighted at the bucolic scene.

The stop was brief and we soon left for our place of stay, ATREE's Agasthyamalai Community based Conservation Centre. The Agasthyamalai landscape was rustic, dotted with palm trees and the comfortable dorm type rooms made our stay lively. We had a wholesome breakfast and interacted with the research team at ATREE (Mr. Mathivannan, Mr. Thanikaivel and Mr. Isakki). 

The landmark Agastyamalai hill and scenery from ATREE.

We ladies had one dorm of 6 beds, the kids had another along with Sagarika and Chitra, and the men were far away in the meeting hall.  It was a really nice set up for the research scholars, with study tables, adequate plug points and solar power.  Several fans circulated the warm air, though one fan protested and moaned about having to do its job! There was much discussion about who would clamber to the upper bunks - and the problem was solved by pulling the mattresses to the floor.  

This mango tree was very inviting indeed

As planned, we went to bathe in the stream nearby(a part of the Manimutharu river) in Zamin Singampatti. It was my first river bathing experience and I had a splendid time (as did we all.  The aftermath of dealing with wet clothes and trying to change out of them - that's another story). 

It was blazing hot and I wondered how these birds stood around in the sun, without seeking the shade. Photo by Sagarika

This field with the ibises and egrets had been irrigated - when we went there a second time it was bone dry. Photo by Sagarika

The surrounding villages depend on the Porunai and its various streams for their daily life. The sight here held a peaceful village life in its entirety. After the refreshing bath, we birded in the surrounding patches and ponds. We were also able to spot the Red-naped Ibis and Black-headed Ibis. We observed the Copper-smith Barbet making a perfect hole on the branch of a tree near the river. Probably it was trying to make a spacious home.

The conservation is efforts from the local village community, along with the FD, we were told by Thanikavel, who explained in detail about the place and the trees. 

After lunch, we went to the Tirupudaimarathur temple and bird conservation centre. The picturesque village is located adjacent to the Tamiraparani river. The Conservation Reserve is an IUCN Category V protected bird nesting area in the 2.84 hectares (7.0 acres) compound of Siva temple in the village. It was fascinating to learn that the village community manage this area consisting of the temple, the river and it’s sand bank, and the conservation centre.  This is the only village along Thamirabarani where commercial sand mining from the riverbed is banned.  Justice Ratnavel Pandian, former Chief Justice of Madras High Court, who hails from this village, has been the master behind all these postive efforts.

It seems "over 400 little egrets, pond heron and  painted stork nest in this grove of 20 huge, century-old Maruthu, Mahwa, Neem and Iluppai trees and feed in the many agricultural fields, a few ponds and the Tamiraparani River adjacent to it."  (Wikipedia) However, since the rainfall was low in recent times the birds haven’t started nesting yet. Other birds seen were Pied Kingfisher, Spotted Owlet, Rosy Starling, Pale-billed Flowerpecker, Short-toed Snake Eagle and Yellow-throated Sparrow. 

We also saw hundreds of Indian flying foxes on the giant iluppai trees near the pond and we sighted the leaf nosed bats inside the temple.

The protected sacred groves within the temple walls, opposite the temple tank we went to.  the neer marudhu trees were awesome.

Photo by Sagarika - the Illupai tree with hundred of bats, in various stages of stupor, sleep or wakefulness.  We even saw some babies.

They would make sorties like this - were they cooling themselves?  Photo by Sagarika

Photo by Kumar - magnificcent

There was this lovely stone corridor in the side that I wandered through.

The Shiva temple at Tirupudaimarathur.  We circumnavigated around theouter walls, through the sacred and ancient groves.

At the beginning, these spotted owlets distracted us, and soon the group was straggling, with some fascinated with the owlets, others engrossed in Thanikai's accounts of the trees, and still others like me just wandering and day dreaming.  Photo by Sagarika

Illupai - Mahua - Madhuca longifolia, getting into fruit

Gaps in the temple wall and I saw the river and the cleen village streets,

...and even the "sandy beach" where we were headed.

The trees seemed to be looking at me from above.

The path around the temple - a deserted quiet moment to myself.

Inside the temple.  Legends of the Leaning  Lingam and the  swayambu Amman.   It was interesting to hear the legend of the leaning lingam, as Lord Shiva leaned to listened to his bhakta who prayed for a way to help him across the river in spate.  The amman is made of rudrakashas.

Photo by Kumar of the leaf-nosed bat, which was within on the rooms of the temple, closer to the roof.  The elaborate noses of these bats is supposed to help in echolocation

Vilvam tree

The incident of the Yellow throated sparrow - on the top of the gopurma, was supposed to be perched a YTS, and as I peered through my bincolars it just sat there, very still and unmoving.  Turns out it was a piece of cloth, wire and lightning arrestor, which magically suggested itself to be a YTS.  Anyways, as the light faded, I did manage to see one on the wires - there were a bunch of females  - and this photo is by Sagarika.

We headed to the sandy shore of the river, past this beautiful speciment of a tree.  Undisturbed and growing with abandon?

We spent some time on the banks of the river which was nothing short of a beach. We enjoyed the time with a wonderful sunset to complement.

The dogs decided the children were more amenable to giving them tidbits...and we had a tough time ensuring they did not feed them.  Many got their feet wet once again - I did not - too much effort to take out shoes etc - and I just sat and watched the sunset, the ibis flocks in the sky and the setting sun.

 

We came back to our stay around 7 or so. 

 

The mothing screen was kept ready by moth researcher Thalavaipandi Subbaiah of Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) for regular study. He and his colleague are the first in the world to photograph the moth species Mimeusemia ceylonica, as only an illustration of the insect existed previously. For reference- Moth Found In Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi Districts After 127 Years    It was so fascinating to know about this field of research and few boys stayed up late to learn from the expert.

 The poochis that were attracted to the moth screen that night.  I didnt stay up - the boys and Sagarika did.  These are her pictures.

 Even though the temperature was soaring, all of our minds longed to experience more of this place.

To be continued - on to Day 2