A walk in the woods - The Hindu

A walk in the woods - The Hindu

A walk in the woods

Akila Kannadasan

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  Special Arrangement A slice of Nature at the industrial estate
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  Special Arrangement Shikra
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  Special Arrangement White-breasted kingfisher
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  Special Arrangement A butterfly at Simpson
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  Special Arrangement Lesser golden backed woodpecker
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  Special Arrangement A slice of Nature at the industrial estate
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  Special Arrangement Marpig robin 
  
  

  A birding expedition at Simpson Industrial Estate, Sembiam, teaches one valuable lessons about Nature

  Where there is green, there are birds. The Simpson Estate at Sembiam is proof of this. The sprawling campus has over 22,000 trees, according to the estate manager P. Sivaramamurthy. There was a time when the estate had the privilege of hosting some 20,000 birds! Their numbers have dropped significantly, he adds. Nevertheless, I join a group of 17 boys from The Nature Trust for a bird-watching expedition at the Estate. Strapping trees, winding roads, the smell of the earth… we are intoxicated and greedy — for the sight of something as magnificent as the pitta. Will we get to see it? Simpson, however, has other plans — valuable lessons on bird-watching…

  Lesson 1

  Follow that birdcall

  It’s the best thing to do if you have an untrained eye. Hear a birdcall? Train your eye in the direction. If you’re precise, you could spot the fellow without difficulty. At Simpson, we hear the babblers before we see them; we fall for the melodic ‘pi pe pi pe’ of the tailor bird before we fall for the actual bird; the magpie robin’s ‘kee kee’ attracts us more than its smooth black and white plumage. Then there are the birdcalls whose source I fail to trace. But I’m not complaining; the orchestra is fascinating enough.

  Lesson 2

  Stay close to the best birdwatcher in the group

  You stand there, peering hard into the canopy for a sign of fluttering wings, and can’t see a thing. Do not worry. For, there’s always someone in the group who can sniff out a bird kilometres away. I stick to S. Hemanth Kumar. He is the first to spot the magpie robin, the first to show me the gorgeous lesser golden backed woodpecker. With him around, I’m sure I won’t miss anything. “What’s that bird?” I ask after a birdcall. “Female Asian koel,” he shoots back, without the slightest glance upwards!

  Lesson 3

  Be patient

  Patience, they say, is the key to a successful bird-watching expedition. The shikra teaches me this. We halt a distance from a tree, peering at the bird that has its back turned towards us. And so we wait for the bird to swivel its head; hoping to see its eye colour that helps differentiate male from female. The shikra doesn’t turn. But it flies off a little later, giving us a quick view of its eyes. They are yellow — it’s a girl!

  Lesson 4

  No sudden movements

  If only the parakeets hadn’t sensed our presence! At a turn in the path lined with neem trees, a group of about 10 rose-ringed parakeets feasts on the fruits fallen on the ground. It’s a beautiful sight — but we are not all that lucky. A movement in the group disturbs them and they fly away. Our parakeet moment is lost forever.

  Lesson 5

  Spare time for inhabitants along the trail too

  Spotted owlet, barbet, jungle crow, white-breasted kingfisher… as we take in the birds along the way, we almost miss a shy chap who crosses the road. It’s a mongoose — he probably noticed us coming as he poked his head out of the vegetation. He scampers off in lightning speed. We also spot blood-red cotton bugs. They look like little rubies on wet earth — we would never have seen them had we been too busy peering into the branches.

  The expedition ends and we haven’t seen the pitta; our notebooks don’t have long lists of birds spotted to boast of at the end of the day. But, we have an excellent time looking for birds inside an industry that makes tractors. We listen to birdcalls, smell intoxicating flowers, admire butterflies playing in the sun, follow strange-looking insects…

  And just then I realise that the most important lesson in bird-watching is to let go; to be one with the environment. 

A week at WIMWI

Louis Kahn's signature building It was a wet week, as the monsoon took itself very seriously.  The resident black ibises were busy on the cricket field. A distinct cluster from the blue rock pigeons....things were not so distinct within the classroom though. Grey langurs - assuming distinctive positions and making themselves at home.  I wondered what they thought of logistical regression. A black kite?  Where was the famous resident vulture though? The rain lilies greeted me on my return.  the correlation between the rain and their presence was a perfect 1. The courtyard framed A lovely distraction on our classroom wall.  I idly wonder who the artist is. En route to the computer lab.  Could a mathematical expression capture this? And so we marched on - mining data, analysing factors, scaling on multidemsions! Another beauty providing relief from the bricks on the wall The tree avenues were beautiful - peepul, neem in plenty, and not a whole lot of exotics.  Frangipani in bloom in some residences as also crepe myrtle.  Through the walking underpass to the new campus.  A strong smell of bat and a lovely display of the architectural fundas. Exposed concrete rather than brick, buut fidelity of the circle is maintained. The rain kept the students indoors it seemed, as I sloshed my way down deserted avenues, losing my way momentarily.  Or was it the time of day? I love the slick red against the concrete.

I was glad I took those morning walks.  That week was a tonic for the grey cells,  a detox for the mind and my soul. And those chirpy, fearless jungle babblers and the contented spotted doves will always remind me of the campus.

China Diary - Tianamen and the notorious Beijing skies

The amazingly huge Tiananmen Square.  We set off on our first sortie (actually second - we had gone out the previous evenng for a dimsum dinner in the neighbourhood), but this was our first train ride.  We located Dawanglu station which was around the plaza our hotel was located in, adn together figured out how to buy tickets as well!

Line one to Tiananment east.

Our first metro ride

The Meridian Gate.  Until here is free.  Beyond this, entry into the Forbidden City is ticketed, and I did that on another day.

One of the two huabio -stone columns replete with phoenix and lion

 

"The Godfather" played by Andre Rieu

Just at a whim, used iMovie for half an hour, and this is what resulted.  It's abrupt in its ending, but I ran out of time.

I loved the way the local Chinese enjoyed themselves in the massive square, taking pictures by the dozen, striking a pose and making the Square their own.

The topiary was fabulous as you will see in the slide show, and those huge video screens were swallowed up by the even more humongous Square itself.

A dull morning it was, and our first look at the Forbidden CIty which I did a quick run-through later on in the week.  It was only later that I was  told that the "dull, overcast" day was actually standard Beijing pollution.

But there was also rain that night, and I did not really find it difficult to breathe so I just thought that it was a First World exaggeration.  But I was told the US weather meters don't lie, and the count was some 200+ that day.

If you are in Beiing and with strangers, a great conversation starter is the pollution level for the day!! 

Pallikaranai

Marsh Melodies - The Hindu

Marsh Melodies

Akila Kannadasan

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  Larger whistling teals and common coots
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  Red Munias
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  Glossy Ibis
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  Purple Moorhen
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  Children at the interpretation centre

Whistles of teals, calls of the pheasant-tailed jacanas, the shrill cry of the red-wattled lapwing and the cacophony of painted storks, flamingos and coots. Akila Kannadasan listens to the avian orchestra at Pallikaranai

We are in their terrain. The shrill cry of a red-wattled lapwing announcing our arrival to the rest of the bird-gang, tells us so. We inch closer into the marshland, nevertheless. The previous day’s rain has bathed the Pallikaranai marshland and woken up the reeds and water-plants chased away by the sun.

What birds has the rain brought? We plod into the marshy waters on the western side to find out.

Pallikaranai is full of surprises — it is surrounded by tall buildings on all sides, a Corporation dumpyard sits on the north, roads with endless honking vehicles cut across its surface… and yet, birds seem to have taken a liking to the water.

On a small patch of land, several feet from us, we see a massive flock of birds lounging in the mild afternoon sun. The birds seem to be relishing the after-effects of the rain. It’s amazing how each species sticks together — painted storks with their pink flight feathers, creamy-pink greater flamingos, slate-black common coots…

Hundreds of magnificent purple moorhens mill about beyond the congregation. The cerulean blue birds with bright red beaks look on smugly as little common coots wade on the water. The birds look up one moment, and the next, they swiftly dunk their heads into the water — they repeat this exercise at regular intervals. 

A couple of pheasant-tailed jacanas fly past on song. One bird calls out and the other diligently follows. A lone grey heron, with its long neck and searching eyes, walks by the water’s edge looking for something — food, perhaps, or a friend? Little egrets add a dash of white to the mossy-green terrain. And then there are the tiny grebes that flit playfully between the big guys.

On the northern and southern side, we spot open-billed storks, spot-billed ducks, glossy ibis and pied avocets.

It’s another world out there — we are aware of the communication among the birds. One instant, their cacophony rises to a crescendo, but falls to a pin-drop-silence the next. But the silence is short-lived — one bird or the other breaks into song, to be joined in by others. Brown-bodied whistling teals, hundreds of them, ensure that there’s always music for the ears…

Why we must protect it

Pallikaranai is among the 94 wetlands identified under the National Wetland Conservation and Management Programme. K.V.R.K. Thirunaranan of The Nature Trust says that the marshland acts like the kidney of Chennai. “It is even shaped like one! It drains flood water and impure water into the sea. Also, it helps maintain the ground water level of the surrounding regions. Our ancestors have connected 31 tanks to Pallikaranai so that surplus water from them will flow into it.” The birdlife that the marshland attracts gives it aesthetic value. “We have recorded 130 bird species throughout the year in Pallikaranai,” he says. All of which give us plenty of reason to protect the marshland — 317 hectares of which is currently reserve land.

Interpretation centre

The Forest Department has set up an interpretation centre at Pallikaranai, open to the public. It has 66 displays of the commonly seen birds of the area. The displays, which come with backlighting, consist of a photo of the bird, its scientific name, Tamil name, details on distribution and a brief. There are eight mechanised scrolls about the flora and fauna of the marshland. The highlights are the two video booths that explain the Tamil and English names of birds, to the accompaniment of their calls. An 11-km walkway that will allow birdwatchers to walk around Pallikaranai is under construction. Viewing decks with spotting scopes and more are on the cards.

Behind China’s Hindu temples, a forgotten history - The Hindu

Behind China’s Hindu temples, a forgotten history - The Hindu

Behind China’s Hindu temples, a forgotten history

Ananth Krishnan

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  The Hindu A panel of inscriptions of the God Narasimha adorns the entrance to the main shrine of the temple, believed to have been installed by Tamil traders who lived in Quanzhou in the 13th century. Photo: Ananth Krishnan
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  The Hindu Li San Long, a resident of Chedian village, offers prayers at the village shrine, which houses a deity that is believed to be one of the goddesses that the Tamil community in Quanzhou worshipped in the 13th century. (Right) A stone elephant inscription on display at the Quanzhou Maritime Museum. Photo: Ananth Krishnan

In and around Quanzhou, a bustling industrial city, there are shrines that historians believe may have been part of a network of more than a dozen Hindu temples and shrines

For the residents of Chedian, a few thousand-year-old village of muddy by-lanes and old stone courtyard houses, she is just another form of Guanyin, the female Bodhisattva who is venerated in many parts of China.

Click here for video

But the goddess that the residents of this village pray to every morning, as they light incense sticks and chant prayers, is quite unlike any deity one might find elsewhere in China. Sitting cross-legged, the four-armed goddess smiles benignly, flanked by two attendants, with an apparently vanquished demon lying at her feet.

Local scholars are still unsure about her identity, but what they do know is that this shrine’s unique roots lie not in China, but in far away south India. The deity, they say, was either brought to Quanzhou — a thriving port city that was at the centre of the region’s maritime commerce a few centuries ago — by Tamil traders who worked here some 800 years ago, or perhaps more likely, crafted by local sculptors at their behest.

“This is possibly the only temple in China where we are still praying to a Hindu God,” says Li San Long, a Chedian resident, with a smile.

“Even though most of the villagers still think she is Guanyin!” Mr. Li said the village temple collapsed some 500 years ago, but villagers dug through the rubble, saved the deity and rebuilt the temple, believing that the goddess brought them good fortune — a belief that some, at least, still adhere to.

The Chedian shrine is just one of what historians believe may have been a network of more than a dozen Hindu temples or shrines, including two grand big temples, built in Quanzhou and surrounding villages by a community of Tamil traders who lived here during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1279-1368) dynasties.

At the time, this port city was among the busiest in the world and was a thriving centre of regional maritime commerce.

The history of Quanzhou’s temples and Tamil links was largely forgotten until the 1930s, when dozens of stones showing perfectly rendered images of the god Narasimha — the man-lion avatar of Vishnu — were unearthed by a Quanzhou archaeologist called Wu Wenliang. Elephant statues and images narrating mythological stories related to Vishnu and Shiva were also found, bearing a style and pattern that was almost identical to what was evident in the temples of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh from a similar period.

Wu’s discoveries received little attention at the time as his country was slowly emerging from the turmoil of the Japanese occupation, the Second World War and the civil war. It took more than a decade after the Communists came to power in 1949 for the stones and statues to even be placed in a museum, known today as the Quanzhou Maritime Museum.

“It is difficult to say how many temples there were, and how many were destroyed or fell to ruin,” the museum’s vice curator Wang Liming told The Hindu. “But we have found them spread across so many different sites that we are very possibly talking about many temples that were built across Quanzhou.”

Today, most of the sculptures and statues are on display in the museum, which also showcases a map that leaves little doubt about the remarkable spread of the discoveries. The sites stretch across more than a dozen locations located all over the city and in the surrounding county. The most recent discoveries were made in the 1980s, and it is possible, says Ms. Wang, that there are old sites yet to be discovered.

The Maritime Museum has now opened a special exhibit showcasing Quanzhou’s south Indian links. Ms. Wang says there is a renewed interest — and financial backing — from the local government to do more to showcase what she describes as the city’s “1000-year-old history with south India,” which has been largely forgotten, not only in China but also in India.

“There is still a lot we don't know about this period,” she says, “so if we can get any help from Indian scholars, we would really welcome it as this is something we need to study together. Most of the stones come from the 13th century Yuan Dynasty, which developed close trade links with the kingdoms of southern India. We believe that the designs were brought by the traders, but the work was probably done by Chinese workers.”

Ms. Wang says the earliest record of an Indian residing in Quanzhou dates back to the 6th century. An inscription found on the Yanfu temple from the Song Dynasty describes how the monk Gunaratna, known in China as Liang Putong, translated sutras from Sanskrit. Trade particularly flourished in the 13th century Yuan Dynasty. In 1271, a visiting Italian merchant recorded that the Indian traders “were recognised easily.” 

“These rich Indian men and women mainly live on vegetables, milk and rice,” he wrote, unlike the Chinese “who eat meat and fish.” The most striking legacy of this period of history is still on public display in a hidden corner of the 7th century Kaiyuan Buddhist Temple, which is today Quanzhou’s biggest temple and is located in the centre of the old town. A popular attraction for Chinese Buddhists, the temple receives a few thousand visitors every day. In a corner behind the temple, there are at least half a dozen pillars displaying an extraordinary variety of inscriptions from Hindu mythology. A panel of inscriptions depicting the god Narasimha also adorns the steps leading up to the main shrine, which houses a Buddha statue. Huang Yishan, a temple caretaker whose family has, for generations, owned the land on which the temple was built, says the inscriptions are perhaps the most unique part of the temple, although he laments that most of his compatriots are unaware of this chapter of history. On a recent afternoon, as a stream of visitors walked up the steps to offer incense sticks as they prayed to Buddha, none spared a glance at the panel of inscriptions. Other indicators from Quanzhou’s rich but forgotten past lie scattered through what is now a modern and bustling industrial city, albeit a town that today lies in the shadow of the provincial capital Xiamen and the more prosperous port city of Guangzhou to the far south.

A few kilometres from the Kaiyuan temple stands a striking several metre-high Shiva lingam in the centre of the popular Bamboo Stone Park. To the city’s residents, however, the lingam is merely known as a rather unusually shaped “bamboo stone,” another symbol of history that still stays hidden in plain sight.

China diary - Impressively subterranean

Beijing - Ten lines up and running now, much of it coming up before the Olympics.  We used it pretty extensively.  Dawanglu was our stop.

Every entry and exit is well boarded in Chinese and English, and even directionally-challenged me had little problems navigating.

The daily fare card - 2 Yuan to anywhere.  So that's roughly Rs 40.  I pay Rs 35 from Thiruvanmyur to Gemini on an AC MTC bus here, so it was really not expensive, especially when we went all the way to Summer Palace!!

Pavement stalls, Beijing style.  A lot of clothes, bags and accessories, and bargaining is the order of the day. 

I love the way this rolls in my mouth!

Four Chinese characters and so many alphabets!!

A movie thats coming out with an India connection - Monkey King - something about the search for the Buddhist scripts in India.  (Seen on an over-the-ground bus ride!)

One northern station from where I went to the Beihai Park

A hutong visit is a must-see we didnt.  I peeked down a few,  here and near Tianmen. 

A neighbourhood which looked lovely and Chinese as I emerged from the Beihai station

On to Xi'an

South Beijing Railway Station - Arrivals and Departures

The waiting rooms.  Different halls for different sets of platforms.  Only once boarding is announced were we allowed on to the platforms. 

Only ticketed passengers allowed on the platforms.  So, no waving goodbye parties!

What a wondrous sight - clean tracks

We were astonished at the Xi'an network as well.  The trains were a trifle less frequent than that in Beijing but also a little less crowded.

Two yuan to anywhere, here as well!

That little icon next to the station name, indicating that this is the stop for Wild Goos Pagoda.

More delightful names.  And the icon was for the Bell Tower

The only problem with travelling below the ground is that you miss the flavour of a city, and only discover the destinations. 

But if it wasnt for the network and the speed of travel, I wonder if we could have seen so much in so little time.

Being a xi que in Beijing

Xi que - happy magpie

These magpies we saw all over Beijing.  Happy as a magpie. (Pica pica - Eurasian magpie)

They are a sign of good luck and happiness in China.  We saw them in the Temple of Heaven gardens in Beijing, at the Beihai Park as well and in Xi'an too.

Sadly could not get better pictures than this.

There is a love legend surrounding this bird.  culminating in the Qixi festival sometime in August - the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.  On this day, so the legend goes, the magpies form a heavenly bridge to unite two unlucky lovers - Zhinu the weaver girl, and Niulang the cow herd.  So, Zhinu is now symbolised by the star Vega and Niulang by Altair, and the festival includes some star gazing!

It dates back to the Han dynasty, and the Manchus considered the bird sacred, and the Song dynasty has a poem about the lovelorn couple too.

To me it was a happy, cheerful, cheeky birds, reminding me in its manner and appearance to our Oriental magpie robin as well.

The other bird was the Azure-winged magpie.  Very camera shy they were, but beautiful as they glided between trees.

The one thing that surprised me was the abundance of sparrows.  From the Forbidden City to our hotel plaza they were everywhere.  Gazillions of them.

The tree sparrow - a little different from our house sparrows, they had a white collar.

Nesting in the dragon's mouth at Beihai Park! Passer montanus

 

Pretty impressive I thought, given that Mao had ordered their extermination - along with rats, mosquitoes and flies!  The Great Sparrow campaign in 1958, part of the Great Leap Forward, saw the Chinese tearing down sparrow nests, breaking eggs, and constantly shooing them, completely decimating their populations.

All because they ate grain.  

The local sparrow population was restored via imports of sparrows from Russia!  Their cheerful chirping was a welcome interlude in all the parks and green spaces that we visited. 

It got me wondering though.  In India, we wring our hands at the falling numbers of sparrows in our cities.  So the question is how are they thriving in Beijing, nototrious for its air pollution and where the density of human population, skyscrapers, cars, cell phones and every other supposed anti-bird development is extremely visible?