Birders should return to observation instead of ‘collecting’ - The Washington Post
"In a world where natural habitat is disappearing at an alarming rate, humans have a responsibility to avoid deliberately intruding on the lives of animals that are barely hanging on as it is. For the love of birds, let’s stop birding and return to bird-watching — thereby putting the welfare of wildlife ahead of human desires."
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Tea at the Phool Mahal Palace, Kishengarh
30th November 2013
It has been six months since we stopped by for tea at Kishengarh, Rajasthan, on our way to a school reunion at Ajmer.
The last time it was Dungarpur where we had a lovely weekend, and I even managed some birding. This time, the group had swelled and no royal palace was large enough for the reunion sadly, and we had to go off to one of those regular large places for the fellowship and fun.
But we could still stop for tea at Phool Mahal in the town of Kishengarh.
The paintwork was beautifully maintained, and I took my time admiring the colours and enjoyed the detailing.
I didn't know it then, but read later on about the Kishengarh school of miniature paintings, which this royal family patronised and developed. Story goes that in 1952, a Prof Eric Dickinson who was an English Prof at Mayo College, Lahore discovered a bundle of these exquisite minatures, on Radha and Krishna.
If only I had read this before my visit, I would have done a more detailed exploration of the walls, I thought!
An interesting side story is that crown prince Savant Singh, a Krishna bhakta, fell in love with the Queen Mother's "slave girl", a singer called Bani Thani, (who has since been immortalised on an India stamp).
So the prince got Nihal Chand, the main painter to do her portraits, which then began to represent Radha. He retreated more an more from affairs of the state, he wrote and sang as Nagaridas and Nihal Chand painted!
....And here was I on the verandah of the palace completely unaware of this beautiful, historical anecdote about Kishengarh, or the presence of poet Vrind in these courts, or that this was the place where Radha came into her own.
The day was ending, and there was a happy bunch of middle aged men, who wandered around, oblivious of the views, caught up in nostalgia and the process of re-connection.
We wives too were swept into this torrent of infectious cheer, discovering sides of our spouses we were unaware of, making new friends along the way.
The weekend had just begun!
It has been six months since we stopped by for tea at Kishengarh, Rajasthan, on our way to a school reunion at Ajmer.
The last time it was Dungarpur where we had a lovely weekend, and I even managed some birding. This time, the group had swelled and no royal palace was large enough for the reunion sadly, and we had to go off to one of those regular large places for the fellowship and fun.
But we could still stop for tea at Phool Mahal in the town of Kishengarh.
First views of Gundalao lake |
So much similarity between the palaces - a lake front, lovely archways and cupolas, and a temple in the middle of the lake. |
I took my cuppa, and sat here. The hubbub and frisson was on the verandah, and I was in a sudden oasis of calm, imagining the days gone by. |
I didn't know it then, but read later on about the Kishengarh school of miniature paintings, which this royal family patronised and developed. Story goes that in 1952, a Prof Eric Dickinson who was an English Prof at Mayo College, Lahore discovered a bundle of these exquisite minatures, on Radha and Krishna.
If only I had read this before my visit, I would have done a more detailed exploration of the walls, I thought!
Bani Thani: (Wikipedia) |
An interesting side story is that crown prince Savant Singh, a Krishna bhakta, fell in love with the Queen Mother's "slave girl", a singer called Bani Thani, (who has since been immortalised on an India stamp).
So the prince got Nihal Chand, the main painter to do her portraits, which then began to represent Radha. He retreated more an more from affairs of the state, he wrote and sang as Nagaridas and Nihal Chand painted!
....And here was I on the verandah of the palace completely unaware of this beautiful, historical anecdote about Kishengarh, or the presence of poet Vrind in these courts, or that this was the place where Radha came into her own.
A portrait of one of the kings (I've forgotten which one", with the symbolic halo. In the main hall of the palace |
The day was ending, and there was a happy bunch of middle aged men, who wandered around, oblivious of the views, caught up in nostalgia and the process of re-connection.
We wives too were swept into this torrent of infectious cheer, discovering sides of our spouses we were unaware of, making new friends along the way.
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Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Monday, May 26, 2014
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Bats and trees
Chennai's historic batcave
GEETA PADMANABHAN
The Egmore Museum does not just house priceless artefacts from the past. It also houses colonies of fruit bats in the trees outside, as a plaque informs visitors
Bats! By the hundreds and thousands! They hang by their feet from the tall tamarind trees, darkening the sky through sheer numbers. They occupy every branch, every twig, with clusters of mini leaves protecting them from the mid-day sun. At those heights, there is nothing to steal into their day-long siesta. The fluttering of wings in that upside-down stance is hardly a bother.
I am in Batland in the backyard of Chennai's museum in Egmore. The bustle of visitors isn't felt here; the steady silence is broken only by the occasional shriek of the birds above. Are these hunter-mammals exchanging notes of last night's adventure, jockeying for the best places to hang from?
These are the Indian flying fox and the greater short-nosed fruit bats, says the plaque nearby, covered with droppings. The WWF has found an insectivore as well. Their weight ranges from 0.75-1 kg, and since they like to roost in large, thousand-strong groups, they pick their trees carefully. Strangely, their wings seem relatively short for their size, but this helps them fly well, says biologist Dr. T. D. Babu. Yes, when individuals roost, they like to keep their distance and fight for space aggressively using teeth, thumbs and “vocalisations”. The fluttering of wings, he tells me, is actually a fanning action to cool down in high temperatures.
From the ground I can't see their fur, but Dr. Babu says they are short, with the longest strands appearing on the head. The colour and texture of the fur vary, depending on sex and age, the male fur growing thicker than the female's. You know you are looking at a young one when the fur is grey-brown, and an adult if it looks lighter. The fur on the head could be reddish orange or shades darker to it, while the underbelly is typically light brown to red. The one chick the female gives birth to clings to the mother for the first few days, and is weaned off within three months.
“One feature distinguishes the fruit bat from other species,” says Dr. Babu. “They have good eyesight while others use echolocation to catch their prey mid-air. Their sense of smell is also well-developed (helps when your diet is restricted to nectar, flowers, pollen and fruits).” Friends who have mango and banana trees in their yard have spotted fruit-bats flying in, but the fliers are partial to figs and guavas as well. They have been seen smartly tearing off the skin with their teeth to reach the pulp. Though silent during flight (in a radius of 40 miles), they can produce high decibel screeches when biting into food.
“We have a huge colony (of around 1,000 plus) at the Theosophical Society,” naturalist Geetha Jaikumar tells me. “They hang out on a banyan tree and others nearby.” I remember them. They appeared suddenly and settled at the society about 10-12 years ago. One can see them flying out at late evening – a spectacular sight! “TS has an extensive orchard of a variety of fruit trees — mango, sapota, jackfruit, gooseberry, guava — could be one reason for their presence there apart from a safe haven.”
I recall the gardener reminding me sombrely, “Fine they are here, but it means a large tree somewhere has been felled forcing them to find a home elsewhere.”
Alas, these mammals are listed as near-threatened species in IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) red list, their main threats coming from loss of habitat (trees) and loss of fruit trees to hunt from. And gardeners — commercial or otherwise — do try to protect their fruit crops, right? But we wipe them out at our own peril; they serve in seed dispersal, pollination and pest control.
As Prof. Chandrasekaran, a bird specialist points out, properly managed, bird-related tourism activities like bird-watching or bird photography can serve as the foundation for a mutually beneficial relationship between people and birds. We have to link local communities to save sites, species and habitats so it can enhance local livelihoods.
A thought strikes me as I walk through the museum's bat grove.
Not far from the spot, in a daring robbery, thieves reportedly broke into the Bronze Gallery on the night of December 27-28, 2013 and carted away “priceless” replicas of Mughal coins and equally valuable artefacts. Investigating officers said they had CCTV footage of a man smashing a window on the top floor from inside the building and another climbing through the window from a nearby tree. Were any of the fruit-hunters witness to the criminal act? Is there a batman in the museum's Gotham grove?
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