Two endangered creatures - the loris and the grizzled squirrel

Mr Ramanan was at Ayyalur and Srivilliputhur recently and made a determined and successful search for the slender loris and the grizzled squirrel.

The Loris tardigradus malabaricus is a species of loris confined to India and mainly found in the south-eastern Ghats. Loris are nocturnal primates, that are quite small, with slender arms and legs but huge saucer-like eyes!

Mr Ramanan's pictures and account (which follow below), intrigued me to learn some more about this strange creature. The loris is arboreal (lives in trees) and has an insectivrous diet, for the most part. I read about their strange habit of urine washing and their fondness for bad-smelling insects!

They are on the endangered list, threatened by habitat destruction as also poaching. If you want to read more about all the ghastly uses their body parts are hunted for, please read Slender Loris Gasps For Survival As Urban India Expands

The Grizzled Gaint Squirrel - Ratufa macroura - is in the near threatened category. This member of the rodent family is under threat due to being seen as a pest by farmers. Supposedly, these squirrels love fruit, and the farmers are not amused or do not take kindly to the ravaging of jackfruit, mango and tamarind trees!

The Wildlife Trust of India is working among the Srivilliputhur farmers to protect these squirrels and come up with solutions to reduce crop damage. Mr Arumugham, a WTI conservationist, is quoted in this article as saying, “The squirrels do cause losses to the farmers. However, these losses can be reduced by simple understanding of the squirrel behaviour. For example, when a squirrel feeds on a jackfruit, say, it will continue to feed on the same fruit if not removed. Only if the farmers pluck out the damaged fruit, the squirrels move on to a new fruit,”

Here is Mr Ramanan's pictures and report!

"On the 7th of August, 2010 after attending my fathers’ anniversary at Gandhigram, we proceeded to Ayyalur with Mr.Ramdass of Gandhigram who has done a project on medicinal plants of that range. (Ayyaluru is on the way to Trichy from Dindigul on
NH45. It is exactly 30KM from Dindigul.The Forest Range Office is very close to the railway station and that is the entry point for Ayyaluru Range. FromChennai it is about 420KM). Many of our MNS members are familiar with Gandhigram for various activities as well as the first BIRD FAIR which was organized at the Deemed University of Gandhigram.

"We were well received by the Forest Range Office of Ayyalur as both Gandhigram and Forest Department have combined together and done a lot of welfare projects for the villagers living there. From the Range office we proceeded to a place called Ayyanarkoil Palathottam. The Ayyalur range has a lot of hillocks. For sighting of Slender Loris we were advised to trek the Beerangi Karadu hill which is also the foot of Ayyanarkoil. The name of the hill is derived because the British had used this hilltop to attack the Tippu Sultan palace of Dindigul with beerangi[cannons] and the remains of it are still seen at the top of the hill, as was narrated to us by the villagers





"As we trekked, I was at home with the terrain that resembled the open thorny, euphorbia scrub forest of our Nannmangalam forest, but without the quarry with water body. Half way up the hillock with the assistance of a local boy Ganesan at 5.40PM we sighted a wild slender loris on a neem tree. But on seeing us it used the neem leaves as a cover and moved away to an unreachable branch in no time and afterwards it was not sighted again.

After scanning and searching for more than an hour in the hill, the local boy took us to the foot of the hill and nearer to the villagers where bananas, coconut and other crops were seen. Nearer to this place at 6.40 PM, a pair and one with infant were sighted,

And at 7.00PM another boy had located the fourth loris rolled like tennis ball fast asleep! On hearing us she also woke up along with her infant. By this time it had become dark even with torchlight we couldn’t locate any of them till 8.30PM, but we heard a number of calls of them from various directions. So we had seen a total of four with two infants in a radius of a kilometer which is good as far as sighting of wild slender loris goes!


"The next day I proceeded to Srivilliputhur for sighting of "white squirrel" as termed by the locals of that place for grizzled giant squirrel. With the help of local SBI staff Mr. Mani we proceeded to Shenbaga thoppu where Pechiamman Koil is situated. Mr. Mani has very great trekking experiences of that place and even trekked to Mudaliaroothu on many occasions. We MNS under the leadership of our beloved Mr. Rajan, the then secretary also trekked and had a nature camp in those days at Mudaliaroothu. As we have seen this squirrel near a stream while on one of the nature camp of MNS in Chinnar, we tried our luck in a stream behind the temple. On the other side of the stream in huge original shola trees surrounded with wild mango trees we sighted three of them playing in the top branches.

In and around the stream there was a lot of elephant’s dung, so we didn’t venture further inside. While standing underneath a tall tree we were hit on our heads continusly with nuts. On looking up the tree was full of jamun fruits and along with the three striped squirrels, two grizzled squirrels were also feeding on these fruits. And whenever the devotees of the temple came there to collect water the grizzled squirrels froze behind the big branches and disappeared for some time until silence returned to the place. We waited patiently for more than three hours and finally they cooperated with us and literally posed for us to photograph them.

Ayyalur is a really fantastic place not only for slender loris but for other animals also present there.The Sand boa snake which is now smuggled out of our country is from this range only. There are so many more wonders, and I can go on an on!"

Yay!!!

The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Night traffic banned on two roads

Chennai: The Nilgiris district Collector has banned vehicular traffic on the Thalaikundah – Theppakadu Road (via) Kallatty and the Thorapalli – Theppakkadu – Kakanallah Road (NH67) from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

In a notification in the Nilgiris District Gazette, Collector Archana Patnaik has said that the restrictions have been imposed in the interest of public safety and to protect wildlife and preserve its peaceful habitat.

The Karnataka government has banned vehicular traffic through the Bandipur wildlife sanctuary in the night. Wildlife activists have been demanding a similar move by the Nilgiris administration to protect wildlife in the adjoining Mudumalai tiger reserve.

Advocate M. Santhanaraman filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court seeking directions to the Forest Department and the Nilgiris district administration to ban vehicular traffic between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. last August. The then Chief Justice H.L. Gokhale had asked him to give a representation to the authorities concerned, expecting the government to take appropriate decision, keeping in mind various laws in existence for protection of wildlife.

Nearly a year later, the Nilgiris Collector, who is also the regional transport authority, has banned night traffic on these roads traversing the Mudumalai tiger reserve.

Emergency vehicles such as ambulances are exempted from the restriction. According to the notification, trucks carrying produce of farmers could ply on the above routes only with prior permission from the Collector.

Forest officials said movement of vehicles through the Mudumalai tiger reserve had come down in the night after the ban imposed by Karnataka. Now, forest rangers in Mudumalai and the Nilgiris North division had been instructed to impose the ban strictly. Earlier, vehicles were allowed to park near the check-post inside the Mudumalai reserve. This had also been checked now, senior forest officials said.

“A recent study revealed that there were 91 road kills in 71 days early this year. The ban on vehicular movement on these roads will reduce man-animal conflict and pressure on wildlife, especially when the tiger population is encouraging in Mudumalai,” said S. Jayachandran, secretary, Nilgiri Wildlife and Environment Association.

An industrious spider works overnight

Overnight, over the parapet wall of my balcony, a spider was at work.
From building this large web, it obviously did not shirk.

The morning sun glinted off the web, so magical
Its silken threads making me wax so lyrical.
I wondered about the spinneret glands under its belly
That helped make this work of art, that should be on telly.

Different glands, different types of silk made,

From one, a safety line is trailed,

another, sticky silk to trap its prey

a third, stronger silk, for wrapping it may.

So much energy does the spider expend

all to feed itself, in the end.

All the work and it lasted not a day

The rain came that evening and washed it all away.

Whatever became of it, I sit and wonder

As I listen to the intermittent thunder.

Another day, another web

So does life flow and ebb.

Of bulldozers, hospitals and cycles

I had wondered if the Corporation taking over the PWD park was good news or bad news. Sadly, our fears were not unfounded. One morning, on her usual visit Shobha was shocked and distraught to find that a bulldozer had been at work at night, and in the process of widening the road had destroyed the surrounding fence, and uprooted some of the surrounding trees.

They were about to begin levelling work inside the park, and Shobha intervened in the nick of time, putting a halt to their activity, calling up various Corporation officials and citizens of Kotturpuram. The reason for the alarm is that there are so many saplings planted in close proximity, and it it is not feasible for a bulldozer to work there, without destroying the saplings.

It is difficult to explain to a third person the amount of time, energy and care that has gone into this park, getting rare native trees, with children planting and taking care. Why, even the Mayor has planted a tree here! With Shobha's and Mr Dattatri's dogged efforts, the Asst Commissioner has promised to go about the park development in a sensitive manner! My hats off to you Shobha!

Then, there was this report a fortnight ago that had the naturalists community of the city up in arms. The Governor, in his moment of largesse, announced that he would give away four acres of the Raj Bhavan land to develop a hospital. I have no problem in a hospital being developed, but does it have to be in Raj Bhavan land, which is actually forest land? Yesterday's TOI, highlighted the issue Forest under seige

Forest under seige
Shalini Umachandran, TNN, Aug 3, 2010, 12.48am IST
CHENNAI: Wood apple trees form a canopy over the mud trail leading through the forest, the chirruping of crickets fill the air, butterflies flit to and fro, and an ashy drongo sweeps across and settles onto a branch. It's hard to believe that the busy Sardar Patel Road is just a 10-minute walk away. It's noon at Guindy National Park (GNP) and not the best time to spot creatures but there's still so much to see.

A recent announcement, however, holds the threat of disrupting this rich natural habitat, widely described as the only national park within the confines of a city. Earlier this month, Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University vice-chancellor Mayilvahanan Natarajan said the governor had given in-principle approval for allocating four acres within the Raj Bhavan campus to the university for setting up a 500-bed hospital.

"GNP is the among the last remnants of the tropical dry evergreen forest, unique to the east coast of India," says D Narasimhan, botany professor, Madras Christian College. "Very small patches of this type of forest still exist in Tamil Nadu, which is why GNP, a well-protected fragment, is ecologically important." The forest is home to over 130 species of birds, 350 species of plants, 60 kinds of butterflies, and many animals, including the endangered black buck. "The forest itself is an endangered type. Naturally, all the creatures and plants within it are endangered," he adds.

Naturalists and conservationists say a hospital on the Raj Bhavan premises, which is contiguous with GNP without even a fence separating the two, would be disas-trous for the habitat. "A hospital would mean light, noise, garbage, pollution and diseases," says wildlife filmmaker and conservationist Shekar Dattatri. "It will also draw a huge amount of groundwater which is needed for the animals."

Wildlife warden Karunapriya says GNP faces a water problem during summer and that they have plans to improve rainwater harvesting. "We only have two ponds that provide water for the whole park," she says.

Dr V Santharam, director, Institute of Bird Studies & Natural History, Rishi Valley Education Centre, says a number of ground-dwelling birds that were seen about 15 years ago have disappeared. "Even the slightest change in the forest can affect species," he says. "A hospital will bring more human presence and that will be disruptive. Surely it can be built elsewhere."

The Raj Bhavan grounds still have reserved forest status. "Technically, they should consult us before they undertake any construction," say forest department sources. "But as there is no real threat to the animals from their activities, we do not interfere."

Repeated efforts were made to get in touch with Raj Bhavan authorities but no response was forthcoming. Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University's Dr Mayilvahanan says, "The viability of the project is being worked out and the details could be finalised in the next two months."

Wildlife warden Karunapriya says blackbuck often wander into the Raj Bhavan polo ground and the population there is included in the GNP animal census. "We have a healthy population of blackbuck and spotted deer across the two areas," she says.

GNP, Raj Bhavan, most of IIT, Cancer Institute and the memorials were originally a game reserve owned by British citizen Gilbert Rodericks who died in 1817. The East India Company bought the property in 1821 as a weekend retreat for the gov-ernor. In 1947, when India became independent, Guindy Lodge, as it was known, became Raj Bhavan. In 1958, about 600 acres of the grounds was handed over to the forest department, and in 1977 it received the status of a national park, accord-ing to S Muthiah's book The Raj Bhavans of Tamil Nadu'. By then, however, the original extent of the park had shrunk as large portions of land had been parcelled out Mahatma Gandhi memorial (1954, 9.25 acres); Cancer Institute (1954, 9 acres); Rajaji memorial (1974, 2.5 acres) and Kamaraj memorial (1975, 6 acres). IIT-M and Guru Nanak Educational Society also got land. Today, the national park has shrunk to 2.7 sq km.

"Despite the limited land, the forest and its population is stable," says Kumaran Sathasivam, an avid bird watcher and editor of Blackbuck, Madras Naturalists' Society's journal. "But further fragmentation would add new pressure. Raj Bhavan extends to the doorstep of the forest. It is important to keep Raj Bhavan whole to keep the forest safe."

At the heart of these issue I guess is the manner of "development". Why is the government concentrating efforts on this kind of development, though, when what the city needs is better public transport - that all connects to each other - safety of pedestrians and cyclists? If one is pro-common man, you would think this is where their energies would be directed, but no, they want to build, build and build, without spending on or planning maintenance.

Just as I wondered about this, I came across Chennai City Connect. There are plans afoot for a cycle track in Anna Nagar, redesigning the MTC website, and much more! I am going to be keeping tabs on that site!

Manual or Auto mode?

I love taking photographs, ever since digital technology and the wonderful auto mode became popular. I do not have the patience to do what most proper photographers (including my husband) enjoy doing - setting aperture, exposure and all those myriad settings before taking a picture.

Yes, I love to point and shoot. My husband did make some weak efforts to convert me into a proper photographer, but all that ended up happening is that I've made him lazy too!! And yes, I definitely do not want to carry those large gun-like lenses, like many of my young MNS friends, like Sripad and Skandan do.

So I still do not know why I signed up for the Basic Photography workshop that Dr TP Alaganantham offered through MNS. I think some of it was to do with demystifying the whole process and understanding what the camera was actually doing when I pressed that button.

What an enjoyable weekend it was! First of all, its so uplifting to interact with people like Dr TPA, a surgeon by profession, but whose passion for photography has led to much tinkering and self discovery, and the interest to communicate to others like me.

Elbows close to the body brings greater stability...hmmm, I had not thought of that. I now am aware of specular reflection, catch light, spot metering, white balance, CCD and CMOS, depth of field, ghost shadows and the reasons for red eye! A great tip for me was the suggestion to use flash in daylight to counter the effects of backlit people - I always seem to be having this problem.

For me, the most interesting part of the weekend, were the sessions related to composition and framing. The rule of thirds and the Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci spiral. My Ikebana training immediately identified with this asymmetric sense of aesthetics.

So am I likely to move out of auto-focus? Unlikely. But there may be 10 reasons to turn off that auto-focus. And now I know what to attempt to do, when my Ikebana arrangements develop ghost shadows, when those mid-day photos look all washed out and when there is low light at dusk.

Spider!!!

I wonder if this is a Huntsman Spider. Those large, hairy spiders that are relatively harmless, but can give you quite a fright when they come scurrying out of a corner.

This one was in my parents' home, in the garden cupboard.

Spiders !!! - a set on Flickr - for different spidey types.

Waders on OMR

Dunlin - Photo by Skandan

Skandan wrote in -

"31st July 2010 we were on our regular birding ride and spotted atleast 15 different waders on OMR. Most of them still holding their *Breeding Plumage*. It was very very surprising to see most them at this time of the year."

More waders - Skandan's gallery.

The PWD park get a new "patron" - good or bad?

The Times Of India reports that the "Nizhal" park is to become a walkers' paradise

Chennai:The Chennai Corporation is planning to convert 6.1 acres on the southern bank of Adyar river near Kotturpuram into a park — the biggest in south Chennai — that will be a walkers’ paradise.
The elected council of the corporation unanimously passed a resolution approving the proposal to use the land that belongs to the water resources department, a wing of the Public Works Department. The area, the biggest open space in south Chennai, will be given a new look with lawns, seating, lengthy walkways, children’s play area, ornamental lights and parking for two-wheelers and four-wheelers.
According to officials, the consultancy firm engaged by the local body has already submitted the blueprint for the project. “A sum of Rs 70 lakh will be pooled to develop this area. It will provide a breathing space for residents of south Chennai, who now have to go to the Marina or the Elliot’s Beach,” a corporation official said. The adjoining River View Road, near Gandhi Mandapam Road, will also be widened by 7m.
The Saidapet zone of the corporation will soon float the high-cost tender, inviting bidders to transform the river embankment. The area, which was once a dumping site, was cleaned up and fenced by the PWD a couple of years ago with the objective of setting up an eco-park. With the support of Nizhal, a non-government organisation, as many as 250 saplings were planted.
Volunteers and students have been helping Nizhal maintain the park for the past two years. “We will continue to support the corporation in maintaining this special tree park, which is also a tree learning centre for students and the comunity,” said Shoba Menon of Nizhal. The majority of the saplings were sourced from Auroville nurseries and other nurseries in the suburbs. Volunteers remove weeds and water the plants every week.
The corporation also has plans to pull down a dilapidated school building near Greams Road in Nungambakkam and install nets for cricket practice.

julie.mariappan@timesgroup.com

Asian Koel population on the rise in Chennai

Asian Koel population on the rise in Chennai is the headline of an article in The Hindu, and yes we can vouch for that.

I rhymed about it here, remember?

The article by P Oppili, says,

Are you finding the short, sweet song of Koels replacing the annoying tone of your morning alarm lately?

The population of Asian Koels in the city is on the rise this time around, according to ornithologists and naturalists. Observations by the ornithologists have revealed that one of the main reasons for the increase in Koel population is the increase in the number of crows in the city.

Koels are brood-parasitic, that is, they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. The only hosts they find within the city are nests of crows. Moreover, the breeding season of Koels coincides exactly with that of crows, between April and August, they say.

V. Guruswamy, a naturalist who is pursuing research on Asian Koels in the city for the past seven years, observes that the bird's breeding season is divided into two.

The first being the pre-breeding season between February and April, and the second being the trans-breeding season between May and August. Members of the Madras Naturalists' Society also confirmed that singing birds' population was currently on the rise in the city.

He observes that as many as 6,000 ‘Koel calls' can be heard regularly, depending upon the number of birds found in a wooded residential locality. The month of July is the peak season for Koels breeding and the number of calls will come down by September, when the crow's breeding also comes to an end, he says.

Raja Annamalaipuram, Simpsons Estate in Sembium, Radhakrishnan Salai in Mylapore and Perambur Railway Colony are some of the areas that Mr Guruswamy has observed. He has recorded the population of Koels in these localities.

Talking about the recording of ‘Koel calls', Mr Guruswamy says that they sing as early as 4.45 a.m. and their last call is recorded around 6.15 in the evening. With more and more crows occupying various trees in the city, the Koels stand a better chance to breed well and thrive in the city, add the naturalists.

The garbage has increased in Nanmangalam

Nanmangalam reserve forest - the landmark hill within

Yesterday, we revisited Nanmangalam, with the same bunch of school kids from last week. They were armed with some tree knowledge from last week, and the idea was to take them into the forest, help them understand the web of life, the importance of a forest, and the need to make sure that these treasures are protected.

I was all brave about taking them along as I assumed that DCF, Mr Ashokan would be around, but he wasn't. Thankfully, Sheila came along or I would have been stuck with 60 kids, and one binocular, trying to show them birds as I don't know much about trees anyways! The kids were really happy to be on the walk and enthusiastic, and the teachers too. so we meandered along the fringes of the forest I think, because the vegetation was sparse.

Its been more than a year, I reflected since I visited Nanmangalam. I remembered crossing this large maidan on the way to the bubo bubo quarry. But instead of heading to the quarry, we walked towards a temple, led by the helpers at the extension centre.

We saw too much eucalyptus for our liking and explained why it's not such a good idea to have too much of this fast growing tree. We also saw another colourful weed - lantana - in plenty. As we crossed the maidan, there was a movement in the bushes and a snake came slithering across the open ground, with a bunch of crows circling its head. The reason for the crow's interest was a fat frog caught in the mouth of the snake! I have never seen a snake slither on the ground with it's head held aloft like this, and it moved purposefully into the next clump of bushes and vanished from sight. It had the markings of a rat snake, Sara pambu. That was excitement enough for the group!

We saw drongoes, bulbuls, sunbirds, doves, and could we have seen a black-headed munia? I thought there was a whole bunch of them. White browed bulbuls called agitatedly from the trees, but I didn't see one. A lapwing flew across, calling in al,arm at this bunch of people descending on the forest.

I was saddened to see the increase of litter in the forest, as we walked on to the quarry. There are obviously favourite spots, where groups sit, marked by plastic water bags, cigarette packs and pan parag sachets. Empty PET bottles too. I spied a large bag among the bushes, and picked it up, and we rallied e kids into picking up any litter that we could easily remove. The children were most cooperative, and we had to prevent them from putting their hands too deep into the bushes as they spied a sachets pack glinting among the greenery.

I hope our sermon on not throwing litter, improving our civic sense and reducing the use of plastic, had some influence.

At the quarry, more pain. The water's surface was filled with thermocol. I had not seen this earlier. What is the forest department doing to clear this? I was appalled.

I plan to send these photos to the Assistant Conservator of Forests, Chennai.
The quarry - filled with rain water, but look at the floating thermocol

Maybe we (Nizhal), along with tree sensitizing can get the visiting children to make boards in English and Tamil requesting people not to litter.

I wonder if it would help if there were dustbins, with lids, in the park area. Maybe some "trails" could be laid out, with some interesting facts on trees?
Clcik on the pcture, and you will see that the white floating substance at the far end on the water is more thermocol

The bags of garbage we cleared in one hour...there is much more.

A weekend with trees

17th July 2010:

Off to Nanmangalam extension centre as a Nizhal volunteer. Its been cloudy and rainy in general, but of course on 17th July its blazing hot.

The plan is to take a bunch of 60(!) high school kids around the extension centre, talk to them about trees and their importance, introduce them to native species (as against our familiar exotics like Rain Tree and Gulmohar), and hope to sensitise future citizens against indiscriminate tree cutting and to promote wise tree planting as well.

Usha takes her car, and we trundle along past Pallikaranai and Quaidemillat college, and hear blaring music from a temple loudspeaker. Its supposed to be devotional, but how anyone could feel devotional under this auditory assault is beyond me. Maybe its me that is so lacking in faith?

Anyway, if you think I am digressing I am not. Deepika said that as soon as we hear the music we were to do a U-turn and we would arrive at the extension centre gates! It was a very accurate landmark that no GPS system could have given!

Mr Ashokan the DCF turned out to be enthusiastic and committed, and so the walk was a breeze. The kids arrived with no caps and large heavy bags (should remedy this for the next school visit), but were attentive and interested.

The Extension Centre abuts the road, and there is active tree planting of indigenous species going on here. There were two views on the setting up of this centre but it seems to be here to stay.

The trees below are those planted in the extension area. Interestingly, all these native trees are high on medicinal properties. Its imperative that we research them and obtain patents.

Terminalia arjuna - fruiting

Called Neer marudhu in Tamil, the Arjun tree grows all over India, and is widely used in ayurveda for a whole host of cures. The bark and leaves seem to be helful in treating heart conditions. Morinda citrifolia-Nuna

Another wonder tree is nuna. The fruit you see is used to make juice that is rich in vitamins and minerals.

Alstonia scholaris - Indian Devil tree/scholars tree!

I stared idly at this tree. Not particularly distinguished, but it has these opposing names - Devil's tree on the one hand, and scholar's tree on the other. So our all scholars devils or are all devils scholars?!

For some reason, tribals in the Western Ghats reportedly dont like to sit under this tree as the devil is believed to live in it. Its bark is used to treat loosies, and its wood was traditionally used to make blackboards - hence the scholaris title. Callophyllum inophyllum - Alexandrian Laurel - punnai

A coastal tree, very decorative, and Usha says they are lining the streets in Pondy. I should check next time we go there. And guess what, that fruit you see is quite magical. An oil extracted from its nut is used in anti-ageing creams, and is also a viable biodiesel!!

We saw herbs that help in dandruff control, Vitex negundo (nochi) that is like a backyard mosquito control plant, sandalwood saplings, Indian rosewood and mahogany and so much more.

Next week we go back for a nature walk through the RF, with the same kids.

July 18th:

6:45 am, nagging drizzle, overcast skies. This could have been yesterday's weather, but no, I want sun I get rain, and vice versa! And why did I want sun? So the butterflies would be out, and the birds would be chirping as we took the young children of the Madras Club on a little walk around the club.

Sudhakar and Minni kindly agreed to come in as the experts, and we did stroll around the club grounds, heartened by the enthusiasm of the children. Thankfully trees stay where they are, and so we used them as the anchors for our walk!

The lovely banyan, the spreading rain trees, fish-tail palms, the massive neem on the lawns and the plentiful copper pods provided talking points.

As did this Gastropod.

The huge snail that caught all the oohs and aahs

Check out the muscular foot that the snail uses to move along, by its contractions. 1mm/second average snail speed.

Isn't that a beautiful glistening shell?

Commelina - day flowers

Sudhakar pointed out the day flowers in the green lawns underfoot. Click on the picture and see the flower zoomed in, its rather lovely, delicate and intricate, all for a day.

But this tree below was unidentified Tree unknown (Identified as Mimusops elengi - Magizham)Plumeria obtusa - Singapore frangipani

The flowers of this plumeria are different from the common one, rather more elegant I thought.

And so we wound up, after more earthworms, cotton stainer bugs, seven spotted cockroaches, millipedes, centipedes and a red bead tree.

We were rewarded by a sumptuous breakfast that included "mla pesarattu" - also a first time for me!!

July jottings

Nizhal's PWD park

• Need to number the trees
• Usha cuts palm webbing along with the paper, oops.
• Arrive, and its all cloudy, green and overgrown.

Nice!

• Spider eyeballs me. Annoyed at being disturbed.
• Look at his hairy legs...or is it hers?
• Scurries away under another leaf, and I decide not to disturb his peace.

• Butterflies everywhere
• Common lime, plain tigers flitting about.
• These two caught, and its just my Sony Ericcson phone cam!

• Two chital stags looked on curiously, nervous as well?
• We are only labelling the saplings, boys, I wanted to say.
• But the closer we got the more fidgety they were. And then with a leap and a charge they were off, beautiful antlers and all.

Anyways, the job was done, the rain held off, and the snakes stayed away.

Leopard in Kabini

Leopard in Kabini - Dr Alaganantham's Photos

May 2010 - Nagarhole park, Kabini.

Geetha writes:

a leopard sauntered across the path in front of our jeep in a very
leisurely fashion. Needless to say, the shutterbugs (Arun and Dr
Alaganantham) went on an overdrive!

On seeing the photos, Mr Ravi Chellam of ATREE, responded

Based on the photo-data base we have, we have been able to identify this male leopard as NHL-225, whom we first photo-trapped in March 2008 and also have had subsequent photo-captures. He seems to be a fairly tolerant and very visible leopard as we have photos of him from at least one other tourist.

I thought that was interesting - a leopard with a personality quirk?!

Aigrettes and egrets

A sonnet for the egrets:

Pulicat Lake - a crowd of egrets with a couple of painted storks

In the Adyar estuary,
At Pulicat, Pallikaranai, Nelapattu,
Standing stock still and wary
Even in far away Ranganathittu.

The yellow feet of the little egret

Little egrets, feet so yellow
Intermediates, standing tall in a throng
Cattle egrets, plumage mellow
Great egrets, necks and bills so long.

Cattle egret in breeding plumage. Photo by Mr Ramanan
All dressed in white,
Familiar, in pensive pose
Makes me often wonder, might
They really be so morose?

Now I learn it is their aigrette in breeding season

That used to be a milliner’s delight, all with reason!

Great egret - Casmorodius albus - tallest of the white egrets. Long neck, and bluish green lores. Those feathers on the back are additional breeding plumage. Photo by Mr Ramanan
Intermediate egret - Mesophoyx intermedia - smaller than the large. Yellowish lores during breeding. What you see is additional breeding plumage. Photo by Mr Ramanan
Little egret - Egretta garzetta - small and graceful. What a pose! Photo by Mr Ramanan

Photo by Mr Ramanan

White nights on the Neva river - Gold, malachite and amber

White nights on the Neva river begins here.

We Indians love gold. We hoard it, smuggle it, wear it, gift it, flaunt it, like no other people in the world. Or so I thought, until I went to St Petersburg in Russia, last month.

Wherever I turned in this city of the eighteenth century, I saw gilded domes, gold painted decorations, and golden statues and ornaments. And the cathedrals and palaces would have malachite columns, jugs, engravings and what have you.

There were so many shops selling amber as well!

The needle spire of the cathedral of Peter & Paul. Ready in 1733

Nicholas Cathedral, built between 1753-62

How did they not get stolen, looted or defaced during the revolution, I wondered. And where did all this gold come from?

Turns out that gold in Russia and Peter the Great, St Petersburg's founding Tsar, have a strong link. He encouraged the exploration and mining of gold at the turn of the eighteenth century in Russia. According to the Gold Miners Headquarters, he issued a legal document called The Mining Privilegei", in 1719, and this encouraged private prospecting and the eventual discovery of gold in the Ural mountains.

Of the monuments and cathedrals, we saw, the spire of the cathedral in the Peter & Paul fortress complex, is one of the earliest decorative uses of gold, (I think) in St Petersburg.

The dome of St Isaac's. 100kgs of gold leaf were required to gild it. Opened in 1858

And then came the discovery of gold at Ekaterinburg, and malachite as well. I guess this was the time that Catherine II (aka Catherine the Great) reigned supreme.

This interesting tidbit I picked up from the jeweller Glimmerdream, as they traced the history of malachite:

In 1835, miners working the "Nadezhnaya" pit of the Mednorudyansky malachite deposit in the Urals exposed a malachite boulder of the highest quality that would eventually be found to weigh over 260 tons.
It took nine years to free the gigantic pocket from the body of rock without breaking it, and almost twelve years to bring it to the surface. Slabs from this find were used in the interior of the Anichkov Palace, as well as the Winter Palace where it was used to face eight columns and eight pilasters in the Malachite Room -- created by the architect brilliant "master of the interior" Alexander Bryullov in 1837 as a drawing room for Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna (Fredericka Louise Charlotte Wilhelmine, Princess of Prussia) (1798-1860), the wife of Emperor Nicholas I (1796-1855).
This same boulder also supplied enough malachite to face eight of the ten huge Corinthian columns that support the three-tier two-hundred foot gilded iconostasis (the icon wall that separates the altar from the rest of the church) of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg. (The other two columns are faced with lapis.)

Malachite Room at the Winter palace - 1839, showing the gilded doors as well
Malachite Room, again. This was the room where the Provisional Government based themselves, in the interim between the fall of the tsar and the takeover by the Bolsheviks The gilded iconostasis within the P&P cathedral

We did not visit the Catherine Palace in the town of Pushkin, but I read that around 100kgs of gold was used to gild the facade of that palace, too! That's crazily over-the-top, I thought. No wonder they had a revolution! The Catherine Palace is also famous for the legendary Amber Room. On my return, I have learnt that Russia -Kalingrad in particular - has almost all the world's mineable amber! Called Konigsberg at the time of Peter the Great, it was from here the Prussian emperor Frederick I gifted the panels to Peter. They were stolen by Hitler's Germans during WWII, and taken back to Konigsberg castle, and were supposedly destroyed in the fire that broke out in the castle in 1945. (The panels in the Catherine Palace now are replicas.)

Worthy of a Dan Brown thriller, is the mystery of the amber room. In fact, there is a book about it. The Amber Room: The Fate of the World's Greatest Lost Treasure. After reading the Observer's review of the book, I am sufficiently intrigued to want to go out and look for the book, now!

More gold, decorating the top of a wooden cabinet at the Winter Palace

Gilded statues at Peterhof's Grand Cascade

We saw gilded statues all over Peterhof in the gardens. These were originally lead, reportedly, and were gilded later.

But why was there no mass looting and plundering, when the Bolsheviks more or less took over St Peterburg, in 1917?

Were they as disciplined as John Reed makes out in his eyewitness account, "Ten days that shook the world"? Here's an excerpt from "The Bolsheviks Storm the Winter Palace, 1917" EyeWitness to History, that quotes John Reed.

A number of huge packing cases stood about, and upon these the Red Guards -and soldiers fell furiously, battering them open with the butts of their rifles, and pulling out carpets, curtains, linen, porcelain plates, glassware.

One man went strutting around with a bronze clock perched on his shoulder; another found a plume of ostrich feathers, which he stuck in his hat. The looting was just beginning when somebody cried, ‘Comrades! Don't touch anything! Don't take anything! This is the property of the People!’ Immediately twenty voices were crying, ‘Stop! Put everything back! Don't take anything! Property of the People!’ Many hands dragged the spoilers down. Damask and tapestry were snatched from the arms of those who had them; two men took away the bronze clock. Roughly and hastily the things were crammed back in their cases, and self-appointed sentinels stood guard. It was all utterly spontaneous. Through corridors and up stair-cases the cry could be heard growing fainter and fainter in the distance, ‘Revolutionary discipline! Property of the People.’

We crossed back over to the left entrance, in the West wing. There order was also being established. ‘Clear the Palace!’ bawled a Red Guard, sticking his head through an inner door. ‘Come, comrades, let's show that we're not thieves and bandits. Everybody out of the Palace except, the Commissars, until we get sentries posted.’

Two Red Guards, a soldier and an officer, stood with revolvers in their hands. Another soldier sat at a table behind them, with pen and paper. Shouts of ‘All out! All out!’ were heard far and near within, and the Army began to pour through the door, jostling, expostulating, arguing. As each man appeared he was seized by the self-appointed committee, who went through his pockets and looked under his coat. Everything that was plainly not his property was taken away, the man at the table noted it on his paper, and it was carried into a little room.

Or was it, as noted in Wikipedia

"The Palace was pillaged and devastated from top to bottom by the Bolshevik[s]...Priceless pictures were ripped from their frames by bayonets. Packed boxes of rare plate and china...were broken open and the contents smashed or carried off. The library....was forced open and ransacked.....the Tsaritsa's salon, like all other rooms, was thrown into chaos. The colossal crystal lustre, with its artfully concealed music, was smashed to atoms. Desks, pictures, ornaments—everything was destroyed."

The enormous size of the gilded domes and statues possibly saved them from looters? Ironically, the personal collections and the decorative idiosyncracies of the tsars and tsaritsas of the Romanov empire, now serve the people of Russia, bringing in foreign tourists by the busload, and earning huge amounts for the country, as we all collectively gawk at a lifestyle that was.

The vulnerable Great Indian Bustard

Today's paper and this news item in the BBC a couple of days ago, show the vulnerability of the Great indian Bustard in India today.

A report on the Jaisalmer Desert National Park by Mr Ramanan, had highlighted this bird.

Great Indian Bustard - Photo by Mr Ramanan

BBC News - Concern over plans to downgrade Indian national park reports that there is pressure to de-classify the Karera bird sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. It is an interesting article as it documents the man-creature conflict in India, so typical of the situation for all birds and animals that cannot survive with us.

The authorities in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh are under pressure to declassify a national park because much of its rare bird life is believed to have been lost forever. Locals eager to have free use of the land complain the park's special status prevents them from doing so.

But critics say any move to downgrade Karera bird sanctuary - created in 1981, principally to help save the Great Indian bustard - would be an admission that conservation efforts there have failed.

If ratified by the central government and the Supreme Court, Karera will become the country's first national park to lose its official recognition.

Conjugal success
The residents of 33 villages in the 200 sq-km (124 sq-mile) sanctuary argue the Great Indian bustard has not been seen in more than 10 years because of "habitat destruction".

Villagers say no rare wildlife exists any more. The Great Indian bustard is one of the world's heaviest flying birds. It lost out to the peacock when India's national bird was decided - reportedly because of its tricky spelling and the peacock's more attractive looks. Apart from Madhya Pradesh, it is found in the states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

At Dihaliya, a village on the banks of Dihaliya lake, villagers explain how the sanctuary has affected their lives and livelihoods. They are not allowed to buy, sell or make any significant changes to the land and cannot mine it, or carry out any kind of construction work - even building irrigation canals is not easy.

Jawahar Singh, the village head, says there are more than 35,000 people living in villages adjoining the sanctuary. "Our sons cannot find brides as they cannot raise money by selling land if required," he said. Manoj Siwari, from Phatehpur village, is 25 years old and says he has been turned down five times by prospective brides. He blames the national park for his failure to marry. "Please declassify this sanctuary so that we can organise our lives," he said.

"There are no rare birds here any more. We are being held to ransom unnecessarily. During marriage discussions, people criticise us for our inability to raise money. It is not fair."

Hostility
Great Indian bustards were once found in great numbers in Karera - an area characterised by semi-arid grasslands. In an attempt to save the 15 or so birds left, the area was classified as a sanctuary in 1981. The population grew for a few years to up to 40 birds, but it has since dropped steadily and not a single Great Indian bustard has been sighted since 1994. In view of this, the state government has sent a proposal to the central government to declassify the sanctuary.

GK Sharma, a forest officer, says villagers' hostility has affected conservation efforts.
"When we built watch towers, they tore them down. They do not kill the animals but do not report any illegal activity either. It was difficult to build relations with the residents as they felt forest officers were friends of the birds and therefore were their enemies."

However, it was not always like this. Asad Rahmani, director of Bombay Natural History Society in Mumbai, worked for more than six years in the sanctuary in the late 1980s and early 1990s. "The bird does not mind farming land and there was no poaching in this area," he said.

"But constant habitat destruction is the main reason for its disappearance. We had given a detailed plan to protect it but nothing was done. In fact the figures of 35 to 40 bustards were inflated."

'Fix responsibility'
The bird prefers walking to flying and requires undisturbed nesting areas. If the egg or offspring do not survive, bustards are known to desert that particular area - if the offspring survives, they will return to the same place.

Mechanised farming and over-grazing by cattle and sheep - combined with increasing human encroachment - are the main reasons cited for the bird's habitat being disturbed.

The bird has disappeared over a period of time. Its disappearance from the sanctuary is a cause of concern, wildlife experts say, and is an indicator of the health of the country's grassland ecosystems. One of the recommendations in Dr Rahmani's plan is to "fix responsibility" for the disappearance of the bird. Activists say those to blame should be held to account.

"The bird has disappeared over a period of time. Something could have been done earlier. It is impossible to hold any one person responsible," says Alok Kumar, chief conservator of forests.
Dr Rahmani suggests protecting pockets of about 200 hectares in different parts of the park to rebuild a habitat after it loses its special status - in which only traditional farming methods not resisted by the birds would be allowed.

The conflict between conservation and promoting the needs of farmers has intensified because of government apathy over the years. The vast expanse of the Karera bird sanctuary looks parched and barren in mid-summer. Herds of cattle and sheep graze every few kilometres. This used to be the bustards' breeding season in Karera but not any more.

The golden bird gave up on this home many years ago. It is a scenario which would be a tragedy if repeated in India's other national parks - home to some of the world's most endangered animals, including the tiger.

An article in today's Chennai edition of Times of India reported that Andhra irrigation projects spell doom for birds at the Rollapadu sanctuary in AP

Andhra Pradesh’s only bustard sanctuary located at Rollapadu in Kurnool district could soon become history with the population of this bird species dropping from 60 to just 10. In fact, in the last three years alone, the Rollapadu sanctuary which was one among the best of the six bustard sanctuaries in India for long, has lost over a dozen of these endangered birds to government schemes.
Wildlife experts point out that the change in landscape of the sanctuary from grassland to wetland due to populist irrigation schemes of the government, has led to this serious loss. With paddy fields replacing groundnut plants around the sanctuary, the habitat is no longer conducive for the great Indian bustard that is accustomed to stonestrewn, sparsely vegetated land, they say. Even unwarranted afforestation near the sanctuary, spread roughly over 9 sq km, has added to the mess. Speculations are that many of these birds have migrated to the sanctuary in neighbouring Karnataka while those left in the state have stopped breeding due to lack of a favourable habitat. Either way, the state is fast losing its rich bustard population and might soon be left with none.
“The first damage was done when a reservoir was built close to the sanctuary as part of the Telugu-Ganga project about eight years ago. That changed the area into a wetland and villagers started paddy cultivation around the place,” said C Srinivasulu, associate professor of zoology, Osmania University who has worked on the subject at Rollapadu. He added, “The change in cropping pattern wiped out all groundnut trees that usually provide fodder for bustards.” Prof

Srinivasulu fears that at this rate, Rollapadu could soon join the list of sanctuaries such as Nanaj in Maharashtra and Karera in Madhya Pradesh that have lost all their bustards over the years. For some enthusiasts it is the unnecessary afforestation programmes of the government that have led to this destruction of bustard habitat.
They claim that budgets earmarked for such plantation drives are “randomly” spent by the department without much thought given to such matters. “Saplings of several fastgrowing trees have been planted around the sanctuary only because the department had to somehow spend the money sanctioned for the same,” said a member of the World Wildlife Foundation’s AP chapter adding, “This has raised the groundwater level of the area and changed the landscape. Consequently, we have lost many bustards.”
A less popular theory about the dwindling number of bustards is the increase in black buck population in Rollapadu.

In March 2010, a couple of MNS members had visited Rollapadu and enjoyed the grasslands. They did see plenty of blackbuck, but also wolves, several raptors and other bird life.

They have a whole album of Rolapadu pictures here.

In India, with great difficulty, land is designated as sanctuary land, and it would be a complete and utterly retrogade step to de-classify these lands, don't you think?

Does it not make more sense to try to revive these areas, rather than de-classify them?

28th June update:

============

Jairam Ramesh has appealed to the Gujarat government to increase their efforts in saving the grasslands of Adbassa in Kutch, Gujarat for the sake of the bustard.

The Blackbuck magazine - a revival

The Hindu : Metro Plus Chennai / Madras Miscellany : A Blackbuck revival

To celebrate the silver jubilee of Blackbuck, the journal of the Madras Naturalists' Society (MNS), there was recently released in Madras a compilation of articles selected by nature-lover Theodore Baskaran from those that had appeared in it during the last 25 years. Together with The Spirit of the Blackbuck were released two new issues of Blackbuck, which was making an appearance after a couple of years.

The author with the most articles in the compilation is, naturally, M. Krishnan, that prolific writer and photographer of Nature. Sadly, the picture on the Penguin cover was not the striking picture of a blackbuck that had appeared on the cover of the first issue of the journal, dated April 1985 (my picture today).

It was some years after the Madras Naturalists' Society (MNS) was founded that Blackbuck made its first appearance. It was one day in the 1970s that R.V. Mohan Rao and S.P. Chandra, birdwatchers both, bumped into two other birdwatchers in Guindy National Park. The latter introduced themselves as V.J. Rajan and T. Konneri Rao. Sitting under a tree and enjoying a feast of mangoes after their morning's exertions, the four discussed the possibility of forming a society of like-minded, Nature-loving persons. With Rajan taking the lead — as he was to in the society once it was formed — the four wrote to persons each knew who might be interested. Of the 40 addressed, 16 turned up at Mohan Rao's house to discuss the formation of a society. Among them were G.K. Bhatt, who had at the time just founded a photographic society and who, with that experience, offered to draw up the constitution, and K.V. Sudhakar, who to this day helps with the management of the Society.

The MNS was formed in May 1978 and adopted its constitution the following January. G.K. Bhatt was elected its first President and Rajan its Honorary Secretary, a post he was to hold till his death in 1994. The other members of the Committee were Preston Ahimaz, T. Konneri Rao, V. Santharam and M. Raghuraman, all still involved with the Society's activities. Rajan of the Telegraphs was the moving spirit of the Society in its early years and it was he who helped it to sink roots. Field trips and talks, discussions and film shows on flora and fauna were the MNS's early focus and still remain so. Then came a monthly bulletin, which still comes out, but the Society felt it should do more by way of communication. So was born Blackbuck.

The journal's first editors were V. Santharam and P.M. Rangarajan, the former still the guiding spirit of Blackbuck, now teaming with K.V. Sudhakar and Kumaran Sathasivam. Another associated with Blackbuck has been Dr. Rajaram, who was Editor from 1990 to 2000.

Blackbuck may be focused on a serious look at Natural History, but what has been special about it is that it has welcomed contributions from people ranging from professional scientists to amateur naturalists.They have sent in material varying from scientific studies to anecdotal recollections to masterly literary descriptions. Combining all three, the curmudgeonly M. Krishnan showed the way to many. It's appropriate that he dominates The Sprit of the Blackbuck.

Detailed report on the Adyar poonga

Rebirth of the Adyar creek - Chennai - City - The Times of India

CHENNAI: Pied kingfishers, yellow wagtails, egrets, white bellied sea eagles, chestnut-winged cuckoos, black-winged stilts...

A waterbody, once a dumping site laden with tonnes of debris and gallons of sewage, has begun attracting migratory birds, thanks to the state's ambitious restoration of the ecologically sensitive Adyar creek. The Adyar Poonga Trust (rechristened as Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (CRRT) recently) is racing against time to complete the first phase of restoration of the 58-acre stretch, one of Chennai's most eco-sensitive spots, before November this year.

"It was a filthy place, with debris strewn around. Cattle was being reared by neighbouring slum dwellers and anti-socials made merry in the area that was full of thickets. Initial assessment of the creek area was, in fact, done from the nearby high-rise structures because no one could enter the poonga (creek)," says an official associated with the project.

CRRT had to excavate 150,000 tonnes of construction debris and garbage from the site to create a water body embellished with earthern pathways, wooden bridges, signage and bamboo pavilions. About 91,280 plants of various species are being planted inside at locations such as the entrance plaza, swale area near Town Planning Scheme Road, on the rear side of Ambedkar Manimandapam and along Santhome entrance plaza. About 37,600 reeds are being planted along the water margins.

"Adyar poonga is a fulcrum for environmental education," says K Phanindra Reddy, member secretary, Chennai Rivers Restoration Project. As part of the educational reach programme, eco-clubs are being set up in neighbouring schools and colleges by the Trust. "Adyar creek will eventually become a model for restoration of water bodies, including Cooum and Adyar," Reddy claimed.

As part of the restoration, the CRRT also plans to have a green centre in the erstwhile fisheries building near Ramakrishna Mutt Road. "An audio visual room, environmental education centre, library to document creek activities, laboratory to check water quality, a souvenir shop, coffee corner, all form part of the centre," Reddy said. Restoration work will soon extend into the estuary spreading over an area of 300 acres.

Initially spearheaded by Chennai Corporation and supported by Tamil Nadu Road Development Company Ltd, this project was conceived primarily as an effort to restore the fragile eco-system of the Adyar estuary and creek and raise awareness among the public about the environment.

The estuary has been a topic of furious discussion among ecologists and environmentalists for a long time now. Adyar river, one of the three major waterways in Chennai apart from Cooum and Buckingham Canal, is where migratory birds flock the most. According to Madras Naturalists Society secretary K V Sudhakar, "the area where the river and the sea meet is a major feeding ground for birds as it is rich in many organisms. A few years ago, our society recorded the presence of over 200 different species of birds in the creek," he added.

But the restoration project is seen by critics as excessive development work around a natural ecosystem which needs to be left alone. "Restoration of the creek would mean bringing the creek back to its natural condition. I would like to call this a transformation project where an existing natural ecosystem is being engineered into a tourist spot," said Nityanand Jayaraman, a freelance journalist and an environmentalist. According to Nityanand, the marshlands of Adyar creek is being turned into an artificial freshwater ecosystem in the process.

On the other hand, Sudhakar, says the project is a step in the right direction. "All the trees being planted are native, and the people who have undertaken the work know what they are doing," he said. Referring to the massive real estate development that Chennai is witnessing, he said the ongoing measures would evoke interest in saving the creek. "With this project, you are bringing in the public, who will see what they are losing and take an interest in saving it . Awareness is very important."

White nights on the Neva river

Russian coat of arms that dates back to the 15th century

Four days, and I did not see the sun set. We would sleep at midnight, with bright skies outside, and wake up at six, with the sun shining bright, again! This is by far the most farthest north I've been. 60 degrees!

We most fortunately had a delightful four days of art, history, culture and perfectly divine weather. Click on any of the pictures, for a more enjoyable viewing experience!

Sekar writes:

"Once Peter the Great consolidated his throne and defeated Russia's then traditional enemy Sweden, he decided to build a new capital rather than return to Moscow. Moscow symbolized all that was wrong with Russia: it was provincial and inward-looking, it was the place where rivals had tried to eliminate him, it was a place he hated.

His new capital would be one that looked west to an enlightened Europe. He chose a site on the western periphery of his empire, on marshy ground where the river Neva emptied into the Gulf of Finland. It would serve as a port, as a place where he could keep an eye on the Swedes and, most importantly, a place that would be a window to Europe.

The city he built, St Petersburg, was a European city. Its architecture, its layout on a series of canals, its broad roads and grand squares were all European. It was, and is, like no other Russian city.

All this we had read before our visit and we had visions of European grandeur as our flight from Helsinki descended through low clouds to Pulkovo airport. We were disappointed. The airport appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. Lush green grass, stands of spruce trees: there was no hint that a large city was nearby. Broken tarmac was evident as we got off the plane and the terminal building looked pitifully small. Despite the late hour (close to 10pm) and the low clouds, it was light. A somewhat antiquated bus deposited us at the terminal. The late hour meant sparse crowds at the passport counter, but the officer took his time examining me, my passport, his computer, various items on his (hidden) desk and then repeating the process. At one point, after giving me a suspicious look, he picked up his phone. For a long moment or two I thought the Lubyanka beckoned, but then I heard the reassuring sound of rubber stamps on passport and exhaled in relief.
There was a half completed building outside, the road had seen better days and the lush grass hadn't been cut. Things didn't look very promising and the low clouds only added to the general air of decay and gloom.

Thankfully, things improved after that. The main highway was broad and smooth and we were soon entering the city. We passed large monuments to the defenders of the city during the long WW2 siege. We passed stately buildings, almost all 4 – 5 stories tall, more monumental memorials, large, tree-filled parks and then more and more signs that we were entering Peter the Great's city. Here, the buildings had pastel facades and ornate decorations. Each building was distinct, but there was harmony in the whole. The architectural references to Venice, Prague and Paris were obvious. We drove along a canal, crossed Nevsky Prospekt (in a way the Champs Elysee of St Petersburg) and were soon at our hotel. 11pm and it was still light – the famous 'white nights'.

St Petersburg is a walking city – the historic centre can be covered on foot – and we set out the next day to explore it. Many of the buildings have one or more courtyards and peeping in we could see decay, shabbiness and, at times, derelict interiors. The city had suffered horribly during the 1941-1944 siege. Once repaired and reconstructed, continued maintenance was neglected. By the 1970s and 80s, it was by some accounts quite rundown. Grand buildings were occupied by Soviet era bureaucracies, churches were either neglected or used to store food and vegetables – one escaped this fate only to become a museum to atheism! While neglect ate away at the edges, the saving grace was that nothing was actually torn down. The dowager still lived, but her circumstances had changed and for the worse.

The change, the refurbishment of the city, came recently. Putin and his successor as President, Medvedev, are both natives of St Petersburg. This meant that considerable work was done in preparation for the city's 300th anniversary celebrations. Years of grime, decay and neglect were undone. Churches, palaces, public spaces and statues were restored and the city of Peter and Catherine the Great lived once more.

Palace Square!

The Palace Square, a huge cobblestoned public plaza bracketed by the Winter Palace and the semi-circular General Staff Building, and punctuated by the large column celebrating Alexander's defeat of Napoleon was just steps from our hotel. This was where the Tsar's troops fired on unarmed protesters in 1905.

The General Staff Building

The General Staff building, imposing and majestic, had a large arch topped by a monumental martial sculpture connecting two wings which embraced the Square. The Winter Palace looked like a large green cake with an overdose of icing. The southern face with its ornate entrances faced the square, the other side looked out over the Neva, swift and cold in its rush to the sea, to the imposing Peter and Paul Fortress. Inside were the imperial rooms and the Hermitage Museum.
The Winter palace
The imperial rooms were breathtaking and overwhelming. Richly painted ceilings, acres of marble, malachite and plasterwork, gilded walls and furniture – did the Romanovs have a gold fetish? - intricately woven brocades and carpeting, sweeping staircases and statuary, it was opulence gone mad. Each room was different from the next, each, in its own way, was a feast for the eyes. It was easy to see why public discontent built up to the events of 1905 and 1917.
The Gold Drawing Room at the Winter Palace
Raphael Loggias - a complete copy of Raphaels' frescoes at the Vatican adornone of the Winter palace's corridors

Then there was the museum. The paintings are famous, of course, but there is so much more. The broad sweep of Russian history over close to 3000 years and over a vast landscape stretching from Siberia to Europe is covered. Artifacts, tools, armour, sculptures: various exhibits take in all these and more. And the paintings! Rembrandt, Titian, Da Vinci, Constable, Rubens (even paintings other than buxom, unclad women!), Breughel, Van Eyck, Monet, Manet, Degas, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Picasso, Matisse, are all there in good numbers. Add to that thousands of less well known works. A student of Art could be there for weeks taking it all in. A tourist intent on just ticking off 'famous' works to show off back home would still need the better part of a day. And there is plenty that is not on exhibit. All the works of art picked up by the victorious Soviet army in 1945 from Germany and elsewhere have never been exhibited. I can only hope that they see daylight soon.
St Isaac's Cathedral - one of the world's largest. Served as the Museum of Atheism during the Soviet era. Is still a museum, of art though.

Peter's compact Summer Palace

The river embankment stretching away from both flanks of the Winter Palace includes many fine buildings, parks, bridges, St Isaac's Cathedral and Peter's surprisingly modest city Summer Palace. Across the river from the Cathedral are the buildings of the university, and the Winter Palace itself faces the fortress which includes the Peter and Paul Cathedral where all the Romanovs are buried. We were walking along the river late one morning when there was a loud blast from the fortress followed by a puff of smoke. We learnt later that the last of the Romanovs, a Grand Duchess aged 95, had just been buried alongside her relatives. Beneath the fortress are dungeons which once hosted the likes of Gorky, Dostoevsky and Trotsky.
The Peter & Paul Fortress, on the other side of the Neva

Look around St Petersburg and, the cyrillic signs apart, there is little to remind you that you are in Russia. There is very little that is Russian about this city and there is nothing else in Russia quite like it. One landmark that is very Russian is the Church on Spilt Blood.
Church of Spilled Blood

Ceiling to floor mosaics!
The odd name refers to its founding on the site of the assassination of Czar Alexander II. Up close, it looks like a Lego or Disney caricature of a Russian church. Onion domes in crazy colours and patterns, each wall and turret looking like a different architect's work, large areas of stained glass and mosaic. A canal runs to one side, a large park lies on the other, tourist buses fill the plaza fronting it and, completing the picture of a Russian tourist spot, the crumbling building nearby that once housed the Tsar's stables. Inside, the building was astonishing. Every square inch of wall and ceiling was covered in mosaics depicting biblical scenes. A large pattern in marble covered the floor. Bright sunlight streaming in through the stained glass windows added colour to everything. The Russian Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Church have a shared ancestry and there was much in this church that carried echoes of the Haghia Sophia in Istanbul. This church was badly damaged during the war. Restoration work was completed only a couple of years back.


A kilometre to the west, we sat in yet another tree-filled park adjoining the Cathedral of St Nicholas. A symphony of bells filled the evening air, children ran around, lovers on benches exchanged sweet nothings, bicyclists and roller bladers swerved and sped around the paths and a small army of pet dogs barked and sprinted their way around the grass. We were just a little off the main tourist track, sitting back and enjoying the late spring evening along with families from the neighbourhood. No one spoke English, but we felt comfortable just watching everyone else enjoying their evening in their city. This was not a fancy part of town. The restorers' brush hadn't touched much of it and the buildings looked worn and a bit shabby. The Cathedral shone, though. Restoration was almost complete.

St Nicholas' Cathedral

Sky-blue walls rose up to meet ornate white plasterwork and, higher up, gilded domes that glittered in the northern sunlight. This was not a church for curious tourists. We could enter, but not the inner nave and altar. It was quiet inside. Framed icons covered the walls. Worshippers kissed them reverently and prayed silently. A nun walked around wiping the icons once each worshipper was done.

The Mariinsky theatre, home to the Kirov ballet

A little to the north were two buildings that embodied St Petersburg culture. Between statues of Glinka and Rimsky Korsakov was the large, square building housing the St Petersburg (now Rimsky Korsakov) conservatory. Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Glazunov, Heifetz, Milstein and many others studied there and the teachers included the likes of Anton Rubinstein, Rimsky Korsakov and Leopold Auer. It was (and is) one of the great nurseries for classical music performers. Across the road stood the pale green and plaster building of the Mariinsky Theatre. The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and other Tchaikovsky masterpieces premiered here. The likes of Nijinsky, Pavlova, Nureyev and Baryshnikov were its lead dancers.

Olesya Novikova & Leonid Sarafanov take a bow.
Inside, the hall has been restored to its former splendour. This theatre was where the Tsar watched ballet and much of the glitter and opulence we saw in the Winter Palace was here as well. The restoration did not extend to the seating. We sat in cramped seats and had to peer past the heads of those seated in front of us to see the performance.

Over the past decade and a half, the Kirov ballet company has regained its past renown. We watched a series of performances featuring Leonid Sarafanov, their young star: short pieces set to music by Czerny, Prokofiev's Prodigal Son choreographed by Balanchine, and the last act of Don Quixote, the Minkus – Petipa extravanganza complete with castanets and rakish costumes. Interestingly, most of those around us were very appreciative Russians. This was clearly not just a tourist trap. Cramped knees notwithstanding, I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Lengthy breaks to catch up on champagne and caviar followed each piece and it was well past ten by the time it finished. No matter: bright sunshine bathed the city as we walked back to the hotel and the sight of the glowing dome of St Isaacs towering over the canals and lines of mansions was one to cherish.

Literary Cafe - from where Pushkin set off for his fatal duel with Baron d'Anthes (who seduced his wife), on 27th Jan 1837.

Russia's turbulent history finds echoes everywhere in St Petersburg. The ship which fired the first shots of the 1917 revolution, the house Catherine the Great built for her paramour, the cafe where Pushkin had his last meal, the palace where Rasputin was murdered, all still exist and are part of the tourist itinerary. The past is interwoven with the present in almost every street, and, after a while, we ceased to notice the sight-seeing boats plying the canals with their eager tourists and commentary streaming from their loudspeakers.

Some thirty kilometres west of the city, on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland, Peter built his getaway. Peterhof, as it is known, is a (relatively) modest, yellow (as opposed to green) version of the Winter Palace, flanked by some spectacular fountains and two large gardens. There is plenty of gold here as well, in the statuary amid the fountains and capping the cupolas of the chapels. The French garden is a formal one with clipped trees, lawns and flower beds arranged neatly around the fountains. The English garden is more like a forest: a thickly wooded expanse that runs down to the Gulf. Paths criss-cross it and it is a lovely place to be on a sunny spring afternoon.
The palace at Peterhof, with the magnificent and golden fountain in the foreground

We took the hydrofoil to get there. High waves and strong winds buffeted us. Crossing on a regular boat would have had us sea-sick in seconds. The outskirts of the city as we headed out into the gulf were a bleak expanse of factories, Soviet-era apartment buildings and the docks and cranes of the port. Once out into the gulf, the shores were forested. The steel-grey waves whipped to a froth, the green forested shores and the blue skies were a nature lover's dream. At Peterhof, we chose to skip the gilded rooms and spent our time wandering through the gardens and enjoying the sunshine. It was wonderful taking in the fresh, clean air and all the greenery.
View from above the Grand Cascade, loking down towards the Gulf of Finland

All too soon, our time in St Petersburg was up. We drove past the institute where Mendeleev discovered the periodic table and Stalin-era factory where Putin's parents had worked and met.

Sunday afternoon, it seems, is when tourists depart St Petersburg. Pulkovo II was packed. A long line of luggage laden passengers snaked their way through an utterly inadequate room to a single bag scanner and a single metal detector. Each time it beeped, those behind had to wait while the offender tried again and again, unloading keys, coins and everything they should have unloaded in the first place. Time passed. Check in at the Finnair counter was quick. Then, another long wait at Passport Control. We had been told that Moscow airport had taken 2 hours to clear 20 incoming passengers. It looked as though the old Moscow – Petersburg rivalry was still on. Passports dealt with, we were confronted with yet another security check. There were two counters open, but one closed abruptly without explanation and all passengers pushed and shoved their way into the other one. Some very polite Austrians stood no chance. We used the autorickshaw technique of nudging into gaps while not allowing gaps to open up ahead of us. Two hours after we entered the airport, we finally emerged from security straight into the bus which took us to our flight.
The Victory Monument, erected in 1975, in memory of the city's 900 day siege during the second World War. The city did not surrender, but millions died
The lone surviving statue of Lenin, in St petersburg that was Leningrad. In fron the of the Communist party office.
Last views from the air...

Helsinki airport was cool, airy and with wide open spaces. What a relief! Another flight, a transfer to the domestic terminal and we were at IGI 2 in Delhi awaiting our flight to Madras. There were large crowds, yes, but these were efficiently dealt with. There was a bustle and general sense of purpose and the sheer number of passengers waiting to travel close to mid-day was quite astonishing. Pulkovo, Helsinki, IGI – three very different experiences but each a window into their respective societies and economies. It was nice to be back in seething, surging, moving India.

And now for some practical tips to visitors from Chennai/India

We enjoyed the Finn Air experience, andjudging from other reports regarding Moscow airport and aeroflot, I think it worked well, though there were long layovers at Helsinki. It was still the quickest way to St petersburg for us. Allow for atleast four days. We had four, and I still wanted a couple more days, a few things I would have loved to have done!

The reason I say this is -

1. The Hermitage museum/Winter Palace would take the good part of a day, even if you just did the highlghts.
2. The four large cathedrals - Church of Spilled Blood, Kazan, Isaacs and Nicholas which you might want to do (another day)
3. Peter & Paul fortress would take a half day
4. Exploring the canals, or going to Peterhof, just walking around (the weather is lovely!) another half a day.
5. Then there is Vassilevsky island, the parks, the ballet. there is also Pushkin (which we didnt see) which has Catherine's palace. This would be a half day excursion out of St P.

If you do a bus tour, then I guess you could take it all in, in two days. In the summer, the days are very long, so you can pack in a fair bit. We walked (and walked and walked), so it all took a bit more time, but then we could linger and do what we wanted to do. We stayed at the Kempinski, which was literally a stone's throw from the Hermitage, a great location and everything was within walking distance.

Some other tips -

# Please do get a guide book, it helps. we used the DK Eyewitness travel one (Rs 700).
# We at no point felt unsafe or threatened. The tourist areas are thronging with tourists. Its best to use the hotel safe for
documents, carry only the photocopy I guess. We did not use a cab at all, so I dont know about it. The Metro stations are supposed to be attractive and Stalinist, but we didnt have time to see any. There are trams and trolley buses as well.
# You can book a ticket for a ballet, online, before hand - we did, at the Mariinsky.
it..and there were no problems/hassles.
# you could also book tickets for the Hermitage online, which saves about an hour of queueing. The first Thursday of every month though is free entry!
# The cathedrals all charge about 350 rubles per adult. St Nicholas and Kazan had no charge for entry.

Continued here.