So, what's the big deal about the Dead Sea?

• Its the lowest point on dry earth
• Its salty, very salty
• There's no life in it

My son did not seem very impressed with these points, as a reason to visit. I argued with him, we're never going to stand on the highest point, so lets atleast go to the lowest point!

OK, we did not go all the way from Madras just to check out this geographical phenomenon, but happened to be in the neighbourhood.

6th June 2009. Amman, Jordan

10 am, and we set off for the 45 min drive to the northern tip of the Dead Sea. My son did not think this was a good idea, especially since I packed swim trunks - What? You're going in to the Dead Sea?, he enquired querulously. His mood improved significantly on seeing our mode of transport - a Mercedes (dont ask me which one), with our friendly driver cum guide, Fadi.

All through the journey, Fadi chattered on incessantly, about Jordan, the Dead Sea, the benevolent dead king, the dynamic current king, etc etc. The roads were good, his driving even-handed and the sun outside sharp. I feared that I would drop off to sleep with the drone of his voice and the gentle motion of the car, and so made sure that I asked questions every now and then!

So I learned about the therapeutic effects of the Dead Sea, the lousy neighbours that Jordan has to suffer (I didn't tell him that we had the same problem), the political problems of sharing the river Jordan and even some biblical history about Moses!

Suddenly, he brought the car to a halt, behind a huge tourist bus, and as I wondered why, I saw this board, on the roadside!

We were at sea level! Needing to descend another 300 m to reach the shores of the Dead Sea. See those red spots, thats where we were. The altitude of Madras, and where we would find the Mediterannean Sea as well.

It reminded me of another board a long time ago. 4,000m, Rohtang Pass!

So, we stood besides the board and had our pictures taken dutifully, as our driver took several quick puffs on his cigarette - I suspect that's the reason they stop at this board. So they get their puffs and we get our photos!

Here's the other marker in the sand, to convince us that we were at sea level! The terrain around is rolling hills, with olive groves in some of the valleys but generally bare.

We could see the road drop down, and the driver pointed out a blue speck in the distance as the Dead Sea.

But doesn't the river Jordan flow into it? The river is dry, declared our driver flatly. Dammed by Israel, Jordan and Syria, so there's no water from the river into the Dead Sea. At this rate, soon there will be no Dead Sea. Already, the southern end has become mud flats, since the Dead Sea is really a lake, a very large one, and so needs the water to flow in.

We soon reach the bottom of the Dead Sea valley, the Jordan rift valley. Uh oh, should I be nervous? Isn't a rift valley not a very safe place to be? Arabia moved away from Africa many million years ago, and we have this huge "crack" in the earth's floor? I think thats a simple enough explanation for me.

The road is now flat and straight like an arrow. we reach a T-junction and turn left. The driver points out to me that this is not a T-junction but a four way crossroad - the fourth direction westwards, being the road to Jerusalem through the West Bank, and so blocked off and unused.

Now we were on the east bank of the Dead Sea, but it was hidden from view. Suddenly there was a check-post ahead, and cars were being stopped and papers checked. I did not have a jot of identification on me, having left everything behind at Amman. Hmmm, lets see how this pans out, I thought. But, Fadi was probably well known in the area and friendly phrases were exchanged, and all I could make out was "indo"...I guess he was telling the policeman we were from India, and we were waved through.

So, we arrived at the Dead Sea Spa Hotel. The oldest hotel on the block. How it works is like this. There is a "public beach", but we were advised against going there - its dirty, was the reason - and we were told to take a day pass into one of the private-hotel owned beaches, which is what we did. So, the package typically involves giving you towels, providing showers and a changing area, and there's a lunch thrown in.

We walked through the hotel, and on to the "sea front", to see this.

We came all the way to see this drab and still "pond" and these barren shores???, my head screamed out, but I maintained a non-commital face (Cant show the son how I feel can I?). Where are those dramatic cliffs and salt-encrusted rocks that I have seen in pictures? I must say, that I did feel let down at this moment. (Turns out, that the spectacular scenery is on the Israeli side. Oh well.)

I looked around and to my chagrin, the changing rooms were located behind this picture, if you know what I mean. So, we had to trek down the entire distance in our swim suits!! I began to chicken out, and then looked around and saw all the visitors quite happily roaming around in the briefest of swimwear, with nobody giving them a second look, and I said, oh what the hell, come on nobody knows us here, lets go!

So we did change and marched on down, the sun by this time quite sharp.

My son had this, oh-no, what-have-I-got myself-into, look, and so I had to lead from the front so-to-speak!

But reading this board, he perked up. Oh, so I dont have to swim, swim, and I dont have to put my head in the water. I just have to float and do nothing. Not so bad!

So it was, that we entered the waters of the Dead Sea, tentatively at first, but then with more gusto and verve. After a while we were enjoying ourselves! Its a bizarre sensation, especially if you are used to swimming in a pool or fresh water. The salt and mineral content push you up, and you can "walk" effortlessly in the water.

This is the view from the water, looking up at the Jordanian shore. Not very interesting is it? And there are hotel projects still coming up...

In case you are wondering about those people who look like they are wearing a scuba-diving outfit, they are visitors covered in the Dead Sea mud! I did it too, much to my son's disgust, but in order to prevent this blog from being rated as "horror" or grotesque", I shall refrain from posting visual proof!

Soon, it was time to leave, and here's a final look at the cliffs of Palestine...there was not a soul on the other side of the Dead Sea...I wonder if its a restricted area...

We showered away the oily waters of the Dead Sea, and attacked the buffet lunch with our healthy appetites!

Fadi was quieter on the return, though he did the usual touristy thing of taking us to a souvenir shop, where I bargained down the price of a Bedouin rug pretty dramatically, bought some Dead Sea mud and posed for a picture with the traditional Arab headgear!

It was an interesting day out. But since we were not into spa experiences or therapeutic swims, I wonder if it would have been better if we had gone off to the Mujib Nature Reserve, further south along the Dead Sea? Again, our Amman hotel concierge discouraged us from this. It was not a good season for such a trip I think.

Ranjit Lal and Bharatpur

The Crow Chronicles is Ranjit Lal's delightful bird-tale set in Bharatpur. Looks like he's visited again!

The Hindu : Magazine / Travel : Bharatpur resurrected

Bharatpur resurrected

RANJIT LAL
After a period of neglect and devastation, Bharatpur is alive with the songs of birds again…
Photo: N. Sridharan

The birds are back...
It’s a trip after several years — perhaps the first since the Gujarat earthquake. And then Bharatpur, once a mandatory annual excursion, fell upon bad times; all but written off like so many big-name banks today. Now tales of a miracle, w hich had to be checked out… The approach is not promising; the road outside the sanctuary, as I remembered, was two-lane and shady; today it’s a four-lane highway for which all the trees have been sacrificed. And as you enter, more signs of devastation: the canopy is all but gone, the landscape looks bombed out. But wait, this is all for the good, because what’s been blasted and uprooted out of existence — permanently — hopefully, is that rabid coloniser, Prosopis juliflora alias Vilayati keekar.

Heart-warming
In the hazy blue of early morning comes that heart-warming sound: the roar of thousands of waterfowl wings as ducks rise en masse, from the waters, like a Mexican wave getting airborne. Pintail, and common teal, shovellor and gadwall speed through the gossamer mists as their perennial extortionist the marsh harrier comes calling. They swirl and settle, only to be roused again within minutes. In the maroon azolla-covered waters, purple herons stand stock still, merging beautifully with the marsh grasses, and egrets dazzle in pristine white. A flock of bar-headed geese fly past, honking in that conversational way of theirs, and on a branch just off the path, a little cormorant yawns…

A trip around the drier sections of the park has less on offer — flocks of squeaking silverbills, pied bushchats, the odd shrike and that easy-rider the black-shouldered kite. Past Python point and the old hunting lodge and on to the waters of the Mansarovar which are teeming with birds. Just off the path, a pair of immaculate sarus cranes feed; and grey herons wing away with hoarse squawks of irritation. Here, the main attraction is those enchanting musical ducks — lesser whistling teals — bright-eyed and perky as schoolboys in their tobacco and copper plumage, showing off tints of blue-grey and dark grey on their wings as they fly in circles and splash down. They are resident ducks as are the naktas, or comb duck, which have a delightfully snobbish air about them, despite their ink-spattered faces! Purple swamp hens in their shot blue silks and size 16 feet and vivid red frontal shields and bills look like the ultimate viragos, and it suddenly strikes you that the birds here seem somehow more vivid and richly coloured than their compatriots in Delhi. This impression is reinforced by the rufous tree pie you meet at the canteen later; its brown and white is newly minted and rich, unlike the faded versions you see in Delhi.

Must-do
A rickshaw ride from the check post to the Keoladeo temple is another “must do”, for you get to see and meet all the main tourist attractions of the season: Sleepy collared scops owls in the date palms, dusky eagle owls glaring at you from the rims of their huge twiggy edifices, grey nightjars impersonating branches, dozing away the afternoon, a smirking monitor lizard, flapshell turtles, holding their heads high — all impossible to spot unless you had inside information, which the rickshaw pullers do. Again, the importance of actionable intelligence… We’ve been told that pythons have been sunbathing everywhere but don’t meet any this time. Also, we haven’t done too well with raptors so far, a greater spotted eagle on a faraway perch is all we’ve bagged, until another one flies over and circles around us, giving us all the time to admire its broad chocolate wings and wedge tail. Late breeding painted storks are still caring for ravenous adolescents, some adults squatting on the backs of their “knees” look pretty done for! We catch but a furtive glimpse of a black bittern, and of the three normally encountered kingfishers, the sapphire-spangled little (or common) kingfisher, is the last to mark its presence, but squats unconcerned on a stump, softly backlit in the early evening sunlight ready for all admirers! Darters strike their crucifix poses, one looking especially martyred as it changes the position of its head every now and then, and then starts preening.

There appear to be more Indian than foreign visitors trundling down the path and happily, they’re better behaved than I remember from past visits, even if a little bewildered by the variety of birds. Everyone is delighted that Bharatpur has recovered after the trauma of past years; it appears that one good monsoon and a little good sense has made all the difference. There are plans now to ensure that it never experiences that devastation again by arranging a perennial source of water so that both breeding and migratory birds can be happy. Better cross-border relations with surrounding villages have hopefully also been forged (villagers were allowed to cart away the hacked Prosopis for firewood), though there were the usual, unavoidable transgressions. Bharatpur is a man-made ecosystem, dependent on human management for its existence and well-being, with a helping hand from nature of course. We’ve seen what neglect and deliberate anti-conservation measures can do. It’s time we ensure we never travel down that disgraceful route again and that the plans for its eternal resurrection and happiness are actually implemented.

Quick facts
The Keoladeo National Park (formerly Bharatpur Bird Sacntuary) was originally created as a duck-hunting reserve for the Jat Maharajas of Bharatpur and is a major wintering ground for aquatic birds from Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, China and Siberia.



The park is open throughout the year. Best months are August-November for resident breeding birds and November-March for migrant birds.

Bharatpur is well connected by road from Agra (56 km), Delhi (176 km) and Jaipur (176 km), all of which have airports. The Bharatpur railway station is 6 km from the park.

It appears that one good monsoon and a little good sense has made all the difference.

Mysore's little jewel

A juvenile Brahminy Kite?

My recent visit to Mysore was memorable in more ways than one.  There was wonderful company of family, young and old, laughter, fun, memories and musings.  Masala dosais, chocolate fudge and cappuccino.

Its a city that I love to visit.  The people are oh-so-gracious, the roads are tree-lined, and there are so many neighbourhood parks.

This time, I discovered a little jewel, though, just around the corner from the Ginger hotel where we stayed.  An added bonus.

Click on the picture, you can see the storks circling in the sky above

Karanji Lake.  In the Nazarbad area.  Restored in 2005, before which it had deteriorated, like all city water bodies, filled with sewage and garbage.  ( So the notice board said, at any rate.)

And now, teeming with life - water birds, garden birds, butterflies, fish, raptors and even crocodiles!  Quite amazing!

A darter sunbathes with a spot-billed duck

And to add to our enjoyment, there are these pedal boats you can hire and take onto the water, in a designated area, not too close to the trees with nesting birds, but close enough to see this darter drying its wings, while a spot-billed duck kept it company.

My January trip to Bharatpur had given me enough exposure to this bird, and so I very airily and loftily informed the other members of my family about the Bird that craved for a ramp, its interesting fishing habits, and its gluttony!

See the red loral spot of the spot-billed duck

Thankfully, the darters obliged me, and fished and ate in front of us, and I, ahem ahem, was the designated bird expert for the day!  (Aunts are of some use, after all!)

There were whoops of amazement from my mother and niece and even my nephew was impressed by the darter's performance, as it swam with its periscope-like neck sticking out of the water, darting underneath only to emerge with a fish in its mouth, which it would then expertly toss down its gullet.

A spot-billed duck paddled serenely by in the water.  The males have a little red "bindi" on the nose - its called a loral spot.  And this male obligingly showed his spot to us!

By now the sun was beating down on us, and we decided to get off the water and into the shade offered by the lovely trees  all around.

We chatted away excitedly, and strolled on around the lake, my sister-in-law expertly reading the kannada boards with bird names for the purple moorhen and common coot giving us much amusement at the naamudhu koli and banna something else.

Boards every few meters cautioned us to "Beware of Snakes", and we did look around and make doubly sure before walking into the tall grass.  

The grey heron "grins" triumphantly with breakfast in its mouth, while a pond heron looks the other way, unimpressed by its catch!

The water birds were intent on their morning breakfast.  

This egret waits patiently, framed against the grass

We then reached a watch tower, which seemed reassuringly sound and sturdy.  We climbedsay, three-storeys up, and had a lovely panoramic view of the lake and the flight of the birds, as they glided in to land on the trees, or took off on another fishing mission.

Looking through the binoculars, we could see scores of nests of black-headed ibis, painted stork, spot-billed pelican, and egrets and cormorants.

A brahminy kite looks across the lake

The previous evening, I had clambered midway up, and enjoyed the sight of the pelicans coming in to land.  It was like a scene from an aiport.  Several of them circled in the sky above, then on some unseen signal one would come swooping down in a wide glide, circle the central island, and then land either in the water or on the "pelican island".  I looked on as about five pelicans came in, in this fashion.  It was quite a sight.

This morning, however, it was the painted storks that were in the air, and they glided and flew all over the lake, either rising to circle in the thermals above, or going back to their chicks in the nests.

Painted stork

Oriental Magpie Robin

We climbed down, and proceeded down the walkway to check out the butterfly park at the end of the walk.  Sign boards urged us on, like milestones on a highway.

But there were distractions a plenty along the way, slowing us down.

A magpie robin cheekily hopped about on the grass, its tail twitching in curiosity, but it did not give us a nice song, which I quite like from that bird.  

Read more about Magpie Robins here.

Asian koel - female

A pair of koels we spied, high up in the canopy, though their calls followed us all through the walk that morning.  These birds, so common for us, lose their voices in winter, and its only in the heat of the summer that they regain their voices!

It is Mr Koel-of-the-black-body-and red eyes, who is responsible for the increasing ko-el, ko-el calls we hear, while the spotted-lady just emits a krrr-krr sound when she dashes off to another tree.

Asian koel-male

Grey heron

A grey heron posed for Sekar on a branch close to the lake, its hunched up neck giving it an air of discontent and moroseness.

Maybe he was having a bad morning?  No luck with the fishes?

Quite different from the body language of the heron-with-a-fish!

Coucal

A coucal skulked in the shadows, reminding me of the Ghana Ghouls in Ranjit Lal's The Crow Chronicles.

This was probably the Lesser Coucal.  There is a Greater Coucal that is larger.

Their call resonates through forests all over India, and they seem to move around in a furtive fashion keeping to the shadows, unlike the bold and brassy robins.  Funny, given that these birds are so much larger!  

The Butterfly Park!
   Star Clusters Yellow alders

A butterfly and a shoe!

The Butterfly Park is a little island at the end of the walk, reached by a small walking bridge. Bushes and shrubs that attract butterflies have been planted, and walking around it, you see butterflies of all hues and colours!

My niece clicked away with her phone-cam in an attempt to get them framed for posterity, but they kept flitting around, refusing to sit still.

Finally she got this Common Tiger which sat for more than a second!

Sekar skulked around (like the coucal maybe?!), and got these two beauties.
Striped Tiger?

Glassy Tiger

I wondered idly, if Valley of Flowers would also have butterflies...

I could quite happily have spent a few more hours there, but we all had to check-out, and so it was time to head back.

Similar silhouettes, different birds

    

The one on the extreme left is a Little Cormorant, the one in the middle seems to be a juvenile Indian Cormorant (called Shag in Salim Ali), with its brown head, and the one on the extreme right is the darter, with the snake-like neck and sword-like bill.

These birds have webbed feet, and quite happy swimming in ponds and lakes.

The icing on the cake, was this....
A crocodile glides by in the water

At this point, some of the group had gone ahead, and my son and nephew were discussing snakes and reptiles, of Ranganthittu.  He (my nephew), pointed casually at the water and said, oh look, crocodile.  So, I said, yeah right, nice try and all that, but anyway looked in the direction he was pointing...and there it was swimming away!  I did a double take, looked again through the binocs, and yes it was a crocodile.  Thankfully, before it vanished around the island, Sekar got a picture!

It was my first in-the-wild crocodile.  

The guard informed us that there were several! Any croc rescued from a temple tank is released here, it seems!

In my opinion, Karanji lake is a much more pleasant and enjoyable experience, than say Vedanthangal.  The bund and area around the lake has been better planned.  There are no screaming hordes of tourists and students out to have a good time...or did I go at a time when they were not around?  Plenty of couples, but they minded their own  business and did not disturb the birds, absorbed as they were with each other!

And no film music blaring in the neighbourhood.  It appears that the Mysore Corporation has shut off the road outside the sanctuary to traffic in the night, and the barriers are removed only at around 8am.  Also, visitors are allowed in only after 9:30 am, which gives the birds a good nights sleep.

So early morning birding is out of the question here, and the evening closing hours are 6 pm.

I've been away

May 22nd 2009:  I chanced upon this little paradise in the middle of a city.  It was quite by chance, as it happened to be near the hotel we were staying.

A lake that has come back to life and been rid of sewage and garbage,

water birds a plenty, 
a 2 km walkway all around the lake,

butterflies, birds...and a crocodile!

More soon.

The colours of a Madras summer

I see bright pinks, flaming reds and sunny yellows.

The tree orchids pine for their guardians who are away,

Bauhinia

Bougainvillaeas red ask to be photographed
Bougainvillaeas 

The whites creep over the neighbour's trellis, 
Bougainvillaeas 

and meet the pinks
Bougainvillaeas

while these orangey-yellows greet the early morning sun.
Bougainvillaeas 

This desert rose does not seem to mind the sun,
Adenum

while this ixora continues to hold its head up in the midday sun,
Ixora

Yellow laburnums all over the city
Cassia fistula (amaltas)

And copper pods too.
Peltophorum pterocarpum

The tabebuia are in full bloom, their purple and yellow trumpets celebrating the sun.

Tabebuia

But these palm fruits enjoy the shade of our car park.

The little periwinkles stand bravely and defiantly, even as the earth scorches around them.

Catharanthus roseus 

The tulip tree sunbathes, its blooms show off their lovely orange tan.

Spathodea campanulata

The quisqualis blooms with relief as the sun goes down, 
Quisqualis indica

and so do we, enjoying the sea breeze!

The "ambitious" keelback and the climbing perch

Baby olive keelbacks got eaten by a kingfisher at Vedanthangal, and now a checkered keelback is caught on camera trying to eat a humungous fish, at IIT, in front of forty kids on a birdwatching outing!

Read about it here!  Keelback steals the show

So many questions from this incident.

What was the snake?

A chequered keelback was the general opinion.  Its a common water snake supposedly and non-poisonous. But, folks, and this is an important but, it is an agressive, bad-tempered snake!!

I'm glad it was busy with the fish when the kids came across it!!  Its bite can be quite painful, and it also does not let go until its jaws are forced open.  Yeesh, all that does not sound very nice.

Chequered Keelback Snake
Originally uploaded by Naseer Ommer

What was the fish?  

A climbing perch, opined some.  I had heard of these fish, which supposedly "walk" on land, and IIT does have them.  Reportedly these fish can survive out of water for a while, and move with the aid of their fins and tail!

Why was the snake unable  to eat it?

Preston Ahimaz said, "In the case of snakes, the jaw bones are hinged with elastic ligaments which simply stretch to enable the jaws to swing way beyond any bone pivot would permit."

So, despite this elasticity that all snakes have, the keelback could not swallow this fish, and gave up after an hour, reported the observers.

Maybe it was not a full-grown keelback?

PS:  It seems to make a habit of biting off more than it can handle.  A search on Flickr, revealed various pictures of the snake with a huge fish in its mouth!!

The Black winged stilts at Pallikaranai

The Pallikaranai marsh at Velachery never ceases to amaze me.  People tell me stories of how it was a wetland with scores of birds ... but to me its just Madras' rubbish dump.

And as Madras went through successive summers with poor rain and the wetlands dried, we even decided to build huge buildings in it. And of course the rains came, and oops all the buildings were marooned. So, instead of removing the buildings we now need to drain the marsh don't we?!

The greenies shouted themselves hoarse, in an attempt to reclaim the marsh...and atleast no further development is to happen in the area that has now been declared as protected.

So what's so amazing? Well, quite oblivious to all these political battles are the black-winged stilts, who populate these marshes in their thousands. They take off as a flock, frightened by a marauding marsh harrier, and then land at a safe distance, their long red legs and black wings making them look better in flight than when they are wading in the waters.

Any time you visit the wetlands, these birds are a sure shot.

BWS - Photo by Skandan

And last month, Skandan came across this nesting pair. So, more stilties to follow!

Lets hope that the marshes don't die, and continue to be home to these birds and more.

...And my son could tell his kids, there used to be a garbage dump here, you know.