The Yonghegong temple

8th June 2013 - 4pm.
An overcast day, and after a morning wandering around Tiananmen square, and a couple of granola bars for lunch I set off to explore the Lama temple, suitably intrigued by the name.

Danny, a friendly voice on the phone still, (we hadn't met as yet) gave me wonderful directions on how to use the subway and to go to Yonghegong station, from where the temple was a short walk.

And I was transported, from this Beijing.......

.....to this!  Low-rise and so Chinese!

I knew I was getting close to the temple! 

The colourful entrance

I was captivated by this simple and beautiful walkway in to the complex.  I was calmed by the green, the chirping birds, and this sudden shutting out of the frenzy of the street.

This complex was originally a palace for a princeling, who converted it into a lamasery when he became king in 1722.  This temple survived the Cultural Revolution (according to Wikipedia), due to the good offices of Zhou Enlai.

Inscriptions on the massive bell

The East Stele Pavillion - it has a huge white marble stele, on which there are inscriptions in Manchurian and Han, recording how the palace became a lamasery.

A common symbol across monuments in Beijing - a lion.  They are like our dwarapaalikas, symbolically guarding  the dwelling and its inhabitants.  This is the male one, with mouth open and paw on a ball.  (The lioness will have her paw on a cub.)  But I thought those droopy ears gave it a dog-like look.  Now this is a Qing-period bronze lion, different from the Ming period lions.

This is the extent of worship that I saw besides the chanting monks.  (Outside the Devaraja Hall)

Within the Devaraja hall was a line up of four heavenly Kings, each with a different weapon in hand.

This one did not seem to approve of my activities!

The main Yonghegong hall.  Yonghegong means everlasting peace and harmony.  So this hall had these Buddhas - the one straight ahead is Gautama Buddha, the one on the left is Maithreya and if I am not mistaken Kasyapa is hidden by the pillar on the right.  The eighteen arhats lined the walls.  I loved these Chinese depictions of the arhats, so expressive were the faces.  Unfortunately it was too dark inside for me to take photographs, and I did not think it good to use the flash.  I only have this memory of the laughing one, the fat one, and one who looked distinctly Indian as well.

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The beautiful tangkas on the walls

What is this script?  Isn't there a trace of sanskrit in it?

In the Falun Hall - Statue of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Geluk sect of Tibetan Buddhism.  This was the hall where the monks studied, with those modern table lamps nowadays.

The roof above

You can hear the chanting of the monks in this video.

I was glad I visited this complex, a hint of Japan as well for me with those pine trees.

As I emerged back onto the street and the bustle of Beijing, the phone rang again, and it was Danny, a little anxious I think, as to how I had fared.  On hearing that I had navigated myself quite competently, he urged me to explore the little street opposite the temple where there were a lot of quaint Chinese shops and local eateries.  I left with a tinge of regret though, as I hurried back to catch the rest of the conference group and a Beijing Duck dinner that never was.

But that is another story!

A walk in the woods - The Hindu

A walk in the woods - The Hindu

A walk in the woods

Akila Kannadasan

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

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

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

  Lesson 1

  Follow that birdcall

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

  Lesson 2

  Stay close to the best birdwatcher in the group

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

  Lesson 3

  Be patient

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

  Lesson 4

  No sudden movements

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

  Lesson 5

  Spare time for inhabitants along the trail too

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

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

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

A week at WIMWI

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

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

China Diary - Tianamen and the notorious Beijing skies

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

Line one to Tiananment east.

Our first metro ride

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

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

 

"The Godfather" played by Andre Rieu

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pallikaranai

Marsh Melodies - The Hindu

Marsh Melodies

Akila Kannadasan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why we must protect it

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

Interpretation centre

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