I'm not a bike maniac. Nor do i profess to be a bike expert. But 2 yrs at bim, where i have driven so many different bikes, has made me bike savvy. And given my attraction to vintage stuff (music, records, artifacts and other stuff), vintage bikes drive me crazy !
So when i had the chance to tame THIS beast i took the challenge! Its a 1967 Jawa, Czech model. It still has all the original parts intact. There was a time ashley uncle rode it daily to work and back, and wherever he went the whole neighbourhood knew he was in the vicinity! It has made several long trips too. Kodai twice and even Chennai ! Now it rarely goes out but is rightly crowned the king of the 10 odd bikes in the frontyard of Sharon Villa.
Couple of years back basement had a go at the bike. And miserably failed ! So all I had to do was to better his record. A mere 6 inches ! And boy..... I did much better than that. Presenting..... the taming of the beast by devil
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Turtle Walk
Its a pity I didn’t hear about the turtle walk until march. The season was coming to an end and when I learned about it I was told that I wouldn’t get to see many turtles now. Nevertheless I went along.
The coromandel coastline is the breeding ground for thousands of Olive Ridley turtles every year. They come to the beach at night, lay eggs and go back into the sea where they came from. These eggs are very likely to get damaged (by natural and human elements alike) so the SSTCN tries to protect them. During the peak season between October and February, they organize walks on the beach at nights looking for the eggs and transporting them safe to a hatchery. The object of their efforts is to help the breeding of the turtles and also create awareness about the endangered species.
So here I was on neelankarai beach at 12 midnight. The group starts there and heads towards elliot’s beach (better known as bessie). That makes it around 7 km. Imagine a group of 40 odd people wandering in small groups at midnight on the beach with torches in their hands and shining them on the ground as though looking for buried treasure! Yes, that were the first timers. The veterans were casually strolling with their keen eyes searching around unhurriedly. Once the turtle lays an egg, it carefully covers it with sand leaving no trace. Then it goes back to the sea. The sand over the egg looks undisturbed and the turtle tracks are soon washed away by the waves. It might seem impossible to find the eggs but the experts have their own methods. Occasionally we are lucky to spot a turtle come out of the sea and watch it laying eggs.
The sea looked and sounded just like what it was. A giant monster with tentacles in the form of waves which lashed out every minute to grab us with a muffled roar. The subdued retreat every time vowed to be back with more ferocity. I took many pics on my digicam and this one was a beauty. It was by pure accident that I managed to create an optical illusion with a simple click and no fancy adjustments.
We kept walking for about 4 hours and reached elliot’s beach in the wee hours of the morning. The only thing we came across was a dead turtle. As they said… the season was coming to an end. They have a hatchery further down near the mouth of adyar river. For me, that was the high point of the whole trip! Turtles! Baby turtles !! So many of them…
I must say they looked so juicy ! I’ve never tasted turtle (they say turtle soup is delicious) and here were so many right in front of me…… I still wonder what would have happened that night if SSTCN had known about my REAL intentions ! I did manage to get one in my hand but couldn’t pop it in!
Collecting the turtle eggs and keeping them in a safe place till they hatch is just half of it. The next part is to make sure the babies reach home safely. And their home is the big bad sea. The turtles when set free head towards the sea following their natural instincts.
The exodus of turtles was indeed a fine sight to see.
Baby turtles at last return to their home.
This lucky one got to go home just after he was born.
The turtle walk ended at dawn. We all went back to Bessie and parted from there. I drove home after an enjoyable walk on the beach throughout the night yet disappointed that I didn’t get to taste any turtle !! Check out all the juicy food below. Its enough to turn anyone crazy !
The coromandel coastline is the breeding ground for thousands of Olive Ridley turtles every year. They come to the beach at night, lay eggs and go back into the sea where they came from. These eggs are very likely to get damaged (by natural and human elements alike) so the SSTCN tries to protect them. During the peak season between October and February, they organize walks on the beach at nights looking for the eggs and transporting them safe to a hatchery. The object of their efforts is to help the breeding of the turtles and also create awareness about the endangered species.
So here I was on neelankarai beach at 12 midnight. The group starts there and heads towards elliot’s beach (better known as bessie). That makes it around 7 km. Imagine a group of 40 odd people wandering in small groups at midnight on the beach with torches in their hands and shining them on the ground as though looking for buried treasure! Yes, that were the first timers. The veterans were casually strolling with their keen eyes searching around unhurriedly. Once the turtle lays an egg, it carefully covers it with sand leaving no trace. Then it goes back to the sea. The sand over the egg looks undisturbed and the turtle tracks are soon washed away by the waves. It might seem impossible to find the eggs but the experts have their own methods. Occasionally we are lucky to spot a turtle come out of the sea and watch it laying eggs.
The sea looked and sounded just like what it was. A giant monster with tentacles in the form of waves which lashed out every minute to grab us with a muffled roar. The subdued retreat every time vowed to be back with more ferocity. I took many pics on my digicam and this one was a beauty. It was by pure accident that I managed to create an optical illusion with a simple click and no fancy adjustments.
We kept walking for about 4 hours and reached elliot’s beach in the wee hours of the morning. The only thing we came across was a dead turtle. As they said… the season was coming to an end. They have a hatchery further down near the mouth of adyar river. For me, that was the high point of the whole trip! Turtles! Baby turtles !! So many of them…
I must say they looked so juicy ! I’ve never tasted turtle (they say turtle soup is delicious) and here were so many right in front of me…… I still wonder what would have happened that night if SSTCN had known about my REAL intentions ! I did manage to get one in my hand but couldn’t pop it in!
Collecting the turtle eggs and keeping them in a safe place till they hatch is just half of it. The next part is to make sure the babies reach home safely. And their home is the big bad sea. The turtles when set free head towards the sea following their natural instincts.
The exodus of turtles was indeed a fine sight to see.
Baby turtles at last return to their home.
This lucky one got to go home just after he was born.
The turtle walk ended at dawn. We all went back to Bessie and parted from there. I drove home after an enjoyable walk on the beach throughout the night yet disappointed that I didn’t get to taste any turtle !! Check out all the juicy food below. Its enough to turn anyone crazy !
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Pulicat Lake
Walk on a deserted beach on a hot Sunday morning. Exploring coniferous forests. Standing rooted to the spot (literally) in the middle of the lagoon. Examining the marine lifeforms. And finally crossing the lagoon in style! All in a days work for spook and devil. Oh wait… did I mention the refreshing bath in the middle of a field under a pump set?
Pulicat lake – the next destination, following the success of the vedanthangal trip. Situated 65 km north of Chennai, its the second biggest brackish water lagoon in India. A warning before I begin…. Those who saw the pics of the previous trip, please don’t expect scenic beauties of that type. Because this place was dirty! But what the place lacked in scenic beauty was compensated by adventure. The trip started with a boat ride from the mainland to the island across the lagoon. Once we reached the other side we saw a strange sight.
A buffalo cart! Being driven across the lagoon!! Immediately we decided that our return trip across the lagoon would be on foot! But that was much later. Now we had the whole place to explore. Our nose for adventure led us to a beach with coniferous forests nearby.
There were lots of fishing boats going about. So we decided to watch them fish at close quarters. Besides the heat was rising and the coolest place to be was the water.
As I kept looking, I suddenly found my slippers stuck (yes I went into the water with my slippers on). Apparently there was lots of clay on the bottom and I had a tough time getting my slippers free. Yes, you can see me grimacing while trying to free it.
Now that is a LOT of slush…. And it lies throughout the bed
We could’ve spent much more time but we were waiting to wade back to the mainland. And that was truly an adventure. We were planning to wade through unknown waters with a blackberry and a digicam on us. Now that’s taking a risk. Just because we saw some buffaloes doing it. Bull……!
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WE NOW PRESENT THE GREAT CROSSING
On the way back we hit a farmhouse on the road and refreshed ourselves with a bath under a powerful water pump.
And finally I found what I was looking for. Birds…..!
Pulicat lake – the next destination, following the success of the vedanthangal trip. Situated 65 km north of Chennai, its the second biggest brackish water lagoon in India. A warning before I begin…. Those who saw the pics of the previous trip, please don’t expect scenic beauties of that type. Because this place was dirty! But what the place lacked in scenic beauty was compensated by adventure. The trip started with a boat ride from the mainland to the island across the lagoon. Once we reached the other side we saw a strange sight.
A buffalo cart! Being driven across the lagoon!! Immediately we decided that our return trip across the lagoon would be on foot! But that was much later. Now we had the whole place to explore. Our nose for adventure led us to a beach with coniferous forests nearby.
There were lots of fishing boats going about. So we decided to watch them fish at close quarters. Besides the heat was rising and the coolest place to be was the water.
As I kept looking, I suddenly found my slippers stuck (yes I went into the water with my slippers on). Apparently there was lots of clay on the bottom and I had a tough time getting my slippers free. Yes, you can see me grimacing while trying to free it.
Now that is a LOT of slush…. And it lies throughout the bed
We could’ve spent much more time but we were waiting to wade back to the mainland. And that was truly an adventure. We were planning to wade through unknown waters with a blackberry and a digicam on us. Now that’s taking a risk. Just because we saw some buffaloes doing it. Bull……!
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WE NOW PRESENT THE GREAT CROSSING
On the way back we hit a farmhouse on the road and refreshed ourselves with a bath under a powerful water pump.
And finally I found what I was looking for. Birds…..!
Friday, May 1, 2009
vedanthangal
Situated just 85 km away from the hot dusty busy city of Chennai, who would have thought that escape to the depths of nature was so close? Vedanthangal , a natural habitat for about 22,000 birds and 115 different species of birds was just waiting to be discovered by us. As tourist spots go, I guess this one is not that frequented. The general reaction when it’s mentioned is “heard about it but never been there”. Its only the avid birdwatchers who go there. And we falling in that category (ahem….) decided to check it out.
The best time to be there is at sunrise. That’s the time you get to see some activity as all the birds are looking for food. So Sunday morning 4 am saw spook and devil setting off towards the sanctuary on blue flame. The ride on the highway was uneventful. Once we turned away from the highway and into the sanctuary road, the surroundings seemed to change considerably. There was no high pitch noise of heavy vehicles and screeching horns. Instead the air was still and there was the sound of birds chirping. Very sweet birds at that ! The next 11 km was all about happily biking on empty roads and enjoying the bird sounds while figuring out the notes. And when we finally reached the sanctuary a breathtaking sight stopped us in our tracks.
The place is stretched out across 72 acres. There’s a lake with only marshes surrounding it and lots of trees sprouting everywhere from the marshes. Birds were perched everywhere on trees and bushes. On each tree there were at least hundred birds.
The best season to come here is October to February. That’s when migratory birds come and settle here. At that time there are nearly 75000 birds here and the trees can hardly be seen. Its all white and not green! But the sight here was no less. The sun was fresh in the sky and its reflection on the lake was beautiful. And the spectacle of swans lazily swimming on this golden water was equally breathtaking.
The pathway soon ended and there was only marshland ahead. It was time to get our hands (and legs) dirty ! And we’re happy we did cuz the most beautiful sights were deep inside the marsh territory. I managed to shoot this solitary lark on a bare tree with the other birds in distant background.
And then there were these trees which sprouted right from the middle of the marsh and their reflection on the still water was as good as real.
The sunlight shimmering on the lake through the tree leaves made a beautiful sight too.
Cant stop staring at the beautiful sights !
All in all, I'd say, a sunday well spent !
The best time to be there is at sunrise. That’s the time you get to see some activity as all the birds are looking for food. So Sunday morning 4 am saw spook and devil setting off towards the sanctuary on blue flame. The ride on the highway was uneventful. Once we turned away from the highway and into the sanctuary road, the surroundings seemed to change considerably. There was no high pitch noise of heavy vehicles and screeching horns. Instead the air was still and there was the sound of birds chirping. Very sweet birds at that ! The next 11 km was all about happily biking on empty roads and enjoying the bird sounds while figuring out the notes. And when we finally reached the sanctuary a breathtaking sight stopped us in our tracks.
The place is stretched out across 72 acres. There’s a lake with only marshes surrounding it and lots of trees sprouting everywhere from the marshes. Birds were perched everywhere on trees and bushes. On each tree there were at least hundred birds.
The best season to come here is October to February. That’s when migratory birds come and settle here. At that time there are nearly 75000 birds here and the trees can hardly be seen. Its all white and not green! But the sight here was no less. The sun was fresh in the sky and its reflection on the lake was beautiful. And the spectacle of swans lazily swimming on this golden water was equally breathtaking.
The pathway soon ended and there was only marshland ahead. It was time to get our hands (and legs) dirty ! And we’re happy we did cuz the most beautiful sights were deep inside the marsh territory. I managed to shoot this solitary lark on a bare tree with the other birds in distant background.
And then there were these trees which sprouted right from the middle of the marsh and their reflection on the still water was as good as real.
The sunlight shimmering on the lake through the tree leaves made a beautiful sight too.
Cant stop staring at the beautiful sights !
All in all, I'd say, a sunday well spent !
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