Ever since I had gone birding at Sundarban, I had been wanting and waiting to do it again. I had been brooding over this for a while and I finally bit the bullet – I purchased a Canon 400 mm f/5.6 lens to pair with my 2013 Canon EOS 70D to photograph birds and wildlife. I already had the excellent Zeiss Terra ED 10×42 binoculars for observing birds and wildlife. The recent lens purchase made the itch to go birding even more persistent. So when the Christmas holiday arrived, it presented a perfect opportunity to visit the Okhla Bird Sanctuary in Noida. It is a good time of the year to visit the sanctuary as it is usually teeming with winter migrants at this time of the year. I requested the company of a friend and a fellow nature enthusiast who graciously agreed...
Read MoreNature tagged posts
Farewells can almost always be bitter sweet. A long time colleague just resigned. As is the custom, we planned an offsite farewell for him. The place chosen was Dudhwa National Park- primarily because we have been to Corbett so many times. The other thing that worked in Dudhwa’s favour was that it is home to the Great Indian Rhino. We have done umpteen safaris as a team, and the tiger has proven to be elusive except just once. So with high spirits, we set off on the 400+ km journey to Dudhwa.
The route we took
The drive to Dudhwa from Noida is a long, mundane drive but the company of colleagues and friendly banter kept the josh high for most of the drive...
Read MoreLast month, I had the opportunity to visit the US for the second time. It was a short 2 week jaunt but, as luck would have it, there was the long Memorial Day weekend in between. I tried to make the most of the weekend and managed to do a whirlwind tour of Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. All three locations are amazing and I feel lucky to have been able to experience them.
The common thread between the three locations is the river Colorado. Las Vegas exists in the middle of the desert and depends upon this river for its life blood. Colorado supplies the city with water and vital energy from the Hoover dam, without which all the glitz and glamour, that Vegas is famous for, would be impossible...
Read MoreIf you are familiar with this blog, you would be able to guess that I absolutely dig opportunities that let me travel to one of the many national parks in India. These nature reserves preserve and showcase the unparalleled biodiversity that India possesses. The dizzying array of flora and fauna in the Indian jungles can be represented by one iconic animal – the Royal Bengal Tiger. The sight of a tiger cooling off in a water hole, confident and unfettered, and then walking with a nonchalant swagger, that only the powerful can have, and turning his gaze at the beholder for the last time before disappearing into a bush as if to say “Hey! What’s so interesting? I am just being a tiger”, evokes emotions so profound that are indescribable in words...
Read MoreEver since I had read Jim Corbett’s Man Eaters of Kumaoun as a 12 year old, I have been fascinated by tigers and the Indian jungle. His vivid description of the jungle , and its sights and sounds have left in me an enduring yearning to go back to the jungle at the first opportunity. Corbett National Park is the one place that brings to life the visual imagery woven by Corbett in the masterful narration of his experiences.
An opportunity presented itself when my team in office decided to take a one day trip to Corbett to bid farewell to one of the most respected team members. Needless to say, I grabbed the opportunity with glee. And what an experience it was! I did not get to see a tiger. Yet, I have come back with my soul nourished and a song in my heart...
Read More