Nikon D5000 Experiments

After an almost endless debate with myself, I decided to buy an SLR. I picked up a Nikon D5000. While I'm still getting familiar with the workings, here are some pictures taken with the new camera. Graduating from a point and shoot to an SLR takes some doing and hopefully I'm getting there. Comments and Suggestions would be welcome!!!



Some nighttime shots of the Bangalore sky and skyline...and skyrangers... Brahmini Kite and a Pigeon.

A Visit to Courtrallam:

Courtrallm Falls - Whatever is left of it. This is what you get to see if you visit in Summer.

(For more information on the place look up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtallam)

Background:



My family was reuniting for mom's eldest brother's 80th birthday. So the various splinters of the vast family reunited for the occasion (That's another Story). A trip to Ayikudi via Tenkasi ensued and we got to meet up with Cousins, uncles and aunts; refreshed memories and generally caught up on the family gossip.

On the last day at Ayikudi, I rounded up a couple of nephews and made a plan to visit Courtrallam Falls. So we set off on the "Chirundu" as the mini buses here are called. Despite their small size, these buses were big enough to scrape sunshades and awnings on the old houses that lined the streets.

Upstream to the falls in the middle of the Jungle so to speak

Courtrallam is 6 km from Tenkasi, 58km from Tirunelveli, 64 km from Rajapalayam and 160 km from Madurai. The nearest Airport is Tuticorin 86 km away. Rail : Nearest railhead is Tenkasi, 6km from Courtallam. From here one can take a private auto, bus or share van to Courtallam. Tirunelveli junction has many trains coming in from Chennai, and Shengottai is another railhead on the Kollam- Madurai route.

A good 45 minutes later, we got off at the Courtrallam Falls. We had plenty of warnings about the time of the year being off season - meaning there would be no water. But chances are that we may not return to this place for a long timhe e to come, so we set forth anyways and despite the lack of water at the falls, the trip was worth it as a trek. We went up the hills behind the falls into the woods to see if we could find anything interesting and we were not disappointed. The place has plenty to offer an interested traveller in terms of the Flora and Fauna. Unfortunately we had only a couple of hours to spare and hence had to hurry. I sure hope to be back when there is plenty of water around!!!

A Garden Lizard (Above the Courtrallam Falls)

Golden Oriole

A Dragon Fly "Fly on the Rocks"

The stream that feeds the Fall - Above Courtrallam Falls.

One of the many Mini falls prior to the Giant Leap.

SUNDARBANS – AN ENRICHING EXPERIENCE

INTRODUCTION: (Courtesy – Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundarbans)
The Sundarbans (Bengali: সুন্দরবন Shundorbôn) is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world. The name Sundarban can be literally translated as "beautiful jungle" or "beautiful forest" in the Bengali language (Sundar, "beautiful" and ban, "forest" or "jungle"). The name may have been derived from the Sundari trees that are found in Sundarbans in large numbers. Alternatively, it has been proposed that the name is a corruption of Samudraban (Bengali: সমুদ্রবন Shomudrobôn "Sea Forest") or Chandra-bandhe (name of a primitive tribe). But the generally accepted view is the one associated with Sundari trees.
The forest lies at the feet of the Ganges and is spread across areas of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, forming the seaward fringe of the delta. The seasonally-flooded
Sundarbans freshwater swamp forests lie inland from the mangrove forests. The forest covers 10,000 square km of which about 6,000 are in Bangladesh. It became inscribed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1997, but while the Bangladeshi and Indian portions constitute the same continuous ecotype, these are separately listed in the UNESCO world heritage list as the Sundarbans and Sundarbans National Park, respectively. The Sundarbans is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests. The area is known for the eponymous Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), as well as numerous fauna including species of birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes.

The Trip of a Lifetime:
It was an event that almost did not happen. I was in the middle of an extremely busy phase at work and even thinking about taking time off was impossible. However the family persevered and much to their delight and mine; won. Persistent canvassing by my wife, daughter and other family members meant that I finally ventured out to ask my boss for permission and to my great delight, it was granted.

With the question of time-off from work out of the way, one of the next steps was to look for tickets. Four days off meant train-travel was ruled out and hence we settled on flying to Kolkata. We flew into Kolkata on 25th December 2009 (Christmas Day).

The first few days at Kolkata were spent enjoying the hospitality of my in-laws who were doing everything possible to make us comfortable. We enjoyed the sights and sounds of an extremely busy Kolkata whose citizens were out in force on the streets as it was holiday season.

Then came the 29th December 2009 and we were all up early in the morning all packed and dressed up to go. The clock struck 07:00. Then 07:30. 08:00. 08.30. No sign of the car that was to take us. Finally the vehicle did come at 09:00 and we were off immediately. The late start meant that the driver was in a tearing hurry to reach the Sonakhali jetty, from where we were to transfer to a boat. Unfortunately it happened to be rush hour so there we were, stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the By-Pass road. We managed to squeeze out of the traffic at 09:45 and then it was one mad dash, the driver with his accelerator floored and the hand jammed down on the horn. Not surprising because every vehicle in Kolkata would grind to a halt if a driver does not honk continuously. Turkish drivers would be put to shame by these Kolkata maniacs. To top this off, all of this actually happens in relative slow motion because you can rarely move faster than 25-30kmph.

We reached the Sonakhali jetty at 12:15 PM, and wouldn’t you believe it. we were stuck in a traffic jam on the river. There were 4 other boats waiting to take on passengers and we were unable to sail till two of them made way.

Finally we set sail at 12:30 PM and headed straight to Gosaba for permits. This village is also the place where Rabindranath Tagore had a house and often stayed there near the river banks. This quaint little house on stilts stands out like a palace among the small huts of the locals!!

We left Gosaba with the permits at 13:50 after suffering another traffic jam. Now we are really on, the last vestiges of human habitation disappeared after about another hour. Here on it is water, mangroves, the occasional wildlife and us. Occassionally, we met other passing boats, otherwise it was just the constant thump of our boat’s diesel engine, water lapping gently against the sides and the breeze, wafting up through the trees and water, bringing with it the uniquely lush smells of the forests.

One cannot help noticing that the coast is fenced off - presumably to try and keep tigers from coming into the villages. (Personally I think it would have been far easier to build a huge fence around the villages and more practical too!!!)

The first signs of wild life were apparent almost immediately!! Soon we were at the Sajnekhali Tiger Reserve Observation post and that was where we spotted the Brown Winged Kingfisher. Here it was getting dark pretty fast and in the fading light we spotted wild life. With the twilight rapidly descending around us, we had to find our way back to our lodge, just like the Greater egret flying home to their nests at the end of their day.

We planned an early morning start the next day to try and glimpse a Royal Bengal Tiger in the morning mist. With the hope in our hearts, of coming face to face with a Stripey, we made our way to the Lodge. There was a small cultural event performed by the “Victims” of Aila which kept the family entertained for a while, and naturally was followed by the Collection Box at the end of the program.

The following day, we were all up at 04:00, wide-eyed and eager to run. But the boatmen were nowhere to be seen. The boat itself seemed to be anchored mid river. Several frantic phone calls and an hour later, the boat was tied up at the resort jetty and we boarded. The time spent waiting was put to use taking some pictures of the river.

Then dropped the first surprise of the morning from the boatmen - we had to wait for a guide to be provided and this was expected to happen only at 07:00 hrs. So much for our plans to meet Mister Stripes. When we tied up at Sajnekhali jetty to wait for the guide, the second and more eventful surprise dropped - WE HAD MISSED OUT ON SEEING TWO TIGERS AT A KILL THE PREVIOUS NIGHT JUST BELOW THE SAJNEKHALI OBSERVATION TOWER around 20:00 hrs. How sad!!!!

The boat stopped off at a local market point to pick up supplies and it was a god sent opportunity to snap up the rising sun!

It was low tide and the difference in the water level was an awesome 10 feet at a minimum. The morning mist gave the whole place an ethereal, dreamy look which defies description - it is a sight to be seen and experienced to be truly appreciated!!

Reached the Sudhanyakhali Observation post where we spent close to an hour. The peace and quiet was regularly being shattered by humans shrieking at the top of their voices and the place seemed more like a cage full of monkeys gone crazy. At one time I had my camera and tripod knocked off the observation tower….only swift reactions and the camera strap saved me a whole lot of anguish of loss of the camera and the precious shots.

The final stop point of the tour was the Dobanki camp. Dobanki has an elevated walkway which runs through a part of the jungle onto an observation post. It is said to be a very promising location for sighting tigers and most sightings reportedly occur around this area.It was here that we finally saw Tiger Footprints…..we must have missed the sight of a lifetime by less than a couple of hours. This one had just swum across a channel.

We then anchored off the coast where five rivers — Dobakhi, Khona Khali, Pir Khali, Gomti and Betda converge and had a quiet lunch….disappointed that no tiger was spotted so far. Post lunch we set sail back towards Gosaba. On the way we saw some signs of Water erosion… It seems that the Mangroves are losing the battle to keep the soil firm and the trees themselves are falling into the river. Is this a warning sign or is it the norm!!!!

We sailed into Gosaba and as we stopped enroute to drop off the guide…we saw our first tiger of the trip!!!!! A majestic specimen sitting on another boat….yes…it was on another boat!!!! Now now!!! Before you jump to any conclusions…. It was a stuffed toy…..

The setting sun created some lovely vistas as we reach Sonakhali and so that’s the end of an exhilarating journey into the Sundarbans.

Footnote:
Most folks come into Sunderbans expecting to be taken on a guided tour and shown everything as if it were an exhibit. One has to keep in mind that Sunderbans is a living eco system where things change by the hour. We saw a lot of wildlife although we did miss the big cat. But a trip to Sunderbans is not just about seeing a tiger, it is about experiencing the wilderness as it is, about putting oneself into the environment of creatures unseen by us and feel a thousand eyes upon you from all around.

Experience the chill run up your spine when you see fresh pug marks of a tiger or a Sea Eagle swooping down to catch a fish. Take pleasure getting close to birds and savour the trust they place in you. By all means Sunderbans is a place to go to - if you really like being close to nature and look out for the birds and the animals. If it is a boat ride that you are looking for…go elsewhere. Most of the pictures that we were able to capture were due to the fact that we moved away from the other boats and tried to keep as much distance as possible to avoid the noise.

At Rs.3000/- ($64 US…approx) per head which includes transportation from Kolkata, the boat ride, overnight accommodation and food onboard the boat, the trip is a steal!!!! But go there with an open mind and you may just get the most unexpected pleasure!!!!

On a Serious note: (This is a personal opinion and is not endorsed in any way by any agency or the Government of India)
274 tigers according to 2004 census….the debate is on….. but looking at the experiences shared by most people, it is more likely that the actual number of tigers is less than 100… a lot less than 100 which although disappointing is close to the truth. (Look up this link for more details…. http://www.indianjungles.com/250109.htm)