The Ring

Watched “The Ring” last night. [ Monday 24 April 2006 ]

The child in the movie keeps drawing stuff

In the morning alisha too is sitting and drawing, when I open her new bag
Which she has been using at stepping stones, inside is a drawing which has a green coloured circle with an orange ring a round it.

So rather than get spooked I asked her what it was and she said it as a ring which she saw at the play school.

Creepy rating 9/10

About Kanha

What about sunrise

What about rain

What about all the things

That you said we were to gain…

( Michael Jackson – Earth Song )

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Back from Kanha but still unable to put my thoughts together about the trip.

Besides, I had a load of work piled up by the time I’d got back.

Anyway, last weekend we drove down to Kanha ( Wagon-R with collapsible rear seats ).

What I’d heard; is that of all the possibilities of ever spotting a Tiger in the wild it would be at Kanha where you had the highest chances.

The drive there was lovely, from Hyderabad to Nagpur, where we spent the night, and next morn onward to Kanha. That part of the country is truly wild.

It is said that Rudyard Kipling was inspired by these very forests to write his most endearing classic – the Jungle Book, with Mowgli, Shere Khan and the rest.

This was a story that had captured my imagination as a young lad, and Alisha too had taken quite a fancy to the whole “Law of the Jungle” thing.

CLICK THIS LINK TO SEE WHAT KANHA IS LIKE

I don’t want my cubs to grow into typical urban-type kids.

Somehow, I guess I too was trying to get back to my basic nature, and reawaken my instinct which I feel had begun to dull recently. What better place to do it than the Jungle !

These little trips also help us as a family in bonding closer.

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The wild life at Kanha is good , and I would certainly recommend it to any enthusiast.

Some Important Points to note :

Entry into the reserve has very strict timings, and you MUST have a guide along.
You’d pretty much get lost if you didn’t.

You can enter ONLY in a vehicle, and cannot step out of it under any circumstances once you are in the reserve.

This is largely to protect us humans from our own stupidity.

You’d be surprised how irrational and idiotic homo sapiens behave in the jungle and around other creatures.

CLICK HERE TO SEE HUMAN BEHAVIOUR IN THE JUNGLE

For some interesting stories, esp the Calcutta incident click these links below.
http://www.disk-o.com/winter99/features/news/cathode2.html

http://www.circuses.com/pdfs/BigCatIncidentList-OutsideUS.pdf



This was tough for me, and what I imagined would be a lifetime opportunity in wild life photography ended up with some tricky shots from within the car.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WILDLIFE AT KANHA

We ( the people ) - In kanha

Kanha - The Animals

There are said to be 120 tigers, 90 leopards, panthers, and large quantities of Bears, Boar, Bison, Deer, Pythons, barasingha, and monkeys.

And over 200 species of birds !!

This is one of the elephants who are used for tiger viewing in the grasslands of the Kanha reserve. A tiger fears only an elephant, however the day before we left, I met Rajiv who is a wild life expert of sorts; and he told me that he was at the Pench reserve ( about 150 Km from kanha ), where there was a tiger called the "charger", as he would even charge elephants !!





These two below are wild boar - straight out of Asterix and Obelix comic books.



Wild bison, vey sharp horns. Generally docile, but during winter season they can get very aggresive. Note the powerful shoulders and haunches.


Titter birds, make an eerie titter. there is also a bird called the "tiger" bird, who sits up in the tree and calls out each time he spots a tiger.


Spotted deer below. Plentiful in the reserve. Graceful, fleet footed and truly "doe" eyed.


Pelicans and a swan.


Peacock.


Langur monkeys hang around with the deer frequently, and also help as an avance warning system from the trees when a predator is nearby.



White hawk.


A herd of Barasingha deer grazing. They grow their horns once a year.


Commonly found ant hills, going upto 3-4 feet in height.

Kanha Forest

These are some of the watering holes, where animals come to have a drink during the cool hours of the morn or eve.










This picture is of a Tiger's claw marks on a a tree when he sharpens it.
( 12 ft in height while standing and stretched up !! )







Thse next two are the legendary "machans" used for animal viewing at a safe height where even leopards cant climb.






This next picture was a tributary of the Narmada river, the banks of on which the locals were farming these slim green cucumbers, which we bought a kilo of and relished right then and there. Juicy, fresh and tender.
Meanwhile in the political backdrop of our trip, M/s Medha Patkar ( of the Narmada Bachao Andolan ) and Narendra Modi ( of the Godhra riots fame ) were doing a fast to see who blinks first.
And SONY Television has launched a programme aptly called "Aisa Des Hamara."



The blue House.
It appears to me that with NO EXCEPTION, every village in Madhya Pradesh that i drove thru had painted the exterior blue. It was like driving thru smurf land.





This here below is the house of the range officer who lives at what are called "check points" . There are houses like this at various points deep in the jungle, and are so desolate and far removed from others, its really scary. ( And thats me saying that ) *note* the fencing aropund the house, which most villages and their houses have.




When its dusk and the animals begin their cries its chilling to hear, as you realise that you are now on their turf and not in a zoo.




This is a Jungle loo, which Alisha was most happy to check out ( and donate a sample to ) as part of her loo expedition in life.

All Saints Shoot

"Some might say they don't believe in heaven

Go and tell it to the man who lives in hell."

( Some Might Say - Oasis )

ALL SAINTS CHURCH 01 [ 2nd April 2006 ]

ALL SAINTS CHURCH 02

HEAVEN'S DOOR 01

HEAVEN'S DOOR 02