Some friendships never change.....

       Today was the day I will cherish in my memory for a longer time. A few friendships from college are very special to everyone and this one is indeed a  quite special to me ... 

      As I am travelling back home by auto I was thinking about the cute little friendships we have both shared since college ... coming to putting buckets in queue to book slots in the  bathroom to talking  to holding a book for reading .... we both were from different departments but still we had a unique bond ... after graduating we were the four job searchers who did not know anything about chennai and were not quite eloquent in speaking skills but as a team searched for a job so relentlessly... those days bring me back a bag full of memories - a few pleasant and a few unpleasant 

      Fast forwarding to now ...we got jobs , we got married , we had children we moved to different countries and we also came back home ...  life goes on and on and we were in our midst of daily challenges and problems that .... though we were few kilometres away we never made up time to meet but always wishing best for others in our heart..... 

     After 4 years today we made FINALLY a plan to meet ... but heavy sudden showers asked me to pull off my plan but this time I thought I will definitely meet her ... and then we met ...

The conversations started off from where it has stopped ... the personal stories , jokes , the  not so old memories all came like a wild stream ... that's the beauty of this friendship !! 

     Though the world is now a tiny ball and communications have grown leaps and  bounds, we both have not been a big fan of virtual communications ... we always have longed for these personal conversations - lady to lady talk sharing our interests, dreams, a few pulambals, interesting things that we try :-) 

I am so happy I made it a point to meet you ... my beloved friend 

And her little boy was all the time wondering the silly laughters that her mom and the other aunty shared ... and so responsible  that he himself arranged  thamboolam for me for her mom to talk 

Ending this note with a beautiful rangoli that she has drawn along with her father in law.

After 5 years......a travelogue to start with

After 5 years... Suddenly I felt an urge to revive my blog ....to jot down my days again.... 

Starting off  with a travelogue to bandipur :


Day 1:   

         After lots of preparations at home in terms of packing and unpacking the luggage, We were all set for our four days trip to Bandipur.  We were excited as it is the first time we have planned a trip just to watch nature instead of any packed plans and routines.  We boarded Kauveri express and reached mysore by 7:00 AM. We boarded a taxi, on our way had a quick hearty breakfast at Nalpak restaurant-  a long paper dosa  and chow chow bath . After an hour travel, we reached the lodge. After few quick minutes of settling, we bumped on the bed in our spacious cottage -"INDIAN TREEPIE". The whole atmosphere was calm, serene, quiet with few bird chirping here and there. This time, after a quite lengthy preparation and demonstration, Eshvar was handling the camera. He was trying various modes and shots to shoot various things around us. I enjoyed lying on the easy chair, reading a book and having a cup of roasted almonds.
      Then after having played a quick ludo in the afternoon we were all set to go on our safari- the crowd was too big and a naturalist briefed us. We were put in small groups in different vehicles and we started our ride. It was a short trip on the curvy roads uphill and then after getting the tickets, we were on the bumpy mud roads into the jungle. We first sighted a memory (or should i say herd?) of elephants- baby and mother elephants in the mud and eating- A short quick glimpse of a phython we had !!  A jungle fowl then - Lots and Lots of spotted deers - with antlers and without antlers. For the first time I saw  a bird with orange and black and white patches and black beak- We later found it as Orange tailed shrike (And I heard an interesting fact- It is insectivorous, it often kills the insect in thorny bushes and then eats them)- And then we waited for the long time to get a glimpse of the BIG Cat ! -  After having watched lots and lots of malabar parakeets and langur monkeys swinging from trees to trees,  we had to return to our resort with sun setting and cool breeze drifting all around us and silence settling in slowly.

Day 2:
    After a sound sleep, we got up at 5:00 AM and got ready for the safari again. We were put in another small group (which was far better) and headed the same way to the silent jungle. Sun was rising slowly and tint of coolness everywhere- An eerie of silence with only insects chirping- Definitiely jungle is so silent and I haven't experienced this silence for a long time now.   On the entrance we spotted peafowl, peacock and herd of spotted deers. Beautiful deers to watch and click.  We spotted a Gaur now , very far but happy. Then again a small group of elephants- This time another group informed they have watched fresh pug marks of the big cat and hence it must be somewhere around- So We waited and we indeed waited for a long time -The BIG cat is not so easy to see- (Now I can really admire the patience of wild life enthusiasts and photographers and observers) We toured inside the jungle- watching lots and lots of rose ringed parakeets , woodpecker and owlets - Suddenly a big bird, spreading the long wings flat flew and perched on the tree- It was crested hawk eagle -Streaks on the belly, a small crest and small powerful eyes. Now It was time to turn back to residence and on our way we spotted lapwings, council, shrike.













  After having a healthy breakfast,  We went to a temple- Himavad Gopalasamy temple- A temple on the highest cliff in bandipur. It was a short curvy ride with an enthusiast naturalist- He spotted a sloth bear and showed us. Then we had a peaceful dharsan- I am always a big fan of old temples. The idol was dancing krishna (my all time favourite) and lots and lots of small hills around the temple. The temple crew was offering free meals to people visiting temple. I liked the idea of "NO PLASTIC"  there- The people had their food ons stainless steel plates, washed their plates on their own and returned back -The cycle goes on- WOW!! This kind of watching tiny eco steps around me helps me to trust that somewhere sometime my India will trace back to sustainable living which was once our normal way of living !! The person shared his experience of trekking on the small hills earlier and then people misusing the opportunities and now government banning the entire trekking on the hills!! He again spotted some spotted deers on top of hills and we the novices enjoyed the sight through our binoculars. Back to resort again and time to relax and play monopoly- We played and played until Eshvar bought all utilities and again time to go inside the silent jungle again. 






The crowd was much small- indeed  a group of four to five with two naturalists having been observing for more than a decade- Now the experience was much more enriching- The trained eyes help us to see differently. Just by the noise of the swish of tail hitting the tree trunk, they guessed and It was indeed a big male gaur !! Another small group has now spotted a leopard which has been limping- So we hurried now in our jeep to the same spot but it just vanished from our eyes- We waited and waited for an hour in deadly silence watching langurs swinging here and there. Then now we saw a solitary bird of prey -  Crested serpent eagle majestically perching on a bark and glaring down at us straight. 




Now the sun has started slowly to set and its time to go back to urban space, we were riding slowly back, spotting a beehive and  a  pied bush chat when the naturalist suddenly spotted something in orange moving- He immediately shushed us and asked the driver to stop in silence -I saw the long tail and It was indeed the BIG cat- a female tiger - He said she is marking her territory after the quick shower of rain. A quick glance was not enough -We again rode slowly near - Now we saw the majestic predator close by -A sight to watch by eyes and not by camera- We were just dumb stuck in fear and awe to watch in wild ....




The day has come to a close and now we  are back to resort with lots of discussions about experiences...


Day 3:

Day started early again and now we were with the same group into the lush green jungle -Everywhere there was mist and drizzles and dew on the grass. Now we saw again fresh pug marks....We knew whose it was !! - We roamed and roamed going around beautiful slopes watching lots and lots of tress and birds and butterflies and spotted deers- all in their own world, making beautiful noises in the midst of huge trees....Then We spotted a solitary huge male Gaur walking on the mud road- It was so close that now I appreciate the factor of HUGE - As we  were watching Gaur in silence,  big bird of prey flew and perched on  a tree- It had killed a hare and left on the ground -The naturalist immediately shushed us and asked us to observe- It had black round eyes with powerful claws- When I was wondering what it was , he  said it is indeed a Spot bellied Eagle owl which is so rare to watch and its equivalent to watching 10 tigers...... It sat on the tree so formidably and watching us all the time - Nature is so colourful and has so many forms that we indeed forget to see them as they have to be seen- Then we returned back









These two and half days were so enriching and extremely contented for me in terms of observing, wondering nature and myself.

Then we started our trip to Mysore - We relaxed and then we went to see the beautiful palace- The intricate paintings and work were truly an inspiration for me to try some of those arts the next time I paint a  small piece.....The  crowd was unmanageable ...Our legs were sore and body was tired and so after having a delicious chocolate cake and thai fried vegetables , we just crashed into our bed -It started to rain and we just relaxed enjoying the view of the lit palace from our hotel room and So the day ended lazily...

Day 4:

After having a tasty sumptuous breakfast, we visited the ranganathitu bird sanctuary -Though it was not the right time to visit as per the boat driver, we managed to watch few crocodiles, a baby crocodile and few birds and lots of fruit bats ......A short and calm trip to end our tour and then we reached station , boarded Shathapathi train to Home.....

There ends my short travelogue :-)

This time, It hit us more that we need to travel more as a family and we were reminiscing the reasons :-)