All posts filed under: Photography

Tryst with nature: The Kanha National Park

Published by Anita

In December 2013, I got the opportunity to spend a few days exploring the Kanha forests, and relaxing at the Kanha Earth Lodge, a comfortable haven for wildlife and nature lovers. A trip into the forests of Madhya Pradesh is incomplete without a tiger sighting. Or so they say. Though it was something that was on my mind, I wasn’t really too stressed about it. My guide, on the other hand, was. He tried his hardest to make sure we sighted a tiger, but unfortunately, the two times we went into the Mukki and the Kisli zones, the tiger wasn’t in a mood to come out in public. An early morning scene as we enter the Kanha National Park The tiger is one magnificent animal and there’s nothing as memorable as seeing one roaming free in the wild. But with the dwindling numbers and the poaching reports, I am not very hopeful of this animal’s future. We’re definitely bent upon eliminating this majestic creature from the Indian landscape and doing a good job of it …

Heralding the rains in the desert

Published by Anita

After experiencing the abundance of the monsoons in Kerala and Goa this year, it was a welcome invite when I got an offer to experience the magic of the monsoons in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. And I know exactly what you might be thinking. Monsoons in the desert? But then stranger things have been known to happen. So filled with anticipation and lots of hope, I hopped onto a plane to Jodhpur, which is the closest connection to Jaisalmer from Bangalore. It was a long journey but the thought of the destination was enough to keep the spirits high. Besides air travel has become quite pleasant these days, thanks to all our swanky airports (well, okay not all of them!). At Mumbai airport, I met with Neelima and then with Anuradha (who I hadn’t met for years) and we killed some time chatting and catching up. After a short wait, it was time to board the flight to Jodhpur. A couple of hours later, we finally touched down in Jodhpur and our welcome party was there outside …

Mountains and river crossings

Mountains and water crossings: ooh, aah, shiver!

Published by Anita

We surveyed the scene before us. But none of us wanted to take the plunge. The cold mountain water gushed out from the left embankment of the road, formed a big pool of water and then gushed into the valley below. Ordinarily, we wouldn’t have bothered at all and walked through. But this was different. This was ice cold water that none of us wanted to wade through. After our first day in the mountains, all of us got wise and bought ourselves gumboots. Perhaps the best accessory purchase decision we made before the trip. We were somewhere on the way to Leh, having started from Manali. And to add to our woes, we were on two non-mechanized human powered wheels. Also called bicycles. If cycling wasn’t foolhardy enough, we were also trying it with gumboots. Wasn’t exactly a very pleasant activity. There were times when I badly wanted to throw them out, but the thought of these icy water crossings would keep us going. We were a set of 10 brave souls who decided …