Recap 2012, Welcome 2013

I traveled a fair bit in 2012 and to many new places and to some familiar jaunts. Overall, the year has been very productive and eventful :)

A long pending visit to Thattekad finally happened and was a very productive trip along with Amit.

Nature and Bird watching trails done covering many lakes on the peripheries of Bangalore – Bannerghatta, Hulimangala, Kaggalipura, Gulakamale, Madiwala, Hesaraghatta and Markonahally lakes with the UGS group (Usual gang of suspects as Deepa Mohan calls it) and others.

Much awaited and long overdue moment of owning a bullet transpired – a proud owner of a Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350cc bike – time for the biker in me to evolve!

Owning a bike and no rides…!

So happened bike rides to Bandipura, Ramanagara, Jalamangala (the only ‘trek’ of 2012) with Guru and a solo ride of about 1000+ kms to Ganeshgudi (Dandeli) and back.

Team outings were scarce and had a good time with the group at Ganeshgudi in March. No more team events, hope for more team outings in 2013!

Attended couple of Indiblogger meets in Bangalore and had a good time and met lot of new people. Took part in lot of contests this year and was rewarded with vouchers and hampers for the same. Being in the top 10 and winning a Samsung phone was another highlight, courtesy Cinthol’s new campaign propagating alive is awesome.

Went with the family on a pilgrimage to the holy temple town of Badrinath in the Himalayas and that was another memorable outing.

Went around Bengaluru city to capture the old-time towers that were the boundaries of the city, the Kempegowda towers that are now almost bang in the centre – how big have we grown!!!

A weekend spent at one of our favored destinations - BR hills.

Took time out to volunteer for wildlife conservation and took part in activities at Gopalaswamy betta and Melagiris forest ranges and the Turahalli habba.

Interest in macro photography and also reptiles/amphibians took me to Goa and Coorg (Honey valley estate). Wish more people visit Goa for its wilderness rather than the beaches and wine!

Visited Hampi and Daroji (for the Sloth bears) with a new team and was a fun trip all along.

Prashanth, a college mate working in Dubai – met him after 10 long years (connected back through Facebook) and him having similar interests helped matters the more.

November was a quiet month with only a drive to Ganeshgudi happening with KKT, who again is being introduced to wildlife and photography by self.

The highlight trip of the year – maiden solo trip for a fortnight to Gujarat happened in December and was very enjoyable and eventful, had a lifetime experience there and traveling solo has its pros and cons. Heartfelt thanks to Falguna Shah (from Ahmedabad) for helping me out on this and many others whom I met through the course of the trip.


The blog has evolved more over the year and has gained me more friends, more audience, more followers and has gained more popularity. Sincere thanks to all who take out time and come here to read this, I hope to live up to the expectations!

Watch out – much more to come!

2013 looks promising and I hope it brings with it more travel, new locations, new people and overall more growth as an individual :)

Some Frames from Goa!

Goa is not only about wine, women and beaches, it is one of the greatest reservoirs of biodiversity in the world and the wilderness in Goa supports a rich variety of flora and fauna.

I'm glad to present few nature frames from Goa...

A lovely stream...

Water strands...

'Cycling' on water... :)

A 'Praying Mantis' in the water...!

A lovely stream next to the Tambdi Surla temple...

Watch out... much more to come :)

Rann'ed...

The state of Gujarat is one among the few emerging states of India and is famous for its investment friendly government and the infrastructure as well as the plain lands of the Kachch and the vast coastline. For those unaware, the state of Gujarat has been one of the main centers of the Indus valley civilization and its per capita GDP is higher than the national average. In short, its an emerging state.

Coming to where I’m interested, Gujarat has about 7.4% of its total geographical area under forest cover. It has four national parks and 21 sanctuaries. It’s the only home of the endangered Asiatic lions outside Africa. Detailed discoveries and researches have shown that Gujarat is home to one of the largest clutch of dinosaur hatcheries in the world. From the tourism perspective, Gujarat is one of the most popular states in the country for tourism with the attractions being the Gir lions to the Marine National park to the plains of Kutch and being home to personnel like Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhai Patel.

I’m currently on a wildlife and birding tour of Gujarat covering the below places. Yes, I’m skipping Gir this time that has a plan to be covered separately with my friends.


Blackbuck Natioanl Park, Velavadar
It’s situated in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat and spreading over a area of 34sqkm, the grassland is home to the Blackbuck Antelopes, the Wolf and the endangered Lessar Florican among others. During the winters, large number of migrant birds like the Harriers, Falcons, Kestrels roost in the grasslands that also signifies its importance as a biodiversity hub supporting vast forms of life.


Jamnagar
Lying in the Jamnagar district and just south of the Gulf of Kutch and is also known as the Oil city of India. Khijadia bird sanctuary located just 10kms from the city is considered one of the important sites for ecological research and education. It’s a combination of freshwater lakes, saltpans, saline land and mangrove scrub habitats supporting vast varieties of birdlife, both resident and migratory. India’s first marine sanctuary, the Marine National Park is located here in the Arabian sea and is famous for its coral reefs and mangroves.


Little Rann of Kutch
Its primarily a salt marsh and is famous as the world’s last refuge of the Indian Wild Ass conservation and is also know as the Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary. Its an ecologically important area for wildlife and many local and migrant bird species that refuge here. The traditional salt panning activity is one concern that is threatening to destroy the entire ecology of the region.


Greater Rann of Kutch
The GRK is a seasonal salt marsh located in the Thar desert in the Kutch district of Gujarat and is reputed to be the largest salt desert in the world. This is one of the hottest areas of India with summer temperatures peaking up to 50degC and winter temperatures often going below 0degC. In winters, GRK is a breeding ground for flamingoes and pelicans and is the only place in India where flamingoes come to breed. The marshes are also a resting place for migratory birds and are home to over 200 species of birds.

Ciao soon :)

Festive look – the SHOPPERS STOP way!

Let me clarify – this is an entry for a contest hosted on Indiblogger.in for Shoppers Stop and I just couldn’t resist putting up a post for this ;)

My Festival Ensemble

Festivals are always a reason for the families to get together, pray the lord, sweets and savories, new clothes and gifts and winter is always a peak festive season here with a line up of festivals, weddings, peak holiday season and culmination with the farewell of the year.

Creating an ensemble is a rather difficult assignment for me as I’m one impatient guy and satisfying my needs and choices (for colors & designs specifically) are a little difficult for any brand or store.

Browsing through the shoppersstop online portal, I’ve listed out the below combination that works just well for the entire festive season, be it a festival, wedding, get together or for the ethnic days at office/college.


I. Manyavar Kurta Pyjama set

II. Manyavar ethnic Jutis

III. Manyavar ethnicwear Stoles

IV. Revv Ring

V. Watch from the Titan-Classique collection

Hope the ensemble does justice when flaunted during the festive season!