The paisa Vasool Tusker

Amit Rane, my classmate in the herpetology course and a cool photographer wanted to shoot wild elephants. I made the arrangements and Amit landed in Bangalore with 3 friends of his. Vidya and Ganesh, a wildlifeworshipping couple from Mumbai and Hari, a chennai dude. We boarded the state transport bus to Kutta, where I had booked cottages in a lovely estate called “Chiligiri”.

As our sole intention was to sight wild elephants and to capture the moment for eternity, we hired a jeep and set out to Wayanaad National park and Nagarhole national park. We would drive up and down through each park and get onto every available safari trips into the jungle. We did this for 2 days without sighting a single elephant :((. And imagine this happening in a supreme Biosphere which has the densest population of Indian Elephants in the world !!!!!!!

Our spirits were at their lowest when we were getting back to the cottage on the second day of the trip after yet another unsuccesful sorties on the Nagarhole road. Ane ! Ane ! Our driver suddenly exclaimed and switched off the headlights stopped the jeep. A big black shape with a very noticeable pair of tusks was crossing the road in front of the jeep. But, unfortunately that is all that we could see of him and it was just too dicey to linger there as this felow was just too close and it was very dark. We slowly reversed and got back and an oncoming light showed us the full glory of a tusker. He was big and exuded an Aura of strength. We finally left the king and returned to the cottage with the low spirits ebbing away though disappointed that we could not get it on film.

The next day, we set off early morning and did another unsuccesful beat of the Wayanaad stretch and decided to hit Nagarhole forest. 5 kilometres into the drive, there stood this magnificient specimen of the Elephant race. He was busy eating and did not care to look at us or react in any way. There was a good 15 feet distance between us and we could start photographing him. We were watching every movement of his as the driver said he is a known rogue and very unpredictable. But, he was such a darling and gave us no inkling of his alleged character. He was surely a Paisa Vasool Tusker.

Some of his Pictures have been posted. Check them out.

Agumbe Rainforest Research Station

The king's dashboard


Closeup of the coiled serpent

Gowri talking to the locals after the capture. Notice the bag with the king in it



Tucked away in the heart of the Karnataka western Ghats is a quaint old town called Agumbe. Known to be the second wettest region in India, It is a perenially wet place.

Agumbe is basically a contiguous reserve forest linking the Someshwara wildlife sanctuary and the Kudremukha wildlife sanctuary.
These are patches of the last remaining lowland rainforests in india.

Agumbe is a hotspot for the longest venomous snake in the world, The King Cobra aka Hamadryad. It's latin name being Ophiophagus Hannah ( Literally translating : Snake eating Snake )

The Agumbe Rainforest Research Station is setup by one of the world's leading authority on Crocodiles and Indian reptiles,Romulus Whitaker to conserve this uncommon and endangered giant. Rom caught his first king way back in 1971 in Agumbe and since then has been closely associated with this green heaven.

The station is managed by a cool dude named Gowrishankar, who is the education officer. Gowri is spreading awareness about the importance of conserving this prime predator throughout schools and colleges in the surrounding regions. While not spreading awareness,He is busy rescuing Kings which inadvertently come into houses,plantations and commercial vehicles ;)

Gowri has rescued 36 Kings as of now and each of them have found a safer environment in the deep jungles where they are released.

Gowri has observed the king from close quarters ( In some cases, verrrry close ) and has discovered many interesting aspects about it and has demystified many hyped up facts about this feared snake.

I have been visting this sacred environ for the past two months and finalllllly on my second visit, I fulfilled my lifelong ambition of sighting a wild King Cobra.....

I was with Gowri when we got the news that a King has been found in a Mitsubishi Canter !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .... We rushed down to a town called Someshwara and reached the road where the Canter was parked.We talked to the driver and the cleaner of the vehicle about what happened.

It seems that the driver sighted a huuge King crossing the road and got jittery ( am being kind to the driver ) and stamped on the brake .... The Canter skid and came to a stop in a sort of ditch, The driver and the Cleaner got down to inspect the damage .... Meanwhile, the king crossing the road got confused and decided to hide itself in the bonnet of the Canter ... The cleaner noticed this and called up people who in turn called Gowri ...

Gowri, the dude he is, pulled the snake out of the Canter and bagged it in less than 2 minutes .... By the way, the king was 11 Feet !!!!

Here are some photos of the episode ...

Bare Naked

Kakkabe,Coorg,Karnataka,India

Logger Maximus

Location - Kakkabe,Coorg,Karnataka,India


A sprawling estate tucked away in the lower slopes of Tadiandamol, was on a yearly logging spree ..... An Elephant was called in from Kasargod to help with the activities. The loggers cut the trees and the elephant pulls it down to the road. Sounds simple but it ain't ..... Lot of effort and understanding between the pachyderm and the man is required.

The elephant and the mahout share a special relationship which easily surpasses the "Friend" theory in human society ..... This is a relationship of complete and absolute trust and is nurtured over years and years of co-existance.

These are some shots of both at work .......

Wayanaad Mushies !!!!

Location - Wayanaad National Park,Wayanaad,Kerala,India

Wild Mushrooms in a wild park ......

Whats on your mind ??

Location - Mysore Zoo, Mysore,India

This is the Alpha male known to be a bully ....... There have been instances of him throwing stuff back to the visitors who tease him and famous pics of him havin a puff of the good Ole' ciggarette thrown by visitors ......

But, what is he thinkin abt now ?

Jalapatha

Silent Valley National Park,Kerala,India ........Surely God's own country.

This is one of the myriad waterfalls that dot the national park. This particular one was a treat to the eyes and I could have got some more pics but for the fact that while shooting this, I just happened to glance down and was petrified to see millions of leeches crawling up my legs. End of Story.

H20

The River Kunthi gushing through the Silent Valley National Park in Kerala, India.

Evolution

from puddles and pools to public taps ........

Nalknad Palace

The Palace

Upper Storey

The Royal Insignia

Location - Nalknad Palace,Kakkabe,Coorg,Karnataka,India
Camera - Nikon N75 - Tamaron 28-80/70-300

This is a small palace in a small town deep in the interiors of the Kodava Homeland. It is under renovation right now.

In a country known for its big palaces and bigger forts, this palace fits into the small wonder category. Built in 1792 by Dodda Viraraja, the two storeyed palace is as empty as a celibate's wetdream. But the painted ceiling and the murals on the wall adds opulence to a building which has hardly any grandeur normally associated with palaces.

But the palace settings is a feast for the eye as it is right below the highest peak in Coorg "Tadiyandamol" and is surrounded by rainforest trees and obscure trails leading you further.

Iceman Gopala

Abstract view of the temple



Location - Himavad Gopalaswamy Temple,Gundlupet,Karnataka,India
Shot with - Nikon N75 - Tamaron - 70-300

This temple is perched atop the highest hill in the Bandipur range. The roof of the garba gudi (where the idol is placed) has dew formation throughout the year and hence the name "Himavad".

The Doodle Spot

The Doodle Spot

Monsoon In the Land of Green

I had Given in my papers,Had given away my puppies and was generally depressed ....... After slouching around for a couple of days, I decided only an absolute state of happiness could get me back to life .....

Kakkabe .... Long panting walks amidst greeeeeeen hills and broken trails,beer by the woodfire,pandi curry on the go and the friendliest hosts you could ever meet.... Kakkabe, the land where Gods decided to camp out after getting claustrophobic seeing millions of Mallus back home !!!

When I reached Honey Valley, The monsoon was in full cry and it was sheer pleasure to see the raincloud over the horizon and hear the thunder of the raingod ..... Bet, he put up the show to welcome me back ;).

It rained for 16 hours a day average and drizzled for the rest ;). The huge balcony in front of my room Overlooked "Manjana Motte" in rain drenched glory and I spent most of my time watching the rain fall down. It is a deeply relaxing and meditative experience. When you actually get bored of just sitting there and watching the rain, You could walk in it ;)

Never mind those bloodsuckers ( leeches ) coz they are always there and they don't hurt ... Just go on walking ( or in my case, walk - catch breath - walk - catch breath ) ;). The rain flows down the trail and the mud squelches under your boots .... You walk up regardless and come up to the "dry pond junction" which is a green lawny clearing and from where you can see the surrounding hills masked in the mist ..... whoohooo .... this is UTOPIA.

Located in the heart of Kodagu (Coorg) in Karnataka, Honey Valley Estate is in the ideal location for holidaying in South India. It is perfect for walkers, nature lovers and anyone in need of rest and relaxation.... Read more on the official website (Some of the pics on the photo gallery are mine ;) enjaai )