Beautiful Birds

Brahminy Myna at Orchha, Madhya Pradesh

I have to admit that my love affair with birds started after I acquired a macro lens (Bart 1 bought it for me) and was able to see them up close.

I have also been aided in this by my Which Bird is This thread at Indiamike.

Lazy Sunday Photo- Orchha

Gateways and Smaller Palaces behind the Jahangir Mahal, Orchha

Feeling Lazy about Writing the Orchha Trip

Vultures at the Cenotap, Orchha

It rarely happens to me that I do not wish to write a trip account but this is one of those rare occassions. Let us see if blogging about it breaks the jinx.

View from Jahangir Mahal, Orchha

View of Orchha from Janghir Mahal

This post to remind myself that I need to write the entire Orchha story. Or else after a while the pictures start looking better and the memories become dim! So the task is assigned for this weekend.

River Betwa on a Cloudy Day, Orchha

Betwa River at Orchha on a Cloudy Day

A Video from Orchha- from the Bridge over the Betwa River

View of Orchha from the Bridge over the Betwa River

Sounds of a Tempo!

Pictures from Orchha to the sound of song that played in the shared Tempo (three wheeler) while we were going from Jhansi to Orchha. The nosie noise the you hear along with the song is the sound of a tempo moving on the road.

The Tempo Saga- Orchha to Jhansi

The distance from Orchha to Jhansi is around 16 kilometers and a taxi would cost around 500 rupees, a prepaid auto rupees 25 and a shared tempo rupees 10. No wonder we ended up using a shared one. While going there were around 13-14 people inside it and that is normal.

A Shared Tempo or a Three Wheeler at Orchha, Madhya Pradesh

While going to Orchha the tempo had a music system too that the driver switched on soon enough. I have recorded a small bit of that music and I would try to mix it with Orchha images and post it soon.

The Tempo Stand at Orchha, Madhya Pradesh

But it was the return journey that took the cake. It was nine at night and it was raining lightly. After a few kilometers on the largely dark road between Orchha and Jhansi we (all the 13-14 inside the tempo) could see the rain falling more heavily whenever it got caught in the headlights of a vehicle coming from behind.

Our co-passengers commented that the road seems to be longer at night, while coming they thought Jhansi was so close by. The road kept on going, the rain kept falling. The around one corner a group of people walking in the rain signaled to the tempo. The driver was reluctant to stop but then two people on a motorbike came along and he stopped.

They chatted and the tempo driver agreed to take on even more people. Then those 6 or 7 people kept a foot on the side and held on to the top literally hanging out of the tempo.

We covered the last 6-7 kilometers like this. I am not easily scared but mixed with rain this felt like quite a scary way to travel. Thankfully the vehicle didn't overturn with the weight or due to the wet conditions. But when I was talking about this with others they say it is quite normal! Somehow it didn't feel normal to me, maybe it was the rain that scared me.

Vulture Picture

Vulture at Orchha

I know the picture is tilted but I also had to twist and turn to get a closer look at the magnificent vulture who was perched right at the very top of one of the domes at the Jahangir Palace. I like this picture!

Pictures from Orchha, Madhya Pradesh

View of the Cenotaphs from the Bridge over the Betwa River, Orchha

This time it happened again. For the two days all I got was grey skies so don't blame me if you find my pictures from Orchha dull. How I wished for some colors in the sky but no such luck. The picture above was taken at the sunset.

And the youth from Jhansi is a nuisance of the highest order. It has been after ages that we (Sesha and I and sometimes me alone) faced such a rowdy crowd.

Which Bird is This?

Asian Pied Starling at Orchha (found the name via Indiamike)

Clicked at Orchha, No Clue What is the Name (when posted originally)

Uploaded the picture so that the good folks at Indiamike, who are having fun at my expanse as of now, could identify it. Somehow I have not been able to load it there.

Lazy Sunday Photo- Butterflies at Orchha

Butterflies at Orchha (Madhya Pradesh)

We are just back from Orchha (Madhya Pradesh) after a pleasant rain filled trip. It will take me sometime to upload the pictures but I thought I would share this one of the butterflies. They were utterly beautiful and these big black ones would not run away from the camera!