Egyptian Vulture: Back from the dead

Egyptian Vulture
Originally uploaded by Shubh M Singh

I saw this guy today from top of the Dera Bassi overbridge.
Hadn't seen an Egyptian vulture in years and this one pops out all of a sudden. Made my day.

A Not So Fine Balance

I was reading this book, A fine balance by Rohinton Mistry. Its good, its great. ANd was compelled to write a short note about it.
What I could not fathom is how every, and I mean every character is screwed up in life in the book.
I mean, the only somewhat cheerful person was a man who made a living by going around with a couple of performing monkeys and a dog. It so happens that the dog kills and eats up the two monkeys, the man kills the dog in grief and finally ends up with neither the dog nor the monkeys.
Kind of hitting below the belt.... But Such is life.

Chandigarh Administration 2010 Calendar- No Credits.

Ferris Wheel-2
Originally uploaded by Shubh M Singh

I went to a Chandigarh Admn office today for some work and I was pretty surprised to see this picture among others on the calendar.
Well, I had given this picture as a JPEG file in the Rose Festival photography competition (where it did not win anything!!) and the terms and conditions specified that the picture could be used by the Chandigarh Admn. What I did not know is that they would not have the decency to inform me of the fact that this was being used, have the decency to offer me a copy of that calendar and most of all not have the decency of attributing or giving credit to the photographer on the calendar!! And I am not even talking money here.

Engineering skills

Well, I AI-ed a non-AI 300mm 4.5 manual nikkor lens to go with my Nikon D200. Well, not completely succesful but it works and nothing got broken.

A Happy New Ear

A new pair of ears actually. Along with hands, legs, and the rest of the body. I dont know if my brand new son is happy or not but I am. So that was my happy new ear.
As usual as the clock struck midnight and fireworks went off in the distance, I was tucked into a quilt, trying to make some sense of the corrections asked for my some moronic idiot of a reviewer for some paper had almost forgotten about. So I stopped, poured myself a large measure of Jack Daniel's whiskey in a large steel tumbler, broke of some ice from the fridge and made myself a nice stiff drink. I went back into the warmth of bed, saw my wife and son sleeping, and thought well, its just another day. Nursed my drink for a few minutes. Then finished it in a gulp.
Soon I was warm, and a little later fast asleep.

Portrait of an articulated skeleton on a bentwood chair

Portrait of an articulated skeleton on a bentwood chair
Originally uploaded by Powerhouse Museum Collection

waiting for dinner to be served

Some thoughts on Bandhavgarh National Park

Chital Stag
Originally uploaded by Shubh M Singh

I have just returned from 3 days spent in the Bandhavgarh National Park as a part of a solitary backpacking trip across some destinations in Madhya Pradesh. I believe people look for info as I certainly did and maybe what I write now maybe of some use to others.
I reached Umaria railway station at about 4 am, it was dark and cold and there was certainly no way to get to Tala which is the town that is the main entry point to Bandhavgarh. I could wait for a couple of hours until about 6.30 am when the first bus to Tala starts from Umaria (right opposite the Railway station) or help myself and make it in time for the morning safari.
I decided on the latter and hired an auto to take me the 32 kms to Tala. It cost me 300rs after some bargaining and after driving through the darkness in the forest, passing a run over jackal and disturbing some feeding deer, I made it to Tala at about 5AM.
I had already called up someone at the Gitanjali lodge which is like the cheapest place in Tala. Others in the same category are KUMKUM lodge. The tariff charged from me was 250 rs per day which really is quite decent. So I reached Gitanjali and found the caretaker and he gave me a room with a rather stinky toilet. I decided not to worry about that for the moment. I then saw 5 boys who had hired a single room, bottles of whisky were lting around and I asked them if they would take me, they had some more bottles of whisky ready for the safari and were reluctant to do so, so I left them alone and rather thankfully at that.
I asked the care taker the best option, so he advised me to walk to the main gate into the forest which is about a kilometer away from the guest house. So I left my backpack and took my camera to the gate. It was a nice long walk, I was joined by a young boy who was probably as nervous as I was at walking through a forest with the possibility of a hungry tiger in the wait. I also passed a freezing stream flowing across the road. I made it to the gate just as dawn was breaking.
The price for solitary wildlife travellers is fairly steep in bandhavgarh. For instance, for an Indian, a safari would cost a minimum of Rs 1680/- per trip. This would include Rs 1000/- for the gypsy and Rs 680/- that includes the entry cost and the guide charges. The guide incidentally is a figure of some confusion. Some people tend to think that the guide is indispensable for a good sighting, and others tend to think that the guide is just a person on the safari. My own impression is that a guide is useful if he is good, but a guide in no way ensures that you will see a tiger. But you have to have a guide so I guess its not too good an idea to run after a guide with a reputation.

Anyway, reaching the gate, I saw all these gypsies lining up and soon it resembled Delhi rush hour. I am told it was worse earlier. Now, a maximum of 45 vehicles are allowed inside the Tala zone, they have definite routes allotted to them, and the tiger show or the elephant ride to the stationary tiger that made Bandhavgarh the most sought after par for tiger viewing has been stopped in the Tala zone. There are other zones where it still goes on but people do not visit those zones, apparently the sightings are not as good as in Tala and the cost for hiring the gypsy is Rs 1500/-.

So I decided to start asking people to take me along for a cut in the total cost. After some people refused, I finally met two guys from Bangalore who decided to take me along. Eventually I had most of my safaris including a trip to the fort (which is not to be missed) along with them. I paid them 1/3rd of whatever they were paying for the particular safari. I think it suited all of us as we had a fairly good time.

Coming to the safaris themselves, as i have said before, the guides do not matter as much as they should. The forest, well. I have been to Sariska, Corbett, Bandipur, Nagarhole, Sariska and some others. I had also partly gone to Bandhavgarh due to the reputation the place enjoys. And I must say that I was slightly disppointed. Maybe it was due to the weather, but it was quiet, there was no movement, a few alarm calls and most of the times, it did not feel like we were going to run into a tiger anytime soon. The vaunted density of tigers in Bandhavgarh is probably lower than it is claimed. I was told by some people that at least 4 tigers had been poached in the past couple of years, 2 had been trapped for sending to other places and hence the population was lower than stated. In fact during one of the safaris, I was surprised to realize that I was discussing milk production in Karnataka with one of my companions.

For the record, I did see a tigress and on another occassion, a cub of the same tigress but other than that nothing. Other people have seen a lot more, so maybe I just dont have the tiger luck.

In total, I took 7 safaris, and most of the times, that is just the way it was. A driver told me that a group had recently taken 20 safaris without spotting a tiger. So all those who say that Bandhavgarh is a place for definite tiger sightings is pulling a fast one or doesnt know better . The tiger sightings were mostly due to the elephant tiger shows and because the gypsies had a free run of the park which is no longer the case.

Soon it was time to be back, I hired a taxi to Katni railway station. The drop cost me Rs 1400/- and I boarded a train back to Lucknow.

2 states-Chetan Bhagat

A short review-
DDLJ meets national integration meets 5 point someone. But for 95 bucks, has to be total paisa vasool.

The Dying Buddha-Kushinagar

The Dying Buddha-Kushinagar
Originally uploaded by Shubh M Singh

" Now, O Brothers! I do remind you, all component things are subject to decay. Work for your salvation in the earnest.
Is it easy to take that advice, to break free and go forth into the world as a free man, unfettered and unbound. Or the idea of Grihasta Ashram, the responsibility of being a saint, soldier and a householder at the same time?

Sid Woke Up in Bombay

Well Sid needs to wake up unless he wants a good thrashing and a free ride back to Bihar. But Sid is a Mehra, aren't those buggers from Punjab, no matter, we will send him to Bihar anyways. What the hell does he mean, calling our beloved Mumbai Bombay, and that too not once or twice but many times in the entire bloody movie. I mean its enough that senior Mehra who is a Kher comes to Amchi Mumbai, and makes a fortune making shower faucets, sells them all over the country, teaches Indians how to enjoy a shower alone and in company, that in comes this stupid Sid-wid fellow who does clubbing-shubing and finds his tequila sozzled tongue too stiff to curve around Mumbai?? Make it mandatory for all clubs to have bouncers who bounce out people who cant say Mumbai at the first go and walk in a straight line. get those swastika armbands and whips out, and get those dogs out too for Amchi Mumbai's sake!!!!
And what does this karan Johar fellow mean by getting a Bong babe who answers to a Muslim name to come in and take a job that should have been rightfully reserved for a son/daughter of the beaches on the Arabian sea soil. Disgraceful I say. And whats worse is that she even manages to get a flat on rent. Where is that fellow Imran hashmi who makes all those stupid accusations??
In fact the only person who spoke Marathi in the entire movie was some saucy, over-the-hill tart who was called Sonia. Imagine, not even a Gangu Bai. Disgraceful and as dad would say, hopeless!!!
The only Mumbai in the movie was some rag run out of a falling warehouse called Mumbai Beat. Yeah they need a beating, all of them. Starting from the Das female down to Anupam Kher with the bags under the eyes.
And all that Jazz-shazz and stuff, why not a magazine director with a stubble who has passionate raptures watching the tamasha while sipping his single malt.
Ban the movie I say and all will be fine. And while you are at it, lets drive all thos eNorth Indians, South Indians, East Indians and West Indians out of here. Of course, we love the West Indians from Barbados.