Incredible India thru my Lens

Weekend Drive to Manimuthar Falls – Manjolai – Kuthiraivetti – Part I (Nov ’11)

This trip was a long pending one since I bumped in to a blog post detailing about the place ‘Kuthiraivetti’. The fact that only one bus ply between Tirunelveli to Kuthiraivetti ignited a special interest in me to visit this place. Last Friday when I decided to go on a weekend break, and searched for some new places, I bumped into another blog post detailing about ‘Manjolai’. The place looked quite beautiful and decided to head there. Tirunelveli is located some 600kms from Chennai and this Manjolai is further 30km from there. Also, checked for accomodation and found a link which provided details about staying options in Singampatti Zamin, which is located at the foothills of Manjolai. It; is located very close to Manimutharu dam and the staying options are maintained by bed and breakfast services of Tourism department. After gathering all these details, I decided to use public transport as the distance to cover on a weekend is too much and tried to book tickets in Volvo. Unfortunately, there was a problem while booking and money has been deducted from my account without booking a ticket. Upon verifying, got confirmation that the money will be credited back to my CC in 7 days.

Don’t want to make another try, decided to use my trusted car to take us there. Once out of office at 5.15, headed home and packed things and loaded everything in the car. It was raining heavily outside and the initial plan was to start around 2 or 3 AM. But watching the heavy downpour and travelling to this place for the first time, I decided to start at 7 it self as the rain will not allow us to travel at a speed I expect. So, left home at 7.00 and took Chennai bypass and crossed Tambaram at 7.40. Rain stopped just after Chengalpattu and from there on it’s an uneventful journey. Took the route Chennai – Villupuram – Trichy – Madurai – Tirunelveli. Took a couple of hours break after crossing Trichy and had a small nap just crossing a toll plaza. After that the drive was easy and we reached Tirunelveli around 7 AM.

Called up Singampatti Zamin’s residence to get the directions and reached the palace around 8.30 AM. It just looked like any other building but had the signs of a Zamindar’s residence. We were guided through the rear entrance where we parked our car just in front of a residence where we will be staying. Then we met the Raja, Theerthapathi and had little chat about our travel and what we are intended to do during our stay. He handed over the permission letter, which he has got from Forest Department for our visit to Manjolai / Kuthiraivetti on Sunday. Then we went to our residence and freshened up. In the mean time, Raja has arranged for some delicious breakfast. After that we had a quick nap for couple of hours before we freshened up again to check out Manimuthar falls.

The drive to Manimuthar Falls from Singampatti is quite scenic. A few kms from Singampatti on the uphill road, you will see the forest check post. You need to sign the register & pay for entry tickets (Rs. 15/ head & Rs. 25 for camera). If you like to go beyond Manimuthar fall, you need to give them the permission letter else you will not be allowed to go beyond Manimuthar falls. The beauty of the place increases on every curve and the route becomes narrower as you go on. It will take 20-30 mins drive from the check post to reach the falls. A guard will standing near the entry point of the bridge and verify the vehicles going beyond that point.

We spent close to an hour in the falls, though the water flows from relatively low height, it’s not easy to stand there for quite long. Not much people around at that time and we enjoyed our stay there, clicking photographs at will. Along the water falls, you can spot numerous monkeys and one must be careful with their belongings.

After spending time in Manimuthar Falls, we headed Papanasam where you have ‘Agasthiyar Falls’ & VaanaTheertham falls in Karaiyar. By the time we reached Papanasam, the clock showed 4.45. There is again a forest check post where you need to sign the register. They informed us to just visit Agasthiyar Falls as one has to exit the place by 6 and we wouldn’t be having time to visit Karaiyar. We quickly moved on to the uphill road and reached the place a downhill road goes to Agasthiyar Falls & the uphill road goes to Karaiyar. We quickly decided to visit Karaiyar and took that risk to visit the place which is some 20km away.

The drive through the forest was quite an experience in itself. We spotted a fox & bison but couldn’t capture as they moved into the thick forest in a matter of few seconds. When we reached Karaiyar around 5.20, the path to boat house is locked down as the time is between 9 to 5 PM. From here only one has to take a boat ride to reach Vanatheertham Falls. We quickly returned to Agasthiyar falls and visited the Shiva temple, which is located on the top. The place was deserted and the looks from here are quite scary. After taking few snaps, we returned to Singampatti without any further delay as its getting dark.

That concludes Day 1 & Trip to Manjolai & Kuthiravetti will follow soon.

Quick Visit to Hampi Ruins – Part II (Jul’ 11)

Travel Information to Hampi

Travel-By Bus: You can take an overnight bus from Bangalore to Hampi. The bus starts from Bangalore at 11:00 PM and reaches Hampi at 07:00 AM. The bus is well maintained and a semi-sleeper. Ticket cost is around Rs. 375 per person. You can book your tickets from KSRTC Website itself. If you are looking for more luxury then you can take one of the volvo’s passing through Hospet. From Hospet there are frequent buses to Hampi.

Stay: There are some good staying options in Hampi itself. Most of them are located just opposite to the Bus Stand and the price range starts from 400. If you are comfortable staying a bit away from the crowd then you can head to Virupapur Gaddi / Hampi Island / Hippie Island. The staying options are good and the price range starts as low as Rs. 150/- per day. But the only problem is that after 6 or 6.30, the place looks deserted and it’s not recommended to roam around alone. Apart from that you have some good restaurants which provides some excellent dining ambience with drink :).

Food: We had food in few restaurants in couple of days and all seem to be ok. But if you wanna satisfy your taste buds then you must head to ‘Mango Tree’ restaurant. It’s located just behind the Virupaksha Temple. Ten minutes walk along the river side road will lead you to the restaurant. Order anything and you won’t be disappointed. This is the BEST restaurant in Hampi with river facing.

Getting Around: There are numerous options to getting around Hampi. Best would be to buy a guide book and rent a bicyle/motor bike as per your convenience. You can cover most of the places in a day’s time and can cover the remaining on the next day. Else, there will be auto rickshaws who are more than happy to take your around the important places. I rented a bike from Hippi Island for Rs. 250/- but without proper brake. So, do check the essentials before you rent a bike. You have to put petrol on your own as they will give the bike with just enough petrol to reach the petrol bunk. 1 or 2 litre max is enough for you get around the ruins in Hampi. The best part is that you can ferry your bike across the river in a motor boat for Rs. 30/-.

Quick Visit to Hampi Ruins – Part I (Jul’ 11)

This was rather a quick visit to the ruins of Hampi. I am presenting here some initial pictures of Hampi, kind of overview of the places I visited. The place requires at least a week to explore every nook and corner. More detailed report will follow.

An Early Morning Visit to Kolavai Lake, Chengalpattu (Jul ’11)

This was rather a quick trip to the lake, which is around some 60km from Chennai. I have been hearing about this place quite a while and planned to pay a visit this weekend. Spoke with couple of friends and finally 5 of us from different parts of city decided to assemble just after Tambaram. It rained last night and I am bit worried about making it to the place and also worried about sunrise as the condition seemed overcast. When inquired about the condition in Porur, my friend confirmed it’s not raining in Porur and decided to start as planned.

This place lies on Chennai – Trichy highway and can be reached easily in an hour from Chennai. If you are interested to see sunrise from different places around Chennai, then this is just another perfect place. We all assembled at the place just after Tambaram around 4.40 and from there we reached the lake around 5.20. Parked our vehicles and went to the spot around 5.30, perfect time for shooting.

While my friends were checking out different vantage points around the lake, I tried to venture out another point, which is just opposite the lake. But you need to climb a rocky hill. I told my friends about this and started to climb the hill. When climbing, I got a very good view of the entire lake and a shot which will show the ‘S’ curve and the lake together, where morning trains will pass through quite frequently. A passing train on the ‘S’ curve will be a nice shot. But as expected, we couldn’t witness the perfect sunrise but it played cat and mouse with the clouds and we got some superb sun rays shot. Also, got one of my favorite shot of a train passing the ‘S’ curve.

Overall, a very satisfying outing with my friends….

Now enjoy the pictures and post your valuable comments 🙂

Sunrise-Sunset Pictures from Kanyakumari (Jun ’11)

This was rather an unexpected trip, as I was supposed to be in Jammu & Kashmir these days. But then, sudden change of family commitments, I had to drop the plan and cancelled flight/train tickets.

Don’t want to waste the leaves already booked – decided to head a place where I haven’t been. Idea of Kanyakumari stroke, as my wife headed to Srinagar.

Wouldn’t it be nice to think of us both at the far ends of India at the same time?

Driving/Riding was not an option as the distance is too far, and I have only 2 days with me to explore. Hence booked return tickets from SRM Transports on a Multi-Axle Volvo from Chennai to Nagarcoil.

It was a different experience for me, as I mostly prefer to travel on my own vehicle. Though I have rough idea of the places I planned to visit, it was quite difficult to carry out the plan with public transports (read bus).

The journey on Volvo was quite good and it reached Nagercoil at 5.45 AM. That’s pretty quick and I immediately took a bus to Kanyakumari to capture Sunrise. But then the climate was little hazy and couldn’t get what I wanted and also Sun was already out and it’s not worth spending time there for capturing Sunrise. So, went back to Nagercoil to catch bus to other places in my to-do list. Details of the places I visited will come in my next post.

After visiting as many places as I can, it’s time for lunch and I couldn’t find a restaurant in Muttom Beach. It’s a shame that they haven’t developed the place as this was the beautiful place among the one’s I visited on Day 1. So, headed back to Nagercoil and had lunch there. Unfortunately charge of the camera battery has gone down and I had to recharge it before Sunset.

So, took a bus to Kanyakumari and hunted for an accomodation. To my surprise they all denied accommodation quoting I am single and they are not supposed to accommodate single. I was very much annoyed and got the same answer from other 4 hotels I enquired (this includes TTDC, Hotel SeaView, Hotel TriSea). Finally, managed to get an accommodation in a hotel showing my return journey ticket and business card.

An hour passed by and the Sun was already in descent. Took quick shower and left to capture Sunset, but then it was all over before I reach the place. So, waited for the lights to lit up and captured some night shots of Vivekanda Rock & Valluvar Statue. It was quite difficult to get long exposure shots, as I didn’t carry a tripod with me. So, had to use pillars around to capture the beauty.

After an hour of shooting, went back to hotel and dozed off with plans of capturing Sunrise the next day. Sunrise was amazing even though there were some clouds around which ruined the possibility of capturing Sunrise from Horizon. After an hour of shooting, left the place with satisfaction and headed to Kovalam in Kerala, after which, I took bus back to Chennai.

Quick Visit to Dakshina Chitra (May ’11)

This was a quick trip to Dakshina Chitra without any plans. It’s hard to ride on this scorching Chennai heat and an additional layer to protect my tees doesn’t help the cause. Started off around 10 AM and tanked up the bike and quickly off the road. The traffic from CMBT till Guindy was pretty hectic due to the Metro Rail construction and after that the ride was as good as anything. Stopped over for a breakfast at Hotchips around Palavakkam and quickly filled my tummy and reached Dakshina Chitra at 11.15 AM.

In a nutsheell, this is an attempt to showcase the bygone era of some southindian living by setting up traditional homes of South India (Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Kerala & Andhra Pradesh). Tamilnadu section possess Chettinad House, Ambur House, Potter’s House etc., & Ilkal, Weaver’s House in Karnataka Section, ILkat Weaker’s House, Coastal Andhra Thatch House in Andhra Section & Hindhu House, Syrian Christian House from Kerala Section. You can easily spend couple of house visiting the various houses and try your hands on the activities (pottery, painting, weaving etc.,) setup in various points.

After visiting these sections, finally visited Mask Exhibition where famous sound indian masks were on display. Had a quick visit at the exhibition and moved on.

There are few shops setup in the premises for the people who are interested in purchasing handicrafts & souveniers. There is a craft shop as well and unfortunately it was closed for lunch when I reached there. After you done all these activities, I am sure you will be hungry enough and there is an restaurant right inside Dakshina Chitra and they serve Veg/Non-Veg.

After spending quiet few hours in Dakshina Chitra, left the place with no heart. This is a must visit place if you are looking for some quite and calm place to spend your weekend.

A Day Out with Fishermen – Alamparai Fort (Mar ’11)

As I was going around the fort one young fishermen approached me and asked if I am willing to go for a sea ride. Initially I was reluctant to go but then when I asked him to take me along with him while he goes out for fishing and the moment he agreed, I decided to go with him. So, immediately he asked me to follow him and in next five minutes we were into the water. Already there were 7 people waiting and with the young chap & myself the count grown to 9. We all jumped into the boat and I sat on the fishing net and positioned myself comfortably for shooting.

The navigation through backwaters was a breeze and when we are about the enter sea; the waves are furious enough to wet our feet inside the boat. It was a see-saw ride until we are deep into the sea. The ride was an awesome experience and the photographs can’t do any justice to what I experienced there. After travelling couple of km, we were into a beach area and they said they had to pick up another 4 members who would be waiting on the shore. So, we went to the shore and picked up 3 people and one member was gone missing. The other fishermen’s lost patience and started shouting for sometime and finally the last one turned up and we all boarded the boat.

Back to sea, they were searching for a point to throw in the net. Initially I thought they would be doing it in mid sea but it seemed they had different methods. Finally they spotted one place and took the boat near the shore. Around 4 people got down from the boat and took one end of the fishing net and headed towards the shore. When they are done, our boat started its ride again into the sea and in the mean time couple of people in the boat started throwing the fishing net. They did this process and formed a ‘U’ and at the other end another 4 people got down and took the other end of the fishing net. Now, they asked me to get down and wait there until they are done with the job.

Then people who are in both the ends starts pulling the net according to the wave pattern. It’s a difficult job and need lot of technique. Everyone had to pull simultaneously, which will bring in the net about 4-5 cm to the shore. The last one standing and pulling the net will go to front after sometime and this will be done (shifting of pulling position) until they pull the net completely out of the sea. The process took almost 40 mins and another 20 mins went to collect the fishes & another 20 mins for folding the net back into the boat. The final outcome was a bucket full of fishes. I didn’t expect such a small quantity of fish but then they are used to it and didn’t complain.

Lady with the bucket took the fishes and started walking towards the fish market to sell them, which is located about a km from our location. 4 people boarded the boat and rest of us started our walk back to the original location. Suddenly the people in boat changed their minds and planned for a second attempt. So, they called us and did the same process. I told the young chap that I will take a walk back to the fort for as I don’t want to disturb them further, for which he denied and asked me to wait for 30 more mins and he would drop me in the fort. I agreed and watched the process again while shooting around the place.

After an hour they are done with the fishing and again got a bucket full of fishes. Then couple of us boarded the boat and rest of them started walking. The ride back was again an awesome experience and the young chap left me near the fort and headed to sea again. The ride comes to an end with some everlasting memories.

A Day Ride to the ruins of Alamparai Fort (Mar ’11)

Alamparai Fort located in Kadapakkam, a village 50km from Mahabalipuram is one of the unexplored places around Chennai. Infact I came to know about this place couple of weeks back and since then itching to go this place. You can learn more about this place here.

Last week, I got half a day free and decided to check it out. The idea was to watch sunrise from the Fort. So, started as early as 4.00 AM and tanked up my bike. In 15 minutes time we are cruising in ECR Road. Early start means literally no traffic. Reached Muttukadu around 4.55 AM and decided to take a night shot. When I was unpacking the camera, the Lens cap committed suicide by jumping into the lake. I couldn’t digest it for a moment and then clicked couple of pictures but not so well. Then packed up again and started my journey towards the fort.

I had clear information about the area and watched carefully when I saw the board “Kadappakam”. After travelling for another couple of km you will see some shops around and here you will also notice a green board which says ‘Alamparai Fort’ & marked a left arrow. But the green color turned into pale and you will miss if you don’t watch it carefully. Once you take the immediate left & travel for a couple of kms you will notice a small bridge. After crossing the bridge, you will see a ‘Y’ fork and take a right on that road which leads to ‘Alamparai Fort’.

There was nothing to substantiate the word ‘Fort’ as you will see only few fragments of the wall standing amongst the ruins. But that doesn’t spoil the beauty of the place and when you climb up on the ‘ready-to-die’ footsteps along the wall; you will witness one of the beautiful landscapes. Backwaters & Sea separated by small patch of sand, several small boats roaming around fishing etc..,

I was bit confused and couldn’t decide what to shoot and what not to shoot. Sun hasn’t come out yet and the atmosphere looks a bit of overcast. When sun finally came out, it was well above the sea. So, couldn’t get what I intended for but got couple of good shots of the golden color. Then took a walk along the Fort and then I met a fishermen who offered me to take a ride to sea. I asked him if he can take me along for fishing, and he readily agreed and he said it would take not more than 2 hrs. So, he asked to follow him immediately and we were on the boat in next 5 mins and ready to take on the sea.

The ride was awesome and the feeling when you get while switching from backwaters to Sea was spellbound. I managed to click some pictures during the ride but that doesn’t do justice to what I experience there. I will write a separate blog post about the experience with Fishermen/fishing. When we are into the sea I was clicking photographs insanely and when I switched from 18-55 to 55-200, my SLR conked out again. The same old problem with my ‘Nikon D60’. But thank god, I got a backup camera ‘Canon S5IS’ with me and it took few mins to come back to my senses and start shooting again. Spent couple of hours with fishermen and patiently waited and saw the art of fishing.

Once we are done with the fishing, the fishermen took me a ride back to where we took off. I thanked them and started my walk back to the place where I parked my bike. I was bit tired and the problem with SLR made me leave the place immediately. Before leaving the place tried a bit of off-roading & rode into the sands to take some photographs of my bike. Left the place around 10.45 and the ride back was nothing more than usual. The roads are clean & traffic was less till Tiruvanimyur, and then on navigated hard in city traffic and reached home by 1.45 PM.

It was an awesome experience overall and will be heading back when I get back my DSLR.

Click pictures to view in large size

Leisure Drive Along ECR – (Feb ’11)

This was a sudden plan as my partner got a training requirement in Old Mahabalipuram. So, I planned to drop her and visit some places in ECR (East Coast Road). As planned I dropper her in OMR road & proceeded towards Muttukadu. Drive was wonderful as usual and you have to take a left at Kelambakkam to touch ECR Road. From that left it was around 2 km you will reach ECR road junction and if you go further 1km you will reach Kovalam Beach.

I decided to visit Muttukadu backwaters first. Sun was coming down very hard and photographing is not so easy.

After spending couple of hours in Muttukadu, decided to move on. But not before having tender coconut to beat the heat. Next stop is Kovalam/Covelong Beach. Here you have a beach resort operated by Taj Group, Vivanta by Taj also called Fishermen Cove. Resort looks very cool. No photographs of the resort.

Once Kovalam beach is done, I was in a dilemma to go to Dakshinchitra or Mamallapuram. Then decided to go to Mamallapuram and I was driving in a slow pace. While nearing Mahabalipuram saw the sign board to Tiger Cave and I have never been to this place. So, decided to check it out.

It was so tiring to walk as the sun was out there with full force. So, just walked around the place and took very few photographs.

Then proceeded towards Mahabailpuram. I was damn tired when I reached and just walked towards sea shore and took couple of photographs and returned.

Time was around 3.30 PM and I haven’t had lunch. So, pulled over my car near a pit-stop park. Had bread omlette with pepsi and relaxed for sometime.

After filling my stomach and resting for sometime, I proceeded towards Kovalam, where I would take a left to OMR road. But I got another hour so decided to check out a place which is hidden in bushes. When you are coming from Mamallapuram, you have to take a right to go to Fishermen cove. After taking the right and driving for about few meteres, you will see a small pond hidden in the bushes.

I stopped there and decided to check it out. The place looked amazing. Here are some photographs from the hidden place.

After spending half an hour in that place, it was time to go back and pick up my wife. When I reached the ECR junction, my mind wants to go back to Muttukadu for parting shots. So, went there and saw a lot of bird activities.

That’s the end of long tiring day of photo shoot around ECR Road.

It would be amazing to watch sunrise/sunset at this place. Will be heading there soon for that.

Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary – (Oct ’10)

Recently I have attended a workshop conducted by an excellent wildlife photographer ‘Rathika Ramasamy’. The workshop was conducted in Delhi zoo and I have gained some real good knowledge in wildlife photography. Even though, my first attempt at shooting birds was not much fruitful, I have decided to give a go at one of the sanctuaries around Delhi.

As my fellow friends in BCMT already visited this place, I have decided to give a go last weekend. It’s not easy to shoot birds as they constantly move and when they spot some visitors, they move far away which make shooting difficult.

Anyhow, I am going to share my bit here and let me know your comments.

Click pictures to view in large size