Incredible India thru my Lens

Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary (Dec 2010)

This is my first weekend photography shoot after moving to Chennai. Weather was perfect to visit Vedanthangal at this time of the year and we aren’t disappointed with the species around the lake.

My gear can’t do justice for what I experienced there, but still sharing a glimpses of what you can get if you pay a visit.

Tit Bits:

Location: 80km from Chennai on NH 45 (Chennai – Tambaram – Chengalpattu – Vedanthangal)
Best time to Visit: November to March
Sanctuary Timings: Sunrise to Sunset
Tickets: Adult – Rs. 5 / Children – Rs. 2
Parking: Two Wheeler – Rs. 5 / Four Wheeler – Rs. 15

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DSLR Experiments: Experiment with Lighting

I was trying to get some other design pattern but ended up with this. Nevertheless it also looks better. Hope I will be achieving what I am aiming for.

This was shot with a light source from top (usb light source from my mini laptop). Shuttle cork was placed in a card board. It will give different pattern when you adjust distance of the light source.

Hope you all like it.

Critiques & Comments are welcome.

Happy Diwali (Nov ’10)

I was expecting to celebrate this Diwali with my parents in Chennai, but unfortunately not able to join them this year. So, had to celebrate Diwali in Delhi this time as well. Here are the few photographs I shot during diwali celebration this year.

Hope everyone had happy & safe Diwali !!!

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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.

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South Indian Food in Delhi: Malgudi Restaurant, Rajouri Garden

In recent past I have been hearing about the South Indian restaurants coming up in Delhi. That’s a good sign for people like me who don’t want to change their food habits even after spending few years in Delhi. I couldn’t visit this restaurant when I went to Rajouri garden a few weeks ago.

Today, I had to visit a friend in Rajouri Garden to get a missing accessory for my tripod. So, I assured myself to visit the restaurant for sure.

Took a metro from Qutub Minar and changed blue line at Rajiv Chowk and reached Rajouri Garden metro station around 4 PM. After finishing the work, I went to Malgudi Restaurant. It is hardly 150mtrs from Rajouri Garden Metro Station. Just before the Malgudi, there was Pind Balluchi as well, another favorite restaurant of mine. A thought went through my mind to visit Pind Balluchi instead of Malgudi, as I prefer non-veg. But then made up my mind and entered Malgudi.

When you enter through the glass door, you will be welcomed by a South Indian temple Gopuram on your left. They have two dining areas, ground and first floor. Ground floor seemed to be little congested, but it will be felt only when you have so much crowd. Seating was quite comfortable and the lighting was pleasant.

But the interiors were the ones which I loved the most. All sides are filled with the pencil sketches of Malgudi. I haven’t seen them all but it looked quite beautiful.

Ahhh..! Let’s now come to the main part. The menu looked quite exhaustive with so many varieties. I was astonished by the variety of Idlis they had, 23 in all. I have seen several varieties in Dosa/Uttapam but not in Idly. But the price seemed to be on the higher side. So, I first ordered ‘Kerala Parotta with Korma’ and the taste was good. Coconut was extensively used in the korma. Then, I ordered ‘Chef Special Dakshin Masala Idly’. I had never heard of this variety. As expected, it was different with excellent taste. In this dish also, coconut was extensively used along with garlic and green chilly. The sides Sambar, Pudhina chutney, Coconut chutney tasted very good. It was overall an excellent food experience. Total bill amount came to Rs. 221/-, little expensive though.

Quick Bites:

Located in: West Delhi
Nearest Metro: Rajouri Garden
Restaurant Type: Pure Vegetarian
Cuisine: South Indian (Chetttinadu, Kerala, Tamilnadu)
Meal for 2: Rs. 500/-
My Rating: 9/10
My Favorite Dish: Chef Special Dakshin Masala Idly

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Illuminated Delhi Monuments

I wondered very much about how the monuments will look when properly maintained with some lights at night. That dream got fulfilled during the ongoing CWG Games. ASI/INTACH has put in some really good effort to showcase these little known monuments around Delhi.

So, I went on a shooting spree to capture those monuments at night. Results were not so great but still good to have them in my collections.

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Weekend drive to Renukaji (Sep ’10)

This was an unexpected trip to Renukaji. Initial plan was to stay in Nahan and explore around, but the staying options & other circumstances pushed me to move beyond Nahan. So, here I am with another weekend trip from Delhi.

I have decided to go for a weekend trip for sure, as my wife has gone to Chennai for a wedding. So, I am free to decide on the destination and initial thoughts pushed me towards Madhya Pradesh and the place I decided to be Maheshwar. So, all set but then I got severe cough & cold on Thursday, which doesn’t allow me to choose public transport to MP. Then looked for nearby places around Delhi, and finally zeroed on Nahan, due to its proximity from Delhi.

All set and left home as early as 5 AM and took NH1 and crossed Karnal in no time. As GPS suggested, took a right turn at Shahpur, 30kms before Ambala. The road journey from here on was an awesome experience with beautiful green villages. Since, rain was so kind this year, there was Green everywhere. At few places had to do water crossings on the road as water flows from one side of the farm area to other. The experience was bit scarry but enjoyed a lot on the driving front.

Reached Nahan around 12 PM and found there were no good staying options. Due to Eid, there was a big gathering of people to offer prayer on the main market road. After seeing all this I decided not to stay there and thought of checking out ‘Grand View Resort’ at Jamta, which is located 14kms from Nahan.

From Jamta, one has to take a steep upward road to resort for a km and you must admit it’s a beautiful resort. The views are awesome and the lawn was simply superb. You have swimming pool too, so head there to have a relaxing weekend with your family. To pay and stay there for a night was too much for me. Called up HPTDC in Renukaji and came to know there are no rooms available. Now, all my plans go for a toss and finally decided to pay a vist to Renukaji to see the lake.

The first thing I did after reaching Renukaji was to check with the Hotel manager about the availability of room, and much to my delight room was available. Checked out the A/C & Non A/C rooms and finally settled to Non-A/C room on 1st Floor. The time was 1 PM and I dozed off immediately. When I woke up at 4, the sky was so cloudy and it started raining. I had no options other than to stay in the room and watch the rain for sometime. Not much photographs on the first day and after having light snacks dozed off again and woke up the next day, culprits being the cough & cold.

Day 2 was no different as rain doesn’t seems to end at all. But the intensity has reduced and it was drizzling, took my gun and went for shooting (it’s my camera, don’t think otherwise). The atmosphere was amazing and the reflections on the lake were simply superb. It’s like a dream setup for a film shooting. It’s sad that I couldn’t do a boat ride due to rain as I don’t want to spoil my gear once again. After capturing some superb moments thought of leaving the place as I can’t do much here with rain playing spoilsport. Checked out the hotel at 9 AM, against the warning given by the Hotel manager that there might be few landslides due to last night rain, and it will take atleast noon to clear that.

Left the hotel at 9.30 and found myself staring at a landslide just 4kms from the Hotel. But, the restoration work in progress, so waited there for an hour and proceeded towards Nahan. After travelling for another 7-8 kms saw another couple of big landslides and god was not kind enough on me that day. Cursing myself for choosing Renukaji as the weekend destination during Monsoon, I waited for another 30 mins to see some humans at that deserted place. When enquired they said, it will take at least a day to clear, and suggested me to stay for the night, as the labourers might not come to work as it was Sunday.

Waited there for an hour and decided to go back to Renukaji and spend sometime there. So, headed back to the hotel and the first person, who saw me coming back was the Hotel Manager. Headed straight to the temple complex and shot some photographs and rested there for sometime. Thought of visiting the zoo, but the ticket price seems to be too high (Rs. 250/- for vehicle + 100/- for camera), dropped the plan and started my journey back to Nahan. When I reached there are few more vehicles lined up and the cleanup in progress, so had to wait there for another couple of hours to start my journey back to Delhi.

After this stretch, the journey was uneventful and took the route back to Delhi via Naraingarh, Saha, Karnal and reached home by 9 PM. An exciting weekend trip ends there with monsoon at its best in Renukaji.

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Weekend Trip to Rohtang Pass (Sep ’10)

This trip was basically for my in-laws who flew from Chennai to witness snow as it’s impossible in South. As I had exhausted all my holidays, I had no choice other than utilizing the weekend for this trip. Our primary target was Rohtang Pass where we can witness Snow for sure. As the trip got planned, another family joined us and we booked a ‘Tempo Traveller’ from Delhi. This was the first time I engaged a third party for travel and it turned out be a quite disappointing experience. The main reason being the driver incapable of driving smart, who took 19hrs to reach Manali, which could have been easily done in 14hrs max. There was no traffic jam at all except a small landslide near Kiratpur, which was also cleared in 30 min. I can keep on adding the disappointments we faced along this trip with these inefficient drivers and it deserves a separate post. Let’s leave that and move on to the exciting part.

We reached Manali at 3.30 PM and checked into the Hotel near Vashist, located around 3kms from the Mall. The views from the hotel were majestic and it would have been fantastic if the weather was clear to witness snow peaks. On a clear day, you can witness snow covered peaks from the balcony with the Beas river flowing just below it. So, after a tiring 19hr journey from Delhi, every body begged for some rest. We all rested for an hour and moved on to the restaurant, which served some delicious North Indian dishes. Once we were done with late lunch, we started for some sightseeing & shopping. Group of people moved on to ‘Hadimba Temple’ and another group went hunting for a vehicle for next day trip to Rohtang.

Finally, we found a sumo driver who accepted to carry all of us to Rohtang the next day. We decided to start as early as possible. After few negotiations, he agreed to start at 6 AM. Once this was done, we joined the other group in Hadimba Temple and offered prayers, followed by a short photography session. The last agenda was to spend some time in shopping on the mall road. Groups parted on the Mall road and entered different shops. Couple of hours passed and everybody was done with their shopping and seemed tired and hungry. We all headed to famous ‘Madras Cafe’ for dinner where we were served ‘South Indian Thali’. Day 1 was quiet hectic and everybody wanted to hit the bed ASAP and we did so.

Day 2

We all woke up around 4.30 AM and everyone got ready by 5.45 AM. We reached the mall road where we were supposed to meet the sumo driver and we all boarded the vehicle at 6.10 AM. All were excited about the travel and were eagerly looking around for snow clad peaks. The road till Gulaba was somewhat OK and we alighted there to get our snow dress. Once done, we proceeded our journey towards Rohtang. The rest of the travel was so tiring, as we had to do a couple of water crossings & traverse through the slush roads. When we reached the zero point, disappointment awaited us, as there was no sign of snow. The driver demanded extra bucks to get us to a bit far away place where one can witness snow. We agreed to that, as we didn’t have any other choice and eagerly awaited the destination. After travelling a couple of km, driver stopped near a turn and asked us to get down.

As said by the driver, snow was there but one had to trek around 1.5km to reach the place and the path was also not so good. It was too steep to climb as well. Once we reached, we saw a bunch of men doing some decoration work with snow, preparing for skiing activities. The snow was not fresh and the area was covered by black ice. Walking into the snow seemed to be difficult, as there were a few pot holes in between the snow covered area. We enjoyed some moments there and took few snaps and returned to the base. We didn’t have much time to spend there, as we had to reach Delhi by early morning on Monday. So, we left the place with no heart and reached Manali at 2.50 PM.

We boarded our ‘Tempo Traveller’ and started our journey back to Delhi. Mission accomplished with a bit of disappointing experience with the travel agent. All in all, we did our best to keep our spirits high and enjoyed every moment in Rohtang Pass. This place requires at least a couple of days to explore. The most disappointing part was that, there wasn’t any photography stops in between from Manali to Rohtang. Had I taken my car, I would have stopped not less than 50 spots where I found the nature at its best.

But there is always a second chance and I will conquer the pass leisurely.

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In & Around Chennai – Flight Pictures (Nov ’09)

Shooting photographs from flight always fascinates me. I don’t miss any chance of doing this even the stares from air hostess couldn’t shut my camera at times :). Here is a compilation of pictures taken during my visit last year. It was raining quite heavily at that time and can see water all over.

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Delhi – Rudraprayag – One crazy ride on a weekend (Dec ’09)

This one was an unexpected ride and it contains a crazy part too. Since my better half has went to Chennai on this particular weekend and I had planned for a ride to ‘Pokhri’. Destination was decided and thought about companion for this ride. As I don’t have any travel companion in Delhi, I made a call to my friend who was in Chennai. It was around 8.30 AM in the morning and I enquired about his weekend engagement. He said he doesn’t have any plans as such and then came my next statment, ‘Why don’t you join me for a ride this weekend?’. At first he didn’t understand what I said, when he realised, burst out in laugh and didn’t stop for a minute.

I didn’t interrupt him and when he asked again I said the same thing. He thought I am gone nuts and after 30 mins of severe discussion, he finally agreed to come down to Delhi and I booked the tickets for him in another 30 mins and sent it over to him. The flight was scheduled to leave by 1.30 and I booked the ticket by 10.00 and sent it over to him by email immediately.

I am so excited about all the happenings over the past few hours and awaited eagerly for the evening to pick him up from the airport. He boarded the flight and the flight was delayed by 30 mins and it was the perfect time for me to pick him up as I don’t have to leave office early. So, left office by 5 and picked him up at airport by 5.30 and headed to Faridabad.

Once we reched home, we both were in the same mood and excitement as he couldn’t believe all the happenings since morning. Had a nice chat about the conversations he had with his family to convince his travel to Delhi. Everybody thought us as we are out of our mind. After all we need something like this once in a while to make our life exciting.

So, had dinner and dozed off quite soon as we had planned to leave early. Left home by 5 AM and it was so cold outside. But then we had managed to wear 3-4 layers to protect ourselves from the shivering cold. The ride was nothing but usual as we shared the ride between us. We coudln’t reach Pokhri as we had a small accident enroute somewhere near Srinagar. Rear brake got damaged and a leakage in engine oil. So, that slowed down us for a considerable amount of time and we reach Rudraprayag by 7. There was no way we can reach Pokhri after that time as there was no assured accomodation.

So, stayed at GMVN guest house for the night and returned the next day. This trip was all about riding riding riding and some breaks for photography. Hope to conquer Pokhri this year.

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