Ranthambhore National Park

Hello friends,

We had been to Ranthambhore National park on 15th Jan, 2010 and stayed there till 18th Jan, 2010 .

The team included (L to R )

Mr . H .Satish

Myself (Arjun Haarith)

Mr. Sateesh.N

Mr. Vishwanath.S

Brief History :

Ranthambhore was established as the Sawai Madhopur Game Sanctuary in 1955 by the Govt of India, and was declared one of the Project tiger reserves in 1973. Ranthambhore became a national park in 1980. In 1984, the adjacent forests were declared the Sawai Man Singh Sanctuary and Keladevi Sanctuary, and in 1991 the tiger reserve was enlarged to include Sawai Man Singh and Keladevi sanctuaries.

Ranthambore wildlife sanctuary is famous for its tigers and is one of the best places in India to see these majestic predators in the jungle. Tigers can be easily spotted even during the day Time. Good time to visit Ranthambore National park is in November and May when the nature of the dry deciduous forests makes sightings common. Its deciduous forests were once a part of the magnificent jungles of Central India.

The park lies at the edge of a plateau, and is bounded to the north by the Banas river and to the south by the Chambal river. There are several lakes in the park. It is named for the historic Ranthambhore fortress, which lies within the national park. The park covers an area of 392 km², and is famous for its tiger population, and is one of India's Project tiger reserves. Other major wild animals include the tiger, leopard, nilgai,wild boar,sambar, hyena,sloth bear and chital. It is also home to wide variety of trees, plants, birds and reptiles. Ranthambore is also the site for one of the largest banyan trees in India.

Location :

Ranthambore National Park is one of the largest and most famous national parks in north India. It is situated in Sawai Madhopur district of southeastern Rajasthan, about 180 km from Jaipur, which is also the nearest airport. The nearest town and railway station is at Sawai Madhopur , about 11 km away.

The Famous Tigers of Ranthambore

During the past few years, there has been a decline in tiger population in Ranthambore due to poaching and other reasons. However there were some tigers who succeeded in carrying on their genes even in such circumstances. A tigress known as "Lady of the Lakes" was, at a very young age, separated from her parents due to increase poaching in the area. The young tigress was called Macchli since she had a mark on her body which resembled a fish. She grew up with great determination for ruling the jungle. She mated with a male who resided just beside her territory and gave birth to three female cubs, the most famous being dubbed 'Macchli - The Junior' in a documentary. Despite Macchli also being the name of her mother, the young cub found herself stuck with the designation. The father of the younger Macchli died early due to an unknown disease, which was confirmed when forest officer Fateh Singh Rathore saw him in Ranthambore. After this, the elder Macchli found the scent of a different male, known as Bumburam, and mated with him. She gave birth to two cubs. Baccha is believed to be her grandson.

Major Attractions

Tigers: The Park is one of the best national parks in the country to spot a tiger. This majestic predator can be spotted ambling or basking under the sun here.

Ranthambore Fort: The majestic fort, built in 10th-century, towers over the entire park area. It stands at a height of 700 feet above the surrounding plain. Inside the fort, there are three red Karauli stone temples devoted to Ganesh,Shiva and Ramlalaji. The temples were constructed in 12th and 13th centuries.

Padam Talao: This is the largest of the all the lakes located inside the park, and the beautiful red sandstone Jogi Mahal is located at the very edge of this lake. A gigantic banyan tree, considered to be India’s second largest, is near the lake.

How to get there

By Air : Jaipur at 180 km is the nearest airport from Ranthambore Wildlife sanctuary.

By Rail : Ranthambore National Park is around 11 km away from Sawai Madhopur railway station, that lies on the Delhi to Bombay trunk route.

By Road : A good network of buses connect Sawai Madhopur, the nearest town from Ranthambore to all the major cities within the state of Rajasthan.

General information :

• National Park area: 275 km² core area. 392 km² including buffer zone.
• Tiger Reserve area: 1334 km²
• Altitude: 215 to 505 meters above sea level
• Closest airport is Jaipur at 180 Kms
• Terrain: Dense tropical forest, open bushland and rocky terrain interspread with lakes and streams
• Best Season: between November to March
• Closed: Monsoon(July - August)

Our Trip commencement :

We left Jaipur on 15th Jan morning, and reached Sawai Madhopur by noon. We had booked the safary trips in advance.

Day 1 :As scheduled we went to the afternoon safary on 15th. In that Safary trip we got route no. 3. This route has beautiful lakes of Ranthambore. They are :

Padam Talao

Rajbagh lake

Mallik talao

A view of the famous " Rajbagh Hunting palace ".

Rajbagh is the second largest lake among the three lakes in Ranthambore. Rajbagh Talao has whippings that protract to the bulge of the lake. The water plants in the lake offer the mud deer with indolence to tickle on. Tigers can rarely be seen near Rajbagh Talao.

The safary on route no.3 was worth that day , as we took pictures of Sambhars , treepies , Bar headed geese etc., with some landscapes too. According to me route 3 is one of the best routes in the park.

Sambhar

at Rajbagh lake.

The Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus) is a goose,which breeds in Central Asia in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes. It lays three to eight eggs at a time in a ground nest.

Brahminy Ducks:

Day 2 : We took route no 4, in the morning and we found nothing except nilgais , chitals and sambars. After shooting pictures f the sighted species, we returned back.

This is a young sambhar which was very curious at the sight of cameras.

In the afternoon, it was lucky. we were shooting sambars near mallik talao in route 4, suddenly a gypsy from a far away place gave us a signal, our gypsy driver went there in a moment. And we were amazed to witness a royal tigress sitting in a bush. It was T-17. After 30 mins, it came out of the bush and followed the path along with the gypsies. People on route 3 were eagerly waiting for the tigress to come their side. But that did not happen,since people in route 3 could not enter route 4.

After a while the tigress waited patiently to hunt a sambar, but at certain point of time an alarm call was heard and sambars took to their heels. After the majestic animal's sighting we returned back.

This is a T-17 female. Beautiful tigress!!

It was waiting to pounce on a Sambar, but unfortunately missed it !!

Day 3 : In the morning we went to route 2, accompanied by Mr. Salim Ali. After searching for a while, suddenly a male tiger came out of the bush. It was T-23 male.

These are all the lovely T-23 male of Ranthambhore.

In the afternoon we had been to route no 1, where we found nothing but Boars and Langurs

Day 4 : This was the last day of our trip. It was very cold in the morning. It was a fog hit day. We got up the gypsy and went inside the forest, The route followed was no 5. We went through the mist under a very less viewing distance due to the mist. Suddenly we heard alarm calls given by Chitals and Langurs. We waited there patiently and suddenly the beautiful queen T-17 appeared. That was an amazing experience. After that we drove further, Went up the hill took few landscape pictures and came back.

The mist covered forest :

In the afternoon , we went to route no 4. This is also one of the most beautiful routes of Ranthambhore. While driving, the driver noticed few pug marks. We waited for a while and again T-17 appeared. Now it was very good in lighting and the sun was shining brightly. The tigress walked towards our gypsy and then took a turn and went back to the bushes. While coming back, we took pictures of the cute bird Treepie, plum headed parakeets and returned back home.

This is one of my most memorable encounter in the wild.

Plum headed parakeet :

After sometime treepies will become friendly to humans :)

Accommod:ation : We stayed at “ TIGER LODGE AND RESTAURANT “ owned by Mr. Sushil Singh Chauhan (Bhaiya) . This was a very good lodge with all facilities. It is also economically good. They also provide food (extra cost).

Bhaiya himself is a gypsy driver and takes us wonderfully inside the forests (one of the best for wildlife photographers)

Incase you are willing to visit this place, you can use our name, so that he will know.(This is just for a better response).

His contacts are : 00917462-222212 / 09414307921

sushilswm@yahoo.co.in

Ranthambhore in brief :

The fort of Ranthambhore.

Tourists waiting

Deepawali - Festival of Lights

Diwali or Deepawali (Sanskrit: दीपावलि: a row of lamps) is a significant festival in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and an official holiday in India and Nepal.Adherents of these religions celebrate Diwali as the Festival of Lights. They light diyas—cotton string wicks inserted in small clay pots filled with oil—to signify victory of good over the evil within an individual.
In Hinduism, across many parts of India and Nepal, In the age of Sri Lord Krishna, named Naraka more powerful evil killed by Satyabhama who is wife of Sri Lord krishna,People celebrate the death of Naraka which is called as Diwali. Addition of the above story it is the homecoming of Rama after a 14-year exile in the forest and his victory over Ravana. In the legend, the people of Ayodhya (the capital of his kingdom) welcomed Rama by lighting rows (avali) of lamps (dĭpa), thus its name: Deepawali. In South India, it marks the victory of Krishna over Narakasura.

Light is a source of energy to all Living beings inorder to carry on their work and to exist. So we give res

pect to the light or the supreme energy , worship the source who is giving the energy on these days, and we celebrate it as Deepawali.

In India and Nepal, Diwali is now considered to be a national festival, and the aesthet

ic aspect of the festival is enjoyed by most Indians and Nepalese regardless of faith.

On the day of Diwali / Deepavali, many wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks. Some North Indian business communities start their financial year on Diwali and new account books are opened on this day.

Photography point of view :

Photographing these fireworks is not an easy task. The photographers have to be prepared with the equipments, adjust the settings and then shoot. As the beauty of fireworks are displayed in the night, the camera's shutter speed will be too low and this causes the picture to be out of focus . The photographers have to keep all these in mind then start shooting pictures. Inorder to get good pictures usage of tripod is a must . Handheld pictures are also acceptable.

In this case , the photographer was shooting pictures at the other end. Immediately crackers played its role in the adjacent side (as seen in the picture) , So tracking and photographing FIREWORKS AND LIGHTNING is not an easy task.

We need to take care of our equipments when photographing the fireworks, because all these crackers are highly unpredictable and can burst at any time and at any place.

Significance :

Return of Rama to Ayodhya: Diwali also celebrates the return of Rama, King ofAyodhya, with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana to Ayodhya after a 14 year exile, and a war in which he killed Ravana. It is believed that the people of Ayodhya lit ghee lamps along the way to light their path in the darkness. Since Ram traveled from South India to his kingdom in North India, he passed through the south earlier. This is the reason why the festival is celebrated a day earlier in South India. Diwali usually comes 19 or 20 days after Dasara.

The Killing of Narakasura: Celebrated as Narak Chaturdashi, one day before Diwali day, it commemorates the killing of Narakasura, an evil demon who created havoc, by Krishna's wife Satyabhama. This happened in the Dwapara Yuga during this time of Krishna's avatar. In another version, the demon was killed by Krishna ( Krishna provokes his wife Satyabhama to kill Narshna defeating Indra: Govardhan Puja is celebrated the day after Diwali. It is the day Krishna defeated Indra, the deity of thunder and rain. As per the story, Krishna saw huge preparations for the annual offering to Lord Indra and questions his father Nanda about it. He debated with the villagers about what their 'dharma' truly was. They were farmers, they should do their duty and concentrate on farming and protection of their cattle. He continued to say that all human beings should merely do their 'karma', to the best of their ability and not pray for natural phenomenon. The villagers were convinced by Krishna, and did not proceed with the special puja (prayer). Indra was then angered, and flooded the village. Krishna then lifted Mt Govardhan and held it up as protection to his people and cattle from the rain. Indra finally accepted defeat and recognized Krishna as supreme. This aspect of Krishna's life is mostly glossed but it set up the basis of the 'karma' philosophy later detailed in the Bhagavat Gita.

Some of my images :

When is Diwali celebrated ?

Diwali is celebrated for 5 days according to the lunar Hindu Calendar. It begins in late Ashwin (September-October) and ends in early Kartika (October-November). The first day is Dhan Teras, 13th day of the dark half of Ashwin. The last day is Yama Dvitiya, the 2nd day of the light half of Kartika. Each day marks celebrates one of the six principle stories associated with the festival.

Sloka:

ततस्तुः लोकः प्रतिवर्षमादरत् प्रसिद्धदीपलिकयात्र भारते |
समुद्यतः पूजयितुं जिनेश्वरं जिनेन्द्र-निर्वाण विभूति-भक्तिभाक् |२० |
tatastuh lokah prativarsham-araat ako
prasiddha-deepalikaya-aatra bharate
samudyatah poojayitum jineshvaram
jinendra-nirvana vibhuti-bhaktibhak

Translation: The gods illuminated Pavanagari by lamps to mark the occasion. Since that time, the people of Bharat celebrate the famous festival of "Dipalika" to worship the Jinendra (i.e. Lord Mahavira) on the occasion of his nirvana.

Dipalikaya roughly translates as "light leaving the body". Dipalika, which can be roughly translated as "splenderous light of lamps", is used interchangeably with the word "Diwali".

The way Jains celebrate Diwali is different in many respects. There is a note of asceticism in whatever the Jains do, and the celebration of Diwali is not an exception. The Jains celebrate Diwali during the month of Kartik for three days. During this period, among the Shvetambaras, devoted Jains observe fasting and chant the Uttaradhyayan Sutra, which contain the final pravachans of Lord Mahavira, and meditate upon him. Some Jains visit Pavapuri in Bihar where he attained Nirvan. In may temples special laddus are offered particularly on this day.

Diwali in South India :

• In Southern India, narakasura vratha is the main day, with celebration with firecrackers at dawn after lakshmi puja.
• Deepavali is one of the seven most important festivals of Andhra Pradesh.Diwali festival is very popular among the children for the joy of bursting fire crakers. Special areas to sell fire crackers are set up in all towns and cities including bigger villages. There are some pseudo-traditional customs followed such as buying new clothes for this festival. Buying new home or vehicles such as cars and trucks is considered auspicious. Special sweets are made too. Some eateries in Hyderabad make some delicious sweets during Diwali which will not be available at any other time. Meat and alcohol are generally not consumed. Tradition has it that Andhraites gift sweets during Diwali. Some areas host local stage story telling called Hari Katha. Some areas may put a huge Narakasura dummy made with fire crackers. This will be burst by a person wearing the dress of Lord Krishna or more accurately, a costume of Satyabhama, the consort of Lord Krishna who actually killed the demon Narakasura; an event that is celebrated as Diwali for generations. The evening of Diwali is a colourful sight to watch the evening sky.
• The main festival in Karnataka is on the first day -Narakachaturdashi and third day- Balipadyami, with no celebration on the middle day ofAmavasye. The festivities begin a day, during which water is stored (following the tradition, since running water was not available with ease, and it had to be carried from nearby ponds and lakes) for the next day's oil bath in the early hours of the morning. Then the entire house is cleaned and new clothes are purchased for the entire family (signifies becoming a new/better person by giving up darkness within us) which is followed by lighting of oil lamps around the house and bursting firecrackers.
• The third day is celebrated as Bali Padyami as the day of Vamana's victory over 'Mahabali'. This festival is greatly celebrated in Karnataka.
• In Tamil Nadu it is celebrated as Deepavali. Celebrate this with lighting deepams, firecrackers, wearing new dresses and Sweets. It is a big festival in Tamil Nadu. They Take Oil bath early in the morning and poosai. After that Crackers and a traditional Visit to the Temple.
• " HAPPY DEEPAWALI "
• Photography : Arjun Haarith.G

Bandipur - April 2008

TRIP TO BANDIPUR

I had been to Bandipur along with my family and relatives on April 18, 2008 which was Friday and came back on 20th April, Sunday. We had hired a Swaraj Mazda. We left Bangalore at 6.00AM.
We went to Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary at 9.00 AM. As many people were there in our group, we could not do serious photography. Photographers in our trip included Arjun Haarith.G, H.Satish, Goutham.R, Akshay.S and Vinay.C
I got a few flight shots of Open Billed Storks, Painted Storks, and White Ibis. As usual Crocs were there and the Bats were also active at that time. Some of the people in our group got quite good pictures of those Bats in action.
We left RBS at around 11.00AM and halted at Mysore for a break and continued our journey to Bandipur. We reached Bandipur by 1.30 PM had food. We were at “Vanashree”cottage.
At 4.00PM we were ready to go to the safari. We went in Mr. Sebastian’s vehicle. At first we saw a pack of Wild dogs of about 6-8. Then we saw Malabar woodpecker, Stripped necked Mongoose, Crested Serpent eagle, Elephant with calf and finally a Malabar Giant squirrel along with peacocks, jungle fowls, Langurs and spotted deers.
We decided to go 2 continuous trips to the sanctuary next morning. So we left to the sanctuary the next Morning. To my surprise on the first trip we saw nothing but Malabar Giant squirrel and a Jungle fowl (not even a peacock). In the second trip we saw Sambars, Crested Hawk eagle, Peacocks- dancing, Wild dogs of about 12-15 along with 2 pups. To my surprise we found Mongoose on a branch of a tree (unusual phenomenon) and a Tortoise on a bund at Thavarekatte tank.
We came back from the safari, on our return we saw a Monkey wearing a T-shirt. This was Superb; it almost took 10 mins for the monkey to remove it. Finally it climbed a tree and threw the shirt off.
We relaxed and went till the Border of Karnataka-Tamil nadu on the Ooty road from Bandipur. We saw Indian gaur, pair of SN Mongoose, and a Elephant with calf.
Again at 4.00PM we went to the sanctuary. We saw all the common animals and Elephant herd, 3-4 Sambars and returned back.
We enjoyed lightning and a slight drizzle of Rain. After a few mins, rain had stopped and Moon emerged. That was a full moon day. We enjoyed that night. We heard a few alarm calls from the Chital, but nothing was there.
We carried hopes of Sighting a Tiger or a Leopard. The next morning we were into the sanctuary. We saw crested Hawk eagle, Flame back, Peacock dancing and Jungle fowls. That was a Bird watching trip for us at Bandipur that Morning.
Our hope of sighting a Tiger or a Leopard ruined


We returned back to Bangalore. While coming we went to Himavad Gopalaswamy temple. At the temple premises (after 1 foot from the compound) on the hill I saw a full grown Indian Gaur’s skull. Many people said there was a big herd of elephants on the hill quite far from the temple. But we couldn’t see any of them. We left the temple came to Nanjangud temple and came back to Mysore for lunch and returned to Bangalore by 10.00PM on Sunday. Though we could not sight a Tiger or Leopard at Bandipur we enjoyed a lot.
This is my first Trip report in . I hope you people liked it.


Thank you,
Arjun Haarith.G