Birds in Sunderbans, West Bengal

Juvenile Brahminy kite
Sunderbans

Some more pictures from my Sunderbans trip. These set of pictures are focussed on birds. As usual I have dipped into my cousin Soma's collection from the trip. Her pictures are so perfect that  my pictures fade in comparison:(

I need to upgrade to a better camera soon.

Brown headed gulls Sunderbans

Common Redshank Sunderbans

Common Sandpiper Sunderbans

Darter, Sunderbans

Eurasian Curlew Sunderbans

Great Egret

Juvenile Shikra Sunderbans

White bellied sea eagle

Sunderbans; beautiful, serene, and wild

Sunrise at Sunderbans, West Bengal

Sharing some pictures from my recent Sunderbans trip. It was very short trip. We left very early around 4am and spent the whole day at Sunderbans. and came back late evening.

The weather was not very encouraging, it kept raining off and on, and that depressed us. But eventually the sun came up, and the day wasn't such a wash out after all!

I guess, because of the weather or perhaps I ran out of luck, this time we were not that lucky; we did not spot a tiger:(
 
Having said that, Sunderbans never disappoints, just the ride on the boat through the mangrove forests can be extremely therapeutic. This was my second visit to Sunderbans and I wish to go again soon. If you visit West Bengal, Sunderbans should be in your agenda. Sunderbans is so beautiful; the water and greens all around you is so blissful. My bird entusisatic sister, Soma, mananged to get some good close up shots of birds, I am posting some of her pics and mine too!

You can check out my earlier Sunderbans trip report and the Royal Bengal tiger video. We saw this tiger for around 40 minutes! Now I know that we were very lucky to have spotted the tiger then, it is not easy to spot a tiger in Sunderbans.

Black capped Kingfisher Sunderbans

Collared Kingfisher, Sunderbans West Bengal

Common Kingfisher Sunderbans

Pied Kingfisher Sunderbans, West Bengal

Oriental white eye Sunderbans

Purple rumped Sunbird, Sunderbans

Beautiful Sunderbans

Water monitor, Sunderbans

Hampi - Ancient and Beautiful temples in Karnataka,India

Hampi

Hampi has so many beautiful temples, it is quite impossible to capture all of them in a few posts.

I am posting some more selected pictures from my Hampi trip.

Lakshmi Narsimha Hampi

Siva Temple, Hampi

Rock cut temples, Hampi

Rocks used for temples

Kadalekalu Ganesh, Hampi

Sasivekalu Ganesha, Hampi

Mahanavami Dibba, Hampi, Karnataka, India

Mahanavami Dibba, Hampi

Mahanavami dibba was the hub of religious activities.People from far of places came to be part of this huge gathering.This platform has some beautiful carvings, must be been so beautiful when it was in it's original form!

Board displaying info on Mahanavami dibba
from Archeological survey of India

Carvings on the platform

Intricate work on Mahanavami dibba, Hampi, Karnataka

A beautiful Pushkarni near Mahanavami Dibba
Hampi

Hazararama temple, Hampi, Karnataka,India

Hazararama temple, Hampi, Karnataka

One of my personal favourites, this temple was dedicated to Vishnu in the form of Rama. The name Hazara-Rama has been derived from the thousands of Rams carved on the temple walls.

I absolutely love the carvings on the walls, especially the carvings on the pillars inside the temple.

Carvings on the walls

Hazara-Rama Temple, Hampi

Carvings on the walls of Hazara-Rama temple, Hampi

Hazara-Rama temple, Hampi

Pillars with exquisite carvings inside the temple

Hazara-Rama temple, Hampi, Karnataka

The Zanana enclosure,Hampi Karnataka

Happy new year. Wishing everyone a very happy, prosperous, and peaceful year ahead.

This post is in continuation to my earlier posts on my trip to Hampi.

The Zanana enclosure, Hampi
This walled area in the Hampi temple complex, houses the basement of a large palace building, three watch towers, Lotus Mahal, the woman's guards' quarters and a water pavilion.

Basement of  a large palace within the Zanana enclosure

Women's guards quarters, Zanana enclosure, Hampi

Lotus Mahal, Hampi

Carvings on the walls of Lotus Mahal, Hampi

Lotus Mahal (above) -It is a mix of Indian and Islamic architecture. We were not allowed to go inside Lotus Mahal, but this two storied structure is indeed beautiful. I believe this is where King Rama Raya met with scholars.

I have put up the pictures of one of the three watch towers (below)
Women's guards' quarters- This building is interesting, it has no windows; there are only ventilators at the top. Our guide informed us that this quarter was also used by King Rama Raya to keep valuables.

View from Zanana enclosure, Elephant stable at he background

Watch Tower, Hampi

Elephant Stable and Guards quarters, Hampi, Karnataka

Board displaying info on Elephant's stable from Archeological survey of India

Guards quarters, Elephant stable, Hampi

Elephant stable, Hampi