Just About Everything

Baradwari Mosque Gour Gour, near Malda town, West Bengal is also referred to as Gauda and Lakhnauti. It's origin can be traced back to the Buddhist Pala Dynasty in Bengal that rose in the 7th century AD and ruled for four centuries. Gour, however rose to prominence in the 11th century under the Hindu Sena Dynasty. Not much archaeological evidence exits of these times and today what we see in Gour dates back to post 1198 when Gour fell to Bakhtiyar Khilji and that was followed by the foundation of Muslim rule in north-west Bengal. The Muslim Sultan shifted his capital from Gour to Pandua in 1350. How to reach Malda : Malda is very well connected from Kolkata. Overnight trains and AC buses are easily available. Shatabdi express is another option from Kolkata to Malda. Where to stay : There are quite a few hotels and tourist lodges in Malda town. You may check tripadvisor ( https://www.tripadvisor.in/SmartDeals-g1187926-Malda_Malda_District_West_Bengal-Hotel-Deals....

Rufous-backed Sibia The Mishmi Hills are located in central Arunachal Pradesh in India. Most of the Mishmi hills area falls under the Dibang Valley, which gets its name from Dibang River, one of the tributaries of the Brahmaputra River. The scenic Mishmi hills, is home to quite a few birds and is now a sought after destination for avid bird watchers. Mishmi Hills birding is done between Roing to Hunli, a stretch of 85 km. Most of this area falls under Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary. A 49 km ascending drive from Roing brings you to the 2655 meters high Mayodia Pass and from here you start descending towards Hunli which is about 36 km from the Pass. Different birds are found at different altitudes - during the first 10 kms or so of this journey, you get to see birds like Blue Rock Thrush, Red-billed Scimitar Babbler, Mountain Imperial pigeon, White Collared Treepie and many others, Around 25 to 30 km, you can sight the beautiful Nuthatch, Rufous-backed Sibia, Greater Rufous-headed Parro...

I love nature and one of my favourite destinations is the jungles. The sylvan surrounding, the unpolluted air, the possibility of sighting different animals and birds... makes me happy. But I don't know how long we can continue to enjoy these beautiful green surroundings. With deforestation being so rampant in India, and urban cities becoming concrete jungles, one barely gets to see any greenery anymore. Birds that were very commonly found, such as sparrows , are hardly seen. Air pollution is a matter of immense concern, and one of the reasons contributing to all of these is the unceremonious cutting of trees. This article on Deforestation  from Wikipedia has alarming facts about what deforestation is doing to our world. One simple way of looking at our relationship with trees: humans breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide which is waste for us. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen which is waste for them. When we cut and burn trees, we are not only red...

Eurasian Tree Sparrow On the occasion of World Sparrow day, here are the five types of Sparrows found in India. The Eurasian and Russet Sparrows are from the hilly areas; The Sind sparrow and Spanish sparrow are from the semi desert areas of India; And the House sparrows...  which were once seen  so often, are rarely seen these days:( Alarming! Pictures are courtesy Soma Jha. House Sparrow Russet Sparrow Sind Sparrow Spanish Sparrow

Great Indian Bustard Birds of Desert National Park, Rajasthan It often surprises people to learn that birdwatchers go to deserts, hot, and cold ( Ladakh ) places in search of birds. The habitat, it seems, can't be sustaining bird life. In actuality it is quite the opposite!  A large number of species of birds are found all over Rajasthan like Larks, Wheatears, raptors including Vultures. Most of these birds are not colourful as they must camouflage themselves from predators. The Great Indian Bustard (image on the top left) is one of the critically endangered birds in India owing to hunting and loss of habitat. The habitats that these birds thrive in are dry grasslands, semi-desert regions, and scrubs. One of main reasons, for the Great Indian Bustard's reducing numbers in this region and in all parts of India, is because the earlier semi-desert lands have got transformed into farmed areas because of irrigation. These bird pictures are from the Desert National...

Murmuria Haveli -Engine with crows and a man standing in front Continuing with my earlier post on Havelis (Mansions) of Churu, Rajasthan, India , this post has some more mesmerizing havelis from the Shekhawati historical region. Mandawa which is a part of Shekhawati region is located around 190 km from Jaipur. A well-known place for Havelis (Mansions), Mandawa is a favourite location for film shoots. Some scenes from PK and Bajrangi Bhaijan were shot here. These pictures, courtesy Soma Jha, are from Murmuria, Gulab Rai Ladia, and Mohanlal Saraf Havelis. Murmuria Haveli,Mandawa- a bridge of Venice visible Painting of a Train  scenes from Venice Murmuria haveli paintings Beautiful paintings Murmuria, Mandawa More paintings on the walls Murmuria Haveli Murmuria Haveli, Mandawa Gulab Rai Ladia haveli-Mandawa-Rajasthan Gulab Rai Ladia haveli looks like African men perhaps musicians Lovely door-Gulab ...