Friday morning greeted me with a smiling face of kempamma – our maid
who comes at 5am! Seeing me up at this time was a rare occasion for her, as it
was for me. Today would be my first visit to a bird sanctuary. The excitement
kept me up like an owl the whole night. As the rising sun spread different hues
to the sky, the agarbatti’s scent wafted through our home followed by coffee
and upma’s aroma. Amma’s cooking always makes us want more even if we are full.
So when Daya(our dear friend) came, we wasted no time in doing justice to the
upma. We excitedly tied our shoe laces, loaded the camera, waved bye bye to
appa-amma and were off to Rangannathittu.
Rangannathittu is 130kms from Bangalore. The best time
to visit is from December-June when the migratory birds breed here. This small
sanctuary boasts of an impressive list of bird species. Never before had I heard
so many birds jamming together. Their chirps mixed with the sound of the river
and the leaves of the huge Peepal trees can take anybody to trance. The boat-ride was an amazing experience as we could watch the Storks, Pelicans, Cormorants, Terns etc. very closely. Be careful as the river hosts some 40 crocodiles
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| Painted Stork |
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| Cattle Egret |
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| Rangannathittu - the bird's haven |
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| Tickell's Blue Flycatcher |
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| Eyes have it! |
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| River Tern |
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| Jungle Myna |
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| Grey Hornbill |
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| Night Heron |
Thanks to Daya and my hubby, we took a small detour and visited Kukkure Bellur where we saw the nesting painted stork. The love and pride with which they looked at their young one was enough to say that children are the most precious jewels for any parent.
Our second detour was to the Dodda Gosai Ghat where the sound of the peaceful river was mixed with the chimes of the temple bells.
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| Dodda Gosai Ghat |
We finally headed for home at about 6pm. Stopped over at Maddur tiffany's for some steaming hot idli - vada-dosa with yummy chutney. I bet there is some secret recipe to that chutney and a cup of reinvigorating coffee. This was actually a very Good Friday in every sense. It rained and the beautiful scent of the earth captivated our senses.
I have travelled mostly in the north, comparatively South India is a lot less commercialized and has some thousands of destinations to be explored. That night when i closed my eyes i could still hear the gushing sound of the river, i could still smell the magical earth and i could still see some birds hopping on the tree branches. I tried to capture them but i couldn't. I guess some things are captured better in your heart than in your camera. Rangannathittu is one of the best opera's one can attend. For it is the sound of the peaceful earth. Am now looking forward to my next trip to Bangalore.
