Vishal's Blog

  In the SPOTLIGHT 1) This picture is from the beautiful Tadoba WLS clicked in 2018. This guy is a celebrity cub and is known as Chota Matka. The name is derived from Matkasur, the tiger who fathered him.  2) This picture is of the beautiful Tigress Noor clicked in Ranthambhore in 2020 sighted on the fourth safari followed by three luckless trips on that weekend 3) This again is Noor. As I mentioned, she was sighted on our fourth safari and stayed with us for a good 45 minutes presenting infinite opportunities to go berserk with the camera 4) The below is the picture of a Tigress known as Devado - female. She was born in the vicinity of that village hence the name.  5) As you can make out, the tigress was a moving away from our vehicle but miraculously stopped for a second or two to pose for us. 

 We were off before the sunlight kissed the horizon on a sleepy and indolent December morning. The rising sun looked beautiful as it lent a kind of splendour to the perpetual sea of parched land. In the vehicle, I shivered in the rigorous chill of the salty desert air. The car slowly gathered speed making its way down the road as the morning was beginning to break into soft colours of pink and orange against the brilliant azure sky.  My lips were beginning to dry and I had to lick again and again to keep them warm. We kept moving on the road until suddenly Gopal (the navigator) slowed down to turn right. The path was now no longer flat but marshy, parched and zigzag. He pressed the accelerator as we whizzed past ubiquitous dogs which didn’t shy away from racing against the vehicle. All signs of humanity slowly faded away and we were in the wilderness… of a different kind. To a passerby it may look an arid, desolate place but the connoisseur...

                                                               Birds of Ganeshgudi                                                       Asian Paradise Flycatcher - Male                                          ...

To break down the intense cycle of daily disappointments and frustrations, I along with Vishnu got a chance to visit the Velavadar National Park in November and we had grabbed the opportunity with both hands. The visit could have been doomed by the impending super-cyclone 'Nilofer' but thanks to the almighty, it fizzled away before reaching the Gujarat coast. Hence, both of us along with our guide Ritesh Khatri were brandishing our weapons (read cameras) in the eerily quite park which was thus devoid of many visitors owing to 'Nilofer'. The picture of these fighting black-bucks have to be one of the defining moments of the time spent at Velavadar. I have to confess that such moments are entirely capable of taking you into oblivion. These animals mate throughout the year and during this point in time, the male Blackbucks strive to drive every other male out of its territory. In order to impose their superiority, they indulge in horn-fights. We captured this moment...

The roads across Ladakh with its curves and bends are one of the most dangerous roads I have ever come across. They are prone to shooting stones and the extreme climatic conditions make their maintenence very difficult. The Border Roads Organization who is responsible to maintain these roads are doing a commendable job. There are road signs everywhere and they are quite witty and full of humor. With these wise words, they want to ensure that the people driving on the roads reach their destinations safely.