“Almost every other week, one of the station staff sees a tiger around here. Occasionally, a leopard. Elephants, well in summer, they cross near the home signal in hordes!” That was the station master at Dudhwa introducing his station to us. Not that we were expecting any less at a station located smack in the middle of a national park. I for one, was secretly…
Tale of Two Kingdoms – Redux
The fabled land of Rajasthan was actually a collection of princely states. Chief among them were the states of Mewar and Marwar, with their seats at Udaipur and Jodhpur respectively. From the late 19th century itself, Marwar was served by the Rajputana – Malwa railway, with lines extending from Ajmer to Delhi, Indore and Ahmedabad, and a branch to Jodhpur via Marwar Jn. Mewar. The…
To Digpa Ratsa Ri
Sometimes, it just comes together. Months of planning, researching and preparing pays off. We were given the opportunity to spend some time at one of the highest astronomical observatories in the world – The IAO in Hanle, Ladakh. The following video is a selection of time-lapse sequences capturing the skies above Hanle, and some other locations elsewhere in Ladakh. Enjoy in full 4K resolution if…
The Ghost of Telan Pacheri
Deep in the heart of Ranthambhore, lies Telan Pacheri. A dark, wooded part of the forest surrounded by towering cliffs, under the shadow of a 1000 year old fort. Three paths, two that come down the cliffs and a third that leads deeper into the forest meet here. Rocks, banyan wines and the occasional cacti make visibility extremely difficult. In the many years that I…
The Broad Gauge is Coming
The indigo sky is tainted by the first strokes of orange as the Satpura Express leaves the ugly sprawl of Jabalpur behind. The clatter of the track gives way to a dull roar as it steps on to the mighty bridge that spans the Narmada. A bridge made of steel and stone masonry, blood, guts and ingenuity. The sound it makes is enough to wake…
Tigerscape
Rajbagh – is a tiger lovers’ paradise. A man made lake set amidst a bowl ringed by tall hills. Countless documentaries have immortalized this corner of Ranthambhore National Park. With plentiful water and prey, it is most prized tiger territory of them all. Anyone who rules over this patch automatically earns the sobriquet of the ‘Queen of Ranthambhore’. Krishna aka T-19 is the current Queen…
The 21st century tiger hunters
It’s 0500 and the knock on the door gets louder by the minute. Jhandu, fresh and beaming as ever is ready with the morning chai. Even before we take the chai, there is a question for him – ‘Kaunsa zone mila hai?’ (what zone have we got today?). ‘Zone 1’ he says – and with that answer even the piping hot cup suddenly feels like an…
Two feet are a world apart
Note: This account was a result of a piece meant for the Mint Newspaper. A slightly edited version of it appeared on Saturday 4th April 2015. Click here to read the piece online. The narrative covers two journeys, the first from 2009 and a second one made in Jan 2015. — “That looks like a flying carpet!” my cousin Rishi had exclaimed. He had pointed…
Vistas of Spiti
A collection of timelapse videos shot in Spiti Valley over the course of a 2 week trip in September 2016. The videos were shot at locations in Pin Valley, Langza, Komic, Tashigang and Chandrataal. Shot using – Canon EOS 7D mkII, Nikon D5, Sony A99 and Motorola X-Play Additional Footage by Rajit Kumar and Bharath Moto
Notes from the Rann
The dusty, bumpy road from Morbi gives way to smooth tarmac at Halvad and our GSRTC bus soon pulls in to the dusty town of Dhrangadhra. The princely state it once ruled commanded a 13 gun salute. Today it is just one of those blink and you miss places. Not for us though – we are here to explore the Little Rann of Kutch and…