Mangalore calling!
As the train chugged sluggishly into Mangalore station in the wee hours of a November morning, my much-anticipated spirit couldn’t hold me to my seat. Meeting my guru yet again was something I had been looking forward to for the last 2 months.
Jump, charansparsh (touch feet in reverence)…hug & ready for the ride home!
Had once asked him to autograph my book on Indian birds by Dr Salim Ali. He wrote…
The wise old owl sat on an oak,
The more he saw, the less he spoke,
The less he spoke, the more he heard,
Wouldn’t it be great were we more like this bird!
Just hanging around him is a learning experience coz he is a walking / talking encyclopedia. Birding, wildlife, art, science, sports, history, religion, social customs…just about anything could be the topic & he can talk for hours non-stop. It's wise to be silent around him.
But then we do get into bouts of productive discussion as I call it & idle argument in his opinion. His high decibel strain’s the eardrums. Says can’t help it…blame my teaching profession. When secondary smoking gives me a dull headache…he suggests a metacin! But what is life without a few imperfections! I say chaps….perfect could be boring.
Day one –
Lakshmi, Doc’s caretaker is beaming as the car enters the gate, the dogs barking excitedly to be let lose to douse me with their slobby, jumpy, smothering wet welcome. I’m sure this entire racket drives the birds in the vicinity to migrate to the other side of the ghat for a day!
That evening Dr Harish, a product of doc’s medical academy joins us to hang around the Ullal – Nethravathi Bridge that attracts a wide variety of migrating water birds. The Brahiminy kite rules this place with its majestic expanse outstretched in a glide. The setting sun as the backdrop with the train rushing across the Ullal Bridge, flowering reeds on either sides of the pathway, night herons, little egrets, black winged kites & palm swifts dot the fading flame-red skyline. A medium sized vine snake slithers in the bushes as I try to press closer to get a shot but the fellow is a smarty pant as he disappears even before I open my cams shutters.
Day two-
We plan to inhabit the Deralakatte & Konaje area the next morning. The temple at Konaje along side the pond looks serene but with a huge difference. The picture perfect shrine has some overtly enthusiastic devotees & screeching slokhas drive home the “sight contradicts sound” theorem.
A pair of snow geese & mallard (introduced species) swim elegantly close by. A red-wattled lapwing along with a large pied-wagtail sit on the rocks at the water edge bathing in the misty morning dew laden rays. As we walk along Deralakatte, doc points out more birds with twisted names till my head’s spiraling, struggling to remember the names so as to not invite the wrath of our committed teacher. The rest of the day is spent recording/photographing more birds that perched around doc’s bunglow.
Day three –
Today we head for the Western Ghats. Dr Harish collects us & we head for Moodbidri to hook up with another teammate, Dr Krishna Mohan who runs his own hospital there. Dr Krishi is told was probably the youngest individual to graduate in the Indian medical history. He started scaling the Himalayas at the young age of 16 & is an enthusiastic & committed wild lifer & environmentalist. He also loves eating live termites & caterpillars while trekking in the deep forest & encouraged us to try the nutritious diet.
After collecting Dr Krishi, stuffing our selves with idlis, rava masala dosa, tomato uttapam & goli bhajji flushing it with scalding aromatic coffee, we head for the Western Ghats where Dr Krishi owns a patch of undisturbed forestland. This place is close to Bisale, Subramanya the famous snake god temple where cricketer Sachin Tendulkar had recently paid homage. The diverse biota of the Western Ghats is striking with deciduous forest that are cleared in some areas along the habitable belt to make way for rubber plantations.
The drive up the ghats is seldom steep. Doc informs that the roads were years old elephant pathways that the British raj had converted to roads to bridge the unapproachable areas to the rest of south India.
The drive from Moodbidri to the ghats is a good 100 kms & we reach our destination around mid-afternoon. Dr Krishi narrates a tale about jungle bandits ambushing & looting the pilgrims & other wayfarers off their belongings. Pointing to a huge rock on his property he says, the dacoits roosted there. So we make a pradikshina (circle) as homage to the louts & secretly wonder about Dr Krishi’s intentions of recounting this tale. At this point, our hardened travelers, doc & Dr Harish (who are wearing sandal’s roaming the snake & leech infested ghats like robin hoods) get latched on by one respective leech each!
As they bleed, doc mumbles incoherently something to the effect of “tumhare liye ek budhe admi ne khoon bahawaya hai” (an old man has bled for you). How am I responsible in them walking with half naked feet in knee length grass, I wonder. *Barf*
At the top of Bisale we enjoy the amazing sequence of a Shikra (bird of prey) hunting… diving to catch his prey. Though a bright day, the wind is strong. We hang around for a while & then head for some tea, biscuits & chitchat at small hamlet in the middle of nowhere. By this time its 4pm & time to head back to civilization. We reach home by 10.30pm weary but satisfied & thanks Dr Harish for safely depositing us back. Seriously! His driving skills get full marks…driving us nuts I mean!
Day four –
Is spent generally recuperating from the prior days commitments & a 30km drive to Pilikula Nisarga Dhama, a place that houses a variety of jungle cats (of all variety), reptiles & birds.
Day five –
Today we go to Puttur, in South Canara, which is about 80kms from Mangalore. Our destination is Dr Ravindranath Aithal’s clinic. Better known as the snake doctor, he claims to cure snake bites inflicted by the deadliest of serpents inhabiting the Western Ghats & its surroundings.
He has a decent snake collection of around 24 species of venomous & non-venomous snakes. A rare forest cane turtle is also one of the temporary occupants there. But my interest is the King Cobra pair that he houses from the past 15 years. A number of King Cobra releases are to his credit in the Western Ghats.
The King commands great respect with his thinking gaze. His stare is steady & deadlock looking at your movements with acute concentration. His eyesight is better than most snakes & can see clearly up to 100mtrs. The one I photographed is about 17 feet long & it is capable of raising one thirds of its body. So by this standard, the King can stare in the eye a man six foot tall. His main diet is his own ilk & hence is also know as the “cannibal”.
Photographing him was an experience of a lifetime! His partner was in the skin shedding phase & hence quite immobile. Most of the adult snakes shed their skin every three months.
My favourite amongst the collection was a cute little vine snake & though my hands itched to touch him, Dr Harish reminded me of our promise to Doc. You see, Doc had warned both of us not to handle any snakes even if it was of a non-venomous variety. Though having prior experience of handling a few constrictors (boas & pythons) & despite my pout, nothing could deter him to give in. *sigh*
The day is wrapped perfectly as we get to photograph a very rare & cryptic bird, the blue-faced malkoha right on doc’s doorsteps.
Day Six –
My friend Al, a coffee planter from Coorg (doc’s family friend), takes me around Mangalore. We visit his grandmother & uncle who has a lovely collection of vintage cars, antique collection of sewing machines (had never heard of a sewing machine collector before), ancient coins, cameras & many more. In fact his house looked like a museum with the ceiling painted & beautiful & ancient things propped up on pedestals etc
After a lovely lunch of chicken biryani, we head for the St Aloysius College & church, a bookstore & then after tea at the famous Taj Mahal (doc’s favourite haunt), we head for the Panambur beach, which is next to the Mangalore port. The sun disappearing into the sea, waves washing down the pristine beach, miles of undisturbed waves plunges me into a melancholic mood. We collect a few shells for my daughter & then head home.
Day seven –
This is my last day at Mangalore. Since Doc had mentioned his meeting schedule with the deans of other medical college’s, I get up by 5.30am to bid him farewell & manage to persuade him to skip the meeting. But as lady luck would have it, a sudden emergency at the medical hospital takes him away. I head to catch my train back to Mumbai in the afternoon accompanied by Doc’s driver Srinivas & his wife Geetha, Laxmi & her husband Ravi. Sensing my somber mood, Laxmi tries to cheer me into some conversation.
As I bid adieu to Mangalore this time…I know I shall come back. After all it’s my second home.
Copyright © BuntysBanter 2006
Jump, charansparsh (touch feet in reverence)…hug & ready for the ride home!
Had once asked him to autograph my book on Indian birds by Dr Salim Ali. He wrote…
The wise old owl sat on an oak,
The more he saw, the less he spoke,
The less he spoke, the more he heard,
Wouldn’t it be great were we more like this bird!
Just hanging around him is a learning experience coz he is a walking / talking encyclopedia. Birding, wildlife, art, science, sports, history, religion, social customs…just about anything could be the topic & he can talk for hours non-stop. It's wise to be silent around him.
But then we do get into bouts of productive discussion as I call it & idle argument in his opinion. His high decibel strain’s the eardrums. Says can’t help it…blame my teaching profession. When secondary smoking gives me a dull headache…he suggests a metacin! But what is life without a few imperfections! I say chaps….perfect could be boring.
Day one –
Lakshmi, Doc’s caretaker is beaming as the car enters the gate, the dogs barking excitedly to be let lose to douse me with their slobby, jumpy, smothering wet welcome. I’m sure this entire racket drives the birds in the vicinity to migrate to the other side of the ghat for a day!
That evening Dr Harish, a product of doc’s medical academy joins us to hang around the Ullal – Nethravathi Bridge that attracts a wide variety of migrating water birds. The Brahiminy kite rules this place with its majestic expanse outstretched in a glide. The setting sun as the backdrop with the train rushing across the Ullal Bridge, flowering reeds on either sides of the pathway, night herons, little egrets, black winged kites & palm swifts dot the fading flame-red skyline. A medium sized vine snake slithers in the bushes as I try to press closer to get a shot but the fellow is a smarty pant as he disappears even before I open my cams shutters.
Day two-
We plan to inhabit the Deralakatte & Konaje area the next morning. The temple at Konaje along side the pond looks serene but with a huge difference. The picture perfect shrine has some overtly enthusiastic devotees & screeching slokhas drive home the “sight contradicts sound” theorem.
A pair of snow geese & mallard (introduced species) swim elegantly close by. A red-wattled lapwing along with a large pied-wagtail sit on the rocks at the water edge bathing in the misty morning dew laden rays. As we walk along Deralakatte, doc points out more birds with twisted names till my head’s spiraling, struggling to remember the names so as to not invite the wrath of our committed teacher. The rest of the day is spent recording/photographing more birds that perched around doc’s bunglow.
Day three –
Today we head for the Western Ghats. Dr Harish collects us & we head for Moodbidri to hook up with another teammate, Dr Krishna Mohan who runs his own hospital there. Dr Krishi is told was probably the youngest individual to graduate in the Indian medical history. He started scaling the Himalayas at the young age of 16 & is an enthusiastic & committed wild lifer & environmentalist. He also loves eating live termites & caterpillars while trekking in the deep forest & encouraged us to try the nutritious diet.
After collecting Dr Krishi, stuffing our selves with idlis, rava masala dosa, tomato uttapam & goli bhajji flushing it with scalding aromatic coffee, we head for the Western Ghats where Dr Krishi owns a patch of undisturbed forestland. This place is close to Bisale, Subramanya the famous snake god temple where cricketer Sachin Tendulkar had recently paid homage. The diverse biota of the Western Ghats is striking with deciduous forest that are cleared in some areas along the habitable belt to make way for rubber plantations.
The drive up the ghats is seldom steep. Doc informs that the roads were years old elephant pathways that the British raj had converted to roads to bridge the unapproachable areas to the rest of south India.
The drive from Moodbidri to the ghats is a good 100 kms & we reach our destination around mid-afternoon. Dr Krishi narrates a tale about jungle bandits ambushing & looting the pilgrims & other wayfarers off their belongings. Pointing to a huge rock on his property he says, the dacoits roosted there. So we make a pradikshina (circle) as homage to the louts & secretly wonder about Dr Krishi’s intentions of recounting this tale. At this point, our hardened travelers, doc & Dr Harish (who are wearing sandal’s roaming the snake & leech infested ghats like robin hoods) get latched on by one respective leech each!
As they bleed, doc mumbles incoherently something to the effect of “tumhare liye ek budhe admi ne khoon bahawaya hai” (an old man has bled for you). How am I responsible in them walking with half naked feet in knee length grass, I wonder. *Barf*
At the top of Bisale we enjoy the amazing sequence of a Shikra (bird of prey) hunting… diving to catch his prey. Though a bright day, the wind is strong. We hang around for a while & then head for some tea, biscuits & chitchat at small hamlet in the middle of nowhere. By this time its 4pm & time to head back to civilization. We reach home by 10.30pm weary but satisfied & thanks Dr Harish for safely depositing us back. Seriously! His driving skills get full marks…driving us nuts I mean!
Day four –
Is spent generally recuperating from the prior days commitments & a 30km drive to Pilikula Nisarga Dhama, a place that houses a variety of jungle cats (of all variety), reptiles & birds.
Day five –
Today we go to Puttur, in South Canara, which is about 80kms from Mangalore. Our destination is Dr Ravindranath Aithal’s clinic. Better known as the snake doctor, he claims to cure snake bites inflicted by the deadliest of serpents inhabiting the Western Ghats & its surroundings.
He has a decent snake collection of around 24 species of venomous & non-venomous snakes. A rare forest cane turtle is also one of the temporary occupants there. But my interest is the King Cobra pair that he houses from the past 15 years. A number of King Cobra releases are to his credit in the Western Ghats.
The King commands great respect with his thinking gaze. His stare is steady & deadlock looking at your movements with acute concentration. His eyesight is better than most snakes & can see clearly up to 100mtrs. The one I photographed is about 17 feet long & it is capable of raising one thirds of its body. So by this standard, the King can stare in the eye a man six foot tall. His main diet is his own ilk & hence is also know as the “cannibal”.
Photographing him was an experience of a lifetime! His partner was in the skin shedding phase & hence quite immobile. Most of the adult snakes shed their skin every three months.
My favourite amongst the collection was a cute little vine snake & though my hands itched to touch him, Dr Harish reminded me of our promise to Doc. You see, Doc had warned both of us not to handle any snakes even if it was of a non-venomous variety. Though having prior experience of handling a few constrictors (boas & pythons) & despite my pout, nothing could deter him to give in. *sigh*
The day is wrapped perfectly as we get to photograph a very rare & cryptic bird, the blue-faced malkoha right on doc’s doorsteps.
Day Six –
My friend Al, a coffee planter from Coorg (doc’s family friend), takes me around Mangalore. We visit his grandmother & uncle who has a lovely collection of vintage cars, antique collection of sewing machines (had never heard of a sewing machine collector before), ancient coins, cameras & many more. In fact his house looked like a museum with the ceiling painted & beautiful & ancient things propped up on pedestals etc
After a lovely lunch of chicken biryani, we head for the St Aloysius College & church, a bookstore & then after tea at the famous Taj Mahal (doc’s favourite haunt), we head for the Panambur beach, which is next to the Mangalore port. The sun disappearing into the sea, waves washing down the pristine beach, miles of undisturbed waves plunges me into a melancholic mood. We collect a few shells for my daughter & then head home.
Day seven –
This is my last day at Mangalore. Since Doc had mentioned his meeting schedule with the deans of other medical college’s, I get up by 5.30am to bid him farewell & manage to persuade him to skip the meeting. But as lady luck would have it, a sudden emergency at the medical hospital takes him away. I head to catch my train back to Mumbai in the afternoon accompanied by Doc’s driver Srinivas & his wife Geetha, Laxmi & her husband Ravi. Sensing my somber mood, Laxmi tries to cheer me into some conversation.
As I bid adieu to Mangalore this time…I know I shall come back. After all it’s my second home.
Copyright © BuntysBanter 2006
posted by Bunty's Banter at 4:23 AM
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