Bannerghatta National Park, Bangalore

Located on the outskirts of Bangalore, Bannerghatta National Park promises a retreat from the chaotic city life, a rendezvous with nature. It boasts of 25,000 acres of zoological park that includes a Tiger and Lion Reserve, a Butterfly Park and a zoo. Owing to the close proximity to the IT capital of India, it has emerged as a very popular tourist attraction. One of the main attractions is the Grand Safari conducted by KSTDC which includes lion, bear and tiger safari and lasts for one hour.

I recently had an opportunity to try the Grand Safari and will say I am disappointed. I really felt sad at the sorry state of the animals. At the onset, I had imagined the animals in a more natural habitat while the safari progressed in a caged vehicle (that's how I would describe the mesh covered mini-bus that took us through the safari). But it seemed more like a big zoo with wider enclosures. The animals seem more domesticated than wild. There is no thrill or adventure that you normally expect from a jungle safari.

It may have been the wrong time of the year (summer is quite unforgiving in India), but the first thing I noticed was the predominantly brown landscape. In the herbivore enclosure, the deers were feeding on cut grass provided by the park attendants. The bears looked quite lost walking along the barbed wire fence with the unrelenting sun bearing down mercilessly. The only available refuge in the vicinity were small buildings made of brick and mortar like you see in a zoo. The lions looked forlorn in the receding shades of trees stripped bare of its foliage. A white tiger was lying in one of the small pools of water in a desperate bid to cool off the heat. But with such low level of water, I wouldn't be surprised if the water became boiling hot in sometime.

The park attendants in the safari vehicle seemed courteous and waited for everyone to take pictures of the animals. But at times, I felt, they were a bit too obliging. On one occasion, the driver parked the bus next to a bear and started calling out to it loudly so that it may give a better pose for the photographers. No one in the safari seemed to mind this. Instead, everyone seemed more excited at the opportunity to click more pictures. It was sad to see the animals didn't exhibit any of their natural instincts. These animals are in a rather sorry state, reduced to mere performers put on a show for entertaining the visitors.

We event went on a stroll through the zoo and found it over-crowded with visitors. The whole place had an aura of ill-maintenance. The cages were not very well-kept and the animals didn't look much healthy.

Well-connected by bus services, even air-conditioned Volvo buses, that ply between the city of Bangalore and the park, the park seems to be doing well with huge number of daily visitors. However, major improvements are needed in maintenance of the zoo as well as providing a better and more natural habitat to the animals in the reserves. The wilderness may just help them get back their missing wild side.

Epcot Gardens - Reflections of China

Diving into my archives to make a post before the weekend gets over. This was taken in Christmas 2010 in Epcot Gardens, Florida. The theme park has a section dedicated to different cultural influences from United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Japan, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Norway and Morocco.

In the China Pavilion, visitors can experience the art, architecture and traditions of China, one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Visitors can relax in serene gardens with tranquil reflecting ponds in the Temple of Heaven. Or they can discover authentic tomb sculptures from ancient China dating back 2,000 years.

The Enchanted Woods!!

October is a symphony of permanence and change. Autumn's fire burns slowly along the woods while day by day the dead leaves fall and melt. The changing leaves of autumn colored brightly red, yellow and gold either dance in the golden sun-light or lie on the tired forest floor as a pile of dried up leaves.

A forest of these trees is a spectacle too much for one man to see. Their elegant shape, showy colours, and slow, sailing mode of flight, make them very attractive objects, and their numbers are so great, they easily compensate for the scarcity of flowers. Autumn can be equated to a second spring where every leaf is a flower, blissfully fluttering from the autumn tree.

Listen!! The wind's rising, the air wild with leaves. Leisure summer evenings gone, days grow shorter. Soon it will be dark.
Listen!! With faint dry sound, like steps of passing ghosts, the leaves break free from the trees. And fall.

Stanley Horowitz has said, "Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all". I couldn't agree more.

Autumn in Renaissance Park

A few days ago I walked along the trail in Renaissance Park and was treated to the crunch and rustle of leaves with each step I made. The acoustics of this season are different and all sounds, no matter how hushed, are as crisp as autumn air.

The leaves fall, the wind blows, and the forest slowly changes from the summer cottons into its winter wools. Leaf falling on leaf, on mounds of leaves, falling leaves hide the path so quietly. Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile.

Sunset at Lake Norman!!

Been a while since I last posted. Actually its been quite a while since I went out with my camera. The past couple of weeks have been hectic. Weekends have been good but it takes effort to get the lazy bones moving. Anyway end-result no new pictures.

So thought why not take the opportunity and post some pictures from my backlog. And I do have a big backlog. This is from a sunset I took on Lake Norman. This is the largest man-made lake in the entire state of North Carolina. To be precise, the photo was taken in Jetton Park on the lake. On previous two occasions I had made futile attempts to reach this location on my motorcycle. Fortunately, I was third time lucky.

Jetton Park has a small artificial beach where kids can be found playing. A nice tree shaded shoreline and a beautiful view of the setting sun.

Disneyland Orlando - The Parade at Night!!

Some more pictures from my visit to Disneyland Orlando during the Christmas weekend in 2008. This time from the Disney parade at night. There are a lot of lovely colourful parades going on throughout the day at regular intervals which is fun to watch. But the night parade is something special as now all the floats will be lighted with a thousand bright and colourful little lights that add a different perspective to the whole event. Definitely one of the things to catch while in Disney.

Mickey Mouse leading the parade in the first of the floats to pass by. The crowd sitting patiently on both sides of the path till this point started cheering. Lots of flashes of lights on both sides, indicated the multitude of cameras clicking to capture this parade.

More floats followed. Each beautifully decorated with some Disney character at the helm.

A beautiful dancing peacock in green was next in line in the parade.

A shoal of fish passed by to the loud cheers from the crowd. Somehow I thought the fish had the look of simpletons about them.

Next in line was a steam engine that passed by with a loud whistle.

This crocodile could have come straight out of the story of Peter Pan, maybe in search of the pirate captain, Captain Hook.

The next float had an angry bird with its wings spread wide apart, ready to take flight.

This float had the three little pigs playing the fool and making the crowd laugh.

The pumpkin chariot straight out of folk-lore. One could see a beautiful damsel sitting in the chariot.

This was a really beautifully decorated float with lithe birds and butterflies adorning the chariot.

The final floats passed by with one of the seven dwarves waving. And with this the last parade of the day, the only parade at night, came to an end.

Chimney Rock

Chimney Rock State Park is in Chimney Rock, NC, around 25 miles from Asheville. It's a short drive, an hour and a half from Charlotte, and as such quite a popular destination. It boasts of hiking trails of all skill levels, spectacular views, and a 404 ft waterfall, Hickory Nut Falls.

Its most notable feature is a 315 ft rock formation which resembles a chimney. It is accessible by elevator as well as a moderate hike. It provides a spectacular view of the park and the surrounding countryside.

The view is lovely in summer when one can see the lush green countryside for miles around. It also provides a good view of Lake Lure.

In fall, the scene is changed to a very colourful panaromic view from the rock. All the green is replaced by reds and yellows.

A man-made tunnel leads the way to an elevator that took us to the top of the rock. At the top we have a few trails leading up to Chimney Rock, Devil's Head, an overlook and the top of the falls.

The view from outside the restaurant at the top of Chimney Rock. In fall it presents a very colourful view.

Some more views of the surrounding areas in fall. This is the best time to visit if you want to enjoy the spectacular fall colours of Piedmont.

The stairs to the top of Chimney Rock. The US Flag flutters proudly at the top.

A shot from an overlook with the flag fluttering around in summer while the countryside is lush green.

Same shot taken during fall. The green is replaced by reds and yellows in the same view of the surrounding countryside.

It is a very popular tourist destination, both during summer and in fall. In summer people flock to take a swim in the cool water of Hickory Nut Falls while in fall the panoramic view is stunning. The number of cars parked will give an idea of the number of visitors to this park.

A short hike took us to Devil's Head which is a natural rock formation shaped in the form of a head. Guess erosion can do wonders with rocks.

At the bottom of the rock, another moderate hike takes you to the 404 ft waterfalls, Hickory Nut Falls. It is one of the highest falls I have seen in this area.

The Chimney Rock State Park is home to a lot of rare flora and fauna. Managed to capture some wild flowers on the trail.

The Hickory Nut Falls is a popular destination in summer. Many people prefer to cool off the summer heat by taking a dip in the cool waters of the pool at the bottom of the falls.

The waterfall is so high, I found it difficult to capture the full height at 28mm which is the available wide-angle for me. So I started taking portions of the waterfall instead.

The water was a lovely silky white and we spent quite sometime capturing multiple shots of the waterfall before starting on our way back to Charlotte.

Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden

Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located in Belmont, one of the suburbs of Charlotte. It includes manicured gardens, natural surrounding areas including woodland trails, sparkling fountains and an Orchid Conservatory. During Christmas and New Year, nearly 60,000 holiday lights are on display at the garden transforming the garden into something ethereal. Just 30 mins from home, we visited the place on a evening. The holiday lights were beautiful but the heavy fog somehow dampened the visit.

Two angles at the entrace welcomed us to the Visitor's Lobby of the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden.

There was some Irish music along with some traditional dancing in the lobby. Some traditional Irish intruments were playing out beautiful tunes.

They had a full christmas tree made up of orchids. But then this place has an Orchid Conservatory.

Managed to capture the holiday lights decorated here from a good angle giving a different perspective.

There were lights of different colours. Some red, some blue, some yellow, some green. And some were white.

The beautiful lighted tunnel leading to the fountain.

Another capture of the lighted tunnel leading to the fountain.

The lights were decorated in the shapes of trees and birds. Saw one in the shape of a large butterfly.

Some christmas lights in the shape of flying birds.

Some in the shape of trees and colourful flowers.

Soldiers standing sentinel infront of lighted christmas trees.

There were some lighting in the Orchid Conservatory as well.