Coonoor, Tamil Nadu
Bird of the Day: Crimson-backed Sunbird
Coonoor, Tamil Nadu
Prayers
Photo credits: Ramesh Kindangoor
Worship is an integral part of every Indian’s life, especially Hindu’s. It starts from one’s early age with rituals performed during birth all the way to rituals performed upon one’s death. Worship rituals in Hindi are called ‘pooja‘ and are mostly performed by people who have dedicated their life to god. These individuals are called ‘pandits‘, and almost all pooja consists of a fire which is believed to be the path of offering, into which many things are burned as offerings. Continue reading
Support Your News Sources
Our blog is a mix of first person accounts and references to stories from major news sources around the world, mostly about communities (unique forms of heritage, unique approaches to getting important things done for community members, etc.), about conservation (especially examples of entrepreneurial approaches to the conservation of unique cultural and natural heritage), and about collaboration (especially in relation to communities and conservation). We scan far and wide for stories. We depend on newspapers to which we do not subscribe, in return feeding traffic back to their websites. We think this is a fair exchange, but what do we know? It is definitely worth further investigation.
Whatever news sources you regularly depend on, you should read this review by Nicholas Lemann in the Times Literary Supplement about this book that documents, in the context of the USA, the economic challenges facing the newspaper business:
People tend to have little sympathy with accounts of crisis in a trade or profession. It comes across as evidence of excessive self-preoccupation, or as a prelude to special pleading before government.Journalism’s difficulties seem to be drawing this kind of reaction from many people who aren’t journalists. Isn’t the press still a swaggering, even power-abusing actor in politics and society? Doesn’t it command vast attention and resources? Isn’t more news being read by more people than ever before? Continue reading
Statler Hotel Partners with Clean the World
Jason Koski/University Photography
According to the Cornell Chronicle from a few weeks ago, Cornell University’s Statler Hotel has been a partner with the nonprofit Clean the World organization since March, and has collected over 2,500 bars of soap from the Statler’s rooms. This soap has been recycled and distributed to communities in need throughout over 55 countries.
Clean the World is a great group that we have written about before, since its goal is to take something that would otherwise be wasted and provide it to people at risk of poor health due to hygienic conditions that can be easily ameliorated by increased access to soap.
Bird of the Day: Sapphire-vented Puffleg Hummingbird
Yanacocha Reserve, Ecuador
Dance and History
Photo credits: MN Shaji
In India there are numerous classical dances and quite a few of them have originated from the state of Kerala. These dances are not only entertainment but rich in history into which mythological stories of centuries ago have been depicted. The artists pay tribute to the brave and the bold, and the battles that shaped our present way of life, culture and heritage. Continue reading
Gift-Giving Across Species
David Plunkert …Gift-giving has been seen in spiders, birds, mammals and the land snail, which shoots darts at its intended.
If you think humans are unique as gift-givers, think again, and read Natalie Angier’s current article in The New York Times:
…The drive to exchange presents is ancient, transcultural and by no means limited to Homo sapiens. Researchers have found striking examples of gift-giving across the phyletic landscape, in insects, spiders, mollusks, birds and mammals. Many of these donations fall under the rubric of nuptial gifts, items or services offered up during the elaborate haggle of animal courtship to Continue reading
Getting Down and Dirty at Bharatpur
At my recent Bharatpur National Park workshop we were working on composing eye level shots. When choosing a tripod for wildlife photography avoid tripods with the centre column, as you can see you need to flatten up the legs for eye level.
I’ve never said getting great images in the wild is easy and the participants were willing to follow my lead to get the shots. They got some great eye level photos of the jackals here. Continue reading
female – Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka
Bird of the Day: Malabar Trogon
Christmas Eve at Cardamom County
Photo credits: M N Shaji
Every year both Cardamom County staff and guests look forward to Christmas Eve; from the eco-friendly bamboo and paper tree to the fun and games at our restaurant roof top. This year was also a blast with guests mingling with each other and being good sports by taking part in games as both families and couples. Continue reading
Why You Should Eat Naked — I Mean Nākd
Image © Natural Balance Foods
A few months ago I was introduced to the Nākd bars made by UK-based Natural Balance Foods, which are commonly described as being “nuts and fruits smushed together.” You can really tell this is the case from the ingredients list (see the Berry Delight above; the natural berry flavor is made up of extracts and spices). I sampled from of their wonderful range of flavors, and I think my favorite so far has been the Berry Delight, with Cocoa Orange as runner-up, but I’m also excited to try the Rhubarb & Custard some time. Continue reading
Opposable Thumbs Are Great, But What About Flexible Memory?
Robert Krulwich/NPR
Robert Krulwich makes us wonder, as always:
What Chickadees Have That I Want. Badly
First I look in my right coat pocket. Nothing. Then my left. Nothing. Then my pants, right side — no. Then my pants, left side — yes! This is me at my front door, looking for my keys. Every day.
Bird of the Day: Little Cuckoo (Los Cedros Reserve, Ecuador)
Thevara Badminton, Inauguration
Raxa Collective has at least as many neighborhoods to consider as we do properties under our management–each of which has a remarkable surrounding community–which is to say six in Kerala, one in Costa Rica, and one in Ghana. Continue reading
Beauty Of Munnar Tea Plantations
Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
Munnar is the highest point in the Idukki district of Kerala ranging at above 4,500 feet, it is also one of the major tea producing areas of the country and has now become the headquarters for major tea producers in India. Continue reading
Butterflies, The Ultimate Muse
Mary Ellen Hannibal, author of The Spine of the Continent, and winner of Stanford’s Knight-Risser Prize in Western Environmental Literature, sheds light on the importance of butterflies to one of the previous century’s great writers:
The life and work of the novelist Vladimir Nabokov referenced many symbols, none so much as the butterfly. Butterflies prompted Nabokov’s travels across the United States, exposing him to the culture and physical environment that he would transform into his best-known novel, Lolita. Butterflies motivated his parallel career in science, culminating in a then-ignored evolutionary hypothesis, which would be vindicated 34 years after his death using the tools of modern genetic analysis. And it was the butterfly around which some of Nabokov’s fondest childhood memories revolved. Continue reading
Cooperation And Exploitation In Bird Communities
In a story about the co-evolution of two sides of the “kindness of strangers” coin Ed Yong, one of the most readable of the current pantheon of great science writers shares some scientific findings that we consider to be heartening:
The common cuckoo is famed for its knack for mooching off the parental instincts of other birds. It lays its eggs in the nests of at least 100 other species, turning them into inadvertent foster parents for its greedy chicks. For this reason, it’s called a brood parasite. Continue reading
Experiments In Plant Intelligence
The article we linked to here is now unlocked so non-subscribers can access the full story, and the video currently posted on the New Yorker‘s website (click the image above to go to the source) is a good accompaniment:
Last week, in our World Changers Issue, Michael Pollan wrote about the growing field of plant neurobiology and the ways that plants seem to exhibit intelligence, intention, and even choice. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: White-rumped Vulture
Kabini Backwaters, Karnataka
Thevara Badminton, Final Practice And Laying The Lines
6pm this evening, our neighborhood will be the scene of intense competition. Yet, of course, friendly. Raxa Collective, as sponsor, has a special seat of honor watching the event, so we will hope to photo/video-document the fun. Liveblogging, alas, is not going to happen this time. It is peak season here for lodging operations, and all hands are on deck elsewhere. The recap, we promise, will be worth a look.
Organikos 