Bharatpur, Rajasthan
Bird of the Day: Lesser Whistling Duck
Bharatpur, Rajasthan
My Animal of the Day – Pfeffer’s Flamboyant Cuttlefish
After much deliberation (1 day), I decided that I did not want to limit myself to just one particular group of animals to enthusiastically promote to the Raxa Family; instead, from now on I will be sticking my hand in a hat and pulling a name out with whatever insanely awesome or obnoxiously exotic organism I have chosen and posting it. Truthfully, my love and admiration for certain organisms extends well beyond those of just reptiles and amphibians; so why constrain myself to just those?
Photo Courtesy Diverosa.com
Wildlife Santuaries of India–Kanha National Park
Who doesn’t love the Jungle Book? image © Disney
If you ever feel nostalgic and would like to relive your childhood years, you should consider visiting Kanha National Park in Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh; it inspired the Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling and served as a setting for The Jungle Book!
A sloth bear!
Photograph by Zigmund Leszczynski/Animals Animals-Earth Scenes; National Geographic
Kanha is a Tiger Reserve in the Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh, India
This park is known for its abundant population of royal Bengal tiger, leopards, sloth bear, swamp deer, and Indian wild dog. The park’s main flora consists of lush saal, bamboo forests, lakes, streams, and open grasslands. Continue reading
Margam Kali
Photo credit : Sindhu J
Margam Kali is one of the traditional group dances of Kerala practiced by Syrian Christians. The dancers wear the traditional Kerala Christian dress (white dhoti and blouse) while singing, dancing and rhythmically clapping around a lighted lamp. The dance form dates back to the 16th century during the Portuguese era, telling the story of the arrival of St. Thomas to the Malabar coast. Continue reading
What Else is Out There?
Thanks to the World Wildlife Fund, 441 new species of plants and animals have been discovered in the Amazonian rainforest, including a truly bizarre looking monkey that apparently purrs like a cat when content, as well as a… vegetarian piranha.
Newly discovered Titi Monkey. Photo Courtesy World Wildlife Fund
It is a good feeling in any naturalist’s gut, amateur or professional, too know that undiscovered species still remain in today’s world — where technology and advancements in various facets of our lives thanks to 21st century progressivism don’t leave much to the imagination; it seems as though the mystique of discovery still remains just as true to many of us as it did when we were children. Unfortunately this is not the case for absolutely everyone, but for those who are still amazed by the world, discoveries such as this are a blessing.
Focus: From Near to Infinity
The concept of hyperfocal distance is well-know to landscape photographers where they use this technique to get amazing images due to the increased depth of field.
The hyperfocal distance is the closest distance at which a lens can be focused on while maintaining objects at “infinity” acceptably sharp. When the lens is focused on the foreground, all objects at distances from half of the hyperfocal distance out to infinity will be well-defined.
Here is the steps I followed to get the results as shown: Continue reading
Woody@101
Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Last year we were a bit “off calendar” in honoring one of our favorite American Masters, this year less so. The good news is that his music and his relentless work on behalf of less fortunate people and the communities they were part of is so vast that, luckily for us, it will take some time to exhaust the full measure of his recordings.
For decades, we’ve had the Smithsonian recordings (with the help of Alan Lomax and Moe Asch) to thank for preserving both the musical and oral history of the nation. In honor of this less symmetrical birthday Rounder Records has released additional works from the archives, this time focusing on the part of Guthrie’s canon that was written for the American government.
In the Library of Congress recordings, the young musicologist and historian Alan Lomax made recordings of songs and stories in the 1940s of many of the country’s most colorful and important musicians, including Guthrie.
Along with John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath,” it is one of the single greatest resources for understanding Depression-era Oklahoma: how the pioneer spirit reacted when confronted with crushing poverty. Continue reading
Ek Balam, Mexico
Bird of the Day: Ferruginous Pygmy Owl
Common Floss Flower – Eupatorium odoratum
Common Floss Flower is frequently found along road sides and on hills up to 1200 meters. Native to tropical South America and naturalized in India, it is an aggressive invader. The flowers of the plant attracts butterflies.
Rainforests, Primary And Otherwise
Thanks to the Guardian for bringing this to our attention:
At an age when freedom passes allow pensioners to take on the challenge of clambering to the top deck of a bus, Dr Francis Hallé is more likely to be found perched at the top of a tree.
The retired professor of botany is 75 and has just completed his first film. In it he can be seen standing, without a safety rope, on a branch of a massive moabi tree 230 feet above the forest floor. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Barred Becard
Los Quetzales, Panama
Reptile of the Day – Thorny Dragon
Today’s reptile is the Thorny Dragon, Moloch horridus (Australia) — as its name suggests, this Australian lizard’s body is dominated by intimidating spikes in order to look unappealing and fend off predators.
Occupying scrublands and deserts primarily, the Thorny Dragon’s coloration is perfect for blending in and feasting on ants, its main source of nutrition.
Photo Courtesy: statravel.co.uk
^ The face says it all ^
Photo courtesy: australiangeographic.com.au
New Biography Of Gandhi
There was an uproar, just around the time that Raxa Collective was forming, over Joseph Lelyveld’s biography of Gandhi. Many of us were new to India then, and had not understood just how much, how deeply and in how many ways Gandhi meant more than just history to all Indians. The international news coverage seemed as surprised as some of us, but generally did what they were supposed to do in reporting. This newspaper in particular seemed as objective as possible in reporting about the impact of a book that one of its own former editors had authored. Now, another biography, and we look forward to it. Thanks to the New York Times and their India Ink news service:
Ramachandra Guha is one of India’s foremost public intellectuals and historians. “Gandhi Before India,” his first volume of a two-part biography of Mohandas K. Gandhi, was published in India earlier this month. India Ink spoke to Mr. Guha about his decision to work on a biography of Mr. Gandhi, his choice to make Mr. Gandhi’s years in South Africa as the first volume of the biography, and Mr. Gandhi’s journey from a boy in the western state of Gujarat to his return to India as a major political figure. Continue reading
Wildlife Sanctuaries of India–Jim Corbett National Park
(Picture above is from Corbett National Park‘s official website)
I am going to be doing some brief research and write about each of the 53 Tiger Reserves in India from now on. They are governed by Project Tiger, which is administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority of India.
Project Tiger was established in 1973 to “ensure a viable population of tiger in India for scientific, economic, aesthetic, cultural and ecological values and to preserve for all time, areas of biological importance as a natural heritage for the benefit, education and enjoyment of the people.” Continue reading
Anayirankal – Munnar
Photo Credits: Ullas G
The view from the Anayirankal dam is one of the most popular excursions points in Idukki district. Situated near Munnar en route to Thekkady on the Munnar state highway, the dam is flanked by steep hills and tea plantations, making it a tranquil and scenic picnic spot. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Purple Heron (Hebbal Lake, Bangalore, Karnataka)
Jack London & Literature’s Role In Environmental History
Caleb Crain‘s book review of this biography will no doubt be of interest to any of our readers who follow Seth’s work on the history of environmentalism. Subscription to the New Yorker is required, and worth it, but here is the blurb available to all prior to passing the pay wall:
Jack London never felt that he got enough meat. When he was seven, he stole a piece from a girl’s basket—an incident that he called “an epitome of my whole life.” Although his mother claimed that “he didn’t go hungry in our house!” and a childhood friend recalled being served steak during a visit, London insisted that he had been deprived. “It has been hunger, Continue reading
Marma Chikitsa – Ayurveda Treatment
Photo credits: Ranjith
Ayurveda is science of life. Although Ayurveda is practised all over India, Kerala is perhaps the only state where this science of medicine still follows age-old traditional laws. Marma Points are positions on the body where flesh, veins, tendons, bones and joints meet. Oil therapy is an important Marma Chikitsa, where warm Medicated oils are used in specific Marma points. Continue reading
Cenote, A Mesoamerican Phenomenon
Thanks to National Geographic‘s Newswatch service for bringing this story, related to SUNY Albany’s work in a part of the world still being explored, to our attention:
The Mayapán Taboo Cenote Project will undertake an extensive exploration of the underwater cave, Cenote Sac Uayum, to document 20+ submerged skeletons and artifacts. Team leader and National Geographic Grantee Bradley Russell will also investigate the modern belief that a supernatural power- a feathered serpent- guards the water within. Continue reading
Too many birds, not enough Herps!!!
We can’t let the birders have all the fun, so I’m going to start posting my favorite reptiles & amphibians! (I’m clearly in good company on the subject, however!) These amazing creatures are often unjustly vilified, but if you take a closer look you will realize just how beautiful and unique they are.
So I will start for now with Crotalus cerastes, the desert sidewinder (SW US/NW Mexico) — This small pit viper is specially adapted to live in the desert, most notably in its locomotive behavior of “sidewinding” which leaves a trademark imprint in sand. Enjoy!
Organikos 