History on the streets of Kerala

Listening to the incessant rains outside our room, the three of us lazed about, wondering if the Sun ever shone in this part of the country, and what our day was going to be like. It was the last day of our holiday, and we were in Kovalam, The Swagath Hotel.. 

After a bit of dilly dallying, we managed to get our act together, get dressed and head out towards the Padmanabaswamy Temple in Trivandrum. 

Located in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) half a km from the railway station is the 5000 year old Anantha Padmanabhaswamy Divya Desam, where the gigantic Lord Anantha Padmanabhan is seen in a Bhujanga Sayana Kolam.

As the van pulled into a lane near the temple, i noticed this water hydrant on the side walk. I had never seen one of these before in our country, and it had me curious. I asked our cab driver what it was, and what the purpose was, alas, he had no clues what it was. 

Fascinating the things you see when you are travelling.... 

Looked like it has survived quite a bit of time, the year on this thing said 1950. I wish there was someone who knew what it was and the story behind it... 

As the crow fllies

During our 2nd day at the resort, we were walking along a slushy path towards the coir village, to watch a few women and maybe the learn the trick of making coir threads from coconut fiber. A few steps ahead, my friend M was walking, her camera ready to capture anything interesting. i was trailing behind her when suddenly she drew to a halt and motioned me towards her with a finger on her lips. 

M: Aarti, look there it is again. the common crow... They seem to be romancing ... :)

Me: oh yes, how pretty... 

Ani who was walking ahead with her son exclaimed.. 'hello, we see the common crow all over back home, what is wrong with you both"[giggles]

Me: Ahem, Ani, this is not a crow... this is a butterfly di.. 

A: Oops.. my bad, was wondering why you girls are gushing over the boring crow... :)

The beautiful butterfly called 'Common Indian crow" we saw quite a bit through our stay at the Coir Village Resort in Kerala.

The Common Crow is a glossy black butterfly with brown underside and little white marks along the outer margins of the wing. The wingspan is about 8-9 cm and the body also has prominent white spots that you cant miss.

Wiki: It is found everywhere in India, right up into the mountains till 8000 feet. Occasionally it swarms in the low, wet jungles of South India due to the abundance of its food plants which are spread over three orders of plants.
 

We saw quite a few of these beauties over the next few days in  Kerala, apart from few other varieties...

Wordless Wednesdays... The lily shines

[Skywatch Friday] The show is on

 "The Tsunami point, that is where you can watch the sunset" guided our driver.... No sooner did we put one foot out and the skies began their act...

What drama.. What emotions.... Amazing sight!!

For more beautiful skies, visit Skywatch Friday