Pulicat, Land of Flamingos

It was a warm Saturday morning when i was on the road to Pulicat... This destination had been evading us for a while and finally, we were heading there... :) 

Along the way, there were multiple stops where we did some bird watching and ofcourse breakfast...We spotted quite a few birds- 

1.Indian Roller

2.Common Kingfisher

3.White breasted kingfisher

4.Pied kingfisher

5.Blue Tailed Beeeater

6. Green Beeeater

7.Pied cuckoo

8.Asian koel – male and female

9.Rose ringed parakeet

10.blue rocked pigeon and so much more.....

Painted storks in the fields along the way

After being on the road for what seemed like hours, we finally saw the lake in sight.. The lake was serene and calm, with colorful boats dancing to the wind.. There were pits where the locals stored Jelly fish, Prawn and others alike, which were then exported..

A bit of haggling with the boatmen and we were on a boat ready to set sail into the lake... I thought i saw some flamingos in a distance and we decided to explore the area further. 

Two men sailing in the lake, totally relaxed..

The boatmen insisted it was not possible to get closer to them as the water was very shallow and the boat could get caught in the slush. Few minutes later one of the boat men was in the water pushing the boat along, taking us closer to the Flamingos. What a sight those pink birds were..

Excited and kicked to the core, i could not remain quiet... Kept clicking pictures and gasping at how gorgeous they were.. It was like watching a bunch of school kids at prayer, standing still, being silent.. And every now and then, one of the birds would flap its bright pink wings, or walk around to another side.. Moments later, we saw one bird take flight and the rest of them followed suit.. Wow, what a sight it was! Awesome.. breath taking.. magnificient.. beautiful... I can go on and on, but words fail to describe the sight..

. 

Sitting still, we watched them fly above our heads, to the far side and settle down in another part of the lake. Flamingos incidentally park themselves in shallow marsh lands only, and they seem to stick with the group...  We returned to the shore and made our way back to the car, totally lost in those birds and what we had seen...

What a day it had been!! The blazing heat was forgotten and our fatigue had vanished into thin air.... 

Note:: Pulicat is a small town in the Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu state. The town is about 60 kilometres from Chennai and the lake sits in both Tamil Nadu & Andhra Pradesh. Pulicat lake is basically the backwaters of Bay of Bengal, and is known for the wide variety of birds that visit here. 

Skywatch Friday -- St Stephen's Church, Ooty

Was taking a break from work and glancing through my photo albums when i stumbled upon the one titled "Ooty". Its been 2years since my last visit and i sure hope i get the chance to revisit the hill station. 

Back in school when i had visited Ooty 1st time, the toy train had us all in squeals, laughing and cheering on.. And later, when we visited Ooty during my MBA days for a holiday + workshop, we were enjoying the sights and scenes that came along with us. We were 4 close friends who wandered the town, took off on our own looking for hidden treasures, got into trouble for being late to the workshop sessions, but at the end we had FUN! 

The most recent trip was just me.. I travelled by Bus both ways, a good 12hour journey made easy thanks to music, book and decent company... 

Many who visit Ooty only know of the usual tourist spots.. But during my last trip, while i aimlessly roamed the winding path, i stumbled upon this magnificent church. Asked the cab to pull over and decided to explore a bit...

St Stephen's Church

 The Church is a Gothic church and is one of the best known colonial structures in Ooty.  The church was apparently constructed and carved totally from wood. The interiors are beautiful and it was cooler than outside..probably because of the wood. Stories around the Church say that the wood was brought from Tipu Sultan's palace and was transported to Ooty through elephants.

The Stained glass images were beyond beautiful.. Words dont do justice...

There is also a life size portrait of the Last Supper near the doorway...

Info from the net:

The pulpit is on the left of the chancel and attached to it is a small flight of steps. A pleasant surprise awaits one in the attic of the third tier of the church. Here, instead of the big metallic bell, one comes across novel but antique hammer like structures (four in number) tied on to inverted "V" Shaped planks, with ropes. There are four thick iron bars on the Eastern as well as the Western side screwed on to thick wooden beams and they hang from above at different heights in a slanting fashion, and face each other. There are pulleys attached with solid wires, which operate the hammers, and which reach the ground floor through the gaps in between the planks on the floor. The entire structure is housed on a tall, sturdy stool, which is open on all the fourth sides. When the wires are pulled from the floor, a rhythmic musical sound is produced..  [Source: http://www.tamilnadu-tourism.com/tamil-nadu-temples/st-stephens-church.html]

I walked around the campus, taking in the beautiful architecture when suddenly the security guard came over and asked me to leave as it was closing time....

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Skywatch Friday -The Cross

The Santhome Basilica, Chennai is an architectural marvel that holds my attention every time i drive past it. The pristine white walls, the pointed structure, and the cross on top- Quite a sight!! 


The Three different moods of the Church taken at different times......................... 

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Skywatch Friday Cones in the sky

During our brief visit to Kochi, we travelled to a nearby town called Thirupunithura, where we discovered an entire maze of lanes filled with palaces.. Some of them were simply called Palace 1, Palace 13, while others had names- Lakshmi Thopu Palace and Bungalow Palace. As we walked around, while trying to capture a sneak peek into the palaces, i managed to see only the roofs.. They looked like Cones against the sky... 

The palaces were not majestic or grand, but were palatial houses. Some of which have become wedding halls, while others are occupied by descendants from the Royal families...We see swanky cars, kids clad in T shirts and jeans running about, and modern life seems to have taken over these traditional palaces.... 

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