Bangalore has been especially cold this year. Most early mornings for the past two months, I have been surviving with a steaming cup of golden-brown kattan tea and a shawl wrapped around me. Last week, I picked up Jim Corbett's Man-Eaters of Kumaon—it's gripping stuff: those tense stalks through the Kumaon hills, the way Corbett... Continue Reading →
The Greater racket-tailed drongo is one of the easiest birds to describe visually. If, of course, you are familiar with how the "regular' Drongo looks. Picture the sleek black drongo with two long, twisted pendant-like extensions trailing from its tail. Its body is silky, glossy black. In our part of the world, black drongos are... Continue Reading →
Given how ridiculously common the Rufous Treepie is supposed to be across Peninsular India, it's frankly embarrassing that this bird has me acting like a hopeless groupie. Perhaps it's because Bangalore has been thoroughly colonized by the villainous Rock Pigeons (those sky rats) and their slightly less offensive cousins, the Spotted Doves (I'm team spotted... Continue Reading →
The Eurasian Hoopoe is my Proustian madeleine. I do not see enough Hoopoes nowadays, that whenever I spot one, I am taken back to childhood sunny gardens, chasing them away on aimless afternoons. Their fleeting presence evokes a warm nostalgia, stirring an innocent joy that’s hard to recapture. Mike Unwin, in his evocative book "Around... Continue Reading →
"Twenty-five thousand rupees, sir," the voice on the phone announced. "Actually, twenty-five thousand nine hundred, but I’ve given you a discount." The bill was for my Baleno, my trusty maroon hatchback, now seven years old. Just last month, I took it on a longish drive. It climbed the steep hairpin bends of the Dhimmam ghats... Continue Reading →
In Wilpattu’s shadowed jungle, a snake plummets from the sky, igniting primal fear. Night whispers of nagas and unseen beasts. By dawn, eerie bird omens and elephant tracks haunt the dewy paths. This chilling trip probes the wild’s dark heart, where ancient spirits stir and modernity falters.
We just returned from Trincomalee yesterday. A short 45-minute flight south over Tamil countries and the Palk Strait takes one to Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport. Trincomalee is located on the east coast of Sri Lanka. The road from Colombo to Trincomalee starts off winding through lush green squares of paddy, tall evergreen trees, and red-tiled,... Continue Reading →
Birds are classified as dinosaurs, specifically therapods, rather than descendants of them. Reading "The Rise and Fall of Dinosaurs" reshaped the author's understanding of their vast history. They learned that various dinosaurs coexisted across different eras and drew parallels between T-Rex’s characteristics and birds, gaining newfound appreciation for paleontology.
The Asian Koel is the kind of bird that wins the popular vote from a non-discerning public, like the homecoming King and Queen whom everybody cheers for on stage but nobody likes once they get off the stage. Asian Koels are brood parasites. They swoop down into unsuspecting host birds' nests, lay an egg among... Continue Reading →
I became aware of the existence of Indian Grey Hornbills (Ocyceros birostris) very recently. Until a few years back, whenever I thought of Hornbills, I thought of the Malabar Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis). These more recognizable cousins of the Indian Grey Hornbills are strikingly loud in plumage and vocalization. They have majestic casques and characteristically... Continue Reading →
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This is about my trips and adventures.
The Reluctant Book Worm 
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