The Hindu and Buddhist history of Odisha , or rather, ancient Kalinga, is rather well known to everyone. Who hasn’t heard of the grand temples of Odisha – Puri, Lingaraj and Konark, or the great war of Kalinga which inspired Ashoka to convert to Buddhism? In contrast, very few know of the Jaina heritage of this region. This is quite a pity, since, just around 7 km from the city, is one of India’s most ancient inscriptions, which throws light on the Jaina heritage of Odisha. This inscription is the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela, in the hills of Udaygiri. Udaygiri and Khandgiri are two hills located opposite each other, and both are testaments to the rich Jaina heritage of Odisha. The caves at Udaygiri are older, while Khandgiri is relatively newer, but has lasted much longer, and continues to be a place of pilgrimage for Jains even today. These hills, from inscriptions and excavations of caves, shrines and rock beds, appear to have been a haven for Jaina monks, right from the ...
The river Kabini is the heart of the Nagarhole National park,
and a boat ride on the river is an integral part of the stay at the Kabini
River Lodge. The incessant, unseasonal rainfall had marked our stay so far, and
heading to the jetty for our boat ride on our second evening at the lodge, we
kept our fingers crossed, hoping for clear skies.
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| The Jetty... at the Kabini River Lodge |
The weather was clear when we
set out. However, within minutes, the skies turned dark, and it began to rain.
We thought that was the end of our boat ride, but just as quickly as it had
started, the rain stopped, and a rainbow appeared in the sky.
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| The River, with the overcast sky... |
 |
| And the Rainbow... |
Soon, birds began to appear… Cormorants…
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| Cormorants |
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| Cormorant |
River Terns…
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| River Terns in flight |
Snake-birds or Darters…
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| Snake Bird, or Darter |
A variety of Kingfishers…..Pied Kingfishers…
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| Pied Kingfisher |
Common Kingfishers…
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| Common Kingfisher |
And the White Throated Kingfishers too.
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| Pied Kingfisher (top) and White Throated Kingfisher (bottom) |
Lapwings…
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| Lapwing |
Grey Herons…
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| Grey Heron with a fish in its beak |
Painted Storks…
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| Painted Stork |
And White Ibis….
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| White Ibis |
Flocks of herons flew homewards as the light began to fall…
And hidden in a bunch of fallen branches, we spotted a flock
of Night
Herons, both, adult and juvenile!
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| Can you spot the Night Heron? |
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| Night Heron - Juvenile |
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| Night Heron - Adult |
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| Night Herons - Juvenile and Adult |
An Osprey swooped over us and perched on a branch…
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| Osprey in flight |
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| Osprey |
And yes, there were crocodiles too, in the water… and
out!
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| Croc! |
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| Crocodile - so well camouflaged! |
A herd of spotted deer were the largest animals we saw!
And we came across people... fishing in coracles
And in the fields.
The sun was setting as we made our way back to the jetty.
As the orb dipped over the horizon, and the night sky
glittered, we thanked our stars for a wonderful evening… and wondered what the
morning would bring!
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The varieties of kingfishers are wonderful to see! I love your sunset pics too. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Natalie! We love seeing all these varieties of Kingfishers. and there are many more, that I have yet to see! as for the sunset, I guess we can never tire of watching them, whether at home, or out!
DeleteBeautiful tour of National Park with lovely birds.
ReplyDeleteThank you Rajesh!
DeleteEnjoyed the boat ride with you,thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ani! Glad you enjoyed it! It was a pleasure to share our experience!
Deletebeautiful nature.... And Thank You Very Much.........
ReplyDeleteNature is always beautiful! there is so much to see and enjoy!
DeleteYes you're absolutely right
DeleteI want to thank you for this exceptionally awesome write up along with the pictures. Nature is always mesmerizing. I myself had Kabini experience and must say the view is just awesome...I went for long walks by the river either during dawn or in the evening...Moreover the boat ride is the best ever option for an exclusive "boat jungle safari"..
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