Monsoon Madness.

June to September is the normal south-west monsoon in Mumbai. At the fag end of September we sometimes get a preview of the north-east monsoon for a few days, after which it disappears to other parts of India leaving Mumbai to its mild "Winters".

But not before it has celebrated with thunder and lightning and overpowering dark clouds.

All pictures clicked from the building terrace on my point & shoot Canon A480 camera...

The Field Trip (Part 3)

Our third stop on the field trip was at the Aghane village comprising of 16 households totaling 81 people. The villages Ahupe, Pimpargane, Aghane, Doni and Nhaved are spread along the top of the Sahyadri ranges, in the Western Ghats in the Ambegaon block of Pune district. These places have an annual rainfall of 3500 - 4000 mm.

I was there with a group of 30 people on such a monsoon rainy day. The villagers kindly allowed as to sleep in the school hall. They even prepared simple home style dinner for us.....

Some typical houses of the village. The place where we stayed was similar to the large dwelling in the background and u can see it was very cold and foggy;  something we never experience in Mumbai.

                                                                  The neighboring house.

 Next morning getting ready to leave in the bus, after a wonderful repast of delicious Pohe and sweet tea, i clicked this through the bus entrance can u spot who i spotted ?

Leaving the village descending the mountain the next morning. This was the view at 8 am.....

Stay tuned for Field Trip (Part 4).....

The Field Trip (Part 2)

The stop was Dimbhe Dam on the Ghod river, Ambegoan, 92 kms from Pune. The river begins in the Bhimashankar wildlife sanctuary in the Sahyadri hills. Nineteen dam-displaced villages are situated around the reservoir having an average fishing area of 1,278 hectares. The villager's right to fish in the Dimbhe Dam came after a struggle led by Kusum Karnik , co founder of Shashwat Trust. The reservoir is under the control of local tribals and fishing at the dam is managed by the community.

We climbed to the higher side of the dam to have a look at the fish breeding.

                   "Net Pens" set up for fish breeding on the banks of the Dimbhe reservior.

  A distance shot of the huge reservoir. The gross storage for Dimbhe is 13.5 TMC (382.06 Mcum) and area submerged at Full Reservoir Level (FRL) is 2202 hectares.

                                 Net Pen details with assorted infrastructure required.

Local man explaining the usage of the Net Pens.....There were many net pens begin managed here and u     could walk around them.

  One more close up of the Net Pens. Jumping on the one of the walking areas often made   the entire thing undulate in the water alarming unsuspecting people seriously looking at the fish. Where upon u looked else where sort of pretending u had nothing to do with it.

Way up from the reservoir on our way into the hills, this was a view from a solitary house belonging to one of the villagers.

            Undulating road going up into the hills towards our next stop. It was raining through out the trip.

The red and yellow state transport buses have been the life line for the villagers reaching into the remotest    corners of the state. One such in operation.....

   Somewhere at the top we had this outstanding panorama view of the Ghod river snaking through the valley.

 Another view with different shades of green. Couple of steps further and there was a sheer fall into the river. Its a good thing i know swimming...

                                        

                                              This isn't me but the scenery is wonderful.

                                            

                                       This is me and the scenery still remains wonderful.....:-)

                              

                                    The tyranny of monsoon clouds changing the whole picture.

                                    

                                         Further down the road and the wild flowers return.

                          
                           This has been clicked from a moving bus later on in the evening.....

          

       The actual Dimbhe Dam. There are several villages towards the left side further down not in  this photo.

Stay tuned for The Field Trip (Part 3)......

The Field Trip (Part 1)

I left on Saturday the 13th at dawn on a rural field trip with a group. Overcast, rainy and the beginning of a 3 day holiday saw a massive traffic on the highway which we needed to follow eventually.

The initial destination was Manchar, District Pune. Up in the planes away from Mumbai in the Bhimashankar area.

On the highway, heavily overcast and raining. A typical monsoon morning.

 

We were not headed to the actual city of Manchar. This is how the outskirts looked like.

Pomegranate trees with bright red flowers.

Close up of the fruits and flowers.

See the developing fruit at the lower end of the picture.

Coconut palm tree(Cocos Nucifera) in the premises where we visited.


Much needed clor on a dull day.

       Work of art!

Tricolor rose in the same garden where we stopped for lunch.

The rose enjoying the monsoon drops as well........

I had never seen a rose with three colors......












Stay tuned for the Field Trip photos (Part 2)......

The Flower of the Creator - Part 2

This is the one of the pleasures of the monsoon is the number of invitations i get from friends to come and view this flower blooming in various gardens and balconies.

 This is the season for blooming of the Brahma Kamal also know as Saussurea Obvallata.


The flower named after Bramha, the God of creation, blooms for only one night in the year, during the monsoon season here. The bloom lasts just for a few hours. If one observes closely, the buds look like they originate from the leaves of the plant. The central white stamen is believed to represent Lord Krishna, and the reddish brown stalks surrounding the closed bud are supposed to represent the 100 Kauravas of the Mahabharata.



The thing that does NOT come across in this complicated description, is the enchanting perfume of the flower as you enter the balcony and bend nearer to click. I have just found out that the leaf of that plant takes root when planted in the soil.

I am planning to acquire my own plant. Some say it brings luck....

Life and times of Mr. Snail.....

                                   Found Mr. Snail relaxing on the greens near the Swimming pool.

                                                                Home Sweet Home!

One Day, Fun Day.

Nothing as dull as a dark overcast monsoon sky.

Dark and Dangerous

Darker and Threatening

During the break in the rains i was out in the evening by the lake side. These lawns are normally full of children playing.

There is never a free place on this bench any evening usually. This a favorite spot for students,parents,visiting grandparents,walking ladies etc.

There is always something encouraging at the end of a dull day. I reached home to see my mom preparing veggies for a pasta dish.

I just realized i had the colors of the Indian flag.

 Life is more fun and sizzling when we are all mixed up together..........


Something sorely needed to be understood in these difficult times in Mumbai.