Wildlife Photo Safari: Bandipura-Ranganathittu

The idea of going to an exclusive photo safari and that too 2000 km away from my city was little weird to start with. But once I decided, I was determined to make it.

Drs Ravi and Roopa Hebbali were the organizing force behind this Safari.

I joined the group on 22nd early morning at Ravi's Bangalore office at 28th Cross, 4th block, Jayanagar. Including me it was a group of eight. Dr. Tanmoy Das, from Apollo Hospital Kolkata(whom I met for the first time there),Dr. Hafiz and Dr. Fabith from Caclicut, Dr. Santosh also from Kerala(Kanhangad),Dr. Kannan from Chennai, Xercis Tampal an IT professional from Mumbai and Dr. Ramesh from Bangalore. Our faculties were R. Dev( a celebrated widllife photographer in his mid fifties(he was incidentally the youngest Indian to be awarded the prestigious Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society of UK in 1978 ) and Dr. Manoj Singadi(http://www.manojsindagi.in/) a qualified paediatritian and a celebrated wild life photographer(who is also an Associate Fellow of RPS, UK).

Including Ravi and Roopa, it was a dozen.

The next two days were mind blowing to say the least.

We first went to Ranganathittu bird Sanctuary, then we camped at the Bandipur Safari Lodge on the Mysore-Ooty Road.

Next three days were dotted with intense activities like, open jeep Safari in the morning and evening, wild life talk, macro photography session, theory classes, Landscape photography etc.

The members of the group gelled very well to each other.

The whole trip was a refreshing and rejuvenating experience which inspired, provoked and almost whipped me to take better photographs with my small Canon SX 10iS bridge camera with a 28-560 mm lens.

But this was the smallest and cheapest machine at work there with some 500 D, 50 D, even 5D Mark II and D90 etc. with 55-250 mm, 100-400 lenses !!!

It will take some time for me to settle down in the concrete jungle again after this dream Safari.

Praha

I don't know why Praha seemed to me as a melancholic city...

Can't forget the dilapidated rail stations of yesteryear, old town square, Charle's bridge(remided me of Paris, though) and even the one-way, narrow ally to the restaurant for which even the pedestrains need traffic signals(as only one person can walk in or come out at one point of time:-)

Now very rich or snobbish, Praha is very humane and down to earth.

A relaxing afternoon cruise on the serene Vlatava river was really very helpful in unwinding...

You may leave Praha but Praha will never leave you...it tends to stay deep inside and continue to come back again and again like an old song:-)

That is Praha for me.

Magical Lucknow

DERMACON 2010 was held in Lucknow this year. This was my first visit to the city.

I was mesmerized. It was love at first sight. The newer pasrts of Lucknow are awesome with wide and clean roads and flyovers. Parks are, though impressive, smells of autocracy.

Under a grey British sky, the temperature was just few degrees above freezing point. Art Huntley was one of the invited speakers. So were Dr. Ortonne, Torello Lotti ,Robin Graham Brown, Howard Maibach.

We will remember the afternoon at Dr. Ahmed Zaheer's ancestral place Aliya Manzil on the Rana Pratap Marg. Raj and Asha Kubba, Martin Black were there among others.

This was a personal and private invitation.

Gazal was tantalizing. Kebabs were unworldly. Kali Gazar ki Halua was a revealation.

Will take long to erase the memory of that cold afternoon wrapped with pure and heart warming Lucknowi Tehjeeb, Nafasat, Nazakat, Takaluf and Latafat.