Lifescapes Gallery

Long before Richard Bode’s bestseller on life’s little lessons, the boatmen of Kabini had learnt the selfsame ‘art of living’ in their little floating classroom: the Coracle! Living, as they did, on the banks of the Kabini, the Coracle was their friend, philosopher and guide: a constant companion as they went about the business of Read more >>

Coracle, Kabini | Posted in Culture, Kabini | 6 Comments »

If you were to call someone a ‘Drongo’ on a visit to Australia, be prepared to either show a clean pair of heels or to settle it outside, man to man. For, down under, the term is used to refer to someone who’s a stupid no-hoper. The slang originates from a famous racehorse of that Read more >>

Black Drongo, Kabini | Posted in Birds, Kabini | 1 Comment »

For a photo-essay that celebrates the finest in nature photography, the viewers may be forgiven for wondering how we allowed this image to pass without that most basic of photo editing techniques: red-eye correction! They could also be forgiven for wondering if the Editor had a bad case of ‘red eye’ syndrome after a late Read more >>

Black-shouldered Kite, Kabini | Posted in Birds, Kabini | 9 Comments »

When you meander along the wooded backstreets of Coorg, there’s one genre of music that’ll serenade you every season: The Blues! The Coorg version is, however, very different from its American cousin in that its provenance is not the stygian depths of melancholia, but springs from a sunny groundswell of cheerful optimism. Furthermore, the label Read more >>

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Coorg | Posted in Birds, Coorg | 14 Comments »

If the sheer beauty of Coorg moves you to poetry, and you feel like spouting a few verses aloud when you think you’re alone, you’d be wise to think twice. Chances are, you may not be as alone as you thought, and may hear your words thrown back at you, often with added acoustics in Read more >>

Common Myna, Coorg | Posted in Birds, Coorg | 15 Comments »

The cult of the Freemasons and the rituals of the Masonic lodges may remain an eternal mystery to those of us who’re on the outside. But in the lush environs of Kabini, there exists another esoteric group of masons that creates lodges whose construct is predicated to the creation of life, and whose artistry has Read more >>

Potter Wasp, Kabini | Posted in Insects, Kabini | 28 Comments »

There aren’t too many places where junior citizens can wet their beaks, but if you’re suitably small (preferably below 14 cm, like those check-in baggage specs at airports), decked out in green with a crimson or orange tail-piece, and are spiffily turned out with a formal blue scarf (dress code for guys only; the broads Read more >>

Vernal Hanging Parrot, Coorg | Posted in Birds, Coorg | 9 Comments »

He’s very successful at his vocation, but the White-throated Kingfisher of Coorg is definitely not one of those brooding, silent killers so beloved of Hitchcock fans; he prefers to announce his presence with a loud chuckle or a staccato laugh that suggests he’s not short of gallows humour, even if the joke’s lost on his Read more >>

White-throated Kingfisher, Coorg | Posted in Birds, Coorg | 12 Comments »

Being mugged is every traveller’s nightmare. Being mugged and then consumed as the main course in a mugger’s banquet, is the stuff that makes it to the horror movie hall of fame. But being killed and converted into a Smoothie to be slurped at leisure, takes the (dis)honours and is certainly not something you’d like Read more >>

Robber Fly, Coorg | Posted in Coorg, Insects | 8 Comments »

Whether you’re part of the Dragonfly Squadron, the Butterfly Command, or the Bug & Beetle Corps, you’d do well to steer clear of the airspace around Kabini. This is a biospheric Bermuda triangle, where identified flying objects fly in but don’t fly out, and nothing’s heard of them ever after. This ‘No Fly’ zone is Read more >>

Asian Paradise-flycatcher, Kabini | Posted in Birds, Kabini | 8 Comments »