Girish's Blog

May 2013 We leave the small town of Kidangoor, near Kottayam, at 730 AM to head out to Thattekad. En route we stop at the ancient Subrahmanya temple at Kidangoor . It is absolutely quite except for the calls of a few Oriental Magpie Robins pecking at worms in the circumambulatory path around the temple. Women are not allowed inside the temple which has a beautiful image of Karthikeya with his spear and peacock. There is a small Vishnu temple on the side. We step out and walk onwards the river which has a bathing ghat for devotees. It is an amazing view - clear water lined by lush greenery as far as the eye can see. In a tiled hall nearby we hear the rhythmic tapping indicating that a Kathakali class is in progress.As we turn back our progress is arrested by the sight of two Asian Paradise Flycatchers, a Rufous Treepie and a few Oriental Magpie Robins. On the drive towards Thattekad we see many acres of land have been stripped bare of the native vegetation and rep...

We'd heard so much about Kumarakom , and the thousands of birds that make this area their home every winter, and we decided that a trip to Kerala would not be complete without a visit to this avian resort. As soon as we entered, we were told by the staff at the gate that we had come at the wrong time and that we should come in May-June for the best bird sightings. We were then hustled into purchasing a "Safari tour" which for most of the time consisted of a Kerala State Tourism Development Corporation employee in a loud motorboat scaring the birds away. A few houseboats on the Vembanad lake cruised by, fully equipped with satellite TV dishes, Air Conditioners and deck chairs. In the peak December holiday season they rent for about Rs.12,000 per day. Once we crossed the houseboats, and cut the motor, we got sight of some of the birds we had come to see. The walking tour, which took us through dense vegetation showed some birds and marketing that we had not seen earlier....