uttarakhand

Somewhere in #Dhanolti. Some time this summer.

The bird is some kind of thrush, I think. Can you help me identify it?

#dhanaulti

Must there be a cable running through every beautiful pic of the #mountains and #clouds ?

A lot going on in this pic. #Trees, a #cityscape, #mountains,#clouds and #fog. Even #monkeys, if you zoom in and hunt (not sure if Meta retains enough resolution for that).

It's all just #forest and this #abutment.

Or at least I can frame things that way 😁

Insta insists on cropping the sky out of this pic. Sigh.

And here, #hidden in the #foliage, lies the other end of the #bridge

The old #bridge spanned this #river. The river somehow has no name; it just meets the #Ganga at Phool Chatti

The new framing the old. Where somehow the old is better maintained and more elegant than the new.

Spectacular #sunset scenes like this one are a bonus

...and away from the #chaos of the #city.

Birding brings me close to #nature...

#Peaches, #apricots and #apples. And #fog. So much #fog. Or are they just #clouds?

So apparently I was out #birding two years ago, in #Pangot. Chasing angry wet #birds

Binge watch the entire series, they said. What could go wrong, they said. Now look at me eyes.

Are you having trouble spotting me on the tree? That's the whole point genius. Its called camouflage.

Just hanging about. Doing my thing. Being plump.

Ninja. I'm a ninja girl. Hai-ya!

Ei! Freddie! Are we doing this or what?

See boss, the thing is, it's the little one's birthday today, and I don't wanna get home all wet and mottled.

The mooning continues. This time by a White-throated Laughingthrush.

My face isn't just stuffed full of food. My face is stuffed IN food. Nom yum yum.

Behold the long tail of the Red-billed Blue Magpie

Excuse me while I puff up my chest to thwart any other birds trying to get at this buffet.

The Red-billed Blue Magpie, y'all. Wait till you see its tail in the next post.

A Plum-headed Parakeet couple, om nom nomming. Repeat after me - awwwwwwwww

La Plum-headed Parakeet. तोता.

Le Plum-headed Parakeet, तोता. Who refused to eat the plums I offered it, eating बाजरा (millet) instead.

You have been #mooned

When wet in the rain, all birds resemble a chicken 😂

Lesser yellownape woodpecker, कठफोड़वा

See how beautiful the feathers are, of a yellownape woodpecker (कठफोड़वा)

The lesser yellownape woodpecker. कठफोड़वा.

Obligatory abstract Insta travel pic. With filter.

Asked M2 to choose the filter. He is now super stressed. Eyes twitching and all.

#Mantis. Yes this pic is about the last moments of a mantis. The #Black-headed #Jay is incidental.

M1 calls this Big Chungus Burdus. Mind it.

Flutterfly

Dahlia?

A Black-headed Jay with a grub in its mouth

Yes yes yes! Finally captured a Khalij Pheasant, तीतर.

In capturing this Ox-eye Daisy, M1 realised how hard it is to bend over with a phone and get the right angle and depth.

#butterfly #butterflies

#ruins #clouds

One last pic of the Verditer Flycatcher

A Common Tailorbird making its getaway

The Black-throated Bushtit, all wet in the rain.

The #Myna might be Common, but that doesn't make it any less majestic than other birds. मैना.

Kindly appreciate the funky hairstyle of the Himalayan #Bulbul बुलबुल

The humble #sparrow. But then, where do you get to see it in the cities any more.

M1 wants you to consider the possibility that not all birb pics are aligned center

The Verditer Flycatcher, with what else but a fly in its mouth

The Verditer Flycatcher, on its way to catch a fly

A wet and hungry floof with food in its maw

The Eurasian Jay

Peek-a-boo

A Blackbird giving poses in the jungle

Do these look yum or what? If you're a bird, this is what you feast on all day in the mountains.

It's swallow time again

To rainwashed mornings

गुल और जाले

The butterfly Aporia on a Creeping Thistle. Pic by M1.

कोहरा या बादल?

Pahadi ruins

Yellow-breasted Greenfinch. Got a better look today.

Can you help me with the names?

Yellow-breastfed Greenfinch in the house, y'all

Are these two the same species of birb?

गोबदू wren's सिलहुट्टी (silhouette)

To perfectly capture a swallow in flight is a life goal 😁

Babblers don't leave me alone anywhere

In case you wish to travel to the mountains, here is what you need to know: https://www.indiatoday.in/travel/story/planning-a-trip-to-himachal-uttarakhand-here-s-all-you-need-to-know-about-travel-restrictions-guidelines-1813387-2021-06-10

You do not need an RTPCR negative report, or an epass, to visit Himachal. Shops and hotels are open.

Uttarakhand requires an RTPCR negative report, advance confirmed reservation at a homestay/hotel, and an epass, to visit. Markets and cafés are closed; you can only eat what your homestay cook serves you.

If you choose to travel, stay quarantined for a week. You can always step out for solitary walks. But partying, drinking, loud music, dancing with other guests is ruled out (I hope it stays that way forever).

Little buggy
Blue buggy
Buzz buzz buzz

(sung to the tune of soft kitty)

Your ancestor's direct gaze

Ah. Looks like the camera lens needs cleaning.

Loving all the layers that are visible around this place.

The Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher. Leeches are common in the Himalayas during the rains, and we should have been more careful. When M1 finally looked down to see leeches crawling all over our feet, our panic must have been a comic sight to see. The only time before that I've had leeches on me was in 22 years ago, in the Western Ghats. And it wasn't fun even then. Ugh.

The Grey-winged Blackbird. We got attacked by leeches while photographing this guy.

The Pied Bush Chat

The Verditer Flycatcher

Looking sideways. Coz never can keep my eyes off the monkeys on the hills.

Never too old for Crax. Never too old for the cheap toys in the Crax bag.

#books #reading #vacation #kids #uttarakhand #rishikesh #bokeh #photo #nature #flowers #flower #wanderlust #vanlife #photography #photo #travel #travelphotography #travelindia

The came #rafting down the #Ganga #river, one after the other

#uttarakhandheaven #uttarakhand #travelphotography #travel #nature #incredibleindia #travel #adventure #sports #river

A bird flits across the newly born Ganga

#uttarakhand #uttarakhandheaven #bird #travel #photo #nature #wanderlust #wild #photography #photo #incredibleindia #travel #travelphotography #travelindia

Since you guys liked the #morning view, here is a fuller wide frame. Notice the #stars up above and the #mist hanging in the air from left to right.

#vanlife #camping

#Mountains. And the colour #blue.

#vanlife

Freshly washed in the river

Oooh spideys

Time to remove the tent

One last look of the view before we make a move.

The river is the most beautiful colour here

As the day broke, the view was so serene

And then we walked in the dark to the river to wash our faces

We woke up to this view

Don't you just love #camping in the shadow of a big tree?

Me likes the lighting at this #campsite

M1: This is what you get for taking pics when you should be helping us pitch the tent

The turquoise and emerald green waters of both rivers have rather big fishes in their freezing cold waters

We took a dip at #sangam. Those pictures are too racy to share.

This is how the #Alakananda rages through #Devprayag

Our #campsite for the night.

#vanlife

#Ganges #गंगा freshly made from the confluence of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers

#sangam #संगम #alakananda #bhagirathi

रास्ते में आपके पूर्वज मिले। आपको पूछ रहे थे।

जब आप लेटे हों ज़मीन पर, और ऊपर आकाश का हो यह नज़ारा

And this is how silly kids start landslides

पत्थर की लकीरें

When we fight the #mountains, the mountains fight back

So, we ran away

#ClimateRefugees #PollutionRefugees #RightToBreathe #vanlife

Slate. Pathaar.

This colour ❤️

सुंदर, बहुत सुन्दर खेत

खेती

पेड़ पर सूखता चारा

छत एक। प्रयोग कई।

घाट

इस पौधे का नाम?

घाव 😢

Portals

Walls are generally made to keep people away. But some walls invite you to have conversations with them.

कुछ दीवारें आपको दूर हटाती हैं। और कुछ, अपने पास बुलाती हैं।

घर

इन पेचीदा रास्तों से होकर अब कुछ ही लोग गुज़रते हैं। शायद हम ही हैं जिन्हें इनकी याद वापिस बुला लाती है।

कुछ फूल गुलिस्तां के

Bebe cow

यह घर, कहानियाँ केहते हैं

Landscape

Cow