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The Binocular Blog - Part 8: Weather Sealing & protection
When we decide on a binocular, one aspect we have to consider is that it is an instrument for outdoors. It means, that in a place like mine where there is hot humid weather for three months followed...
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The Binocular Blog - Part 9: Money on the Table
Now that you have acquired a fairly reasonable knowledge about binoculars, it is time to put it to good use before putting your money on the table. I'm not going to suggest any particular brand or...
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The Binocular Blog - Part 10: Caring for your Bins
So, by now, you have decided to buy or have already bought a binocular. The binocular is not a toy. It is a sensitive optical instrument that will see many decades of flawless service if taken care of....
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The Binocular Blog - Afterthoughts & Accessories
This has probably been the longest blog series that I've completed and I acknowledge the role Corona has played it. While it has caused unbelievable numbers of human fatalities, it has also resurrected...
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Avian Orchestrations & Birding by the Ears
A little over four months ago, the first Covid-19 case was reported in Kerala, on 30th January. Subsequently, as the number of cases started shooting up, Kerala went for a lock down from the 23rd March...
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Avian Orchestrations - Part 2: Calls, Songs & Mimicry artistes
Judging by the popularity of the previous post (← link here), I will safely assume that at least some of you have started sharpening your ears and listening to the feathered friends around you. As you...
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Birders, eBirders and Num-birders - A Lament
It's been a while since I sat down to type a few words on Blogger. In a world full of vloggers, I wonder if bloggers will attract attention any more. The whole of the last (2021) Covid lockdown was...
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Waters of Life (Part 1) - Shrinking Habitats
From information sourced on the ENVIS Hub: Kerala there are more than 18000 public ponds in Kerala, of which some 5400 are in Palakkad district. That accounts for nearly 35% of the total and the rest...
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Waters of Life (Part 2) - The Survivors
October 2020The first lockdown with a very strong monsoon in 2020 pretty much ensured that any exploratory intentions I had was drowned in the deluge. Not wanting to get my gear wet and also the desire...
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Waters of life (Part 3) - The Little Grebes (Episode 1)
One lockdown passed by quickly and another followed in 2021 but lessons learnt in the previous year made me a little bolder and more inquisitive. A bereavement in the family meant I was again stepping...
View ArticleAn Omicron Interlude
Waters of Life took a small hit. Somewhere in late February I was jumped by a virus. Came and went like a normal cold. However, as weeks went by I was finding myself afflicted by unusual symptoms....
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Ladakh & Life Lessons - Part 1: Delayed Departures
15th & 16th July 2023 - Coimbatore AirportExactly a month ago, on my 58th birthday, I was waiting for a delayed flight in Coimbatore airport. We; my wife, son and I, were flying to Delhi on our way...
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Ladakh & Life Lessons - Part 2: Satellite phones and security woes
July 16th 2023, 2.00 AM - New Delhi AirportFinally, after the delay, our journey was rolling. We landed in the Terminal 2 of the IGI Airport, Delhi, got our luggage and decided to leg it to Terminal 3...
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Ladakh & Life Lessons - Part 3: Acclimatisation & AMS
From here on, the posts that follow will take you through our travel through Ladakh. During your travel with us, I will try to give you some information about places we went to, routes taken and...
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Ladakh & Life Lessons - Part 4: Around Leh & Transportation
16th July 2023, 5.00 PM - LehRecovering ourselves from the lack of sleep, we were woken up by the insistently ringing phone in our room. The restaurant was enquiring about our lunch. It so happens...
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Ladakh & Life Lessons - Part 5: Of Piety or the Lack of it
17th July 2023, 9.30 AM - On the Srinagar-Leh HighwayDays begin early in the Himalayas. By 5.00 AM, dawn was breaking over the mountains across the Indus.Since I had nothing better to do, I decided to...
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Ladakh & Life Lessons - Part 6: Magnetic Myth & The Confluence
July 17th 2023, 11.20 AM Srinagar - Leh HighwayA little after quarter past eleven, we were at the famous Magnetic Hill. This location on the National Highway is famous, or should I say infamous,...
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Ladakh & Life Lessons - Part 7: Getting ready for an Adventure
This is a 'buffer post', if I can call it that. I don't claim to be an expert on Ladakh because I spent only a week there, but I have learnt from this brief experience how any future trip can be made...
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Ladakh & Life Lessons - Part 8: The 3 Idiots & 2 Schools
17th July 2023,, 2.00 Pm - Secmol School Personally, I'm not a movie buff. I have lost that ability to sit through even a movie under two hours let alone a three hour blockbuster. The last full length...
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Ladakh & Life Lessons - Part 9: Khardung La - Fall from the Top!
18th July 2023, Forenoon Leh - South Pullu - Khardung La - North Pullu - KhardungAfter my initial reluctance, I had consented to go to Ladakh. Even though I still harboured reservations, as days...
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Ladakh & Life Lessons - Part 10: Maitreya and Milky Way
18th July 2023, Afternoon and NightKhalsar - Diskit - Hunder - TerithAfter the early lunch, our plan was to go to Diskit and Hunder, in the Nubra valley. We'd have to backtrack towards Khalsar, cross...
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Ladakh & Life Lessons - Part 11: Road to Pangong Tso
19th July 2023. 6.30 AM to 2.00 PMTerith - Agham - Durbuk - Tangtse - Chilam - Harong - Muglib - SpangmikThe next stop in a typical itinerary is the Pangong Tso lake. This high altitude lake, located...
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Ladakh & Life Lessons - Part 12: Night at Pangong Tso
19th July 2023, 3.00 to 10.30 PM After a rather uninspiring lunch at one of the many eateries at Pangong, we made our way to Spangmik where our resort was. It was past 3 PM when we checked in and by...
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Ladakh & Life Lessons - Part 13: Tso Kar - Mesmerising Isolation
20th July 2023, 7.00 AM to 7.00 PMSpangmik - Maan - Merak - Chushul - Kaksang La top - Mahe - Sumdo - Puga - Tso KarPangong Tso was a little underwhelming for me. Perhaps the weather was to blame but...
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Ladakh & Life Lessons - Part 13: Birds of Tso Kar & Tanglang La
21st July 2023, 6.00 Am to 10.30 AMAfter a rather restless night, I wasn't sure why; I was up at 5.30 AM. Since the world outside didn't seem very welcoming, I decided to snuggle under the quilt for a...
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