Flamingos in Chennai

I guess this is the first time flamingos visiting Chennai’s water body or for me to get know first. But once I come to see the pictures of flamingos standing on Pallikaranai Marsh in Flickr (last month), I was quite surprised and couldn't wait checking the wetland other day to see them alive. I have seen a flamingo during my boat ride on Pulicat Lake but it was just a glance and it fly past quickly across the sky.

Flamingos migrate usual to Pulicat Lake on the border of Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh and PointCalimere in Nagapattinam District, that too only during winter seasons. But it was amazing to see flamingos brushing their nose in large numbers, amid extreme summer heat of Chennai! Thought man itself finding tough to complete the summer phase, I wonder how they manage the summer heat.

The pictures here are captured by my cousin who accompanied me during the Pallikaranai marsh visit and we drive past the Solinganallur-Pallavaram stretch checking a flock of flamingos standing amid the freshwater swamp. The birds where almost white in color with pale pink feathers on wings, to tall grasses and emerging buildings background. I really missed the opportunity to check them closer through binocular which I forget to bring along with me, but I got content images through my Canon Powershot and also view at closer.  

Glossy Ibis... i guess

Update and Rain

Rain falls among valley

The first rain is always special and the scent of soil stimulates a sense of joy. A rain amid summer (heat) is too special, whether it last for a minute or an hour the enthusiasm has nothing equal. I experienced the first rain of summer last week, and it was wonderful to see rain fall from all directions in this newly shifted house. The earth was at rapid sucking the water as quick possible to distribute to every species on earth. No doubt water is a source of energy to withstand on earth but sadly we aren't blessed with enough rain and the millimeters hardly touch the average.

Half a month past I posted here and I was indeed out of touch with blogging and the scorching summer heat put down every things inspiring to write and cousins visiting and vacation time and traveling kept me quite away from online activity. My first rain of this summer was actually when I was close to Western Ghats before climbing to our destination on Kodaikanal Hills. The rain was visible far away falling amid the valleys and while passing the ghats we find it wandering fabulously on plains like wide tornado. It was wonderful experiencing rain or monsoon on mountain sides and bearing cool breeze blow down the hills.

Kodaikanal Lake

It was a family vacation come exploring places and traveling on roads untraveled and staying in an environment so pleasant and surrounded by uniquely chirping birds and coffee estates and blanket of foliage and tall trees.  I don’t had a mind leaving the place but other plans waited ahead took me to Kodaikanal and unlike ever it was very cold and evenings are windy and raining because of the arrival of monsoon, we are forced to cancel our plan of extending. But once on plains, things are quite strange and sun baked us on fire. The obvious reason to be cold and hot is nothing, the weather always wonder with it’s distinguish feature.

Post vacation I experienced swelling feet and lately aching knee become soar and seem to intense only and also slightly unbalance at stood. We still find some inconvenient which I believe will become normal very soon with the new house and we also experience extreme summer heat here and the wind blows hot air even after the core summer season ends. Glad it rains sometime in evening as a relief for day’s fry pan!

Love flourish

Love blooms 

like a flower out of bud

for the male bee

to smooch with pollen.

Love is a nature

inbuilt in every species

like clouds for sky

and green foliage.

Love grasp

an invisible hope

attached to heart strings

playing vibration modes. 

P.S. I’m not active on internet for a while and so, perhaps this could continue for some time until next weekend. Since cousins visiting home, I am busy spending time with them and its quite fun being together. We have also planned for a vacation or travel on June first.

Things happening around new house

After shifting home to the new place, life moves at slow pace but not the time that run fast. I run out of time everyday and I plan something (but nothing important) to do but I couldn't complete it quite and feel disappointed at the end of the day. I’m distracted by something’s I don’t want to reveal and go away from what I suppose to do, but I could come back touch with things anytime and there is nothing urging to complete something. I spent most of the time reading, blogging, listening to music (never on earphone) and flickring rather experiencing something new or look after other things that interest me. A month has yet to compete since shifted home, I haven’t took out any other plan I wanted to carry out with the house and I need to fix the nest box and bird-feeders somewhere and work on gardening the space left around the home.

Shot during mom purchased vegetable from vendor

But I’m no more urge to do things all of sudden and they can happen anytime later or after the end of summer. The days are very hot and tiresome since summer began and the temperature was soaring (even Chennai feels better than other districts and states of India) still it bears tremendous heat everyday and staying inside is better than doing things at exterior. I was also at urge of traveling. Summer memories are haunting me to think about vacation or go in search of nature but thinking about weather and holiday crowd I could only getaway at the end of opening schools (the first week of June).

Life travels on timetable, as usual everyday which keep away things and thoughts unnecessary, I fell prey sometime to distraction which goes on and off like power pulled in and out at the outskirts of Chennai and other cities. We faced troublesome situation once shifted home and the electric here had been low and the transformer near the house burst into lightening few times… but they are much better right now and after changing the electric board at home and looked after transformer by EB staffs, there is no electric problem for more than a week now. Unless the usual two hour power off.

In our previous house in apartment I couldn't watch the road activities well unlike this home, which has wide windows to not miss anything happening around. I see vegetable vendor come around pedaling his tricycle and Soan Papdi vendor pushing his cart and ringing bell all the way through the silent afternoon and corporation workers sweeping the road in morning and come whistling to collect garbage in mobile dustbin. There’s a road roller parked close to our house, standing as an identity to find out our house easily and it seems standing for a while under the shadow of tree. Still the neighbors exist as strangers and they just glance at us and look after their jobs.

Being shifted close to beach, I haven’t done a visit yet and even we settled well something kept rose to look after settlement.  I don’t find anything negative about this house except the summer heat (with no upper portion, the sunlight fall directly on the roof to insert heat but the cool sea breeze comfort well near windows) and there are one or two mosquitoes to bite in evening and they last only between 6-7 pm. The one who rejoice a lot was our pet dog Maya, she go around the house freely and was kept unchained unlike resisted within home while staying in flat. I think pets are not comfort growing in flats and they are only to wander freely in individual house. 

Out pet maya  (some requested to post our pet photo)

Music on Maryan

Music is my favorite thing always, just like nature and I hate music in the presence of nature singing. It is always joy listening to music or a soothing song causing great relief in the presence of anything stress. The expectations used to be high when first time listening to a song or an anticipated album is released. But once bought a music album (always film songs) I can’t wait anymore or do anything until listening to it quite. From the day bought tape recorder, then, I used to buy audio cassettes (which transferred into CDs once they are introduced) occasionally on specific actors or music directors. I followed this practice until two years back and now all songs are only downloaded from internet but the curious of listening for first time doesn’t hide and it only enhances if the music was composed by A.R. Rahman.

I have found rejoice listening to his latest release Mariyaan (an upcoming Tamil film) and enormously touched by the melting tunes. With simple words, AR has quite engrossed with his sophisticated wisdom in music and recreated a sound of sea (Kadal). I would consider Mariyaan equal to Kadal - which I think one of AR’s best composition ever and my personal favorite on his top chart. ‘Innum Konjam’ is a wonderful song, quite fascinating and soothing the heart. Tabla has played a main stream or resource of this song rhyme by singer Vijay Prakash paired with Swetha Mohan.

‘Nenjae Ezhu’ has sung by AR himself, writing the lyrics along with Kutti Revathi expressed the depth of eternal love. The song sounds similar to AR’s One Love (a single commemorate the beauty of Taj Mahal) is an inspirational one enhanced in AR’s emphasis voice. ‘Naetru Aval’ is so caressing and embracing song in Chinmayees humming vocal and along with Vijay Prakash provoke a sense unexplainable! The mild instruments play a silent music supporting the longing mindset. ‘Enga Pona Raasaa’ is a solo song supporting the same longing mindset in mild music, but in Shakthisrees embraces voice.

The following songs are supposed to travel on high spirits and on fast track tunes: ‘Kadal Raasa Naan’ is quite based on lyrics comprising the struggle on sea and desert sand penned by actor Dhanush - who lead the film. In Yuvan’s voice the song was sharpened more! ‘Sonapareeya’ is very catchy and tuned as fast as speed boat, bearing the lyrics of Vali apart a rap portion written by Sofia Ashraf. The song is interesting to listen but only I don’t know what Sonapareeya means? The last one among the seven was, ‘I Love my Africa’. A song based on African tribal music and quite strange lyrics except Rahman singing on English notes, Blaaze had done great job with the support of Madras Youth Choir gave voice to Africa.

Quite a pleasant album, do check and enjoy!