There is a certain reluctance to ramble today. My mind is ready to take off, already in the flight that will take me across the seas. But I am getting ahead of myself. There is still time for all that to be spilled. Hence I am now dragging myself back from the future and into the present, and to present here some photographs from the Sunderbans trip.

Ashy Woodswallow

Balck Drongo

Monkey

Monitor Lizard

Great egret

Saltwater Crocodile

Purple Heron

Wild Boar

Gulls

Wild Cat

Common Kingfisher

Black-capped Kingfisher

I saw the Ashy Woodswallow near the place we stayed it the village. There were two of them on the cable, though here you see only one. The Black Drongo on the palm was against the light. So I had to be content with its silhouette.

The little monkey you see above was curious about the lamp. Probably her mother had told her not to go about tasting lamps on posts. Typically so, she was doing exactly that. Having found it tasted, well lamp-ish (mother had been right, after all!), she ran back to her mother who was nursing a younger sibling.

Next comes the water monitor, followed by the Great Egret who was intent on getting something for lunch. I couldn’t catch the crocodile with his mouth open, though that was how he had been chilling on the shore when I first saw him.  The Purple Heron put up a show doing a slow motion walk across a pathway.

As for the wild boar, when I spied it, I actually looked around for Asterix and Obelix. Boars bring them to mind, don’t they? I get that’s how it is for most fans of the duo, and I am a fan numero uno. I almost expected Dogmatix to come bounding through the grass. And a Roman patrol too. Oh for some action from the heroes! At the end of it all there’d be a feast in the village with everyone (except Cacofonix) digging into roast wild boar.  What a picture, Sirs and Madams. Sorry though, I got a bit carried away there. Non-fans might be clueless what this is all about and a bit peeved too. Relax. Walk to the nearest bookshop and get yourselves some Asterix and Obelix comics and then you will be in on it too.

Let’s get back to the pictures and the gulls. They have come from Siberia, said our guide. I hope I got that right. They put up quite a show, beautiful synchronized flying over the water. It was so beautiful that I could have cried.

The wild cat had come out to the edge of the treeline to catch the little bit of sun that the day gifted. But it quickly got up from where it was relaxing and retreated behind a tree when it heard the boat, and watched us cautiously from there. Unfortunately my perfect shot of it was spoiled by someone coming before my lens at the crucial time. But these things happen when you are in a group and everyone is eager for a photograph.

Did you know there are 8 (or is that 9?) varieties of kingfishers in the Sundarbans region? I saw four of them. Here are two, the Common Kingfisher and the Black-capped Kingfisher.

Well, that’s it for today.  The anti-allergy medicine is kicking in and it is now time for bed. Goodnight, peeps. The funny story will have to be told another day.

©Shail Mohan 2018