Bombay Shola: Fragile Heritage
Frontline (the news magazine from the reputable Hindu newspaper based in Chennai) has just published my article and pictures on the ecology, threats and restoration potential of Kodaikanal’s Bombay Shola. Thanks to their liberal policy of publishing on the web you can read the article online or as a PDF (as part of the whole issue). For reference, it is worthwhile referring to my 2003 Frontline piece on the idea of a formal protected area for the Palni Hills.
Recent Work
Anoechtochilus elatus, a small ground orchid (Blackburn Shola, Palni Hills). Rana_Temporalis or Bronzed Frog (Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary, Wayanad). Strobilanthes sp. (Vattacanal Conservation Trust, Palni Hills). Pill millipede (Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary, Wayanad).
Monsoon Deluge in Bangitapal and Wayanad
Bob and Tanya negotiating a flooded road in the grasslands of Mukurthi National Park in the Nilgiri Hills
This year India experienced an abnormally erratic monsoon season. While a deficit of rain was reported from many parts of the subcontinent, northern Kerala was drenched in a deluge in early July. I had a chance to enjoy experiencing the full rigor, and power of the South West monsoon during a short visit to the Nilgiris and Wayanad with my friends Bob & Tanya from the Vattakanal Conservation Trust. On our fleeting visit to the Nilgiri Hills we visited the remote area of Bangitappal in Mukurthi National Park. Given the difficulty in securing permission we felt fortunate to be granted the single night at the rest house. However, the relentless monsoon showers, which came in at 360°, severely limited what we could do. Later we drove up through Mudumalai, Bandipur and then Nagarhole to visit our friends at the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary in Wayanad. The journey proved to be quite an adventure with knocked-out roads, raging streams, muddy landslips, a circuitous deviation and finally a submerged road to navigate in a rescue boat. The rewards of communion with friends and the tranquility of Gurukula, albeit in pounding rain, were well worth it.
Impatines clavicornia at Bangitapal, Nilgiri Hills
Shola canopy amidst pouring rain on the way to Bangitapal.
Baby python (Python molurus) that had been run over at the foot of the Masinigudi ghat road, Nilgiri Hills.
Camera curiosity amongst Paniya tribals at the flooded road near Gurukula.
Rescue boat ferrying commuters across flooded road on the way out from Gurukula.
Up Close and Personal with Trimeresurus macrolepis
Large Scaled Pit Viper (Trimeresurus macrolepis), Palni Hills
As a student we rarely encountered snakes on the hikes and adventures we took out into the Palni Hills almost every weekend. Despite having been exposed to Rom Whitaker’s wisdom and love for snakes at an early age I was not one of the adventurous ones picking up and investigated the few snakes that we did find. My friends, father and I had an unforgettable experience with a pit-viper near Kukaal Cave soon after we graduated from KIS in 1988. My pictures of it were ruined when I slipped, dunked my Olympus camera in a pool and barely missed breaking my leg when a boulder came tumbling in after me.
It was only as an adult working at the Mahindra United World College of India near Pune that I became fascinated with reptiles and amphibians. They shared the campus with us and we encountered numerous species frequently. Necessity intervened and I found myself assisting faculty members and students in catching and rescuing snakes that had found the way into school housing and classrooms. As I’ve sought to widen my documentation of the Western Ghats I’ve been looking for opportunities to photograph endemic amphibians and reptiles.
This summer, with five weeks in southern India, I was especially keen to find and photograph a few Western Ghats endemics snakes with my new medium format close-up equipment. I’ve been on the lookout for the Large Scaled Pit Viper (Trimeresurus macrolepis) for the past three-rive years and what a thrill it was when one of the VCT members found a beautiful specimen near the shola nurseries at Pillar Rocks! It became our family pet for the next several days, while I photographed it under different conditions. As with the other close-up work I used a Hasselblad mounted with a 120 mm Makro Planar (+ 55 extension tubes), mostly with Kodak T-max 100 film. I used a strobe for a few of the images though I still aspire to Ashok Captain-like lighting! The color was shot on a digital camera (D-200) using a 105 mm macro lens. My father, Merrick, played a key role in all of this. He’s a genius- Merrick took apart and rebuilt the extension tubes when they jammed the Hasse in June. When we started catching shieldtails (Uropeltis sp.) in the garden he crafted a very useful aluminum snake stick for bigger finds. During the various shoots he assisted with holding various props and keeping the very curious kids at bay!
Just before we returned to Colombo, Merrick, the kids and I took a hike with our snake to Gundattu Shola. We found it a home in a bed of nettle set aside a stream. In the future I’d like to visit the nearby Highwavys to attempt to track down the highly elusive Tropidolaemus huttoni first discovered by Angus Hutton1948 but not seen since.
Large Scaled Pit Viper (Trimeresurus macrolepis), collage, Palni Hills
Into the Blue Mountains On Steam Power
A steam locomotive warms up at Mettupalayam station overshadowed by the Nilgiri Hills.
The Nilgiri Mountain railway is not to be missed if you are interested in Western Ghats scenery, unhurried travel and the allure of steam locomotion. Like the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the southern cousin in the Nilgiri Hills has been recently (2005) notified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The train connects the plains town of Mettupalayam (on the south slopes of the Nilgiri hills) with the 2,200+ meter hill-station of Ooty (Udhagamandalam).
The route is a total of 46 kilometers, which ascend at a fair gradient and must, thus, rely on the rack and pinion apparatus to zipper the train up the mountain. I took the ride this last July with my father and son, both of who are steam enthusiasts, albeit at different levels of interests based on their age disparity. The ride is slow and offers ample opportunity to appreciate the gradual change in vegetation from dry-scrub to moist deciduous and then evergreen forest. We encountered a herd of elephants, spotted a variety of birds and also enjoyed frequent lizard sightings. There are numerous tunnels, chasms and waterfalls to appreciate. There are also still signs of the 1994 landslide, which caused such damage to the line, not to mention human life. I had motorcycled up to Ooty from the Palnis shortly after and personally witnessed the utter devastation. The train line had been knocked out for a significant period after the landslide.
The steam locomotive is exchanged for a diesel at Conoor Station, which is a large mid-elevation town, known for its military cantonments. We got down to wander around the workshop with cameras while the train continued on up the last stretch up to Ooty.
Scenes from the Mettupalayam workshops.
Coal loader at Mettuplayam workshops
One of numerous bridges on the ascent to Conoor, with the steam locomotive pushing the four passenger cars
Signboard on ascent to Conoor.
Water stop on the track half way up to Conoor from Mettupalayam.
Switching engines at Coonor station.
Cleaning a steam locomotive after it made the 3.5 hour ascent from Mettupalayam to Conoor.
These images were shot in July 2006 and 2009 with a combination of cameras and lenses: Mamiya 6, Hasselblad 503 cx and Nikon D-200.
Up The Ghat
Lower ghat road of the Palni Hills on an exquisitely clear pre-monsoon day.
Endemic Impatiens (jerdoniae, monroenii, violescens and hookeriam) all with restricted ranges in the Southern Western Ghats (with hookeriam also found in Sri Lanka). Photographed with gratitude at the Vattakanal Conservation Trust.
Mid-elevation (@1,200 meters) evergreen forest on the southern slopes of the Palni Hills.
Mountain lizard in the upper Palni Hills (scientific name to be posted shortly)
Looking east to a new dawn over the southern escarpment of the Palni Hills. The distinctive hat-shaped Perumal peak (@2,100 meters) is on the extreme left.
Circumnavigating Sinharaja
Sri Lanka’s Sinharaja rainforest occupies a large and rugged area in the South West part of the island. Our family explored its remote Morningside borders on a long, circuitous trip to the southern coast in May. Shortly after I lead another OSC IB Diploma field trip beach to the Kudawa entrance side of the forest. The school group enjoyed four full days of forest walks, data gathering and rich rainforest experiences. The forest was relatively dry and there were rewarding views of bird flocks, reptiles (three different Green Pit Vipers!) and more.
A large Sri Lankan Green Pit Viper (Trimeresurus trigonocephalus) on Sinharaja's Moulawella Peak
The endemic but locally common pitcher plant (Nepenthes distillatoria) in Sinharaja.
A view over the canopy of Sinharaja's lowland rainforest. Near to the Kudawa entrance on the north-western boundary
Palni Hills visit… ever so briefly
Paphiopedilium druryi
Snapshots from a fleeting visit to the Palni Hillss in April:
(Above) This ladyslipper orchid (Paphiopedilium druryi) is arguably one of the rarest flowers in the Western Ghats. It is an amazing example of intriguing biogeography, since it is issolated from other members of the genus by 2,000 km or so land and sea! I trekked all over Agasthyamlai looking for it on three occasions. Here it is in bloom finally! Refer to S. Theodore Baskaran’s Hindu article for an excellent description of the orchid’s discovery and natural history.
Ambassador under the shadow of the Palnis
(Above) Gaur (Bos gaurus) have taken up residence in the township of Kodaikanal. A herd of eight or these large bovines has been living within the township (in Bombay Shola) for several months now! This contrasts sharply with the 1980s when we considered ourselves fortunate to see them in the outer Palni hills and there were whispers of occasional poaching.
These sorts of warning signs have now become a common sight in Kodai! The presence of gaur in Bombay Shola, as well as that of endemic birds and plants is another good reason to better protect this amazing patch of forest that is becoming an ecological island amidst bungalows and new developments.
Window on Mizoram
Here is a link to my Outlook Traveller (April 2009) article “Far Corner” (originally entitled “Window on Mizoram”).
Under the Great Banyan Tree
Great Banyan (Ficus benghalensis) at the Kolkata Botanical Garden: four part composite image without blended layers
On the way back from Mizoram our family spent several days in Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta). It’s a city that I am quite at home in, thanks to its position as the key gateway to Bangladesh from India. After several years absence it was cathartic to walk Calcutta’s gritty streets, delve into the outstanding street food, interact in Bangla and take in the vibrant commotion that define the city. The botanical gardens remain a place of inspiration for me as a photographer looking for grand trees. This is a variation of a composition that was used in the 2001 postcard set on Banyans of Bengal that I produced through Drik. This time around I brought along my son Lenny who put up with the early departure but was disappointed that he wasn’t allowed to climb on the countless limbs and aerials roots!
Where the old Salvation Army guest house used to be on Kolkata's Sudder street
