20th January 2009, 14:32
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| Senior - BHPian  | |
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Thanks
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20th January 2009, 14:36
| #62 | ||
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Delhi
Posts: 1,356
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| I almost fell off my chair reading it !!  Quote:
Looking at picture, i would say "Clueless.. Came from where, Where to go ??" Another Fantastic picture !! Quote:
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20th January 2009, 14:42
| #63 |
| Senior - BHPian  | The Trip I simply like to take pictures of Sun & Moon. Never tire of them. Everytime I take a look at the rising or the setting sun or the crescent moon or a full moon, it looks so fascinating and different. I sometimes simply click the setting sun from my 14th floor balcony in Gurgaon. Of course with all that smog, dust & haze the desired effect is not achieved. Shooting of celestial bodies in desert, sea-side or the hills is an experience that is different altogether, with dust free clear atmosphere. The ambience here in Khuri was one such and I wasn't the one to let go of this. The light dimmed and so did the temperature drop. And slowly the sky started sporting a bright orangish tinge. I knew the moment had come. I feverishly started clicking till the twilight descended. Now let the pictures do the talking.. My daughter Gauri & I focussing (taken by SS)  The sun displaying its two sides - the top bright, below it is orange  The Red Star  Just above the horizon    You can barely see the top pf the disc here  Twilight  To be continued...... Last edited by gd1418 : 20th January 2009 at 14:53. |
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20th January 2009, 14:52
| #64 |
| Senior - BHPian | |
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20th January 2009, 15:28
| #65 |
| Senior - BHPian | The Trip As soon as the twilight started giving away to darkness, the desert sand presented me with a myriad opportunity to click at random. The following pictures portry various hues of sand in low-light. To all photography enthusiasts, all the pictures are hand-held and have been taken with 18~135 and 70~300 VR lens. No post processing has been done to any of the pics posted here. Only cropping of the images have been done where I thought it was necessary.        To be continued..... |
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20th January 2009, 16:38
| #66 | |
| Senior - BHPian | Thanks HG. Yes I named the beetle as "gobar".... Quote:
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20th January 2009, 17:04
| #67 |
| Distinguished - BHPian   Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gurgaon
Posts: 3,838
Thanked: 3,179 Times
| Lovely compositions. Hats off to SS for picking up right angle and moment.  |
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20th January 2009, 17:21
| #68 | |
| Senior - BHPian | Quote:
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20th January 2009, 21:13
| #69 | |
| Senior - BHPian | This was as caste less as it could be. Simply named "gobar". You shouldn't be reading much into this. And no 'it' did not respond and I don't know how you surmised from the photograph that 'it' was a 'he' Quote:
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21st January 2009, 00:00
| #70 |
| Senior - BHPian | As the visibility fell further, it was time to return back to the camp. I don't know who suggested amongst us to walk all the way back to the camp in the sand. I would really love to lay my hands on the neck of that person.. The camels were dispatched and we trudged along. It was one helluva walk that I undertook. With the undulating sand it was difficult. Up and down, up and down, sometimes walking diagonally, getting out of breath, soft sand filling up in the footwear, every step sinking in the soft sand; my heart of almost 50 seasons was put to one of the most rigorous TMT (Tread Mill Test) ever, and boy did it come out with flying colours; yes it did. BTW, I was the last person in the caravan.  Out of breath and feet as heavy as lead, wobbled into my tent and lay on the bed for a while sweating profusely. All of us went into their respective tents to freshen up for the cultural evening and the bonfire. There was a commotion near SS's tent and he came out to inform all that it was dangerous to switch on the light of the washroom. Why? Because every contour of the human body was visible as a silhoutte at its crispest. Worried that my six packs would be visible to all and causing envy, I managed some how in the darkness and so did others, I'm sure. Already local folk music at its loudest was blaring from the compound of the mud huts across the tents and when I reached almost all बैठक was occupied. There were, in total, no less than 100 odd tourists like us...!! A group of Lahengas troupe was singing & performing. I did not take any pictures of that, because I just wanted to enjoy. Snacks were being served and there was a bar counter set-up by the resort people, where every peg was for Rs.100/-. In the meanwhile, SS set up his Canon 40D on the tripod and put it on delayed exposure to capture this:  After a while the dinner was announced and we all went again to the compound to enjoy the buffet. A typical simple Rajasthani vegetarian fare that was sooo delicious. The daal and the choorma were out of this world. A few words in Marwari and my wife gets some home made soft बाजरे की रोटी for herself. After dinner some more time was spent gossiping and then we retired for the night. SS, V & I had decided to get up early to catch the sunrise and take some photographs before dawn break. The chill had set in but the tents were sealed, hence it was comfortable inside. I strained to listen to some wild sounds of the desert, but except for the thud, thud of the generator, nothing was audible..ZZZZZZZZ To be continued....... Last edited by Rudra Sen : 10th October 2009 at 09:13. Reason: Removing that huge array of alcohol |
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21st January 2009, 00:45
| #71 |
| Senior - BHPian | 27/12/2008 - Moonlight Resort, Khuri Woke up to a beautiful morning and rushed out with the camera. SS & V were already up and about and SS was wandering around clicking at random. The sun was about to rise, but I was not too excited as there was a whiff of mist in the air.  The Bull looked majestic with the frosty appearance, but you all know why the door was kept ajar.   We all cleaned and washed our rides and in the meanwhile the sun came up and shone. The golden rays lit up the sand beautifully and I clicked some pictures.   By this time tea had arrived and all were having their morning cuppa, except me. I don't drink tea or coffee in the morning. It is plain water...  Although my vehicle is not 4x4, I tried climbing the dunes. Just for the heck of it. Couldn't do so. The soft moist sand did me in..    After this we all started to get ready as it was time to leave and go back to the hotel. The breakfast was about to be served. We got ready and piping hot poha arrived as breakfast along with tea. In 2001 my wife Shanno had visited Jaisalmer. Her family's connections at the right place enabled her & my kids' a complimentary stay at Hotel Moomal (RTDC) and tourism officials were at her service to take her for sight-seeing. They took her to Sam dunes, that were pristine then and sans vegetation. They aslo took her near the border. Khuri dunes and the vegetation were a disappointment and all along she was murmuring that this was not the real desert. Finally she took on the resort guy head-on and insisted on being taken to Sam Dunes. After some aggressive talking from both sides, they saw her point and agreed. But we refused the escort and said that if told the route we would manage on our own. And thus we headed towards Sam Dunes. And boy, that too was to be a disappointment, which we would know later. More on that in the morning.. Now feeling tired and sleepy.... To be continued... Last edited by gd1418 : 21st January 2009 at 00:48. |
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21st January 2009, 11:22
| #72 |
| Senior - BHPian  | Great going, nice narrationa and finger-licking photos Keep them coming... ===== |
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21st January 2009, 12:26
| #73 |
| Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: MUMBAI
Posts: 3,060
Thanked: 5,353 Times
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21st January 2009, 12:40
| #74 |
| Senior - BHPian | The Trip Actually I forgot to mention one very important point. This should have come right at the begining, when the trip started. Roshun, as you all know, could not make it due to a recalcitrant client of his company who insisted on a project that had to be completed asap. So Roshun and his collegues were burning the midnight oil to meet the deadline. Most of the team members are averse to night driving, primarily because it is against the body-clock and secondly it is quite boring and help is difficult to come by. During day-time one can enjoy the surroundings. Since our drive started at midnight, Roshun, who was working the whole night, was calling all of us up at regular intervals to keep us awake and get the feedback. That man was itching to join us. Since he too had been to Jaisalmer earlier he generally knew the locales. Coming back, it was time to leave the desert resort and head for the Sam Dunes. Now, let me dispel some confusion. If you visit Jaisalmer or ask anyone about it or check the touristy sites, they all will very prominently mention the Sam Dunes. It some how gives an indication that the dunes are named as such. Actually, like Khuri, Sam is a village bordering the desert and hence known as the Sam dunes. Almost all tourists head there directly and so it is very very popular. As for sand dunes, you have seen one and you have seen all. To Sam there were two ways of going from Khuri; one was somewhere in the middle of the road bisecting right through the Desert National Park and the other going back to the city and then head for Sam. Roshun had taken the earlier route and also spotted some wildlife enroute like the Great Indian Bustard. We somehow missed that intersection and went to Sam via the city. Being popular it has become more commercialised and once we were about 7 kms away from Sam we saw these tents dotting the landscape by the dozens. It would have been a nightmare if we had stayed there.  There were dunes on the left side as the right side of the road was cleared, cleaned and tented.. One could actually see the desert pushed a few kilometers back on the right side. So much to preserve the nature. We kept on driving and th two lane road turned into a single lane and then to a narrow tar road. We reached a hamlet and asked for directions to the dunes and were told that the ones we saw on the left were the ones and going further on thsi road was not allowed as we would be stopped by the BSF. We turned and came back to the dunes that we had seen.   As soon as we parked our vehicles, several tall dark Muslims with their camels running towards us for the camel safari. Only Suman took up their offer and went for a short one. I was earlier informed that these people are from across the border and also indulge in illegal activities at time. No doubt the desert here was of a bigger expanse, but dirty and pock-marked with several foot prints and litter. When are we going to learn...! The photgraphs may be of some help -       The sun was on the top and I would not really call it blazing, but it was warm. We spent some time and then we left for Kuldhara the abandoned, ruined village of the Paliwaal Brahmins. More about it later. To be continued.............. Last edited by gd1418 : 21st January 2009 at 12:44. |
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21st January 2009, 12:43
| #75 | ||
| Senior - BHPian | Thanks Ramky. Good to know that you liked them.. Quote:
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