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Newasa - Encountering an unique form of Vishnu, and Sant Jnaneshwar

The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
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Drongoes in the morning

For the last few days, I have been awakened at dawn by birds instead of the irritating alarm clock. Wondering about which bird is making the noise has proved to be far more effective than waking up wondering about all the things I have to do that day. Anyway, a few days ago, I managed to find out at last the one who was making all that racket at the unearthly hour of dawn - it was a pair of drongoes!

Here are a few pics I have managed to click over the last couple of days.....





and here is a sample of the sound which makes all the noise. They seem to be really perverse birds, making so much noise that I wake up, and then shutting up when I get my camera ready!




P.S. I am out of town and will be back in a few days. Please leave your comments and I shall reply as soon as I get back.
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Comments

  1. IndraniOctober 30, 2010 at 9:13 AM

    Fantastic Anu!
    You may find their nest somewhere nearby.

    ReplyDelete
  2. chitraOctober 30, 2010 at 11:41 AM

    I am yearning to hear such voices early morning , I hardly see any bird here so the video was a nice treat. Enjoy your travel. Come back with interesting news.

    ReplyDelete
  3. MridulaOctober 30, 2010 at 5:43 PM

    Loved the video, should try my hand too. Are you traveling?

    ReplyDelete
  4. AartiOctober 31, 2010 at 6:15 PM

    hahaha.. i dont know what i wud do if i saw a Drongo outside my window early morning... probably shoo it away n shout out curses... :D

    Saw the racket tailed & black drongo recently at our coffee estate.. beautiful

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anuradha ShankarNovember 9, 2010 at 9:51 PM

    @Indrani: Thanks so much! I have been looking for the nest, but have not managed to find it so far!

    @Chitra: Its really nice to wake up in the morning hearing bird calls... it is quite a surprise that see so many birds here in the city....

    @Mridula: you certainly should try it out... esp with the wonderful birds you get to see...

    @Aarti: LOL!!!! maybe you wouldnt :)... not if you could write a blog about it :) i have seen lots of racket tailed ones when I have been in the south.... the coffee estate would be a wonderful place for a getaway!

    ReplyDelete
  6. magiceyeDecember 6, 2010 at 10:46 AM

    cool captures!

    ReplyDelete

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