Mount Abu The Abode

Welcome to Mount Abu, the Oasis of Rajasthan. The city of Mount Abu has something in it for everyone. Come share our Abode of the Gods through my pictures, videos and tourist information. An insightful Mount Abu travel guide that will cover the best places to visit in Mount Abu, popular tourist attractions, things to do, how to reach, and the best places to stay in Mount Abu, Rajasthan.Ideal place for your summer retreat. It offers trekking, rock climbing and camping. Rajasthan Gem in Tourism

Sunday, December 31, 2017

Happy New Year 2018 From Mount Abu.

Moon on New Years Eve.

WELCOME TO MOUNT ABU THE ABODE OF GODS.

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Leopards of Bera

Bera’s Battle: The Struggle Against Commercialisation Threatening Leopard Paradise

In Bera, people peacefully resist commercialism to maintain the tranquillity of their farmlands and untouched nature. The focus of tourism is changing from the outdoors to air-conditioned hotels and flashy resorts. The popularity of leopard safaris has affected the realism and tranquillity of these animals' natural habitats.

Bera is attracting large investments in hotels, and resorts as more people become fascinated by wildlife. The cost of commercialisation threatens the balance between tourism and wildlife preservation. I went to Bera on December 16, 2017, to see an old acquaintance, "The Leopard Man of Bera," I was disappointed to witness a profound shift in the Bera I once knew. Commercialization and population growth threaten the village's efforts to maintain harmony between tourism and wildlife. An awful state of affairs unfurled before my eyes. I witnessed an awful state of affairs as safari jeeps and their unruly passengers filled the previously protected environment from the secretive leopards roaming. My buddy Devi reported that he once counted 45 safari jeeps stationed, all excitedly expecting a glimpse of the gorgeous leopards.

Despite seeing a leopard and photographing a cub, the shadow of worry hung large. These quiet and secretive species may soon retreat farther into the void. The extinction of leopards is not just a tragedy for wildlife enthusiasts; it is also a catastrophic turning point for Bera.

As commercial interests continue to intrude on these superb creatures’ natural habitats, Bera’s future is in peril. The delicate balance between booming tourism and wildlife preservation is in danger. Let us not lose sight of the intrinsic value of the untamed beauty that makes Bera special and worth preserving in our pursuit of riches. Another larger disaster might yet occur. The mining sector has set its sights on mining in the Bera highlands. Despite being kept at bay, they will have their way shortly because of the clot. Money Speaks!

Drive through one hamlet.

A typical village scene.

Crocodile at one of the water bodies.

I saw very few migratory birds at the various water bodies.

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Mount Abu Update.

Mount Abu News

The electricity department meter reading person was on his beat in the Delwara area on 11 Dec 2017. While moving from one house to another, he was confronted with a vile smell of rotting flesh from a house, he immediately informed the neighbours and the cops. The cops on entering the house found two corpses lying on the floor, Apparently, the duo who happened to be father and son had died a few days earlier. They recognised the bodies as Kastur Rana the father and son Jagdish Rana.

Their bodies on instruction by DSP Vijaypal Singh were forwarded to the state morgue. Here a team of doctors from the medical board conducted the post-mortem. Dr N.K.Goyal and Dr Tanveer who performed the post-mortem put the cause of death as strangulation and concluded it was murder. An investigation has been initiated.

Will keep you all informed as the events unfold.

Source of News.

The temperature of the Abode of the Gods had been constantly dropping since Sunday. Night temperatures have been hovering around 5 to 0 degrees. Abu witnessed its first frost in a few places on the 13 Dec 2017 morning. Tourists heading this way are invited to carry woollies. Also, for those planning to hire two-wheeler taxis scarves and gloves are a must. Welcome to a chilly stay in the Abode of the Gods.

I believe there was a bear attack on a man on 12 Dec 2017. Haven't got much for this event but if more is forthcoming I'll keep you all posted. Time to get out and bask in the sun.

WELCOME TO THE ABODE.

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

The All India Radio Broadcasting Tower Mount Abu

The All India Radio Tower Finally undergoing maintenance

The tower Finally getting a facelift.

It’s been eons that the All India Radio tower in Mount Abu has seen a maintenance crew ever working on it. Last week out of the blue I saw some men currently working on the tower, they have been at it for now close to a week. Finally, the tower light that had been out for a very long time has been replaced and the tower has its light just in time for Christmas.

The maintenance crew is at the moment busy painting the girders of the tower. I’m posting a few snaps showing you the men in action. It looks like a daredevil team in action. They have worn their helmets but as for safety belts well that’s something else.

Look at this bloke; he’s walking on the girders as if he’s taking a walk in the garden.

The monkeys that frequent this tower must be pretty envious to see these chaps at home on the girders.

Doing a bit of yoga to relax the mind and body.

Look at the action.

These are our lads working their asses off against the chilly wind all day long without proper woollies, no bloody safety belts and throughout the day maintaining a happy disposition. They need to be applauded 3 cheers to THEM.

THE TEMPERATURE RIGHT NOW IS 5 DEGREES. PROBABLY HAVE FROST TOMORROW MORNING.

Monday, December 11, 2017

Death of Cub SLOTH BEAR Mount Abu.

Sloth Bear cub dies in the Sanctuary.

Remains of bear cub discovered by Charles.

Hikers from the UK and Spain who were with Charles

Dead bears are seldom observed in the wild. There has been the instance where two cubs were found to be dead due to drowning in Abu and one instance where an adult bear was found killed by poachers. The mortality rate for bear cubs in the Abode of the gods is quite low. This is the first time that a record has been recorded of a death of a cub in the sanctuary.Charles guide who was on one of his regular treks yesterday with foreigners happened to come across a bear cub who apparently had died quite sometime earlier. He immediately reported the incidence to the concerned authorities.

On receiving the news a team was immediately sent to investigate the death of the cub. DFO Hemendra Singh, was there to oversee the autopsy conducted by Veterinarians; Dr. Amith Choudhary, Dr. Sandeep Choudhary, and Dr. Nitesh Arora. No foul play was observed as all body parts were intact. I was informed by my family Doctor. Dr. A K Sharma who was also present there that the cub had died of pneumonia.

Monday, December 04, 2017

Leopards of Mount Abu

BIG CATS of Mount Abu.

leopard Mount Abu

Leopard photographed Dec 2017 behind Brothers' quarters.

Per kind favour Brother Agnello Benjamin

They have spotted leopards at quite a few places in the Abode of the Gods in the last two months. There have been accounts of it being seen at Kumarwada, the Dhondia area where a few strays have been picked up. The leopard a fortnight ago attacked a young calf in the Salgoan area, but it could survive. The latest leopard recorded and seen was at the back of the Brother’s quarters at St. Mary’s School.

The leopard is one of the smallest of the big cats and known for its ability to adapt to a variety of habitats. A nocturnal animal, the leopard hunts by night. It feeds on the smaller species of herbivores found in its range, such as the langur, wild hare, and wild boar. It is famous for picking up pariah dogs around forest areas and our small town; I have also known them to prey on resident Abuites pet dogs who stray from their protected enclosures. An extremely agile creature spends most of its resting time in natural caves and on top of trees. They can move quite a few kilometres every night in search of prey.

Leopards usually mate throughout the year, drawing up a litter of two to three cubs after a gestation period of 90 to 105 days. The female is very protective of her cubs and keeps them well hidden from prying predators. They stay with the mother for another two years, learning to hunt by following and watching the mother.

The biggest threats facing the common leopard in India are poaching for illegal trade in body parts and loss of habitat. I fear for the leopards of Abu, as the previous year two-foot traps had been retrieved from the jungle behind the school near the Golden Horn.

Foothold traps

Sunday, December 03, 2017

FULL MOON the Super Moon 3 Dec 2017 Mount Abu..

I saw the super moon from the Abode of the Gods.

The evening sky as seen from. the Abode of the Gods

The day before Full Moon 2 Dec 2017

I observed the lovely supermoon from the blessed Abode of the Gods while embracing its magnificent beauty. In recent days, the internet has been buzzing with excitement about the full moon, the phenomenon of the super moon—a spectacular occurrence when a new or full moon aligns with its perigee, the closest point to Earth in its monthly orbit.

When I go back to my school days, I recall a teacher’s amusing warning about the full moon’s tendency to cause a touch of craziness among us. With a smile, he explained the phenomenon as moonlight penetrating our “upper attic,” coining the phrase “Luna in your upper attic.”

Captivated by the cosmic splendour, I photographed it and shared a glimpse from the fabled Abode of the Gods. January this year promises not one, but two super moons. The first appeared in the sky on January 2, 2017, and the second, called the Blue Moon, will do so on January 31, 2018.

When delving into the folklore surrounding a "blue moon," a phrase frequently used to depict extraordinary events, we discover it denotes the second full moon in a month. As the expression goes, something happens “once in a blue moon,” and experiencing this cosmic rarity on January 31 adds a sense of magic to the experience.

So, before we go, let us take time to admire the moon, marvel at the wonders of the cosmos, and marvel at the absolute beauty of creation.

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

News Flash Mount Abu [ 29 Nov 2017 ]

Suicide in the Abode of Gods

Today I was informed by a colleague that a young woman in my neighbourhood had hung herself in the house. He was on that way to see me and he saw the cops and a crowd of people outside the house. On inquiring, he was told that a woman had committed suicide.

Murder and suicide are uncommon in the Abode of the Gods. So if it occurs once in a way, it makes big news. Tomorrow will fill you in on the details after they printed it in the news till then adios.

Surprised to see Small plane from New Zealand Surveying Mount Abu.

Light Aircraft (planes) Surveying Mount Abu Terrain.

I first observed this aircraft making sorties on 24 Nov 2017. I took a few snaps as I became curious as to its flying pattern. It appeared to be surveying the terrain of the Abode. I thought its probably some rich dude making sorties over our small town to impress the locals of Abu. Once in a way we do get one of these solo flights coming our way.

This incident would have become a hazy memory but for the fact it surprised me to see another tiny aircraft making quite a few sorties three days later, i.e the 27 Nov 2017. This time, on snapping the aircraft, it surprised me to see that this plane was not Indian in origin but had a distinct marking on it that it was a plane from New Zealand. Wow, what was this aircraft doing in our space surveying the terrain for Google Maps? It plagued me with a host of questions, so to find answers, I googled it.

Aircraft from a New Zealand company.

On googling, this is what I found.

The planes with high-tech sensors and photography equipment have been hired by Macfar aerial survey company to seek mineral reserves in the western districts of Rajasthan. The report will be submitted to the Geology Department of the Government of India.

An update

Seem the survey is still in full swing. Yesterday, i.e 10 Dec 2017, the plane was flying pretty low, making sorties over the Mount Abu sanctuary area.

The New Zealand team making sorties

Friday, November 24, 2017

Weather and temperature in Mount Abu.[24/11/201]

It's Gonna Be A Cold Winter this year in the Abode of the Gods.

This year winter set in early, and Abuites felt the chill from the beginning of October. For the last fortnight, the night temperature has been hovering around 6 to 9 degrees. This morning at 6:15 am when I checked to see what the temperature was it showed 4 degrees.

Tourists heading for Abu don't forget your woollies.

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Mount Abu to Nainital

My daughter Jennifer asked me to accompany her on a trip to Nainital as it was Junior's Deepawali Holidays. He was to get a break for 6 days and bringing him home was out of the question as the journey back and forth was too long and tedious. I knew I was running the gauntlet by assenting to go with her, as my physical condition after the accident was far from sound. But I need this break to find out for myself whether I could weather the storm that was to follow.

I booked our tickets online both ways. Our going from Marwar to Kathgodam was confirmed, but we were on the waiting list ( 8^th and 9^th )in IIAC on the connecting train from Abu Road to Marwar. I booked the tickets on October 13th, hoping it would get confirmed by October 30th. On October 29th, I tried to book a Tadkal ticket but couldn't because the IIAC was full. Just made it in time, as there were 3 berths available, which was close.

We left Abu at 3 a.m. on the 30^th Oct, to catch our train that was to pull out at 4.25 a.m. When we got to the station, I asked the taxi driver to stop at the far end to avoid having to climb the overhead bridge to platform No. 2.. I hobbled all the way around to the end of the platform and reached the second platform. Jen and the driver were a great help to encourage me along.

The scenario within the compartment left me blown away. It seemed we stepped into a General compartment and not a reserved one. There were individuals all over, some sleeping on the floor in between the berths; others huddled close to each other in sloughing in painful positions, fast asleep. Two callow youths occupied OUR TWO berths. When woken up they quietly move off to the end of the crowded compartment. Since they had allotted us a middle and upper berth, I knew here was my first run of the gauntlet. There was no way I could heave myself into that berth and hence resigned to sitting at the edge of the occupied lower berths. Jen climbed up to the top of the upper berth and tried to make herself comfortable with all our baggage. The two young guys left looking for a niche comeback. I told them to jump into my grave and make themselves comfortable. I’m sure they must have thought this Angrage was an eccentric old man.

Luck favoured me because after an hour some passengers got off at a way outstation and I could lie down on a lower berth till Marwar Junction.

From Marwar Junction to Kathgodam, our journey was pleasant as we had booked in 1AC. My brother Aubrey and his son Brian came and met us at the Ajmer Station, they had brought our lunch. I once again salute Dollar, his wife for sending us food that was out of this world.

I think I’ve ranted enough. Now I want you to feast your eyes on the few birds that I captured on my wavering legs during the time I was in Nainital. Appreciate my handiwork..