Mount Abu shivers night temperature down to 0 C. [ 17 Dec 2020.]

 Mount Abu Freezes at 0 degrees.

Mount Abu Freezes at 0 degrees.

Abuites woke up to a frosty morning. Last night was chilly and the chilly wind made it worse. A wonderful time to sit out in the garden and bask in the sun. November was exceptionally chill this year. The first week of December was pleasant.

With the return of the retreating monsoons, Abu goes back to face the cold wave that is sweeping Rajasthan. Night temperatures have fallen constantly. Last night Abu saw its first 0 degrees for this winter season.

Temperature Mount Abu 16 Dec 2020
(Snapper kind favour Anil. Babbar's Den-An Elegant Homestay.)

"Greetings from Mount Abu "

May you be immune and safe from the COVID-19 virus this winter.

Greetings to our graduates and students in the Year of the Pandemic.

Hopefully, with the rollout of the vaccines, life will normalize.

[18 Dec 2020 ]

Cold wave in full swing. 

Last Night's Temperature

Frozen dew

Frozen dew

(Snapper kind favour Anil. Babbar's Den-An Elegant Homestay.)

Frost 18 Dec 20

Frost Polo ground Mount Abu 18 Dec 20

(Snapper kind favour Deepesh: WHY HOTEL Agroha?

DIWALI in the PANDEMIC's [ YEAR 2020 ] MOUNT ABU.

 ABUITES FIRED NOT A SINGLE CRACKER ON Diwali NIGHT A RECORD FOR THIS ECOZONE.

Mount Abu

COVID-19 has dampened the fun of all the festivals. Many places and some states here in India have banned the use of fireworks for this Diwali. People all over the world use fireworks and firecrackers to celebrate various life events such as marriages, Independence Day, New Year’s Eve, and the Olympics closing ceremony, not just in India where it is a prominent tradition, particularly during Diwali. Even though firecrackers produce crazy noise smoke and pollution, the public at large enjoys firecrackers.

The pandemic on our lives over these last few months with lockdowns, face masks, social distancing and the FEAR of contacting the virus has reduced our lives to a frizzle. Once humanity was like the firecrackers bursting with life and always on the bang and now FIzzzzzzlllleeee. The year 2020 has witnessed the ULTIMATE fear psychosis that the COVID-19 virus has plunged us into, but for how long? Next week Mount Abu will buzz and the hillsides will probably witness traffic jams and the crowds that will descend here will make the pandemic seem insignificant. The tourists who land here seem to forget the precautions and protocol that they have to follow, and this could invite hazards for us Abuites.

To all our esteemed guests, I wish you all a stress-free and safe passage and hopefully; you enjoy your Diwali holiday to the hilt. Welcome to Mount Abu. Please treat it as your HOME. Avoid littering and throwing booze bottles on the hillsides.

Wishing you all a happy Diwali.

Date palm trees Mount Abu [ 14/06/2020 ]

The Abode of the Gods is where the wild date palm trees grow.

Langoor eating dates 

Langoor eating dates 

Langoor descending the trunk of Date Palm

According to legend, the tree of knowledge was the date palm tree. Was this the fruit offered to Adam and not the Apple? The Jews and the Islamic religion have stressed the holiness of the date and date palm. It remains uncertain when the date palm was brought to Mount Abu. The Abu date palm is wild. It grows throughout our little hill station here in Rajasthan.

We do not harvest wild dates here as the fruit bears no pulp. The date comprises a large seed with a fine mess of coating. Wild bears (sloth bears) feast on the fallen fruit. Our local tribal uses the leaves of the date palm to feed their cattle in periods of drought. Some use the leaves to make brooms. Previously, our locals tapped the trees for their sweet neera. 

Seeing a langoor scale up a tree to feast on these wild dates surprised me. The monkey ate a few of the dates and shortly afterwards descended. The fruit did not hold a fascination for his hungry stomach. 

Troupes of Monkeys have invaded the fruit gardens here in Mount Abu. Scores of monkeys, who depend on handouts from the thousands of tourists visiting Abu, have come to a standstill after the COVID-19 lockdown.