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Showing posts with label #Rajputs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #Rajputs. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 03, 2022

Monsoons in Mount Abu [ 3/08/2022 ]

Monsoons in the Abode of Gods 

"Orange sky at night tourist  delight."
Orange sky at night, tourist delight

In Rajasthan—the land of warrior kings and sunbaked fortresses—water is a gift more precious than gold. And even Mount Abu, the jewel of the Aravallis, known both as the Oasis of the Desert and the Abode of Gods, must bow to the mercy of the monsoon.

The first showers of June arrive like a soft whisper, falling upon hills that have baked under a relentless sun. The charred slopes, still bearing the scars of summer fires, drink deeply. Within days, the brown gives way to emerald; the forest blooms as though Eden itself had been planted anew. The air smells of wet earth, and for the first time in months, the mountain breathes.

Then, on the first morning of July 2022, the true monsoon arrives—not with a single burst, but with a steady, daily rhythm. Some days the rain is a silver curtain, drifting gently through the valleys; on others, it is a roaring downpour, drumming against rooftops and swelling the rivers. Clouds sink low, brushing against the treetops as if in greeting. Waterfalls leap from the cliffs, streams begin their cheerful chatter, and the mist rolls in like a memory from the sixties. The entire mountain sighs with relief.

By the second of August, the lakes and reservoirs are brimming, their mirrored surfaces holding the promise of life until the next rains.

Gauge Report – Mount Abu
Tuesday, 2 August 2022
☔ Rainfall: 22 mm
🌧 Total Rainfall: 42 inches


Lower Kodra Dam 58'/59'
(1153.53/1188ML)

"Lower khodra Dam an inch to overflow."
Lower khodra Dam an inch to overflow 3 Aug 2022
Per kind favour, Crescentia teacher, St Mary's school 

Upper Kodra Dam=28/33'
(302.4/414ML)

NAKKI LAKE=12.25/12.25Mtr
(1215/1215ML)

August is always the hill station’s month of joy—and this year, the rain gods have been generous. From across Gujarat and beyond, travellers arrive in colourful waves, drawn by the emerald hillsides, the foaming waterfalls, and the romance of walking through rain-washed streets with the scent of chai in the air. Independence Day week is a festival in itself, with every hotel and guesthouse filled to the brim. For the unprepared, finding a room is as rare as finding a clear blue sky in the middle of the season.

And yet, while tourists revel in the mist and monsoon magic, the people of Abu quietly long for one or two sunlit days, just enough to dry their clothes, warm their bones, and let the golden light kiss the hills again.

Until then, we live in a world painted in a hundred shades of green, under skies heavy with blessings—our mountain wrapped in the music of falling rain.

Tuesday, August 07, 2018

Large-billed Or Jungle crows Omen or a blessing Mount Abu

A congregation of a “murder of crows” 

"A congregation of a “murder of crows” apot a tree in Mount Abu."
Long-billed Jungle Crows


Folktale has it that crows congregate and decide another species' capital fate. 
Many view the manifestation of crows as an omen. Well, the 2019 elections are around the corner. Will the coming elections be associated with "Aacha Din", especially in the state of the Rajputs, or will there be an upheaval that may be turbulent and detrimental to the stigmata of our state of being called ‘lychgate’? 
I'm sure there is trepidation about what the results of the coming elections are about bringing forth. I'm no soothsayer but I take it Bharat our nation will rise to the occasion and the folks will rejoice and see AACHA DIN.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Mount Abu "Garasias"



"The Flower Moon, snapped over Mount Abu."
  The Flower Moon


May 2, 2007
The Full Flower Moon. Abu’s hillsides are in full bloom. Out here in India, it’s called “Buddha Purnima”. The full moon this year fell on May 2, 2007; it commemorates the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha. On special days, many people go to Indian holy places to ask the gods for their favour. What fascinates me is the large number of "Garasias" who come to my hometown.
These Garasias throng to Abu by the hundreds and that too on foot, they hoof it all the way up from villages all over Rajasthan. They come in enormous groups singing and dancing in their local dialect till they amass around the famous Nakki Lake at Abu, their final destination.
For the Garasias, "Buddha Purnima" is an important day as they decided on marriages on this day. The Garasias pay the bride's "price" to her father after elopement. Should this agreement not work out, the girl returns home with her father, who receives some money for the inconvenience caused.
The Garasias, legend has it is descendants of the Rajput tribe of the Chauhans. Apparently, the Chauhans, after being defeated in a battle aeons ago, fled and mingled with the local Bhil tribe to form a distinctive group. The tribal population of Garasias are concentrated around the hills of Abu and the KOTRA region of Udaipur.
The Garasias have a Bhil culture with bows and arrows for hunting and self-defence. I Still fail to understand how they have a higher status than the native Bhil. Perhaps there is some truth in the legend of the Garasias origin (the fallen Rajputs)
The zest for the life of these people left an impression on me. I’m posting a few snaps of these fun-loving folks, Happy viewing.



"Garasias" who come to my hometown, during Buddha Purnima"
"Garasias" who come to my hometown.

"Garasias" who come to my hometown, during Buddha Purnima"
"Garasias" who come to my hometown, during Buddha Purnima"

"Garasias throng to Nakki Lake"
Garasias throng to Nakki Lake