Launch of Official Mount Abu Site

Today the official Mount Abu site will be launched from the “Trevor’s Oval”’ to grace the occasion the Minister of Social Welfare and empowerment Mr. Arjun Singh Dewda, the Collector Siddharth Mahejan (IAS) , S.D.M Mrs.Poonam (IAS) and the Chairman of the municipality Mr.Jalam Giri will be present.
The Web site–– www.montabu.nic.in - the brain child Collector Siddharth Mahejan , a porthole to the kaleidoscope- that is pictured and composed of this ancient land of the gods Mount Abu. This new site with its wealth of information about Mount Abu and its history, takes advantage of changes in Internet technology. The site has a clean, crisp graphical interface, and Mr. V.K. Gaur from NIC Technological dept, has portrayed the driving force behind the efforts of our controversial Dr. The Promoter our very own doctor has supplied the photographs and has written the scripts for this official site of Abu.
A browser based content management system will allow the site to be updated on an hour by hour basis with Weather reports as required.

Flying foxes of Mount Abu roosting

Majestic Flying Foxes of Mount Abu

Mount Abu has long been the sanctuary of the majestic Flying Foxes, their roosting sites close to the scenic Nakki Lake. For as far back as I can remember, they’ve found refuge in the towering trees around the civil hospital. Tourists visiting Abu often react with a mix of curiosity and unease when they first encounter these nocturnal marvels. The sight of them hanging upside down, observing from above, unsettles people, and their startled expressions are always amusing. Regrettably, bats have been affected by long-standing misunderstandings, attributed to Hollywood and Bollywood, which depicted them as malevolent beings associated with black magic, vampires, and eerie folklore.

 During my younger days, people approached me—sometimes desperate or eccentric—who sought to have these extraordinary creatures hunted for so-called medicinal purposes or arcane rituals. I would always give them the same response: the only reason I ever shoot any animal is to eat it. I learned this lesson early in life, and it has stayed with me. I remember as a boy, after shooting a few squirrels for their skins, my father approached me. With a stern yet gentle demeanour, he asked why I had taken their lives. I replied it was for their skin. He then posed a simple question that struck me: “What will you do with the rest of them?” I was unsure. That’s when he taught me a valuable lesson, one that shaped my perspective on life and nature. He told me, “If you take a life, it should have a purpose. Now you must cook and eat them, for life is not to be wasted.”

 Many of my friends hunted Flying Foxes for the thrill of an exotic meal, but I could never partake. I used to joke that I could eat anything that flew, except the silver bird, and anything with four legs, except the table I ate on. But over the years, life has softened me. I now spend my time educating others, especially the younger generation, about caring for the natural world. These creatures were here long before us, and it’s we who have encroached on their territory.

 But back to the Flying Foxes! Watching them at dusk, as they set off from their roosts in search of fruit, is a magical experience. They can consume up to ten times their weight, feasting on nectar, flowers, and fruit juice. With sharp night vision and a remarkable sense of smell, they navigate to their feeding grounds. However, their enormous size and lack of sonar (unlike their smaller bat cousins) make them vulnerable to dangers like high-tension power lines, especially on misty nights. These gentle creatures, so vital to our ecosystem, deserve our protection and admiration.

Flying foxes of Mount Abu roosting

Flying foxes of Mount Abu roosting

A Flying Fox of Mount Abu electrocuted on high-tension wires.

We Abuites have been living with nature for aeons, the flying foxes have been here and will always be here, living a life of peace and harmony.

Mystical Nakki Lake laid Bare Mount Abu

Nakki Lake laid Bare Mount Abu 

Nakki Lake Viewed  from Toad rock.

Nakki Lake 

This mystical and serene lake with its mysteries of being a lake with an unfathomable depth today stands bare with the latest survey conducted on it by limnological observations. No-where is it mentioned in the report that the lake is over 10.5 meters or more precisely 35 feet in depth? I never questioned the depth of the lake as I thought it was a few 100 feet or more than it’s an extinct volcanic crater, it was assumed that at various points the depth would be gauged according to the shaft that spewed volcanic rocks thousands of years ago, today’s technology boom sure has put speculation in its place.

When someone talks about the lake, it is generally accepted that it’s the main attraction of Abu and the tourists at large look forward to having a boat ride around the lake when they visit this lovely hill station of ours. Alas, the report is frightening. The lake now seen in its new vein after this report sends cold shivers down my very being. Is it going to be like many water bodies in different parts of the country that have turned into cesspools of filth? Rapid urbanization, unchecked discharge of domestic effluents, area of encroachment around the periphery of the lake, dumping of solid wastes, immersing of idols are also threatening the very existence of this calm lake.

Could a non-experienced "every day" citizen actually go head-to-head with an established Municipality and win, if position and power held by these individuals is not a factor? With the lethargic state of Municipal politics today, the answer is: absolutely. To save this life giving water resource, originator of life, and indicator of our overall health of the people of Abu, the Abuites are needed to goad these very officials they have voted into power to take a firm and lasting policy to see that the lake is preserved like the Kohinoor diamond. The lake is FAR more precious than any diamond in the world, as it is the root of all living beings. We cannot ignore the water of the lake as some common, worthless commodity. Our drive as responsible citizens should be to make an all out effort to save our own precious bowl of water if we and the future generations of this hill station are to live healthier.

My personal appeal to all Abuites are to come forward and try to save this Mystical lake of ours that has provided us with its life-giving waters, entertained the tourists and habitat to so many varieties of other creatures.DO GO THROUGH THE REPORT ATTACHED IT SHOULD BE A WARNING AND HARBINGER TO WHAT THE FATE OF THE LAKE HOLDS FOR US ABUITES.

http://ainsleyster.googlepages.com/nakkilakelimnologicalreport.pdf

ARBUDANCHAL UTSAV MOUNT ABU

I reached the Hilltone conference hall in the nick of time; The Governor of Rajasthan His Eminence Mr. Sheelandra Kumar Singh, Professor Bhasker Mehta, Commissioner for Physical Disabilities, Colonel Rajesh Kaswan of the 1st Sikh Light Infantry Regiment at Mount Abu , His Highness Maharo Raguveer Singhji of Sirohi , the Heads of all major schools and prominent Abuites were present for the occasion of the promotion of the release of The book of songs (Arbudh Geet) written and composed by our very own Dr. A.K.Sharma; All Rounder and the essence of controversy, in our one horse town. The credit and arrangements for this occasion goes to the younger generation of Agarwals of the Hillock family, their efforts and spontaneous action made it possible for this prestigious and memorable get-together to produce an insight into the awareness of what is needed for the betterment of this semi- hill station of ours.
The presentation on this occasion was conducted by Dr. Sharma; his introduction short and sweet, followed by a rendition of a song from his book by the students of the blind school; whom he calls his children and to whom he has pledged his legacy.

The Governor‘s speech was also inspirational and he made it a point to thank the Merwanji family for their contributions and continuous untiring efforts toward the support of the blind school which their fore- fathers had initiated by donating one of their biggest and most prime property in Abu .
Poetry for Awareness is not about making poems like a poet, it is about using the process of making poetry to generate more self awarenesss. Our good Doctor uses his poetry to enable the person reading it to share their inner thoughts and feelings and to experience a personal transformation of well being. He’s trying to promote personal empowerment where people are actively involved and find a meaning for their actions.
The book was a huge success; the thousand copies that were printed were sold in the blink of an eye. Everyone- even students or charitable intuitions interests in buying this book for a worthy cause may contact the Blind Centre .All proceeds from the sale of these books will go to the blind centre. There will be a short delay as the second edition of the book is under print. “Actions speak louder than words”, Mr. Mukesh Modi Chairman of Mahadav bank has denoted Rs Five Lakhs to the blind school, 2.5 lakhs have been released with immediate effect for a recording studio to be set up at the Blind School Centre.

A rendition of the song आदमी को आदमी से प्यार करना होगा sung by students of the Blind School Abu.My apologies for the poor quality of video output, I recorded this in subdued lighting

CROAK- CROAK Abu's Monsoons

Took this beauty with my Nokia last evening

The weather has been playing truant throughout the year, we had a prolonged cold and bitter winter, our summer season has been swamped with constant winds making it a heaven for us residents as there haven't been any remarkable hot days except for one or two days that I can recall. We have had quite a few days of unpredicted rainfall over the past few weeks. We do get the occasional May showers every year but this year it’s far from normal.
Last Saturday when I woke up and had a look at my mug while brushing my teeth I saw a few strands of my flaxen hair( my sentinels) all kinked up I knew the monsoons were around the corner. I yelled to my bitter half to get her house in order as the monsoons this year were going to be early, she answered back sarcastically, “Yea you Heathen have you gone and hung the statue of St.Anthony upside down”, early rains my foot. Some foot, the first official monsoon shower last evening pounded the hillside with a vengeance. The rain came down in torrents it was intense and within minutes the bare streams were full of gushing water. If only I had my camera with me I would have documented the filth and plastic debris that flowed past my house. There was also an awful stench for quite some time, the shower did not last very long but it was a blessing at least the place got cleaned up. I only hope this early shower isn’t a harbinger of dread that our monsoon is going to be short lived. The element of uncertainty in our monsoon season over the years has always left us in a quandary. We in Abu depend exclusively on the monsoons for our drinking water. We have precisely two water reservoirs, Upper Kodhra Dam and the lower Kodhra Dam, in dire emergency the water from the lake is utilized, if we have a poor monsoon we in Abu have water rationing, i.e. depending on the severity of water in our reservoirs we get water every alternate day . OH Global Warming see to it that the Rain Gods be kind to this Abode of the Gods and shower her with rain. I think we can add one more God to our list, the modern God “Global Warming”