My Canon camera is now digital, with long distances to the birds bridged by powerful Canon lenses. The images you see here are in black and white, an effort to balance technological sophistication with the secrets of nature.
The Keoladeo Ghana bird sanctuary in Bharatpur has been a nature refuge for us since the 1990s. A short 4 to 5 hours from Delhi, Rabab, Zayn and I visited here for a few days by ourselves or with friends whenever we could during my busy working years. Staying at the forest rest house, a small hunting lodge built by Bharatpur pinces in early last century for hunting, was the major attraction. For those who know, FHRs are generally pretty basic places to stay and eat, more than made up by the real attraction - being immersed in and surrounded by nature. The boat rides and one of the walking paths into the 29 square kilometer sanctuary start right at the gates of the FRH, and one is continually enveloped by the soothing rhythms and sounds of animal and bird life. Chital deer nibble, pythons bask in the sun, wild boar scuttle by, peacocks amble, monkeys play all over, what to say of the hundreds of bird species that are in a continual cycle of hide and seek; eat and rest.
Keoladeo was then quite beyond the border of the city of Bharatpur, which itself was a sleepy town. Today, a new national highway constructed a decade back has brought the roar of motorised traffic and high-pressure truck horns uncomfortably close. The sound of this ubiquitous industrial life does however recedes as one moves closer to the the heart of the forest - an appropriate metaphor for our times. The 11 kilometers of swampland has its own water therapy, and hours at sunrise and sunset gliding on a motorless boat with a knowledgable majhi is an experience in peace. Motor vehicles are not allowed within the forest, that rule I think will persevere. Walking and watching yet remains the best transport, a rarity in any forest but so possible in Keoladeo as there are no large predators that can hurt humans. Solar powered rickshaws with 4 people replaced human-powered versions in 2024. This has - unnecessarily, to my mind - speeded up the once-leisurely pace of the 2-seater rickshaw and its expert birder who stopped often and long to take a rest and guide the uninitiated.
Progress always seems to be one step forward and many more backward. I wonder if you think much about this?
Shot on Canon EOS 5D Mark IV body with Canon 300mm f2.8 and Canon 500mm f/4 lenses
21 Jan 2025