life on Savandurga

August 17, 2011

These pictures were shot during a visit with Deepak. As usual we had reached Savandurga early morning. The rains had given a fresh look to the rocks and vegetation. It was a partly cloudy day, weather was cool and the air felt fresh. The climb was slower than usual because of the wet slippery patches, we had to tread through them careful. The sights were amazing.. everything on the hill was beautiful, perfect, no chance of flaws in the creations of Mother Nature. Here are few pictures from Nikon Coolpix 5100.

This fallen leaf was seen near the first gate. The tree has grown on a four-pillared sentry post on the fort wall. Just after the rainy season the leaves are green but during a dry season the young leaves are red. And the end of their lives, the leaves turn pale yellow and fall off.

A shallow valley near the second fort wall and gate. Stored rain water trickles down in a tiny stream which collects into a small pond at the base of the slope which further flows down another slope to the base of the hill. The stream gurgles down gracefully, if one paid close attention, the music of water could be heard. The water is clear and cool, fresh enough for drinking without a worry.  

A large patch of man high grass. Each of the plants are at the peak of their lives, so tall and heavy that a strong wind makes them lean creating domino effect. I had a habit of pulling out a stalk from the base and chew on the lower end. I believed the sweet sap from this grass boosted my energy level. 

Little pearly water droplets hold on to young Peepul leaves. I think this tree is on the brick wall which runs along the edge of the slope going up from the second gate. The roots of this plant cling on the brick wall tightly, they look like serpents.

A lonely snail. Except for a gentle movement of its antenna, it was still. It must've crawled all night moved a few meters. I wonder how its to be that slow. Anyway, its shell is one of the most beautiful things in nature. The involute which spirals out is perfect. Such is the power of chemical and physical programming of Mother Nature.

This cactus is quite common on Savandurga and surrounding rock formations. The cactus is relatively mild in terms of thorns which are short and stubby. They grow tall, sometimes upto 8 to 10 feet high. During one of our night camping here, we had collected some dried out plants as fuel for fire. They burned like paper.. it must be the case with all dead cactus since they are bags of water when alive.

This is the eight pillared mantapa a stone's throw from the guard house. This mantapa sits on a rock besides a small pond of fresh water. The ancient builders made sure rainwater was harvested which would remain fresh and lasted until the next season. On this hill are one big and four or five smaller ponds. During one of our visits we used this water to washup, the water was clean enough.

This picture was shot at the top, the stretch between the guard house and Nandi Mantapa. These grass stalks are almost eight feet. The footpath would have tunnels in between.. every time I went through a tunnel I would expecting a wild beast encounter. Notice the loops in the flowery part of the grass? I guess its done by some insect.

Those graceful curves in soft greens and yellows is a pleasant sight. Isn't it? Wondering is this grass when dry is used to make brooms. At this point sun was trying unsuccessfully to break through clouds and layers of mist.

This plant is all leaves, never seen any flower on it. The leaves are thick, even in hot weather they don't show a hint of dryness.

This is an example of plants' versatile nature. They just nooks and crannies to send in roots and cling on firmly. There's hardly any loose soil on this rocky hill but the small granules in the cracks are enough for some to thrive. The clump of grass must be living there for couple of millennia.

On this humongous monolith called Savandurga are countless number of individual boulders shaped by the forces of wind, water and temperature. Many of them have shed weight with time, small granules get separated due to erosion caused by wind and water. Those granules form the little loose soil which is sucked by plants.

A very artistic window framed by two boulders and the monolith. The artistic feel is enhanced by the presence of crisscrossing blades.

The two mountain hounds kept us company all the way up and down. The little one had also come until a slip scared the life of it. It gave up and turned back as we watched it without a clue on how to motivate it to continue the climb.

This beetle is one of the most beautiful ever seen with my eyes. It's shape and color reminds me of Lamborghini. The insect was still even though I was shooting it closely. Insects are less active in cold weather which would be best time to shoot them. This wonderful creature gets all the attention but do check out the beauty of the rock on which it sits. Zillions and zillions of small granules of white, pink, grey remain bonded together to form this monolith granite.

The next four pictures were shot on the way back. This shorter variety grass has occupied a manmade gutter. See the circular lichen just above the grey patch. Grass prevents expansion of cracks as they plug the gaps and keep them sealed.

The little ponds on the monolith are small ecosystems by themselves. Most times they are dominated by a single type of plant but a variety of insect life thrive in the water. Usually the water surface is still in cold weather since the insects are inactive. The mirror like surface reflects the sky, mist and plants beautifully.  

Lastly, a set of real and virtual arcs on the edge of a pond. In the sky is a hint of mist or low clouds.

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