Featured Member
This month on pixetra club's Featured Member's Portfolio section, we present AMOGHAVARSHA.
Amog is an old pal of all of us here at pixetra and one the earliest to sign on as a pixetra club member. An ardent amateur photographer and nature lover, Amog shares with us his most recent adventures chasing Monsoon Clouds thru Kerala.
Be the next pixetra club member to be featured in the gallery here: please email sethu@pixetra.com or call 09382343437.
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Monsoon Chasing is probably the most exciting activity for me after a long, hot summer. When the weatherman reports a climatic shift and the gathering clouds hint the first possibility of showers; when the air cools down, the skies are grey instead of blue, and the first large drops splash down - that's the time to head to the Western Ghats of Kerala. Time to go monsoon chasing!
I have been doing this for two years now. This year, I did a lot of background research too. First I called friends who live in the Western Ghats - with their input, and data collected from meteorological charts and weather forecasts, and by studying satellite images we had a general idea about the advancing of the monsoon winds. My friend Sandeep researched the logistics and the route we would be taking.
We left early on Friday morning. It was a long, ten-hour drive from Bangalore. The drive took Sandeep and me through the Chinar Wildlife Sanctuary. The forest was very beautiful, already green although only a few showers had occurred. We reached Munnar in Kerala, and were rather disappointed to see that it was quite clear - the sky showed hardly any clouds. While we waited we tried our hands at some landscape photography. And that's when it happened - we looked up at Anaimudi, the highest peak south of the Vindhyas, and saw this amazing sight - dark grey rain-bearing clouds moving towards us up on the horizon. We sensed it before we could actually see it - the monsoon was truly upon the land!
That night, the weather became completely cloudy and it started drizzling; but by morning it was clear again. We then decided to go up to Rajamalai, where the Ervikulam National Park is and where the Nilgiri Tahrs (endemic mountain goats) are found. From this point one can see the whole Anamalai range.
Within a couple of hours we could see the clear sky getting overcast and a lot of clouds moving in. The rains started in a huge downpour. At this point, we drove back to Munnar and while driving down from Munnar on the other side of the mountain we were quite literally chasing the monsoon! The towns that we drove through would be dry - people going about their everyday lives and as we drove past, the rains would start! It was so awesome and we were fascinated just to see the effect of the rains on the everyday lives of these people. Some brought out their umbrellas while others scurried for shelter and tried to save their wares. The sky in front of us was clear, and behind us were the thunderheads of the monsoon - it was truly an amazing sight! Awe-inspiring beyond doubt!
In Kerala, rains are not the drizzles one is used to in the cities; the rain suddenly starts, and is immediately a huge deluge! Water shoots down and the road runs full in a matter of minutes. Visibility comes down rapidly as well. We were driving through lush, gorgeous greenery - our black, wet, slick tar road snaking through all the green - the contrast of the two colours was incredible!
The monsoon hasn't yet hit the rest of Kerala though. Since we are facing dry stretches and the rains haven't kept up, we decided to return home. The chasing this time had its own rewards and disappointments. On the whole it has been a great experience. I strongly recommend a Monsoon Chasing expedition to anyone who wants to watch the majesty of nature's forces unleashing itself on a waiting, parched country... You won't be disappointed.
www.amoghavarsha.com
