Picto Diary - 10 January 2016 - Countryside notes

Above: Marwari cattle herder. Sumerpur, Rajasthan, India. 10 January 2016.

We surmised that this gentlemen was younger than he looked. We asked him. He said he was fifty five. These people have been working the cattle in this area for centuries, in the same manner. One wonders if the "new India" will also result in the extinction of their ways. The young men we noticed helping with the cattle were all dressed in western clothes.

Above: Hindu Temple in granite outcrop. Sumerpur, Rajasthan, India. 10 January 2016.

Hinduism has no founder or central authority and it isn't a proselytizing religion.

Hindus believe that earthly life is cyclical: you are born again and again, the quality of these rebirths being a righteous life and fulfilling your karma (moral code of behavior, social duty( will enhance your chances of being reborn into a higher caste and better circumstances.

Alternatively, if enough bad karma has accumulated, rebirth may take animal form. But it's only as a human that you can gain sufficient self-knowledge to escape the cycle of reincarnation and achieve moksha (liberation).

Above: Hindu Temple idol (Devi or one of her incarnations?) in granite outcrop. Sumerpur, Rajasthan, India. 10 January 2016.

Above: Beehives. Hindu Temple in granite outcrop. Sumerpur, Rajasthan, India. 10 January 2016.

Above: Maui, Comic Mom, TIMDT, two Marwari cattle herds,Liz, and Spago. Jawai Leopard Camp. Sumerpur, Rajasthan, India. 10 January 2016.

Members of the Margaret Taylor Dance Troupe in India.

Above. Our tent. Jawai Leopard Camp. Sumerpur, Rajasthan, India. 10 January 2016.

TIMDT can be barely discerned sitting in the divan at right.

Tent had it all. Ample hot water, electricity, internet, space heaters, high thread count, white cotton sheets and duvets.

The camp is dismantled ever year and packed a way for four months during the monsoon season when the area is flooded.

Addendum:

Above: The Bishop, Jumbo, and TIMDT. Amber, India. 01 January 2015. New Year's day.

Hat tip: B1B

Above: The Bishop and Cat. Samod Palace Hotel. 30 December 2015.

Hat tip: FeeBee

Hi Steve,
We're enjoying the travel diary and look forward to the re-cap of your adventures in India and especially appreciate all the great photos, but, it may be time for you to upgrade to the Samsung Note 5...it has an exceptional camera. Keep the notes coming our way! The trip is fascinating! Take care and hugs to Margaret!

Magnolia,
Miami, FL

A serious wildlife photog needs even better than that. The lumix I have is pretty good, but I've been lazy, using only the auto selection. I couldn't figure out how to disable the flash for dusk shots I find it very difficult,also, to spot the animal at a distance through the camera, once I have seen it through the binoculars. Sometimes, by the time you think you have a bead on it, it gets up and moves. The leopard experience has given me some incentive to go the next step with a real SLR and telephoto.

Thank you for the wonderful description of the Safari experience at Jawai. Sounds like a minute to minute account of your Safari.

Mohan,
Travelscope, India
Gurgaon, India

Somehow Grey Eurasian Collared doves have naturalized in Utah. I have fifty or so that live in the trees around our home. They are about the size of domesticated and Feral Rock Doves, also known throughout the world as pigeons.

I enjoy the Eurasian doves. They coo a lot when I am out working in the yard.

Great trip reports.

Regards,
Delhi PJs
Riverton, UT

10 Jan 2016

Picto Diary