My photo published in Schmap Sydney Guide

First of the formal photo publishing in a reputed online site.  Schmap has used one of my Opera House photos in their eleventh edition of Schmap Sydney Guide.  Below are the links to the online version of the guide and the iPhone version.

Schmap Sydney Guide

Schmap Sydney Guide (iPhone version)

Here is the photo which was published.

Attukal Pongala Festival at Trivandrum

Attukal Temple Main Entrance

Today is the Attukal Pongala Festival.  That is when the "largest gathering of women in the World" happens.  There is a Guinness world record registered for this festival.  During my childhood days, this was a time of joy and festivities.  The days leading to the "Pongala" festival were very eventful with lot of programs and activities planned by local clubs and temples.  Everyone in the city irrespective of their religion participated in them.  We used to have "Ganamela" during the nights near my place at Karamana.  Singers used to sing popular Malayalam and Tamil songs throughout the night.  The temple also use do have daily music and dance programs all the 10 days. On the day of Pongala, the local clubs and residents used to serve "Panakkam" (a drink made of jaggery, cardomom and sugar) and "Sambaram" (a drink made of curd, water, curry leaves, ginger and salt) to devotees.

Attukal Temple

Trivandrum city itself paints a festive look with no vehicle movement and full of devotees who comes from different parts of the city, state and neighboring states.  The story of Attukal Temple is linked to Tamilnadu.  It is believed that Kannaki, the central character of Tamil epic Silapathikaram, came to Trivandrum on the way to Kodungallur.  Kannaki is the diety in the Attukal Temple.  The temple is situated in the banks of Killi river and is very near to the city center.

Ladies making Pongala in mud pots using brick stoves

During the Pongala Festival, millions of ladies get together to pray the goddess and offer her "Pongala" (rice cooked with jaggery, ghee, coconut as well as other ingredients).  It is cooked in earth pots around the temple.  During recent times due to high number of devotees coming to the temple, the area where pongala is prepared has grown to few kilometers around the temple covering most parts of the city.  There were around 2.5 million ladies performed pongala last year, and this year is said to surpass this mark.  During this day, only ladies and kids are allowed near the temple where pongala is performed. 

Pongala getting prepared

When I see the live telecast of this festival in the Malayalam TV channels today, it takes me back to good old days.  It has been a while since I could participate in the Pongala.  I tried to remember when was the last time.  No, I can't remember it.  It has been that far back since I was in Trivandrum during this time.  May be I should plan to attend it next year.

Attukal Temple Pond

Excellent pictures about Attukal Pongala can be found at http://attukalpongala.blogspot.com/

Birds of Australia

During my short stay in Australia, I got a chance to take some pictures of Australian birds.  These are mostly shot in the evenings when I get some time to roam around.  This will be the first time I specifically shoot birds.  Spent a fair bit of time tracking them in Sydney harbor and Canberra to be able to get a good shot.  I still need to learn a lot to master art of bird photography.  I will write about my experience with Sydney and Canberra in a later post.

Rock Pigeon (Domestic Pigeon) pictured at Sydney Harbor

The Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), or Rock Dove, is a member of the bird family Columbidae (doves and pigeons).  You can see the cere at the top of the beak.

Silver Gull in flight pictured at Bondi Beach, Sydney

My first good shot of a moving bird.  I took many pictures of these beautiful birds in the Bondi beach, but this was the one of the few worth posting here.  Apparently there is a lot of tricks I need to master before I can do this better.

Silver Gull at rest, pictured at Sydney Harbor

The Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) also known simply as "seagull" in Australia, is the most common gull seen in Australia. It has been found throughout the continent, but particularly coastal areas.

Crested Pigeon pictured at Canberra

The Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) is a bird found widely throughout mainland Australia except for far tropical north areas. There are only two Australian pigeon species that possess an erect crest, being the Crested Pigeon and the Spinifex Pigeon. The Crested Pigeon is the larger of the two species.

Australian White Ibis pictured at Hyde Park, Sydney

The Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca) is a wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae, also known as the "Sheep bird". It is widespread across much of Australia. It has a predominantly white plumage with a bare, black head, long downcurved bill and black legs.

Alternate colloquial names include "Dump Chook" or "Tip Turkey", from its habit of rummaging in garbage, and "Sheep-bird".  This ibis feeds on various fish, frogs and other water creatures, and also insects and garbage.

Galah, pictured at Canberra

The Galah (pronounced /ɡəˈlɑː/), Eolophus roseicapilla, also known as the Rose-breasted Cockatoo, Galah Cockatoo, Roseate Cockatoo or Pink and Grey, is one of the most common and widespread cockatoos, and it can be found in open country in almost all parts of mainland Australia.

Bird descriptions courtesy Wikipedia.  See more photos of these birds in my flickr set.