Om Beach Sunset

Shot yesterday at Om Beach of Gokarn, this sunset is one of its kind...

Trees of Karwar...

Karwar has become the second city in Karnataka and fifth in India to record greenery in the city and the urban tree diversity (UTD).

Modernisation and unplanned growth have brought the issue of greenery in thecity and UTD to the fore. To study this, botanists and forest officials have recorded the density of greener in some select cities, including Bangalore. Chandigarh, Delhi, Nagpur and Coimbatore are the other prominent cities where this exercise had been completed.

The greenery and UTD in Karwar were recorded by Shivanand Bhat, Jayakar Bhandiari, both professors in Government Arts and Science College, Karwar, and Saiyyad Saifuddin. In 2000, such a study was carried out in Bangalore, the sources said. A paper on the study of greenery in the city and UTD was presented by Shivanand Bhat at “Lake 2010” meeting at the Environmental Study Centre of Indian Science Centre in December last year.

The tree census, study and documentation and registration work had begun in June 2010. In Karwar, trees belonging to 106 species were identified. About 70 per cent of them were indigenous. Of these 106 species, wild mango consisted of 20 per cent, Fal Ashoka tree 12 per cent, yellow flame 6 per cent, raintree 5 per cent and jackfruit consisted 6per cent of the trees.

Most trees belonged to the wild category and of them, 40 per cent were most endangered. The trees which were grown on the roadside by the British regime were removed during the expansion of the roads recently.  The cement roads and drainage facilities had become a bane for these trees, the study said. There were buildings on both sides of the roads and cement roads were coming in the way of planting saplings.

According to historians Suryanath Kamat and Campbell Gazetteer, the British rulers planted samanea and raintrees on both sides of the roads in Karwar market and these trees were still useful for the public.

The botanists said these trees must be protected in Karwar.

106 species of trees identified in Karwar

Wild mango comprises 20 per cent of it

Source - The Hindu

Kali river during Low Tide...

Thats the Kali River at its Low Tide, at Kodibag. 

Karwar Port at Sunrise

The Cashew season just started.. in Goa..

Its said there are four seasons in Goa - Summer, Rainy, a bit of Winter and then its the season of Cashew Feni... In fact, tourists say an integral Goan experience can be found simply by sniffing the air during cashew apple season; so prevalent is the smell of the distilling fruit.

Feni or Fenny, as it is also spelled, is a drink synonymous with Goa just as Scotch is synonymous with Scotland, Tequila with Mexico, or Champagne with France! Indeed, the cognoscenti will testify that a well aged Feni can be as smooth as any aged single malt. There are 2 types of Feni: Cashew feni and Coconut feni. Cashew feni is distilled out of the juice of the cashew apples, whereas Coconut Feni is distilled from the toddy collected of the coconut trees. The traditional method of making cashew feni is by the pot still method.

(Source  and "How to Make Feni")

Norman Noronha says here

It was during the rainy season and I used to move out most of the times in the rains.
My Mai (Mother) said 'Baba, tuka tonddi zalea, illo cashew soro ghe, rokdoch boro zatalo'
She did the same thing as mentioned in the article below, burning the cashew feni and putting in our ancient cups (kalxeo) and serving me.
I had two-three cups while Mai was away,  which made me tipsy.  I got upthe next day but Mai's medicine really worked.  Cold was really gone !!!!!!!

Wishing you all a Happy Makar Sankranti...

People of Karwar watch a sunset at the Tagore beach on the day of the Solistice - Makar Sankranti, also signifying the Harvest Season.
As they say in Karwar - "Tilgul ghaya God God Bolaa.." Loosely translated in English as "Take sweet, talk sweet" on this day.

Sankranti means to go from one place to another place (to change direction). It also means one meets another. The time when the sun changes direction from one constellation (of the zodiac) to another is known as Sankranti.

Transition of the Sun from Sagittarius (Dhanu) to Capricorn (Makar) during the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere (Uttarayana) is known as Makar sankranti. (more info here)

Makar Sankranti in Maharastra and Karnataka,  is also celebrated all over India and is known as Lohri in Punjab, Bihu in Asssam, Pongal in Tamilnadu, Khichiri in Uttar Pradesh, Sukarat in Madhya Pradesh, Pedda Panduga in Andhra Pradesh, etc.

Google once again surprised us with their new Google Doodle. On the day when nation celebrates Makar Sankranti, Google has painted kites and flying balloons on its search engine home page in India. Source

Is it a Lake...?? No, Its the Arabian Sea !

Yea, its the Arabian Sea, stilled completely by the breakwater, constructed in the mid of the Sea from the Baithkol Mountain, to protect the Karwar Port from the unruly waves...

Sunset - Old pics shot with Ricoh Capilio R211

Karwar Tagore Beach Sunset pictures...

 These Pictures were shot with Ricoh Capilio R211, less than 2 MP digital camera, way back in 2007...

View of the Arabian Sea from the Baithkol Breakwater

Sunset again...

I admit, I definitely cant resist posting Sunset pictures. Every day I resolve to post something other than Sunsets, but these photos have a way to over power me and get into my Blog Page... And I cant resist.

These Photos were taken this evening with the tiny Port of Karwar and the Enclosing Hill in the background, and they are Fresh as ever....

Sunrise on the Kali river...

After many Sunset pictures, here is a sunrise picture for a change....

Welcoming 2011...

The Month's theme picture is here, taken today, at Tagore Beach, Karwar... Click here to see other CDP Members participating in the Month's Best Photo Theme...
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

May the New Year bring Peace, Joy and Prosperity to all of us, all over the World.... :-)