Kadra Dam - View from Shirve Mountain Top

Western Ghats 

The Greens blend in the Blues at the Horizon.

Kadra Dam - View from Shirve Mountain Top

Sky is His Canvas!

THE SKY IS HIS CANVAS

This night is amazing
The clouds rearranging
The light is falling, tumbling from the skies
And life full of hope, dear
And rain makes us float, dear
The waters flooding, mixing in our eyes
And often times we pass it by
But at any time we can see the sky
And marvel at the wonders high
An know of God just by this sight
The sky is His canvas
To always enchant us
And to always bring a smile to our faces
To all who are tired
Or desperate to feel loved
Just look up to see the face of God
And often times we pass it by
But at any time we can see the sky
And marvel at the wonders high
An know of God just by this sight..

From - http://www.mckennahampton.com/the-sky-is-his-canvas-lyrics.html

Picture shot at Karwar, Kali Backwaters

Hrudaya Geethe - Kannada Film Song Picturised in Karwar in 1989

Hrudaya Geethe HaaDuthire - SPB & Chitra - 

Picturised in Karwar  in 1989. 

At Kali Bridge, 

Sadashivgad Durga Temple, 

Sadashivgad Fort, and Kodibag beach/behind Divekar College.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/z5TGWpzwo6Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Kali River - Still Life

Life is Still at the banks of the Kali River at Kodibag, Karwar.

Caught in the Low Tide..

The river has its high and low tides, like Life itself. We, like the boat have to wait for the tide to rise, and be ready when it rises, to sail away..

Melancholy...

May be this is what the word "Melancholy" means....

The Kali Confluence...

This is where the River Kali meets the Arabian Sea, called the Kali Sangam (Confluence). The waters may seem still, but underneath strong and dangerous currents lurk.. The River Kali is as benevolent, as it is fierce... More posts about River Kali in this Blog are here, here, here, here, and here.

Kali The Mother

The stars are blotted out,

The clouds are covering clouds.

It is darkness vibrant, sonant.

In the roaring, whirling wind

Are the souls of a million lunatics

Just loosed from the prison-house,

Wrenching trees by the roots,

Sweeping all from the path.

The sea has joined the fray,

And swirled up mountain-waves,

To reach the pitchy sky.

The flash of lurid light

Reveals on every side

A thousand, thousand shades

Of Death begrimed and black-

Scattering plagues and sorrows,

Dancing mad with joy,

Come, Mother, come!

For terror is Thy name,

Death is in thy breath,

And every shaking step

Destoys a world for e'er.

Thou Time, the All-destroyer!

Come, O Mother, come!

Who dares misery love,

And hug the form of Death,

Dance in destruction's dance

To him the Mother comes.

- Swami Vivekananda

This is a poem by Swamiji, written in Kashmir, on a houseboat on Dal Lake. After visiting the Kshir Bhavani Temple, he returned, in ecstasy, to the boat and wrote this.

Source - http://www.poetseers.org/the_poetseers/vivekananda/vivekanandas_poetry/kali_the_mother/

Sunrise...

The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never dried all at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round. ~ John Muir

The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do.  ~Galileo

Kali River Sunrise.

One more of the many to follow...

Sunrise on the Kali river...

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

Kadra Dam across River Kali

35 kms from Karwar is the Kadra Dam constructed across river Kali. The dam was primarily built as hydroelectric project for supply of water to turbines of electric power generating station. The project was completed by KPCL, with a Hydro elecctric Power plant which produces 517.28 MU of electricity annually. 

Meanwhile take a look at these links - 
1. http://karwar-daily-pic.blogspot.com/2008/11/and-quietly-flows-river-kali.html
2. http://aravindgj.blogspot.com/2010/03/kadra-and-kodasalli-dams.html

Kali Bridge Closed for Repairs

Fresh trouble for commuters who use National Highway 17. Come January 5, the Kali bridge that links Goa with Karnataka, will be closed for a month for repair works. The bridge bearings needs to be immediately replaced. Otherwise, chances of the bridge collapsing is high, say experts.  - Times of India

The bridge considered to be the lifeline of coastal Karnataka was built in 1986. The temporary closure of the bridge means that there is no other route for the people to reach Goa from Karnataka. - Times of India

Everyday thousands of students from both the sides cross the bridge. The Banbolim of Goa Medical College is the nearest one to Karwar people and ambulances carrying them will now have to travel 80 km extra.... - Times of India

The district administration has decided to arrange nine boats to enable people, particularly the school-children, to cross the Kali river between Sadashivgad and Karwar during the repair of the Kali bridge for a month, commencing on January 5. - Sahil Online

``Barring two-wheelers, vehicles plying between Karwar and Goa will have to take diversions from Kaiga township and Kadra to reach Sadashivagad," Uttara Kannada DC Channappa Gowda said. Accordingly, those commuting on four-wheelers will have to take a detour of 80 km to reach Sadashivagad, which is only 3 km from Karwar.  - Times of India

Kali River Sunrise

Sand-Mining Boats rest on the River Kali, as a crow flies just after Sunrise....

Off to a Spluttering Start....

A Sand - Boat takes off at the Kodibag jetty with six people on board, to 10 - 15 kms upstream of the Kali River to extract Sand from the River Bed.

The traditional fishermen and those extracting sand have been on the collision course in the last few years. Environmentalists say that indiscriminate sand mining in the rivers has affected the fishing population and other marine species. Officials have failed to stop the unscrupulous activity though many species are on the verge of extinction.
“Indiscriminate sand mining is posing a threat to six major dams built across Kali river. Officials have failed to prevent sand mining in estuaries which will have an adverse effect on marine organisms,” said V.N. Naik, professor of marine biology in Karnataka
University.
Though the department issues permits to contractors only for 90 days and permits only 1,000 tonnes to be extracted from the marked area, most contractors flout it. The sand is being transported to Goa though the permit allows only local consumption, said sources.
The sand mining lobby is operating right under the nose of mine and geology officials in Uttara Kannada district. The mafia’s reach became evident recently when some activists stopped a cargo ship which was illegally carrying 2,000 tonnes of sand to Maldives. It was only after series of a protests that the district administration swung into action against the scam. Source

There are 150 boats operating and out of 42 Sand Mining Contractors, only 8 Contractors have proper Licenses, issued by the Mines and Geology Department.

The action of the mine and geology (M&G) department of Karwar that allowed sand mining from the Kali River, has put the lives of thousands of commuters who travel by Konkan railway on the Kali bridge in danger. The Konkan railway bridge, which is 1.5 km long, built across the river Kali, over which 20 trains traverse daily, is facing threats due to sand mining. The bridge is built at the place of confluence of the Kali river and Arabian Sea and so naturally, the pressure of the water is high in this area. Despite this, the M&G department has granted some companies permission to mine sand from this area. Source

Devbagh and Kurumgad Island - View from the Top

The Western view from the Top of the Sadashivgad Hill-Fort....
This is the confulence of the Kali River, the Mavinholl River/backwater and the Arabian Sea....
The entire dark-green-casurina-tree-covered area is the Devbagh Casurina Forest in which there is the Jungle Lodges Resort...

P.s. -
The small muddly line that you see at the right hand of the picture, is my Sunday-Cycling-Trail... :-)

Visitors from Heaven.... - a dialogue with clouds

a dialogue with clouds

 By DogFish

    free wanderers

         take me with you
             on your laughing flights of fancy

     liberated
      winged
            set me on your shoulders to share your joy

fanciful daydreamer

we are water-bearers
                driven by the whims of winds half mad
        crossing borders clandestine in the night
      "sans papiers"

burden bearers   unthanked

 let me climb upon your cumulus mountains

and marshmallow castles
             to dwell in your canyons of cotton and wool

 climb you cannot

                 though our illusions reach to the limits of the heights

our castles are mists

our canyons but breezes
      our mountains are what you breathe
wipe the sleep from your eyes dreamer

 but let me lie in your muslin cirrus hammocks

as the world floats by below
   let me see
as you do the dreaming seasides from above
         let me watch
                            as you do  the yawning prairies roll

 yes we would if we could lift you aloft

    -to see the weeping of the unconsoled
                         and make you spill as we do tears of empathy upon mankind
                   -to see the earth ravaged and robbed    bereaved of her children
            then in a flash of light you would awaken and thunder as we do
                                                        we the ragged vagabonds of the sky

Source - http://allpoetry.com/poem/5372303 

Poet Profile - http://allpoetry.com/DogFish

This picture is also for Skywatch Friday, could'nt figure out the Html script to paste in this post, though.... 

The location is Kali River, at Kodibag side in Karwar, and the picture was shot from the Kali Bridge.....

Sunrise at the Asnoti-Kadwad Konkan Rail Bridge

The early Fisherman nets the catch..... In the background is the Konkan Railway Bridge, over which a Goods Train carrying Trucks is speeding by.. The Ro-Ro service of the Konkan Railway fromMumbai-Panvel to Ernakulam in Kerala, was started bt the Konkan Railway, a first in India, and it has met with great success, with increased earnings for the Railway Corporation. In the total span of 9 years, the corporation has earned more than INR.90Crores only from the Ro-Ro service..

Sunrise on the River Kali

Just another Sunrise on the Kali River at Kodibag,Karwar. There is the House-boat of the Jungle Lodges Resorts Ltd., and to the far right of the picture is the Kodibag Jetty, where brisk business in sand takes place, with Loads of Sand being transported all over Karwar and most parts of the neighbouring state - Goa.

Tranquility Defined - January Theme - Best Photo of 2008

Tranquility Defined :-
Tranquility is an alert condition during which ones usual worries and anxieties no longer have control. This leads to a state of clarity in which insight occurs. In simple words, tranquility can be compared to the clearness of the water. It is not the stillness or movement, it is the clearness, that is tranquility. The tranquility of your mind can exist both in stillness and movement.

(Pic of the Kali River clicked at Karwar in Hankon Joog village)

Tranquility is the same thing as relaxation, because when you are tranquil you are relaxed.
Achieving Tranquility can be done by simply watching our breath. But the mind is not used to it and will be distracted the moment you start sitting in meditation watching your breath. The mind will try to unsettle you with anxious thoughts, tempt you with happy thought’s, if all else fails it will throw in a few exotic thoughts.
For example if you are a musician, your mind may distract you with the promise of new tunes. And if you are a painter it may suggest pictures to you. But you don’t have to worry that you will lose tracks of these creative insights, if you continue with your meditation. Each of these distractions arises and then passes away so they should simply be observed.
The Value Of Thinking Meditation is the friend of thought and shows that it is not thought that is wrong, but our uncontrolled way of thinking. Meditation helps us to make better use of our thinking, to become part of the clearness rather than the confusion.
The tranquility experienced in meditation will help your mind to become less cluttered and help in thinking more quickly and clearly; examine arguments more thoroughly; see through problems more readily and look at issues more objectively.
Text Source - Here

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants This is the Last Photo for the January Theme - Best Photo of 2008. All through the month I have posted pictures of my town Karwar assuming that all are the Best ones that I clicked. I give no accolades to my photography skills, but the fact I know and have realised long back is that Karwar is a town with lot of Scenic places and opportunities for Landscape Photography. I have tried to make best of it, with my Nokia N-70 2 Meg Pix Mobile Camera. And I am constantly trying... to get the illusive one Best Photo...

The New Years' Day - January 1, 2009

River Kali - Serenity Embodied...

Thomas Mann
Time has no divisions to mark its passage; there is never a thunderstorm or blare of trumpets to announce the beginning of a new month or year. Even when a new century begins it is only we mortals who ring bells and fire off pistols.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants