View allAll Photos Tagged rameshwaram
this shot i have taken in RAMESHWARAM, SOUTH INDIA.
really i got struck with my composition. after 20 minutes of my calculations i was settling down with this composition.. very strange experience.. !!
Pamban Bridge is cantilever bridge on Palk Strait which connects Rameswaram on Pamban Island to mainland India. It is India's first bridge across sea.
It is more than 100 year old and still operation. Truly an Engineering Marvel!!
rainy day scene from Devipattinam, Ramnad, while we return back from our Rameshwaram Trip. Oct 2010.
Train exits Pamban !!!
18495 Rameshwaram (RMM) - Bhubaneswar (BBS) weekly express approaching the main land from Rameshwaram led by Rebuilt WDG3A 14616R from Tondiarpet Diesel Loco Shed.
Color on color
In another factory, a bit further down the road,
there were also men working in the blistering sun.
While stones turn to red by the heat, he will become even more black by the sun ...
Date Taken : 2007-01-13 AM 9:06
Canon EOS 5D ,Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM
The abandoned church at Dhanushkodi beach, the last strip of land on the southern tip of India which was deserted after a cyclone on 22 December 1964.
A WAP-1 locomotive #22019 cruises through the paddy fields of Rural Tamil Nadu with the weekly express bound to Rameswaram from Bhubneshwar..
Dhanushkodi is a small piece of land extending between Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. And you can see the contrasting nature of the waves and colours ( the right one is Indian Ocean which has rough waves and the Bay of Bengal is silent). It is also had a mythological significance in which God Rama has started his journey to Srilanka via Ram Sedhu bridge.
Dhanushkodi has the only land border between India and Sri Lanka which is one of the smallest in the world-just 45 meters in length on a shoal in Palk Strait. Before the 1964 cyclone, Dhanushkodi was a flourishing tourist and pilgrimage town. Since Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) is just 19 miles (31 km) away, there were many ferry services between Dhanushkodi and Talaimannar of Ceylon, transporting travellers and goods across the sea. There were hotels, textile shops and dharmashalas catering to these pilgrims and travellers. The railway line to Dhanushkodi—which did not touch Rameswaram then and was destroyed in the 1964 cyclone—went directly from Mandapam to Dhanushkodi. Dhanushkodi in those days had a railway station, a small railway hospital, primary schools, a post office, customs and port offices, and other buildings.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_Owlet
The Spotted Owlet (Athene brama) is a small owl which breeds in tropical Asia from India to Southeast Asia. A common resident of open habitats including farmland and human habitation, it has adapted to living in cities. They roost in small groups in the hollows of trees or in cavities in rocks or buildings. It nests in a hole in a tree or building, laying 3-5 eggs. The species is absent from Sri Lanka, although the birds are found across the Palk Straits, just 30 kilometres away at Rameshwaram. Nests near human habitations may show higher breeding success due to increased availability of rodents for feeding young.[3] The species shows a lot of variation including clinal variation in size and forms a superspecies with the very similar Little Owl.
Description
The Spotted Owlet is small (21 cm) and stocky. The upperparts are grey-brown, heavily spotted with white. The underparts are white, streaked with brown. The facial disc is pale and the iris is yellow. There is a white neckband and supercilium. Sexes are similar. The flight is deeply undulating. In Baluchistan it overlaps with the Little Owl from which it can be separated by the unstreaked crown and narrow tail bands. The nominate form is darker than the paler forms such as indica of drier regions
Subspecies
Early workers sometimes treated members of this species group as subspecies of Athene noctua. The two have been separated but they are considered to form a superspecies complex. Several subspecies have been described and about four or five are widely accepted (the race poikila[5] is invalid and refers to Aegolius funereus[6] A. b. fryi of southern India described by Stuart Baker and A. b. mayri described by Deignan from northern Thailand[7] are not usually recognized.[8]). The five widely recognized subspecies are albida Koelz, 1950 of western Asia in Iran and Pakistan; indica (Franklin, 1831) of northern India; brama (Temminck, 1821) of southern India which is darker than indica; ultra Ripley, 1948 (not always recognized) of northeastern India is said to have the white spots on mantle much and "higher pitched calls"; and pulchra Hume, 1873 of Southeast Asia from Myanmar and Thailand extending into Cambodia and Vietnam. The northern and southern Indian populations intergrade and there is no dividing boundary. The northern indica populations have the upperparts brownish. Size decreases from North to South. The species is not found in Sri Lanka, although birds on the Indian mainland are found even at the tip of Rameshwaram
Behaviour and ecology
Peering from a roost cavity [Kolkata)This species is nocturnal but is sometimes seen in the day. When disturbed from their daytime site, they bob their head and stare at intruders.[11] It can often be located by the small birds that mob it while it is perched in a tree. It hunts a variety of insects and small vertebrates. In Pakistan they have been found to take mostly insect prey.[12][13][14] [15] In the arid region of Jodhpur, they have been found to take more rodents (especially in the genus Mus and tend to avoid other rodents such as Tatera) prior to the breeding season.[16] Bats, toads, small snakes such as Ramphotyphlops braminus have been noted.[17] They may also take scorpions and molluscs.[18]
The call is a harsh and loud churring and chuckling chirurr-chirurr-chirurr ending with a chirwak-chirwak and they call mainly during early dawn or just after sunset.[4][19]
The breeding season is November to April.[4] Courtship behaviour includes bill grasping, allopreening and ritual feeding. The female may call with the male, bob head and deflect its tail in invitation.[20] The social organization of family groups is not clear and multiple males may copulate with a female and females may attempt pseudocopulation,[21] possibly a kind of displacement behaviour.[22][23] They nest in cavities often competing with other hole-nesters such as mynas. They may also nest in holes in vertical embankments.[24] The nest may be lined with leaves and feathers or may use the existing lining from a prior occupant. The typical clutch is made up of three or four spherical white eggs (30.9mm long and 26.3 mm wide, 11.6g) and incubation begins with the first laid eggs leading to a wide variation in the size of the chicks. The young are fed initially on insects such as cockroaches and later fed small vertebrate prey such as mice(a toad Bufo stomaticus has been noted in Gujarat). Only one or two chicks may fledge and they leave the nest in about 20 days.[17]
The brain has a pineal gland, a feature formerly thought to be absent in the owls.[25] Birds show variation in the melatonin concentration between day and night. A high melatonin level is associated with sleep and low levels are associated with high alertness and foraging activity. Spotted Owlets however show only a slightly lower melatonin concentration at night with a slight increase in the early afternoon. Other owls such as the Barn Owl show little day-night variation.[26][27] Seasonal changes in glandular activity have been associated with environmental factors such as temperature and humidity.[28]
A Coccidian parasites, Eimeria atheni has been described from this species.[29] An ectoparasitic mite, Neocheletiella athene has been described from a specimen from the Antwerp zoo.[30] Bird lice of the species Colpocephalum pectinatum are known to be ectoparasites.
In culture
These birds being very familiar to humans especially with their loud calling have been associated with bad omens.[32] The species name brama is from the French name Chouette brame and indirectly refers to this owl's Indian habitat by way of homage to Brahma, the Hindu supreme spirit. In Hindu mythology the owl is a vahan (mode of transport) of Lakshmi, goddess of wealth.
Truly bluish green waters of the Bay of Bengal. #rameshwaram #sea #water #watercolor #bluegreenwaters #pamban #pambanbridge #bayofbengal #nikon #nikond7500
Pamban's both road and rail bridge in single frame. On-board 56722 Rameshwaram - Madurai Passenger entering 2.057km long bridge which connects island and main land.
The Pamban Bridge on the Palk Strait connects Rameswaram island to mainland India. It refers to both the road bridge and the cantilever railway bridge, though primarily it means the latter. It is the longest sea bridge in India at a length of nearly 2.3 km (2345 meters) and stands as a fine example of Indian architecture. The bridge was constructed with sufficient elevation and a beautiful scenery of the sea, adjoining Islands and parallel rail bridge below can be viewed from the road bridge.
The railway bridge is 6,776 ft (2,065 m). Bridge was opened for traffic in 1914. Bridge contains vertical lift section and still it is functioning quiet well. It carries meter gauge trains on it, however, recently the Indian Railways are in the process of upgrade it to carry broad gauge trains. Structural Engineering Research Centre, Chennai - a premier national research laboratory in India, is handling this task.
A walk on the bridge is an exhilarating experience. At times the breeze could be strong. The view of the distant sea and the string of islands on the left of Pamban island is simply breathtaking. Though the bridge is a stunning structure, the entrance to the bridge from both the Mandapam and Pamban sides do not do justice to this impressive landmark.
The town of Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu. An inexpensive but colorful and neat little hotel at the outskirts of the town.
People from Kerala are probably some of the neatest in all of India – they are personally clean and neat looking, and they keep their environment clean. Even the poorest Keralites are sensitive to cleanliness.
Image best downloaded and seen on a retina display.