Rider on the Storm

Sukhna Lake nestles in the north-eastern corner of Chandigarh. Beyond the lake is   Shivalik piedmont, a gently rolling plain dissected by large number of ephemeral streams locally known as choes. This undulating plain is not very wide. Most of this area is forested and forms a buffer zone between the city and Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary. The lake itself is a great attraction for migratory water fowl in winters. A large water body and very less human presence have made it a very important biotope. Last week a paper reported that some Open Billed Storks and Spot Billed Ducks have stayed behind and are nesting. I was intrigued so the first opportunity that arose saw me accompanied by my friend Prithvi, laden with camera, binoculars, field book and water-bottle heading towards Sukhna. This part of city has a very jumanjisque character. You park your car and climb up the embankment, you are in the forest. It is a very surrealistic feel and as we walked up, I stumbled on to a herd of Sambar

How many times have we heard James Deacon, John Wayne, Glenn Ford, James Stewart etc. drawl “Must be a drunk shooting the moon?” But last week I actually shot the moon...of course not with a gun but with my new 500 mm bazooka of a lens. After having downloaded the picture, I suddenly realised that yes there is a rabbit on the moon we have read about or the man or the lantern bearer. So I started reading and came up with a large volume of information. Then I thought why not share it with my friends...I know it is not really  Moonshine(!!!) but then it is all about shooting the moon, mooning, rabbits and folklore...  The Moon I Shot The Moon rabbit, also called the Jade Rabbit, is a rabbit that lives on the moon in folklore, based on pareidolia that identifies the markings of the moon as a rabbit. The story exists in many cultures, particularly in  East Asian folklore, where it is seen pounding in a mortar and pestle (C).  In Chinese folklore, it is often portrayed as a companion of