Kalidasa - Flights of Imagination

How does one express gratitude to an algorithm? :)

Social media in general, and YouTube particular, can lead you to some of amazing young talent. During the Covid years, there was this lady, Anuja K (Out of the Shruti Box), who demystified Indian classical music by relating it not only to popular Bollywood songs but also linked it to other systems of music in the world. There is also a new generation of historians like Anirudh Kanisetti (Thinking Medeival), who brings fresh perspectives to the way we examine our 'messy, bloody, colourful' past.

One aspect common to all these new content creators is that they understand not only the importance pitching to the right audience with appropriate tags and key-words, but also the need to keep their clips of just the right size - not too long, not too short.

This week the algorithm spirits led me to Navaneet Galagali who has a channel named "Rasaganga" for appreciating literature, poetry and music.  Perhaps it is my interest in Sanskrit that led YT to suggest Galagali's introduction to "Meghadootam", or the 'Cloud Messenger'. Written by Kalidasa, one of ancient India's greatest poets (5th century CE), Meghadoota, describes the plight of an exiled, lovelorn celestial (a Yaksha) who asks a passing cloud to carry a message to his beloved wife.

Sanskrit poetry can be dense and forbidding but Galagali introduces the Meghadoota beautifully in two short clips. Initially I was a bit skeptical when he started off with his Yankee accent but got hooked the moment he switched to reciting stanzas from "Purva Megha" (Eastern Cloud).

On the first day of Ashadha month,

he sees a cloud clinging to a mountain;

It appears as though an elephant

is head-butting the peak!

He welcomes the cloud with love and affection, imagines it be a sentient being, and requests the cloud to carry his message while remembering to take breaks along the way:

As you proceed, use the mountaintops,

as your resting spots;

And quench your thirst,

From the water in the streams;

For its a long way ti Alaka Nagari!

It is a long way for sure! - from hills and plains of central India, all the way across a specific Himalayan pass to the base of Mt. Kailasha where Alaka Nagari is situated.

Navaneet Galagali presents the poem so well that I found myself looking for specific stanzas in the original text. He has only skimmed over the first part of the 120 stanza poem and I look forward to the rest of his series on this, as well as his melodious recitations!

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The Cloud's Itinerary :)

• Ramtek (Maharashtra)
• Amrakuta (Amarakantak
• Alaka (atop Mt. Kailasha)
• Vidisha (capital of Dasharana Desha)
• Neechairna Giri (Udayagiri caves)
• Avanti
• Ujjain 
• Shipra River
• Devagiri - temple of Skanda
• Charmanvari River (Chambal)
• Dashapura (Mandsaur)
• Brahmavarta (between Saraswati and Drishadvati rivers)
• Kurukshetra
• Kanakhala (near Haridwar)
• Gangotri
• Krauncha Pass / Hamsadwara (Niti Pass bordering Tibet - north of Nanda Devi National Park)
• Manasarovar Lake
• Alaka Nagari on 'the lap of Mt. Kailasa)

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REFERENCES & LINKS

* Meghadoota by Kalidasa (5th Century CE) - https://avg-sanskrit.org/avgclasses/Books&PDFs/kavya/Meghaduta/Kalidasas%20Meghaduta%20Skt%20Eng%20-%20KB%20Pathak%201916.pdf

* Meghaduta by Kalidasa - Ashadha maasa (part 1) | Navaneet Galagali - https://youtu.be/ilgqmfO6Sy4?si=ndbQS-DJjidY6A9G

* The cloud's journey - Meghaduta by Kalidasa (part 2) - https://youtu.be/O9JxBm4C1CQ?si=Qh7unO8WeASz5M0P

* Exploring the Geographical Data of Meghadoota - https://ggw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/168/1/1112-GW%20%20WESTRA%20M.%20%20Ma-thesis.pdf

* Blogpost - Jaladhara - https://karpuramanjari.blogspot.com/2015/06/

A Russian Realist in Ellora

 

What did Vasily Vereshchagin see in Ellora?

Vasily was a Russian realist painter who travelled across India during the 1800s and left us scores of amazing paintings that bring back to life a begone era. From the glaciers of Ladakh, grand palaces and warriors of North India, sculptures of the Deccan, as well as iconic images from the revolt of 1857.

A recent thread on this amazing painter appeared on X and it clearly seemed to depict a sculpture that I had seen and photographed in 2023 from one of the Jain temples of Ellora. It depicted a brightly coloured celestial perched on an elephant, and the caption read - "Statue of Vishnu in the temple of Indra in Ellora". Strangely, the same caption on Reddit and WikiArt as well.

I say 'strangely' because anyone who has travelled to Ellora would know that this particular sculpture is from the entrance hall of a Jain temple and that it does not depict Vishnu but Yaksha Matanga, the god of prosperity, sitting on an elephant. It is a stunningly beautiful, large piece of work dating back to the 9th century CE that sits at the entrance of of the rock-cut cave number 32 (Indra Sabha), opposite an equally impressive figure of Siddhaika Yakshini.

Vasily's painting also brings up intriguing questions - was this 1000+year-old sculpture in such good condition when he visited Ellora in the 1870s? The bright paints on the sculpture indicates that it was being worshiped even in the 1800s...if so who gouged out Matanga's eyes and broke his nose? Did Vasily leave any notes from his amazing travels to Central Asia and India?

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REFERENCES & LINKS

* Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Vereshchagin 

* WikiArt - https://www.wikiart.org/en/vasily-vereshchagin/statue-of-vishnu-in-the-temple-of-indra-in-ellora-1876

* Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/IndiaSpeaks/comments/1eaxh0p/left_statue_of_vishnu_at_ellora_caves_right/?rdt=52981

* WikiMedia - view of the entrance Cave-32 - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ellora_Caves,_India,_Rock-cut_carvings_in_ancient_Jain_temple.jpg 

* https://www.indiathatwas.com/2014/07/ellora-cave-32-the-indra-sabha/ 

Solar Intensity Meter

This is one of the most fascinating analogue instruments I have seen.

Simple, elegant, rugged and functional, this instrument is called the Campbell Stokes Sunshine Recorder. It was invented in the mid 1800s, and the design remains more or less the same today. At a time when just about everything works on electronic sensors and wireless transmission, this equipment contains just three components - a metal base, a glass ball and a piece of paper. 

Once properly aligned to the correct latitude-longitude, the instrument simply catches the suns rays throughout the day and burns a line through the blue-paper (the "sunshine-card"), placed at its base. The stronger the sunlight, the broader and deeper the burn!

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REFERENCES 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campbell%E2%80%93Stokes_recorder

Ladakh Surprises

 

The first thing that hits you about Ladakh is the distances - everything is so far away!

What seems like a short drive through the valley turns out to be a long, winding, day long trip. You drive for one whole day and look a map in the evening to discover that 10 hours of driving has only revealed to you a small corner of Ladakh. The forbidding remoteness of the mountain ranges is only revealed in areas where the pukka roads end. 

You may have heard that Leh district is the second largest (after Kutch) in India, covering an area of 45,110 sqkm, with a population density of just 6 people/sqkm. The number may not mean much until you spend hours on the roads without seeing another human being, or consider, for perspective, that the whole of Kerala state is smaller at 38,863 sqkm!

One whole day to drive to Alchi Monastery, Nimoo Dam and back, another whole day to take you from Leh, across the Khardungla Pass, past Khalsar on the Shyok river valley, and then, past Thoise, to Turtuk.  Another full day through the Nubra river valley to its headwaters below the Siachen glacier. On both these routes, parts of the road is submerged under swift streams, and you see suspension bridges buffeted in the raging waters of the Shyok and Indus..

As you move from one valley to another, you see a distinct variation in the colour and hue of the mountains. Bald slopes that look light brown and beige colour in the Nubra Valley seem to shift to shares of purple and pink in the Zanskar ranges. 

Ancient Routes

On the road to Alchi, next to the Indus river, is a fenced enclosure with hundreds of petroglyphs. Some of these drawings on the boulders are said to date back to the Neolithic or Bronze age, showing ibex, snow leopards, hunting scenes. The more recent - and numerous - ones date back to the Buddhist era. Stylised chortens with human figurines dancing on top.

These drawings actually take advantage of the fact that the stone surface has a distinctly different colour. So whatever material they used for these drawings etched away the surface colour, leaving the lighter sub-surface colour exposed. Similar petrogyphs were also seen in the Nubra river valley. On our way back from Taksha village towards Pamanik hot-springs, a boulder stood by the roadside with the very same ibex drawings!

Around Diskit and Hunder, on the broad valley where the Shyok and Nubra rivers meet, you see a paradox. An area where there is plenty of fresh water, you see barely any vegetation. The whole area is covered with sand dunes. Double-humped bactrian camels forage among the bushes.  It is not difficult to imagine the times when long caravans of these camels carried goods, ideas and people across these mountain valleys, to Tibet, Yarkand and beyond, to Central Asia.

Rivers Running Backwards

Ladakh is flanked by two mountain ranges - Zanskar to the south and Karakoram to the north. Rivers flow very differently between these ranges - the Nubra flows south-east from the Siachen Glaciers, and then after going about 70km in this direction, abruptly changes to flow almost backwards to the north-west direction after joining the Shyok river at the Hunder-Diskit junction.

River Shyok, on the other hand, starts off from the same set of glaciers north of Siachen, flows in the same SE direction for more than double the distance, and near Dubruk, does a V-turn and flows westwards for about 200km and becomes the Indus before deciding that it must go southwards after all!

Switching to Sony

Over the past two weeks, I have been looking for options. Now there are so many that I am spoilt for choices - the world of digital cameras has changed a lot over the past 15 years. Cameras have become lighter, smarter and a lot more user-friendly.

What I loved about the D90 kit was that it was sturdy and versatile with a superb battery life - on a single charge I could get over ~850 frames, without the hassle of carrying around the clunky charging kit. The 18-105mm lens was great for wide-angle shots, portraits as well as a respectable zoom. What I did not like was the bulk - it was way too heavy to lug around for treks in the Himalayas. The battery for all is greatness on the plains would simply fail at low temperatures. On brilliant starlit nights when temperatures dropped below zero, the battery would play dead and miraculously come back to life when we descended to warmer climes. 

 

So what was I looking for? First of all, I wanted to graduate from an APS-C to a full-frame digicam, from an SLR to a mirror-less camera. The camera had to be weather-sealed; it had to be as light and compact as possible, and still have a decent battery-life. I knew mirrorless cams were battery hogs, but still, I did not want to carry around chargers/adaptors, and I wanted a camera that offered the highest possible exposures on a single charge.

 

My first option was to stick to the Nikon family. I was familiar with the layout of the camera, and I had been a happy customer for the past 15 years. Unlike the Canon G9 which died on me within a year of purchase in Japan, this one never gave me any trouble (until last week), from the time I had purchased it in 2009 from Yodobashi-Akiba,Tokyo. Starting with the trek to Mt. Fuji summit a week later, it had been with me through all kinds of terrain - mountains, deserts, beaches, humid tropics, the works.

The problem with the Nikon D-90 was that its lenses could be used only on APS-C format bodies, unless, of course you were willing to spend about 25k to buy an adaptor. For that price, I could get a new set of primes! So the Nikon Z5 was out. If I were to stick to APS-C format, FujiFilm offered some good choices with models like the X5 but the price and weight brought me back to the question - if I had to spend so much money anyway, why not focus on full-frames?

This brought me to the Panasonic Lumix S5. I liked the sturdiness of this camera and the demo where mugs of water were poured over it without any apparent effect. Then again, the weight and overdose of knobs and dials on the body put me off. Lens options are limited too.

It is as this stage that I came to know about the Sony E-mounts. Unlike Nikon which has a different set of mounts for its full-frame and APS-C cameras, Sony has the same one across its detachable lens formats. Folks using their APS-C lenses on a Sony E-mount would only had to content with a crop-factor instead of buying separate adaptors. Thanks to this brilliant idea, the E-mounts had arguably the widest range of affordable third-party lenses from Tamron, Sigma, etc..

On a visit to the Sony Camera Lounge in Lajpat Nagar, I noticed a smaller, lighter model - the Alpha-7C2 with a 28-60mm kit lens. From its size I assumed this was an APS-C model but was quite amazed to learn that this was Sony's first full-frame, compact model launched as A7C in 2020. I loved its clean lines, weather-proof built, the retro look of its silver trimming, minimalist use of dials and switches, its fully articulating screen, and the fact that it had an EVF view-finder too!

I liked the fact that the A7C had been tried and tested in the market for the past four years. It had now been replaced by the A7C-2 which is substantially more expensive. This meant that the older model was selling for an attractive discount :) The die was cast. Future Forward, LPN was offering a great deal too (cash + UPI ) - A7C body + battery + external adapter/charger + carry-bag. 

Now for the E-mount full-frame lens. Nearly all the reviews on the internet (there are loads!), had rated the standard 28-60mm kit-lens rather poorly, so, I decided to pair my A7C with a Tamron 28-200mm. The set looks beautiful. In terms of size it is just about the same weight and volume as the Nikon D90 + 18-105mm. This meant that my old faithful Lowepro would do just fine.

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REFERENCES & LINKS

CAMERAS - APS-C 

• FujiFilm X-T5 - ₹1.4L - 557g https://m.dpreview.com/products/fujifilm/slrs/fujifilm_xt5 
• Sony A 6700 - ₹1.3L - 493g - Batt 570 https://m.dpreview.com/products/sony/slrs/sony_a6700/specification 
• Canon EoS R7 - ₹1.15 - 612g - Batt 660 +18-150mm ₹1.58L - https://www.justcanon.in/products/eos-r7-rf-s18-150mm-f-3-5-6-3-is-stm 
• Olympus OM - D E Mk5 - https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/buying-guides/best-cameras-for-hiking

35mm Full frame 

• Lumix S5 - https://youtu.be/LVHJ323n96g 
• S5 lenses -https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/buying-guides/best-lenses-for-panasonic-lumix-s5 
• Nikon Z5 - 
• Nikon D750 - https://www.backpacker.com/gear-reviews/the-best-cameras-for-hiking/  
• Sony ZV-E1 - https://www.rtings.com/camera/reviews/best/hiking 
• Sony A7 ii - ₹1.13L at Detec Mayapuri - https://detec.in/products/sony-alpha-a7-ii-mirrorless-digital-camera-body-only 
• Sony A7-iii - https://www.gossamergear.com/blogs/our-blog/best-camera-thru-hike 
• Sony A7 C - 

Comparisons

• https://www.kfconcept.com/blog/best-aps-c-mirrorless-camera.html 
• A6700 vs Fuji X-S20 -https://theslantedlens.com/2023/sony-a6700-vs-fujifilm-x-s20-camera-comparison-which-is-better/%3famp=1 
• Fuji XT5 vs X-S20 - https://www.rtings.com/camera/tools/compare/fujifilm-x-t5-vs-fujifilm-x-s20/35728/40452?usage=11636&threshold=0.10 
• Canon R7 vs Fuji X-T5 - https://www.google.com/amp/s/theslantedlens.com/2023/canon-r7-vs-fujifilm-x-t5-camera-comparison-which-is-better/%3famp=1 
• Canon R7 - lens https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/buying-guides/best-lenses-for-canon-r7#section-best-telephoto-zoom-lens-for-the-r7 
• Canon R7 vs Olympus OmD R10 - https://cameradecision.com/compare/Canon-EOS-R7-vs-Olympus-OM-D-E-M10-IV 
• Panasonic Lumix S5 vs Nikon Z5 - https://cameradecision.com/compare/Panasonic-S5-vs-Nikon-Z5 
• Nikon Z5 vs Nikon D750- https://cameradecision.com/compare/Nikon-Z5-vs-Nikon-D750 
• Sony ZV-E1 vs Sony A7-iii - https://cameradecision.com/compare/Sony-ZV-E1-vs-Sony-Alpha-A7-III 
• Sony A6700 vs A7iii - https://cameradecision.com/compare/Sony-Alpha-a6700-vs-Sony-Alpha-A7c (both discontinued)
• Sony A7m2 (₹1.13 - 514g - Batt 540)  vs Nikon Z5 (675g - Batt 470) - https://cameradecision.com/compare/Sony-Alpha-A7C-Mark-II-vs-Nikon-Z5 
• Sony A7S3 vs Sony A7C M2 - https://cameradecision.com/compare/Sony-Alpha-A7C-Mark-II-vs-Sony-Alpha-A7S-III 
• Sony A7S3 vs Panasonic Lumix S5 - https://cameradecision.com/compare/Panasonic-S5-vs-Sony-Alpha-A7S-III 
• Sony A7 series - https://youtu.be/SHyTWKJVKiM 
• Nikon  D90 vs Sony A7C - https://cameradecision.com/compare/Sony-Alpha-A7c-vs-Nikon-D90 
• D90 -132 x 103 x 77 mm; 703g + 18-105mm lens 420g; total length 153mm, weight 1,123 kg
• A7C - 124 x 71 x 60mm; 509g + 28-200 Tamron lens 575g; Total length 177mm, weight 1.084kg

Full-frame lenses

• Sony Alpha A7C - https://www.thephoblographer.com/2020/09/15/the-mild-mannered-lens-sony-28-60mm-f4-5-6-review/ 
• https://www.bucketlistly.blog/posts/best-sony-a7c-lenses-for-travel (reccos - Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 ₹ 59,990 / 540g -- Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 ₹1.76L/695g)
• Options for A7C - https://cameradecision.com/camera-lens/Sony-Alpha-A7c-with-Sony-E-18-55mm-F3.5-5.6-OSS-lens 
• https://shotkit.com/best-value-sony-fe-lenses/ (recco FE 28mm f/2 - ₹30,389 Amz)
• Sony E 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 --
• Sony E 18-105mm E Pz 18-105mm f4 -- ₹ 41,288 
• Sony G 20mm 
• Sony FE 85mm 
• Tamron 28-75
• Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6 -- 575g ₹49,190 -- https://tamron.in/product/a071 
• Review - https://youtu.be/hY1W9srNPKE
• Review - Nic Bucci -  28-200 https://youtu.be/p7-wY9202gM 
• Review - Stefan Malloch - T 28-200 - https://youtu.be/Qz7TZMK7le0 
• Tamron 35-150mm 
• Smallest Sony FE full-frame lenses - https://compactshooter.com/2020/05/smallest-lenses-for-sony-full-frame-cameras-a7iii-a7riii-a7riv-a7iv-a7ii-a7rii-a9/ 

Lens Comparison:

• https://cameradecision.com/lenses/compare/Sony-FE-28-60mm-F4-5.6-vs-Sony-FE-50mm-F1.8
• https://cameradecision.com/lenses/compare/Sony-FE-28mm-F2-vs-Sony-FE-50mm-F1.8 (50mm is better - hood, price, weight)
• https://cameradecision.com/lenses/compare/Sony-FE-24mm-F2.8-G-vs-Sony-FE-50mm-F1.8 (50mm better)
• https://shotkit.com/best-value-sony-fe-lenses/ 

Sony A7C Reviews

• DPR (2021) - https://youtu.be/yVpLoNYeG0E 
• A7C + Tamron 28-200 - https://cameradecision.com/camera-lens/Sony-Alpha-A7c-with-Tamron-28-200mm-F2.8-5.6-Di-III-RXD-Sony-FE-lens 

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Nikon D90 - Death of a Beloved Camera

My heart sank last week in Kamal-tal. 

I was taken a few family pics next to this lovely lotus pond in Naukuchiayal, Uttrakhand, when my Nikon-D90 suddenly stopped working. A strange growl inside the camera and then silence. I tried removing the 18-105mm lens, battery, memory card, rebooting time and again on different settings...but nothing would work. On the panel was an adamant "Err" message that just refused to go away. 

Back in the hotel, I looked up this problem on the net. There were numerous videos that explained how this error message would turn up even in the more advanced Nikon cameras. The mirror had jammed. It had got stuck at a midway point on a slant, blocking the aperture. Some of these self-help videos has a fix where a screwdriver's nudge would make everything click back in shape. There were also numerous shorts which simply showed the problem without offering any solutions other than 'if this happens, go to the service centre'.

Over the past 15 years a lot of memories had been captured in this sturdy, beautiful camera. I had purchased it from Akihabara, Tokyo,  in 2009 along with with a pair of binoculars ahead of my trek to the top of Mt. Fuji. Initially it had been a pain - especially on hiking trails - lugging around 1.5 kg of equipment (body 703g + 18-105mm lens 420g + bag). However the quality of photos made it completely worthwhile. So it stayed with me through innumerable family functions, treks, portraitures (Nikkor 50mm 1:1.8D), school functions and social events. 

So back in Noida, I looked up the nearest Nikon service centre and handed my D90 in. A few days back the service engineer called back to say that the problem had been solved - there had been an issue with the gears connected to the actuation motors. The repair cost me over Rs. 4000.

Is it time to let go? 

The last time I had a similar problem was in Japan, with my Canon G9. It was a sturdy-looking   pocket-sized, flip-screen camera which had died on me within a  year a purchase. Luckily it has still within the warranty period and I had taken it to the service centre and got it repaired for free. To be on the safe side, I had sold it at Wonderex-Tsukuba and got a fairly decent price for it.

There is no Wonderex in India and I don't have much hope of getting a good price for the old D90 body. So the question now is - what should be my next digicam? 

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REFERENCES

Nikon D90 mirror stuck - https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/74780/nikon-d90-mirror-stuck

Err - https://nikonites.com/forum/threads/error-shutter-release-button-mirror-stuck.13236/

Turquoise Reflections

How do birds engage with mirrors? Do they see in their own reflection, a rival, an encroacher who needs to be driven out, or a playmate?

Last week, in the little town of Dewathang in south-eastern Bhutan, I found myself in a small roadside lodge. As soon as I entered my room I saw something moving behind the curtains - it was this small bird with its brilliant blue plumage glinting in the evening sun. 

The last time I had seen such a bird was through a pair of binoculars. This time I was just a couple of inches away, looking through a glass-pane with a reflective film on it. The bird kept fluttering against the pane, stopping every now and then, to look intently at itself until darkness set in after sunset.

Do these birds get excited / agitated only when they are looking at reflections on the vertical plane? Are they tuned to ignore reflections on a horizontal surface such as a puddle or pool or water?

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LINKS & REFERENCES

* Old World Flycathers - https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/chats/

* Verditer Flycatcher - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verditer_flycatcher

* Verditer - from old French verd de terre - 'green of the earth'! - https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/verditer