Traveller, photographer, philosopher, art connoisseur, trekking guru, and master trip planner, Sahastrarashmi (SR or Sahastra to his friends) is on a relentless quest for the story of life. An engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, he works in Chennai, India and lives (on weekends) in the former French enclave of Pondicherry (Puducherry to the officious). He is on a mission to introduce the uninitiated to the glory of the Himalaya.
Read Sahastra’s latest posts
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Trekking with Griffons: Dodi Tal via Darwa Pass
The trek to Dodi Tal, the lake believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ganesha, is a beautiful introduction to the Western Himalaya for many first-time trekkers
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Encounter: The Sacred Grove at Oorani
The sacred grove at Oorani is the last stand of Tropical Dry Evergreen Forests — a postage stamp-sized green patch in the middle of insipid featureless coastal plain dotted with coconut plantations. It does not exactly draw your attention. That, however, would be a huge miss.
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Encounter: Rhododendron, sentinel of the highlands
Never mind its cough-syrupy taste, or its tongue-twister of a name, a Rhododendron in flower is inspiration enough to walk the Himalaya, or the Nilgiris
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Manjhi Akshayavat, an immortal Banyan tree
Located not far from Lucknow, the Manjhi Akshayavat, one of India’s celebrated great banyans, is all that survives of the vast forest that once protected it.
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Encounter: Himalayan Bluetail
What do you call a bird with no name? Or one whose name has been changed lately? Such questions such briefly but subside when confronted with the dazzling beauty of the Himalayan Bluetail — or whatever they called it earlier Before I tell you about the Himalayan Bluetail I must…
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Le Question: What did God do?
When a mundane classroom question raises questions about God and the universe Shashwat : The early crustaceans gave way to archosaurs and then to Dinosaurs. Me : Yes, I guess so. Shashwat : They in turn gave way to reptiles and mammals. Me : Yes, seems to be the case…
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Life and death – Another Richard Dawkins lesson
Silent in life — and in death While critiquing a book by his contemporary Stephen Jay Gould, the noted writer on evolutionary theory Richard Dawkins refutes his contention that the idea of progress in evolutionary history of life is an artifact of our anthropocentric bias, and evolution is an inherently random…
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Encounter: Large-tailed Nightjar
When the dim, shadowy silence of the leaf-litter suddenly takes wing, it’s either a ghost or a nightjar that sets your heart racing. Our search that began in the hunt for a peacock feather took us to the adorable Large-tailed Nightjar The Large Tailed Nightjar wrapped up in silence. Notice the…
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Shrieks of silence in Pondicherry’s treeless avenues
Statistically, 35 people perished in the carnage essayed by Cyclone Thane. Yet, the obituaries that will never be written are of Pondicherry’s beautiful avenue trees, many of which we have celebrated on The Green Ogre. In the funereal streets of this old French enclave, their limbs are being hacked and…
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Encounter: Cyclone Thane, Pondicherry
To those of us sitting in Bangalore, Cyclone Thane is just a cold, wet day to grumble about. Or perhaps even enjoy as we huddle (or perhaps cuddle – but don’t let us give you any ideas) amid cups of tea. But out on the east coast of India, the…
