From Bharatpur to Bund Bharetha
- A short narrative -
Bharatpur is at the eastern boundary of the well travelled desert state of Rajasthan. As one moves around this generally dry region, one can seen fields of mustard, as well as increasing sparseness of the vegetation. Many places especially near Bund Bharetha, one can see scenes like the one shown above....dry scrubby plains...rocky areas...the great transition to the mighty Thar desert that stretches all the way to Pakistan's Baluchistan province.


The palace of the Maharajah of Bharatpur, is perched on a hill top, covered sparsely with many a neem and Mango trees in the groves. Looking down from the hill top, one would be able to see the great expense of the Bund Bharetha lake all around it.
  During the time of my visit, i was the only foreigner around. Looking around, one sees a birdlife typical of Rajasthan, Pied Bushchats, Imperial Eagles White-capped Buntings, Crag Martins,Grey Francolins and the omnipresent Asian Pied Starlings.
Bund Bharetha lake, as seen from the Maharajah's palace... truly an awesome sight to behold..To reach the hill top, one need to negotiate a pleasant little track, guarded by a battalion of Hanuman Langur troops.

With a telescope, one would be able to see an avian spectacle congregating on the lake's shores...flocks of coots, ducks, waders and none other than the remarkably bizarre Indian Skimmer.
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The Golden Temple Express, from Amritsar and bound for Mumbai pulled into Bharatpur Junction station at 4.30 pm, 5 hours behind schedule, due to fog. All over New Delhi were shrouded in a very thick fog, with visibility of no further than my palms at times. After a four to five hour journey skirting through wheat, mustard fields and scrubs , I was given a fantastic introduction to the beautiful countryside of UP (Uttar Pradesh as the locals like to call it), as well as a totally different birdlife.....Sarus Cranes walking in the fields..can you imagine that in maybe, Malaysia or Indonesia (They would be shot or eaten in no time!)

Unlike the chaos at the New Delhi Railway station, Bharatpur was alot less of a mayhem; there were less crowds and in fact, i was one of the very few passengers who alighted in this station. Bharatpur is a rather small city in India, in comparison to the huge bustling metropolises of New Delhi, Agra and Kolkata. As most of us would be aware of, it is most famous for the world renown Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary, one of the finest and riches in all Asia. Birds aside, it is also occupy quite a unique position in Rajastani history and culture, and to top that off, it is a good launchpad to explore the eastern part of Rajasthan, like the historical cities of Deeg and of course Fatehpur Sikri (A Unesco WH site)

I was soon greeted ' Ram-Ram!' and met by my guide Rajveer Singh, whom i find quite a amiable and very knowledgeable personality. He knows every bird one is bound to meet in all Rajasthan, the history of the place and to top it of, he has a great sense of humour. Within a few moments of speaking to him, we became good friends and i still keep contact with him now, one year on from my visit in late December 2003. He even went as far as to invite me over to his home for New Year, which i thoroughly enjoyed, especially the Whisky and crackling fire as well as the the gentle hospitality of his family and the Paneers and Dal...

As i was shown around city on the Ambassador,  I was soon introduced to the bustle of activity all around town ands i must also comment that it must have benefitted greatly from birding induced ecotourism, with many hotels catering to birders and named with familiar sounding names like Spoonbill, Eagle's Nest, Sunbird, Falcon etc .......