Sahyadrica

...on 17th of October, 2009 “There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, There is a rapture on the lonely shore, There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep Sea, and music in its roar I love not Man the less, but Nature more…” Lord George Gordon Byron I was staring at the wilting leaves through the window, and for every leaf that fell, I nagged myself to go out and explore before winter spread its wrath. I wanted to capture the trees and the birds, fiery maples and mushrooms and other critters of the woods, before all that remained was bare sticks and stones, and a solemn gray sky. So I set out on a cold evening into the nearby woods. It was autumn, my first autumn. Back home in Western Ghats, I have only experienced a short fall season, where the deciduous trees shed their leaves – without a dramatic color-change – once Monsoon bids farewell. The heat and humidity rises to its peak, drying out the very life out of plants and animals. In Mumbai, it is known as the infamous ‘Oc...