ABHIPRAI: THE FIRST BIRDING EXPERIENCE IN NGV

SIGHTINGS FROM THE TERRACE: KITES, PIGEONS ET ALL

With dad being allocated a bank quarters in National Games Village (NGV) - Kormangala after a long wait of three years, we moved out of Devarachikanahalli in the end week of June. Though the last house is the twelfth that I had stayed in, I was particularly fond of this place. The bungalow which we had rented belonged to the Shenoys whom my parents had known for quite some time. The ground floor which we had occupied had been renovated last year and looked fabulous thanks to the walls painted in contrasting colours - cream and orange, white vitrified tiles, Plaster of Paris ceilings and the masterpiece - a wooden carving of the Dhasa avatars adoring the entrance to the altar. The house was huge - 1,600 sq ft to be precise, with three spacious bedroom and the rent that we paid was much less than the market price. Amongst the things that I thought I would miss in NGV were the birds that I would spot on my weekend walks in the Bannerghatta Road area. Unlike southern Bengaluru which still has a substantial amount of green cover (thankfully), my impression of Kormangala was that of a concrete jungle full of people, traffic, pollution, chaos and cacophony.

While my assessment of Koramangala was pretty correct, the Games Village seems to be an oasis midst a desert. Built after draining off the erstwhile tank (What the Hell?), the Games Village is a well-maintained residential area with all amenities within the premises, well laid roads and 24 X 7 security. The best part, however, is the fact that the locality has lots of trees. With so much greenery around, I guess staying here will be fun. As far as the quarters is concerned, it is a 2 bedroom house which unfortunately, is not in the best of conditions. However, I am sure that in some time, we will end up liking this place too. Since it is on the top floor, we have easy access to the terrace which provides a spectacular view of the city. Luckily for us, our block is situated close to the NGV back gate and so we can also see the swimming pool and the tennis court of the NGV Builder's Club. The day after we shifted here, I happened to go to the terrace at 11:00 am in the morning with my camera so as to see if I could click some birds and I was not disappointed. Some of the photos that were clicked in my first birding experience at the Games Village are posted below.