Instagram story viewer> @vinu_neel> Posts

Vinu Neelakandhan

@vinu_neel

1430

posts

2.3K

followers

4824

following

A hobby photographer in Bangalore, India. Presenting pictures I find interesting. All pictures by me.
My monochrome account : @vinu_mono

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

While my children were growing up watching animated movies, I had seen vultures in some of them - not in real life.

The laid-back Beatles quartet from The Jungle Book. The sarcastic opportunists from Ice Age. The gloomy fellows who always seem to arrive just before the closing credits.

Now here they are, in the Tala zone of Bandhavgarh. White-rumped Vultures, with one or two Indian Vultures mixed into the flock. Cinema gave them personalities. But see here, nature gave them something even better. A bird perched high above like the wise elder who had seen it all. A fellow below proudly parading around with a stick, looking as though he’d just invented architecture 😂😂😂 Another standing there with the unmistakable expression of... “Can someone please take that stick away from him?” 😂😂😂 BTW I have no clue why he is standing holding a stick - for nesting??? I doubt since all seem to be having a cool-off period.

I actually love the first frame. It tells a story that people usually don’t associate with vultures. Instead of feeding, they’re interacting. The bird holding the stick almost looks like the confident troublemaker of the group, while the other seems to be wondering, “What exactly are you planning to do with that?” 😂😂😂♥️♥️♥️

Meanwhile, the rest of them carried on preening, stretching their wings and ignoring the unfolding drama like a family that had seen this behaviour a hundred times before. Just a gathering of critically endangered birds living an ordinary morning in Tala, Bandhavgarh. Funny how the most misunderstood characters in movies turned out to be among the forest’s most indispensable heroes. These critically endangered vultures are the forest’s sanitation department, quietly preventing disease and keeping ecosystems healthy.

Perhaps Disney wasn’t entirely wrong. The personalities were always there. They just forgot to mention the heroes behind the humour 😂😂♥️♥️
#nikon #vultures #bandhavgarh #discoveryuk #natgeoindia taken in Bandhavgarh National Park by @vinu_neel

112

44

20 days ago

Everyone enters Bandhavgarh hoping for a tiger - it’s walk, stare, drinking water or a hunt, enjoying the kill etc. I came back grateful that this Indian Gazelle (Chinkara) agreed to pose 😂😂♥️♥️♥️The tiger may rule the forest… but this fellow certainly knows how to steal a photographer’s attention.📸🦌

Look at the photo where the chinkara is looking straight into the camera. Do they look scared??? I don’t think so. Instead I felt this look has an almost conversational feel—as if it is standing there to assess me instead of the other way around 🤔🤔🤔 - are these guys in jeep dangerous? Or are they just another set of photographers trying for a tiger sighting? Agree?

He is not scared or roaring or not even frightening the neighborhood ♥️, instead just stood there and gave poses to the cameras around. He knows that he can survive because it has perfected the art of awareness, speed, and knowing exactly when to stay… and when to disappear.

Looking into those eyes, I couldn’t help but wonder how often we do the opposite. We spend so much energy trying to appear bigger, louder and more important, when this gazelle quietly is trying to tell us that survival has never belonged to the noisiest. #gazelle #chinkara #nikon #bandhavgarh taken in Bandhavgarh National Park by @vinu_neel

186

90

23 days ago

This beautiful Rose-ringed Parakeet dropped by the neighborhood this morning (they come everyday) for a quick snack from the Rajamalli (Peacock Flower) plant. We travel far in search of wildlife, yet sometimes it comes looking for us. Daylight robbery? 😂😂😂 Many of us fail to notice such beautiful things happening within our premises... Don’t miss the end to see what this guy does! 🌿🦜 Just a scene during my morning walks... #parakeet #daylightrobbery #snacking taken in Akme Harmony by @vinu_neel

110

46

25 days ago

Early morning, sun still low and behind her — this Brown Fish Owl held her post, standing guard while her juvenile stayed tucked inside the burrow. That stare wasn’t for the camera.

Brown Fish Owl | Ketupa zeylonensis

#CreateWithSony #NatGeoYourShot #GirForest #BrownFishOwl #IndianWildlife taken in Gir National Park by @vinu_neel

132

38

a month ago

Continuing the Bandhavgarh stories... Do you think this sub adult female leopard (I think) is running away from is? Or he is running towards where he belongs? I felt she is returning to where she belongs and knowing leopards, they don't want to be in the spotlight most of the time and prefers to stay invisible. Imagine the two different worlds - ours is filled with engines, conversations and cameras, whereas hers is stitched together by scents, shadows and instinct. Humans spend so much of energy to get noticed... And she spends energy not to get noticed. Interesting... #léopard #bandhavgarh #nikon #natgeo #natgeoindia taken in Bandhavgarh National Park by @vinu_neel

135

72

a month ago

Bandhavgarh has a way of teaching perspective.

A hundred people can spend hours discussing tiger movements, alarm calls, pugmarks and safari routes. Then these tigers walk into a pool as if they have absolutely no interest in our plans. One by one, Panihayi’s cubs emerged and settled into the water. To me it looked as if they had clear plans about where to sit and relax.

The cubs themselves appeared completely relaxed, wearing expressions that ranged from curious to mildly amused, as if they knew something we didn’t. These are two siblings. Most of their lives have been spent together. They hunted together, played together, got scolded by their mother together, and learned the forest together. Yet in a few months or years, this partnership will disappear. One day, they will walk away from each other and establish separate territories.

Imagine these siblings spending time together in a phase of life that won’t last forever. Today they share a pool, tomorrow they may share a kill. A little later, they may share a territory boundary. And eventually... they may share nothing at all except memories buried somewhere in the forest.

That is the strange thing about growing up, whether you’re a tiger or a human. The people who are constantly around us today often feel permanent. Friends, siblings, classmates, colleagues… until life quietly begins assigning everyone their own territory 🤔🤔🤔

Watching these cubs in the water, completely at ease in each other’s company, I couldn’t help but think that they have no idea what lies ahead. Perhaps that’s a blessing. Because if they knew the future, they might spend less time enjoying this pool #bandhavgarh #tiger #nikon #natgeo #natgeoindia taken in Bandhavgarh National Park by @vinu_neel

126

95

a month ago

Imagine this situation in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh. Everyone is rushing behind tigers and leopards. Some are hoping to witness a hunt. Others want to see a tiger resting in the grasslands, cooling off in a waterhole, crossing a road, or even blocking it entirely.

But there is one thing many people fail to notice. There is someone watching all of this from above. And no, I am not talking about God 😂😂

I am talking about the guardians of the skies - Crested Hawk eagles, honey buzzards, Serpent Eagle etc. Perched high on a branch that few creatures can easily reach, it commands a true bird’s-eye view of everything unfolding below. It sees the chital grazing in the meadows. It watches humans racing from sighting to sighting. It hears alarm calls erupt through the forest when a predator appears. It observes countless lives going about their daily business, while also keeping an eye out for its own next meal. The one who sees everything. The one who endlessly scans the ground from a lofty perch or while gliding effortlessly across the skies. While everyone else is busy being part of the story, these predators of the skies quietly watch it unfold. He is the observer, the witness, the silent guardian of the view from above.
#nikon #honeybuzzard #crestedhawkeagle #guardiansofthesky #eagles taken in Bandhavgarh National Park by @vinu_neel

186

94

a month ago

I spent thousands of rupees, travelled hundreds of kilometres, carried expensive camera gear, and waited patiently for wildlife. This langur took one look at me and seemed to ask “All that effort… for what?”. And honestly, I didn’t have a convincing answer 🤔🤔🤔♥️♥️♥️

There was something strangely familiar about that face. I don't think it's because it looked like a monkey. Could be because it looked like every person who has reached a certain age and discovered that most worries eventually become irrelevant. On the forest, Tigers teach power, Elephants teach patience. And this langur? This langur probably teaches a different lesson: Life becomes much easier when you stop auditioning for other people’s approval. The wisest thing to do at times seems to be like finding a patch of shade, sit quietly, and watch everyone else overcomplicate life. And for this we don't need a bodhi tree, just a shade... #nikon #natgeo #natgeoindia #discovery taken in Bandhavgarh National Park by @vinu_neel

119

64

a month ago

Doesn't he look like just a cat with striped body? Just a large striped cat sitting neck-deep in a muddy water body, looking like someone whose air conditioner had finally started working after a power cut 😂😂😂 That face carried the look of a creature with absolutely nothing left to prove. He had come walking towards the water body and immersed himself in it. As we watched, he slowly lifted his head above the grass, wearing the expression of someone interrupted during the best part of an afternoon nap. I felt as if he is saying "5 more minutes" ♥️♥️♥️😂😂😂 The Power of this guy - to disappear into a water body hidden by grass... to let the forest carry on without announcing your presence... to sit in silence while everything around you remains aware of who you are.... I felt as if he is asking... "If survival is already taken care of, why are you still running?” 🤔🤔🤔 Just imagine how he is and how we humans are... Perhaps that is the difference between power and insecurity. The insecure must constantly prove their strength.The powerful can sit quietly in a pool and simply exist.... taken in Bandhavgarh National Park by @vinu_neel

138

77

a month ago

Bhadra in Karnataka. A tiger reserve amidst the Western Ghats. A real dense green forest with diverse wild animals, backwaters... A beautiful stay at @bhadra_tiger_reserve @junglelodgesjlr. A safari through the backwaters - where the leopards still threw a challenge to me saying “Sight me if you can” ... But revealed another perspective with the innumerous dead trees standing tall in the waters through the journey speaking of the past when these also would have been part of the forest... It was as if ripping through the waters and ancient past... and the sight was mesmerizing with the lonely and lovely elephant taking a mud bath beside the water and walking away while the boat was approaching. While I was so excited about the sighting and the overall landscape, for the elephant it was just a routine thing. Mud bath, drinking some water and walking away back into the forest. Bhadra offers plenty to us - be it predators, these gentle giants, migrating River Terns, otters, green dense forest, diverse variety of avians etc. #bhadra #bhadratigerreserve #biodiversity #westernghats taken in Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary by @vinu_neel

95

51

a month ago

Take a quick look at these pictures - don’t you see that no one was in a hurry, But everyone is engaged in some activity everyone was going somewhere. Keep going on...

These sightings were in Bhadra, where we often look for the dramatic events - be it the alarm calls, the sudden appearance of a predator or the rush of a sighting.

But some or most of the stories happen at walking speed. It could be elephant herd walking around, predators walking around or even the preys relaxing in the absence of any lurking threats.

Just take another look... It’s just an adult leading the way, wherein the youngsters, each with a different idea of how the day should be spent one sticking close, one wandering a little, another distracted by something only a calf could find interesting. Later, mud baths, dust, trunks exploring everything, and the occasional reminder from the elders that the herd was still moving.

Nothing extraordinary happened at all. However this is the beautiful life in the jungle and that was the beauty of it.

These elephants were simply being elephants—walking, feeding, bathing, teaching, following, learning. Watching them felt like watching life stripped of unnecessary complexity. The older ones carried responsibility without proclaiming it. The younger ones carried curiosity without worrying about the future. They always felt safe with the elders around. These sightings quietly stayed with me. Bhadra’s gentle giants, carrying on with the business of being a family. 🐘🌿 ♥️♥️♥️ taken in Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary by @vinu_neel

141

65

2 months ago

A tiger sighting is an emotional storm bringing excitement, awe, fear, respect, anticipation, curiosity, nervousness and joy—all within a few seconds.

But this paradise flycatcher does something entirely different. Instead of making your pulse race it makes you smile.

While waiting in Bandhavgarh for a tiger to wake up, this little piece of flying elegance arrived unannounced without any dramatic entrance or tension or collective gasp from the vehicles.

The tiger makes you aware of your place in the food chain whereas the paradise flycatcher makes you aware of the beauty around you. One fills you with adrenaline whereas the other fills you with happiness. And somewhere between the tiger that makes your heart pound and the bird that makes your heart light, lies the complete experience of being in the wild. #bandhavgarh #nikonindiaofficial #paradiseflycatcher taken in Bandhavgarh National Tiger Reserve by @vinu_neel

175

58

2 months ago