Dubai Part-2: Up in the Sky

Dubai Part-2: Up in the Sky

This part of the picture story takes you to the two iconic structures in Dubai-- Burj Khalifa and Burj Al Arab.
Let the pictures do the talking.
Do send us your comments.

 Let us now move on to the other icon of Dubai-- Burj Al Arab.

Once again, let the pictures speak for itself!

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Do leave your comments/suggestions. If you have been there, additional inputs are welcome.

Ghumakkad (Harsh)

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Rescuing an injured Bat

Rescuing an injured Bat

This morning Neeta and I helped in rescuing an injured bat.

It was during the morning walk at Secunderabad Club, when I noticed something struggling to crawl around a tree bark. Going closer I realised it was a bat which had got stuck in the strings used for kite flying. In an effort to untangle itself, the bat had got stuck further in the web made out of the string. It had woven itself around the bark of the tree. I tried breaking the string with bare hands. But it would not. Then I rubbed it against the bark and it worked! The bat could now move around the bark. See the picture (luckily I had the camera in the car which I had brought along to shoot 'rain drops'). Bats always like it upside down! Even when injured!

 Now the bat was unshackled from the tree but still stuck in the maze of strings wound tightly across its wings, neck and wing tips. Closer scrutiny revealed that it had cuts/wounds on the wing tip using which it gets a hold on the tree, its neck and one ear lobe. You can see the blood on its ear lobe. 

Its eyes tried to say ‘Please help me!’ Don’t you get the same feeling? How could I abandon it in that condition?

By now Neeta had also joined me after her Yoga session. To our bad luck, she hadn’t brought her bag which generally has a pair of scissors. We needed it to cut all the strings around the bat so that it could be free. The nearest first aid box at the Badminton court had no scissors. However, one of the ball boys fetched a pair of scissors. I used it to trim the strings which had formed a cage for the bat. While doing so, the bat lost its grip on the bark and fell to the ground. It then started to crawl across the road, still tangled in its web of strings.

Neeta had a brilliant idea. Why not cover its eyes with a hand towel? Perhaps then we would be able to hold its body and cut all the strings free. For a moment it worked. But the next moment, the bat set itself free of the towel mask and caught Neeta’s sandals. She shrieked and set herself free. By now some more onlookers and security guards had arrived.

One of the guards D Gogoi then offered to help. He caught the bat by its neck and another guard then took the scissors to quickly cut off the maze. We could hear its shrill shrieks which we otherwise hear at night. The bat was now free but badly injured. So much so that it could not fly. 

We then took it to a nearby tree and made it climb the bark—safe beyond the reach of dogs and cats! Hopefully, it would recover and regain strength to fly again. May be its mate would look for it in the night!

We all heaved a sigh of relief having saved a fellow creature on our lovely planet!

But the next time you lose your kite, please recover the string. Before it hurts and kills another bat!

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Dubai: Desert Transformed- Part-1: The Travelers in Sharjah

Dubai: Desert Transformed

Neeta and I (Ghumakkad) were in Dubai from 13th to 20th July, 2012.

The picture story is in following parts:

Part-1: The Travelers in Sharjah

Part-2: Up in the Sky (Burj Khalifa, Burj-Al-Arab)

Part-3: Magical Malls (Iban Batuta, Madinat, Dubai Mall, City Centre)

Part-4: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi

Part-5: Sharjah-The Charming Neighbourhood (including water sports)

Part-6: Around Dubai (Golf Club, Swankiest Cars, Superb Roads, Dubai Duty Free, People)

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Part-1: The Travelers in Sharjah

Summer is not the best of times to visit Dubai. July-August are worst months with temperatures touching 46 degrees Celsius and RH of 60-70%. However, since I had to present a paper in 12^th Asia Pacific Conference on Giftedness 2012, we had little choice.More on the Conference later.

Both Neeta and I had been to Dubai/UAE earlier. For Neeta, it was her third visit. Therefore, we could be a bit selective in the sight seeing. We excluded the following places this time and therefore, you will not find its pictures in the travelogue:

·         Desert Safari and Ballet Dance

·         Camel ride

·         Gold Souks and gold shopping

·         Older malls like Wafi which we had already seen

Home Away from Home

We were fortunate to have Anand Jain (Annu) and Farida as our host. Their home in Sharjah was our home. So tastefully done up with curios collected from their travel around the world!

The Four who fought the Desert Heat

Now read the picture story. As always, your suggestions/comments are welcome! 

Thank you for your attention.

Next part on 'Up in the Sky' will follow soon!

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BITS Dubai-- Another Oasis in the desert

All of us owe a lot to our alma-mater. My engineering school, BITS, Pilani was established as Birla Engineering College in the dusty village of Pilani, Rajasthan, India. It became a deemed university in 1964 and was rechristened as BIrla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS). BITS is a global brand with its alumni excelling in many fields worldwide.
BITS Pilani opened its first overseas campus in Dubai in 2000 in a rented premises. It moved to its own campus in 2009.
Last week on 16th July, 2012, Anand Jain and Harsh Bhargava, both alumni of BITS Pilani (1968-73) visited the Dubai campus. Although it was the summer break, yet the campus had its charm! The main foyer, class rooms, labs, trophy cupboards, honours board, hostel blocks, cafeteria-- all of it brought us nostalgia.
Here is a pictures story. Enjoy!
Your impressions are welcome.

 Thanks for your time.
Look forward to your suggestions!

Postscript: 31st August 2016- Prof RN Saha is currently the Director (see the picture below). BITS Pilani Dubai Campus (BPDC) will host BGM-2017 i.e. BITS Alumni Global Meet 5-7th Jan 2017.

Another Postscript: Ghumakkad attended BGM-17 at Dubai. You can browse the story of the BGM with few video clips here.

  Harsh