Graceful Heron

Have you observed the grace with which a Grey Heron lands or takes off?

We bring you a picture of a Grey Heron. Suggest a caption. You may win KBG-68, the 68th edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad. 

Here is another copy of the picture without the contest banner for better visualisation of your caption.

And yet another picture of the heron with other birds in company!

Go ahead and give a caption for the above picture fast!

How to Submit a Caption

For the first-timers on KBG, you can respond using any of the six channels below:

1. Leave a comment on this post
2. Send email to hbindia@gmail.com   
3. Respond on the FB post
4. Comment on Instagram @ghumakkadhb 
5. Comment on Twitter @HarshBh21184761
6. Send a WA message. If you want your WA number to be added to Ghumakkad's list, send an email.

Now get going and give your caption pronto! If you feel like, you may suggest more than one caption.

For those interested in knowing more about the grey heron and other water birds in our neighbourhood, you may browse our earlier story 'Celebrating Diwali with the Birds'.

Previous Contest

KBG-67, the 67th edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad Caption Contest featured a picture of a spot-billed duck, frolicking in the lake. It received 47 captions from across the globe. Few more pictures of spot billed ducks along with the winning captions of KBG-67 are featured in the story 'Birds Inspire Us'. Two of the winning captions are reproduced below:

Hope we have helped you in overcoming the Covid boredom to some extent.

Now, be your creative best and shoot your response. Most catchy captions will be the Winners of KBG-68! All the best.

Thank you all the readers for your continued support.

Stay connected, stay safe.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 15th December 2021

#greyheron #yaprallake #nature #waterbirds #landingandtakeoff #secunderabad #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #KBG #kaunbanegaghumakkad #onlinecontest #lockdownfun #takeabreak #captions #powerofobservation #craetivecaptions #pqs #picturesquequotations #naturetheteacher #learningthroughpictures #india #observeandlearn

Birds Inspire Us

Feeling caged due to the pandemic?

No family vacations?

No wildlife safaris?

We all are locked down and feeling caged. Physically and mentally. Therefore, go birding nearby. Just by observing the birds will make you feel better. By observing not only the birds but also the plants, flowers and raindrops, we can break free in our minds. And feel rejuvenated. During the last two years, we had shared number of such posts to lift your sagging spirit. The story has embedded links to more stories. 

We are sharing again few pictures of Spot-billed ducks in Yapral lake in our neighbourhood in Secunderabad. The first picture is a PQ- picturesque quote- based on Michael Caine's quote "Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always peddling like the dickens underneath."

The next picture urges you to be yourself.

Doesn't the duck look so graceful while swimming? See the picture below.

The next picture is about being together in life- Corona or no Corona.

It may be a good idea to celebrate the coming New Year with the birds. We had celebrated Diwali during the lockdown with the birds. You may browse our story 'Celebrating Diwali with the Birds'. Birds not in the cages or zoo enclosures, but in their natural habitat!

KBG-67 Contest

A picture of a spot-billed duck was chosen for KBG-67, the 67th edition of our online caption contest Kaun Banega Ghumakkad.

The Contest received 47 captions from readers across the globe. We thank the participants and are happy to share all the captions below.

No.	Name	Caption for KBG-67 Contest
1	Ajai Bhumri	Dance n fly high
2	Ajai Bhumri	दुख मेरे, खुशियाँ हमारी,  खुशियां बांटने चला सब को बुलाने
3	Amandeep Kaur	Be like a duck, paddle across tough waters (times) like a pro!
4	Avinash Tiwari	Lo main ud chali.
5	Bharat Ladha	शिकार कर उड़ान को तैयार
6	CD Sawant	जल बिन मछली न्रुत्य बिन बिजली और जल बिन बतक असम्भव
7	Deepak Jena	Beauty itself is but the sensible image of the Infinite.
8	Deepak Jena	Being glamorous Is not a crime.
9	Deepak Jena	Beauty is good when it's on the outside, but what about the inside, it's deep with-in the soul.
10	GR Sreenivasan	Wonderful to see you performing Swan dance over placid pond.
11	Jaishankar	Winged angel walking on water
12	JJ Baxi	Vini, Vidi, Vinci Meaning: I came, I saw, I conquered
13	J Ramamoorty	Lone ranger
14	Jyoti Dixit	I could have danced all night
15	Kausalya Govindan	Model perfect on water ramp! Show off time!
16	LS Bhargava	Landed after a successful mission and ready to take off to succeed another mission.
17	Manik Srivastava	I flit,I float This is my paradise to gloat
18	Manju Khetan	Live life free of tensions
19	Narendra Soni	तैरना है फकत, कहती है बतख़
20	Neelam Sawant	Flight to fantasy
21	Nidhi Bhargava	पंख फैलाए , बांहे पसारे, तुझको बुलाए देश तेरा…
22	NR Ravi	We have lift off!
23	Param Bhatia	Mainu Bhangda paan nu ji karda!
24	Peter De Padua	Spread your wings and fly.
25	Peter De Padua	Ripples of reflection for a green, greener World.
26	Poonam Bhargava	मन मस्त हुआ फिर क्या बोले, मन डोले मेरा तन डोले.
27	Pradeep Siwach	Let me spread my wings
28	Radhika Sareen	Paddle hard & have fun dancing
29	Radhika Sareen	I dont have to wait for rains to dance…
30	Rajendra Singh	Hi Michael Jackson ! Let's compete !
31	Ramdas B Dhavare	Can Display my Wings on Water too.
32	Rashmi Bhargava	Dance n fly high
33	Ravi Dixit	Such a graceful take off. Beats any man-made flying machine.
34	Ritu Bhargava	Dancing on her favourite song- quack quack!
35	Rohini Tiwari	Walking on water..... a miracle of Nature!
36	R Raghuram	Strength and elegance - a close fight, Ready for take off, yet another flight
37	Ruma Purkayastha	Catch me if you can!
38	Sandhya Prakash	Eye of the Tiger.
39	Shereen Sultana	Spread your wings, fly high!
40	Sujata Das	Taking off to reach the sky.
41	Surendra Kumar	Harrier ready for Vertical Take-off
42	Unknown	Need to have fun after paddling hard in water....
43	Veeky Baths	Be like a duck. Soft on the outside But hard on the Inside!
44	Vinay Prasad	We all have wings. But only some dare to fly!
45	Vinod Dhanuka	Nextgen Transport Fly Float Walk
46	Rekha Bhargava	Ishwar ka karishma hai insan ko hi nahin pashu pakshi ko bhi nrity karate hain
47	Rekha Bhargava	Kala kar sabhi hain dharti per kya manush  ķya pakshi

Winners of KBG-67

Our Jury comprising of Anchita Nidhindra and Akanksha Bhargava both based in California, has selected four winning captions. Both the jury members love Nature, travelling, photography and writing. We thank both of them for their time.

We congratulate the winners whose captions along with a brief intro are given below.

Vinay Prasad is a keen photographer who loves to shoot in the mornings. An alumnus of BITS Pilani, Vinay is the CEO of a defence ancillary in Hyderabad. His caption 'We all have wings. But only some dare to fly!' was Jury's instant choice. Vinay has won several KBG contests.

Ritu Bhargava has a masters in English literature from Jaipur University. Her interests are cooking music, dance and writing. Ritu is a regular participant in KBG Contests. Her caption 'Dancing on her favourite song- quack quack!' caught the jury's eye.

Ruma Purkayastha is an educator  and wellbeing coach who learns something from her grand children  everyday! She majored in psychology and was Principal of a leading school in New Delhi. Her caption 'Catch me if you can!' echoed the action shot of spot billed duck.

Sujata Das PhD is an alumnus of BITS Pilani, Stanford and Waterloo Universities  who runs her own business in Canada. In her spare time, she loves to teach different age groups from different fields of people. Sujata loves winter sports and creative writing. Her simple caption 'Taking off to reach the sky!' appealed to the Jury.

Once again we congratulate all the winners. The duck is telling us to break free from Covid related stress and gloom.

Thank you all the readers for your continued support. More KBG Contests are coming up.

Stay connected, stay safe.

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 10th December 2021

#birds #rejuvenate #breakingfree #beyourself #ducks #spotbilledducks #nature #pqs #michaelcaine #yaprallake #dancingduck #secunderabad #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh #KBG #kaunbanegaghumakkad #onlinecontest #lockdownfun #takeabreak #captions #craetivecaptions  #picturesquequotations #naturetheteacher #learningthroughpictures #india #observeandlearn

What Do The Veterans Need?

What do the veterans need in their 60s, 70s and 80s?

Medical cover? A house? Financial independence?

Well, most veterans have all three! The question still remains- what do the veterans need?

Station Commander (Navy), Secunderabad provided the right answer! The Veterans need to manage their medication, mend their clothes and remain trim! Navy Day Barakhana yesterday had a surprise gift for every veteran. It wasn't the usual wall-calendar or a navy memento, but a small box having unique items. Items which every veteran needs. Barakhana for those readers not familiar with the Armed Forces in India, is a ceremonial gathering of all the officers and men of a Unit along with their families. It is usually held on the Raising Day, Republic Day and Independence Day every year.

Most Veterans in their 60s, 70s and 80s are on regular medication (Cheers to all those who don't need any medication as yet!). One challenge they face is to read the name as well as the expiry date of medicines which is always in fine print! You need a magnifying glass to read it. So, the Navy Day hamper contained a magnifying glass.

The next item frequently needed is a small scissors to cut the medicine strips.

The next need is to do small mending like buttons, hooks etc. Apart from a needle and thread, you need the gadget to insert the thread into the needle. Similarly, veterans' clothes need minor alterations over the years. They need to remove the thread stiches without tearing or damaging the apparel. The gift hamper contained all this so thoughtfully. See the pictures below.

The last item in the hamper was a measuring tape. Purpose?

It is a high utility item for taking measurements of table cloth, mats, curtains etc. It can be hung on a wall hook for handy reach. All of the above items were packed in a plastic container, which itself can be used as a medicine box! So, once again a big thank you to Rear Adm V Raja Shekar and his team for such a thoughtful gift on Navy Day.

Here are a few more pictures of Navy House Secunderabad, tastefully illuminated for the evening.

The signage at the entrance to the Navy House commemorates 50th year of India's victory in 1971 Indo-Pak War. Readers may browse our earlier story titled '50th Year of 1971 War' which also included a tribute by the Naval children to The Victory Flame as it traversed the length and breadth of India.

We wish all the readers and fellow veterans, a very Happy Navy Day.

Hail Navy. Shun-no-Varuna. Jai Hind.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad and former Commodore, Indian Navy/ 5th Dec 2021

#navyday #navyweek #navyveterans #Navygifthamper #barakhana #teamwork #gratitude #fallenbutnotforgotten #thankingtheveterans #innovativememento #utilitygiftstoveterans #stncdrnavysecunderabad #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh