Ghumakkad in Hindi means 'the wanderer'. That is what I am. On the move any time anywhere!
This blog chronicles Ghumakkad's travels/teachings/learnings around the globe as picture stories. In addition, there are Picturesque Quotes (PQs) created using my pictures. Enjoy it.
If you have also been to the places/topics described here, please feel free to add to the content.
Your comments/ suggestions are welcome.
Come rains and Ghumakkad can't stay indoors. When a friend offered a drive and a visit to his farm, Ghumakkad jumped at it. Even though it clashed with early morning golf, Ghumakkad managed both. After a quick 9-holes, a cold shower and Idli Vada at Waghmare's food van, we headed 63 kms north of Secunderabad to DK Ahuja's farm. Weather was perfect. Slight drizzle, cool breeze and greenery all around.
Sharing below few pictures taken at the farm. It shows different types of fruits and vegetables grown along with their key nutritional value.
Here is a short video clip showing the panorama of the farm. Isn't it a heaven on earth?
Sharing below the location of the farm in Pedda Shivnoor, 63 kms from Yapral in Secunderabad. Maps courtesy Google.
Garlic Harvest
Do you know how garlic is preserved after harvesting? See the picture below.
It is hung on a rod with its leaves. It keeps it fresh for months together. No need of energy-sapping cold storage! Another example of rural wisdom.
Similarly, onions are spread on a floor (sometimes under a bed). It can be stored and preserved for months like this. Only condition being there should be no humidity. Ghumakkad had seen the onions being stored like this in Rajasthan many decades ago. And it was heartening to see the same practice in Telangana as well.
Friendly Calf
It was a delight to cuddle a two-month old calf at the farm. See the picture below.
Earlier Visit
Ghumakkad had visited the same farm two years ago. We had written an exclusive story linked below.
White Jamun - Yes, Ahuja Farm cultivates White Jamun (apart from the black jamuns). Browse the picture story.
Thanks DK for a lovely day in the lap of Nature. So refreshing and therapeutic. Hope the readers too got a taste of the greenery.
On our return drive, it was drizzling a bit. After a highway toll, we pulled up on a side to have freshly barbecued bhutta भुट्टा or corn. How can you miss such a yummy bite on a highway in India?
We end with an anonymous quote "Rain makes everything beautiful". See the PQ- picturesque quote below.
Enjoy the rains and stay connected. Do leave a comment, few words are enough to encourage us.
- Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with DK Ahuja/ 25th July 2026/ Secunderabad
Even I hadn't seen till yesterday. Grown in a friend's farm 30 kms north of Secunderabad, it resembles the normal black jamun in shape, size and taste. White jamun is slightly sweeter and its tree is shorter in height. The leaves are a bit broader. Its scientific name is Syzygium cumini. Black jamun is also called Indian Blackberry.
It grows in SE Asia but not as common as the black jamun. Like the black jamun, it is good for diabetic patients. White jamun has a higher amount of pectin, which is good for lowering the cholesterol. Few readers after seeing the initial pictures commented it as 'eggs hanging from a tree'! But the white jamun is much smaller than an egg.
The farm had only ten trees of white jamun, The farm is basically a mango orchard with close to 4000 mango trees spread over 8 acres. See the pictures and a short video clip below which also shows the rain water harvesting. In one season, the water table has risen considerably.
It is always a treat to visit a farm. It was a pleasure planting two saplings before leaving. Thanks Devendar Ahuja for this privilege.
Some of our previous stories on mangoes, guavas, trees and plants are listed below. Just click to browse.
We end with a quote by Claude Monet, the famous painter, who loved Nature. We have superimposed his line "My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in the corner of Nature" on one of our pictures taken at the farm.
Stay connected for more stories on Nature, Wildlife and Learning.
- Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with inputs from DK Ahuja/ Secunderabad/ 21st May 2023
The CDs have been hung on the mango trees to keep the langur away from attacking the mango crop! Simple.
Yes, the idea seems to work. First time Ghumakkad saw it in Uttarakhand while driving to Munsiyari. The house owner was finding it difficult to save the fruits from the marauding monkeys on a forested hillside. The shining CDs did the trick! That was in May-2019. Now four years down the line, it worked again in Secunderabad. Different monkeys, different fruit trees, different climate, yet the concept works! See the pictures and a short video clip below.
Here is a short video clip shot on our terrace showing the CDs protecting the fruits on both the mango and guava trees.
Of course, while driving on highways in India, CDs have a different connotation as seen from the picture below. The picture quizzed the readers in the 18th edition of online contest Kaun Banega Ghumakkad KBG-18 . CDs in road side dhabas ढाबा (roadside eatery)could contain unwanted stuff. But no, don't be so naughty! See the remarks in the picture below.
More than 100 correct responses were received for KBG-18 Contest. You may browse the story linked below.
So, if you have a home garden and the monkeys are a menace, try hanging some CDs from the branches of the tree. It should be free hanging so that it rotates with wind. It startles the monkeys and keeps them away.
Requesting our zoologist-readers to educate us how it works? Hope it does not cause any other harm to the marauding monkeys.
More stories from Ghumakkad on the world around us!
Thanks for browsing
- Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 5th April 2023/ Secunderabad
Postscript: Readers from different parts of the world shared their experiences on above story. Excerpts:
5th April: Sujata Das from Canada writes: "We have been doing this CD track for years to protect our cherries, plums, and peaches from long-beak birds. And it works for birds."
5th April: J Ramamoorty from Hyderabad writes: "In New Delhi's South Block, two wheeler owners keep bricks on the two seats for the same reason i.e. to protect the seats being torn by the monkeys!"
5th April: Pramod Lakhotia from Germany writes: "In Germany we have no monkeys free jumping around. Hence no problem. But birds do make our Cherries a problem and we are using CDs on the trees effectively."
30th April: It has been close to four weeks since we hung the CDs on our fruit trees in home garden. Apart from the langurs, the CDs have kept the bats and the birds away so far.
