Saturday, August 8, 2009

Nehru Trophy Boat Race Alleppey




Snake Boats during a practice session A trophy with a signature. On the second Saturday of August there occurs a grand water festival in Alleppey (Alappuzha), which has risen to the national festival of this part of the land. This boat-festival had its origin in 1952 the then Prime Minister of India; Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru happened to see this boat festival and he was so thrilled by the charm of boat race and he climbed on a boat and traveled in it to the town; neglecting the concerns of the security ring. On his return to New Delhi he sent a model of a ‘Snake Boat’ (known as chundan vallom) made of silver as the trophy for the winning boat. This ever rolling trophy has the signature of that great man. A season of boat races. There are several boat races in Kerala like Champakulam, Pulinkunnu, Aranmula Cheruthana, etc but the Nehru Trophy Boat Race held at the Punnamada Lake is the most famous and popular among them. Each boat race has a history of its own like the Aranmula where there is only a procession and no competition of speed; it is essentially a festival of the temple in which the idol of the temple is ceremoniously taken for people to see. The Champakulam boat race is the oldest among them (it can compete with the oldest races in the world held consecutively for years. Other boat races held during the season are Neerettupuram Boat Race, Rajiv Gandhi Boat Race, PulimkunnuKaruvatta Boat Race, and the Haripad Mannar Boat Race.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

King Cobra pictures

The King Cobra pictures



The king cobra is one of the most venomous snakes in the world. The snake itself can grow up to 18+ feet (5.6 meters) in length and while it usually eats other snakes has been known to attack animals as large as Asian elephants.

King Cobra: Ophiophagus hanna

Distribution: Mainland India, southern China, south-east Asia.

Habitat: Dense highland forests, up to 2000m above sea level, usually near water.

Size: Length: average 4m. Record 5.58m.

Life-span: About 20 years.

Food: Snakes and lizards.

Sexual maturity: 5-6 years.

Breeding season: Mates in January. Eggs: 20-50.

Incubation: 60-70 days.

The king cobra kills and eats other species of poisonous snake. It is the longest of all the venomous snakes, and its bite can kill a man in 15 minutes, yet it prefers to avoid confrontation.






Daily Life: King cobras are active by day and night, but are rarely seen. They hunt by smell, 'tasting' the air with their forked tongues to track their prey. When they get close, they use their eyes to pinpoint their victim before striking, injecting a massive dose of venom. They are then able to swallow their victims whole while they are still alive. They have no limbs with which to rip their prey apart, so their lower jaws are independent, and are only loosely attached to their skulls. By using alternate movements of the lower jaws, they are able to drag their prey into their mouths. Large victims can take several hours to swallow, but after a large meal a king cobra will not have to eat again for a few weeks.


Tags:King cobra photos.Pictures of the king cobra

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