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Birding at flooded Hoskote lake

Two months back, I had been to Hoskote lake in Bangalore on a rainy day and had written a blog post titled - Rainy day birding. That was one difficult nature walk where I had to squish noisily through mud and mire. Last Sunday, I revisited the place to find most of the walking trails submerged as there were more rains. Here's a photo tour of what little I could salvage from the quagmire...


Here's a panorama of Hoskote lake and its surroundings. Click or tap to navigate the 360° view...


The morning was misty...


I could see the silhouette of a Greater Coucal...


More mist...


A female Asian Koel...


Dew drop...


Painted Storks Black-headed Ibis flying overhead...
(Thanks Arnab Banerjee for the correction.)




Lantana...



Plain Prinia...


Sky...



More flora...



Pied Bush Chat...








Soulful birds of Saul Kere


Another Sunday, and I set out to explore yet another beautiful lake in Bangalore. Saul Kere lake is home to some interesting birds, plants and critters. Here's a photo tour...



The weather was overcast and the trail around the lake was scenic...


A Rose-ringed Parakeet was happily munching something...


It looked wicked with its half open eye... 


Its open eye was full of life though...


A small flock of Scaly-breasted Munias were chirping, "kitty kitty kitty"...
















Booted Warbler...


Booted Warbler...


Common Mormon butterfly...


 A juvenile Scaly-breasted Munia...


Juvenile Scaly-breasted Munia in flight...


The sun was up but the morning was still misty and pleasant...


This one was busy preening...



A White-cheeked Barbet seemed to have caught a dragonfly...



White-cheeked Barbets usually feed on fruits but they will take winged insects opportunistically...












Plain Tiger butterfly...


The scaly-breasted Munia feeds mainly on seeds but also eats small berries such as those of Lantana...











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Enerjuvate opens second outlet

At the beginning of this year, I had reviewed Enerjuvate in a blog post titled - Wonderful taste of being healthy.

Within a year, I can see that Enerjuvate, with its unique offerings of healthy tasty food, combined with physical health activities has become a big success. They recently opened their second outlet in Bangalore at upscale Koramangala. Here's a photo tour of my visit...


It is a neat place to hang out, whether in the inviting interior or the beautiful patio...


Interior is tasteful and roomy with multi-level seating. As soon as I entered, this part caught my eye...



A waitstaff offered me a refreshing Lemon grass basil lime cooler....





Sunayana, the co-founder with her cheerful better half, Abhay...


Darshana, the other co-founder...



Soon, more friends dropped in and we headed to Euphoria, the Yoga and other energy infusing physical activities area. The Yoga session was curated by Carolyn Theresa Simon. She pushed our limits in a very rejuvenating Yoga session... 


The yoga helped in whetting my appetite. Almond milk Thandai tasted amazing. I was told that the milkshake contained fennel seeds, cardamon, pepper, melon seeds, saffron and dates with the goodness of almond...






Some remarkable salads and starters were served. Cucumber boats - cool cucumbers along with fresh crunchy fruits and veggies in a creamy sesame coleslaw. It was topped with soy ginger chili sauce... 


Beet orange walnut medley is a visual delight. This is adapted from Dana Shultz best seller - Minimalist Baker's everyday cooking! Enerjuvate's color therapy salad is topped with lemon tahini and fresh rosemary...



Power pav makeover - Whole wheat pav, potato tikki served with in-house sweet & sour chutney, roasted green chili topped with dry garlic chutney...


Sweet potato and potato wedges were served with beetroot hummus, chunky salsa. Sweet potato is my all time favorite...


Carrot ginger ale - a soda free ginger ale with nutrient rich carrot infused mint and healing ginger for all day wellness...


Thai Paan is a 'Do It Yourself' lettuce wrap with a Thai twist. Lime wedges, tangy dip, birds eye chili, ginger, onions, sprouts, coconut flakes and toasted peanuts...


What a burst of flavors for your taste buds!


Delish momos - steamed momos tossed in a chili garlic sauce with colorful bell peppers, onions and garnished with spring onions...


A wall with mirrors, appropriately placed to reflect the colorful background lights. Apt for taking selfies with colorful background...


Enerjuvate Loaded is a pizza with whole wheat and amaranth flour crust, topped with roasted pineapples, garlic, mushroom, olives and peppers in a house special yellow bell pepper sauce...


Stir fried veggie wrap is rich in antioxidants, green base with lightly tossed crunchy colorful veggies rolled with a hot cashew sauce...



Jowar (Sorghum) tri color gnocchi in yellow sauce was exceptional...


Khao Suey - a traditional Burmese soup with whole wheat noodles dunked in a lemongrass flavored coconut milk broth tossed with fresh veggies topped with accoutrements and add-ons...


Enerjuvate special pizza topped with sun dried tomatoes, roasted garlic slices, marinara sauce, chopped onions, mozzarella cheese, rocket and crumbled feta...


Kombucha - a fermented pro biotic tea with apple cinnamon, pineapple and mint...



Kombucha remains my favorite drink of the day...



Tibetan Thupka is served with freshly made Ragi (finger millet) noodles to amplify its healthy quotient...


Forgotten foods and savories...


Sandwizza - pizza inspired, dunked in marinara sauce and spiced with jalapenos, corn, onions and mozzarella, toasted crisp on pita bread...


Veggie zoodle bowl in bechamel sauce is pasta with a delightful twist...


On my dessert platter, I had banana peanut crunch, pineapple cranberry cake, choco mint ganache tart, and choco chia cup. All of them with no added sugar so you can enjoy the healthy desserts guilt-free!


Their boutique has some trendy fashion accessories and collectibles...





The yoga and the decadent food was a healthy and tasty indulgence. Arguably, this is one of the most beautiful locations in which to dine and rejuvenate yourself. The service is excellent and prices are quite reasonable. Leaving you with some smiles...