Yesterday, I saw 5 white breasted kingfishers on my neighbour’s roof! It is a commonly sighted bird in Lucknow’s green areas.

Peacock is the national bird of India, and the Sarus crane is the state bird of Uttar Pradesh in Northern India.

Last year, members of the Society for Conservation of Nature identified 1,005 Sarus birds in the districts of Etawah, Auraiyya and Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh.

A four-hours exercise to identify and count Sarus Crane (Grus Antigone), the state bird will be organised across the state on Sunday, June 20. After a span of almost a decade, such an exercise is being launched and it will be conducted by the state forest department and its associated agencies, volunteers and various NGOs in the thousands of wetlands in the state as per the sources.

Out of the total number of 10,000 Grus Antigone, Indian Saras, Demosil Crane and Common Crane, nearly 2,500 of them are said to be nesting in and around Etawah and nearly 1,000 in Mainpuri district besides a good number of Sarus birds have also been spotted in Aligarh and Etah districts, claim the wildlife experts.

More: Times of India

Neel gaay or Blue antelope is easy to spot in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

A train journey from Agra to Mathura (morning or sunset hours) is a perfect way to see a herd or at least one of them.

These blue antelopes often visit cultivated fields for food.

Photo credit: Arup Kumar Choudhury, Flickr

Arunachal Pradesh is home to the great Indian Hornbill. It is the state bird of Arunachal Pradesh. The white winged wood duck, a rare endangered species, has been sheltered in Namdapha National Park.

In spiritality, the role of a guru is to facilitate the disciple, the follower, the shishya to evolve and realise the full potential. A true guru is one who understands the pitfalls that the neonate might come across, and prempts solutions. S/he understands the shishya's abilities and weaknesses, and treats each one as an individual, or should treat each one as an individual.

Spirituality, though a vast subject, is still about connecting with one's highest potential and getting to know one's Creator, and then co-create :-)

This is yoga; becoming one with the Creator in this context. Yoga is about uniting with another to realize oneness. Bhakti yoga, Gyan yoga, Karma yoga, Hatha yoga, Kriya yoga, are only that many ways to do so... 

The guru is a person who may lead, because he has trod the path and knows it well enough to take on the role of a lamp; guru - one who removes darkness. A guru may be a person or the higher self within, the soul through its infinite journeys and incarnations knows it all. It is just waiting to let us into the secret, if we care to listen - through the act of meditation.

~ Anisha Sharma