Breakfast in Lalbagh

Morning walks in Lalbagh Garden in Bangalore are a pleasure. The ideal time to reach Lalbagh is around a half hour before sunrise. On a clear morning, one then has several options from where to watch the sun rise. A favorite spot of mine is on the bridge across the Lalbagh Lake, from where one catch a glorious sunrise. The warm rays of the early morning sun hit the bridge and the trees lining the perimeter of the lake, making for a glorious sight. That said, there is hardly a bad walk in Lalbagh, with multiple trails to wonder through, gazing at different trees and the fauna they attract.

One early morning after a run in Lalbagh (there is an excellent 2 mile loop in Lalbagh, and a mile loop around the lake), I fetched my camera from the car. I headed towards the lake intending to take pictures of the bird life the lake attracts. As I got into position to photogragh some pond herons, I spied a sudden movement from the side of my eye. I could see something on a lily pad, but I was not able to discern any details with the naked eye. Strapping on an 80-400mm Nikkor on my D200, I focused in the direction of the lily pad, and saw a snake trying to subdue a fish it had probably just caught. Getting into position for a good shot was not easy with a chain link fence in the way, but placing the camera on a tripod, I stood on my toes, and shot off a bunch of exposures. I must have stood there for around twenty minutes, taking pictures of the snake gradually subduing its writhing prey. By now a crowd had gathered around me, with some keen eyed people spotting the activity, and excited pointing it out to others. Probably disturbed by the noise and the activity, the snake dived underwater with the fish still only partially ingested. I stood there for a few more minutes, hoping to spot the snake again, probably on a different lily pad, but the snake had probably sought out a quieter corner of the lake to finish its breakfast in relative peace.

I posted an image from the morning on an online nature forum, where the snake was identified as a Checkered Keelback.