There is something fascinating about termite hills or termite mounds, (ant hills as we usually call them). You don't agree? Well, most of my family doesn't either, except Samhith of course! He has the same fascination for these huge settlements built with nothing but mud, and stops every time he sees one!
Tirupati abounds in these termite hills - the Lord himself is said to have appeared in one, so undoubtedly there is something special about them!
Well, we have seen many ant hills, some small, some even bigger than me.... See this one we photographed in the Zoo... Its about 5 feet high!
We have often wondered what it would be like, inside this hill. It is believed that snakes live there too.... whether before or after the termites, I am not sure..... However, this time, the zoo not just gave us the opportunity to see some caged wild animals, but also some un-caged ones, among which were some termites - the hill had broken, probably thanks to some careless tourists - but we were able to see inside it as the termites swarmed all over! While I waved Samhith away and asked him to watch from afar, my mom wondered what attraction the repulsive creatures had for me..... as to my sister, you should have seen the expression on her face when I showed her these pics.... Now, tell me what you think about them!
To know more about termites, click on the following links.
http://www.termite-pictures.com/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Termite
http://hubpages.com/hub/Termites
