5:30 a.m. — Alangar, Vittal. The first rays of light kissing the morning mist. Rangaraj Prabhu and I, carrying dreams woven into our cameras. A cup of hot tea, the sweetness of “Marie” biscuits, and the soft music of awakening birds — that was the first chapter of our dawn.

After the colourful celebration of many birds, we spoke our wish aloud: “The jewel of the Western Ghats — the Malabar Trogon… If only it sits before us on a perfect perch!” As if nature had heard our whisper, suddenly, the call of the Trogon! Our hearts skipped a beat… The camera in our hands felt weightless for a moment — a tremor of pure joy!

In that canvas of shifting shadows, the rare artist appeared — red, black and white in divine harmony… The Trogon sat exactly where our dreams had imagined. Click… click… Time froze. And that moment became an eternal memory.

We couldn't leave that place unnamed. How could we? We called it “Paradise.” Even today, that very name gives us goosebumps. On that day, it wasn't just the Trogon we captured… We captured our confidence, our spirit, our dream itself.