Musings of an eccentric mind
This morning I strung up yet another set of seashells to hang up next to the curtains. Here’s a closer look at just a few of the beauties. Take a wild guess what surface the background is!
Take a closer look at what others around the blogosphere are capturing at the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge
PS: I love seashells
On our road trip to my grandfather’s house last year, we were treated to some amazing scenery — palms and plantains; paddy fields and elephant grass; street art and intricate architecture; flowing rivers and the magnificent ocean…
Here are two of my favourite photographs from the trip, shot through the window of our car.
For more images of journeys by bloggers from around the world, don’t forget to check out the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge : On the way
It was on the first of March, a Sunday, that our family got together. It was after such a long time that we went out together, that we joked that it would rain. And sure enough, it did! Little did we know, that it was the beginning of a very strange phenomenon. Not only on that day, but almost every subsequent Sunday, it rained.
North India has witnessed, over the past two months, unpredictable weather, and many crops have been damaged due to this unseasonal rain. Vrindavan, it appears had its own share of golf-ball sized hail storm, if the pictures shared on WhatsApp are to be believed*.
Is this weather a result of climate change? I don’t know. But it definitely seems eerie.
A few weeks back, I was at the India Habitat Centre, where I saw a very interesting art installation, and seemed to fit in rather well with the issue at hand. Delhi-based artist Gopal Namjoshi combined scrap iron to create a garden, to highlight the importance of ecological conservation. The garden included flowers, small birds, deer and peacocks, as well as a man resting on a chair!
Below are a few snapshots of the installation.
For more about the artist, please visit Gopal Namjoshi’s Website
Related News Article: Installations made from scrap
* Images of the Vrindavan hailstorm – Any of you received these images on WhatsApp?
Being late December, it was no surprise to see Christmas Trees decorating the airports of Delhi and Chennai. But I should have known the large candy sticks at the exit of Chennai Airport were more than just festive decorations – they were a sign of things to come!
We ate out almost everyday. And for every meal there was dessert! Adirsam, Mysore pak, Jangiri, Badusha, Kesari and many types of Payasams accompanied the traditional meals. We tried out the local soan papdi sold by a street vendor in Mylapore. And ice cream at the beach was a must.
One particular day, we had a double doze of chocolate. One of the desserts was a sizzling brownie, topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce, at Haven Sampoorna. The other was ‘Death by chocolate’ at Tangerine.
It was hard to resist the temptation to dig into these beauties. And after eating, I couldn’t help but wish for more! There never really can be enough of chocolate, can there? 😉
We hadn’t really planned on making a rangoli this year. It isn’t something we do traditionally.
All that changed, however, when a close friend of mine sent me a photograph of a beautiful rangoli she had made with her sister.
My cousin and I went shopping for colours, and with the help of my mother, drew a rangoli together.
Wishing you all a very very happy and prosperous (and hopefully cracker-free) Deepavali.
We mixed up the traditional white stone Kolam powder with colourful Rangoli powders to create a small message. A couple of shots of our little decoration for this year’s Diwali…
Here’s wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous Deepavali!
She was a gem. And to capture her beauty was not something that was easy for me. She could hardly stand still. She kept running and tripping over herself just to avoid me. And in the end I gave up trying to take her picture. And instead just admired her.
One Bouquet – Three Views (Two were simply not enough!)
It’s been a very weird past week or so… I have not really had much inspiration to write. To get my mind off, and to ‘renew’ my thought process, I pulled out a make-up kit, and tried to photograph it.
There is a reason why this fancy kit is completely unused. I deplore make-up. Make-up would be the absolute last topic on which I would write.
And yet, here I am, admiring this set of brushes, and the soft shimmering palette of colours that is a part of the kit.
Putting on make-up must be hard, and must definitely involve skill and artistic abilities. Perhaps I’ll put it to use someday – I don’t know. For the moment though, I am content just admiring the colours.
Wonder how it would look on paper!
A late entry for the Weekly Photo Challenge – Renewal. Aah well, I shall renew it for this week 😀
A gallery tour of Ugrasen ki Baoli – not really on a tourist’s itinerary. But then, not even locals are aware of its presence!
Delhi has been loved, and loathed, by people for centuries. She has been built, razed to the ground, and rebuilt, by the same people who destroyed her.
The city has always been the favourite city of successive rulers. The proof of their love, lies in the monuments they constructed, that are spread across the city. Most of the newer buildings were constructed at the site of older structures. So the Fort of Rai Pithora, was razed to the ground, only for the Qutub Minar to be built.
Purana Qila (Old Fort) was built by Humayun, only to be destroyed by Sher Shah Suri. Sher Shah built his own capital at that site, only for Humayun to return! But even before the battles between these kings, an ancient civilization existed there – excavations of objects and pottery dating back to 1000 BC proving the antiquity of the Fort.
Besides the most obvious monuments, there are several smaller ones – those that are not on a tourist’s itinerary. They are hidden from public view. Even locals, never fully explore the city. To peel away the different layers of the city, requires more than just a few days. To understand what makes immigrants fall in love with the city, requires more than a lifetime.
In our quest to explore the ‘other’ side of Delhi, a few of us visited a baoli.
A baoli is a step-well, unique to the desert regions of western India. Ugrasen ki Baoli, is just off the main road near Connaught Place (Rajiv Chowk), at the heart of Delhi.
A short walk from the Barakhamba Metro station led us to the walls of the baoli. It looked like any other stone wall we’d seen, until we stepped inside. We collectively gasped at the sight in front of us – a long flight of steps leading to the bottom of the well.
There were scores of pigeons happily going about their daily lives, unaware of their historical home; a few groups of people, wanting to ‘hang out’ together; and one youth, working on his laptop, seeking refuge from the harsh heat!
We descended the stairs, to be welcomed by a very strong odour and screeching sounds. We looked up from the bottom of the well, to the ceiling of the tower – bats. We climbed up the stairs faster than we had descended!
The old, the new, and the pigeons – The three elements that define Delhi – A gallery tour
Related Links:
My friend who introduced the baoli to me, posted a few photographs on one of his posts too. Do check them out here.
She had been uprooted from her home, decorated to highlight her appealing petals, and given away to indifferent people. In her new ‘home’, she sat quietly in a corner, waiting to be noticed.
Her new family did not appreciate her. They had seen many more like her, and like all the others, she would be abandoned. The garbage collector would pick her up, and she would spend the rest of her short life along with plastics and other alien creatures.
She looked absolutely beautiful. And at the same time, she looked sad. We noticed her head looking towards the ground. She was tired, and disappointed. We decided to adopt her.
We peeled away the pins and wires that surrounded her, and even as I offered her water, some of her delicate petals gave way.
Free from the shackles, and getting a little care, she felt lighter. Was there a hint of a smile? She still missed her home. Nothing could replace that, but now, she hoped she could spend the rest of her days in peace.
Musings of an eccentric mind 