What does silence look like asks Cheri at the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge this week. And interesting and tricky question for depending upon the situation and mood, silence can be oppressive, suffocating and a scream of despair. Yet it can also be full of warmth, unspoken yet clearly felt emotions, a comforting blanket, a time to ponder, reflect and just be.
“We went down into the silent garden. Dawn is the time when nothing breathes, the hour of silence. Everything is transfixed, only the light moves.” ― Leonora Carrington
“I have never heard a more eloquent silence.” ― Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak
The silent wail of the ghosts of slaughtered trees and their mourning relatives waiting for the axe to fall…
“Does not everything depend on our interpretation of the silence around us?” ― Lawrence Durrell, Justine
This section of the fort was once the Ladies Apartments (zenani deorhi) where all the kings concubines lived with secret passageways from the King room. A stage set for palace intrigues, high voltage drama, tinkle of bangles, rustle of silks swirling with perfume, silence forever. What do you hear – the a happy contented peacefulness or rife with strife, gloom and melancholy?
“As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment.” ― John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men
What can one say over and above that?
“I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams…” ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
Thus it has been for me with still waters, mountains and trees…
“It’s so stupid because all I wanted was space and now that I have it, there’s this part of me that’s achingly lonely I could die.” ― Hannah Harrington, Saving June
Far from the madding crowd, looking down in greedy disdain…
“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” ― Ansel Adams
“He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.” ― Elbert Hubbard
I grew up looking at these mountains and this river the holy Ganga. The mountains were always like this – strong towering, silent only the colors changed with the season and time of day. But the Ganga was never like this. She was bright, clear clean green, sparkling and gurgling as She tripped over stones and boulders, gushing and frothing as she danced on her way down from the mountains, singing us to sleep. Each and every day. Without fail.
And then one day, she fell silent. Enchained and enslaved, forever silenced to serve the needs of others, bloated with detritus, armed with fortitude and restraint, she renounced her carefree days of song and dance.
Yet, can you not hear her scream through the deafening silence?
Well, what does silence mean to you? Speak up, be not silenced, ever…
I have weathered many different storms and I know who I am and my friends know who I really am. 
“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” – Buddha
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” ― 
Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere. They’re in each other all along. Rumi
“I don’t want to be married just to be married. I can’t think of anything lonelier than spending the rest of my life with someone I can’t talk to, or worse, someone I can’t be silent with.” ― 
Birds of a feather separated by a crow 😀
the intrepid traveler plods on and on undeterred and unmindful of the swirling traffic.
Caught the Prince charming hiding amongst the shrubbery on a winter night stroll
A dear friend’s blossoming kitchen garden 🙂
Okay now for some real magic. Can you see the light on the wall? Duh. Of course you can.
Well can you see it now? Same frame, same place, but no light! Magic isnt it? 😉
And finally a cold deary winter morning with the promise of spring. Got my eye on those freshly prepared beds – coming up in just a couple of months 🙂
. To atone for my laziness, I shall post non-stop for the next 7 
I have begun to chafe at rules and regulations. Besides, after all these years of toeing the line, I think it’s time to live it up, break some noise don’t ya think? 
Warm bright sunshine on a chilly morning at a friend’s garden. By the way can you spot Scoobie?
Come on be a sport, it really isn’t as tough as you make it out to be
There’s Scoobie 
Almost sacrilege to dig into such a work of art don’t you think?
The perfectly made bed at a hotel 😀
My sister’s haircut! Mine is sorta permanent 😉
A game of scrabble – have you played it? Can you redo the words on the board once the game is over? I did it once and my husband still owes me…
The brilliant colors of fall imported from Germany 🙂
Have a super weekend!
Scene at 5.30 pm
And this is the most popular meme doing the rounds these days
Aren’t we all like the little boy peeking curiously at the world around us, trying to make sense and often unsuccessfully.
A ray of sun peeks out through the clouds (not smog!) at the foothills of the Himalayas.
The Sun plays peek-a-boo with the tree
The tiny tree peeks out from behind the taller cousins
Safe in the arms of Mother Nature, the squirrel peeks out
A sneak peak into a folk dance – colorful ladies
and their counterparts
Windows come in all shapes and sizes, with or without balconies and serve all kind of purposes.
As a showcase for art
Or marvel at the thick clouds rolling in from the mountains and wonder if your flight will be on time or perhaps even take off…
And then when the flight does take off, fret – why are all the rivers dry? 
Yet, nowadays I find it more fun to look at windows rather than through windows.
The distorted images remind me of the masks and facades we wear all the time, sometimes even to our own selves.
Because of which we often miss the imminent meltdown until it is too late
Wallowing in our own selves, our vision blurred by our own tears we can no longer appreciate the beauty of the world that has been gifted to us.
It is up to us if we wish to focus on the crack, the skew, the distortion or the serenity of the mighty Ganga as she flows steady and sedate ready to meet her destiny and lose her self in the Bay of Bengal.
Sometimes it is imperative to draw the curtains on our own self and look beyond the self.
We must appreciate and count our blessings as we look out into the world secure and safe while others hang by a thread just so that their bellies are a little bit fuller.
Put on your most comfortable pair of shoes and go for a bit of window shopping! 😀 But wait, why just window shop? While out, loosen your purse strings, spend some dough and spread some cheer this festive season 🙂
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