Category: Photo Challenge

CFFC: Kolam

If you are a regular visitor to my blog you may have noticed that I have already published my photos for this week’s fun foto challenge hosted by Cee on Looking Down on Things. But as I mentioned, I have a few more photos to share on this topic.

I opted for a separate post for these photos because they are an insight into Indian art, thought, philosophy and way of life.

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In many parts of India (and Asia), patterns are created on the floor in living rooms or courtyards using materials such as colored rice, dry flour, colored sand or flower petals. Usually these patterns (rangoli or alpana) are made on the occasion of religious festivals and auspicious functions such as weddings. But in South India, these drawings called kolam (among other things depending on region) are made in front of the house, every morning.

rangoli2Kolams are not only decorative but are also believed to bring prosperity. Kolams were traditionally made of coarse rice flour – it serves as food for ants so that they don’t have to walk too far for a decent meal. It is also an invitation to birds and other smaller creatures. Kolams symbolize thinking beyond the self; the philosophy that the greatest joy is in giving rather than receiving. Only if you give, will you receive.And no one is too poor to feed another or welcome another.

rangoli4Every morning, women of the house clean their homes, courtyard, road and draw patterns with rice flour. The kolams are generally drawn while the surface is still damp so the design will hold better. As a child I remember watching Aunty as she drew bigger and bigger patterns without moving from her crouched position on the floor with just a flick of her wrist holding the rice powder between her thumb and forefinger. It was like magic.

rangoli1Walking back from the beach after witnessing a breathtaking sunrise, I was taken aback to see kolams on the road. The streets were deserted now but soon they would be bustling with activity. The patterns were sure to be trampled upon – why would anyone deliberately let their work of art be destroyed?

It was only later that I began to see the glimmerings of the deeper philosophy behind this tradition. Kolams on the road symbolize the impermanence of life and everything in it. It is a daily reminder to go ahead with our tasks without being attached to it.

Today’s work won’t last forever, be prepared to do it over and over again, all the days of your life. Be grateful for the new day, this life and another opportunity to create a new kolam, once again.

CFFC: Looking Down

This week Cee wants us to lower our gazes and have fun while doing so. So here I am off on my travels keeping my eyes firmly on the ground 😉

Ready? Steady? Po…yep off to Pondicherry or Puducherry as it is now known as:

bag-airportThis cool bag caught my bleary barely open eyes in the wee hours of the morning.

20170217_052624Look what I got fooling around with the photo – cool isnt it? Anyway on with the trip

flightLooking down on sunrise was quite an experience

hotelA glimpse of the hotel lobby on the 6th floor.

pondyLooking down on the roof tops, I squinted as I tried to decipher where the sky ended and the sea began…

seaAt the beach, to catch the sunrise – the camera took this shot when I wasn’t looking.

spaAnd finally, we come a full circle – back at the airport. On the floor, a flower arrangement outside a spa.

But that’s not all from me  😉

If Cee allows, I would like to have another edition of looking down

Thanks for joining me on this gig – do share your thoughts, views and opinions 🙂

COB: Sweet Dreams

I clicked this photo on my recent travels and thought it deserved a post of its own.

scootyClearly he doesn’t much care for the stone floor, bird feed or the creepy crawlies. 😀

I thought it was quite apt for Cee’s Odd Ball Photo Challenge – what do you think?

CFFC: Let’s Face It

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge theme this week is about things that look like faces. A very interesting topic don’t you think? I remember as children when we went out family trips, my sister and I would hang out of the window and laugh at the ‘faces’ made by passing vehicles – especially trucks and buses. They really look different and funny. Have a look next time when you are on an ‘are we there yet‘ zone. Hmm come to think of it it was Ma who told us about the faces 😀

Anyhow, here are a few ‘faces’ from my archives:

cake

A smiley cake with a blue nose – baked by my 12-year old niece

otterfaceAn ‘otter’ in the woods

skeleton-buildingA double mouthed skeleton or perhaps that’s the nose and the mouth is busy eating up the earth…

 

tree-mouth

She looks about ready to swallow anything and everything in her path doesnt she?

tree-manCan you see the Tree Man standing guard in the distance?

hatAccessories can do wonders for your looks 😉

Thanks for visiting – do let me know which one is your favorite 🙂

APWC: Zoom In

We recently visited the Golconda Fort near Hyderabad, India where we had glimpses and insights into the lives of people who lived centuries ago. Nancy’s A Photo A Week theme this week is of Details – exactly what I was looking for to showcase some of the interesting things we saw:)

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This is the entrance to the Golconda Fort (of Kohinoor diamond fame). This path was meant for kings and nobles but our path lies elsewhere. Just alongside (on the left to be precise):

barrack

A view of the barracks where the soldiers were housed. Pretty barren and lackluster do you think? Let’s look around.

entranceThe entrance to the barracks – actually to be honest I took this photo because of the tree 😉

shelves

On the other side are the shelves for soldiers to keep their artillery and other stuff.

holder1See that protrusion with a hole? That was for holding flame torches for light.

holder2Another flame torch holder on the other side. The walls look rather bare and utilitarian don’t they? As I mentioned, this section was meant for soldiers. The Royalty didn’t much care for the fumes of the flame torches. Besides, the flames charred the walls which again offended their sensibilities. Hence they had other ideas.

diamond

The intricate decorations on the inner palace walls – which was originally diamond studded. A single candle was enough to light up the whole room.

wall

The Royalty lived in luxury and left no stone unturned their comfort. This came to light when the walls broke revealing water pipes for carrying hot and cold water to the city and fortress built on a granite hill that is 120 meters (480 ft) high.

The water was heated in a wood furnace and pumped up using hand cranks. Phew!

Hope you enjoyed the detailed tour.

Thanks for visiting and sharing your thoughts.

Have a super week.

CFFC: Crawl or Fly

Cee’s fun foto challenge this week (I am determined not to be late!) is all about Crawling or Flying.

So let’s see what I managed to dig out this week. 😉

crawl-caveCrawling through the limestone caves.

truck-crawlA truck inching its way on to a ferry

tractorI just love this tractor which haunts our campus. There’s something about it – the shiny bright blue contrasting with the rusty trailer as it rumbles sedately lugging something or the other or as it waits patiently to be loaded…no? Don’t much care for it?

shikaraI am sure you would enjoy a leisurely shikara ride on the picturesque Dal lake, Srinagar. Hmm perhaps I have shared this photo before – time to fly 😉

road-flagFlying banners decorate the road

flagsMore colorful flags flying in the wind (and the green T-shirt guy’s hair too 😀

tree-legI saved this one for the last. Doesn’t the tree look as if she is going to leg it any moment?

Thanks for visiting and for letting me know your favorite 🙂

For readers of A Tangled Web here's Part 5

CB&W: A Musical Story

Cee’s black and white photo challenge theme for last week was Music. I am worse than late this week, but in my defense it’s been a super busy week plus I was traveling. Hunting through my archives I could find only one photo, which fit the bill. Ironical since my house is littered with musical instruments – guitar, Mohan veena, sitar, piano, tabla and I distinctly remember buying a mouth organ too.

Before you get the wrong idea I must add that I am quite tone-deaf but my son has the ‘feel’ for music – and I think he plays very well. 🙂 Well no, I am not really being partial – he won a music scholarship during his school days. But what I really wanted to share with you was the way he was introduced to music. Since I am not really musically inclined, I would have never thought of pushing him towards music. But fate has a way of taking the right turns and sort of forcing your hand.

When my son was about seven years old, he suddenly turned obsessive about me. It was winter days and it would get dark by 5 pm. Quite all of a sudden, he started calling me up at the office demanding that I come home immediately. Once he even dragged his octogenarian grandfather to the campus gate to escort me home. I tried to get to the bottom of the matter and set up a minor grilling session.

I saw the glimmerings of light when he muttered, “Bad things happen in car parks.”

Darn it – that’s what comes out of encouraging children to read the newspaper.

Some urgent damage control was needed so I began hunting for some suitable distraction. But what? I had not time to take him anywhere for anything. It would have to be something at home.

“Would you like to learn music?” I asked having bumped into a music teacher at a friend’s house.

He wore a thoughtful look. “Does he have a mustache?”

Of all the things!

“Hmm. Not sure. I think so.”

“Okay.” He went back to his comic. “But only if he has a mustache.”

musicI wonder if these guys have mustaches?

Or more importantly did they have any such preconditions before they started learning music 😀 How about you – do you know of any one with peculiar preconditions to do doing something? Do share 🙂

Thanks for visiting!

 

CFFC: Inside Out

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week is about Inner and Outer. Come join me as I weave in and out of here and there 😉

kalimpongInside a hotel suite in Kalimpong, West Bengal

gandhi-ashramInside Gandhiji’s room in Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad.

city-palaceAn insider’s view of the outside of the City Palace, Udaipur, Rajasthan India.

outsideOr would you prefer an evening view?

banglesInside view of a bangle shop in Punjab. Newly married girls wear the entire ‘cylinder’ of bangles (comprising of individual rings). If you like you can read more about the custom here

treeCaught up in the frenzy of Cee’s photo challenges, the termites obligingly nibbled away the outside of this tree to give us an inside view 😉

Hope you had fun – which one is your favorite?

 

COB: Of This & That

It’s been a while since I posted Oddballs but nevertheless, since you are here, how about a cup of coffee?

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One for you and one for me 😉

Now cast your eye upwards (after you scroll down)

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I liked the wall decor but I couldn’t quite make out what the flying yellow man is doing up there. Providing competition to Spiderman and his ilk? And speaking of yellow…

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Truly I had no intentions of capturing him this yellow man and wanted to delete the photo. But I found it weird that he is apparently jogging at a popular tourist attraction in Vienna – Schönbrunn Palace.

Odd isn’t it? But then again the palace grounds are extensive, perhaps he thought of killing two birds with one stone – sightseeing while working out 😀

What do you think?

Have a great weekend and thanks for visiting.

For readers of Moonshine, here's Chapter 117 and A Tangled Web -2

CB&W: Hampi

Cee’s black and white challenge for this week is Sculptures, Statues and Carvings. I bring two photos, a bit of history and one of (innumerable) favorite mythological stories.

Both, the sculpture and the carving is from the ruined sprawling town of Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage site at Karnataka, India. It was one of the richest and largest cities in the world during its prime and part of Vijayanagar, the capital of the Vijayanagar Empire.

narasingh2

The Lakshmi Narasimha statue, built in 1528 A.D. is crafted from a single boulder of granite. The statue, which is 6.7 meters tall, is also referred as Ugra Narasimha (or Narasimha in its terrifying form).

Narasimha, as can be seen from the sculpture is half human (nara) and half lion (simha). He has the face and claws of a lion, and torso and lower body of a human.

The sculpture depicts Narasimha sitting on the coils of Adishesha, the king of all snakes, which rises behind him with its seven hoods. The original sculpture had the figure of his consort, Goddess Lakshmi, sitting on his lap. If you look closely, the broken arm of the Goddess can be seen encircling Narasimha’s waist on the right side. The gigantic statue was vandalized and mutilated in 1565 A.D. during the raid by the Mughals. The limbs of the statue were broken and figure of Lakshmi was separated.  The horizontal band around the knees was added later to give support to the sculpture.

narasingh1

This is another depiction of Narasimha on the wall of a temple at Hampi.There is a fascinating story behind this portrayal – of Narasimha disemboweling a person on his thighs.

But first a quick background.

Lord Vishnu, the Preserver of this world is said to have taken the form of man and descended to earth many a time to destroy evil and restore cosmic order. Rama, Krishna and Buddha are the seventh, eighth and ninth avatars of Vishnu. The tenth and final avatar – Kalki avatar has been foretold to appear at the end of this epoch, riding a white horse, carrying a sword, blazing like a comet. But that is in the future, when the world will end. And begin anew.

Coming to the story of Narasimha, in his third avatar as Varaha (boar), Lord Vishnu killed the demon Hiranayaksha. Wishing to avenge the death of his younger brother, Hiranyakashipu, undertook ages of austere penance to obtain the boon of immortality. But Brahma refused this boon as death is inevitable for whoever is born. Brahma urged Hiranyakashipu to ask for any other boon.

Determined to obtain immortality, Hiranyakashipu tries to trick Brahma into granting him immortality. He laid down certain conditions for his death – he should not die within a house or outside, during the day or during the night, not on the ground nor in the sky. He should not be killed by any weapon, nor by any human or animal, or any entity living or nonliving created by Brahma. He should be invincible to any demigod, demon or any snake. He also demanded sole lordship over all living entities, presiding deities and mystic powers.

Brahma granted him his heart’s desire and vanished.

Thus armed, Hiranyakashipu wrecked havoc in the three worlds and because of his boon, was invincible and unstoppable. By a twist of fate and to his fury, Hiranyakashipu’s son Prahlada was a devotee of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu’s hatred of the Vishnu ran so deep that he decided to kill his own son. But each time his attempts were foiled by Vishnu’s mystical powers. Hiranyakashipu attempted to browbeat his son into acknowledging his father as the supreme lord of the universe but Prahlada refused saying that Vishnu was the one who was all pervading and omnipresent.

Hiranyakashipu laughed and pointed to a pillar in his palace, “Does He reside here too?”

Prahlada said, “He does.”

Unable to control his wrath, Hiranyakashipu smashed the pillar with his mace in the twilight hour (which is neither day nor night). Narasimha, the fourth avatar of Lord Vishnu, emerged from the pillar. He was neither beast nor human. He dragged Hiranyakashipu to the threshold of the courtyard, (neither indoors nor outdoors). Narasimha put Hiranyakashipu on his thighs (neither the earth nor space) and using his fingernails (neither animate or inanimate) he disemboweled the demon and relieved mankind from Hiranyakashipu’s reign of terror and torture.

Thanks for visiting – hoping that you will leave me a note too 🙂

For readers of Moonshine, here's Chapter 114 and Calvin and Hobbes