Tag: Nature

SSC#1: Number of Fences

This my submission to Terri’s Sunday Stills Challenge on fences of any kind. Initially I thought I wouldn’t be able to participate but now I think I have too many.

Entry for humans beyond the fence is offensive to the law of the land and jungle πŸ˜€

“There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.” Will Rogers

You can of course see the fence but it is the gnarly tree that captures one’s attention, isn’t it? Doesn’t she look as if she is involved in some long standing feud with her own self?

“I am a woman in process. I’m just trying like everybody else. I try to take every conflict, every experience, and learn from it. Life is never dull.” Oprah Winfrey

This is another shot another side from the same spot. No sign of conflict here, just peaceful coexistence.

β€œCoexistence reminds us that together we are stronger.” From the internet

A makeshift fence to demarcate private land cultivating precious spices. Can you guess what the long leafed shrub provides?

β€œA green pearl on the banks of the river Periyar in the South-west mountains”. Chanakya wrote in his ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, political science, economic policy and military strategy, Arthashashtra. It was written in Sanskrit in the 1st millennium BCE.

The photo is also taken around the same place as mentioned by Chanakya and is considered the Queen of Spices. I presume you must have guessed it by now – yes, it’s the green cardamom.

Here the audience is fenced out as experts demonstrate the ancient martial art, Kalaripayattu. Originating in Kerala, India, it is one of the oldest surviving martial arts in world. Kalaripayattu differs from many other martial arts systems in the world in that weapon based techniques are taught first, and barehanded techniques are taught last. Elements from the yoga tradition as well as finger movements in the nata dances, were incorporated into Kalaripayattu.

It was truly a treat to watch the masters fight with swords with sparks flying. They were so swift in their actions, from the shot it appears as if they are bare-handed when actually they are using swords.

I hope it was worth your time to visit. Do let me know your favorite photo – if any. Bye.

WLC#40: A Circular Rainbow

Hello, hope you are having a great day. Today, I am participating in the challenge hosted by XingfuMama which is about Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge – It could be anything: a picture or you can go into detail and tell it as a reflection, story or poem.

So it’s a picture with some detail, processing and a poem πŸ™‚

Recently while on an early morning flight, I was surprised and delighted to see a rainbow that was a circle. Frankly, I had never really thought about it before and always considered the rainbow to be a semi-circle (with a pot of gold at the end) πŸ˜€

Apparently, a circular rainbow is a very rare sight, requiring sky conditions to be “just right.” Without any further ado, ta da….

Amazing isn’t it? While this is the original photo, I couldn’t help playing around with the brightness, contrast etc.

Which one do you like better?

Also posting a tanka inspired by this – hope you like

flying high –

the rainbow has no

pot of gold

traveling far and wide I find it

on my couch

Do let me know your thoughts – thanks for visiting and have a super week.

MWWP: Haiku#1

Hello and a very good day to you. I am attempting to participate in Eugi’s Moonwashed Musings Weekly Prompt – Velvety. It can be any variation of the prompt or the image (below).

Today I am attempting a haiku inspired by this image.

About haiku

Haiku, a Japanese form of poetry, in English, is of three lines with a total of 17 syllables (preferably less). Composed of a phrase and a fragment, it captures one or two moments  by using clear and vivid images. A haiku is an unfinished poem – the readers interpret what it means by putting the images together.

A reader should be able to read the haiku and “see” the images from the words. Haiku usually have an “Aha” moment, which portray a spontaneous moment through the juxtaposition of two sharp images, with a reveal or insight or contrast or leap or pun.

Here’s my attempt:

yellow moon

knocks on the balcony window

I bring in the laundry

Well, did it work? Did it create images and a sudden switch? Comments and suggestions welcome.

Thanks for visiting. Have a super weekend.

TankaTuesday #1

Good day to everyone. Another attempt to write tanka while participating in Colleen’s #TankaTuesday challenge where the rules are to to write in any of the 24 syllabic forms of Japanese poetry using a kigo or season word as an inspiration. While there are 24 seasons in Japan, we are allowed to use season words as per our region.

I hope I have understood the rules πŸ™‚

I belong to India and the monsoon season is still lingering around, although I believe it has begun its, albeit belated, withdrawal.

a monsoon shower –

hanging on the long clothesline

sparkling diamonds

thieves break-in to find my cache

of dripping garments

So monsoon is my kigo. While the tanka is not exactly 5/7/5/7/7 syllables, I believe a total of 31 syllables or less is also acceptable. Am I right? Did this work? I also wasnt sure if I was supposed to include the image. Would love to know your thoughts, comments and suggestions.

Thanks for visiting and reading. Have a super day.

WLC#39: The Viewpoint

Hello, hope you are having a grand day. Today I am attempting to participate in a new challenge hosted by XingfuMama which is about Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge – It could be anything: a picture or you can go into detail and tell it as a reflection, story or poem.

I would like to present a true story. It happened on my recent travels to Gavi near Thekkady, Kerala, India, where I found myself guilty of being biased and judgemental.

Here we were at a viewpoint deep in the midst of the rolling gorgeous greenery of the Gavi inside the Ranni reserve forest. The sky was overcast and breeze was cool and I was in seventh heaven of delight. I gobbled up the sights – the short tree, the light green, the stocky one, the balding one, while the driver-cum-guide attempted to spot wildlife for our perusal.

To be honest, there were none. Just a couple of dogs, mom and child, gambolling about. What do they eat in this wilderness I wondered. I was distracted by another jeep load of chattering tourists that drove up to ‘our’ point and disembarked. There goes our peace and silence.

One of the tourists went straight to the parked truck. Can you imagine? At this scenic sight, all he could think of was food? Or perhaps a try at the balloons? Sheesh. I rolled my eyes.

I flushed and cringed at my petty thinking. He had rushed to buy biscuits for the dogs. Hats off to the kind gentleman with his heart in the right place.

β€œIndividuality should be celebrated, not judged.” From the internet

Thanks for visiting. Have a super day.

CWWC: Bridges and Travel Trails

Hello! Hope you are having a super day. I am attempted to participate in Cee’s challenge of Any type of Bridge, where all you need have is a bridge or part of bridge in view. Cee’s photos are super cool (do visit the above link) and I was afraid I wouldnt have any photos to fit the bill. But guess what – I found quite a few and had loads of fun.

Hope you like πŸ™‚

View from the bridge over the mighty and holy Ganga at Haridwar, northern India, with a sculpture of Mahadev in the distance.

From the north we go straight down south of India, Munnar, Kerala. Can you spot the bridge in the distance? That is if you can take your eyes off from the breathtaking greenery? πŸ˜€

Stopped the car on the way to Thekkady, Kerala, also in southern India and walked back half a mile to capture this scenic view from a bridge of another bridge and a quintessential village πŸ™‚

This is another view of a bridge from a bridge but taken this time from the car. This is the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh, central India. Isn’t she a gorgeous color?

Next we go to western India. This is the Doodhsagar falls near Goa. We were lucky to catch a goods train on the bridge.

This is on the way to see the above waterfall. And that’s a natural bridge. Perhaps for the monkeys πŸ˜€

This is an edited photo of the beach at Goa taken from a bridge. I had fun playing around with this one πŸ™‚

This is the orginal photo, just in case you were wondering.

And the final photo is from the Andaman Islands in eastern India to complete the circle with a proper photo of a bridge πŸ˜€

What do you think? Which one is your favorite? Have you visited any of these places? Any place that is on your bucket list? Do let me know if you could spare the time.

Thanks for dropping by – have a super day πŸ™‚

FOTD: An Alien Flower

Hello! Here’s my contribution to Cee’s FOTD challenge. Today, I am here with a flower that looks like an alien. Seriously. Have a look

Doesnt it look like an alien? Once with lots of antennas! πŸ˜€

It’s actually a creeper growing on a frangipani tree, a red one at that. I have usually seen yellow or white ones before

Going back to the alien, anyone know the name?

Thanks for dropping by. Have a great day.

FOTD: Hibiscus

Hello Hello. I am participating in Cee’s photo challenge after a long time. Hope you like πŸ™‚

Isn’t she simply gorgeous?!!!

This one was taken a couple of days later. The color difference is striking isn’t it? Perhaps the time of the day made all the difference?

What do you think?

CFFC: Pink Punch

Hello everyone and welcome to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge where the theme is to have fun with pink!

Here’s some what I gathered from my archives and went down memory lane – thankfully all good one and have great fun. Thank you Cee!

β€œA flower’s appeal is in its contradictions β€” so delicate in form yet strong in fragrance, so small in size yet big in beauty, so short in life yet long on effect.”– Terri Guillemets

I never thought I would find pink in a leaf! And look more pink leaves, just before they turn green.

“Anything is possible with sunshine and a little pink.” – Lilly Pulitzer

A pink building that once upon a time used to be my school – believe it or not!

β€œLove is flower like; Friendship is like a sheltering tree.” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge

And I got both in this photo and life – touch wood πŸ˜€

Which one did you like? Did you notice that I mixed and matched with quotes? Did it work?

Cheers and hope you have a fun and rejuvenating weekend

CMMC: Tree Talk

Hello everyone. It’s been a while since I played any photo challenge and even though it’s not exactly mid week, here are some photos for Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge. I know Cee won’t mind, besides she’s the one who instigated me to have some fun and what else could I come up with but trees and more trees for the challenge. πŸ˜€

β€œAnd into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” – John Muir

“How do you spell ‘love’?” – Piglet. “You don’t spell it. You feel it.” – Pooh

β€œBlessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken.” Albert Camus

“We cannot see our reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.” – Zen Proverb

There were a couple of more trees but I desisted from biting off more from your precious time. πŸ˜€ Thanks for visiting. Have a wonderful weekend.

Psst: Which one’s your favorite? Do let me know.