Happy New Year - 2014

2014 

A Relaxed Mind. 

A Joyful Spirit. 

A Peaceful Soul, 

And 

A Heart Full of Love 

– 

Wish You Get Everything In This New Year. 

Happy New Year! 






Wishing all my readers a very Happy New Year!

Unnamed Forgotten Terracotta Temples, Joypur, West Bengal

Joypur, 18kms from Bishnupur has two reasonably well maintained terracotta temples. The drive through Joypur forest reserve was refreshing and we planned to search out the temples in the interiors of village of Joypur. We had to halt at several place to ask for directions. Finally we did manage to locate the temples. Before I present them to you here are two unnamed, forgotten terracotta temples

Macro of Zinnia

My entry for 'I Heart Macro'.
Macro of a pink Zinnia taken in Lal bagh gardens of Bangalore.





Here is a link to Zinnias: How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Zinnia Flowers

Faces of India - 142

Hardworking artisan! He is Baaya design worker on leather lamp shades. The pic was taken in Hyderabad.

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various
characters of my country whom I met during my travels. See more here.

Raven of Holloko, Hungary

Sighted this huge raven as the road forked in to two, on our way to Holloko. It is a picture perfect village, in the lap of Cserhat Mountains north-east of Budapest, Hungary. (Date was : 9/5/2011)

The Raven is a significant character in the legend that surrounds this village of Holloko. My daughters who are never tired of hearing stories, begged to hear this legend just once more. And I related

Merry Christmas

I wish all my readers a Merry Christmas! 

May the sweet magic of Christmas gladden your hearts!


May you all get your choicest gift from Santa Claus tonight! 

Tarapith - A Shakti Peeth

Shakti Peethas as I explained before in blogposts, are places where body parts of Goddess Sati are believed to have fallen after Lord Shiva refused to give up her dead body. Goddess Sati is believed to have immolated herself after her father Daksha humiliates her husband Lord Shiva. So deep is His love for His wife that He is angry and goes into a trance with Her dead body on his shoulders. Lord

Faces of India - 141

He looked so much like R K Laxman’s Common Man to me; I paused at his shop on the pretext of asking directions. He showed lot of interest in my camera, my purpose of visit and from where I came. Believe me he did smile to me. He looks slightly lost in this picture though. The shot was taken in Asansol, West Bengal.

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various

Facade Details of Begunia Temples, West bengal

See more about these temples in my earlier post:
Begunia Temples of Asansol, West Bengal

The two horses of temples 1 and 2 in the Begunia Temple complex, Asansol. It looked as if for centuries the two horses have been exchanging notes about what is happening there.








Remember this face from Barakar, he was flying paper planes. I saw some of the boys had climbed up the temple to fly their

Better Way With Yoga Tablet

This post is a part of Indiblogger contest

Just a year and half back I was a 100% desk top person. Tablets were being launched in the market, one model after another by different companies as if there is no tomorrow. I being the old fashioned dinosaur hesitated to pick one. I felt it was something the rich wanted to show, a luxury item. Not surprising because it took me very long to become

Conjoined Twin Separation by Apollo Hospital Chennai

Babies are such a nice way to start people. 
~ Don Herold.

And twin babies can only mean double the happiness!

Unfortunately not always! Twins, triplets, quadruplets born with congenial defects and many complications turn the joy to sorrow and worry. Congenial defects in newborns are a cause of high mortality. However with intervention of modern heath facilities and surgical procedures the

Begunia Temples of Barakar, Asansol

The four Begunia Temples are the star attraction of Barakar, they are a must see if you are anywhere around Asansol. All four of them are located in one complex, protected by a big boundary wall, no encroachment should be possible. Barakar is easily approachable by road and we arrived here from Siuri, a distance of approximately 100kms.





The temples are numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4 by ASI. Two of

Faces of India - 140

The resort official of Anala Outdoors resort of Kufri., he is a friendly helpful guy. And yes, he was kind to give a good smile. This picture is straight from camera.

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various
characters of my country whom I met during my travels. See more here.

Birds of Chandigarh Rock Garden

These birds are perched on the boundary wall of Chandigarh’s Rock Garden. The Rock Garden is unique for the kind of art it preserves. Almost every item on display here in the garden here is made from waste but recyclable material. These birds are made from broken ceramic cutlery.

Not only birds, there are animals and human forms made of such waste materials. I will be posting more pictures from

Best of 2013

For Thursday Challenge the theme for this week is ‘Best of 2013’. So here I am sharing the best of mine. This was taken in Chikmagalur during my visit there in Aug 2013. Initially I just liked this picture of mine, later it became my favorite. I had casually put it up in my Facebook Page: Onward journey by Indrani Ghose,  within a week it received 100+ likes.

No other photo of mine has crossed

Bakreshwar - A Shakti Peeth

This is one of the 42 Shakti Peethas in India; 10 in other countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka which makes the count 52. Shakti Peethas are places where body parts of Goddess Sati are believed to have fallen after Lord Shiva refused to give up her dead body. Goddess Sati is believed to have immolated herself after her father Daksha humiliates her husband Lord Shiva. So deep

Baramulla Bomber - A Book Review

The book
Title: Baramulla Bomber
Author: Clark Prasad
Pages: 316
Genre: Science Fiction Espionage Thriller
Publisher: Niyogi Books
MRP: Rs. 395


About the author
Clark Prasad, alter ego of Suraj Prasad, could be called a mixed citizen. Born in Lagos, Nigeria he lived most of his life in New Delhi and educated in Lagos, Delhi, Mangalore, and Kozhikode.
A pharmacist with a management

Faces of India - 139

I was fascinated by her nose ring but she wouldn’t pose for me till I shelled out some money. Finally, for 10 rupees she gave me her million dollar smile! She didn’t phook (smoke a cigarette) for a long time, she said so as she thanked and took the money from me.
The shot was taken in Kufri, Himachal Pradesh.

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various
characters

Sky Watch at Srirangam, Tamil Nadu.

A reddish pink sky bidding farewell to the day! 

Shot taken at Srirangam, Tamil Nadu. 






SkyWatch Friday

Sloping Hills of Koti, Himachal Pradesh

This picture is for Thursday Challenge: Peaceful (Landscape). Each time I try to take a good landscape shot I am conscious of this quote:


“Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disappointment.” by Ansel Adam (American Photographer, 1902-1984) 

This was taken on our way to Chail from Kufri at Koti. The valley looked calm and peaceful, the

Motichur Mosque, Rajnagar, Birbhum

To north of Hetampur Town in Birbhum district is Rajnagar. Rajnagar was ruled by a series of Pathans from 17th century. Their names: Jonad Khan (1600) - son, Bahadur Khan, alias Ranmast Khan - Asadullah Khan (1697-1718), grandson of Bahadur Khan - his son, Badi-uz-zaman Khan (1718–52) - his son, Asad-uz-Zaman Khan (1752-1777).




They were invested with the title ‘Raja’. The last Raja was

A Single Rose

This picture seems to be saying:


A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.

Leo Buscaglia





Today's Flowers

Faces of India - 138

The curious, inquisitive look: Why my photo! An auto rickshaw driver in Birbhum district, West Bengal.

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various
characters of my country whom I met during my travels. See more here.

Sriranga Vimana, Ranganathswamy Temple

While in Srirangam I lost track of the number of gopurams I crossed. Sriranganathswamy Temple is enclosed by 7 concentric walls and along the walls are gopurams, there are 21 of them. (Gopurams are towers at the entrance of the temple.) You have to take a walk of 6 miles along the walls if you wish to photograph all the gopurams. Small vehicles are allowed till the third wall and from here on

Dewanji Temple, Hetampur

The Chandranath Shiva temple was good find in our quest for the old terracotta temples. This part of Hetampur town was well known for 3 terracotta temples: one, the Chandranath Shiva Temple, two Dewanji Temple (I am posting on this here) and three, Gol Mandir, which does not exist any more. Thanks to a land shark there!

We walked up and down this lane in search of this Dewanji Temple. Each

Faces of India - 137

He looked tired to me, but he cheered up the moment I took the camera to take his picture. After he saw his pic in the camera he asked if I was going to put in newspapers. When I told him it was for computer he seemed slightly disappointed, “Oh! Then I will not be able to see.” Many times I have got this same response and I feel so helpless at that moment. Common man too want newspaper

An Immune India

A school’s attendance register is the best indication of how healthy the kids of the school are. Many such school attendance records all over the country gives a good picture of how healthy the children of our country are! Often it is observed during change of season, say summer to monsoons, the attendance in classes go down to almost 50%. Common cold spreads like wild fire, and active fun

Chandranath Shiva Temple, Hetampur, West Bengal

From Ilambazar we drove to Hetampur, a dust covered, sleepy, remote town just to see two forgotten terracotta temples. This post is on Chandranath Shiva Temple. While it features in the ASI list of protected monuments in West Bengal, I am sure not a single Indian Rupee is spent on its maintenance. Almost the whole of its surface area is covered with black dried moss, with patches of reddish

Developmental Care of Premature Babies

17th of November is World Prematurity Day. World Prematurity Day was founded in May 2010 in New York by The European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (EFCNI), Little Big Souls International Charitable Foundation for Africa and March of Dimes, US. This post is written to generate some awareness about this topic of premature births.

The problem

Babies born before 37 weeks of gestation

Faces of India - 136

A security guard in the hotel we stayed in Chikmagalur, Karnataka. He claimed he was from north of India, staying in Karanataka for past some years. I appreciated his moustache.

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various
characters of my country whom I met during my travels. See more here.

Rajagopuram, Srirangam, Tamil Nadu

Yet another famous Gopuram of Srirangam is the Rajagopuram (the royal temple tower). It is the latest addition to the centuries old temple. The construction commenced in May 1979 and was completed in March 1987. This Rajagopuram is famous because it holds the record of being the tallest Gopuram in the world. Wiki mentions its height at 243 meters. Rajagopuram rises from the base area of around

Get Your Own Ferrari

LEGO! How does it sound to you? Does it deliver you happiness? Does it bring back a load of childhood memories? Do you get that urge to play once more with those bricks?

I had a mix of those emotions when I read my invite for “the exclusive preview of LEGO collection of Ferrari cars”. Shell, one of world’s leading fuel, oil and lubricant company, introduced 6 exclusive Ferrari model LEGO

Alpona with Flowers

Last week’s Alpona for Diwali celebrations by me in front of my house.

Alpona is done with liquidy rice flour paste. A small piece of cloth is dipped in it and designs are drawn by gently squeezing the wet cloth with rice flour paste as you draw the design. When the water dries off the design stands out white and clear. I am not an expert at it, but some how managed to get some kind of decent

Faces of India - 135

A group of school boys on educational tour at Rock Garden of Chandigarh, eager to be photographed, eager to talk. A lively bunch! (The three boys to your left in the picture are young Sikh boys.)


Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various
characters of my country whom I met during my travels. See more here.





as on 12th Nov 2013.

Vellayi Gopuram, Srirangam, Tamil Nadu

Vellayi Gopuram or the white tower (gate) is at the eastern entrance of Srirangam Temple. This tower is very different from all other towers of the temple, as it is the only one in monochrome that too white.

The word Vellayi means white, but it also represents the name of a Devdasi who sacrificed her life to protect the idol of the temple. The story is real and interesting. In the year 1323,

Anjaneyar Temple, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu

I was blogging on my tour in West Bengal, a pause to that, this post will be on Anjaneyar Temple in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu.

 Last week enroute Srirangam, a temple town of Tiruchirapalli we halted at Namakkal. This town too has some temples more than 1000 years old with very interesting stories. Anjaneyar temple is dedicated to Lord Anjaneyar who was known as Hanuman in Ramayan. (He has different

Happy Diwali

I wish all my readers a very happy, safe and eco friendly Diwali! 

Faces of India - 134

Come rain or shine, we have to work for our daily living… they seemed to be saying through their smiles. Shot of two coffee estate workers in Chikmagalur, Karnataka. Note that while one had a proper raincoat on, the other had one made of plastic sack.

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various
characters of my country whom I met during my travels. See more here

Gopuram at Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli

I am just back from tour of the temple town of Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. I visited the Sri Ranganathswamy Temple here. A magnificent temple, I will be posting on it soon.

Here is a skywatch shot for you from there. This shot of gopuram (gate) was taken from the view point on the roof top of a small structure in the temple complex. The dome of the gopuram looked magnificent against the pink

Terracotta Temples of Ilambazar, West Bengal

This post has pictures of two other terracotta temples from Ilambazar. During the 17th and 18th century when these temples were constructed, the tradition was landlords or rich businessmen who were doing well in life constructed such temples for the locals. After all they had to show their authority in the society then. As time passed the maintenance and care of these temples passed on to the

Chakra: Chronicles of the Witch Way - A Book review

The book 
Title: Chakra- Chronicles of witch way
Author: Ritu Lalit
Pages: 319
Paperback
Publisher: Author's Empire Publications, Delhi
MRP: Rs 245.

About the author
Ritu Lalit is multi talented; she is a keen observer of life, a voracious reader, a parent, a blogger, an author and also an office worker. Chakra is her third book. Her other two books are: A Bowlful of Butterflies published

Faces of India - 133

Can you guess how he makes his living? He is a turmeric crusher. He had machines for other grains too, but since turmeric stains other ingredients this one was specifically meant for turmeric. I met him in Ilambazar, West Bengal.

Faces of India, a series through which I intend to portray the various
characters of my country whom I met during my travels. See more here.

Keyhole View of Rhine Valley, Switzerland

Okay, not exactly a keyhole view, but an upturned keyhole view.

These pictures are of Rhine valley, Switzerland. The weather was perfect that day. The bridge you see in the distance is the rail line connecting to this valley. You can see more pics at Rhine Falls.





Below is the flat scenic view of the valley. The scene is beautiful, but the top one is better , no?




Thursday Challenge:

Hat Tala temple, Ilambazar, West Bengal

From Surul we left for Ilambazar which too had some old terracotta temples. Having read about these crumbling temples the main motive was to capture them in bytes before time can complete its ruining effect on them. The distance is 15kms approx. Reaching Ilambazar was easy but the real task was finding out the hidden temples.

Ilambazar was once a very prosperous town dealing various

Faces of India - 132

Here I have the picture of taxi driver who drove us around in West Bengal, 700 kms approx in 12 days. The patience he had to take us through the congested lanes and by lanes of the various towns we visited, getting directions from locals, finding eateries; we are thankful to him for everything and for the safe journey we had there. The picture is straight from camera.

Faces of India, a

Sunset near Siuri, West Bengal

These shots were taken on our way back from Tarapith temple to Siuri, where we halted for night. Vast stretches of vacant land on either side of road and Sun was nearing its touchdown point, we paused to take a few pictures. Even when I was framing the scene I was not happy with the ‘not so exciting’ elements in it. This was taken in ‘landscape’ mode.





After taking few pics I decided to

Durga Pujo Pandal Hopping

Bangalore today has 53(approx) Durga Pujas held by various associations across the city. The usual practice of Bengalis is having bhog (community lunch) in one of the pandals (association) and go pandal hopping (often done in the company of friends or family).

Around a decade back I remember visiting 18 pandals in this city Bangalore. Today with the amount of traffic on roads it is difficult

Faces of India - 131

She is a school girl, in her 10th grade in a school in Sunderbans. Notice that her school uniform is “sari”. I asked her if she didn’t feel uncomfortable in attending school wrapped in that 5 yards of cloth called sari. She smiled and admitted that they did feel uncomfortable. I further asked her why doesn’t she tell the school authorities and ask for a change in uniform, to which she

Frames From Hampi

Hampi is a photographer’s delight! The rocky terrain, the river flowing by for sunsets and sun rises, the ruins of the temples; all are so photogenic that you are always impressed by your own photography. Barring a few functioning temples, the whole of Hampi is welcome to cameras!

Rains, cloudy dramatic clouds or skies devoid of clouds; don’t really matter, you just click! Golden hours like sun

The Guardian Angels - A Book Review

The book
Title: 'The Guardian Angels'
Author: Rohit Gore
ISBN: 9789381841280
Genre: Romance/Fiction
Publisher: Grapevine India
Price: INR 125