Faces of India - 185

The shepherd desperately trying to keep his herd to one side of the road; it is no small road but the national highway NH4. They manage to slow down fast moving traffic successfully much to the irritation of the travelers. I use the opportunity to take some shots. 

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

Beach Watching in Goa

A not so sunny sky, cool breeze sounds perfect for beach activities. But for those colorful umbrellas and parachute the sky would have looked dull.








While all were relaxing there was somebody keeping a watch. Several life guards sat alert for the safety of beach goers. ‘What a wonderful job they are having!’ I thought. Sit and watch the beach whole time and do the noble deed of rescuing

Jessant Valley Holiday Homes, Goa

The weekend at Goa was made memorable by the hospitable staff at Jesant Valley Holiday Homes. I stayed there with my family (4 members), the two rooms we got had ideal yet contrasting balcony views. While one was pool facing the other balcony opened to the beautiful green Jesant valley. I spent some quality time here in the mornings, doing pranayams, breathing in fresh air. I couldn’t believe

Faces of India - 184

One of the residents of Athangudi mansion in Chettinad, he showed us around the huge mansion. Times have changed and survival along with maintenance of the huge mansion with not enough grants from the government is becoming difficult – he said. He sounded very worried.
 

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

Road Trip To Goa in Car

This Diwali will be celebrated in Goa!

We are doing a road trip to Goa in car, a distance of 556km from Bangalore. Google has timed this distance as 9hrs and we are hoping not to exceed this. This will be the first time we will be doing such a long stretch in one go, may be halt for some time to catch a bite. The road conditions are good for more than 95% of the distance we are told and hoping

Chettinad Festival

During my visit to Chettinad I witnessed their ‘Sevvai Perum Tiruvizha (Tuesday big fair)’ festival. How different it was! Big sized terracotta models of horses and cows, freshly painted and decorated with flowers were lined up and worshiped.

Cows are worshiped, that is understandable because they are considered holy! But I witnessed horses being worshiped for the first time.







There is an

Diwali - A Time For Family

Diwali – the word is synonymous with lights, sweets and crackers! Most part of my childhood and teens’ diwali festival was celebrated at home with a good combination and overdose of all these ingredients. It was a bonus when cousins too dropped in. Couple of times I had burnt my fingers, totally ignorant of safety factors and also too enthusiastic about the whole thing. There was no concept of

Faces of India - 183

She is a student doing tourism and travel management course. I met her in Bishnupur, when she came seeking answers for a questionnaire she had prepared. This was a part of her curriculum where she had to report based on the survey questions she had for the tourists visiting Bishnupur, West Bengal. I struck a deal with her to pose for my FOI series in return for the answers. She happily

Jayamahal Durga Puja, Bangalore

Can you guess where this picture was clicked without scrolling down? 








This was taken in my own Bangalore city!

The pandals that come up during Durga puja in different parts of the city are usually very sober and traditional types. This year Jayamahal Puja pandal was different. It took up ‘Egypt’ as theme. The entrance was through a model of sphinx, the pandal top was like that of an

Habanero Koramangala, Bangalore

Habanero is out with its new TexMex menu. Habanero does this quite often and it is good both for the restaurant functioning and also for the customers who come looking for authentic flavors in different preparations. I have been to two of their outlets in Bangalore and I must say that no matter where the outlet, the recipes don’t vary, the ingredients don’t change. The menu doesn’t include ‘

My Sushi Making Experience

I always thought the exotic Sushi is too complicated to make. So when the chef at ITC Gardenia was giving a lesson on sushi making I happily followed it up. The sushi rice mix was done previously, so what exactly went to the mix is not known to me. I think it is the chef’s secret. I googled to find that rice vinegar, sugar and salt goes into the sushi rice mix.








The rice mix was shaped

Ramada Encore Hotel, Bangalore

Recently I was at the opening of the new Ramada Encore hotel in Domlur, Bangalore. This is Wyndham Hotel Group’s first venture in Bangalore. Obviously they are targeting the corporate group. They are also targeting the medical tourism sector which is growing by leaps and bounds due to high sophisticated hospitals in the city. It has 90 rooms and is located in the Central Business District of

Faces of India - 182

I was in lot of dilemma for a long time whether to post the pics together, finally I did post. Both the pics were taken on the same day at different places of Bangalore city without their knowledge from a distance. I find a lot of contrasts in both the pics. While the man, attired in evidently poor clothes, carrying a load looked happy and carefree, also amused at something, the elderly

California Pizza Kitchen, Bangalore

A month long International Pizza & Beer Carnival is on!

The mood is all set for foodies and beer lovers as California Pizza Kitchen, Bangalore gets ready to allure them for a variety of choices with the Pizza & Beer Carnival. The classic restaurant, with taste inspired from many countries, is ready to serve its patrons with the best of world flavors throughout this month long carnival.

Mexico

Yauatcha, MG Mall, MG Road, Bangalore

A Michelin-starred restaurant from London, Yauatcha is now present in Bengaluru. Yauatcha is a dim sum tea house which started its first Indian operation in Mumbai in December 2011. We, the food connoisseurs and aficionados of Bangalore got to experience this authentic international dining experience since 16th September 2013.
Yauatcha is located at the bustling heart of the city at #1 MG

Durga Puja 2014 Puja Pandals, Bangalore

The first part. 

It is the eyes of Ma Durga that fascinates me the most. Each pandal I go I try to observe the expression and feelings depicted by the eyes. Ma Durga is actually in a very angry mood while slaying Mahisasur, the demon in the form of buffalo. The artists while painting the eyes must have definitely tried to convey the emotions. But then only few come anywhere near the angry

Photo Essay on Puja Pandals of 2014, Bangalore

When it is Durga Puja time of the year, Bengalis are in a frenzy celebrating the 4 days. Besides worship and prayers, eating and pandal hopping becomes major activities. (Pandals are places where the resident Bengalis of that area get together, contribute and worship Goddess Durga.)

This year I could make it to 11 pujas in the city scattered in various parts of the city. Here are 4 of them.

Faces of India - 181

You all know him, don’t you? 

Yes, the little boy is doing the role of Mahatma Gandhi in a tableau. (Oct 2nd was Gandhi Jayanti: Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday.) The shot was taken during Independence Day celebrations in a school in the outskirts of Tumkur district, Karnataka.

 

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

Krishna Raja Sagara Dam, Mysore

Krishna Raja Sagara Dam is another hotspot to visit if you are in Mysore as a tourist. The gardens are done up beautifully and what adds to the charm there are the numerous fountains. We were there late evening when the sun had set and darkness was sinking in. The garden was lit up.

 The major attraction here in the evenings is the musical fountain display of one hour from 7PM to 8PM. There is

Ma Durga Descends

Ma Durga descends on earth to fight and conquer the evil.

Bengalis worship Ma Durga along with her children. The idols are placed together. Her son Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi to her right and Lord Kartikeya and Goddess Saraswati to her left.

The pics were taken at Ulsoor Bengali association, Bangalore.









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Together: Thursday Challenge