...and in to the trees!

To the Mozart of Poetry

2012-02-02T02:31:00.000-08:00

"A cloud made of people moved over the land,
a big cloud gives a small rain, one tear,
a small rain-one tear, a dry season.
Tracks lead off into black forest."

- Wislawa Szymborska

Bleak are the days...

2012-02-02T00:03:00.000-08:00

To help our Bleaker Parts
Salubrious Hours are given
Which if they do not fir for Earth
Drill silently for Heaven

- Emily Dickinson

Flying high

2012-01-29T22:21:00.000-08:00

I was harnessed and tethered
tied to the earth, not truly free
but I soared, for a few moments
minutes of flight, steering
winds in the current
the thermals, like the
broad-winged raptors
of this place, eagle and owl,
birds of prey
Airborne in a cocoon,
chrysalid body,
unable to grasp, clutch
prey or perch,
but I was flying

- Raymond A. Foss

Rock in the Sea

2012-01-28T03:21:00.000-08:00

...
Think how we sailed up-wind, the brine
Tasting of daphne, the enormous wave
Thundering in the water cave—
Thunder in stone. And how we beached the skiff
And climbed the coral of that iron cliff
And found what only in our hearts we’d heard—
The silver screaming of that one, white bird...

Archibald MacLeish

Meghasandesham

2011-11-05T02:35:00.000-07:00

History beat

2011-11-05T02:31:00.000-07:00

A security personnel keep vigil at Humayun Tomb, Delhi.

Prayer and wheels

2011-11-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

Buddhists make a beautiful blend of the two most primary inventions of human race- the wheel and God. Prayer wheels,made of wood and covered with metal sheets with Buddhist mantras etched in, are a common at public places of Bhutan. These wheels set the rhythm of the happy, slow paced life of the Himalayan nation.

Yellow Pages

2011-04-06T02:58:00.003-07:00

Winter was round the corner. The restaurant in Tandin Hotel, Thimphu sported a wide beautiful window painted yellow with autumn vines.

Mahayana

2011-03-28T22:40:00.001-07:00

Cycling in Bhutan

2011-03-23T23:39:00.000-07:00

Steep mountain climbs, deep downhill lanes, falling rocks, frequently sinking highways, thick air...the Bhutanese terrain makes it almost impossible for cycling. But,for the cyclist with a penchant for adventure and for a slow, meditative liking for the soulful travel, the country has everything...pure calm air, refreshing vegetation, cool Himalayan breeze with the scent of apple and pine, easy easy surroundings. Wild herbs with surprise flowers even on the verge of Winter.
But it's not easy to find bicycles on the sleepy roads of Bhutan. And renting one would cost you a fortune.

Art cafe

2011-03-18T23:04:00.000-07:00

painted window panes of a Thimphu restaurant. Local artists draw floral designs, dragons and decorated penis on the walls and windows to bring good luck. In Tandin hotel, I often woke up in the middle of the chilly night to see flying thunder dragons stare at me on the walls. Dragons, lions spitting fire, leopards on prowl with fiery tales...
To the Bhutanese,daily exposure to these scary beasts is a preemptive strategy. On its way to heaven, devils would resort to all sorts of mean tricks to scare the soul. If the soul lose the calm on the way, it won't reach heaven. It can not get back to earth either and would be doomed to wander aimlessly in between, always taunted by evil spirits.
These dragon paintings strengthen the soul to face the devils on the way to heaven.

Street prayers

2011-03-10T06:08:00.000-08:00

A monk offering his prayers on the busy street of Thimphu.Eyes closed shut and ears tightly bound, he kept of chanting for days, mantras that echoed with in him,like a wind caught in a tunnel.

Temple of the newborn

2011-01-22T02:44:00.000-08:00

Thimphu

Farmers' Market

2011-01-08T21:47:00.000-08:00

Farmers' Market, Thimphu

Flying Roofs - II

2011-01-06T09:54:00.000-08:00

Taj Hotel, Thimphu

flying roofs

2011-01-05T07:10:00.000-08:00

scare- devil

2010-12-12T21:19:00.000-08:00

This colourful woolen decorative is another means to ward off evil. A scene from the temple in Thimphu where devotees pray for the wellness of their new born. The deity of this temple is considered the guardian Budha of all children born in the valley and the new born is brought here to be 'christened' and each child is named Tandin!

Budham saranam

2010-12-01T05:01:00.000-08:00

Thimpu morning with the biggest Buddha statue in Padmasana posture is being built on the hilltop in the background.
The Buddha Dordenma project, a 138.6-foot-tall Shakyamuni Buddha statue (inclusive of lotus) seated on a 62-foot-tall throne. Buddha Dordenma (meaning Vajra-throned Buddha) symbolizes peerless virility to bestow blessings, peace, and happiness on the whole world.

dragon home

2010-11-30T22:29:00.000-08:00

School kids

2010-11-26T02:10:00.000-08:00

Bhutanese School children walk past a plaited bamboo wall in Thimpu, the capital city.

Reason to bunk: Boys in uniform look at the new film posters. Just like the posters the films are also low glam, low-cost Digi.DV productions, except one or two on celluloid.

Red Rice Valley

2010-11-22T23:08:00.000-08:00

Red Rice valleys of Paro, the airport district of Bhutan. Fed by glacial rivers, the fertile valley rich in minerals traditionally grows one of the most expensive rice varieties.

> more pics from Bhutan

Mount Everest

2010-11-20T19:45:00.000-08:00

Mt.Everest From Druk Air.

Interestingly, the summit now has permanent 3G mobile facility.

> more pictures from Bhutan

prayers to the wind

2010-11-20T05:39:00.000-08:00

Prayer flags big, small and of different hues welcome you to the beautiful Land of the Thunder Dragon.
The winds of the valley, they believe, would carry the mantras scribbled on these flags to the heaven.
Always chanting the divine mantras, the flags flutter up above the valleys and across the rivers.

Interestingly, the ritual has a flip side too. unscrupulous felling of pine trees for the flag posts. Hence, the government has stepped in with norms of scientific felling to cut down the rate of deforestation.

> more pictures from Bhutan

Himalayan peaks

2010-11-18T21:29:00.000-08:00

A scene from Druk Air
> more pictures from Bhutan

mountain roads

2010-11-18T09:17:00.000-08:00

Bhutanese Mountain paths as seen from Druk Air
> more pictures from Bhutan

Through the window

2010-11-17T07:41:00.000-08:00

From Druk Air, on the way from Kolkatta to Paro.
> more pictures from Bhutan

the election Thamasa

2010-10-16T01:16:00.000-07:00

The election jamboree is in full swing in Kerala. The whimsical reality show of 24x7 news channels who seem to have no clue of what's going around in the lowest rung, with absolutely no vision of democracy at the grassroot level, keeps questioning the naive commonsense of the commoner. As the TV cameras criss cross the state with their fancy-dress presenters belching out words which they themselves don't really understand, we stand witness to another season of 'thamasa.' Look, all the clowns are back on the streets!

Garlic Village

2010-10-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

in picture: A family sow garlic in their farm, as the woman on the left takes a break to feed her baby on her lap.

Every season, agri-companies from Tamilnadu supply seeds, fertilizers and money for credit to the farmers of the remote high-range village of Vattavada, 2hrs east of Munnar. Once the crop is ready, the company hands patrol the area buying up all the produce they had financed, just for a pittance. These remote villagers, completely unaware of the rules of the game, lament that they had had to sell carrot just for 1 Rupee/Kg the last season.

Once the garlic is harvested, they smoke it in their Kitchen for months till the market is up or when they use up all their reserves.

we'll paint the walls green!

2010-10-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

A snap from the mangrove islands of Valanthakkad, just off the city limits of Kochi, where the proposed High tech city of Shobha Developers will be built. According to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the developers and the Kerala government in August 2007,the Rs.5,000-crore hi-tech city will have a seven million square feet built-up area including IT facilities, high rises, apartments and a marina!
Though the government has given a single-window-clearance(despite a strong objection by the State Bio Diversity Board and promising a generous relaxation of environmental laws.), to kick-start the 'dream project' they have to remove the anti-development-brigade or in this case, 40 plus island dwellers who live in the mangroves. Having done that, they have to clear most of the mangrove ecosystem comprising of 644 acres, the highest such concentration in the state!
No need to panic! The developers are highly eco-sensitive and have assured us that the project will be "ECO-FRIENDLY".
"yeah, we'll paint 'em green, all the walls!"

flower of love

2010-09-20T10:57:00.000-07:00

A Nilgiri Tahr couple at the Eravikulam National Park, Munnar, Kerala.

Flower of Love
by Claude McKay

The perfume of your body dulls my sense.
I want nor wine nor weed; your breath alone
Suffices. In this moment rare and tense
I worship at your breast. The flower is blown,
The saffron petals tempt my amorous mouth,
The yellow heart is radiant now with dew
Soft-scented, redolent of my loved South;
O flower of love! I give myself to you.
Uncovered on your couch of figured green,
Here let us linger indivisible.
The portals of your sanctuary unseen
Receive my offering, yielding unto me.
Oh, with our love the night is warm and deep!
The air is sweet, my flower, and sweet the flute
Whose music lulls our burning brain to sleep,
While we lie loving, passionate and mute.

Lungi

2010-09-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

Wet and cold after waiting long in the harsh windy rains, these fishermen summon all the gods they know to bring their vessels home. A scene from the Vizhinjam fishing port near Trivandrum.

Drenching in rain and walking in the dirt of the smelly port village, the only thing I found interesting was the vivid colours of the place. The colourful boats, fishing nets in bight blue, yellow, green and red and the people seemed to match their Lungies with their painted boats!

Earthmovers!

2010-09-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

Finding their way out of our workshops, these scary gigantic 'machinosaurs' have come to stay everywhere around, eating in to the heart of the earth, endangering habitats and devouring the last patch of green around.

A photoclub favorite! Malayalam photoclub selects this snap as one of the best blog pics in the week starting from Sep 12.

Kuruthippunal!

2010-08-27T04:47:00.000-07:00

When Shiju (our friend and guide in to the Elanjippara forests) daringly crossed the rivulet, the award-winning stunt of the Tamil film Kuruthippunal splashed back in my mind. The boulders in the rivulet were mossy and slippery and a flip of your feet could be fatal. And these seasonal rivulets can be too deceptive at times.
A snap from my trek in to the Elanjippara Forests, Marottichal, Thrissur.

Onam!

2010-08-22T09:55:00.000-07:00

The South Indian State of Kerala Celebrates Onam, the annual spring festival tomorrow. Kerala, known as the tropical paradise is in full colours during the season. Butterflies and dragon flies busy themselves feeding honey and nectar.

passing by

2010-08-09T00:33:00.000-07:00

punalur-shenkottai meter gauge train

Train Ride

2010-08-07T21:57:00.000-07:00

Kollam-Punalur Railwayline, Kerala

Dancing Down

2010-07-23T21:19:00.000-07:00

Elanjippara Waterfalls, Marottichal, Thrissur

the tree that thinks

2010-07-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

Elanjippara forests,Marottichal, Kerala

The rain doesn't remember the rain of yesteryear

2010-07-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

The first rain reminds me
Of the rising summer dust.
The rain doesn't remember the rain of yesteryear.
A year is a trained beast with no memories.
Soon you will again wear your harnesses,
Beautiful and embroidered, to hold
Sheer stockings: you
Mare and harnesser in one body.

The white panic of soft flesh
In the panic of a sudden vision
Of ancient saints.
/ The First Rain by Yehuda Amichai

Let's go walking in the rain

2010-07-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

...it drenched my eyes
a foggy blur and a long sigh.

listen to the forecast

2010-06-23T06:14:00.000-07:00

the tuskers have apparently not taken the forecast seriously. And the mahouts have only the smaller umbrellas.
so, next time you go out, listen to the weatherman. Take your umbrellas with you. It's monsoon guys!

fishing dance : collage

2010-06-21T23:58:00.000-07:00

off season

2010-06-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

it's hard time for the fisher folk. they squat under the cover of their vessels on the shore looking in to the sea or just sit idle in the village tea shops. And the crows of the locality also will return home empty.

welcome monsoon!

2010-06-13T12:10:00.000-07:00

Soccer Fever

2010-05-21T01:19:00.000-07:00

Kids play soccer on the sea shore. A shot from a fishermen village near Vizhinjam,Kerala.

National Rural Employment guarantee scheme!

2010-05-15T08:44:00.000-07:00

Perumbavur,Kerala.

Green House

2010-04-29T03:53:00.000-07:00

Pachalam,Kochi, Kerala.

Shadows of the dusk

2010-04-19T06:14:00.000-07:00

Vaipeen beach, Kochi, Kerala

karunam!

2010-04-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

A hoarding in Marine Drive, Kochi,all in spit.

flesh and blood

2010-03-31T10:15:00.000-07:00

Varkala Beach, Kerala, December, 2009.

"Dust are the blood-red hearts that beat in time to these measures,
Thou hast taken them back to thyself, secretly, irresistibly
Drawing the crimson currents of life down, down, down
Deep into thy bosom again, as a river is lost in the sand."

Mother Earth by Henry Van Dyke

...It tickles!

2010-03-17T23:33:00.000-07:00

Kodanad Elephant training centre,Kerala.

A Baby elephant enjoys a summer scrub at Kodanad Elephant Training centre, Kerala.

Venal

2010-03-13T23:13:00.000-08:00

Pudukkad,Thrissur, Kerala.

When the Fishing Boats Go Out

2010-03-02T07:03:00.000-08:00

Vizhinjam Fishing Port, Trivandrum, Kerala.

"When the lucent skies of morning flush with dawning rose once more,
And waves of golden glory break adown the sunrise shore,
And o'er the arch of heaven pied films of vapor float.
There's joyance and there's freedom when the fishing boats go out."

When the Fishing Boats Go Out,
Lucy Maud Montgomery

longing for a rain

2010-02-22T01:48:00.000-08:00

Kodannur wetland paddy,Thrissur, Kerala.

the soul of flowers

2010-02-14T06:21:00.000-08:00

"I love to smell flowers in the dark.You get hold of their soul then."
Anne's House of Dreams
Lucy Maud Montgomery

I'm glad we do not have to kill the stars.

2010-02-05T23:15:00.000-08:00

"The fish is my friend too," he said aloud.
"I have never seen or heard of such a fish. But I must kill him. I'm glad we do not have to kill the stars.
The Old Man and the Sea

cute little

2010-01-24T03:19:00.000-08:00

can I sing you the song of your kisses?

2010-01-17T02:54:00.000-08:00

Kisses
-Arthur Symons

Sweet, can I sing you the song of your kisses?
How soft is this one, how subtle this is,
How fluttering swift as a bird's kiss that is,
As a bird that taps at a leafy lattice;
How this one clings and how that uncloses
From bud to flower in the way of roses;
And this through laughter and that through weeping
Swims to the brim where Love lies sleeping;
And this in a pout I snatch, and capture
That in the ecstasy of rapture,
When the odorous red-rose petals part
That my lips may find their way to the heart
Of the rose of the world, your lips, my rose.
But no song knows
The way of my heart to the heart of my rose.

clouds compose an evening love song

2010-01-16T06:31:00.000-08:00

Evening Love Song
-Rainer Maria Rilke

Ornamental clouds
compose an evening love song;
a road leaves evasively.
The new moon begins

a new chapter of our nights,
of those frail nights
we stretch out and which mingle
with these black horizontals.

yet again...

2010-01-01T08:49:00.000-08:00

HE
OP
PO
EH

wet, sleepy fragrance

2009-09-22T03:44:00.000-07:00

Water Lilies

Sara Teasdale

If you have forgotten water lilies floating
On a dark lake among mountains in the afternoon shade,
If you have forgotten their wet, sleepy fragrance,
Then you can return and not be afraid.

But if you remember, then turn away forever
To the plains and the prairies where pools are far apart,
There you will not come at dusk on closing water lilies,
And the shadow of mountains will not fall on your heart.

cute smile

2009-09-22T03:43:00.000-07:00

up into the silence the green

2009-09-22T03:35:00.000-07:00

up into the silence the green
silence with a white earth in it

you will(kiss me)go

out into the morning the young
morning with a warm world in it

(kiss me)you will go

on into the sunlight the fine
sunlight with a firm day in it

you will go(kiss me

down into your memory and
a memory and memory

i)kiss me,(will go)

E E Cummings

fishing dance

2009-09-15T03:03:00.000-07:00

in the shadows of your dreams

2009-08-28T01:20:00.000-07:00

rooted sharp and deep
you sprout again within
in the shades of your dreams
i seek my forest dark and green

Don't Leave Me for a Second

2009-08-28T01:00:00.000-07:00

Don't go far off, not even for a day
Don't go far off, not even for a day,
Because I don't know how to say it - a day is long
And I will be waiting for you, as in
An empty station when the trains are
Parked off somewhere else, asleep.
...
Pablo Neruda

Birth by Hanging

2009-07-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

tearing the golden casket

she'll flutter out

splattered in colours

and find the love of a lil blue flower

You seep in to my bones

2009-06-27T01:53:00.000-07:00

"...

I watch
the sea
your hands
the waves
seep into my bones

the sky descends
we sleep in blue."

Sleeping in Blue by Eileen Carney Hulme

Rain on the hilltop

2009-06-24T01:16:00.000-07:00

the pallette

2009-06-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

Rainwalkers

2009-06-18T02:01:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I'd walk,
walk far from home,
the things I've seen,
and I alone.

Sometimes I'd walk by Wang Wei

more monsoon pics

monsoon memoirs

2009-06-16T00:50:00.000-07:00

Come to me in my dreams, and then
By day I shall be well again!
For so the night will more than pay
The hopeless longing of the day.

Longing by Matthew Arnold

Last night the rain spoke to me

2009-06-13T02:27:00.000-07:00

Last night
the rain
spoke to me
slowly, saying,
what joy
to come falling
out of the brisk cloud,
to be happy again
in a new way
on the earth!
That’s what it said
as it dropped,
smelling of iron,
and vanished
like a dream of the ocean
into the branches
and the grass below.
...

Last Night the Rain Spoke to Me, Mary Oliver

Being apart and lonely is like rain.

2009-06-10T02:17:00.000-07:00

Being apart and lonely is like rain.
It climbs toward evening from the ocean plains;
from flat places, rolling and remote, it climbs
to heaven, which is its old abode.
And only when leaving heaven drops upon the city.

It rains down on us in those twittering
hours when the streets turn their faces to the dawn,
and when two bodies who have found nothing,
dissapointed and depressed, roll over;
and when two people who despise eachother
have to sleep together in one bed-

that is when loneliness receives the rivers...

Loneliness by Rainer Maria Rilke

faceless

2009-05-28T01:36:00.000-07:00

"here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)"

I carry your heart with me, E E Cummings

looking through

2009-05-28T01:23:00.000-07:00

When you come to me, unbidden,
Beckoning me
To long-ago rooms,
Where memories lie.

Offering me, as to a child, an attic,
Gatherings of days too few.
Baubles of stolen kisses.
Trinkets of borrowed loves.
Trunks of secret words,

I CRY.

When You Come by. Maya Angelou

Waiting the Dawn

2009-05-19T01:25:00.000-07:00

Angels, in the early morning
May be seen the Dews among,
Stooping -- plucking -- smiling -- flying --
Do the Buds to them belong?

Angels, in the Early Morning. Emily Dickinson

Ripened

2009-04-06T00:15:00.000-07:00

Night Riders

2009-04-06T00:11:00.000-07:00

FIRE FLOWER

2009-03-28T00:12:00.000-07:00

Ooops...!!

2009-03-19T03:53:00.000-07:00

Goddess!

2009-03-09T10:46:00.000-07:00

Thira performer at a local festival, Kerala.

Dark Beauty

2009-03-05T21:57:00.000-08:00

My love is like...

2009-03-05T21:48:00.000-08:00

Eternity and a Song

2009-03-02T03:23:00.000-08:00

Cooling off

2009-03-02T03:06:00.000-08:00

Ring of Fire

2009-02-24T22:15:00.000-08:00

Rainy Blue

2009-02-24T22:11:00.000-08:00

Windows Vista

2009-02-12T03:30:00.000-08:00

Mountain Goat Valley

2009-02-12T03:26:00.000-08:00

Eravkikulam National Park, Kerala. The park is a reserve for the endangered Neelgiri Tahr, an endemic mountain goat.
see also: The Neelgiri Tahr Trekking Guide

Deep Down

2009-02-07T00:48:00.000-08:00

A Green well.

Dancing in the Mist

2009-02-06T01:53:00.000-08:00

Eucalyptus Trees at Iravikulam National Park, Munnar, Kerala

mindscapes

2009-02-04T02:50:00.000-08:00

Water Colours

2009-02-04T01:48:00.000-08:00

Colours in Motion

2009-02-04T01:33:00.000-08:00

Painting the waters

2009-02-02T02:59:00.000-08:00

Shadows

2009-02-02T02:32:00.000-08:00

Out of Focus

2009-01-30T02:16:00.000-08:00

It's weird to start with an out-of-focus picture. But, i personally very much like this capture. hope you too will share my taste.
Location: Alappuzha,Kerala.