Saturday Shoots...

Some early morning shots from IIsc today. Enjoy !

Saturday Morning Bokeh...

Patterns and Textures...

The fallen one...

Frozen on Camera...

I wanted to share some of my shots taken in the last one year, which I really like. Hope you folks will like them as well.

Clicked near Banerghatta National Park, my first macro.

Clicked at the Butterfly Park, Banerghatta. The butterfly would hardly stay still.

Clicked in IIsc when the gardener was watering the plants.

Clicked in Malleshwaram. He was ever ready to be a model, and his philosphical face attracted me.

Clicked at Malleshwaram, this sweet little girl was selling bananas, she was very shy initially and when I showed her - this picture that I had taken, she was all joy.

A make shift arrangement to create a black box and shoot a macro.

Shataparna gifted me a zoom lens on our 3rd marriage aniversary, and this is the first shot I took from my balcony, 11 floors above ground level.

Last year at Goa -  The fishermen use these logs to move the boat to the sea.

Rock on !!

Yes, we caught up with the movie yesterday and we thought that it really 'rocked' !! Rocked because 

- its realistic without being cliched and melodramatic

- crisp and to the point dialogues, focusing more on the expressions of the actors

- finally, it gives you wings - to go follow your own dreams

The music by S-E-L fits the movie to the T, and you really have to hold on to your seat to prevent yourself from getting up and start rocking as they play !

So, stop reading this...do yourself a good one...and go buy tickets for this movie !!

Rural india - plugged in !

Instead of our usual strategy of celebrating birthdays by hunting down well rated restaurants for dinner, we decided to go out for a day trip close to Bangalore. An added motivation was that it would also serve as an opportunity to load the 'beast' and test its roar. After some rounds of voting, we zoomed in an initiative called RuralZing which is an effort to increase and encourage rural tourism. They have day long trips on Saturdays and Sundays starting from Bangalore, and our destination was Hale Nijgal, a small village off NH4, 50 odd kms from Bangalore. The 'experience' started right from the time we reached the outskirts of the village as we were ferried on a tractor to the host's house ( Vishwa ). We were suddenly amidst ragi and corn fields, away from humdrum, into chirping of birds, and committed silence.

The day started off with a sumptuous breakfast at Vishwa's house and we began our eco-walk through the village. The highlight of the walk was our interactions with the villagers, the enthusiastic school children in the village school, and looking at their way of life at close quarters.

While Vishwa explained us the various crops and harvesting seasons, we helped ourselves to tender coconuts, and other village produces. Next was a walk to the village temple, incidentally a 600 year old one, followed by a trek to the village lake. The lake was the only source of water for the crops for the village and also was being used to wash clothes, etc. Soon, it was time for lunch, and we went back to our host's house with eager anticipation after the excellent breakfast that we had.

It was time now for us to indulge in some rest and relaxation, followed by some - lost in childhood - games, like spinning the top and marbles. Though most of our attempts at spinning the top ended up flat on their faces, nevertheless it was fun trying our hand at these. Special mention must be made for some folks ( Arav, Su , DJ ) who had this 'never-say-die' spirit of trying to spin the top for at least 2 rotations !!!!

The last part of the trip was a climb on Nijagallu betta to the Narasimha temple. Quite a arduous climb takes you to the top of the hill from where you get a spectacular view of the entire village, the shivaganga hill and other surrounding areas. Its also a rock climber's delight, given some of the very interesting structures there. The fun part for me was the way the beast handled the terrain halfway through the hill. Let me just say- Seeing, or rather experiencing is believing. An interesting day came to an end and we drove back to Bangalore.

This post is incomplete without thanking all the folks from RuralZing , Vishwa, his family and all the unnamed folks, the children at the school, which made this trip a memorable one. We wish the best to RuralZing in their quest for "an initiative to connect urban and rural economy".

Reclaiming our lives...

"No other man-made device since the shields and lances of the ancient knights fulfills a man's ego like an automobile." - Sir William (LATER LORD) ROOTES (1894-1964), British automobile manufacturer

The bigger the beast ( read - the number of horses it can pull ), the bigger the EGO I guess. We ( me and my better half ) would only stare in wonder after we brought home the 'beast'. Stately and regal in its looks, it appears lethargic when its standing. It can be very deceptive - as once you roar it into life, you can well just go ahead and reclaim your life !!

Well, I am talking about the new Safari VTT 2.2 that was launched few weeks back. We were almost ready to buy a Scorpio, when TATA decided to add the twist in the tale. One look and a test drive later we were hooked. After reading convincing road tests on the new beast, there was no looking back. Soon we were proud owners of a Cycus grey, Safari VTT 2.2 LX.

We did some serious off-roading this week ( details in the next post ) and we were more than convinced of the fact that we had taken the right decision. We have added some small knick-knacks to the LX - a reverse camera and sensors, keyless entry, etc. Up on the cards is a good music system to match the prowess of the beast !

I would like to end with some acknowledgements - team-bhp folks, bm-log - all the reviews and the queries were very helpful pre and post buy.

Lamp of Love...

Light, oh where is the light!

Kindle it with the burning fire of desire!

It thunders and the wind rushes screaming through the void.

The night is black as a black stone.

Let not the hours pass by in the dark.

Kindle the lamp of love with thy life.

- Rabindranath Tagore ( Gitanjali )

Wishing all a very happy deepawali ! Some flickers of light -

Prawn Vindaloo with Logic Verification !

Indeed ! A visit to Goa came as a by product of an offsite that we had from Sep 18th to Sep 21st. 18th and 19th were too mundane to write home about - so let me jump to 20th, when we decided to skip some of the offsite sessions, rent scooters and explore goa the right way! We were stationed in South Goa - specifically Mobor beach, Holiday Inn. It made logical sense then to traverse the entire coastline from South Goa to North Goa ( Arambull ) and then back. Presenting a smatter of pictures to uphold the spirit of bunking company sponsored offsites!

Fishermen at Mobor Beach

Mandovi River

Taking the boat to the sea - Arambull

Back to Mobor