Dance like a Man

- I have seen many performances ( hmmm - maestro's as well) so what set this one apart...these were students ( and part time giving performances in evenings) - Life is quite tough for these struggling artist. Fame beckons you from afar and when you are trying to reach for it....it turns into a Mirage ( Sunehri Mrig - Golden deer)

- We were quite taken by the performance and in the end...clicked quite a lot of pics...later on when I talked to them..I felt like a heel as the guy with green paint - his eyes were hurting...due to all that paint....and I am sure with all those flash lts....it would not have been easy on his eyes....I apologized.....and he said simply -

" I am used to this "

Quotes for the day ...!

* Balance occurs naturally in the absence of attachment.

* It is only when your mind is still and your heart is open that you are truly free.


( I remember how I got hold of these quotes - I was working on a project for keeping quotes cards for a company - so when my client handed over these quotes to be printed / laminated and boxed in proper pack - I think there were 12 or so...so I asked her to lend me few cards for keepsake - I find the meaning very profound....)

Idle Shutterbug

* My Fav pic and my companion named this as " Infinity Pool "

* Loved the shadows dancing in water....

* Dutch Palace courtyard

* By lane in Cochin !

* I envy this guy.....oblivious to world

Color me Greenz

* With Pollution sticking on the leaves - I always grapple with colors of leaves....I love this shade a lot....but then tropic leaves are fresh.....unlike urban !

Spice Route !!

* Cinnamon had such great flavor- Best buy beside Banana Chips ( deep fried...) sinfully yum !

* Spices getting sold on pavement ( I loved all those colorful containers in which the seller kept his spices - they are so vibrant.)

* While roaming in Cochin - we found this neat " spice shop" this was more uppity...thingy - however still had the character....loved those huge glass jars " martbaan's" - I remember my Gran using those for "Aam ka achar" ( Mango pickle) .

There were some other cute shapes of jars in smaller sz as well as handpainted ceramic pots....!

Dusky Skyline......

* This shot was taken over the sand castle made by someone...!

* While retreating back to our place - just one last shot , somehow

you never get enough of these shots !!

Moonshine !!

All night have the roses heard
The flute, violin, bassoon;
All night has the casement jessamine stirred
To the dancers dancing in tune;
Till a silence fell with the waking bird,
And a hush with the setting moon.

- Tennyson

* I am sort of facinated by the time when you can see moon as well as setting sun....!
This was perfect time for having fresh pineapple juice and Indian blk rum cocktail mix ( Not to try anywhere else...taste just doesn't get right )
I have been very fortunate to be on these trips with a client cum friend....and after a gruelling day of work - we use to look forward to sitting on the beach and watch sun go down and moon coming up.....!
Hey Suz ....this is for you....looking forward to our more trips together - amen !!!!

More on South Series...

*** You take your pick from " Catch of the day" & hand over to the restaurant and they serve you just the way you like it on Banana leaf...bliss...and taste is yum....! You can't get authentic beyond this :-)

Truly Amazing colors.....!!!

Assorted pics from coastal area around Mararikulam (Alleppey) Kerala

Annie's Song

My all time fav song.....!


You fill up my senses
like a night in the forest
like the mountains in springtime,
like a walk in the rain
like a storm in the desert,
like a sleepy blue ocean
you fill up my senses,
come fill me again.

Come let me love you,
let me give my life to you
let me drown in your laughter,
let me die in your arms
let me lay down beside you,
let me always be with you
come let me love you,
come love me again.

let me give my life to you
come let me love you,
come love me again.
You fill up my senses
like a night in the forest
like the mountains in springtime,
like a walk in the rain
like a sleepy blue ocean
you fill up my senses,
come fill me again.

Crazy pics

Face to face......

Langoor - this was at Pushkar Ghats ( Rajasthan)

Few .....?? Lots of Wishes....!

All of us have wishes....Right !! Formally I started jotting down my list when I joined college....quite a lot I have accomplished in my journey.......I still remember my one wish.... when YANI concert was taking place......so that time that was " THE" thing for me . Short on money...made me and my friend hitch hike to Agra.....lol....!
So here goes my list ....which I keep adding....and sometime deleting...( In fact I do watch how much wish is my wish....to remain there in my heart....)

* Adopt a baby ( For this I am planning a lot....may be a post later...on same...)
* Travel to-
- Machu Pichu
- Bali, Java
- Lakshadweep
- Toledo
- Mansarovar lake
( Then there is whole 10 page list on Indian Destination... :-)
* Learn Scuba Diving ( so Lakshadweep and this will be covered in one go....)
* Learn Flamenco.....
* Take long sabbatical and do research on Textile ( Weaving/dyeing/printing....)
* Teach kids in Mountains

More to come........~!

Trek to Pindari Glacier

A year later I am writing this post, made the trek to Pindari ( Uttranchal - Kumaon) in year 2005 in November.
Route which we took was -

Mukteshwar-Bageshwar-Song ( By road) - 2.5 km trek to Loharkhet.

* This was done almost when sun was set so quite eerie...and we met this drunk guy on the way....I always bump into drunks...in buses/ on flights...and on Treks...! We stayed at this rest house in Loharkhet .
In the morning 13 km Steep climb to Dhakuri. Views of Nandakot and Maiktoli range in the setting sun was worth all the pains and our new found muscles. We even found the nerve to do full 1 hr Yoga session as well....!!

Next morning left for Khati ( good lunch -piping hot dal & chawal and pickle) and made our night halt at Dwali.

* That evening I think we all felt some sort of friction within each other- fear of darkness....fear of coping ....fear of fear.... !! Yoga took a big jump in Pindari river :-) ....comforted each other....and by the time partook our dinner - were back to our normal self.

Destination Pindari ( almost 25 kms in a day ) as we were not staying back we started very early next day and by 12 noon we were there. Highlight of this day -met Pindari Baba - he is amazing personality. When we returned back from the " 0 point" he was waiting for us with Hot pooris and Chai. Such awesome welcome for the warriors !! We must have talked about varied range of topics - he has trove of tales and his fav subject is studies of Stars , his Ashram is sort of like a lab....!

We were quite reluctant to return back to our base camp. ( I know that all of us will retrace our path to that ashram again...its on the cards....For me this week(2006) could have become " my calling" - if not stuck up in city... thats another story...!!)

So from there on it was return Journey.... met another interesting person while trekking down !! Infact I would say that you do end up meeting such weird characters more on these off beaten path....and then you feel normal !!


Quick stops to Baijnath/ Bageshwar and PatalBhuvneshwar - First 2 places have some beautiful ancient Shiva temples and carved statues.....temples architiecture is something which leaves you breathless...how they got all those stone work put there. Cave at PatalBhuveneshwar is a MUST see....its sort of reminds of you as if you are slithering down inside a Huge Cobra.......all the stories are amazing pc of work......salute' to the writer who handed over such color ful tales to this generation that you start believing - one in particular which sort of sparked my adventure streak was - there is this hole and they say that if you crawl up in that tunnel it opens up at Badrinath ( its not allowed....:-(
There was this one more tale of that you are not suppose to pick or take anything from this cave...as it results in madness......that was enough impetus for us to scrub our feet of all that soot which we got while we were in that cave......! Did I mention that it would be better to wear sack cloth to enter this cave .....its full of black soot..... !!
It also left us wondering what happens to Mad people going one more time Mad...!
We headed back to Mukteshwar and time to hit back to our homes !

( ps - next time I need to write as soon as I am back from such trips....somehow there were so many highs/ lows to that trip.....and I have been able to write only meager few points....!)