Sail through...

Sail through... Visiting my friend, who lives in Hertfordshire was always a joyous moment. First, he lived away from the main city- that gave me an opportunity to see the country side and he lived in a big apartment- that accommodated all our friends..so, basically, it was party time. On our evening walks to the nearby playground, we saw a group of people training for a sailing event...I knew they would sail through.

~VJ~

The Act

The Act Strolling with my fellow classmates, we were intrigued by the crowed gathered at the corner of the street at St. Germain, Paris only to learn that a young lad was displaying this balancing act using a glass sphere. The show lasted for 15mins but the memory , I think, is going to last for ever.

~VJ~

Home is where the heart is

Shillu :: Mysore Palace - once the official residence of the former royal family of Mysore, this palace is now one of the most famous tourist attractions in Mysore. It took over 2 decades to complete the construction of this beautiful palace. You can read more details here.

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VJ :: Curtains & Bells : Sitting on the sofa at my friends place, I noticed these bells hanging into a string along with the vibrant red & yellow curtains. Occasionally, a breeze tinkles them to check their presence and hence they contribute to the conversation.

Angels & Demons

Shillu :: The picture you see here is a statue of demon - Mahishasura which is located on Chamundi Hills located in India, close to the palace city of Mysore. Legend has it that that the demon Mahishasura, the king of the area that is currently Mysore, was killed by the Goddess Chamundeswari after a fierce battle. The hills hence got their name and a temple of the goddess was built on the top. The goddess is also known as MahishasuraMardini meaning She who slew Mahishasura (Source:Wiki)

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VJ :: Attending to the numerous requests by the mankind, running around the world in a jiffy, can make anyone tired. Seems like these angels are just taking a power nap so that they can be up and about in no time again...can we have some silence...please ?

Ganesha at home

Shillu :: Ganesha in an urn in my house. I like the reflections of the plants from the balcony in the water.

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VJ ::

vakratunda mahakaya suryakoti samaprabha

nirvighnam kurumeideva sarva karyeshu sarvada
Meaning: Lord with the twisted trunk, with the brilliant radiance of a billion suns, always remove the obstacles when I am on any challenging task.

Inspiration for home decorations

Shillu :: Water lily outside my favourite boutique in Bangalore. I love the color of this one. This was growing in a nice huge urn, that's when it struck me - I don't need a huge pond for water lilies. I will have a water lily urn on my terrace once our new house is ready.

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VJ :: Last week, I visited my friends place. It is one of those houses that has a sense of warmth, which is defined by colors. From Lamps to lamination's, pottery to paintings, from candles to curtains, furniture to flowers and last but not the least, the way the things were displayed to the decor,every element has a story to tell.The best of all if yet to come, it was even more impressive to learn that some of these things were customized and home-made. Someone correctly said, 'Home is where the heart is'? Do you agree.

Pick your favourite beverage

VJ :: Wine-Wall : This was just a section at the London Food Festival Fair last year. It appealed to me because I had not seen anything like this before and the way the bottles were displayed, created a sense of beauty..as they say...beauty lies in the eyes of the be-holder.
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Shillu :: My favourite mocktail on the lines of the cocktail - Mojito. This is a part of one of my best friends birthday celebrations.

Looking thru the glass

Shillu :: On our way driving to Mysore, I suddenly noticed this beautiful Chinese charm hanging in my colleagues car. I was fascinated by the intricate details on charm. The patterns you see in the center are the details on brass, surrounded by woven red strings.

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VJ :: Humming Bird. Somewhere in North Carolina, on the way to Grandfather Mountain, my cousins and I stopped for a quick snack. The restaurant had a choice of seating inside & on the terrace. We chose to sit on the terrace to be a step closer to nature and enjoy the misty weather outside. What we spotted were a series of these nectar cans ( dunno if they are called that way) specifically for the humming birds.

Colors of nature

VJ :: Red Currants. Amongst the many things to do on my tick list while I was in London, Fruit Picking featured as the 'Top 10 Things to Do'. Last summer, my friends and I took a train to this garden in Kent to complete the wish list. We picked everything from fruits to vegetables and red currants were just one of them.

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Shillu :: One early morning we were at Lalbagh on the way to Mysore. A lady selling these flowers in a basket caught my eye. For those of you who are not from India & if this is not a common sight, what you see here is different variety of flowers woven into a garland.

Engrossed

Shillu :: This lady caught my eye selling these coconut & fruit baskets outside a temple in Mysore. The Saree she is wearing is as colorful & bright as the baskets she is selling!

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VJ:: Engrossed in deep thoughts - Walking in the streets of Shravanabelagola, I noticed this granny..(paati), sitting on a bench outside the house, engrossed in deep thoughts..You want to know what she was pondering about?....may be the current situation of the global markets..just kidding..she was posing for me.

CLICK July - Bi-colour

This months theme for our favourite event 'Click' is Bi-colour. This event is hosted by Jai & Bee of Jugalbandi

Here is our entry - Cheese & Crackers

Time for a break

Shillu :: This little angel flew in to relax under the shade of the money plant leaves and was checking out the cute couple driving by.

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VJ :: Resting on a sunny afternoon
Location: Shravanabelagola
Time : 1445Hrs IST
In Hassan District of Karnataka, right opposite the Chandragiri Hill, is where this hand carved Ganesha was found taking a nap on a sunny afternoon, amidst the other idols. Also notice that he has lost a lot of weight, could it be due to the summer heat in India?

Happy times

Shillu :: Its Aabharan's 1st anniversary! Its my first blog & I am happy celebrating.

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VJ :: The Trio- Jagannath- Subhadra & Balabhadra I was brought up in Orissa and I consider it lucky because I learnt a lot..the language, the culture, the traditions and more so the Gods that people worship. This Trio of Jagannath (Lord Krishna), Shubhadra (His Sister) and Balabhadra (Balrama) are worshiped without fail. Every year, truck loads of people reach Puri in the month of June to pull the chariot... a procession, which is an activity described as God's way of socializing with his creation.

Vibrant colors

VJ :: One of our friends gifted us these Feng-Shui candles that have a nice aroma.

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Shillu :: The request on this garbage bin caught my attention. ...Make my day....mmm... :)

Walking

VJ ::

Walking on the Pier,
Location: Isle of White.
As soon as you get off the ship from Portsmouth, you walk this pier to reach the mainland- Isle of White. the pier is wide enough to accommodate vehicles, pedestrians and a train line. Walk it to enjoy it...
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Shillu :: Juti's - Leather crafted foot wear for sale at a crafts fair in Bangalore. Though all of them look alike, you need to pay attention to the details to choose which one you like the most. I love all of them!

Statues

VJ :: Statue of Gomatheswara - When you climb 650 steps, you are on the top of the Chandragiri Hill, where the statue of Gomatheswara is located. I was told that this statue was carved out of a single monolith. However, what appealed to me was this a statue made of bronze that was placed at the foot of the giant statue. Notice the bronze bell placed next to it..have we all seen it somewhere and does it ring a bell ?

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Shillu :: One more picture from the temple series. Unfortunately the head of this statue is missing - I am sure there is a story behind this...An invasion, a battle maybe?..

Bells

VJ :: Have you heard the legendary Dr. Chitti Babu's composition called- Temple Bells..when I took this picture, those were my first thoughts..I have seen in many temples in South India lately where it is forbidden to ring a bell.

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Shillu :: Handmade copper bells in various sizes & forms for decorative purposes for sale.

Views from our visits'

VJ :: Walking up the stairs

Location: Portsmouth, UK.

When you visit Portsmouth, you cannot miss this new iconic building..the Spinnaker Tower..and if you decide to walk up the tower..this is the pattern you will see... hypnotizing isn't it?

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Shillu :: A painted wooden mask on the wall of a service apartment we stayed in recently when we visited Chennai.

CLICK June 2009 - Stacks

~Veggie cheese burger~

Here is our entry for this month's CLICK hosted by Jai & Bee of Jugalbandi.

This months theme:
STACK: an orderly pile or heap, especially of things arranged in layers.

These guys always come up with the most creative themes & you should check out all the drool-worthy entries.

~Shillu~

Different people, different thoughts

VJ :: A random picture taken at Southend-on-Sea. look at the picture as 'Different people- different views' or 'Different people- different thoughts'....

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Shillu :: People waiting at a railway station to reach their destination.

Fruits and flowers

VJ :: Taken at the London Food Festival, At this counter fruits were carved in various shapes and were displayed beautifully.

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Shillu :: Yeah I know, we are huge foodies and we often post about food. What you see here is Cauliflower & peas curry flavoured with a hint of ginger & garnished with coriander leaves.

Indian dance balet - 5

A post war scene, by the way of capturing emotions, King Ashoka is made to realize that true happiness lies within the four walls not in conquering places and blood shed.

Indian dance ballet - 4

We are back after a long break. We have been extremely busy with too many events - both happy & sad. And we are back for good.

This picture highlights the performance of the dancers in the King's (Ashoka's) Court.

Enjoy more pics from the Indian dance ballet series.

Wedding celebrations

VJ & Sravani, As you begin a new life together...May you have a warm and love-filled wedded life ahead. Here's wishing you the best of your future together!

Now about the picture you see here is clicked by VJ at his Sis-in-law's wedding. One of the South Indian wedding highlights is this ritual, where the Bridegroom inserts the 'toe-ring' onto the Bride's second toe finger.

~Shillu~

Fruit vendor

Spotted this vendor in T-nagar, Chennai. What attracted me is the interesting display. What you see here on sale is cucumbers, Raw mangoes, Pineapples, water melons.

~Shillu~

Indian Dance Ballet - 3

Suryanamaskaram - is the first prayer in the day to worship the rise of Sun. Today, it is a part of our daily exercise in yoga.

Sashanka Chakram Sakeerata Kundalam Sapeeta Vastram Sarasee Ruhekshanam- Sahara Vakshasthala Kausthabham Namami Vishnum Sirasa Chaturbhujam-- the prayer

~VJ~

Indian Dance ballet-2

Shilpachaturyam :: This posture depicts the innate talent of the Shilpi (sculpture artist) during 304 BC. By way of the dance, the dance artist's portray carving and setting up the sculpture, which in this case is an entrance, also known as Dwaram. ~VJ~

Traditional Indian dance ballet-1

Shillu :: Brace yourself to watch some breathtaking pictures the next couple of days from VJ. When I looked at this collection I decided that these are too precious to be coupled with any of my pics. So I will only post VJ's pics for the next couple of days.

Panchamrutam - My fiancee and I went to watch a Bharatnatyam Dance Ballet called 'Ashoka'- meaning 'end of sorrow' and based on the life of King Ashoka. Various dancers young and old, held the audience captive with their enthralling expressions, gracious moves, apt mudras and above all, an outstanding performance..three cheers to the team 'Mangeeram' who presented this fusion dance ballet at Shilpa Kala Vedika on the occasion of Sree Rama Navami... VJ

Unity in diversity

VJ :: I woke up early on of the Saturday morning and started wandering with my camera and spotted this old mosque, which was probably 300 years old, if not more. What next, captured it and here you go...the rising sun coupled with a faint light played the perfect backdrop for this image.

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Shillu :: A busy Indian railway platform . This picture was taken in Hyderabad when I went home to meet my parents. You can see how this railway station looks from outside here. You get to see/meet so many diverse people from different classes on any train journey which is an experience in itself.