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.

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.

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?..

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.

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~

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.

Architecture from different parts of the globe

Shillu :: This is the picture of Kachiguda railway station in Hyderabad taken early in the morning. I love the way the morning sun rays are trying to peep out in the background.

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VJ :: Millennium dome- A memorable landmark that was visible from my office on 8 Canada Square. This signature space plays the host to some the most prestigious concerts and exotic restaurants. All in all, I would say that it my must see place in London...

Art work

Shillu :: What you see here are the tools of Bidri artist who is half way thru creating a beautiful handicraft. Birdi ware originates from Bidar in Karnataka state (India). The metal used is a blackened alloy of zinc and copper inlaid with thin sheets of pure silver. You can read more about this unique art here.

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VJ :: Look at this picture. Walking into this palatial building called the 'Chatsworth' castle, I was pleasantly amazed with this image on the wall. Now, look at this picture one more time, you think it is real or a painting? I would not put my money on someone who would call it real?

Vibrant?

Shillu :: Feels great to pamper yourself once in a while. Haircut with a couple of friends, a little shopping & a beautiful lunch. What better way to spend a sunday?

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London at a Stretch- Making my way through the umpteen number of people enjoying the sunshine, I was looking onto the bridge that ran parallel to the suspension bridge when I captured this. This is London for you. Its got a little bit of everything- from Double Decker Buses to Ships, from high rise modern marvels to iconic hertiage properties, there is something for everyone.

Powerhouse of politics

VJ :: House of Parliament- Shillu has been bringing pictures that displayed Indian architecture, so I thought I should also present a section of the Houses of Parliament- an example of English Architecture.

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Shillu :: Karnataka Vidhana Soudha - is located in the state capital of Bangalore. This building houses the state legislative assembly of Karnataka. The style of construction incorporates Indo-saracenic, Rajasthani Jharokha and Dravidian styles - described as "Neo-Dravidian" style. This granite building was completed in 1956. What you see in the picture is the main entrance. You an see a four headed lion on top of the dome. This lion is the symbolic representation of India's sovereignty. My favourite part of this picture is the birds in the air & India flag flying proudly on top of the building.

Travel journals

VJ :: I once remember answering a quiz question in my school- world's biggest clock- The Big Ben and now I can confirm that I have seen it and this is the evidence.

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Shillu :: Some time back I went on a short holiday to Srilanka with my friends. We dined at a very beautiful restaurant on the 11th floor overlooking the sea. Here is the picture of the coastline thru the restaurant window (glass pane). If you look closely you can see a railway track - there is a train that runs along the coast - sounds like a unique experience,don't you think so?

Spotted!

VJ :: Yesterday evening I went to take a ride on the London Eye. Due to poor visibility, I decided otherwise and ended up taking pictures. I spotted this person playing trumpet under the suspension bridge by the London Eye. What else, I watched him play and captured him in action.

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Shillu :: Elephant spotted in a wild life preserve in south India.

Specks of yellow

VJ :: One of my recent pictures was about breakfast. By now, you must have guessed that I am a foodie. I love eating, cooking and also doing food photography. This was my morning breakfasts one of these days: Home made hash brown potatoes served with multi-grain bread, cheese and broccoli omelette with a dollop of ketchup. Bon appetit!

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Shillu :: Sunflower fields in an Indian village as seen thru the window of a train. I loved the colorful landscape & luckily was able to take this pic from a moving train with my point&shoot. Surprising that the pic looks decent. Have a "bright" day.

Divine intervention

Shillu :: Another temple in Karnataka state (South India) - Simhachala swamy temple. Don't you love the details in white?

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VJ :: God's miracle, one pleasant evening at South end- on- Sea. Taken on my trip to South end with friends, an hour and half away from London, this is a small coastal town with hustle and bustle.

What lies within

VJ :: Lal Darwaaza (Means "red door" in Hindi) : Every morning, when I walk past this door on my way to work, I stop for a moment and make an unfulfilled promise to take a picture of it. There is nothing special about the door, I was telling shillu this morning that it is not great, but I must admit that there is something about this door that appeals to me. If ever I figure out, I will let you know for sure.
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Shillu :: Stone sculpture of Goddess Padmavathi inside the temple adorned with Kum-Kum (Red powder made from Turmeric or saffron) and flowers.

A miniature plan & some wires

Shillu :: I am back to my temple series. this is a miniature carving on the temple wall. Looks like the sculptor first made this miniature & then put his plan to work on the roof of the main temple. Brilliant planning & execution, don't you think so?

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VJ :: Weird Wired World- this picture was taken on my trip to Greenwich museum. We live in such a wired world today that I cannot imagine anything without wires, wires and more wires.

Love for peppers

VJ :: Peppers- Bell Peppers . In search for food, my camera captured this in a local vegetable store. I liked the combination of yellow and green.

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Shillu :: While VJ & I were doing hotel management, I was assigned to make mint chutney for the kitchen class & I got all the ingredients wrong and finally the chutney had too many chillies and very less mint. It almost tasted like chilli paste. One of our classmates ate a little of it & screamed in the cafeteria saying "who made this chutney?" I confidently (and a little proudly) claimed that I made it. He said your name should not be Sireesha, you are "Chilli-sha".

I love the splash of colors here. This picture was taken at the weekly farmers market in downtown Minneapolis.

Attention to details

Shillu :: 9 stone door which is a part of this temple. I love the details on it, espicially the elephants.

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VJ :: Terrace Location: The place that I called home- Paris. Fancy a nice home in the French countryside with mouth watering French cuisine coupled with sunny exteriors & tastefully done interiors. This is the terrace of one such house that I resided during my post graduation days in France. Jo, the owner, ensured that the house is clean and well maintained at all time. Her attention to detail and ability to preserve antiques is simply superb!

Chocolate indulgance & a sculpture

VJ :: Chocolate Milk Shake: One afternoon, during the summer of 2008, I decided to make something nice for my Sister and Brother-in-law. What next, I scouted the fridge and found some ice-cream, chocolate and milk. I melted the chocolate on a double boiler, added ice-cream to it and blend it with milk. Served it in a frosted glass with chocolate syrup..now, that's what I call too much of chocolate. What do you say?

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Shillu :: One of the sculptures on the walls of this temple. This is supposed to be the view inside an elephants stomach, If you pay attention top the picture you will realise that there is an outline of an elephant outlining the God's sculpture.

Indian splendor

Shillu :: India is such a beautiful country with rich history. South India is very famous for beautiful temples constructed centuries back. For a couple of weeks starting today I am going to share pictures of such temples from various trips. Let me know how you like them. This is the picture of Chalukya temple in Karnataka
If you would like to know the story behind each of these pictures you can find it here

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VJ :: Good Morning! Have you ever seen the sunrise by the beach? I have done it and this is my picture.

Location: Kailashgiri, Vizag

Date: 3 Jan 2008

Time: 5:15am

Mohan, a colleague of mine and I went on a early morning drive to capture the sunrise by the beach in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam followed by breakfast at a beach view cafe. Awesome experience marked the start of a great day.