Weekly Photo Challenge: Simple

“Simple” is not much simple to depict…..how do you show it?

Simplicity is a way of life and more often our life is not so simple or it is us who make our life complicated and difficult.  Almost all relationships are bit complicated. Family, friends, co-workers all have this veneer which we define as social behavior. If only we were simply truthful in all of our words and actions would the world be a different place? Would there be less hatred and destruction?

The world of kids is much more simple. Kids do fight but they forgive and forget with the same speed and start their play again. They do not hold any long time grudge and do not have ego problems like the adults. They find something cheerful even at hardest times. And it is because of this simple philosophy ” Mommy,he said sorry to me and now we are friends again” that the kids are beautiful…..simply beautiful!!

Simply Shy

Simply cheerful even in extreme cold

As per the biological classification we are animals too…social animals that we like to call ourselves! God gave the humans more brains than any other animal but we forgot to hold on to the most important emotion and let love slip away. If only we were more like the “uneducated animals” we would have simply loved each other without expectations. We would have had fun even with the simplest of thing available without cribbing……

simply loving the pillow

Who wants an expensive toy....simply enjoying!!

Moral of the story? Nature has simple ways of showing its beauty and God made us to love everybody………..So lets be simple and lead a simple fulfilling life!

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Peaceful

On the moonlit beach
the crinkly sandy frowns,
erased……..
by the sneaking silvery ripple,
Now its only me, the ocean
the silence and the moon!!
Oh! So Peaceful………….
I sleep over my troubles,
And as the night crawls,
I like to think…..
I am PEACEFUL!!
The conjurer of all
Ambitions and desires,
The failures and worries,
is a mind so unrestful….
Even when it knows..
only in Thy presence
will it be absolutely
PEACEFUL!!!!

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Weekly Photo Challenge:Launch

In the beginning of the year I missed out on the Photo challenge “winter”, not only because there wasn’t much cold that week but also because we were “launching” ourselves on a ten days vacation to north-eastern parts of the country, mainly the Kaziranga Reserve forest and Shillong. Had I known the next topic would be ” launch” I would have clicked some pictures of airport and the plane.

In that part of the country the internet connectivity was almost nil and I could not really know about the new challenge till yesterday after returning back to New Delhi. And then I didn’t want to miss this one but I really was stumped as to what to include in this challenge.

I came across this one photo taken on the beaches of Andaman Islands two years back. My daughter along with her father wanted to make a hut of her own from the leaves of palm and the vines lying on the beach. With hardly any know-how of hut making, this simplest wish seemed a herculean task to meet. But they “launched” themselves any way because the holidays are meant for all sorts of adventures…..

Having posted this picture, I thought of sorting the photographs of our latest vacation trip and I sure came across some pictures which could fit the photo challenge of this week. We were excited to begin our early morning jungle safari in search of the one horned rhino and what is better than ride on the great Indian Tusker to launch on this adventure….

The Indian elephant though smaller than its African cousin but it still demands  lot of respect and no animal dares to cross its path. One loud trumpet by the beast makes all animals back off…. This one Rhino was lazing around and did not pay heed to the visitors atop the elephant. The trainer of our elephant coaxed it to trumpet and the rhino launched itself finally to move away from the tusker and our prying eyes …..

The elephants, rhinos and their babies were a treat to the eyes and our trip to the national reserve was a fulfilling and enjoyable experience.

I guess that is what holidays are supposed to be…. enjoyable, adventurous and relaxing!

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2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,700 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 28 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

………………..2011

Another year comes to an end and what a year it has been!

Turkey, Egypt, Norway, Iraq all burned with riots, terrorist strikes and bombings. Japan suffered a major tsunami. Earthquakes, volcanoes and storms took toll of thousands of people….. Celebrities Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, Steve Jobs, the great Indian artist M.F. Hussain and two great Indian film actors, Dev Anand and Shammi Kapoor,  all passed away. Mastermind of terror Osama Bin Laden, was killed and the American troops finally left the Iraqi turf. Ooof…..

For me, by God’s grace, this year has been quite pleasant ( barring a skirmish with the MIL) over all.

The year began with the much awaited good news of our moving to other city…..a much better one if not anything to die for. This city of Agra because of its historical importance holds a special attraction and charm for me and I am making the most of this opportunity to revel in the beauty and grandeur of Mughal era buildings. I enjoy entertaining all my guests with a visit to these grand monuments and the associated stories.

Shifting to a new city however brings an immediate loneliness till new acquaintances become friends. And thankfully, I met a few women who are fun to talk to. Transition to a new house, new school and new house help all has been quite easy.

Speaking of friends, I made some new ones among the fellow bloggers…….people whom I have never met but who have been kind and encouraging with their comments and regular visits. I even got nominated for the Liebster award by them. The number of subscribers and the stats have motivated me extremely and I hope this spills over to the next year as well.

The best thing that happened this year has been successful and happy completion of 12 years of my marriage. With a lot of people around us opting out of married life to lead separate lives without giving a second thought to the emotions of their kids, I really feel blessed to have a partner who supports and loves me. Our marriage has its  own set of ups and downs but our love has survived the storms and these dozen years have flown by……

There has been one regret this year which will stay with me all my life…..I closed the chapter of my yearning of having one more child. It hurts when I think about it but that is that….the end! But the good thing is that I am blessed with an amazingly sweet and beautiful daughter who means a world to me and I sincerely hope to give her a happy childhood.

As this year paves way for 2012 I hope to live life to fullest this year too and love every moment it brings.

Wishing everybody a very Happy New 2012………

Weekly Photo Challenge: Between

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWN!!!!!

To sleep or to guard?????????

While trying to find an apt pic from my collection for this year’s last photo challenge I caught our dog yawning as if caught between the dilemma of sleeping or staying awake…..

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Weekly Photo Challenge:Self Portrait

I am…
Like the gentle breeze,
zestful and fresh…

Like the zealous ocean,
wild and free…
Like the bubbling river,
gay and sprightly…
Like the golden fire,
burning bright…
Like a solid rock,
vigilant and protecting…

                                                    
Like a fragrant flower,   
sweet and delicate….
I blossom, 
with love and passion
But ..
Like a fragile glass,
I shatter,
if deprived of affection…
Yes, that is all in me….
I am a woman in love, 
And I just love, love and love

Reflections of love

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Weekly Photo Challenge:Celebration

Why do we celebrate…….When a child is born, we succeed, we win, we are happy, our wish is granted, we are thankful…..so many occasions to celebrate.  Yes, we celebrate!! We celebrate to show our respect to the Life and its ups and downs!

According to Hindu religion all celebrations must begin with the prayer to Lord Ganesha(the elephant head God). Many temples across the country have miracle stories associated to them and people have immense faith and belief in such stories.

The religious festivities and celebration of faith is a way of life in our country……there are festivals all the year round and so many gods to thank ( associated to various forces of nature: sun God, Indra the rain God, goddess of health and wealth Lakshmi, goddess of knowledge Saraswati and many more).

In this temple the custom is to ring as many bells as possible to thank the Lord and celebrate. Also people tie bells throughout the temple complex when pray for a new wish . This is truly the celebration of faith…

As with festivals , so it is with many dance forms in India. The Bharatnatyam was earlier performed in temples as a prayer offering to God. Almost all dances  are linked to mythological stories and celebrate the love and faith for almighty.

Indian movies however have introduced dance forms which have nothing to do with God but have become the most wanted in any sort of non-religious celebration! This little street dancer dances away to film music in celebration of her freedom to dance  when ever she wishes to…..

Reasons may be many and even if the day seems bleak we must celebrate life and thank lord for letting us feel hundreds of emotions …… at least feeling something is better than being lifeless.

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Liebster Award

Yay!! Woohoo!! I just got nominated for the “Liebster award” by The Island  Traveller (http://thismansjourney.net). Ecstatic and honored…. Now I am much more motivated to write. Thanks a million and I hope to write more such posts which make an interesting read to all.

What is Liebster’s award?

I didn’t know much about this award till I got one myself. This award is given to talented bloggers who have less than 200 followers. “Liebster” is a German word that means “Dearest” or “Beloved.” It also means ” Favorite .”

It is given by fellow bloggers to help each other spread word about the blogs and to show that the awarded  blog is one of the favorites.

This award has some rules though.

Rules of the award:

1) Thank the fellow blogger who awarded it to you.
2) Link back to the said blogger who shared the award.
3) Post the award on your blog.
4) Pick 5 other blogs you want to recognise.
5) Visit the 5 bloggers and let them know that they receive the award.

 I would love to nominate so many of my new friends who keep boosting my morale by posting so very nice comments and ping backs for my posts. Some of my favorites awardees are :

1.  http://yobynos.wordpress.com

2. http://thirdhandart.wordpress.com/

3. http://insidethemindofisadora.wordpress.com/

4. http://maggiephotgraphy.wordpress.com/

5. http://jakesprinters.wordpress.com/

6. http://consumerjournaldotnet.wordpress.com/

7. http://northernnarratives.wordpress.com/

Oops! That is more than what the rules say…. but then there are many more and I want to list more of them yet I’ll respect the rule. All of them have been very helpful in keeping me hooked on to blogging. Their regular visits and comments have encouraged me and made me smile since last few months. I thank all of them because its due to them that I found new friends and got this recognition.

Visit these blogs for a wonderful read.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Waiting

As kids each one of us plans a hundred things to do when we grow up and unawares of the responsibilities and duties that come with growing up we still desperately wait and wait and wait to grow up! Every generation goes through the same process….

My daughter is no different and she is forever planning what she wants to be when she grows up. One day she wants to be a painter and next she wants to be a teacher like her favorite one in school. She wants to be a doctor like her grandmother and wants to go to an office like somebody else too.

Her father is her hero. And though she changes her plans many times, one thing has always been constant….. she wants to be a Fighter Pilot like her dad! She has seen him dress up in his flying attire since she was born and has been forever trying to salute the right way!

Yes!! She is waiting to grow up and fly, fly and fly….

And till she waits to grow up ……Our pilots and their fighters are ever ready and just waiting to take off!!

This fellow here is waiting too…. for his food! On one of our trips we happened to visit a crocodile farm where these beasts are bred in captivity before rehabilitation in natural environment.

Related topics:

http://implicado.wordpress.com/2011/12/03/weekly-photo-challenge-waiting/

http://thismansjourney.net/2011/12/04/weekly-photo-challenge-waiting/

http://nandinidhiman.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/waiting-on-a-rickshaw/

http://pseu1.wordpress.com/2011/12/03/waiting/

http://pseu1.wordpress.com/2011/12/03/waiting-ii/

http://aditimitra.wordpress.com/2011/12/03/weekly-photo-challenge-waiting/

http://maggiephotgraphy.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/weekly-photo-challenge-waiting/

http://articlesofabsurdity.com/2011/12/03/weekly-photo-challenge-waiting/