From a backpacker's lens

2007-10-28T02:24:00.000-07:00

I just landed in my parent's home in Madras aka Chennai only to be greeted by relentless rains and gusty winds ..The North East monsoons have kicked in and heavy rains are predicted for another 48 hours . Since I could hardly step out ,I decided to potter around the house . Armed with my mobile camera , I braved the rains (just recovering from sinus ) to shoot some puddles and pictures of the garden purged by the rain drops ..Its a great feeling to capture the various greens and colours of the rains...Here is my little tribute to the monsoons

2007-10-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

Dassera is synonymous with Durga Puja and Navratri. In TamilNadu, we celebrate it as Golu where colourful clay figurines of Gods and Goddesses are arranged in steps for the nine days . The Gods gave way to mortals and soon we had Ram and Krishna with snake charmers and cobblers .

I was always fascinated by this festival because it was like reliving Indian tradition and mythology and stories from religious texts ...the childhood fascination which started off with parks and zoos soon grew into an interest and I have slowly started having my own collection . Beyond religion, it was art for me and a celebration of legends .

Ive been keeping golu in my house for three years and this year, it was the first in Bangalore (the last two was in Chennai or Madras) From Dasavatharam to Meenakshi Kalyanam, from Krishna with his Gopikas to Rama with Seetha, Lakshman and the faithful Hanuman, my small collection has been growing and so is my connection to my roots and culture .

2007-08-22T22:37:00.000-07:00

Flowers from my garden ... a new hiibiscus bloomed this morning

2007-08-17T07:31:00.000-07:00

Sun filtering through the trees

Every old home in Madras will have a mango tree . And so does mine . Out of the couple ,this is my favourite mango tree in my home in Madras.There are no mangoes that were hanging,waiting to be plucked ,but often I have lost myself squinting at the sun filteriung through it . Watching squirrels chase each other , parrots screeching in ecstasy and a kite chasing a pigeon ...the mango tree has been my inspiration many times .

2007-07-29T23:12:00.000-07:00

Another weekend..another temple .This was not planned. We drove down to Hosur (TN border) from Bangalore yesterday to catch up with some friends who had driven down from Chennai to meet more friends ..Amidst all this socialising, a divine intervention happenned..we saw a temple on a hillock...We are not the religious variety but there was something magical about this place -so we decided to go up there ...It was an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shiva called Chandra Sudeshwara It was already twilight and cameras and mobiles were not allowed, but I couldn resist shooting some pics on my mobile .What makes the pictures interesting for me is how the look of each picture changes with the light

2007-07-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

I'm on a nostalgic trip..to Bijapur,.12 years ago as eager students , we went on a field trip and one of the assignments was in photography ...we were asked to look for unusual,interesting angles and frames and shoot some b & w pics as well ...The pictures are amaterish and even evoke a laugh as I wonder what I was experimenting...Ive preserved the look as it is even while scanning as they were old prints .

2007-07-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

Another road - another journey - Glimpses of Somnathpur ,the Hoysala temple built in 13th century

2007-07-14T07:37:00.000-07:00

Glimpses of Rajasthan - Some pictures taken on my mobile while driving from Delhi to Jaipur

2007-07-11T05:25:00.000-07:00

All journeys have a sunrise and a sunset . I am in love with the twilight moment and I wanted to present an ode to some of the sunsets in my life so far ..

Sunset @ Hampi ,Karnataka..one of my oldest pics

The setting sun at Arunachal Pradesh ... Its surprising we actually saw it set !

While approaching Kaziranga Sannctary in Assam

Sunsets in a beach are always special ...this one is at Kovalam, Kerala

Lost in the colours - another one at Kovalam

A rosy picture at Alleppy, Kerala

2007-06-24T04:33:00.000-07:00

Orchids from Bomdila,Arunachal Pradesh

From my mother in law's garden

A closer view - No,I dont know the name

Hibiscus -another closer view

From my humble garden

Montage of dahlias

2007-06-21T02:16:00.000-07:00

Golden Buddha at Bylakuppe- one of the largest Tibetan settlements near Mysore in Karnataka

Padmasambhava Buddhist Vihara ... a spiritual experience

Life is rather routine here-education and meditation...

During the day its rather calm , but this is place transforms in the night with chants and laughter ..there is never a dull moment

Life in the villages is often lonely - It is not easy for the old people to forget their homeland

Agriculture is their occupation

These young monks have travelled all the way through Nepal amidst the cold to get here - some of them have fled and escaped ...

At the Gerje University...monks around the world come to study

The entrance to the university and monastery...

Inside the monastery ...its peaceful in here unlike the strife in Tibet

2007-06-17T21:27:00.000-07:00

Flags galore...

I would love to study here ...

Colours and designs

Another monastery near Pelling

Rumtek in Twilight zone

Its colour everywhere

And life outside the monastery too

Fun and life inside a monastery

Still and quiet at the monastery

A room with a view- the Tawang Monastery

2007-05-31T00:53:00.000-07:00

A cloudy uprising ?

Sea of snow or clouds ?

Mountains submerged in a sea of clouds ..

Clouds or Snow

2007-02-02T06:22:00.000-08:00

15000 sq feet and lo ! a glacier in Arunachal Pradesh

Water falls in a Goan retreat amidst Chorla Ghats

The Shivasamundram falls forms a little pool

Tucked away near Pelling in Sikkim is this lake in a monastery

Its a lucky lake in Sikkim - Pray and get your wishes answered

Tsango lake near gangtok in Sikkim-not frozen this time around

A yak ride anyone ?

Its a colourful day at Tsango lake

What a riot of colours

Is it a lake or a glacier ?

Placid and quiet - a mountain lake near tawang

Black Forest ?

Finally a lake that defies to become ice

Would love to camp here

Blue cocktail!

Feel like walking on ice - Sella Pass near tawang

Colourful flags fluttering around a frozen lake

A piece of sky has fallen on to the ground
A glacier tucked away in mountains

2007-01-31T23:47:00.000-08:00

Rivers and Rivulets -

River Teesta : Giving company from Bagdogra in West Bengal till Gangtok in Sikkim

Conecting mountains and bridging that gap !

A lush green curve ...

Still waters run deep

I wish I can camp there

Just another scenery

River Kemeng in its many hues - From Balupong till Dirang in Arunachal Pradesh

Rivulet to a river

And back to a rivulet

Flowing down the Sangthi valley

A pretty picture of the Dirang town by the river side