Thursday, July 31, 2014

SKY EXHIBITS INFINITY

SKY WATCH FRIDAY

SKY'S WONDERFUL STAGE CRAFT


MONSOON RAINS ARE IN FULL SWING IN HIMACHAL PRADESH. MOST OF THE TIME, THE SKY IS COVERED WITH  A HAZY MIST. AT OTHER TIMES THE SKY LOOKS ENCHANTING WITH EXQUISITE CLOUD FORMATIONS WHICH KEEP CHANGING EVERY MINUTE. THE PICTURE BELOW SHOWS THE MILD RAINBOW COLORS OF THE EVENING SKY.





FRIENDS, THANKS FOR COMING HERE AND SUPPORTING ME!!!

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

THURSDAY CHALLENGE




THIS WEEK'S PROMPT IS SHADOWS ( OF TREES, PEOPLE)



Let's stop and stare



This one I captured at about 3pm in the lawn of the community where I'm putting up for the summer. Here in the hills it has been  raining quite often and clouds hover in the sky all the time .As soon as the mild sun made its appearance, I took a chance and the result is there to see.






Today luckily the sun was there in its full glory even at 8am, when i along with  hubby went for a walk on Nahan Kumarhatti highway. The bamboo stick is to scare the monkeys found in great numbers here and all over in Himachal Pradesh.

Friends, Pl. give me your feed back.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

CARING IS LOVING



 C is for 'Care'.

The sweet word ‘Care’ encompasses a plethora of human emotions in its tiny belly. It expresses itself in many grammatical forms viz. care, caring, careful, and in the phrase ‘care giver’. However, there is one thing in common in all of them. All revolve around the feelings of love, compassion, sympathy, empathy, affection, kindness, concern and regard for others. In short, all that promotes growth, goodwill and beliefs for leading a meaningful life.

Let’s explore its semantic contours to understand this deeply inspiring concept of life. Caring is like practicing yoga, balancing mind and body in an optimum healthy state.

Well, caring for the sick, elderly and the needy in the family circle is challenging but no less a rewarding task. A smile, a pat and a few words of blessings, is all that matters. Looking after their particular needs in terms of their age, medical needs and emotional health require magnanimity and genuine resolves. Performing this familial responsibility entails tolerance, loads of patience, understanding and above all endearing qualities. The ethics behind all these gestures is serving others. This in itself is ennobling.

Caring for the children comes naturally to us parents. We expend much energy, time and money in educating them, enabling them to stand on their feet. We try to inculcate in them life values to steer their lives in the right direction. Without the care, concern, and dedication of parents’ guardians and teachers in the formative years, the human child would be devastated by the harsh and hard realities of the real world.  Children to grow need loving care, encouragement, discipline and constant monitoring.  The responsibility to make them grow into healthy and responsible citizens, who can contribute to nation building rests with us.  It is all a part of our commitment to ensure that our children are well prepared for facing future challenges of life without being overawed.

As a family we take care of our spouses and work for building healthy, secure relationships based on care, concern, flexibility, sharing   and loving understanding of each other’s needs. This is how love grows and stays for ever.

We shower lots of love and care on our pets and regard them as members of the family. Even pets care for us and become our emotional anchors. The bond between man and animal is eternal.

As members of society, we need to care for sustaining a safe environment for all to reach their potential without the fear of dangers lurking here and there. If each one of us is aware, conscientious, caring, regarding others’ well being, then surely we will be concerned with menaces proliferating around us. We need to make concerted efforts jointly to overcome them.

There are still many pockets in the global community where members swear by love and compassion towards others. As they say, 'caring is loving'.

Friends, thanks for your views on the subject in advance.

image courtesy: Google

Monday, July 28, 2014

OUR WORLD TUESDAY

 Tomato plantatation in a valley in Shivalik hills.


 THIS IS MY FIRST ENTRY INTO THE EXCITING SPACE OF 'OUR WORLD TUESDAY'.





SHOT OF A VALLEY WITH ROWS OF TOMATO SAPLINGS,  FROM THE TOP FLOOR BALCONY OF A FRIEND'S FLAT IN VILLAGE BASAL IN SOLAN, H.P.

FRIENDS, THANKS FOR COMING HERE AND SUPPORTING MY EFFORT!

Friday, July 25, 2014

SATURDAY PHOTOHUNT





Wetness near the pines in the Shivalik hills







The theme for today is  'WET'.

 It was drizzling since morning. As soon as it stopped, I clicked this picture. A stream
 of water is coming through the spout via gutter from the roof.

Friend, thanks for coming here.

SKYWATCH FRIDAY


Sky shots from Shivalik hills

THE SKY CAPTURES OF THIS WEEK: IT HAD BEEN RAINING INTERMITTENTLY DURING THE WEEK. THE PICTURES REPRESENT THE MONSOON MOOD OF THE CLOUDS.
 





ALL THE PICTURES CLICKED FROM MY BALCONY AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE DAY.

THANKS FOR COMING HERE!

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

THURSDAY CHALLENGE



 REFLECTIONS (Mirrors, Windows, Anything Shiny,...)





Thursday Challenge is a place for photographic fun and learning.

Part of a bedroom with a door leading to the small dining area as reflected in the bedroom mirror.
Friends, Thanks for coming here.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

BEFRIENDING MY BALCONY



Early morning shot. The sun is rising behind me.
B is for 'BALCONY'

Every post takes some long thoughtful moments in mind mapping for hitting upon an apt theme or word, which stirs the flow of creative juices. Many subjects vie for attention, intruding the mental space but soon exit because of not finding the vital stimulating trigger. I don’t know how this particular search zeroed on the friendly and concrete ‘B’ word ‘Balcony’.

I feel each word has a personality of its own. Words can be kindly and sometimes as sharp as a razor’s edge. They picture the varied and private emotions so subtly as to affect the reader deeply. They can transport you to the heights of joy or throw you into the abyss of despair.  We all know a few appreciative words from a loved one; can catapult your spirits on the wings of delicious happiness. Alternatively, the despairing words may ruin your day.

The word ‘Balcony’ real and solid prodded my imagination and brought forth deluge of cheer and joy. I envisioned that I could somehow stretch its semantic boundaries to delve into its practical munificence.

I happen to be spending a couple of summer months surrounded by the idyllic Shivalik hills. Our flat has a balcony that overlooks  a narrow valley with magnificent view of hills, covered with groves of ramrod pines. I watch them either swaying majestically to low breeze or swathed with gossamer thin mists on rainy days. It is 7 pm and I’m in the midst of penning this piece. Suddenly I notice the darkness descending imperceptibly. I rush out to my balcony as not to miss the nature’s wonder. The clouds are in the process of cloaking my balcony with a white cover of hazy presence. I feel like holding the mystery in my hands but within seconds, it passes by.

My ‘Balcony’, in fact, has become the getaway to a new world, which is suffused with nature’s purity beyond the frivolities of everyday chores. The state of blessedness and gratitude at such holistic scenes is no less than being on cloud nine.

I bask in its glorious sunshine on cold days and allow the soft breeze tease my hair and sneak into my body playfully on warm days.

My esteemed ‘Balcony’ keeps me company while I stroll alongside its iron railing with my morning cup of tea. I listen to the mesmerizing noises of rainwater gushing down the slopes or slightly deafening but pleasing buzz of myriad entities dwelling in the forest cover.

The rain-washed gleaming vegetation all around my balcony is a source of great inspiration on daily basis. It is small but it is a source of pleasure, which sweeps away all the blues.

 Now I realize why ‘small is beautiful.’ Small spaces, petite conveniences, terraces with flowerpots, balconies, and patios lend a peculiar charm to living, considerably enhancing the quality of life.

 Thanks for coming here!


 

Thursday, July 17, 2014

SKYWATCH FRIDAY


 Lucky to be part of this

During rainy season the palette of the sky changes dramatically at all times. It is a delight to capture the variations as they come along.




 A strong patch of dark clouds straining to stand the rising sun.



Evening template on a cloudy day after a rainy night.




Moving thin clouds on the top of the hills. All three shot from my balcony nestling in the lap of Shivalik hills.


Thanks for having a look at my amateurish efforts !

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

THURSDAY CHALLENGE






 This flower has an intricate structure. I got its sapling from outside my house and planted it in my backyard. The flower stands erect on its middle stem. Other flowers come on the side branches but they are small in size.It retains its freshness for more than a week.
 


Friends,  your views are welcome.  

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

WE OWE OURSELVES TO AN APPLE

ABC Wednesday


'A' is for Apple



Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden and the Tree of knowledge

I love apples not only for their numerous health benefits but also for their resplendent hues, beautiful rotund looks, the feel of their firm juicy exterior, the crunchiness of every bite, their versatility in the culinary arena and their strong allusions in religious and mythical contexts.

This apart, apple’s prominent position in common idiomatic phraseology needs stating. Its inherent abilities make it so special that it is associated with elitism. In fact, no other fruit has been blessed with the enviable and intriguing epithet of ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.’ Well, no other word could substitute apple for the idiom ‘apple of one’s eyes’- a person dearly loved.  You can upset some one’s ‘apple cart’ by spoiling his plans through some unsound intrusion. Things in your room are in perfect order only if they subscribe to ‘apple-pie order’.  Apple of discord’- something, which provokes trouble- refers to a Greek myth of ‘golden apple of discord’, which even caused a war.

The phrase ‘Adam’s apple’ means the ‘part that sticks out in front of the throat and moves up and down when one speaks.’  According to an ancient belief, this refers to a piece of the forbidden fruit, which was embedded in Adam’s throat.

Interestingly, every child gets to know about apple’s existence as early as in kindergarten itself, when the English lesson starts with the repeat chanting of A is for apple.

It is customary for Jewish communities to eat apple dipped in honey to welcome the sweet New Year.

However, my choice of the word ‘Apple’ is due to its most significant presence in the context of literature and legend. It is linked inextricably with man’s emergence on this earth. In ‘Genesis’, the first book of the Bible, apple is described as the fruit of temptation that lead to man’s fall from heaven.

The apple plays a seminal role in the story of Adam and Eve the first parents of all humankind, versified in John Milton’s epic poem “The Paradise lost” Book ix. It was the fruit of the apple tree, which caused an abrupt end to their idyllic living in the Garden of Eden. God’s gift to them. 

In fact, the dramatic elucidation of the episode, where unsuspecting Eve is beguiled by the sinister designs of Satan, in spite of Adam’s forewarning to Eve, is the game changer for creating a many splendored world order for man. It sets some stereotypes about women as well.   

It so happened that Satan 'evil incarnate' aka Lucifer, a wily serpent, was cast from heaven by Gods for his insubordination. He vowed revenge and planned to deceive God’s protégés Adam and Eve by using his crafty ways. In his several disguises, he watches their daily movements and strategies. Satan’s devilry was on the lookout for an opportunity, when Adam and Eve would decide to go about their daily chores separately. Then he would be able to entice innocent Eve in defying God’s orders.

He gets the chance soon enough. He seductively approaches Eve and wins her confidence by using his oily tongue to praise her beauty. Eve is so impressed by his clever talk that she inquires how has he  gained so much knowledge? He discloses that there is a tree of knowledge of good and evil and if its fruit is eaten, one becomes aware of new revelations. Eve insists on going their immediately, forgetting all about God’s directives and Adam’s advice- and tastes the fruit which is said to be the apple and later cajoles Adam to eat it too. To cut the story short both become conscious of their nakedness and want to hide themselves in shame. The rest  as they say is history

It is philosophized that God willed it that way. The fall of man was necessary. He wanted the man to be on his own, acquire the wisdom of the world, face the daunting challenges, procreate and inhabit the earth.

Ultimately, 'Apple' becomes a metaphor for justifying the ways of God to man.

Image courtesy: The Internet 
Friends, welcome here!