CHANCE ENCOUNTERS

 I captured the hoopoe hurriedly pecking with his long sharp bill at mid morning, yesterday. I spotted him from the window and cautiously went out and clicked.

Late afternoon click of the trio of mynas on a mildly hazy day during a walk at some distance from home, about a fortnight back.

The singleton pigeon seems to be contemplating the next move perched on the transmission lines in front of our house.

Friends welcome here as always!

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SKY WATCH FRIDAY

The sunrise over Shivalik Hills in Himachal Pradesh in the summer of 2014. Taken from the balcony of our summer flat in Kumarhatti.































 An afternoon sky watch over the same hills during rainy season.
































 Night watchman. Could take this one of the full moon, on one of my  my lucky days.

Friends, welcome here as always.
linked to:SKY WATCH FRIDAY

LIFE IS LIKE THAT

 

'G' IS FOR GRAND

Can you imagine what lies in store for you, when you accept an invitation for a grand party to be held in connection with some important event?  No way. Actually it  starts an exciting thinking process ahead of the day. Some mental planning ensues. For instance, regarding the choice of a suitable dress for the occasion. Since you expect to meet, many friends or acquaintances after a long time gap, you naturally and consciously picture yourself wearing a certain dress and suitable accessories to enhance your personality. 

This apart, you begin to look forward to some carefree and fun filled moments of eating and chatting, exchanging notes and updating yourself about each others' past activities. In short, nostalgia sets in, imagination soars on cloud nine, and expectations fly high like colorful kites near ‘Basant’ festival. On the appointed day, trying to look your best, you step out of the car wearing your favorite heels, looking fresh, smart and elegant. 

Imagine your surprise when you reach the entry gate of the venue, there is no one to receive you. You walk to the elaborately erected 'Pandal', where you find a few people strolling about like lost souls because the hosts were  nowhere in sight. The caterers too seemed indifferent and unsure because they had not been given proper instructions about serving the snacks. So much for that grand party!

In fact, one runs into such situations, which belie our expectations often in our lifetime, though with minor differences. Moreover, in lighter vein you term such circumstances as falling from the sublime to the ridiculous or just encountering a damp squib when you had hoped for a grand spectacle.

Another case in point is the beauty products where there is a deep chasm between reality and expectations. You start using a particular shampoo, hair oil or conditioner, because of the fake ads where comely and curvy models walk around seductively displaying their lustrous, shiny and bouncy hair. They sell you false images by shrewdly working on your psychology. You suspend your disbelief and begin to identify yourself with those gorgeous looking models. The result is disappointment and empty pocket.

Similar is the case with expensive beauty lotions, anti-aging creams, face washes etc., which promise the moon with flawless, wrinkle free, glowing skin. The unscrupulous companies earn the moolah by manipulating our vulnerabilities.

Surprisingly, for my mother, curd or fresh milk heated and cooled, applied gently on face and rubbed on body while bathing was the panacea for all skin problems. Soap was a big No. 

Let’s go a little further:

The curious thing about life is that one is never likely to get what one expects or imagines in the course of one’s short sojourn here on this earth. We imagine something and something else happens. It is, I think rare that one’s dreams are fulfilled completely. It does not mean however, that one should stop dreaming about making it big one day. The beauty of life lies in ceaseless striving and knowing.

 

The gap between what we expect and what we achieve is actually a grandiose scheme of the Almighty to make our lives exciting and adventurous.

Friends,welcome here as always! 

Linked to: ABC Wednesday;JOSIE TWO SHOES; WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

OUR WORLD

 Seasonal Delights

 Above clicks are from our backyard, where these tiny plants are providing riot of color. One particular thing about them is they open up their petals only in sunshine and if it is a cloudy day they stay closed.

The white roses are growing in the rose park,which is in the vicinity of our community. Clicked it last week.

Marigold is growing in our front-yard on two sides of our lawn. It's a late variety and blossoms are slowly on their way. Their sunshine hue enlivens our house and gladdens the on looker.

Friends, welcome here as always!

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AFTERNOON FEAST

Looks like this foursome  is really enjoying this grainy meal, as their concentration is an indicator of their interest. I wonder why the fourth one (on the left) is indecisive. Their chubbiness shows that they're foodies.

I took this picture  in the parking lot of a market place where i often shop. I like to present birds as part of our daily life, mingling with us,though unobtrusively.

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I'd-rather -be- birding

SKY WATCH FRIDAY

Monsoon clouds enjoying the spectacle down under:

One of my last year's sky watch photos. It's the time when monsoon rains had  given new life to the almost withered  vegetation and quenched the thirst of the parched earth with generous pourings from above. The trees, plants, flowers seemed to be winking with pleasure and invited us to gorge on the visual feast of revitalized greenery with towering pines embellishing the sky scape.

Location: Shiwalik Hills in Himachal Pradesh.

Friends, welcome here as always.

Linked to: SKY WATCH FRIDAY



 

WHITHER HUMAN TIES

F is for Furniture

You must be amused why I chose this starkly material, unimpressive and bland word to seriously deliberate upon.  Oh yes, there is a reason to it. In fact, it just happened without any effort on my part.  I was mulling over some words to kindle the creative fires for the next intellectual exercise to begin shortly. Something weird happened and that chose the word for me. Well, that also became the starting point of an inner debate. The resultant thought process took the shape of musings about human relationships.

 It was actually an ad on the TV about furniture. It concerned “Urban ladder”  a company selling furniture. I’ve even forgotten the channel where it was shown, otherwise I’d have captured it.  At that time, it did not occur to me that it might become the subject of my post. However, it did lead to the awareness of an unpleasant conclusion. How consumerism is belittling our most tender emotional states.  How blatantly and casually it targets the intensity  of our emotions, regarding our sacrosanct ties.

The advertisement shows a passive looking young woman with pursed lips, a strange sadness  enveloping her countenance, moving away from the kitchen counter stirring a mug of tea/coffee and perches on the sofa. Her husband /partner enters with a bag in his hand, or perhaps he is already there. While in the act of zipping the bag he says, “Does it mean that we can’t even talk?” suggests that they are parting ways and the man has come to collect some essentials. The woman says, “Take away the sofa as you brought/bought it. His answer is, “You liked it,” while sitting on the sofa and inching towards her. The message: sofa becomes a point of reconciliation.

This projection of the stability of human ties, needing the crutches of material possessions,  raise some pertinent questions. Have human relationships degenerated into abysmal fickleness that a piece of furniture could make or mar a bond? Folks, where are we heading? How foolish the claims that one’s spouse/partner is one’s soul-mate? How frustrating it is to believe that phrases like understanding, love and care are just so many words and don’t reflect reality. What about the vows we utter sanctimoniously when we forge a union. How come, we behave childishly, throw tantrum, and indulge in prestige fights soon after. The pillars of trust and love  evaporate like soap bubbles and no efforts are undertaken to retrieve the lost ground.  We turn into imbecile, selfish wimps and raise our hands at the slightest discomfiture to our ego.

In the conflict of personalities, we tend to forget that to sustain a relationship, there is a good measure of give and take and above all, tons of patience. The option of second or third try at it does not guarantee stability, peace or loyalty. The second option need to be exercised only when the bond can’t be retrieved at any cost.

Furthermore, in the short journey of ours, we as thinking beings are supposed to enrich others and our lives with clear-cut goals. How can we do that if we spend our valuable time in squabbles, which ultimately solve nothing and only increase the chasm and hatred? Imagine the impact on the overall family structure!

I could not agree more with the words of ANTHONY ROBBINS when he says:

“Most people get into relationship in order to get something. However, the only way a relationship will last is, if you see your relationship as a place that you go to give, and not to take.”

We must understand that experience and observation have proved  that life is not about only song and dance, eating out and splurging on unnecessary travel. It is a holy voyage of self-discovery meant to contribute and give back to society, which has blessed us with opportunities to achieve something every day. Isn't it that every morning is a new day waiting to be explored?

Friends,welcome here as always. 

linked to: 
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OUR WORLD

 FLOWERS ALL !

Sharing with you these clicks of blooming flowers taken randomly at different locations!

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AMIABLE COEXISTENCE: CATS AND US

FELINE FELICITY

These two are stray cats and visiting our house singly is part of their daily itinerary. I've seen them often climbing our back stairwell to reach the roof of our neighbor. They'd been so agile in sprinting that the chance to capture them was out of question. So i didn't even try.

Last week, they suddenly caught my attention. As I's enjoying the sunshine in my backyard, the striped one was chasing the cute and delicate Brownie. Then i understood that the black one is the tomcat.Their behavior was  entirely different on that day. May be  it is their mating season. I went inside and chanced to see them in an intense amorous pose through the window. I didn't disturb them. After about an hour, I's really amazed to find them basking the warmth,  satiated and calm in the above state, sitting in our driveway near the gate. It's an opportunity not to be missed. I brought my camera  and clicked them thus, enveloped in some indescribable bliss.

Friends,welcome here as always!



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SKY WATCH FRIDAY

 Afternoon sky, over hills in Himachal Pradesh.

 

 These two pictures were taken at Barog or near about, during last summer,  while driving on the Kalka- Shimla Highway  on a mildly greyish afternoon. Between Shiwalik hills on both sides,there is a deep scary gorge and i always avoid looking in that direction. But the sky view is always gorgeous there.

Friends, welcome here as always! Linked to  SKY WATCH FRIDAY

LIFE IS A KNOTTY AFFAIR

The eternal truth of human condition is succinctly expressed  by Sophocles in his Greek tragedy ''Oedipus the King."  It's  was staged in 429 BC in Athens.The above riddle was posed to Oedipus by the 'Sphinx' at the entrance of the legendary city of Thebes. Oedipus with his extraordinary wisdom solved it and then was allowed entry to the city. The play is a tragic elucidation of the rise and fall of the great king Oedipus.

Images source: The internet

 E is for equilibrium

You and I envision the idea of noble mores,

That embodies harmony beyond boundaries and shores.

Life’s sailing boat pulls all stops as it goes,

Grappling, traversing the turbulence up, and close.

Chances, incidents, cause and effect, seal life’s tale,

And keep us on the run, to saturate life wholesale.

Dunes of past, present and future are takes, absolute,

Of holistic, divine calendar, that’s stubbornly resolute.

Could sages, saints and thinkers, the mystery of life unfold?

The wonder stands intact and the story remains untold.

The curious human ingenuity digs deep for, some secret potions,

To reveal life’s purpose, meaning or to clarify all our notions.

Well, let’s seek equilibrium, dynamic, come what may,

Stepping on the road less traveled, hoping, it might pay.


Friends,welcome here and thanks for the support.

Linked to      ABC Wednesday       JOSIE 2 SHOES         WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

OUR WORLD

 Yellow the color of (Basant) represents cheer and change in the weather with golden sunshine reigning supreme.

This rose (one of the early blooms) i captured a few days back in rose park in our community,where buds are waiting to bloom.

This post is dedicated to the splendor of yellow blossoms.


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linked to   our world rtuesday     IMAGE-IN-ING         NATURE NOTES
           
               OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY

RELAXING DOVES

Linked to:  SATURDAY CRITTERSl        CAMERA CRITTERS

I clicked this amiable pair on a mildly misty afternoon a few days back. I's attracted by their smug and tranquil bearing enjoying the tepid feel of the weather perched safely on the electric wires.

Friends, welcome here as always!

SKY WATCH FRIDAY

 Sky and Earth, MEET!

Hills befriending the skyline(below). Pines witnessing the spectacle!

 This picture i took in early summer of 2014, when I's in the midst of Shivalik hills,Himachal Pradesh.

Friends,welcome here as always!            linked to skywatch friday

LIFE IS A THORNY ROSE BUSH

linked to
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D is for delight and deluge.

Tangled webs and lengthening shadows,

Can’t freeze the blessed delights or dewy meadows.

Pain or grief may intermittently fall in torrents,

Yet to wallow in apathy is surely abhorrent.

Flashes of ecstasy, may in number be few,

See, how they bedeck life’s multi-layered stew! 

Youthful aberrations deserve righteous censure,

Yet, toiled triumphs call for applause in good measure.

Amidst deluge of tears and anguished pining,

The new day’s womb may carry a silver lining.

Isn’t a child’s angelic smile a heavenly boon?

To bury the negativities and push us to croon.

Can one stop the ripple of dreams in a bride’s mind?

Though, noose and fire may end the unbearable grind.

Evil forces that axe the human ties,

Are weaker than those who smooth the billowing cries.

The floodgates of hatred may seem overflowing,

Yet,the potent human spirit’ll never cease growing.

Let’s live life as a sacred endowment,

With the ammo of love as the only armament

Friends,welcome here as always!

OUR WORLD

  Bristling Green!
 






























 My archives' reservoir had these two pics which i love and am sharing them with you. These are the images captured in two parks in our vicinity. It was much before severe winter, probably, in early November,2014.

linked to  our world tuesday                 Image-in-ing            NATURE NOTES

OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY


Friends,welcome here as always!

WHAT WOULD YOU MISS-CDP THEME DAY

I WOULD MISS

 Well I'd miss the entry road to our community (above). Whenever we're driving back home after a few hours, or days or may be months, I'm infused with pride, nostalgia, inspiration and many mixed feelings and my inner being inaudibly whispers 'How nice to be back home.'

Inspired by 'Magic Eye', this is my first entry

  Friends,welcome and thanks for the support!