The Runners - Trivandrum, Kerala, India

The Runners - Trivandrum, Kerala, India
Originally uploaded by medhekar2000.

As the world stands still and looks on with several thoughts running through their minds, the runners sprint by in a blur. The runners have just one thought in their minds - to breast the tape first !

The "Samrat Yantra", Jaipur, India

"Samrat Yantra" - another view
Originally uploaded by medhekar2000.

The time in my watch was 4:45 PM - and this sun dial showed the time (you can see the shadow line on the right) as"4:43 PM" !! ("Samrat Yantra", Jantar Mantar, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India).

Designer "Mehndi"

Designer "Mehndi"
Originally uploaded by medhekar2000.

These are the intricately "Mehndi" (henna)-painted hands of my young niece who was recently married. The "Mehndi" ceremony is a popular event (held a day or two before the wedding) in Indian marriages. The bride-to-be's female friends and the womenfolk of the house get their hands and feet decorated by "Mehndi" experts. There is a lot of singing, dancing and light ribbing of the bride-to-be and everyone has a great time!

Palayam Mosque, Trivandrum, Kerala, India

Palayam Mosque, Trivandrum, Kerala, India
Originally uploaded by medhekar2000.

A view of the mosque at Palayam, Trivandrum, Kerala, India as seen from the Police Stadium grounds. The Martyrs Column that honours those who sacrificed their lives during India's freedom struggle is on the left. Not in picture and behind the mosque is a Hindu temple. Similarly, towards the left but not in the photo is a beautiful Christian church. These are symbols of the secular nature of India where we have always respected all religions and cultures but, as Mahatma Gandhi once said, we refuse to let any one of them blow us off our feet.

Neelakurinji flowering - September 2006

Neelakurinji flowering - September 2006. Rajamalai Hills about an hour's drive from Munnar in Idukki district, Kerala, India. This region also forms part of the Eravipuram National Park that is home to the Nilgiri Tahr, a protected species. When the Neelakurinji flowers once in 12 years it carpets the slopes of these hills turning them a violet-blue as far as the eye can see. We drove up the hills specialy to witness this once-in-12-years natural phenomenon and we wern't disappointed! (see some of the photographs we took at Neelakurinji Flowering 2006 )

Onam Week Celebrations 2006 - 1

Onam Week Celebrations 2006 - 1
Originally uploaded by medhekar2000.

I was sitting right across the Chandrashekaran Nair Police Stadium, Trivandrum, too far to get a close up of the magnificent, caparisoned elephants lined up on the other side. But I did catch the multi-hued sky, the silhouette of the tress and the Palayam church atop which stands a huge statute of Jesus with arms outstretched blessing all those below. What a grand finale this was to this year's inauguration of the Onam festival.

King Mahabali makes an appearance !

King Mahabali makes an appearance !
Originally uploaded by medhekar2000.

Legend has it that King Mahabali of Kerala appears once a year, during the Onam festival to bless his people.

This Onam I saw him at the entrance of a hotel in Trivandrum I was about to enter! Resplendent in his colourful royal attire, and holding a traditional palm-leaf umbrella, he looked grand and dignified as he welcomed people with a smile to the "Onam Sadya" (feast)! I lost no time in snapping him with my Nokia 3230 mobilephone camera before he disappeared!

Coffee Table Miscellanea

Coffee Table Miscellanea
Originally uploaded by medhekar2000.

Looking down at the coffee table
besides my armchair
I see this collection of assorted things.
All useful in their own way,
denoting my tastes, style and flair.

Writing Implements

Writing Implements
Originally uploaded by medhekar2000.

Draw, doodle, scratch or scribble
Sign, tap, or even nibble
These are tools with which you write
Sketch, mark and sometimes copywrite*

(*as in copywriter)

The Lone Palmyra, Kovalam, Trivandrum

The Lone Palmyra, Kovalam, Trivandrum
Originally uploaded by medhekar2000.

The lone palmyra on the rock! Short, stubby, unbending it stands its ground in the heavy winds! Perhaps it mocks the taller, slimmer coconut palms that are bent by the winds or maybe it is stoic, like the eagle on the rock in Elinor H. Wylie's poem "The Eagle & The Mole"* - indifferent to the harsh sun, the strong winds or the thundering waves that crash at its feet.

*Avoid the reeking herd,
Shun the polluted flock,
Live like the stoic bird,
The eagle on the rock."
- Elinor Hoyt Wylie

Beaten-silver Skies

Beaten-silver Skies
Originally uploaded by medhekar2000.

We had heavy rains lash Trivandrum all night last night and it was overcast wheh I left home a little before 6 AM for a round of Sunday morning golf. But after the first 9 holes the skies cleared and there was a cool, refreshing breeze. Our three-some sat down for a cup of hot coffee near the club house when someone remarked about "beaten-silver" skies. I looked up and saw this incredible sight - fluffy clouds high up in the sky, pushed into an orderly array by the winds. Hoping the light was right I pointed my Nokia 3230 phone camera towards the skies and came up with this picture. The gloom of the previous few days was gone, body and mind feeling refreshed and uplifted. It is amazing how a change in weather and the scenery can change one's mood! (click photo to se full size)

Leafless in Trivandrum!

Leafless in Trivandrum!
Originally uploaded by medhekar2000.

This leaf-less tree in other months has thick green leaves and light pink/light yellow flowers. Today it looked down on those taking their morning walk, unmindful of its leafless canopy, but looking elegant all the same. It was as if it was stretching its arms to give. Let's take a leaf from this tree ... when we stretch our arms next, let them stretch out to give and not to take. (click photo to view full size)

Tree in bloom, 6th Green, The Trivandrum Golf Club

I

Tree in bloom - 1, 6th Green The Trivandrum Golf Club
Originally uploaded by medhekar2000.

was playing a round of golf this Sunday morning when I had regulation 3-on onto the 6th. It's the only 5-par on the Trivandrum Golf Club. While I was lining up my put I saw this beautiful tree, right behind the pin. In full bloom, its golden yellow flowers and dark green leaves looked magnificient against the clear blue sky in the background. I took out my Nokia 3230 and snapped up this lovely photo right there. Then I wrote this note and blogged it via GPRS! What a perfect Sunday morning! (click on photo to see full size)

Antique Postbox, Perumbavoor, Kerala, India

Antique Postbox, Perumbavoor, Kerala, India
Originally uploaded by medhekar2000.

I recently traveled to Perumbavoor, a town about 30 kms from the city of Cochin in Kerala, India. At the Government Rest House there I saw an antique postbox of the erstwhile Travancore State. Painted red and black with touches of golden yellow on its crown, the postbox is made of cast iron and on its black base is written "Massey & Co, Madras", most probably the manufacturer of these postboxes. There is an embossed inscription that says "Cleared by Travancore Anchal" in English ("Anchal" means "Post" in Malayalam) and another inscription in Malayalam, the language spoken in Kerala. The box has the Royal Emblem of the State of Travancore along three sides of its top. The design of the post box reminds one of the postboxes in the Victorian era. While no one was at hand to tell me how old the postbox was, I would think it would be at least pre-1950, if not earlier.

What impressed me was the solidity of the construction and how well-crafted the box was - each detail still intact even after all these years - almost a work of art. (click on the pictures to see them full-size)

Atria

Image_35.jpg
Originally uploaded by medhekar2000.

Atrium. A large open space

in a building, usually topped

by a glass roof, sometimes

containing elaborate landscaping and ponds.

Atrium. One of the two

smaller chambers of the heart,

form the curved top of the heart, above the larger ventricles

beating out the rythm of life.

Each atrium consists

of an open space with recessed walls.

Each a space to let the light in,

for vision or for enlightenment.

(Click on photo to see it full size)

Just Imagine!

"Everything you can imagine is real."

Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)

Does art imitate life or is it the other way around? If you can imagine a thing then does it already exist? Put another way, can we imagine only those things that already exist? Is the universe a closed set of ideas that are floating around waiting to be picked up like radio waves are picked up by antennae? Are the number of ideas finite? Or are they finite only for each level of intelligence? Just imagine!

The question really is, what is "new"? What's a new idea? A new invention? Or are there just new discoveries? Are discoveries finite? - I mean one could go on discovering newer and newer things. But ideas, inventions? Would their number be limited by the level of our intelligence or by our imagination? Is our imagination limited by our IQ? (I know people with humungus IQs but who have little imagination and even less patience with those who have it!)

Albert Einstein once said "Imagination is more important than knowledge" and Bertrand Russell said that "Science may set limits on knowledge but should not set limits on imagination."

No limits! Just let your imagination free...but, like with every freedom exercise responsiblity for, to paraphrase Goethe, nothing is more obnoxious than imagination without taste.

Tree in full bloom. Museum Compound, Trivandrum, Kerala, India.

Image_34.jpg
Originally uploaded by medhekar2000.

Just look at this tree! In full bloom, celebrating life! Happy just to be! I see it in its various moods on my morning walks and it always offers something nice to look at. (Click photo to see larger image).