Photo challenge – Page 6 – Footloose Forever

“Happiness often sneaks in through a door…” – Part II

July 4, 2015July 4, 2015Posted in Photo challengeTagged Bhutan, door, doorway, gate, Monastery, Punakha, punakha monastery, Thimphu17 Comments

door, doorway, monastery, Punakha, Bhutan

When one door closes another one opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.

~ Alexander Graham Bell

Since these doors represent a strikingly different culture, the culture of the Royal Kingdom of Bhutan, which bears significant influence of Tibetan and Buddhist traditions I thought I must share them separately in a different post. My first post on Door is on traditional Rajasthani doors in the old fort palaces. You can check that out here. Published in response to the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Door.

“Happiness often sneaks in through a door…”

July 4, 2015July 4, 2015Posted in Photo challengeTagged arches, door, doorway, Jodhpur, Megrangarh Fort, Rajasthan29 Comments

door, Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur, Rajasthan,

There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.

~ Aldous Huxley

Doors are like the ‘face’ of a house. They speak a lot about your home. The door gives an impression of the taste of the homeowner. Sometimes the colors, carvings and architectural design of a doorway can represent the essence of a culture or tradition of that particular region where you see it. These typical Rajasthani doorways in Mehrangarh Fort speaks of the grandeur and extravaganza of aristocratic Rajput lifestyle of medieval era. I love the arches and intricate carvings on this door. What about you?

Published in response to the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Door.

Check out my second entry to the challenge here.

Finding joy in mundane things: Pebbles

June 30, 2015August 23, 2015Posted in Photo challengeTagged mundane, pebbles, Photo challenge, stones30 Comments

It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out, it’s the pebble in your shoe.

~ Muhammad Ali

There was a time when I spontaneously found beauty in mundane things. Those were my childhood days. I was often scolded by my mother for picking up pebbles from the roads and bringing them to home. Blue… grey… brown… round…oval…different colors…different shapes and size. I used to think someday I would create a bonsai and cover its base with those pebbles. But that never happened. Those pebbles found the roads again, courtesy my mother. 😀

So, when I saw these pebbles beneath the sparkling waters of the river I couldn’t but collect them…well, this time with my lens though 🙂 and I share them as part of the Mundane Monday Challenge given by my blogger friend Trablogger.

Hope you like them, too. 🙂

“My ultimate search has been for a muse”

June 27, 2015July 4, 2015Posted in Photo challengeTagged Bhutan, hills, mountain road, mountains, muse, musing, Paro, Road, travel photography35 Comments

road to Paro, hills, mountains, entering Paro, Bhutan

My ultimate search has been for a muse.

~ Dominic Monaghan

And I have found her in the mighty mountains, in the verdant vales and in the green slopes of the hills. I would love to come back a thousand times to the road that leads to mountain.

I can remember it was a cloudy day and it drizzled quite a few times during was our journey from Thimphu to Paro. I don’t understand the connection between rain and my travelling to hill stations… 🙂 But I must agree that the hill stations in the Himalayas have a different beauty when it rains.

Published in response to the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Muse.

“The Seasons of Nature Repeat Annually – Spring Goes Off and Comes Back”

June 14, 2015June 27, 2015Posted in Photo challengeTagged Bhutan, bougainvillea, off-season, punakha monastery11 Comments

bougainvillea, punakha, monastery, bhutan,

Everything has seasons, and we have to be able to recognize when something’s time has passed and be able to move into the next season. Everything that is alive requires pruning as well, which is a great metaphor for endings.

~ Henry Cloud

There is no ‘off-season’ for flowers like Bougainvillea as long as they are on the tree, because they bloom throughout the year. But it is definitely off-season for those that are lying scattered on the ground.

Published in response to the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Off-Season.

Daily Post Photo Challenge: Vivid

June 7, 2015June 26, 2015Posted in Photo challengeTagged Bhutan, colorful, colors, Flower, orange, purple, vivid, yellow26 Comments

orchid, orange, flower, vivid, color, colourful

Some memories are unforgettable, remaining ever vivid and heartwarming!

~ Joseph B. Wirthlin

True! My memories of Bhutan travel will always remain vivid like the colors of these flowers I captured with my lenses in the Land of Thunder Dragons. Published in response to Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Vivid.

Daily Post Photo Challenge: On the Way

June 2, 2015Posted in Photo challengeTagged Bhutan, Flower, peach, peach flower, purity, white17 Comments

You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way. ~ Walter Hagen

I am just back from my trip to Bhutan, one of the world’s happiest countries. The land of Thunder Dragon electrified me with its pure, unspoilt beauty. Apart from its green slopes, colourful valleys, picturesque towns and monasteries there were something that captured my heart. And that’s the orchards of peach covered in white blossoms. Yes, peach flowers are something I saw first time in my life while driving on the way to Thimphu, the capital city. The white flowers blooming towards the sky embodied purity and I couldn’t resist capturing them with my lens. Hope you’ll like them too. 🙂