Travel Diary of A Wandering Mind
The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play. ~ Arnold J. Toynbee
Last January we went on a weekend trip to Shantiniketan and visited the wildlife sanctuary there.
While walking under the canopy of trees I felt like experimenting with my camera and this is what I got.
In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Blur.”
The moon puts on an elegant show, different every time in shape, colour and nuance. ~ Arthur Smith
I once asked my parents why they kept my name ‘Moon’. They said they liked this name when one of my aunts suggested it for me. When I was young I had so many embarrassing moments with my name which was uncommon in our community. Anyway, I don’t know when I started liking my name. Probably when I realized I like the source of my name that is, the moon very much. 🙂 Ever since I felt a connection with the moon and am always charmed by its magnetic existence.
The moon is an enigma to me. Its appearance – ephemeral but its presence – eternal.
That night when I looked through my window I was amazed to see the half-moon with a reddish glow which was transient. I didn’t waste time in capturing it with my ‘third eye’ – my camera. 😉 🙂
And my heart springs up anew, bright and confident and true. And the old love comes to meet me, in the dawning and the dew. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson
What is more fresh than the flowers we offer in worship?
Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. ~ Michael Jordan
And that’s what I tried to do with my camera. 🙂 I think I can share these wall photos in response to this week’s photo challenge – wall.
Painting of Lord Shiva on a wall at Dasaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi.
A wall in Varanasi depicting the story of the ancient epic Ramayana.
Walls where time has left its mark. Ruined walls inside Jaisalmer Fort, Rajasthan.
A wall that is meticulously carved to intricate details. The wall of a Haveli (palace) in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
The wall that exudes grandeur and opulence of the medieval kingdom of Rajputana. The interior walls of Amer Fort Palace, Jaipur.
On the contrary, this wall speaks of tribal life in Bengal, something very simple and down to earth. Wall paintings at Srijani Shilpagram, Shantiniketan.
Santhal tribes in India decorate their cottage walls with colourful paintings.
Now here are the walls that display the creative genius of young artists in Visva Bharati Kala Bhavan, Shantiniketan.
And finally, walls in my city Kolkata where you’ll find everything from sports to politics. 😛 🙂
So, what do you think about walls in Indian cities and villages? Aren’t they interesting?
ORANGE is the happiest color. ~ Frank Sinatra
Orange is a warm color that exudes a lot of positive energy. I share some of my positive moments in orange in response to this week’s photo challenge. I find orange almost everywhere.
Orange in the garden.
Orange in the sky at Pushkar.
Orange in the robes of folk singers in Shantiniketan.
Orange in Pink City Jaipur.
Orange in the arches of Amer Fort Palace courtyard.
And finally, the orange fireball at sunset.
As I follow Voyager for life – Renuka’s Blog I received email notification of her new blog post yesterday. It was on Thomas Cook Explore the Elements Photo Contest. As soon as I saw her post on the same I felt the urge to take part in this wonderful travel photoblogging contest. The contest is about submitting at least one photograph representing each of the basic elements of the world – Earth, Water, Fire and Air. You can visit the link for more details of the contest – Explore The Elements.
Following are my entries for the contest:
Represents the hard, solid objects of the earth associated with stubbornness, collectiveness, physicality and gravity.
Represents the fluid, flowing, formless things in the world associated with emotion, defensiveness, adaptability, flexibility, suppleness, and magnetism.
Represents the energetic, forceful, moving things in the world Associated with security, motivation, desire, intention, and an outgoing spirit.
Represents things that grow, expand, and enjoy freedom of movement Associated with will, elusiveness, evasiveness, benevolence, compassion, and wisdom.
Now I need to spread the word as per the rule of the contest.
I nominate five bloggers who are crazy travelers and wonderful photographers as well 🙂
I am happy to participate in the contest. Hope you like my entries. 🙂
Have a wonderful week!
For me reward is finding joy in small things.
It can be admiring the shiny droplets of water on giant taro leaves (colocasia) right after the rain.
It can be following tapping sound in a quiet afternoon to find a woodpecker on the palm tree in your backyard. (It’s rewarding because we don’t often see such birds except crow, pigeons and sparrows in the concrete jungle of urban life. 😦 )
It can be discovering beauty in wildflowers that bloom by the road and we never bother to look at. They may look ordinary but get closer and you’ll see beauty in them too.
It can be watching animals play in the wild.
It can be getting up early and rushing to the garden to discover the buds you saw yesterday turned to flowers.
It can be waking up to a beautiful morning after a terribly dark rainy night and see the rays of gentle morning sun tear apart the cloud and flood the valley.
It can be resting under the cool shades of a tree after a long walk in a summer morning and feel rejuvenated.
And finally, it is when I see my little niece happily playing, singing and smiling all by her.
Footloose Forever 