Explore Dream Discover said Twain

Greetings. I am taking a small break from blogging.

I'm leaving on another trip today. To Rajasthan, again! See you all in a few days.

~~~

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”
~Author unknown

What a wonderful world...

I'm singing the
Louis Armstrong
version of this track
as I put up this post for

MY WORLD
TUESDAY
~~~

Mussoorie

I see trees of green, red roses too
My room with a view

I see them bloom, for me and you

Wildflowers

And I think to myself...
What a wonderful world!

I see skies of blue, and clouds of white

Camel Back's Road

The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
A late evening moon

And I think to myself...
What a wonderful world!

The colors in the rainblow, so pretty in the sky

Sunset in the Himalayas

And also on the faces of people going by

Children residing near Company Bagh

I see friends shaking hands, saying: How do you do?
They are really saying: I love you.

Watching the world go by from the window!

I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
They'll know much more, than I'll ever know
And I think to myself...
What a wonderful world!

~ All photographs from my archives of:
Mussoorie
Uttarakhand

Petra

Shadow Shot Sunday

Scenic Sunday
~~~

My entry for this week is from my archives of photographs shot in Petra of Jordan which needs no introduction.

Near the Siq

I am posting two photographs, one of a typical scenery shot near Wadhi Al-Mudhlim above, the other of what the locals call as Al-Khazneh when it was cast with the shade of the tall mountains around.

The Treasury, also called Al Khazneh

The inclusion of some people in the above picture does give a rough idea of the size of the Treasury, isn't it? I also like to view how the mountain in the top right hand side is bathed in full and direct sunlight.

Saturday Smile: From Bhatta Village

Bhatta

Mussoorie-Dehradun Road
Uttarakhand
India

Other Saturday Smiles:

• Sunglasses
• Adam & Eves
• Balloon Sellers
• Andy
• Smiles from Indore

Glowing Path

To see more skies from around the world, go visit
Sky Watch
and click on the thumbnail photographs there
~~~

Near the Scientific Center

Kuwait

Sunset at Tungabhadra Dam

The Tungabhadra River, formed by the confluence of Tunga and Bhadra, in the southern part of India flows from Karnataka to Andhra Pradesh. From then on, it joins as the chief tributary of the Krishna River.

The Tungabhadra Dam was constructed to harness the River water. What I like about dams is that they help with irrigation, farming, in producing hydroelectricity and I'm sure there are other uses that I am not aware of. It is amazing how water is stored so that there is enough during the summer months too.

The Tungabhadra Dam is near to the World Heritage Site, Hampi. It's storage capacity is 135 Tmcft, and in times of heavy rains, the Dam is said to be distributing an estimated quantity of 235 Tmcft, in other words... a huge amount! My mind could not fully comprehend the size of the water body. Water was filled to the brim as far as my eyes could see, right up to the horizon!

While strolling in the gardens at that height, I particularly liked the view of several species of birds flying past continously for hours together. I believe some of the birds are resident, others migratory.

I also stayed long enough to capture some sunset scenes.

Tungabhadra Dam in the distance....
on the left is nothing else but water as far as the eyes could see!

Sun setting in the waters

Shot through my sunglasses

Shimmering waters

~~~

Go view many more water shots at
Watery Wednesday

Sun-Earth Connection

Shadow Shot Sunday

~~~

Pittsburgh
Pennsylvania

Picture shot from Monongahela Incline

Picture shot from Fagan Overlook

While on top of the Mount Washington, I waited long enough to watch the play of sun and the shadows it cast over Pittsburgh through the remainder of the evening. I am always fascinated about the profound interconnection between the Sun and the Earth.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes
but in having new eyes.
~ Marcel Proust

Saturday Smile: Sunglasses

I started a Saturday Smile post on October 30, 2010 and since then have been posting a photograph of a smile or smiles every week. Here are the smiles for this week:

Keith and Karen
with their nanny

Other Saturday Smiles:

• Adam & Eves
• Balloon Sellers
• Andy
• Smiles from Indore

Changing Colors

Watery Wednesday

hosted by 2sweetnsaxy
and
Outdoor Wednesday
hosted by Susan
~~~

It is pleasant weather here these days and last week when I went for my usual walk, I carried my camera along. Stopping near the Scientific Center, I watched the sun getting ready to set, and tried to capture some of the changing colors in the sky.

Here are a few shots, posted SOOC:

Vidhana Soudha

My World Tuesday

~~~

The photographs here are of the Vidhana Soudha, located in Bangalore (Bengaluru), which is the seat of Karnataka’s secretariat and legislative assembly. It is constructed in the Neo-Dravidian style and also incorporates Indo-Saracenic elements of architecture.

Ayyo Appa...

Constitutional breakdown
Conflicts and conspiracies
Peddling of politicians
Land grabbing, horse trading
Land scams, struggle for power

Kidnapping, goons ruling
Ruthless and tyrannical
Defections, corruption rampant
Situation out of control
Deterioration by the day

What use of prayers and rituals
To idols and the gods
While poor are not cared for and die
When will the so called leaders
End such insolent autocratic rule?

What happened to oaths and duties
Morals and responsibilities
Integrity and honesty
Has it all been thrown in the winds
Gone for a toss so easily?

Is there anyone out there
Ready for selfless and honest service
To bring about needed change
Raise the standard and dignity
In the life of the common man

I think they were around
During the freedom struggle
Can we not find them anymore
Except in movies and books
Or should we seek them in statues?

~~~

Photographs shot: 24 December 2009
(during my last visit to Bangalore)

Poetry created: 22 November 2010
(keeping in mind the present chaos and political crisis
in Karnataka, the state I was born in)

Light of Day

Life is better with a splash of
Yellow

~~~

Sunrise - Ooty

hours of darkness end
radiance of morning light
at the crack of dawn

Wildflowers

Scenic Sunday
and
Today's Flowers

Valley of Flowers
Uttarakhand
India
Height from MSL:
3,200 - 6,600 meters
(10,500 - 21,600 feet)

The white gleam..
As the sun wakes...

The white fades
Into green...

And I watch in awe
As the nature breathes in
Colors...

-Signed: The Bar Girl.

(Words left behind by the Bar Girl here)

Detailed post on my trek to the Valley:
A Day in the Valley

Saturday Smile: Adam and Eves

Adam

with his two young "aunts"
whom he addresses by their names

Another day ends...

It was a beautiful sunset a few days back. I got my camera out and shot these pictures from my bedroom window:

17:36

17:37

17:38

Then I also included my reading lamp in the picture...

17:45

~~~

Go view skies from all over the planet at:
Sky Watch
~~~

Alaknanda, the Mountain River

Go visit Watery Wednesday for more shots and their related stories.
~~~

River Alaknanda near Badrinath

The Alaknanda is a river in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is one of the two headstreams of the Ganges. The Alaknanda begins its journey from the Himalayan mountains.

Mana Village

A 4 km walk from Badrinath along the Alaknanda river and past fields divided by dry stone walls leads to tiny Mana village as seen in the background of the above photograph. It is the last village on the borders of Indo-China region.

Mana is situated at a height of 3,200 meters (over 10,000 feet) above main sea level. This village shuts down in winter for 6 months or so as it gets snow-bound with sub-zero temperatures.

It is presumed that it was in this little Village that the sacred Indian texts of the Vedas and Puranas were compiled.

The inhabitants of Mana in the Himalayan mountains are mainly Indo-Mongolian tribals.

Sinai Sunset

Visit Mellow Yellow for more images in Yellow.

~~~

In Egypt, under Ptolemy II, a road was built linking Marsa Alam and Edfu and is still in use. Tourists wishing to travel on this route used to do that in convoys until the recent past, and probably still do.

Taxi operators need to take prior permission from the relevant authorities before transporting tourists.

I travelled on this road from Marsa Alam to Luxor one warm evening last year. This is a shot of the sunset viewed from the desert road along the Sinai.

Sinai desert
Egypt

Shadows and Echoes

Do also visit
Shadow Shot Sunday
and
Scenic Sunday
and
One Single Impression
for more on its prompt: Echoes
~~~

Manali, Himachal Pradesh

Traversing long stretches
Along snake like roads
I discover Manali
And its imposing
Brown peaks
Glaciers tucked in
Pristine waters flowing
Peaceful and serene
Abundance of
Natural beauty
Spectrum of
Himalayan landscape
Clouds in motion
Bring change in scenery
Moving over
Mountain tops
Casting shadows
On the green valleys

Seated at Echo Point
Soaking in the beauty
Of the distant mountains
I bellow out a word
Then wait expectantly
For the echo
To reverberate
From the distance
Faithfully!

Saturday Smile: Balloon Sellers

Balloon Sellers
Ernakulam

Blue Sky, White Clouds

I'm watching many more skies at Skywatch Friday.
Go have a look, and participate in the fun.
~~~

A small part of the 2,400 kms of our planet's highest mountain range, the Himalayas, as seen from two states in India.

Valley of Flowers
Uttarakhand

Manali
Himachal Pradesh

Smoke Cascade

~~~

The River Narmada plunges in a waterfall known as Dhuandhar Falls or the smoke cascade. The plunge is so powerful that its roar can be heard from a disance. These Falls are a spectacular sight of nature's power.

Dhuandhar Falls

Bhedaghat, Jabalpur
Madhya Pradesh

Down Home

Go visit My World.
It is a place where you show others the area around you and become a virtual tourist guide.

~~~

Manali, Himachal Pradesh

I hide...
I peek, and smile...
I pose...
I share a secret....
I listen...