Reflection

There are prompts

that I am skeptical of

and prompts that I love.

This is one of those prompts.

Let's begin with love.

I love it because there

is so much you can do with it.

The limits to the creativity

Well, they don't exist.

Only, I am skeptical of it because

I am not sure

if I have that skill

(even if we agree that I would have imagination).

The Golden Temple, Amritsar

My father took this picture in our April tour.

I just happened to have it handy.

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Friday's Fences

I was trying to click some pictures

for the world photography contest last month.

It is at  that time, that I had clicked these shots.

The Canon had come to life

after a long time

and so I was experimenting with it.

The first thing that I share here is

the historic stone fence

to the historic Barselas,

the royal tombstones right next to my house.

And the next one is

a small little wicket gate

with a little arch that is now

all distorted.

There were times when this arch was covered with vines and climbers.

Linking up with Life According to Jan n Jer

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Winters are - approaching!

Winters are approaching.

It is that time of summer

when it is no longer summer

and not winter yet.

But days have become shorter

and rains have become colder.

I do not put on the fan when I sleep.

By the morning I am too cold if I do.

I will share some winter skies

I had captured in January

but never shared.

I found them yesterday

Days will be soon like them again -

I remember the day.

it had snowed all night

and we were on our way to Manali.

The morning was bright sunny and beautiful.

I had started active blogging around that time

and my sister had prompted me to click these.

"You could use them for your blog."

But never got a chance

or a theme

and then forgot about them all.

Today, I do put them to use.

Even winter skies can be pretty.

Linking up with

Skywatch Friday, Season 6, Episode 8

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It's crow time today

This morning,

why just an hour ago,

I got a little lucky.

Yesterday,

I wondered how beautifully

Carver from Carver Cards, a photographic journal

had pictured all the birds.

And today, I get to picture

some crows

myself.

I managed to get two decent shots,

with a crow each

waiting with watchful eyes

for some safe place to feed.

It really posed well,

what do you think?

P.S. I am glad to have my Canon back in shape again.

It definitely works better than my mobile and Sony cyber shot.

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A look at the sky

A look at the sky

and gorgeous clouds

finally had me getting the

Canon out of its hiding.

And I love the results that

I got with it.

How else could I flaunt the sky

with all its shades

And with bicycles, fences - everything.

This one had to be clicked

and this one had to be included too.

Linking with

Skywatch : Season 6, episode 6

Life according to Jan and Jer

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Pictures from 1st May, 2012 - 6th May, 2012

It is May already.

 I have been participating in this photo a day challenge

for most of the year now.

I did miss a few days in March

but other than that, I have been pretty regular with my challenge posts.

This month's challenge has wonderful themes to keep our cameras occupied.

This week, I thought of sharing my pictures in the form of collage and in a random fashion.

I created these using Photovisi

in order to have more options than those offered by Picasa 3.

I started with a basic theme for collage

The first picture is for prompt - Peace (May 1st, 2012)

The lines are photographed from a poster in my room.

The next picture is for May 4th, 2012.

Fun - so many animals in a conference - absolute fun.

And a cat sitting next to a dog - real fun.

These are the toys my nephew plays with and it is fun to see him playing with them.

The next theme I chose for my collage was from the category Organic.

Starting clockwise

3rd May, 2012 - Something you wore

5th May, 2012 - Bird

6th May, 2012 - You

and 2nd May, 2012 - Skyline

Something you wore :

Contact lens, kajal and a golden watch - somethings I wore on 3rd May, 2012

Very uncharacteristic for me - and all three things

I usually prefer my specs to lens

and a silver watch to golden.

Add to it, I actually used kajal.

A real achievement. I have had an eye liner for two years now

but have never used it once.

I have no explanation for any of this.

Bird :

I chose a pigeon again.

Well to put it, pigoen was the only bird that was in vicinity.

Almost all of my bird pictures have been with pigeons.

I will share my collection of these in the next post.

Oh Yes! I have enough to share in a separate post.

You :

I tried playing around with my picture.

Adding effects to it.

I liked the one with pencil sketch on a book page very much.

Skyline :

This is early morning.

When sun is about to rise.

I find that the most beautiful times of the day.

The fresh morning air,

the waking up to a sunny day,

getting ready for the day ahead.

Wonderful.

Have a blessed week ahead.

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Week 18 of Year 2012 in pictures

I have been taking a few days off from my job.

And what have I been doing all this time?

Enjoying a weekend outing and clicking lots of pictures.

Enough to cover all the pending prompts from last week or rather April, I should say.

Two of the pictures have been clicked by my father.

He is very good at clicking the pictures.

I can only marvel when he handles the camera.

So, back to sharing the photographs

22nd April, 2012 : The last thing that you bought

I have been improving my professional wardrobe with kurtis.

That I have not been able to wear them yet is another story.

I had actually purchased three - the third one is black.

23rd April, 2012 : Vegetable

Tomatoes - what better than these to cover the prompt

My original idea was to do something cooked.

But I was stacking up refrigerator with some things when I saw these

and these looked so tempting and delicious.

Some of them demand an early attention

and I am always ready for tomatoes ... tomato soup, tomato in veggies.

24th April, 2012 : Something you're grateful for

One word answer for this one - 

Life is full of countless blessings.

So, I am most grateful for being able to live the life that I have.

Ups and downs, smiles and  tears - all being a part and parcel of this living.

Beautiful and wonderful.

25th April, 2012 : Looking Down

We were on a short but enjoyable pilgrimage this weekend.

Looking down from the third floor

of the place where we stayed put for a few nights,

I found pigeons huddled together.

There were pigeons every where around us

and it was fun watching their antics.

The recess was out of reach of the cleaners and therefore, the mess.

All the time, I had been wondering about the results of this photograph

but I think, it is tolerable on the whole.

26th April, 2012 : Black + White

"I bow to thee, Mother" ("Vande Mataram")

This flame burns day and night and reminds us all

of the sacrifices that earned us our independence.

Amar Jawan Jyoti @ Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar

27th April, 2012 : Somewhere you went

This weekend I was off to Amritsar Sahib - me, my family and my sister's family.

We visited The Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh, Gurudwara Shaheedan Sahib.

We also visited another place Naushehra Sahib, 

which is one of the religious seat for our community too.

A satisfying trip altogether.

(Photograph clicked by my father)

28th April, 2012 : 1 PM

1 PM is usually the time I help mum with some chores

like getting the laundry downstairs from the terrace.

I am, generally, not much help when I am at home.

So, I find simple tasks that are within my reach.

Hanging the clothes for drying and folding the dried laundry

are some of the tasks that I participate mostly in.

29th April, 2012 : Circle

Circle reminds me of just one thing - the dartboard in my room.

We bought it with great hopes of improving concentration

but a few tries left lots of marks on the walls

and little on the board

and now, it is no more than a showpiece on the wall.

But I love it and am not willing to trade its place with anything else.

30th April, 2012 : Something that makes you sad

Back to Jallianwala Bagh - the bullet marks on the wall

definitely leave one sad.

They speak loudly and silently about what happened on that fateful day.

They speak of the pain, the bloodshed and they speak of the tears

My father clicked this one for us.

The challenge for April is done.

May begins tomorrow. New set of prompts.

New share of pictures.

Stay blessed always.

P.S. I am glad I did these prompts with Canon and Sony

rather than my mobile.

Anyways, the mobile camera application needs some fixing and patching.

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22nd March, 2012 : Prompt - Kitchen Sink

Prompt - Kitchen Sink

Kitchen sink ... the most debated corner of my house ...

Why???

Because, it needs renovation.

Whole of the kitchen needs renovation ...

But that has long been delayed.

May be this April ...

This is our kitchen ...

the maximum of it ...

The right most corner - the Kitchen Sink

This is the before dinner scene

After dinner scene is just the contrast ...

sink overflowing with dishes

and if I happen to participate in cooking

(like I did today)

clutter everywhere.

The shelf is a little low so we (read me, I am the tallest lady of the house)

have to bend a lot for doing dishes and kneading dough and making rotis (Indian bread)

But soon ... soon it will be a different picture ...

April ... come soon.

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21st March, 2012 : Prompt - Delicious

Prompt -Delicious

I wish I had a chance to do this yesterday.

We had my cousin's in-laws visiting us for dinner.

And there was a lot of cooking that my mother did.

Lots of special things on the menu.

However, no leftovers remain this time.

No cheese, no white-gram, no mix-veg, no rice.

But that does not mean, I did not get anything delicious today.

I welcomed spring with open arms and open heart today by tasting

the first (almost) fresh Pineapple juice of the season.

I am a great pineapple fan.

I like pineapple juices, I like pineapple in curd,

I like pineapple pastries, I like pineapple wafers ...

So, a toast to the theme Delicious with a glass of Pineapple juice seems most appropriate for me.

Photograph clicked by Canon Powershot S5 IS

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20th March, 2012 : Prompt - Before / After

Prompt - Before / After

I belong to a Sikh family...

and Turban is the pride and prestige of a Sikh man ...

Tying a turban is quite an important part of lives of our boys and males ...

and maintaining those Turbans quite a task for ladies

In our community, they all wear blue turbans ...

but my father (his favorite color being white) could never get used to the pure blue color.

So, his choice is white muslin cloth which has to be treated with the indigo-blue whitener.

This gives it a beautiful blue hue ...

Washed and dried, the 3 m long muslin then is starched at home by my mum ...

In the scorching sun, this can be quite an arduous task for her ... for she has to keep the ends from sticking together.

Dried and starched and stacked away till weekend ...

Every Sunday ...

my father ties his turban with mamma's aid ...

she holds, she pulls and gets the layers in shape for him...

his hands work deftly ...

his temper a little short at that time ...

because you need to use water to get it into shape...

and starch and water are two risky combinations ...

so he works deftly and cautiously ...

and lo and behold ...

he is all set to meet the weekdays in panache.

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19th March : Prompt - 2012 : Funny

Prompt - Funny

I'd Describe myself as:

"Sorta tall, I guess"

Who can speak these words???

He needs no introduction.

And who does not adore his smile.

Its fun when JaiAditya (age 1, my nephew) sees this and laughs out loud.

And when he tries to reach up to him.

We have put this Goofy perched high above the window.

All the playing around with my nephews has moved Goofy out of my room.

(That was also because the Goofy won't stick to the wardrobe wall any more .It had been staying there since some 15 years before the gum gave away. I did not want to do away with this, so mum made a hole in it and hung it right in front of my room, so I see it every time I step out.)

I love his colors and I love his laugh.

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18th March, 2012 : Prompt - A corner of your home

Prompt - A corner of your home

I knew when I had seen the list what would be my choice ...

I was so sure that I had wanted to do this straight away

But ... I waited for the turn to come ...

And I am glad I waited ...

for I can justify my choice today.

Because in this time, I have given a serious thought as to why I am participating in this challenge ...

I am no photographer ...leave apart classic ... not even average

I do not have a creative skill with photography as many other participants have

(I look at other people's photographs and I feel I can never even go close to those standards)

But I have found my answer today ...

I do not do it for photography ... 

I do it because it tells me how rich my life is ...

You give me a prompt and right within this house I find stuff to meet it up ...

Okay not always (there are prompts that I really messed up with) ... but still ...

I get to realize that I am hundred thousand times blessed than many people out there.

And Thank you God for all giving me a Blessed Ordinary life.

This is more than I can ever handle.

More than I could ever imagine ...

So, I share a corner of my home ... my room

where I look up with a grateful heart

The wall behind this corner has a 3-D picture that changes depending on the viewing angle

This is one view from that picture.

The other well, I lacked skills to do it properly, so I am not sharing it.

It has both Lord Krishna and Devi Radha together.

And if yesterday I was thinking of giving up ... today I am planning to stay in the challenge

for as long as I can.

Photographs clicked by Canon Power shot S5 IS

Linking with Spiritual Sundays

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SkyWatch ... the Wednesday Sky

It has been shady, cloudy and sunny all this week.

But I was working on another photo-challenge and it had the prompt Clouds ...

and I decided to make it a theme for this week's SkyWatch

The thick grey clouds,

the dismantling of the shroud,

The grey, blue and every other hue ...

The sun shining through

The hope of bright day ahead ...

From the sky is what I read ...

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15th March , 2012 : Prompt - Car

Prompt - Car

Today's prompt is the one that leaves me brainstorming again.

And for a simple reason ...

we are the part of the minority crowd that does not own a car.

We have a scooter ... the two - wheeler one that carries us to places where we want to go locally.

For distant travels, long live the public transportation ...

and if we want a luxury travel ...

long live the taxi and the taxi association.

So, it is from here that I get my idea of today's prompt ...

The Taxi stand  ... as viewed from the back side of my house ...

(Sometimes I simply love what my camera can do!!!)

I thought it to be a better gesture of appreciation for all those comfortable taxi-trips that I have made ...

But I could not resist signing off without sharing this one here ...

For those who know what houses we have in my locality, know very well that neither the house in the background nor this car is related to me in any manner.

Or is this car not related to me.

It so happens that the car in question above is happily pasted on my personal closet ever since I was a kiddo (and mind you all, while growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional ...

so you know what category I still belong too.)

Digressions apart, we were discussing cars here and there is one more thing I need to put in before signing off ... though I am not sure if it qualifies ...

Proudly owned by Harjas and JaiAditya ...

Yeah the boys have somehow agreed to share this one.

And now, I am seriously going to digress to an older prompt - sign ...

I had talked of the signs of spring in the nature ...

but I had not had any chance to click those ...

I just got a little lucky today ...

So, with the extra zooming ability of my camera ... I bring to you the flowering trees from some distant hills I have never ever been to ...

The terrace farming in full swing on the same hill ...

and last of all ...

a parting shot .. welcome spring.

And while we are talking of digressions ... tomorrow being friday ... I will be uploading some pics for SkyWatch and also share some more printables.

Till then, have a wonderful day ahead.

All photographs clicked by Canon Powershot S5 IS

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14th March, 2012 : Prompt - Clouds

Prompt - Clouds

The clouds are galore in the sky these days.

There is seldom a day when we do not come across the clouds.

Sometimes, the sun shines through ...

other times the sky is grey with overbearing clouds.

Spring is in the air but not just in the weather somehow.

It grows so cold ... or may be it is me who feels cold because of the weakness from the fever.

Oh, for the sunny skies and the warmer days.

But wait says the heart and the mind.

Photograph clicked by Canon Powershot S5 IS

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12th March, 2012 : Prompt - Fork

Prompt - Fork

Back to sweetest place on this earth ...

As they say "East or west ... home is best".

And home cooked Mamma's food the best-est ever.

So, I waited today with my bowl and my fork ...

for a ladle full of love ... rice with black beans and chick pea soup.

Photograph clicked by Canon Powershot S5IS

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It is time for SkyWatch again

I have been actually on a Sky-watch this week.

And the sky presents beautiful patterns of its own.

I tried to capture away some of them.

They are mostly clouds but then ...

It has been raining more than usual in the last week ...

There is more than one shot this time :

The middle of the day when the perfect blue is covered with a perfect white ...

And I looked out of my room-window to see another set of clouds ...

Yesterday I woke up to a sun shining through the clouds (Had I been a little early and perhaps it would have been a cloud with silver lining)

And I slept to a beautiful full moon shining through the trees.

Participating in Skywatch Friday, Season 5, Episode 35

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8th March, 2012 : Prompt - Window

Prompt - Window

This window

heralds spring ... in my room

Sun rays,

Rain drops,

Butterflies flying in and out through it,

Occasionally a pigeon straying in through the same

The coffee and milk times becoming a little more livelier

and ample light ...

(Do not go by my photography ... I can sit in natural light for major part of my day thanks to this one window).

Photograph clicked by Canon Powershot S5IS

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7th March, 2012 : Prompt - Something you wore

Prompt - Something you wore

This is what I wore today.

Not much of venturing outside for us today because of colors being splashed all over the town.

But I, dad and Jaiaditya had a lightning tour to Gurudwara Sahib and there was no time to fuss around what to wear.

This was the first jacket that I saw in my wardrobe and wore it.

For all those wondering ... yes, it is still cold here and I am still weak from fever.

All said and done, I picked up this jacket in 2008 in a winter sale in Globus.

What I love about this jacket is its versatility.

You saw one way I wear it. Let me show (off) some more styles that I wear it in.

I make a crop jacket out of it.

I wear it sleeve-less and cropped :

And I wear it like a sleeve-less plain jacket too :

It is warm and very suitable for my area. And it is so rough and tough. Needs no extra attention.

So, I have four jackets that pack up to one.

Isn't that cool????

Photographs clicked by Canon Powershot S5IS

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