Tiny little steps....

Its always an amazement for me when I see Alia trying to do things that we've long since taken as part of our being. The first time she rolled over was a total fluke! She kept trying and trying and suddenly flipped over much to her amusement! And then she kept practicing till she perfected it. Then she struggled to sit up straight till one day that also happened. I watched with wonder when she started standing the first time and was swaying all over the place trying to find balance! I used to be near her ready to catch her in whichever direction she would fall but in all the swaying, there was a balance which only she was sure of. And then one day the crawling began! A whole new world opened for her, She could go from place to place all on her own! She has totally mastered that...she'll win races for crawling if there are!
Now, she has started taking her first tentative steps alone and i am in awe! She gauges how far away her target is and if its a few steps away then she slowly steadily lifts her feet and walks over. Its so cute to see something we take for granted being done with such care and precision! Soon she will be more confident till like us it'll be second nature to her......how time flies....
Leena

A time to cheer....

The best thing about festivals nowadays - everyone celebrates everything with gusto! Be it Diwali, Christmas or Eid, the whole idea is to have fun and have more reasons to enjoy and spent time with family and friends. And we all wholeheartedly do that now.
Its such a warm feeling to wake up, check your facebook account and see all the fabulous pictures put up by friends.....everyone having the best of holidays and all the joyous smiles :-)
I'm loving the season....more reasons to smile and smile....
Leena

The special bond....

One of the most precious bonds would have to be that of a dad and his daughter. I know from experience and I am seeing that happening everyday right in front of my eyes. Its the sweetest thing.....Alia's face lights up as soon as shes sees her 'dhaddy' and she cant wait to jump into his arms! And dhaddy is her own amusement park...all the rides rolled into one person! How she loves being flung all about by him and chased by him and tickled by him.....it definitely is a special special bond....
Leena

Maternal instincts.....

It kicks in and then there is no letting go! I had never thought of myself as anything close to maternal. I like babies and all things small but from a distance. I can smile happily and play with them but for half an hour to an hour maximum. And then it happened.......Maximillian came into our lives!
We saw him 3 days before we brought him home and i liked him but nothing else....the day we picked him up, Sai was settling things with his foster parents while I held him in the car....he was a tiny cold ball of white fur! He snuggled up against my chest and nuzzled my neck and love happened! Instantaneously! All my latent maternal instincts kicked in and how! So much that I'm thinking of the moment tying this out and I've tears in my eyes...happy fond warm lovely joyful tears :-)
I'm trying my best not to get attached to any of the pups at home now....not letting any of them come anywhere near my neck! But two days back, one of the braver pups, climbed up the stairs and came running to me.....I couldnt help but snuggle him!
Love happens and there is nothing you can do to stop it! I'm learning this again and again and again....
Leena

The forbidden Apple.....

Some apples are not meant to be eaten and looks like our daughter will have to learn that lesson really soon! She loves to pull down the screen from behind whenever she sees Sai on the laptop....its become almost a habit now and he knows whats coming as soon as she crawls to him.
Daddy of course is super careful about his macbook pro so our little imp will have to keep off it...she of course cant resist tasting anything and everything within her reach so this is going to be one difficult lesson!
Leena

Wedding vows renewed...

An absolutely beautiful idea....when Sonny's mother told me that he will also be getting married again on his 60th birthday I didnt quite understand what it was all about. Later, Sai explained to me that when you turn 60, its believed that you are starting your life all over again so you renew all the vows that you had taken in your previous life....including your marriage vows. This time around, your children are supposed to get you married again.
The idea of celebrating your love again at the age of 60th is just so romantic! You've spent at least half your lives together and know each other so well....probably cant imagine life without the other anymore and you renew that into forever.....sigh!
Leena

Daddy's darling daughter....

We always tend to associate tenderness between a dad and daughter only in terms of humans but today I witnessed that same love between my boxer Max and his 22 day old daughter!
We have introduced the pups to both Max and Cocoa and they have both been all too happy to see them. Today, we got a little girl from the litter out and the ever curious Max came to check her out. I held her in my arms and Max very tenderly gave her a lick....she in turn reciprocated by licking him right back! It was beautiful!! A beautiful moment captured my another father, Sai.
Leena

Pink blossoms....

Oleander - My mother loves this plant and that love has been passed down to me. I've always wanted a red one at home. The nursery that we bought this plant from promised that the flowers would be red colour and I was so looking forward to that because my mother has pink and dark pink at her house and I wanted the red to outdo that :-)
When the buds came in, they looked really dark and I triumphantly called and told her that my plant was going to have red flowers! The little buds slowly became bigger and as they grew into this beautiful bloom, it turned lighter and lighter.....finally stopping at this pretty pink.
I've reconciled and am happy now. At least I have an oleander in my garden :-)
Leena

The sweetest dreams....

I've finally understood what they mean when they say sleeping like a baby. There is such an innocence in the way a baby sleeps....such a sweetness. They can sleep anywhere and everywhere and they sleep not because it is the time to sleep or because they have to sleep but simply because they want to sleep. And when they sleep, they have the sweetest dreams. I see Alia smile so often in sleep....she giggles and laughs out sometimes and I wonder what those dreams are of...if I am in them.
Wish I could let go all my conditioning and sleep....sleep like a baby....when I want to, where I want to and for however long I want to.
Leena

The Captivating....

The title is aptly what this image is for me. We had gone to give our 450D and lens for cleaning and had parked in one of the bylanes off Commercial Street. By the time we returned, dusk had given way to late evening and all the lights had been switched on. As we got into the car i saw this image and just couldnt take my eyes off! It was so incredibly captivating....Thank God we had our other camera with us to capture and freeze the moment.
Leena

A Poets Dream....

Inspirations can stem from anywhere...one just has to look around and it is everywhere. In the way the wind blows the leaf, the flowers swaying in the breeze, the lazy hurry of the caterpillar, the lines of an army of ants, the buds bursting into beautiful flowers and the stunning curves of a spathyphyllum.....
Leena

Pure bliss....

What they say about the innocence of children is so true! They get happy with the slightest and most inconsequential things. Laugh out loud at the most mundane and giggle quietly at the most routine things we do. Makes you wonder if all those things are as boring as we think they are.....makes you look at life in a whole new perspective....like Sai said, our daughter makes us see the joy in things that we have forgotten to see....
Leena

Attached by the ear...

Sai would have to be one of the few people I know who will not be able to operate without his phones! From the time I've met him, hes best friends with his phone. But at the same time, he can switch them off completely and be at ease. I still remember all the amazing hours long conversations we used to have over the phones when we were courting....the mobiles were are saviours then being in two different cities.
Even now we like to talk over the phone when Sai is on his way back from work and I am at home...its a nostalgic feeling....a very nice feeling...
Leena

A riot of clour!

Bougainvilleas have always been a favourite of mine....they are hardly plants which grow anywhere and what a riot of colour they are!!
I love passing by KRpuram in Bangalore just to see the bougainvillea growing amok along the flyover towards Ram Murthy Nagar and I love the drive to our farm all because there is a little temple in the village just before the farm where there is a stone pergola with a beautiful vivid pink bougainvillea giving the most beautiful shade!



I knew I wanted a lot of colours of this beautiful plant in my garden and we keep getting cutting and buying plants whenever we can....these are from our garden.
Leena

My sleepy guardian....

One of my Maxi's favourite spots in the house. Ever since he figured out that he can see the gate from this window, he has adopted that space for himself. We very rarely use our living room except when we have company so that whole room is his domain. He sleeps there, gives us the most pitious looks when we are going out and the most enthusiastic ones when we come back.....as dirty as he makes my seating, thats the last place i look when i leave home and the first when i get back.... :-)
Leena

Purple and pink...

I love it when the most ordinary things can become extraordinary....this is one of the most common plants in any Indian garden and most would not even notice it. But the colours and the blurred background enhance the beauty of the roheo spathacea. A really nice click by Sai....
Leena

Gondolas of the east....

Kumarakom in Kerala in known as the venice of the east and it rightly lives up to its name. The backwaters are gorgeous and the lake beautiful! The region also attracts a lot of migratory birds. We walked through the sanctuary early in the morning....did not get to see too many birds but the boats that the locals use for transport, vallams, were still anchored to stone piers....
Leena

The Accidental Litter....

When Tiny came home a little more than 2 months back, we didnt know what we were in store for!! Shes got a thin frame and we never suspected her to be pregnant till last week. And when we found out, we were really hoping that the father would be our son Max. With the puppies being born earlier than we had expected on the 21st of Nov'11, all our worries have been laid to rest!! Most of them look like Brindle boxers :-)
I cant get enough of the 9 little rats now!! I was really worried about the added responsibility especially with our baby but i look at them now and my heart melts......Little furballs of pure joy!!
Leena

'The Five Tresures of Snows'
That is what the Kangchenjunga means. The Five mighty peaks that make up the third highest mountain the the World are the treasures representing the five repositories of God, which are gold, silver, gems, grain, and holy books.

What a sight to wake up to it was! We were visiting friends in Siliguri for Pooja holidays and we all decided to go for an over night trip to Jor Pokhri, a small town near the Nepal border. Little did I realise whilst having a great time the previous evening that I would be waking up to one of the most awesome sights I would ever see!
The guard at the guest house knocked on everyones doors at 5 in the morning and the only one who decided to wake up and see what the fuss he was making about was me and I am glad i stumbled out of bed that cold cold morning and set up my cameras to capture this mighty peak! The Kangchenjunga is visible only for about half and hour at that early hour and then the clouds set in and cover the peaks....
The first image is shot at 5:30 am and the next at 6:30.


I wonder if I will ever see the Kangchenjunga again....I dug this photo out today and all I could think about was how amazing it would be to climb it. No mountaineer has reached its summit....they always stop a few feet short to respect the local traditions. I wonder now if I will one day be able to do the same....
Leena

Gateway to heaven....

Getting this amazing image was just sheer luck and perfect timing on Sais part!! We were on our way back from Nubra Valley in Leh when Sai turned around, saw this perfect sight and literally jumped out of the car to take the snap. And what a stunning image it is!! At that time, i didnt realise what he had captured....i didnt even get off the car. I was totally fighting getting sick from all the hairpin bends and curves on the road (and trust me the whole road is just that!!). We got back to our army mess, saw this image on the laptop and i realised what an opportunity i had missed!! Wonder if we'll ever be able to see this again....cant wait for my next trip to Leh and Nubra....
Leena

Our first baby...

Maximillian Rai, our First baby, came and changed our life for ever, taught us what unconditional love is all about, changed us from a couple to a family, our house felt like home, oh I can keep going on...
Sai

mama and baby...

This is one of my favourite most photos with Ally. I love the entire set that Sai clicked of the both of us in Chennai but there is something very special about this...The way shes quietly lying in my arms and the way i am looking at her.
I was never someone who liked getting my photos clicked but since Ally, I literally hound Sai to click snaps of her and me! I want to look back on these and remember all these times with her. I am sure she'll love them as much as I do :-)
Leena

Daddy's little angel.....

All little girls are their daddy's angels and mine is no different! The smile that she bestows Sai with the minute she sees him is the most beautiful...Daddy decided to pull Ally onto his lap because she was bent on eating leaves and ants and twigs and grass off the lawn!!
Leena

Nirvana...

This is and will always remain one of my most favorite photograhs. Sai and I had a dream holiday in Leh...the people, the experiences, the sights, everything was amazing. We rented a bike and rode all around dropping in at all the monasteries in and around Leh.
This moment was captured in Thiksey. The monk in the image was in charge of the library in Thiksey. We went in to take a look and while we were busy taking snaps, he went out. I came out to see him standing there so beautifully framed against the backdrop and couldnt help but click....
Leena

Sisters sharing secrets....

I love using a telephoto lens because you can capture moments like this without being obtrusive. I loved the way the little girls were lying together in the grass. Such bliss!! such happiness!! :-)
Leena