Faith......

I was going through some old photos last week and found this image. Its been one of my favourites. 

Saw this idol on a corn vendors cart in Besant Nagar beach in Chennai and I found it absolutely arresting! The colours and the way the Ganesha is decorated is so beautiful and so simple. Its most definitely an old idol but one that the vendor loves, one that has protected the vendor for a long long time. He had prime position at the head of the cart.....sitting majestically and watching over the vendor from amongst all the corn. 

Wonder if He'll still be there at the beach, on the cart with the corn vendor, protecting and blessing everyone......

Leena

Happiness.....

Happiness is contagious! Especially if its a childs......they laugh and you cant help but smile back. Maybe its the innocence in the laugh, maybe its the unadulterated joy, maybe its the tinkling sound but I have seen people who normally are not moved by most things crack a smile when they see a baby laughing. 

I love the sound of baby laugh....its one of the most beautiful sounds on Earth! I remember so vividly the sound of Tiya, a friends daughter, laughing and running along the beach.....I thought it was one of the most beautiful sounds then and now 4 years later I still smile everytime I think of it.....

Leena

Precious pet.......

It is always a wonderful feeling to see the joy that pets can bring. Witnessed it recently and I am so glad I did! 

A little kitten that few kids in the street have adopted as their own. It was such a warm feeling to see the kitten scuttling between the kids and running all around them! Into their t-shirts and over their heads! The children too had forgotten all about survival and were busy playing and laughing with the kitten. 

And when they all got up to leave, the kitten was wrapped up in a little blanket and carried away like a queen......

Leena

Beautifully laid to rest......

I have always found cemeteries so so beautiful......the serenity, the locations, the flowers, the cravings, all of it fills me with a sense of beauty. I've chances up on stunning cemeteries in a lot of trips....and amazingly, I vividly remember all of them! 

The St Georges Cemetery behind the Oxford Press in Chennai, the quaint little stone church and the cemetery up the hill in Munnar, the cemetery behind the Trinity Church in Ooty with gorgeously adorned tombstones dating as far back as the 1830s, another ancient cemetery in Coonoor, the Pattoor Cemetery in Trivandrum and yesterday the St John's Cemetery in Kalpalli Bangalore. 

Just realised that I have visited a lot of cemeteries! I dont know if that is a creepy thing but I really do love the tranquility and peace in a cemetery..... 

Leena

The rose garden.....

Well it wasn't exactly a garden, more a farm I guess. We've been passing by this place for nearly 6 months now and I have always wanted to get down and take snaps but never managed till now. Its either been in the middle of the day with he sun washing everything out or later in the evenings with all the flowers cloaked in darkness. A few days back we managed to get there perfectly on time and it was beautiful! 

Rows and rows of red roses all full of buds and flowers just about to open out! My mother would have absolutely loved it! I didn't know where to turn and take photos! I can only imagine how it will look with all the flowers in bloom. I will need to time a visit perfectly for that. I am sure all the half open flowers will be in full glory by morning and they will harvest it to take to the market. Maybe one of these days, we will make a trip early in the morning, just for the roses........

Leena 

                                                 

Tipu's Fort.......

I have been to Tipu Sultan's Fort in Palakad with my parents when I was a kid. I have a vague memory of that.....but the fort I remember and what we saw this time was different. It could be that I was young then and my sense of scale and the way I saw the fort would have been in a very different light or the ASI has done extensive work in the preservation of the Fort and deemed it unrecognisable! 

Whatever it is, it was a good experience and I am glad we took the time out to go there. Palakad was very very hot but there was a beautiful cool breeze blowing in the evening and the huge huge trees and the open spaces enhanced the breeze around the fort. The fort also houses a temple. That and the children's park in the compound makes it a popular space for everyone in Palakad. 

What impressed me most about the Fort was the moat running all around it....they have maintained it very well. The waters are teeming with little turtles. With the number of people visiting I expected to see lots of garbage thrown in but the waters were quite clean.

Wonder if Tipu had ever thought that such a mighty fort would be a such a popular spot in Palakad one day.....

Leena