A picture is worth...

San Diego Wildfire

2007-10-24T04:00:00.000-07:00

South California is burning. Wild fires have forced almost half a million people to evacuate their homes, the largest in this country since the Civil war. Last night, we were all packed to leave at a moment's notice since the mandatory evacuation order was placed to an area just 2 miles north of our community.

This image from Nasa says it all -

Chicago

2006-11-24T08:27:00.000-08:00

Last thanksgiving, I was in the 'windy city'. Some snaps from that trip:

Surviving in sub-zero temperatures and chilly wind

Skyline - as seen from Navy Pier

Winter

Chicago river

Street Light

Four stages

2006-09-10T17:33:00.000-07:00

Four stages of life.

Parents

2006-08-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

Heady outburst

2006-07-10T01:55:00.000-07:00

One more reason why Zidane 'rocks' - He's so good at head banging. :) [Pun intended, of course.]

Angel's Landing video

2006-06-16T01:50:00.000-07:00

Just a glimpse for now. :)

Bryce Canyon

2006-06-10T18:11:00.000-07:00

Have been to Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks in South-western Utah this memorial week-end. Some photos from Bryce here.

Bryce amphitheatre

How the hoodoos are formed

Play of light and shadows

Checkerboard Mesa (Amazing patterns formed due to erosion by wind)

Sinking ship

Life 'rock's/ जिजीविषा

Stand up and make a point

Monument Valley

2006-05-07T23:22:00.000-07:00

(Please click on the photo for larger image.)

Took this snap of East mitten and west mitten buttes in monument valley (Utah-Arizona border) around sunset, just when the shadows were starting to crawl up the mittens. When seen from another angle, the "thumb" of the larger mitten looks like a woman standing in a pensive mood.

Do hanson ka jodaa

2006-04-04T05:22:00.000-07:00

Taken at Boston common - one of the oldest public parks in US.

Peddar Road flyover

2006-03-28T19:15:00.000-08:00

- Regarding flyover controversy at Peddar Road that resurfaced recently.

Gray of the purest melancholy

2006-03-02T23:57:00.000-08:00

(Click on the photo for a bigger picture.)

As seen from the vicarage dining-room, which took a warm tone of light from the fire, the weather and scene outside seemed to have stereotyped themselves in unrelieved shades of gray. The long- armed trees and shrubs of juniper, cedar, and pine varieties, were grayish black; those of the broad-leaved sort, together with the herbage, were grayish-green; the eternal hills and tower behind them were grayish-brown; the sky, dropping behind all, gray of the purest melancholy.

-- From 'A pair of Blue Eyes' by Thomas Hardy.

(Photo Location - Sunrise Highway near Mount Laguna, San Diego.)

Work and life

2006-02-24T07:07:00.000-08:00

One flew over the cuckoo's nest...

2006-02-23T14:47:00.000-08:00

From Today's Mid-Day again (By Morparia)-

Another funny sketch is where the 'Chicken soup for the Soul' books are kept at 50% discount.

Remembering Mahatma

2006-01-31T17:57:00.000-08:00

Some rare photos of Gandhiji by Henri-Cartier Bresson, and an award winning ad.

Polynesian crab stack

2005-12-24T20:54:00.000-08:00

Had this awesome Tapa (snack) in a restaurant called Roppongi yesterday. Amazing dish called Polynesian crab stack which has mango cubes, avocados and few other things listed here. A really unique dish and treat for the taste-buds.

How to make Chicken Korma (Indian cuisine) in four easy steps

2005-12-22T23:22:00.000-08:00

Recipe :

1. Marinate Chicken with salt, chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste, Korma mix masala (spice mix) and yogurt.

2. Chop couple of onions finely. Fry them in oil with couple of red chillies and some whole spices. Once the onions start turning golden brown, turn off the heat and let them cool down a bit.

3. To this, add a cup of yoghurt and some cashews (soaked in hot water for 30 min - 1 hour) and grind the mixture to a uniform consistency.

4. Stir fry the marinated chicken for 5-10 minutes. Then add the mixture of onions and yogurt. If you need more gravy, then you may add half a cup of milk. Cook on middle to low flame for 15-20 minutes. Add little bit of lemon juice before serving. The Safed (white) Chicken Korma is ready!

Let them drink...

2005-12-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

Found this in today's Mid-Day. If Queen Marie were alive, she'd have perhaps said 'If they have no water, then let them drink coke!'

Shivneri

2005-12-09T18:03:00.000-08:00

Received this image from a friend recently, which shows the sorry state of birth-place of Shivaji Maharaj. If Maharashtra government would spend 1% of the money on taking care of historical places of what it otherwise spends on erecting statues of Shivaji and renaming every nook and corner after him; then that would be a true memorial for coming generations. Otherwise all they are likely to see is 'Vasu loves Sapna' and its many versions.

Day 1 of American Southwest - Red rocks, Sedona

2005-10-23T19:04:00.000-07:00

I flew to Phoenix from San Diego on Sept. 30, rented a car and drove towards Flagstaff which is around 150 miles north of Phoenix. In stead of going by Interstate 17 North, I took a scenic road which goes through Sedona. Reached Flagstaff in the evening and then to Chinle, AZ at night which is further 225 miles North-east of Flagstaff. These two maps - map 1 and map 2 show how I drove. The green part that you see in the map close to Chinle is Canyon De Chelly National Monument.

Red Rocks of Sedona

View from the Holy Cross Chapel, Sedona

Scenic drive

Delicately balanced rocks in Oak Canyon

Lonely road on lonely planet (From Flagstaff, AZ to Chinle, AZ)

A beautiful journey

2005-10-18T03:40:00.000-07:00

When I went to AAA to get more information about a trip which I had in my mind, an old lady who was helping me there, suggested a scenic train ride from Durango to Silverton (both in Colorado state). I came home and researched on internet and thought it would be a pretty good ride. How wrong I was! It was amazing. Here are some of the snaps:

Starting from Durango:

Mere hum-safar (People travelling with me - mostly co-eval):

Anasazi river in the lower right corner :

A perfect wallpaper :

Is mod se..(Turning a corner) :
Fall colors just starting come out

Dinky

2005-10-18T02:48:00.000-07:00

Thought would start this blog with one of my favorite photos. It is of my dearest younger sister Pradnya - Dinky being just one of the many names by which I call her. I guess, it was taken at least 10 - 12 years ago. Its resolution is not too good and while storing and copying from Yahoo photos, it has reduced further, but still it's a special snap.

Why?

2005-10-18T02:28:00.000-07:00

Why create one more blog, when I do not regulary post on the other two? Well, why not? I like taking pictures. That does not mean I am very good at that. Cataracts in my eyes prevent me seeing the camera display clearly when I am in open or in broad daylight, which of course does not help. (Ironically, I felt most helpless due to it while taking pictures of Niagara Falls from the boat ride - at the sight of the greatest Cataracts. It will be digression from the topic, but one more irony struck me when I saw drinking water at an exorbitant price there - at a place where 20% of the world's fresh water flows. Enough of ironies for now!).

Having said that, in last few days I visited some wonderful places - places you have to experience. Their photos is the closest I can get to describe; trying to describe them in words is beyond me.(How can you describe indescribable?). The other reason for starting this blog is a way of storing them.(I wish I had posted all the pictures that I took at my native place. I lost them forever when my laptop was stolen.)Of course there are hundreds of sites that offer this facility, but somehow I would prefer to have them along with my other blogs. After all, blogs are for narrating one's experiences and thoughts - in words or otherwise.