Contemplation

Snapped during a weekend trip to Copenhagen.

Innocence

Aurangabad trip - photos

The company sent a team of us on a customer visit to Aurangabad. What you see above are the results of us going camera-snappy.

Descriptions (starting from the last one, and moving up)

1. Sunset at some forsaken station in Andhra Pradesh. I think it was Krishna-something, don't remember exactly. I'd just woken up after sleeping through the entire day (We left last Thursday), and was rinsing the sleep out of my mouth, when I got lucky with this one. No, no, I had to go get the camera.
2. After spending Saturday and Sunday (We reached Aurangabad on Friday) at the customer's facility, we took off early on Sunday afternoon and spent the rest of the evening sight-seeing. First stop, Daulatabad fort. Wiki it up, I'm weak when it comes to history. This photo is of the "Chand Minar", which when translated using my superlative Hindi skills, means "Moon Tower".
3. View from higher up the fort. At 1 o clock, you could have seen a strategically placed weapon of mass destruction (aka a cannon) if it were not for those pesky tourists who wanted to touch and feel everything. The bridge runs across a moat which surrounds the greater part of the fort.
   
4. Open Sesame! From inside the dungeons.
5. View of the Moon Tower from one of the ramparts.
6. The front view of the fort, or at least whatever the camera could cover. It actually runs for quite a length.
7. Mountain climber.
8. On the way to Ellora, when the rain put up quite a show.
9. The Kailash temple at Ellora. I kept thinking, "What on earth drove these people to do this?" Amazing.
10. And amidst all this, diligent farmers trying to beat the rains.
11. Yes, we took an auto. Actually, we ran into this very friendly auto-driver (who it seems is the regular chauffeur for our company personnel; we bumped into him accidentally) called Ayub. He was our guide throughout the tour, taking us to all the little known places and making sure that we were there on time. In case he comes across this, thanks a ton! There was this poignant moment during the tour - Ayub took us to Aurangazeb's tomb, and just before he dropped us off, he quipped, "Look! Such a great emperor, and look how he lies in the rain!" Ozymandias indeed.
12. The fort, snapped from inside the auto, with a cloud boiling behind.
13. Raptor footprint.
14. "...and I'm proud of its rich and varied heritage..."
15. The clouds were lovely over Ellora. Lazy and metallic gray in some places, a mischievous blue in others and at twilight, a sad, velvety shade. On our way back, we were stuck behind a small truck. It was carrying women back from work, women who were singing a sad evening song (in Marathi I suspect), which sounded like one about a cloud which lost its way in search of a setting sun. Or so it seemed.
16. Silhouette of a proud lion roaring into the darkness (at Ellora).
17. Perspective shot of a couple of stupas (?).
18. 'Coffee' would be an apt name I guess.
19. On the ride back from Aurangabad to Pune. We had a lot of equipment with us, which meant taxi rides between the two places. And the route is so picturesque! I felt cheated when we entered Pune with its high-rises, and no sky to be seen anywhere. There is something about seeing the land undulate in front of you for miles on end, stopping at the horizon to meet a sky that bends over, unveling its colours. It does make the heart ache. Sigh!
20. Sparrows at Pune station.
21. One of the minarets at the Mini Taj.
22. Last stop during the sight-seeing tour was Bibi-ka-Maqbara (aka Mini Taj). This was built by Aurangazeb's son as a shrine to entomb his mother. It's apparently a replica of the Taj, only smaller. This is inside Aurangabad, and the road to this place runs through a Muslim neighbourhood. From whatever little time I spent at Aurangabad, the one thing that struck me was how the city is a microcosm of India, with Muslims and Hindus living together, but ensconced in their own, separate worlds.

We took a lot more photos and I might be putting them up on Flickr soon. But for now, enjoy!

Pretty woman

Main shaayar to nahin

Main shaayar to nahin,
magar ae haseen
Jab se dekha maine tujhko
Mujhko shaayari aa gayi...

Main aashiq to nahin,
magar ae haseen
Jab se dekha maine tujhko
Mujhko aashiqui aa gayi

Main shaayar to nahin...

Pyaar ka naam
maine suna tha magar
Pyaar kya hai,
yeh mujhko nahin thi khabar...

Main to uljha raha
uljhanon ki tarha
Doston mein raha
dushmanon ki tarha

Main dushman to nahin

Main dushman to nahin,
magar ae haseen
Jab se dekha maine tujhko
Mujhko dosti aa gayi

Main shaayar to nahin...

Sochta hoon agar
main dua maangta
Haath apne uthaakar
main kya maangta...

Jab se tujhse mohabbat
main karne laga
Tab se jaise ibaadat
main karne laga

Main kaafir to nahin

Main kaafir to nahin,
magar ae haseen
Jab se dekha maine tujhko
Mujhko bandagi aa gayi

Main shaayar to nahin,
magar ae haseen
Jab se dekha maine tujhko
Mujhko shaayari aa gayi

Main shaayar to nahin...







Note:

1) Text in blue - Lyrics from the Hindi song 'Main Shair To Nahin', from the movie 'Bobby'.
2) Pictures of Smriti Rao - Downloaded from Discuss TV, originally uploaded by user 'dhekun'.

Cheese? Eh?

Big brother on the right, the angel on the left and of course, yours truly (how can you miss me?)...

Reactions at the office:

"Why are you so angry?"

"...gravity defying..."

"Sai Baba..."

"But where is the fan??"

Enjoy the picture. Caught up with work. Will be posting soon. Take care.

Photos from Oz - 1

Thought I'd start a new photo series to share some of my photographs from time to time. Oz -- apart from the reference to you-know-where -- is the name by which I call my own little private world (which is now quite contradictory I guess).

This photo is from my last trip 'down under' in June. My colleagues and I used to frequent an internet kiosk near our hotel. It was run by a local, but there was this guy called Rohit who was in charge most of the time. Nice chap. A bear of a man, with a pony-tail to boot. Told me once that his grandparents were from Rajasthan, but that his parents had migrated to Fiji, and now here he was in Australia!! A man of many parts - no pun intended!

Anyway, the story behind the photo is -- as is obvious -- we went shopping on a lazy Saturday and saw this 'notice' on the door of the kiosk. In some ways, it symbolises everything about Perth and its people. A relaxed attitude to life and the Ayn-Randish I-don't-live-for-anybody-else 'air' that I so loved.

Wish I could stick a message like that on my PC during my off-days!!