Self Portrait .. again...

Day 30.. Self Portrait .. again..!

On Day 1 when i started the challenge .. I admit I clicked at least 10 pics.. fretted over which one was the real me.. as if all the rest were not!

Its been  a month.. and this one I decided will have to be a single take..

A sort of test.. for me.. how much do i accept myself?!Can I  just be.. without trying to gloss over ...

Its gonna take a while in the real sense.. but this shot is for this test..
Do I pass..? Do I care..? No? May be ?!

I am getting there.. alright...!

Black and white....

Day 29..

Black and White..

The other day.. I was solemn.. lost in thought.. working away at something..

with these plants in the balcony for a view...

I was looking at them ..not seeing.. just then a  whiff of breeze blew and the leaves fluttered about..

as if mocking at me.. why so serious..?
Lighten up  buddy..

Its Ok.. loosen up will you... ?!!
Yeah..  A moment to remember . when suddenly the heavy weight pressing on me.. seemed to lift off..just like that...

Just be.. they tell me.. in black and white...:-)

Flowers..

Day 28..Flowers..

Purple blossoms...in a mucky pond..

They are born to bloom  and blossom.. wherever they are..

From a distance...

Day 27.. From a distance..

This solitary tree overlooks my balcony.. There is a construction site right next door and along side the site is a colony of construction workers..

A hardy lot these.. Each time i look at  them.. i am amazed at their resilience, spirit, sense of action and the capacity to go on  with so little..and the ability to get rooted and make a life where ever they are..

This tree is a focal point of their lives.. I see children playing around.. women chatting .. enjoy a few moments of breather.. men sitting around.. vendors hawking stuff..

Something permanent in their transient home... cannot miss the paradox...

But it is a shade that hugs...

Give me a sign..

Day 26.. Close up

Many a time  as i am caught up ..or lost..i have this urge to pause .. press in the brakes ..take stock.. look around.. listen to  myself..soak in the solitude ..and seek a sign..

And they show up.. these little signs .. as if the cosmos is tuned in to your thoughts..

It is an amazing gift.. you can give yourself.. the gift of mindfulness.. where every moment is lived deliberately..with awareness, with awe and gratitude...

As i am still miles away from  the moment to moment aware state of being.. these pauses do me good..reminding me to smell the roses.. take in the beauty of life..and be cued on to the signs..

I got one the other day.. on a long walk with a lovely soul.. a peacock feather.. exquisite and on my way..
theres' a close up.. right here..

I get the sign , Krishna...:-)

Something Pink

Day 25.. Something Pink...

Pretty Pink.. these flowers..
The branch that holds them is even more pretty..
Laden and yielding..
Not stiff and straight..
Accepting, growing and flowering ..

Let me rest..

Day 24 Animal..

I am tired..
Can I curl up and rest for a while?
Can I just be with myself for a wee bit?
Can i shut my eyes and drift into dreamland?

Sunflare..

Day 23.. Sunflare..

Cloud cast afternoon..
He takes centrestage...

Hands

Day 22.. Hands..

Want to grow ...

and stay grounded...!

Faceless self portrait

Day 21.. Faceless self protrait..


In Wonder..One with nature..
In Rapture..

Bokeh

Day 20.. Bokeh..

Bokeh , in Japanese and photography , i figure is the blur...

The aesthetic quality of the blur in the out of focus areas of an image.. even as i struggle to get the blur..
I find bokeh a wonderful metaphor for life..

As long as you focus on things that are important to you, it does not matter if the rest blur away!

Something Orange..

Day 19.. Something orange..

My tea mugs.. The cup that cheers in cheery orange and loving people for company!

Makes my day!

Shoes

Day 18.. Shoes

A hardy pair.. for all the miles i need to walk!

Technology

Day 17 Technology..

A humble piece of technology that has shaved away at the number of hours a woman would spend at the kitchen and made life a wee bit easier for her..!

Cheers to that!

Glow...

Day  16 Glow..

This Glow is about the Divine..

As He shines in all his glory..

In each and every being..

Inside and out..
In the prosaic and the mundane..
In the profound and the magnificent..

He is the light.. with in and every where...

Silhouette

Day 15.. Sky caste with clouds ..

The earth and its beings.. in anticipation ..

Of getting drenched, washed and renewed..

By the out pour!

The magic of monsoons....

Eyes

Day 14.. Eyes..

My Babys' eyes.. deep and dreamy!

Laugh on happy eyes....

and keep dreaming my baby..may all your happy dreams come true..

Me with 13 things..

Day 13.. Me with 13 things..

Me .. At my desk.. I counted there are more than 13 things on my pin board..

Stuff  i care about.. pictures of my babies when they were young..drawings my kiddos make..stuff i have doodled , coloured, gifted trinkets and all the like..

one of it..is my  portrait P did when she was about 5.. me balancing.. like in a dance move.. It is so me.. goofy.. but attempting a  swan like balance!..

Yeah.. thats's me with 13 things!

Sunset

Day 12 Sunset..

Caught Him... bidding adieu for the day.. After a days' job well done...
Spreading light and hope..

What a Job  and how well done..!

Thank you, Bright Star, You light me up!

Something blue..

Day 11 Something blue..

What else but a stretch of blue sky..

Soul Soothing!

Let me lie on a bed of green with the infinite blue above for cover..

The rest , is just alright!

Being for the joy of it....Like it , a whole lot!

A childhood memory

Day 10.. Child hood memory..

This one I like..
They were many flashes from the past.. enduring images..all that has made me.. makes me..
This one is my favorite..
summer vacation..Curled up with a famous five.. .. dog eared old copy from a local library..a young me..lost in the adventures of 4 and a dog..

Ah,comforting!

Someone I Love..

Day 9 .. Someone  I Love...
Sanjay.. my best half!
Thank you Sanjay, for being in my life.. !

A bad habit

Day 8.. A Bad Habit..

While we are taking about  "a" bad habit, the first one that pops up  is my need to keep reading and to get completely sucked in , once i get started on a book

To an extent i resent the need to re-surface to reality!

The magic of the written word is my vice..and am a hopeless book worm!

Fruit!

Day 6.. Fruit(s)
First up, I am hardly a fruit person.. growing up ,  i would dodge all attempts my folks would make to make  me eat fruits..The picture of my dad cutting up tiny wedges of apple , calling it ' pumpkin" to make me eat is fresh in my eyes..

Well,  now i am befriending them , more aware of eating healthy!

This one is for you Appa, lets ' keep the doctors at bay!

Tapestry

Day 6 From a low angle..

This is a detail of a beautiful hand woven rug in my home.

This one is very special for me.. One of the first things i picked up about 12 years back, while setting up my own home.

I have moved  6 houses in  the past 12 years across 3 cities and this lovely carpet fits in just fine in every home!

Colourful, cheerful and full of warmth.. the magic of hand woven tapestry!

Roam every where..

Day 5..From a high angle..
I love to roam..
This shot is about driving past green fields and wild flowers.. with wind on my face on a sun lit day....

Its also about a  wish .. that i drive soon.. so i can roam .. on my own.. every where!

Won't that be nice now!

Green

Day 4 .. Green..

I am addicted to green.. All the best times i have are always in the midst of green! The botanical garden close by is a favorite haunt , my ultimate dose of feel good.

Heres' a patch of green..and various shades of it!
Go Green!

Clouds

Day 3 of the 30 day photography challenge..

Clouds..

I have a thing with clouds and the sky.. When ever i am blue , just a gaze at the vast expanse of blue and the free floaters cheers me up. I kind of feel one with the endless hue of blue and whatever is bogging me down seems very trivial..

They roam free... on an endless road ..who cares if they have a destination..
I caught a few of them at sunrise..in a hurry..off on another trip..

Can I join you guys?

What i wore today!

Day 2- 30 day photography challenge..
What i wore today....

A cotton kurta , i picked up at Dilli haat, a good ten years back!
and guess what , it fits!One of my favorite outfits.. cool, comfortable, lasting cotton..ever green oops ever blue!

on my wrist- a silver strap titan watch..Just love this one..!

Me!

Day 1 of the  30 photography challenge hosted by Ambica Srimal...from
http://ambicasrimal.blogspot.com/2011/06/30-day-photography-project.html.

Day 1 .. Self Portrait..
There  I am with most of my pearlies bared.. But this one is from the heart .. For You!

Me as I am now , is  an important milestone in the journey i have traversed.... ..!
Where  I am now, is truly exciting.. in complete acceptance of myself ....
living what i love... and loving every moment of it..

Ha, glad to be alive..!

Trip with the girls..

 Month of May...Hot days.. summer vacation.. cucumber carts.. nimbu pani... cooling off in the shade.. lots of water and  so many more images..

I was in Delhi.. with the girls.. my first solo touristy trip.. with my brood!
Was fun...! As we took in the scenes and sights of delhi...caught up with friends..rode the Delhi Metro, dug into ubiquitous delhi food..We were one happy threesome...

As i re -visited some of my most favorite spots , Kiddos got a taste of the beautiful national capital..

Chalo Dilli!

Summer 2011 with colour tree, Wanna come?

Its starting today..

A month of fun with tots and tweens under the sun..The colour tree summer camp.


I am excited..The anticipation of  taking root, shooting out  and flying high..This  time with a partner..


Heres' to creative,engaging,
collaborative,fun-filled, happy times!

Just Be..

Lovely summer morning.. I catch a moment with my self in my little patch of green.

There is a whiff in the air.. an uplifting fragrance .. there are a couple of jasmine flowers  abloom right behind me..

They were just being and being how!!
Can i just be? Without  the hundred things to think, do and say every moment.

I am tying this.. Just being ..its wonderful!

Waves of time

Iam home in chennai..

Its a beautiful morning. Sister and I walk up to the Tiruvanmiyur beach at sunrise hour.There is magic in the air.. the Sun..sand and the surf..

As i drench my feet in the  rushing waves  and admire the amazing efficiency with which they wipe the shore clean , I am energized.I think that these waves work just like time in wiping the past clean and handing  a clean slate every new minute,hour and day.

Why is it that we drag our past into every new moment in our life? Can we not just forget an event and just remember the lesson, if it happens to be unpleasant?

I also realise the immense power in living in the "NOW",free of the past and the future.When the past remains  in the past and present is free from the anxieties of future.. You are truly alive and free..!

Sleeping in a Storm..

I read Mitch Alboms' " Have a little faith" a while back..It  is a lovely book which begins with Mitch being asked by his 82 year old rabbi to write his eulogy.

Over a couple of years  and over many meetings with the dying rabbi and another Pastor , Mitch re-discovers faith.

One story which the rabbi narrates stayed on with me...Its about "sleeping in the Storm".

There is a guy who is seeking employment in a barn. His previous employer writes him a one line letter of reference which simply reads" He sleeps in a storm".The new employer in dire need for help, hires him nevertheless.

Soon , the employer wakes up to a stormy morning and runs around the barn trying to secure the crop and livestock. he finds that all his crop is tied up and dry , the cattle have been fed and are secure and everything that could go wrong is right.. and his hired help is asleep.

Then he understands ..The man sleeps in a storm..

when you take care of things that ought to be attended to without procrastination, you can indeed sleep in a storm.

This story lent me a new meaning to freedom. You can be free only  when you are responsible.You  experience  freedom   without that niggling worry only when  tend to your life as if there is no tomorrow..then and there.

You can truly sleep in a storm, Amen to that!

Indiyeah!

What a day! India are the winners of the Cricket world cup final..

For me this event, marks a time when belief in self is back in vogue! India to regain her glory needs her people to do this .. believe in themselves and stay true to their roots.. It is so easy to get swayed by stories of doom and gloom ...but , the minute we believe , we can, yes we can!

Go India Go!

Flash back to a time when we believed..the Story of our independence movement..

P has captured it so well in her social studies final exam paper..in this story board..The key events of the freedom movement and finally at the stroke of the midnight hour on 15th August 1947 we are a free nation.

I end this post with a video of D singing , Nanna Munna rahi hoon..The evergreen number of a young kids dream for the motherland and the promises he wants to keep for her..

Jai Hind!

Hungry Caterpillar and Spunky Snail

The second edition of the colour tree workshops drew to a close today..

The very hungry caterpillar by Eric Carle  follows the journey of a caterpillar from the time he is a tiny egg on a leaf.He is ravenous, as he breaks out of his egg, one fine Sunday morning.. eating up all that he can he can find.. He is doing fine till Friday...On Saturday, he gobbles up a whole of junk fund and gets ill with a stomach ache..gets better on Sunday , eating healthy stuff and slow he is not a little caterpillar any more.. He is big and fat and builds a house around himself.He Stays in his cocoon house for a couple of weeks, until he finally nibbles his way out of his house and he is beautiful butterfly!..

Then we went off one some wild trips with a spunky snail , who wants  to see the world! What can stop any one  from following their dreams? Not size! She hitches a ride with a friendly blue hump back whale and off they go!....past icebergs and volcanoes , storms and sharks..they run into trouble as the whale gets lost and beached..
Preview
Our spunky little friend to the rescue.. she gets help and the two friends are back on sea..!

An enduring tale about spunk,following dreams , thinking about of the box, small is big.. if you will, and  friendship through good and bad times..
Best friends forever.. Snail and the Whale...Go on guys!

Honesty and Hardwork-Revisted!

Honesty and Hard work- words that sound almost old- fashioned.. but are they not the cornerstones of character?
My young friends and I revisited honesty and hardwork, even as we continued our exploration into the animal kingdom...

"The little Red Hen"..a classic  English folk tale of a hard working hen and her lazy friends.. while the hen sows the grain, tends to her field,harvests the wheat, takes it to the miller, and finally bakes her bread  with the flour she pounded, her friends do not budge to help her.. They are too busy lying around under the sun..

Its time to eat the tasty bread and her friends come bounding to help her."This time is different!", says the hen as she tells tells them.." I will eat the bread all by myself"!Hard work is rewarding, for sure!!



Then we moved on to a swamp near Louisiana to  meet Ally, the Alligator..The young Alligator in " The Alligators' secret " finds out how lies can get you into a world of trouble.


He learns that when you commit a mistake, it is better to own up and ask for help, rather that cover up with lies and pretence.
Truth Triumphs..!!

Little Hen pen holder and an Ally the Alligator -puppet  added up to make the carft hour!

Holi Hai...

Its Holi..and theres' nothing Holy about it!

Its a time when you can show  your true colours!, quite literally..guards are down and and you get to connect with everyone from the heart, no holds barred!

I for one, Love Holi..

The colours, sweets, water play, music , dance and the drinks!

Bring it on, Holi hai..!

Lost and Found

Its the season 2 of the colour tree workshops and we are all set to journey into the animal kingdom..

First up, Lets ' save the animals and find them suitable homes. Noah tells us how! Noahs' Ark, A Mythical  tale, so deep with meaning.. brought alive by a lovely pop up book..

In the process, a naughty monkey is lost.. My young friends want to call him , naughty chickoo chuckles..All the animals and birds and fishes and creepy crawlies have found their home and living happily ever after , but chuckles, is lost.

"The Little Monkey gets lost"... as he roams about tired and sleepy , in search of his home..meets a wasp,an eagle, a tortoise,a catfish,a rabbit, a snake,a bat, an owl and finds out where and how they live..before finally coming home.

A wonderfully illustrated book , which introduces the concept of  "habitat"..  where animals live and what their  homes are  made of..

We made Pop cards and chickoo and friends face masks at art time..

Patch of Life..

A patch of wet earth..

Its  a place of creation..where you can sow any thing..and see it grow..
but yes, you can reap only what you have sown!!!!

Its like a blank canvas which allows the colours to take any form , shape and hue..

It is like a moms' bosom.. nurturing .. providing.. all that a new born needs..

Its truly a place of wonder..full of possibilities..full of LIFE..!!

Keeping it simple..!

Why is it that our mind avoids complications but creates it effortlessly ?!!

I wonder , if  branding something " difficult" is a clever ploy we employ to resist learning. Is learning not about roaming in the unknown and soaking it in? Can learning happen in comfort zone? can you reach for the stars without stepping out?

I was at a class today.. learning a skill..and i learnt a few things about learning..

• An empty cup helps.. when you are so full of yourself , there is no room for learning.. In a space of learning do i have the humility to be empty and absorb the lesson ? is a question well worth answering..
• Is your heart in it? When the heart is fueling the desire to learn , the fire to learn and absorb stays well stoked.
• There is nothing which is "difficult" .. its just a name to avoid the learning 
•  Rome was not built in a day.. One step at a time..and  keeping at it, until you get it truly helps!
• Fears  definitely do not help, especially the ones of judgement, failure..They need to be checked out..at the door..
• A Good teacher most truly is the best help, you can possibly get!

So when you teach keep it simple.... when you are learning do not be deterred by what does not seem simple!

No wonder , a wise one opined.. It is so simple to be easy but not easy to be simple!

Picnic at the park and living sunlight

Are they excited ? My young friends start arriving with their caps , hats and bags.. we are all about to make a trip.. A picnic at the botanical gardens .. venue of the 4th workshop.

All of us  reach the park and make a beeline for a shady canopy..

The book I am about to read about  today is " Living Sunlight".. A book about how life works and about how the Sun gives us life..

Its  a beautiful book , lovely pictures.. enthralling!I have Mr S , just behind for Company.. my friends are thrilled ,keep pointing to him as they hear about his gifts for us..

Post some sandwiches we  have more work to do! A sunny day picture..fluffy clouds..green meadows, tall trees,some butterflies and birds come alive under a bright sun..

An enchanting day under the sun..
All in a days' work! Can it get better than this? I am eager to know!!