136 - 30th - Colorful delicacy

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 30th Apr'08

I was making a curry of carrot and beans that day when suddenly I noticed how colorful and eye catching the whole thing is looking. The green crumbles of beans embedded in a sort of orange background were really giving an eye warming sight.

I quickly got hold of my camera and clicked some photos. This is the best one I got.

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135 - 29th - Almost Beetle

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 29th Apr'08

You can see these green tiny cabs zooming around all over Mexico. Resembling almost completely with Volkswagen beetle, these taxis are the lifeline of the city. They are used extensively by everyone - rich and poor alike. These metered taxis are much cheaper than cabs in any city of US or even India. Just like the beetle, they have only the front entrance and no doors at the back.

One of the safety advices which you will get upon entering the country is - being an outsider, you should never board these cabs as you are most likely to be robbed.

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134 - 28th - Ruben Dario

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 28th Apr'08

Ruben Dario is a famous street in central Mexico city which boasts of hosting many big corporate houses like Coca Cola. The beauty & sophistication of the place is evident from its neat streets, high rise buildings and big names on the name plates. Along with renowned corporate offices, this street is home to many embassies too. Given the strategic importance of the residents, you can always spot a couple of police cars zipping through it.

I used to walk through the street to my office until a week back, before I changed my apartment and moved to a new place. I took this photo during one of my walks back from office. 123, Ruben Dario, by it looks, seems to be some hotel. Though I couldn't exactly figure out what it was.

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133 - 27th - The lamp

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 27th Apr'08

I was walking past a local city park when I saw this lamp hanging on a tree. Probably the lone of its kind in almost the entire park, it somehow attracted my attention and I decided to give it a shot. Though there was nothing special or nothing which really "stands out" in this particular photo, I somehow liked it very much. Maybe the inherent simplicity is what attracted me the most.

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132 - 26th - Thirsty

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 26th Apr'08

I have usually seen such stills at Discovery channel or while watching the NGC or Animal planet. A thirsty animal sipping water at the lake side oblivious of the evil intentions of the predators hiding nearby. Suddenly a crocodile launches itself from beneath the water and grabs the animal's throat in it's vicious jaws. The next moment the crock disappears inside the lake along with it's prey.

As for me, I clicked this one while having a boat ride in a lake at Africam Safari in Puebla.

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131 - 25th - The floral skeleton

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 25th Apr'08

This flower looking structure which you see in the picture is not actually a flower, but a skeleton of the same. The actual flower is bright red in color with long broad petals. When the plant dies and the pollen is taken away by birds and insects this is what remains of a thing which once a beautiful blooming flower.

Though being dry and being a skeletal remain of an elegant flower, this dry stub is not any less eye catching. Unless you have seen the original flower and unless you know that this is a dried remain, you will definitely mistake it for some dry variety of a fresh counterpart.

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130 - 24th - Parched

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 24th Apr'08

The dark brown parched piece of cactus which you see in the photo is originally lush green in color when alive and is used in many different dishes across Mexico. It is actually very tasty and has a sour tangy taste. Apart from growing in the wild it is also cultivated as a crop with proper farming practices. The best thing about growing cactus as a crop is that it needs minimal care and almost the entire plant can be used including it's thorns which are used for "stitching" in many "wrapped" preparations like tamale.

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129 - 23rd - Symmetrical

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 23rd Apr'08

Mother nature has incorporated symmetry in almost every second thing it has created. Ranging from magnanimous symmetrical creations like our solar system and the milky way itself to miniature things likes thorns growing on a dry tree's branch. You can find it everywhere, the best explorable example being the human body itself.

Symmetry after all is the best arrangement for long lasting stability.

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128 - 22nd - Dried blossom

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 22nd Apr'08

The outskirts of Mexico city resemble a typical urban desert. Large spreads of dry barren land with no signs of greenery or habitation at all. This is where you can find a huge variety of plants which survive in extreme dryness. This was one such shrub which had plenty of tiny dry flowers. Though it was hard to focus on them in the hot blazing sun, I got this pretty satisfactory shot of some of those miniature flowers.

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127 - 21st - The donkey ride

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 21st Apr'08

A rare sight in a country which is famous for cow boys riding their way through on tall handsome horses. I saw this man treading through a hot Saturday afternoon on the outskirts of the city. Probably as heavy as the donkey itself, he was enjoying his comfortable ride with a typical Mexican sombrero on his head.

Different people, different means of transport :)

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126 - 20th - Thorned

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 20th Apr'08

You can find at least 10 different varieties of Cactus in Mexico. Cactus is used for various different purposes, ranging from sewing & textiles to being extensively used for cooking. The shapes and sizes of the cacti found here vary from small ones, which are hardly 10 inches long to almost tree-sized cacti.

This is the season of bloom for most of the cactus plants & these are the flowers which grow among a dense mesh of thorns.

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125 - 19th - Royal Bengal Tiger

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 19th Apr'08

You cant experience the awe and the magnanimity of this animal until you see it up close, right in front of your face. You feel so miniature and non-existent in front of the raw power of the royal Bengal tiger, that you just stop and stare. Its sheer size and unmatchable beauty is a rare combination of killing looks and lethal strength.

Seeing the animal out in the open and just some meters away from your face is an experience of a lifetime.

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124 - 18th - The pink flamingos

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 18th Apr'08

These pink flamingos stand in one position, without even moving their heads, for hours at a stretch. You can almost mistake them for artificial bird idols planted in water. Their bright pink color was looking all the more beautiful against the lush green background.

This was my 3rd trip to Africam safari. The photograph which you can see in the header of the blog is of the same group of birds but clicked during my first trip.

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123 - 17th - The deer family

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 17th Apr'08

I took the photo of this deer family during a visit to a local wild life park in Puebla, Africam Safari. Daddy sitting serious as ever, mom having a silent nap while the kiddo lost in his own world. Like humans, animals too have a strong sense of familial bonding.

I have taken a lot of animal photos this week. So be prepared for a wild life saga during the next few days.

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122 - 16th - The clown

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 16th Apr'08

Its really thought provoking that what different types of work people do to earn a living. I shot this man. dressed as a clown, in front of a local restaurant window, trying to attract the attention of people dining inside.

How much would he manage to earn for a whole day? What would be his frame of mind while doing what he does daily? Can anyone of us imagine ourselves in such a role? Can anyone of us dare such an embarrassment (obviously an embarrassment to us) ?

This is the way people crush their inner inhibitions and shyness to earn a few dollars for a day. I feel blessed for having an easy & comfortable job & at the same time I pray for the betterment of lives of such people.

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121 - 15th - The cacti

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 15th Apr'08

These small ornamental plants are present in almost hundred different varieties. Their seller claimed that they can survive perfectly fine without any water or any kind of moisture for more than 400 days. All they need is their quota of sunlight for about 2 hours daily.

They were neatly spread on a table at a plant and flower market. Each small pot cost around 50 MXN (5 USD or 200 INR approx)

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120 - 14th - The flower bed

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 14th Apr'08

Ok, here is another of my ground shots. The day I shot "the colorful bloom" I was thinking of somehow putting up here, how exactly the ground looks, covered with those tiny little flowers. The sight is so mesmerizing that you dont feel like walking over them. But since you dont have any other choice, you have to walk over this sheet of flowers and hear them crack under your feet.

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119 - 13th - Straight from the heavens

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 13th Apr'08

Right after a light spell of rain, the sun started emerging from the dark black clouds. The sun rays pierced through the ominous blanket of water laden thunder-bowls and hit the earth with a divine like appearance. It seemed as though God has thrown his light straight from the heavens upon the panic stricken earthlings.

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118 - 12th - The cross

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 12th Apr'08

The old city of Puebla is full of cathedrals. If you stand on top of the pyramid at Cholula, you can count around 20-25 cathedrals & churches spread around the vicinity. Religion seems to be an important aspect of ancient colonial Puebla.

I took this photo near the Cholula pyramid, which had many such crosses standing singularly at many places, defining the important role of religion in the ancient architecture.

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117 - 11th - Against the sun

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 11th Apr'08

Against the afternoon scorching sun, these green leaves were giving a pleasant respite from the irritating heat. You could just spend hours sitting beneath the cool green shade. I spent around 15 minutes taking different shots & in the meantime getting rid of my sweat.

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116 - 10th - Juicy

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 10th Apr'08

I took this photo while on a visit to my local supermarket for the weekly grocery shopping. This heap of green juicy lemons caught my eye at the first glance. I abandoned the trolley which I was carrying, took out my camera and took a couple of shots.

As has happened many times before, people around me were giving me a what-a-freak kind of look. But who cares about the people when a nice picture is at stake :) As I always say, see the full image to get the real idea.

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115 - 9th - The red flowers

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 9th Apr'08

As stated in the post the silhouette, this is the colored version of the tree with no leaves but bright red flowers at the tip of it's branches. Though it's not the same tree as in the other post, but this is exactly what I wanted to post.

I will suggest you to the see the full image to get the real idea.

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114 - 8th - Perfectly set

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 8th Apr'08

Neat white walls, a tall tree out in the porch, house number etched boldly & a patch of lush green grass in the front yard - a perfecting setting for my dream house.

I noticed this house a couple of days back, on my way to office & I liked it in the first glance. Since the area hosts a lot of embassies, me photographing the buildings without asking anyone would have lead me into trouble. Each morning I hoped of finding someone outside the house to whom I can ask for the permission of taking a photo. Today I ran into the owner of the house & the hence got this shot.

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113 - 7th - Scattered

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 7th Apr'08

It seems to be autumn for "some trees" here in Mexico. I mentioned "some trees" because not all trees are shedding their leaves, only some selected ones. In the morning when I walk to my office, I can see the side walks covered with colorful dry leaves.

Last weekend, I decided to have a ground oriented shot of them. I had to lie down straight on my stomach, on the footpath, with many people passing by, to take this photo. But the effort was worth it.

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112 - 6th - The wooden log

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 6th Apr'08

I saw this log lying in a nearby park among dense, green vegetation. Given the amount of wild grass growing all around and the deserted corner of the park where this log was lying, it was a bit difficult to reach the place and take the photo.

I had spotted this log a couple of days back, on my way to office. At that time only I decided to come over here on the weekend and take the shot.

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111 - 5th - Morning dew

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 5th Apr'08

Sun was yet to show its face & a cool shy wind was blowing, sending a light chill down your spine. The morning dew was still fresh on the flowers and leaves. You could feel the freshness of a new day in the air. The nascence of a new day was inducing a strange energy in your body.

The fresh dew was yet to evaporate from the petals of this flower when I took this photo. I could see the dew sprinkled everywhere, on leaves, flowers, railings, everywhere. I took many shots of the dew, out of whom I liked this one the most.

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110 - 4th - The silhouette

Originally clicked ans uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 4th Apr'08

I have been told be many people who have been observing my photography trends, that I am obsessed with silhouettes. 2 out of 5 good photos of mine will be silhouettes. Proving them right and continuing with the trend, this is one more silhouette I clicked today.

One strange thing about this tree is that it doesn't have any leaves. Only bare stretching branches as if autumn has struck, and bright red flowers right at the tips. It surely is a very pleasant look. I will click one in day light and post it over the weekend.

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109 - 3rd - Pop It

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 4th Apr'08

I was trying my hand at some macros today. Didnt feel like eating anything, so prepared some popcorns & thought of giving them a try with my camera. In this particular shot, I got the focus exactly where I wanted :)

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108 - 2nd - Sliced out

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 2nd Apr'08

I saw this bench the other day while having a walk near Zona rosa. Truly a thoughtful creation. It feels like the person who was sitting there just cut out the area he was occupying and took it with him.

I have many such sliced out voids in my life. Many people who occupied some space in my heart, but when they left, they just sliced their space out and took it with them, leaving a never-to-be-filled again void :)

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107 - 1st - Weird

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 1st Apr'08

I couldn't figure out what exactly was she thinking nor could I figure out if actually the person was a "she", but the strange, absolutely silent posture in which she was sitting really made me stop and stare at her. It's not that her eyes were closed when my camera clicked, but she was sitting like that from the time I noticed her.

With a child pram parked next to her, with none-knows-what kept inside it, a book kept on her other side and a pair of glasses perched on her forehead, her face and hands covered with some white powder, I wasn't really able to decide what was going on there. Her face had a kind of unusual expression, one that I couldn't identify.

Just observe the photo closely, I am sure you will also start feeling weird.

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