228 - 31st - The evening lamps

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 31st July'08

It was bedtime for the sun and road side lamps had started glowing. the sky still wasnt completely dark and the soft glow of the lamps against the dark blue sky was really a beautiful sight. You could see people sitting underneath these lamps, enjoying the lovely evening with a cool breeze hitting against their faces.

As is pretty much evident, the lamps were designed in order to match the architectural style of downtown Tlaxcala.

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227 - 30th - San Jose

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

San Jose is a one of the churches present in the heart of the city of Tlaxcala. Its beautiful building and the picturesque surroundings make it a photographer's paradise. Situated right in the center of downtown Tlaxcala, the church premises is surrounded with small hawkers who sell breads, corn and many other delicious local sweets & snacks.

I went there immediately after having my lunch but that didnt stop me from feasting on almost everything which was eatable & vegetarian of course :)

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226 - 29th - Standing tall

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

This tower like structure attracted my attention in the first look itself. I saw it and I knew I am going to click it. It seemed like a considerably old structure but didnt seem to loose its charm. Given the bell hanging at the top, it surely was a part of some old church.

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225 - 28th - Bull fighting

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

The picture you can see above is an arena for "Bull fighting" or more popularly known as corrida de toros (literally running of bulls) or fiesta brava (the ferocious festival) in Spain. The tradition of bull-fighting was born in Spain & was brought to Mexico at the time of its colonization. It starts with the bull fighter or the torero executing various moves for distracting and angering the bull & ends with the killing of the bull with a well placed thrust of a sword. Supporters of bullfighting argue that it is a culturally important tradition, while animal rights groups argue that it is a blood sport because of the suffering of the bull and horses during the bullfight.

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224 - 27th - The wedding

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

Last weekend we planned to visit a church in the downtown and when we reached there, we found that the church was all set to host a wedding. We could see impeccably dressed people ready to greet the blessed couple. As we reached the entrance of the church the bride was getting escorted inside. I took some shots which didnt come as good as expected due to bad light.

This one is my best among all I got. You can see a couple more at the below given links.
Photo - 1
Photo - 2

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223 - 26th - Blooming tall

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

This flowery grass was waving in the air as we were walking past a pavement. I had my camera in my hand & took some shots. I was trying to have some part of the grass in the foreground and then focus on the one in the background. This is the best I could get. I really need to work with the zoom & focus functions of my camera :)

I will suggest you to click on the photo and see the full version. Looks really nice to me ;)

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222 - 25th - Rusty

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

These 3 nails stuck into the wall just in front of my front door have been in my attention for a long time now. Today I decided to get something out of them. I was trying to get the focus on the head butts, but that was making the background to come in focus too. Its high time a buy a nice macro lens :)

While I was busy getting the right angle with my half my body kneeling against the wall my neighbors must be thinking - What the heck is this guy up to ?? !! But who cares as long as I am getting nice pictures :)

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221 - 24th - Forgot to paint

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

Me & my friend Aakash were driving down a hill in Mysore when we came across this turn. As on almost all the other turns on the spiraling road we were treading, this one too had a sign. But surprisingly it was blank. We saw it in a flash as we were driving & it took a moment to really understand what we saw. We decided to stop & go back to take a picture.

We took the photo and spent the next minute laughing our hearts out. Its amazing how ignorant & irresponsible the authorities can become.

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220 - 23rd - The Red Fort

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

The Red Fort and the city of Shahjahanabad was constructed by the Emperor Shah Jahan in 1639 A.D. The layout of the Red Fort was organised to retain and integrate this site with the Salimgarh Fort. The fortress palace is an important focal point of the medieval city of Shahjahanabad. The planning and aesthetics of the Red Fort represent the zenith of Mughal creativity which prevailed during the reign of Emperor Shahjahan. This Fort has had many developments added on after its construction by Emperor Shahjahan. (Courtesy Wikipedia)

Talking about contemporary importance, the Red fort in Delhi is a major political landmark because this is the place from where the prime minister of the country delivers his speech on the Independence Day. This was the place where the tricolor was first officially unfurled in independent India by Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru

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219 - 22nd - Chamundeswari temple

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

I know a lot of my posts have come related to Chamundeswari, but I think this is going to be the last one :) This temple is situated on top of hill on the outskirts of the city of Mysore. You can have a picturesque view of the whole city from the top of the hill. The statue of Goddess Chamundeswari is made of solid gold while the doors at the entrance of pure silver. Devotees can be seen flocking the temple right from 6 AM in the morning. Most of them trek the hill barefoot to show their devotion towards God.

The typical temple architecture evident in the image is the most common way in which the temples are built throughout Southern part of India. A huge pyramidal dome on top of the temple with intricate artwork consisting of big and small idols of different gods and goddesses. If you see the full image, you can see the art work more closely and admire its beauty.

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218 - 21st - The flame inside me

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

I believe that each one of us has a flame inside us; the flame which drives us to do something special in life. The difference between those who are able to do that and those who can't is how long we can keep that flame burning inside. Because to keep burning it will require a constant source of fuel, which will be our efforts and hard work. Most of us kneel down in front of life's difficulties and extinguish the flame inside - only to realize later that we have actually lost the zest to accomplish something BIG.

As for the image, it is a result of an effort to kill the boredom which arises during the frequent power cuts in Chennai :)

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217 - 20th - The giant demon

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

This giant idol of the demon "Mahishasur" stands tall at the entrance to the Chamundeshvari temple in Mysore. The legend says that goddess Parvathy reincarnated in the form of Chamundeshvari to bring the end of the demon who was causing havoc on earth.

Though many temples in India are made based on the same concept - some god demolishing some demon - but this was the first place where I saw such a glorification of the demon himself in the form of a gigantic idol.

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216 - 19th - The tap

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

Though there is nothing special about this image but somehow the texture of the overall picture and the "complete" look it gave, caught my attention. I really don't know what to write about this except that it will fall under those "abstract images" of mine for whom I dont have any explanation that why I clicked them in the first place.

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215 - 18th - Nandi

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

Nandi the bull, is considered to be the carrier of lord Shiva according to Hindu mythology. Though associated with Shiva, it enjoys a separate 'holy status' of it's own. You can find people worshiping the nandi idols in most of the Shiva temples throughout India.

This giant Nandi idol is situated on the Chamundi hills in Mysore. I was amazed by the sheer size and magnanimity of the statue. I wonder how they would have brought this giant thing up on the hill, or did they carve it out there itself?

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214 - 17th - Gentleman's game

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

Infosys Mysore is a mini city in itself. Multiplex theater, bowling alleys, shopping facilities & every other thing you can think of. If you are inside the campus, you don't feel the need to step out. The campus is huge & is still growing.

I was walking towards a friend's hostel room in the campus when I walked past this cricket field. A game was on & a perfect scene to be captured in my camera.

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213 - 16th - Intricate patterns

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

All the Mughal architecture work consists of series of intricate patterns inscribed all over the buildings. You go to any place, be it the Taj Mahal in Agra, Red Fort & Jama Masjid in Delhi or Kutub Minar on the outskirts of Delhi, you can see the same art form prominently present all the places. It can be in the form of horizontal stripes or concentric circles or just scattered in different patterns on the floor and on the walls.

This pattern was one such example inscribed on the walls of a tomb in Red fort in Delhi.

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212 - 15th - The three minarets

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

Islamic architecture is famous for its minarets and spherical arches. In almost all the famous Islamic architectural works you can see a main building with a circular dome at the middle & a number of minarets erected on the periphery of the compound.

I clicked this triplet of marble made minarets at a mosque in Delhi.

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211 - 14th - The door to nowhere

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

Many times we are faced with unknown possibilities. Where we don't have a choice but to open the door standing in front of you and walk through the uncertainty, hoping for the best to happen.

These "doors to nowhere" are actually the real excitement of life. When you have to walk the unknown path, only to discover later that how perfect a choice it was.

As for the image, it comes again from the Lal Quila, Delhi.

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210 - 13th - The archway

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

Though i have been living in Delhi for almost 10 years now, I never took the pain to go and explore the plethora of historical places it owns. So this time when I went to my home-town, I decided to explore the famous Lal Quila. I spent around an hour inside and it was then when I clicked this archway.

The whole premises is full of beautiful architectural work like tombs, archways and other royal residences. It was built by Shahjahan and is indeed a treat to "history-savvy" minds.

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209 - 12th - Foamy the squirrel

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

I was having a walk in the garden at the front of my house when I saw this squirrel staring at something which I couldn't exactly figure out. Fortunately I had my camera with me & thanks to the photo-fancy animal who didnt shy away from the camera I got this cute shot.

Standing on its rear limbs, it was really a nice way to pose in front of the camera.

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208 - 11th - India Gate

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

India gate or the "All India war memorial" as it was originally called by its designer Edwin Lutyens, was built as a monument to commemorate the Indian soldiers who died in world war 1 & the Afghan wars. The names of the soldiers who died in these wars are inscribed on the walls.

At the center of the monument stands the "Amar jawaan jyoti" (the flame of immortal warrior). It consists of a rifle placed on its barrel with a soldier's helmet placed in its crest. The flame keeps on burning 24x7 and is gaurded by soldiers of Indian army 365 days of an year.

The monument looks spectacular in the darkness of the night, when it glows against the black open space.

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207 - 10th - Clouds again

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

I don't know if actually a term called "cloud observer" exists, but I now realize that it really holds true for me. I really get amazed by the different colors, shapes & patterns the clouds exhibit high up in the sky.

In this particular shot, you can see different shades - black, white, brown, blue - as well as many different shapes - small round patches, big wavy lines & dark patches of typical "cloud shapes". It was like a big platter with different variety of clouds arranged on it :)

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206 - 9th - Akshardham

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

I have posted the image of this temple before too, when I took it from a bridge far far away. Today as I was passing by this temple, I decided to go inside and take some nice shots. I walked around a mile to reach the entrance of the temple only to find out that no photography or videography is allowed inside.

It is such a shame that a spectacular work of art like this is kept away from a photographer's lens. I managed to get this one from outside the front boundary.

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205 - 8th - The "inside" view

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

For those of you who don't know what is an "Autorikshaw" please click here. For those who do, the above picture will be a familiar view. Autorikshaw or just an "Auto" is a very common means of transport throughout India. It may seem a bit unsafe to people who haven't used it, but believe me, after public buses, its the most widely used transport medium.

I clicked this one on my way to a friend's house. The "Auto" guy was zipping his way through the traffic while I was busy searching for a decent shot.

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204 - 7th - Up in the heavens

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

It was 6 in the morning when my flight soared into the morning skies. As we crossed the first layer of clouds, I could the see the sun just emerging out of the horizon. It was cloudy on the ground, but here everything was so clear and beautiful, you feel as if you have entered into a new world where there are no more clouds of darkness & despair. Which is free from all worldly attachments and brings an unusual peace to your mind.

The scene was magical & the vast sheet of Grey clouds with light emerging at the end made me feel that I am at the doors of heaven & its God's abode which I can see - glowing at a distance.

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Note - See the full image to get the real effect

203 - 6th - Bless thy all

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

Each time I used to cross the bridge near Chennai central, this statue mounted on a tall minaret used to remind me of the famous statue of Jesus in Rio de Janeiro . Almost the same posture, but a bit smaller in size & darker in shade, Jesus in this stance seems to give a message of universal acceptance.

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202 - 5th - The final destination

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

We burn ourselves, wear ourselves out, forget the important things in life and just concentrate towards our ultimate ambition - earn more money. In the end all we get is a grave to rest in or a blazing fire to dissolve us in the elements of nature.

Go to a graveyard and you will realize the reality of death. A feeling suddenly sinks in that how artificial a life we are living, completely forgetful of the ultimate truth. Keep this truth in perspective and never will you end up in any sort of doubt.

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201 - 4th - Behind the clouds

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

We were riding down the mountain of Chamundi when we had a pit stop to click some photos. It was then when I saw the sun coming out from behind the clouds. Given the tree in the foreground, the scene looked all the more magnificent.

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200 - 3rd - Glowing

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 3rd July'08

I was just testing the performance of my camera under dim light conditions when I took this shot. Unlike the results which I used to get from my previous camera, this picture came out to be pretty clear and completely devoid of any inherent disturbance. The symmetry in the photo was also a factor to increase my liking for it.

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P.S. I have touched the 200 mark with this post today; can't believe its happening so soon.

199 - 2nd - Tender Coconuts

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

There is nothing else which gives you a better respite from scorching heat than sipping on a tender coconut. Given their abundant availability and low prices, this is a delicacy which everyone can afford. Add to it the delicious "Malai" which you can savor on once the water is finished and you get a tasty heart filling treat.

I shot this neat arrangement of green coconuts at a road side vendor.

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198 - 1st - The holy offering

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

Religion is very tightly interwoven in the Indian social fabric. India is home to all major religions of the world - Islam, Christianity, Buddhism & obviously the one followed by the majority; Hinduism. Hindu temples can be found almost every 200 meters all over the country.

Presenting Gods with different offerings is one of the Hindu rituals. These offerings vary from flowers to fruits & all other kinds of eatables and non eatables. As is true with other aspects of Hinduism, there are no rigid rules or guidelines for these offerings.

I clicked this one at the Chamundi temple in Mysore. These flowers and coconuts were kept on display at a small shop, waiting for some devotees to pick them up and take them on their journey towards God.

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