412 - 31st - Grilled onions

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 31st Jan'09

We were having a "weekend" lunch at one of my friend's place and the menu was "Something grilled". While the meat-eaters were enjoying their share of grilled "arrachera" (beef) I had some othe exotic options saved for myself - grilled onions, nopales (cactus) and some grilled cheese.

There is nothing special, but I just love the taste of grilled food. The whole idea of grilling different vegetables and cheese on top of red hot coal just increases the taste of the food ten fold. God do I miss the paneer tikka (grilled paneer) at Bikanerwala in Delhi...

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411 - 30th - Out in the dark

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 30th Jan'09

Apart from the glowing signboards of the retail giant "Mega", the cine-complex "MM" and the famous hotel "Holiday Inn" one more thing which was making it's presence felt in the dark of the night was the glowing yellow moon. It was a day of full moon and the round yellow star had just came up the horizon.

I was walking back towards the parking after buying some groceries when I spotted the moon and tried to take some pics. I had to keep my camera on the top of a nearby car to get a clear picture. Gosh, it is high time to buy a tripod.

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410 - 29th - Of the first bloom

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 29th Jan'09

These are the flowers from my own garden. I did some plant shopping last weekend and bought these "flowering" plants. I love buying plants without any buds or flowers and then watch them grow and bloom. I planted two of these saplings around a week back and today one of them bore these two beautiful flowers.

Believe me, it is a great joy to see small plants grow and then bloom with scores of flowers.

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409 - 28th - The tiny fungi

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 28th Jan'09

One person was really pissed off while I was busy clicking these tiny mushrooms - my guide to the ruins of Palenque.

We had hired a guide to let us know the story behind the stones at the archeological ruins of Palenque. After giving us the details of the pyramids he led us into the jungle to show some ruins which haven't been excavated yet. As we were spiraling through the narrow path in the undergrowth we passed under a log of a fallen tree. This bunch of tiny fungi was growing on that particular piece of wood. While the guide was cursing me for spending time on something which isn't even remotely related to Maya civilization, I was busy getting my shot.

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408 - 27th - Palenque

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 27th Jan'09

The site of Palenque was abandoned by the Maya people for several centuries, when the Spanish explorers arrived in Chiapas in the 16th century. The first European to visit the ruins and publish an account was Father Pedro Lorenzo de la Nada in 1567; at the time the local Chol Maya called it Otolum meaning "Land with strong houses", de la Nada roughly translated this into Spanish to give the site the name "Palenque", meaning "fortification". Palenque also became the name for the town (Santo Domingo del Palenque) which was built over some peripheral ruins down in the valley from the main ceremonial center of the ancient city

I took this photo from the top of one of the pyramids right at the corner so that I could cover maximum area. the place was beautiful and the clear weather and sunshine helped me getting a pretty clear landscape.

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407 - 26th - Agua Azul

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 26th Jan'09

Agua Azul (Blue water) is a famous waterfall in the state of Chiapas, around 69 Kms from Palenque. This waterfall consists of many cataracts following one after another. The water is as blue as it looks in this picture & on many others posted before, and has a high mineral content. Where it falls on rocks or fallen trees it encases them in a thick shell-like coating of limestone.

The place offers a hour's trek up the hill to reach from where the water actually enters the area from a narrow crack in the mountain. The density of people inside and around the water decreases as you go up and it's clarity increases. It was probably one of the largest and most beautiful waterfalls I have ever seen.

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406 - 25th - A family

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 25th Jan'09

I was walking through the downtown of San Cristobal back to where our car was parked when I saw this small family right in front of me. My friend had warned me earlier that the native people in this city were really wary of getting "clicked" and often protested violently if they see someone shooting them without prior permission.

Given these facts, I somehow took risk of taking some quick shots. I really loved the way the woman was dressed. The way her hair was tied and the black traditional skirt which she was wearing. Looks like a perfect family :)

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405 - 24th - Crystal clear

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 24th Dec'09

For a moment I did not realize that this particular log of wood was actually immersed in water. The way the shadows fell and practically no optical distortion due the water made me feel at the first glance as if it was lying on a sheet of gravel. Only the next moment when my eyes rested on it, I realized the presence of water.

No wonder people couldn't resist dicing into it and being there for hours.

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404 - 23rd - Beyond the fence

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 23rd Jan'09

It is really amazing how we often cease to think "beyond" and just stick your sight on things right in front. It happens often in life that we regret being short-sighted and not looking far enough.

Well, it is almost the same case with this image. At first instance it just looks like a simple wooden fence. But if you try and look "beyond", you will see a couple of women grazing some sheep in an open stretch of land.

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403 - 22nd - The angry turkey

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 22nd Jan'09

This is probably one of the most amazing behaviors of any bird I have ever seen. There was a group of turkeys having some ten females and one male bird. The male bird which usually looks different , had its tail and wings spread out and was making loud sounds every now and then. Initially I was not able to understand what is going on. But after observing the flock for some time, I realized that it actually was a way to express anger and he was driving the rest of the females back into the shelter. In a couple of minutes I could see all the birds starting running towards the house with this angry mail on their back.

As you can see in the picture, the bird at the front is heading in one direction with the male following it. Male chauvinism – yet another example.

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