Phantom Figures

2010-02-09T09:38:00.000-08:00

A new year, a new start !

2010-01-15T01:47:00.000-08:00

I just came to know that there are some people who believe more in me than myself, that they have chosen to follow this blog or check once in a while. Its been long, actually very long , to be exact more than 3 years now. Did I actually lose my new found interest with the lens or have I just become lazy...I guess its a combination of both and in all this while, I have been following many photographers and their work. But I havent been able to really start clicking or whatever I clicked, I felt they were mediocre, not in comparison with other's work that I was visiting, but it seemed just like any of the other photographs. It simply seemed one among the many which never seem to satisfy me when it comes to photography. May be I'm expecting too much of a perfect moment ! Its a new year and a new start, so I thought let me put down the expectation far less than what I seem to have and choose the best way to do something - to start with it. I hope this year I will be able to do more justice to this place and may be I will be more creative. Its not a resolution, just a wish !

a lovely threesome ;-) !

2006-09-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

01092006091
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Date: 2 / sep / 2006
Location: Barista, Beasant Nagar, Chennai
Camera: Nokia N 70 mobile - 2 MP camera

Loved the presentation of the Cafe Mocha - However, as with most Barista outlets (atleast the ones I have visited), the coffee is served lot less hot than I would want it to be served !

In the middle of nowhere !

2006-04-10T06:29:00.000-07:00

Conversation
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Have ignored this space for too long now. But yay am back with something interesting or so I hope.

Well, this is one of my favourite pics from my collection which I accidentally found on my PC this evening and boy, this picture can trigger loads of imaginations for me, some funny, some serious, some naughty. Now, I leave it to you to tell me what your mind tells you on seeing this !

Lo, go ahead, pen your imaginations if you wish !

Wat Pho / Phra Chetuphon

2005-11-17T14:41:00.000-08:00

RecliningBuddha
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

One of the most active tourist spots of Bangkok, Thailand. It is also called the House of Reclining Buddha as it has this huge buddha statue in a reclining position. As is the grandeour with the buddhist temples spread all over Bangkok or that you would find anywhere in the world, the whole temple has intricate and stunningly beautiful yellowish architecture that makes it look as though the whole place is made of solid gold. Well, it actually closer to that because most of these are gold plated.

This temple houses Thailand's largest reclining Buddha and the maximum number of Buddha images (394 actually) in a Wat. For beginners, Wat = temple.
It was originally built during Kind Rama I and rebuilt during the reign of King Rama III. Well, about this King Rama and a lot of history about Thailand and conenction with India, I'll post another entry.

Thsi reclining buddha has 108 postures intricately carved in his feet. They are all made of Mother of Pearl. Its just not the Buddha statue thats of interest here, but there are a whole lot of other things around this place that is breathtaking. Take for example, the 4 stupas that were built to honor the great King Ramas I & II. Seems each Rama had built a big stupa with the King Rama III building the biggest one of them all. After that
he had ordered no more stupas by any future kings. (How mean!). There are also around 91 chedis/belltowers scattere around the entire surrounding.
This place also has a library and is known for the Thai Reflexology method of massage. (You can get one done there too). In fact, their knowledge of massage is displayed in the outside by a statues of sages in poses of self massage(pics follow). This whole place is spread around 20 acres of land and the architecture of the buildings are so awesome that you are ledt to gape in wonder !!!

Trivia:
This was one of the last stop during our sight seeing trip of Bangkok, the next last one being Wat Arun. Therefore, many of use were tired having strolled thru Grand Palace and the city of bangkok. Inside we got to eat some very nice fruits neatly packed in plastic bags and I got one of a pack of mangoes with all the chilli powder and salt in it much to the annoyance of others who couldnt eat things so hot. HEHEHE !!! Also, we bought some few bells, but I would suggest you wait and buy souveneirs in Chinatown unless you are like chikuado who buys them at the respective places. But you should know to bargain which she knows and I actually have no clue what it is.

Tkts Cost - 20 THB / person

Some interesting links
http://www.into-asia.com/bangkok/attractions/watpho.php

http://bangkok.thailandtoday.com/sightseeing/08_0003_watpho.html

History buffs, click on the Detailed description HERE. Its very interesting.

A new Series - a small primer !!!

2005-11-17T14:31:00.000-08:00

Since I came back from Canada in september, I have taken a couple of breaks from work and went on Trekking in Nilgiris and a wonderful vacation to Thailand and Malaysia.
I have always wanted to write travelogues, however, I'm so crunched for time these days. I havent still got my Laptop and car to Blore and I dont hope to get it till next weekend when I go to chennai. And even after that I'm not sure how much of a travelogue I would write. Therefore, I have decided to update Bim-Bam with pictures and a detailed write up of each place and links on the Net so that you can read more about those places and be informed when you happen to visit them.

I'm starting with the Truly Asia Vacation and leaving the trekking details for later.
Obviusly, the whole of the write up will be done by reliving the moments with who else other than the Only One - "Chikuado"

Our route map was

Chennai - Bangkok - Pattaya - Bangkok - Penang - Langkawi - Penang - KualaLampur - Chennai
Time Oct 29 - Nov 6

Note:
I'm not going to maintain the chronology of the places we visited. The posts would be in no particular order.

Uncompleted

2005-08-07T21:10:00.000-07:00

uncompleted
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

I have never painted colors before, atleast tried once or twice with acrylic but with oil paints, never. I decided to try for the first time with oil, one reason it gives plenty of room for errors and can be broken at will and continued. (Am I not lazy *hehehe*)....This picture here is oil on canvas started, with no idea of when I would finish. Particularly, the amount of cleaning the brushes and the palette required has literally put me off and infact I cursed myself for deciding to continue later on this.....I did more cleaning than the time I spent on the painting....After all, I cant spend all my money on brushes....

No reference here from which I paint this....just a roadside view of a barren land with the trees offering shelter with the rocks as chairs.

Hope to complete it sometime in the coming weeks.

Hand

2005-08-04T19:39:00.000-07:00

DSC00137
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Yay !!! Thats my hand, errrr, I mean the wax model of my hand !!! I did this in Niagara for 15$. Well, that was a sick sign. I actually wanted to make a "O" with my thumb showing a sign of approval. But just before dipping my hand into hot hot wax, I guess I moved my fingers....

This is how they did it....I dipped my hand in ice for 2 mins. When it was numb, the lady applied a lot of vaseline on my hand and then straight dip three times into hot wax and leave until it solidifies and then remove it and fill it with dry wax. Thank God, when I had wax on my hand, I thght while removing I wld be waxed of the hair on my hands...Forget how sick it would look, getting the hair on my hand removed - Gosh I can kill myself than being "Waxed" *hehehe*

Harry Potter

2005-08-04T19:33:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This pic is dedicated to Nat - a Harry Potter fan whom I had promised a gift on my Photo blog
:-). This is one of the statues that was very real.

Wax Museum

2005-08-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

Pic
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

On the streets of Niagara, I stepped into the Wax Museum of stars. AH, there were so many pics that I took, but am not posting all of them.

Majestic Maiden

2005-08-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

majestic
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This is one of my favourites of the snaps that I took this time. Pristine pure, innocent beauty and overwhelmingly powerful - thats what this maiden is all about !!!

Tempest

2005-08-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

Tempest
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

The maid of the mist. This is one helluva ride....

For some reason, whenever I see this snap, I get reminded of Shakespeare's "The Tempest"

SKylon - Candian View

2005-08-02T19:51:00.000-07:00

SKylon - Candian View
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

The magnificient horse shoe falls from the skylon.

I like this snap better than any I ahve taken of Niagara.

Skylon American View

2005-08-02T19:50:00.000-07:00

Skylon American View
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Last time around, I did not visit the Skylon tower....

Here is the American falls view from the tower.

CanadianView

2005-08-02T19:48:00.000-07:00

CanadianView
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This is the magnificient Canadian Falls. This is the closest I could get and still get the horse shoe in my humble Sony P92 View finder.

The place was way too misty that day that I was so totally drenched and most of my pics werent that good, owing to the mist settled on my camera. Boy, I must have been crazy to even open it in that mist. I guess I was trying to give myself a reason to invest on a Nikon D70s. *wink*

American View

2005-08-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

American View
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Following is going to be a series of pics of my recent visit to Niagara.
This is my second time to the falls. THe first time, I got to do only the Maid of the mist and Journey Behind the falls. However, this time around, I had time to go around the main street and have some fun.

Here you see the The US falls of the Niagara.
For more facts about the falls visit \,
this site.

Interesting Contrast

2005-07-09T22:30:00.000-07:00

Interesting Contrast
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

I was amazed at the amount of contrast the sky produced.....one half was firey orangish yellow and the other plain clear blue sky...

Evening sky

2005-07-09T22:29:00.000-07:00

evening sky
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

We were at BelleVille Water Front festival, watching the Drums and Bugles...It was a bright day and the evening sun brought in some colourful display with a bunch of clouds trying to move in....

Nice lunch

2005-07-09T22:28:00.000-07:00

nice lunch
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Ah !!! Its been so long since I had this most implest and quickest form of lunch....Woke up late and was bored to cook ......made this south indian (tamilnadu) speciality ....Rice with lemon and grated carrots (again with lemon) ....Yeah, dont u know, I'm addicted to lemon !!!

Approaching storm

2005-07-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

Approaching storm
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

No means I consider this a sketch.....but WTH, I did it *wink* ....REcently I had driven down to drop a couple of guys(Am I a official chaffeur or what? ) at Wonderland and was supposed to pick them at 8:30 PM...I came there sharp and waited till 10:45 PM (yep, mean guys they were and patient guy wasnt I? During that wait I tried to see how a willow charcoal flows on paper...Believe me, though I like pencil sketches a lot, charcoal can be very messy to handle....one of the toughest medium.....

Squirrel

2005-07-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

squirrel
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Last friday, I was alone and thought I'll try learning few basics in sketching. My reference was the squirrel picture my friend took a while ago. The exercise was to learn how to draw thin hairlines. I'm pretty much happy at the output on the right *smile*.

Materials I used are 2H and 6B pencils on a Acid Free Sketch book

Things I liked about this pic was the
1. eyes
2. hair lines of the tail and rear limbs

Things I think I need to improve are
1. proportion - look at the original, the head is not shaped like a traingle at all, as it should have been
2. the sketch must be a little brighter
3. Have more patience *nods myhead diligently*

Haunted Resort

2005-06-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

Haunted Resort
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Ok, this is the Haunted Resort - I think the name is Pearl Valley Resort ( Muthayala Maduvu means Pearl Valley). One crazy place I have ever visited. Just wanted to click this snap so that in the event DV ever thinks of making a horror cinema, this would be the best place. A set of cottages that can give you goose bumps.

Another Sunset

2005-06-24T22:35:00.000-07:00

AnotherSunset
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This again during the MuthayalaMaduvu trip. This place says there is a waterfall...We finally found that. We had to climb down around 800 steps to reach it, only to find what else, plastics and broken beer bottles and the water tripping like a carefully set intravenous injection. When we climbed up it was dark and here you go - an amazing sunset.

Sunset

2005-06-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

sunset
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

When my friends dropped in from Pune, chennai at different times, it was 3:00 by the time everyone came. So we decided to go to a near by place called MuthayalaMaduvu. Dont know where Romi came up with that place, we ran through rough course and amazingly no road to reach a resort. When we reached there, it was haunted - yep, thats exactly what I would say. We could see hints of habitation in the buildings - doors were open but no one around...It was an errie place. Lots of cottages but none but a hunger stricken dog hanging arnd ....With three beautiful girls....(ok, I was made to say this) along, it wasnt a place I would be happy to snoop around.

Awakening

2005-06-24T22:28:00.000-07:00

Awakening
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Another Sunset I clicked when I stayed in my friend's apartment on Bannerghatta Road !!!*sigh* would i get that apartment back? Nah !! Its already been rented out !!!

Misty Morning Bangalore

2005-06-24T22:26:00.000-07:00

misty_morning_Blr
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Well, if you had been following my other blog ( For those who follow only my photo blog, yep, I have one where I write too), you would ahve mostly identified with environmental issues now and then and that I love nature. Now I'm starting a series of pics of sunrise and sunset here.

This picture was taken when I had invited a bunch of my friends - 3 dangerous girls and one poor guy (ofcourse other than me) to my apartment in Bangalore before I left for Canada. This was taken the morning after we finished our Hogenekkal trip - a relaxed lazy morning all of us waking to see the sun from Haritha's balcony after a tiring previous day.

Fort House

2005-06-24T22:02:00.000-07:00

Fort_House
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

One of my dreams is to become a builder. I have a variety of ideas to furnish a house and my usual style or liking to achieving that is to work on a theme. One thing for sure when I build my own house is that rooms would have themes and u cld well be surprised with completely contrasting yet colorful themes in the rooms.

This picture in the side is a house built aesthetically in chennai. If you wlak down the thiruvanmiyur beach, you will see this house. We took on that day when me, chikuado, DV and archana went for a earlymorning jog - me going for the jog after reaching chennai in the morning. I like the owners taste and the style and dream to build it.

Colourful Family

2005-06-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

Family
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

They say a good family is like a University ( Ok, tamizhans wld know the proverb).

This is a colourful family. They were standing outside - whereelse, Quebec downtown street - a shop. They were tall huge statues joining hands. Wonder if they would be safely standing if it had been any other place :-)

Tiranga

2005-06-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

tiranga
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This is the flag I painted. Its a make-shift flag we used for the F1 Race. Well, we couldnt get a Indian flag after 2 hr searching on Saint Laurent street on saturday. So, while going to the metro to catch the train to F1 Circuit, we dropped at Walmart, bought the crayols and used one of the white towels to draw the Indian Flag - yeah sans the Chakra !! George wore this on him. We used one more to write down "Narain" too ! It was unfortuante he cldnt finish the race, nevertheless to be on the circuit is an achievement in itself. They did 305kms in 1.5 hours with an average of 200km/hour - Do i ahve to tell you about the curves??? And believe me they lose 2-3 kgs after every race - thanks to the gforce and the mental concentration that is needed.

Sunset

2005-06-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

Sunset
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

hmm....well, instead of posting F1 pics I'm actually posting our way back from Montreal - the reason, most of it is available as videos *grin*

I guess I was in creative mood...while coming back....Is there anything I need to do to make sunset look good - Nah!!!
But this sunset is interesting because, it was taken when the sun was still bright and I still was wearing my sunglasses - not to mention that we were travelling west and the side of my face was being burnt with the sun rays.

When i looked thru the glass and at the sun with my sun glasses, I was seeing distincitve pattern of clouds like sand which was not visible with naked eye. So, I used my sunglass as the filter for my camera lens and here you go !!!

Image

2005-06-13T13:42:00.000-07:00

Image
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Well,

no prizes for guessing why this blurred picture is up on my blog. Thats the Chevy Suburban we were driving back from the F1 race at Montreal last evening. This huge truck passed by during a slow moving traffic when I, sitting in the navigator seat found our entire car in the wheel covers of the truck.

Here is it now !!!

How to name it?

2005-06-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

DSC00092
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

VDay

2005-06-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

VDay
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

It was on Victoria Day that we went to Quebec. We were visting the battlegrounds on that day when the whole of the city was either away for the long weekend or were enjoying their day off. However, there was a celebration by firing the canons with dummy shells and we witnessed it.

This picture was again taken by my roomie who after one or two futile efforts snaped the camera right at the time of shell being fired.

Painted Wall

2005-06-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

Painted Wall
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

If you had read my earlier post, I dont ahve to say much about this at all. Yet another one in Quebec downtown, where I also incidentally made my dream come true by buying a Hat for myself. Now, dont ask me what I would do with it when I come back - I know ppl wld think I'm crazy to ear one in India - but it wld be a possession *smile*!

This picture is amazing in the fact that so much of emotions have been captured through various characters. Name an emotion and you will find it there !!!

Quebec street

2005-06-07T14:03:00.000-07:00

Quebec street
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

I have an affinity towards anything that is French. French wine, french architecture, paintings and do I have to say about French women *grin*. So, there is little wonder I like Quebec - the heart of french settlement in Canada. It has the Eurpoean charm written all over the city especially in the Quebec downtown.

The picture that you see is one of the art forms that you would see a lot of people do in Quebec. I actually came across quite a few painters in Montreal(Old) and Quebec. The paintings were found on the walls of the building in those narrow streets. Look at how the painting has been infused with life.

Biosphere

2005-06-07T13:58:00.000-07:00

Biosphere
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This is the biosphere mentioned in the earlier post !!!

Mesh

2005-06-07T13:53:00.000-07:00

Mesh
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This picture was taken at the Biosphere in Montreal. Its a place like Birla planetorium in chennai and its fun !!!
It ahs this huge sphere made of the mesh that you see here. It was interesting to look at the sky through those meshes and hence you see it now in the blog !

Squirrel

2005-06-07T10:29:00.000-07:00

Squirrel
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Well, this snap was NOT taken by me, neverthless, I'm posting it here bcos, it was taken in my Camera. It was pictured by Vikas - my roomie - during our trip to Mont Royal in Montreal. Sounds familiar, yep, Montreal derives its name from Mont Royal the highest place to get a peak of the town. No need to mention, this hill was scenic and we went there and waited for the other car to join us - which eventually they never did. While roaming around - we almost hiked the entire place and walked close to atleast 5 kms following a restaurant sign to come back to the same restaurant which we were standing next to and was closed :-p. We also happened to see French wedding which I seem to be lucky enough everytime. Oh well, while waiting, there was this squirrel that was having its share of food for the day. And it was quite bold - probably used to lot of vistiors around - letting us come so close near to it. It did allow, but always had a watch on how far we came - Look at the eyes.....The moment we crossed the boundary it kept for itself, it wld keep the hands(or is it legs) down as if to run and we wld back away. The closeness it allowed and the zoom in the camera produced this. Wonder what it wld be thinking about the human's curiosity or would it?? I'm sure that wld be an unsolved mystery for me !!!

Pencil Rose

2005-06-04T17:57:00.000-07:00

PencilRose
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Well, I finally started to teach myself some sketching.

Medium : Acid free paper
Time : 10 minutes
Pencil : HB 0.5mm and 6B
(Well, I didnt have any other pencils with me ...hehehe)

This exercise was to teach myself the lighting and shading. However, it was just my mind which obviously didnt consider the effects of light on the original source. The source was the rose on
Trouv's blog.

Hopefully, will produce few more sketches as part of self designed exercise program !!!

(E)Merged a Rainbow

2005-06-02T16:59:00.000-07:00

merged15-16
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

I have vivid memories of rainbow - the colourful display of mother nature. This again was captured enroute Montreal two weeks back. I can just look at the rainbows forever and have been doing so since childhood. However, I have never ever seen a complete rainbow until then. A bane when you live in a city and that too a crowded one like Chennai/Blore I guess and never a one where all the seven colours were clearly visible. Here I was watching a full version of the rainbow - It started as half visible and as the roads curved, it danced to our left and right - a colourful dance - and it was like playing catch-me-if-you-can with us and was growing bigger and bigger that I realised it was no longer small enough to fit into my lens.....And as we neared it, I found a thin second rainbow on top of it.

-
oodal konda mukilanangalin kannir perukko?
athuve vanavil ennum nirathin sangamamo?
-

I had to play around with the two images to produce this one. This has actually kindled my interest in digital photography...and I'm working on making this merged image a perfect one. I use GIMP ( GNU Image Manipulation Program) and I'm new to imaged editing and working with layers. Anyone got any advice to remove the colour difference in the lines etc....I can send the two original images if you want to paly around.

Any suggestions on getting started with image manipulation and any pointers to any other softwar is welcome - Only freewares and sharewares pls....I do not have money to buy nor inclination to use pirated copies.

Sunset I treasure

2005-06-02T16:36:00.000-07:00

sunset
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Well, this is one of my favourites and unarguably one of the best sunsets I have ever captured in that small lens of mine.

Well, there is nothing we need to do to capture good images of sunsets. It is always beautiful. But you should know the happeneings behind taking this pic to know why its my favourite.

We were driving to Montreal two weeks back. Vikas at the driver's seat and me as the navigator (well, straight to Montreal doesnt need any navigator though*wink*). We were travelling eastand that makes the Sunset on my left side. As you know, the drivers seat is on the left. So any pictures that I take of my left would involve the driver ( He is a towering 6.2 feet guy) and through the windows an has to be appropriately zoomed.

I was acting the DJ and was busy with catering to the requests of 5 back seaters in that big Dodge Murango that I did not notice the sunset on my left. The guys behind were busy replaying the full rainbow we saw and pictured earlier. There, you avhe a beautiful sunset and they were busy with self appreciation...Turning onto my left, I shouted at the guys to tkae a snap fast before we miss the scenic picutre...Fumbling they tried taking the pic but were not getting a clear view, either with the window obstruction or something. And here I was desperately wanting to take that snpa which arguably would last only for a minute...and I ahve this BIG guy on my next. the only way I can take is to zoom between his hands holding the steering and through the windows on his side and I shd get a nice view and without any shake on that curvy road while he is driving at 100 km/hr.(well, we kept to the speeding limit that day)....I leaped and grabbed my camera and positioned myself to zoom in between the driver's arms and waiting for a nice view on the lens.....For a minute, what I saw mesmerised me and I do not know when my fingers snapped, but the pic was taken exactly the way it was when I felt a mesmerising touch !!! - not a slight difference. I dont think any other moment to take the snap wld have done this justice to what is on my mind...Its like that moment is frozen forever - the beauty of still photography.

And thats exactly the reason why tihs pic has joined my personal favourites for a long time to come !!!!

BTW,what do you see in th pic? What I see is there in the comments !!!

Cultural Performance

2005-05-25T10:53:00.000-07:00

performance
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

At Kandy, we also happened to see a cultural show organised for tourists showcasing the various dance and music forms. The picture here is traditionally that of the soldiers before going for a war. I should say the "Mayillatam" - yes the same we have back in south India was awesome. It is the dance form derived majorly from the fact that Lord Karthikeyan travels on a peacock. "Mayil" in tamil stands for peacock. The ladies displayed amazing flexibility and the gents breathtaking agility. Pictures are not enough to do justice here, human eyes need to see it to feel it.

P.S:
In my earlier snap, I missed out on a trivia. At a buddhist temple or monastery, you never show your back to the Lord. Dont know the reason exactly, probably some kinda respect.

And this post completed my plan of Sri Lankan pictures and am kind of finishing it off fast. Quebec-Montreal trip pictures are coming soon.

I do have a lot of pictures from Sri Lanka, yet I hope I gave a taste of what Sri Lanka has to offer with the choice of my pictures here.

Tooth Temple

2005-05-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

Tooth Temple
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

The last part of our Sri Lankan trip was to Kandy - its a hill station and is quite a target of LTTE activists. This city houses the Tooth Temple. It is so called because Lord Budha's tooth is being held as a sacred relic.

Find more info here

They used to take it out for procession once a month but the recent bombings(including a part of the temple) has mandated to stop all that. Infact it is pretty ironic that the LTTE (Tamil Liberation tigers) do not see the fact that at Dambulla, the cave temple has not only buddhist artifacts, but also their own god Lord Karthikeyan in total harmony. It is only possible as Buddha was born a Prince in northern India and attained this state after enlightenment. Therefore, the origin of the race do not really differe much.

dagoba_inside

2005-05-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

dagoba_inside
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Last in the series of Dambulla - a dagoba inside the cave temple. Absolutely no flash allowed here !!!

Statues

2005-05-25T09:11:00.000-07:00

Statues
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This one again captures the squares in the paintings on the roof and sides and the statues inside the cave !

Ther were a huge number of statues all throughtout the inside of the caves. Havent still found what their significance is all about for that many statues there !!!

Flowers

2005-05-25T09:10:00.000-07:00

Flowers
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Another work of art !

Flower patterns all along the sides of the rocky cave inside !!! Look at the symmetry of the paintings on uneven surfaces and the painfully time consuming effort that wld ahve gone in painting them, unless of course they had easier ways of doing that we dont know yet.

*Me is thinking of hiring the artist to paint my den *!!! *wink*

The complete painting

2005-05-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

good one
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Well, when I wrote abt sigiriya paintings, I had asked you to wait for Dambulla pictures. Here they are in their full grandeur. My camera was not enough to take a complete picture. I have few other ones but chose this picture to depict the intricacies of the same.

These paintings as to what we imagine are right on the roof above our head. I wonder how they would ahve painted it. have you ever tried painting a roof at your house. Your neck pains like hell after some time. But click on the picture and look close. You have a wonderful lining of intricate details painted all clearly. And add to the fact that it was painted on roof, it was painted on uneven surface as is visible. Nevertheless, the paintings did not ahve a shear or torn effect but the uneven surfaces were smoothly accounted for - as if someone drew it on a canvas and pasted it up like a well laid wall paper. Do any of you have any thoughts abt how they wld ahve done it? Another proof to my belief in
"The key to our future lies in our past" !!!

Painted Buddha !!!

2005-05-25T09:01:00.000-07:00

OnTheRoof
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Well, at Golden Temple, you got to climb upto to reach the cave temple on the top. The painted Buddha on the right is a picture inside the cave temples.

Again, I must say that there were a lot of guys who clicked with flashes. All they wanted was to take pride in the fact that they were there, take pics with them to be boasted abt to friends and relatives. But it was clearly warned that the pictures would be damaged by flash lights - its all natural pigments used to paint them.

Dagoba

2005-05-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

Dagoba
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This is the dagoba outside the Golden Temple. A lovely shine it has got !!!

Golden Temple

2005-05-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

Golden Temple
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

From Poonurwala, we reached Dambulla !!! This place is known for its Golden Temple and cave temple. On the right you see the golden temple at Dambulla. I remember having heard that this statue is visible from the flight when you come to Sri Lanka. But I must admit that the statue was so gaudy and bright in its appearance as is seen on the photo - a grandeur is all I can say !!!

Sleeping Buddha

2005-05-25T08:53:00.000-07:00

sleeping_buddha
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

As promised to MoN, here is the sleeping version of the rock sculpted buddha from the excavations at Ponnurwala !

excavations

2005-05-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

excavations
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This is one of the sites that was excavated. Unfortunately, this is a whole stretch of place where the ruins are scatterred arnd kms. And as you guessed it, the tickets were outrageously priced. We skipped a lot initially but had made arrangements to reach the palce without any tickets and paying some money and even ended up in fight bargaining !

Well, that was something that was not ethical to do, but taking a vacation, travel all the way only to see everything is priced in dollars (God, we still earn in rupees whish is 50 times lesser than the Dollar), cldnt prevent it. A mistake consciously made !!!

Parakrima Prabhu

2005-05-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

Parakrima Prabhu
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This is Parakrima Prabhu - a ruler well known for his kind hearted rule. He was pioneer in many things at his time including a vast library !!!!

ruins

2005-05-17T14:32:00.000-07:00

ruins
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

A part of the ruins. The ruins of historic forts ahve always fascinated me....An era of bygone generations. Wonder how it would have been amidst all that grandeur !!!

Standing Buddha

2005-05-17T14:28:00.000-07:00

Standing Buddha
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Ok, I had earlier told my next posts would be about Dambulla....actualyl our detinsation was Dambulla from sigiriya, but on the way was ponnurwala - archeological place. This country has a wide influence of Buddhism ...you can see statues of Buddha all along everywhere - the roads etc...and this one was captured on our way - standing alone on a highway !! Wonder who built it !!!

Reservoir

2005-05-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

REservoir
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Now, we finally reached the top after paying 2500Rs/head and burning the fat of our butt and Hola !!! wasnt it splendid? The picture you see here is right on top of the rock, the water reservoir for the palace...
Who do you think were the ones up there next to the reservoir. It was me....but unfortunately, I was being threatened to be drowned in that hue reservoir by two she-devils with a he-devil watching over it !!!

another one of DV's who was way over the top when he took the snap !!!

Paws

2005-05-17T13:54:00.000-07:00

Paws
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

After strenous climbing, this is the rest place. Now, wait, this isnt een half the total height....
And this is where you actually realise what the sigiriya rock resembles - it is also called the Lion Rock and that what you see int he pictures - the gigantic paws. In fact the whole fort was constructed so as to enter the palace via a stoneway that leads right into the mouth and throat....Talk abt architecture those days.....
You can learn a lot more about the Rock here
You will also find some interesting information here
about early settlements of Sri Lanka - namely the Dravidians (south Indian inhabitors)

Lost mountain

2005-05-17T13:39:00.000-07:00

lost mountain
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

From atop the sigiriya, I looked around and found this small mound standing totally lost from the rest of the stretch of land masses.

Frescoes - contd II

2005-05-09T17:42:00.000-07:00

painting3
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Damaged ones ....there are only 20 out of close to 500 of them !!!!

Well, it isnt easy to paint on these surfaces - I'll show you soon examples of well preserved frescoes from Dambola !!!in my next sequewnce !!!

Frescoes - contd

2005-05-09T17:41:00.000-07:00

painting2
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Cave paintings !!!

2005-05-09T17:40:00.000-07:00

painting
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

The next few pictures would be that of the cave paintings in Sigiriya. They are guarded so close important because these paintings are too old and the exposure to camera lights even would damage them. Ofcourse, there were few guys who were more interested in clicking them with flashes than preserving them. Without flash, it has come out well in mine.

Ok, I just rememdered that you actually call them frescos - cave paintings seem to be really ancient term *wink*

Well, these fresoes are obviously painted using natural pigments.

You shd look at the following site to
learn more about sigiriya

Steep

2005-05-09T16:41:00.000-07:00

steep
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Well, thats sigiriya rock for you...Enormous as you go near it. What was interesting to me was that along the steep rock, I found grooves exactly like the ones that you see during rock climbing practice places etc. And I'm sure there wld have been people who used it those times and to use that, they must have been extremely agile !!!

In the rain @ sigiriya

2005-05-09T16:31:00.000-07:00

In the rain @ sigiriya
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Well, I need to tell you something. When we planned for this vacation/tour whatever - something that we back in India are just not accustomed too and no affordable too - we had set up a certain budget - anything beyond that would bite us real hard. You sure wouldnt want to take a flight and go there and see nothing. But when we reached sigiriya in all earnest, we were shocked that we had to pay SL Rs 2500/ person. Well, we had not expected a ticket to cost us INR 1000/- for one person. For a shortwhile we decided we wld skip it...but what is the purpose of visiting. WE decided to bet on our credit card if nothing is there and we went in. Till then, it was happily shining and soon after we crossed the gates, from no where, a huge torrent of rain poured like mad as if mocking at us. The picture you see is when we sought shelter with two umbrellas for five people. However, we had decided to climb the rock no matter what and soon, rain relented to our determination.

But the place was amazing green with moss on the ruins of the fort !!!

Sigiriya

2005-05-09T16:18:00.000-07:00

sigiriya_pool
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

The rock you see in the back ground of this picture is the sigiriya rock. Beleive me that an amazing well planned fort was on top of it. When we had booked for the package tour, we thought we might be staying in mediocre hotels. At sigiriya, we stayed in Hotel Sigiriya with such a view of the rock from the swimming pool side.

Sigiriya is yet another world heritage center by UNESCO. There aint many announced by UNESCO and Sri Lanka has a good share of it :-p

Now, I am always amazed at the capabilities of our ancestors that we have seemed to forget. They were able to conceive and vision what we now term as impossible/most difficult and wonder at the mysteries ( Pyramids for example) of the construction.

On top of that rock was a neatly designed capital city by King Kasappa !!!

Here is where you will find much more
about Sigiriya !!!

Sad porcupine

2005-05-09T10:54:00.000-07:00

Sad porcupine
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Our next destination was a place called Sigiriya. It actually used to be a kingdom and a fort on top of a mountain and amazingly the mountain - well, my following posts will show you them.

This post is about our travel to Sigiriya. We were travelling through nice roads, greenery on both sides and what seemed like a way through the forest with minimal inhabitation. On our way, we stopped to buy some water and thats when we saw this porcupine. Look carefully at his eyes - those were crying for freedom. Though coming from a place where I have been exposed to small wild animals I have never seen a porcupine except for in zoos and hre I saw it captured and tied with a thick chain. The most atrocious part was when the guy asked us to pay money for taking a snap of it. well, I cld ahve crushed his balls right there. Why do we humans do this always. Is there any one animal on the planet that captivates/hunts the other for pleasure ??
we dont deserve the Earth.

Bo Tree

2005-05-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

Bo Tree
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

The Bo Tree at Anuradhapura !

This tree is believed to be the sapling of the holy, sacred "Bo tree" in gaya, India under which Siddhartha Gauthama attained enlightenment and became Lord Buddha.

Follow this link for a vivid description of Anuradhapura !

Bunkers

2005-05-04T11:58:00.000-07:00

bunkers
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This is on the way to the Anuradhapura buddhist temple. A careful look at the picture would reveal a lined columns. They are supposedly the remains of what used to be sleeping bunkers I guess. I'm not dure and I hate for not noting it down about it when our driver/guide told us about it. DV/chikuado, do u remember?

Anuradhapura

2005-05-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

Anuradhapura
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This is Anuradhapura - one of UNESCO's world heritage site. This is the closest you can get (unless u want to take some risk) to the tamilians part of Sri Lanka. You could see the influence of the buddhism in this part of the country. It is a errily calm place and it was late evening when we finished our visit here. In a buddhist temple, you can see structures called the Dagobas - these are closed inverted bell shaped structures with no entrance or anything. They are supposed to contain relics of buddha and buddhist saints. Anuradhapura was founded in 5th century B.C and is the first capital city. It is amazing fact that the city's reservoir systems that supply water are considered complex engineering designs till day. It is an example of clearly envisioned city built by great human minds thus reiterating my belief once again in the line - " The key to our future lies in pur past" !!
Anuradhapura is an example!

Morning Blues

2005-05-03T14:19:00.000-07:00

Morning Blues
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

From Colombo after exhausting our free dinner coupons at Hotel Amaravati - they were really accomodating to order anything from the menu for the coupons - we headed to Bentota, the beach resort.
It is a pristine beach and a wonderful place to enjoy your vacation. We wanted to get up before the sun showed up on this side of the planet....sky blue is not my fav color except when the color is on the sky itself :-)

P.S
This beach resort is one of the worst hit during tsunami I heard. :-(

Doomsday ???

2005-05-03T14:07:00.000-07:00

Doomsday ???
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

The shore at colombo seemed to be captivated by a sudden rush of dark clouds hastening to bring down the fall of the whole place. It was surprising that ppl were so calm abt the imminent rain to follow and few of the couples were happily kissing under the protection of an umbrella to shield them from onlooking passers by.

what? u r asking me if I took one of the snaps....che che....I'm decent !!!
:-)

Engulfing clouds

2005-05-03T14:02:00.000-07:00

Engulfing clouds
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

The engulfing clouds are mesmerising !!!

Place: Colombo, November 2004.
It was the evening we landed up in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is much like our own Kerala, but you are just not sure when it wld rain. Minutes earlier, it was warm and humid and suddenly the whole place transformed with the clouds engulfing the whole place !

I would be posting a series of pictures from our trip to Sri Lanka late last year, just before Tsunami. The pictures are not necessarily taken by me but by us. The posts following this is to share the trip to Sri Lanka.

Ameliasburg

2005-04-27T16:31:00.000-07:00

Ameliasburg
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

BelleVille
April 27 2005, 4:45 PM

These pics were taken during last weekend. One of the girls came from India on work and we had hired a car to pick her up. On Sunday, we were roaming around aimlessly and driving on the picton route. Enroute, we chanced upon a sign board that read Ameliasburg museum. Whats that? Well, we have never heard of that. Thought we will check it out and as we expected, they were close. But we still wonder what was in the museum there. It was a small house like thing which they termed museum and outside was one of the oldest diesel engine â reminded me of my mechanical lab long back at the collegeâ¦.nothing more. However, the trip was wonderful with spine chilling cold wind along the shores of the lake where this museum stood.

Solo Performance

2005-04-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

Solo Performance
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Donât you even think twice about who it is, it is MEEEEEEEEEâ¦..I generally do not post any picture of mine on the blog. But this was an amusing one bringing back nice memories of our Dakshin Chitra visit on the East Coast Road. It is a kind of theatrical
auditorium. This exclusive performance of mine mesmerized the only two audience â DV and Chikuado !!!

Chevy Suburban

2005-04-10T21:29:00.000-07:00

suburban
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

I ahve driven many cars .....not so many...but by Indian standards, many.....Thats one thing I do - rent a different car everytime.....I like to feel the difference in the Engineering....Chrysler Intrepid is one of my favourites.....The biggest I have driven is Ford van - seven seater....This weekend guys had hired a Chevy SubUrban 8 seater with boot to pick one of my friend. The car is at my disposal when I write this....standing right outside my french window in the room....The pic is not that good I know.....but the machine was damn good.....the pick up, the tyres - the first thing I notie abt a vehicle is the tyres and this machine did impress me in that sense.....Havent accelerated this beauty much but I'm sure she wld ive one hell of a performance !!!

Black Tree

2005-04-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

blacktree
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

I was in the hotel for the whole of saturday ordering pizza, watching TV and sleeping....In the evening, I was rearranging my suitcase when I found the canvas padin my bag.....Just scribbled this pic then.......It was inspired by a lonely tree completely devoid of the leaves opposite to my french window.......Kinda seemed to reflect myself in certain aspects....and t just took me 3 minutes to do this.....Hope it isnt that bad......

Ready for work !!!

2005-04-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

ready4work
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

There isnt much difference between my lives and the boat - a wooden existence...Day starts and ends at work - and at the end of a hard day,all we get is some rest at the shore, waiting for the next day to carry out the same just like this lifeless boat....

Reflections

2005-04-10T21:09:00.000-07:00

reflections
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Following the longing, comes the reflection - a retrospection of my own thoughts at the life...Heres a life at its simplicity - no complications, a simple ahrd earned life...and on the other hand is me....complicating more and more, day by day....

Deep down somewhere my heart just wants the life to be as simple as it can get....

Longing

2005-04-10T20:58:00.000-07:00

longings
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Starting from the previous post Chennai - Awakening, this is the second in that series of four to complete.

It was an early morning and the lonely fisherman on the sea was very interesting. I would have given away anything to have traded the place with him that moment. How I wish my life was so simple.

PS: I had clicked this series unknown to my friend that day....Guess we shared the same feelings probably....But her poses were perfect for my mood.

Chennai_awakening

2005-04-10T20:54:00.000-07:00

Chennai_awakening
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This is an early morning picture along Thiruvanmiyur when a couple of us friends went for a morning jog. I used to wonder how they get scenic pictures when I was a kid - particularly a boat on the vast sea when the sun rises on this side of the planet giving a golden aura to the earth and I got the answer when I went for this jog that day.

A hard working fisherman having started his day's duty was rowing alone in the middle of the nature's scenic abundance.

Not this way

2005-02-21T07:24:00.000-08:00

Not this way
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

oops...Sorry, we back away....

Tigers Rule

2005-02-21T07:22:00.000-08:00

Tigers Rule
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This is phantom's choice of animal any given day. Plain majestic and cool. The big cat is at rest.

Muscle Mania

2005-02-21T07:20:00.000-08:00

Muscle Mania
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Ok, this guy is sheer muscles.....no wonder it takes a group of cheetahs to win him over for a feast.....Look at that what I call a SHoulder...sheer power

Mini forest

2005-02-21T07:13:00.000-08:00

mini forest
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

ok, this park is a couple of minutes by walk from my place...This inspires me to take up jogging......am contemplating on that....

Soothing green

2005-02-21T07:10:00.000-08:00

Soothing green
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

The soothing green effect was pleasant to wake upto or rather being screamed in the ears to wake up.....

Toffee Gift

2005-02-21T07:08:00.000-08:00

Toffee Gift
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

The biggest toffee I have ever got...ok, its actually a parting gift and its two mugs......Now, I have been ordered not to use them until I get married....
Haritha, u listening....me not getting married just to use this mug hehehe :- ) I prefer the plain stainless steel "tumblers" !!! :- )))

Red Curtain

2005-02-21T07:04:00.000-08:00

Red Curtain
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

The deep red curtains gave a wonderful effect to the room when the light seeps in through it !!! It was just bloody hell hehehe

Pattern

2005-02-21T07:01:00.000-08:00

pattern
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This is the pattern on one of the bed spread I bought on saturday....Its kinda optical illusion....Me was searching for a black & white combination....finally got this with black pillow covers.....Now that leaves some space to paint on them.....

floating bed

2005-02-17T02:34:00.000-08:00

floating bed
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This is my second pic in Sepia tone....
I like this tone. The original image would clearly show you a white layer of softbed of clouds over rocky green cots!!

Hard as a rock

2005-02-17T02:25:00.001-08:00

Hard as a rock
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Do you have any doubts as to why they
call " As hard as a rock" ....Mountains are such wonderful things , the curves, the slopes the contours - fascinating....

Hope

2005-02-17T02:25:00.000-08:00

Hope
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Sun rise/set always relates to the emotion of hope within me and this is one such - a sun set actually taken at coorg.

Need to go Trekking !!!

2005-02-17T02:19:00.000-08:00

upcoming trekking spot - Catherine Falls
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Well, this is the view of Catherine falls from Dolphin Nose for the umpteenth time I visited - I have become a sort of guide for all my friends when we visit Ooty/Conoor now. I have been wanting to go treeking to this place - guess it can be reached from Kothagiri by walk- for almost 3 yrs now....Well, anyone game for it?

enroute - from the doors

2005-02-17T02:15:00.000-08:00

enroute - from the doors
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This was taken when we went to Ooty, one of my favourite hill station of all times. Infact, I have always dreamed of settling down in one of the hills away from all inhabitation and probably lead a simple farmer's life in harmony with nature....

I took this standing on the foot board of the van - one hand holding the railings from preventing me from falling down ( pretty sharp curves at 30-40 km/hr) and the other clicking this pic.....
For no apparent reasons, I like this pic - probably because of the thrill of clicking it....

watching the day break

2005-02-17T00:35:00.000-08:00

watching the day break
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This aint no sea shore....In fact well at an altitude of probably 2000m above MSL. Its from our trip to Coorg - the travelling five of our group. Infact, the first trip made I guess and it was wonderful memories. We went and sat there to see the day break and Boy the mountains were covered with crystal white clouds/mist that gave way for the day as the sun turned its light on this side of the planet.

Wings of Fire???

2005-02-09T20:16:00.000-08:00

Evening-Sun
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

It was during the return trip of my last trip to chennai. The thick rays of Sun spreading deterred by the covering clouds was interesting. And a lone traveller that I was, rocketed me into me imaginations of Astronomy - study of incredibles and uncomprehensibles....(my definition). There is such a perfectness amidst all the chaos in everything and everything is so interwoven - absence of Sun is pretty interesting to imagine....the perfect order of a day and night !!! Hats off my creator !!!

Palamaner

2005-02-09T20:09:00.000-08:00

Palamaner
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

This is no seychelles, aye !!!.. :-)

This is near a place called Palamner - between Chittor and Kolar on the Chennai-Bangalore highway. I guess this place belongs to Andhara Pradesh. Got lots of small hills with the rocks weathered to nice smoothness over hundreds of years......The green on this dry looking place makes a wonderful picture.

M-aggie

2005-02-09T20:06:00.000-08:00

M-aggie
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

Ok...here she is......finally.....some of my friends have been asking for a look at her....And that pic - she is in the baddest of maintenance......It was on my way back from chennai .....she was tired and out after heavy driving over the previous three days.....
BTW, I gave her for the first service...Yep...I have finished driving 5600 kms now over the last 3 months....And she is back all new and SEXY !!!

Golden-Quadrilateral

2005-01-31T00:57:00.000-08:00

Golden-Quadrilateral
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

India is a big country and the golden quadrilateral project aims to connect the major metros, Chennai, Kolkatta, Bombay, Delhi by roadways or that is what I have heard. The result- Better roads as is evident in this stretch of a four lane system. This is a stretch between Kanchipuram and Ranipet - nice laid with wide and proper median in between....I liked the picture for the plesant sky blue...(otherwise I hate this color on anything)....It wa taken while driving 120km/hr !!! Pat, pat, Phantom....lovely pic without any shake !!!

Sketch_charcoal

2005-01-27T20:07:00.000-08:00

Sketch_charcoal
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

I drew this on 26 th Jan....after bored to death watching a stupid movie called "RED" ......there cldnt be a worse movie than that !!!

This is done using a graphite/charcoal pencil on a water color paper(the rough textured one) I wanted to feel the flow of charcoal on that paper ...so instead of wasting the paper, I drew this....Sketch is a favourite form of art for me....just plain black and white ....and this texture is a lot comfortable for charcoal......It cld also be messy if you dont handle it properly....charcoal can spread easily on this paper and spoil your mood completely !!!!

Man's Best Friend

2005-01-20T10:58:00.000-08:00

Picture 025
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

and of course,

"Mon Meilleur Ami" - My Best Friend too.

He is Sam ! and celebrates his Birthday on Feb 14...I envy him on that !

Only complaints my parents have is that when we meet ( read as whenever I go to Chennai) ...we play a little violently...and have broken a few things :-)) ...no Not me...It is him........But he generally escapes from the scoldings and I get it on his behalf......

But he is my best friend !!!

Color

2005-01-20T05:34:00.000-08:00

Color
Originally uploaded by mayavi.

As promised, the place in the original color....

It became so dark and cloudy with in 5 minustes( we were sweating in the hot sun earlier) ,and it produced a weird combination of dark clouds in a dry place with subtle greeneary around on the brown rocks...

And as I always say, only Nature can produce weird color combination and yet make it look like a heaven !!!