Okras, nice and extra-long lady's fingers

Local variety of okras from South India bigger than the varieties one finds in supermarkets. (This lot measure between 9 and 10 inches)

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Views from the Taj Mahal

That marble mausoleum is likely one of the most photographed structures world over, and deservingly so. Here are views as seen from that world wonder... the River Yamuna, and a few souls that depend on the river


Some more unusual views -


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A temple for Sant Surdas

"The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision"

(Helen Keller)

You would know absolute peace, were you to visit this temple for the sightless 15th century poet Sant Surdas. His life story makes humbling reading. Very aptly, a school for the blind is co-located with this monument for the saint.The poet-saint is said to have composed 100,000 songs on Lord Krishna. Listen to one of the 8,000 existing devotional lyrics -
Recently, after we came across the adaptations of the Braille script for other languages, we participated in making this school project (associated with a lesson on Helen Keller) - it shows a few letters of the Devanagari script as depicted in Braille. I closed my eyes to try to make out the letters - but failed. Pre-formed mental images were poor assistants to overcome the challenge. My salutations to Sant Surdas, Helen Keller and my grandmother.

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Resident Black Buck at Sikandra

Black buck in the lawns of Sikandra Fort (tomb of Emperor Akbar), Agra. The lawns are thankfully out of bounds for us humans.



Visit Camera-Critters for more shots of fauna

Drive out of the maddening city is definitely worth it,

...won't you agree? - finding yourself by this lakeside,...,...with the right patch of green, ...... and with some very pleasant company, ......watching the tree-tops, sunlight filtering through the foliage, ...... and the crescent moon making an early appearance in the clearest of true blue skies, ...... yes, definitely worth it!
Where? - Keetham Lake within Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary near Agra, which also houses the restricted and protected Agra Bear Rescue Facility
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Glimpses from Surajkund Crafts Mela 2010 - 1

Isn't that rich! Finest offerings of India's multilingual, multicultural, pluralistic richness from 29 states and 6 Union Territories are all on display and sale for a fortnight at the Surajkund Crafts Mela.
Hay, straw, jute, metal, textiles, clay, paper mache, paper, wood, porcelain, bamboo - that's the variety of material used by artistic hands to produce thousands of articles ranging from small keychains to solid furniture. Applique lampshade (Orissa)
Hay portrait (Kerala)
Pottery (Khurja, Uttar Pradesh)
Wooden Sculptures (Tamil Nadu)

Tanjore Paintings (Tamil Nadu)
There were stalls from a few neighbouring countries - Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Gross National Happiness! - Bhutan's stall
Tajikistan's ware
The carpet-seller from Afghanistan
Masks, Batik designs and coconut shell carvings from Sri Lanka
We wandered around taking in the sights, and came content away with pleasant memories and stuffed pixels.
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Iron Pillar and Qutub Minar

The Qutub Minar and the Iron Pillar, with a Jain temple re-used pillar in the foreground
For a walk back in time, stroll at leisure anywhere within the Qutub complex in Delhi. The complex initially housed 27 Hindu and Jain temples; which were destroyed to give way to victorious armies' monuments. The Iron Pillar dates from the 5th cenury CE, or even earlier.
Intricate carvings
... and disfigured sculpturesThe tallest brick minaret in the world...
Practical history lessons!
My takeaway from our visit? The impression that this country has always granted all that every visitor demanded of her, even if the intentions were malafide - just like this tree at the entrance to the complex. A contented neem that lives and lets live umpteen other species under it - like Bharatvarsh (India) will ever continue to do...
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