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 Saturday Symmetry

Ceiling detail in a Gangotri mandir (temple).

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"They are not long, the days of wine and roses..."

(Ernest Dowson)

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At last, it's the Last Thursday of the month and we draw to a close (apart from two more posts) a month of Indian reminiscence. I hope you have enjoyed it! I've managed to get through this far without, but maybe one is not too much of a brag. Here's the YAMster standing in the Palampur tea plantation. Just in case you doubted I was ever there...

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Wings on Wednesday;
YAM's take on the good, the bad, the ugly and the downright hilarious in photographing birds.

The Indian White-throated Kingfisher. I only ever saw it once and had to work quickly for it was gone almost as fast as it appeared. This was the best of a very hurried series of rather poor shots.

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 Scene That...

... doesn't really need words, does it?

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 Monday's Critters

Up at Gangotri, we met this fellow and his brother, who had a small herd of young Changthangi - Pashmina Goats. Yes, the ones with the wool that is as warm as the Eiders' down...

Clearly they were anticipating to reap a fibre harvest - one grown with love and care.

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 MOONdays

The moon from Mumbai... taken with the Nik not long after I got it. I was standing on the roof terrace and it was a winter's night, surprisingly clear and fresh skies.

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 Saturday Symmetry

Architecture, no matter how hard it tries, cannot fail to offer symmetry! (Campus of IIT Bombay.)

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"The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words unsaid and deeds undone."

(Harriet Beecher Stowe)

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 Yes, Thursday - you requested?..

A havan (sacred fire ceremony) for blessings to see you toward the weekend?

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Wings on Wednesday;
YAM's take on the good, the bad, the ugly and the downright hilarious in photographing birds. Yes, proper birds...

Colin and Cara Crow - Indian crows. A couple who held the territory including the fence outside my room window. To say they were entertaining... well, I even wrote tales about them - starting with this one. (They could do with some brushing up, but there's still a giggle or two there.)

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 Scene That...

Last week you saw Gangotri looking up the valley... I mentioned the springhead of the Bhagirathi river (and by association, the Ganges). It flows from the spout at the base of the Gangotri Glacier and that cave-like spout was likened to the mouth of a cow... cow=Go, mouth=Mukh.

This is not that... it was a trek too far for the YAMster. But this is not far from it and gives a feel for the size - though this is not yet in full low from winter melt... a little further down it gathers strength...

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 Monday's Critters

Nandi, guardian of Kailash, home of Lord Shiva. Taking the form of a bull, he also served as the vahana (vehicle) for Shiva. Often found at temples, facing into the altar where Shiva/Jagadeeshwara is to be found, devotees might approach and whisper into his ear in the hope he will convey the message to the Lord. There is happiness, joy and satisfaction found in the presence of Nandi. 

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 SUNdays

The main door at Norbulingka Institute.

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 Saturday Symmetry

Architectural detail at the Norbulingka Institute, Sidhabari, Himachal Pradesh.

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"If the only prayer you say in your entire life is 'Thank You,' it will be enough."

(Meister Eckhart)

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 Thursdays... insistent little diggers...

...as are those who play at Holi! I stood well apart and up high - with a long lens.

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Wings on Wednesday;
YAM's take on the good, the bad, the ugly and the downright hilarious in photographing birds....eeeerrrrrrrrr 

- another iron-bird shot this week, but with better view. That is Gaggal, from where we departed via Kangra airport. The craft is an ATR 42-600. Just in case you were wondering...gotta name the 'bird', right?!

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 Scene That...

Gangotri. Standing in the river looking toward the source. The river is the Bhagirathi - source, the Gangotri Glacier at Gomukh. It is one of the two head-waters which merge to become the mighty Ganges, the other being the Alakananda, which has its source out of the Bhagirath Glacier. Although in some ways, the Alakananda is a larger or stronger river in these upper stages, it is the Bhagirathi and its source at Gomukh that are said to be the source of Mother Ganga.

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 Monday's Critters

Unquestionably one of the more widely known deities of the Hindu pantheon is Hanuman. 

The lessons from Hanuman-ji are such as devotion and loyalty, readiness to undertake any task required and knowing when the initiative is to be taken.

When one has come face to face with the mischievous Langurs, it is quite easy to see whereupon this god is modelled.  Each mango season, in particular, the local gang would traverse the fenceline right outside my window!

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 SUNdays

Sunset reflected off a window and down onto this leaf on the ashram grounds...

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 Saturday Symmetry

Rangoli (aka kolam... different regions have different names for the floor decorating technique). Used at entrances or in halls and temples for festivals and special events. And sometimes 'just because...'

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"I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck."

(Emma Goldman)

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 Here we are at Thursday again.

Dharamshala and the home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. A satsang gathering had just broken for lunch...

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Wings on Wednesday;
YAM's take on the good, the bad, the ugly and the downright hilarious in photographing birds....eeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Having posted quite extensively from my ornithological collection out of the Indian files, for a couple of these I am stretching the wings (*cough*) just a tad and taking to the air myself. The view from above Maharashtra somewhere...it was the end of Monsoon, hence the obscuring cloud!

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For this month - the 'Shipping by...' posts are transforming into the "Scene that..." items!

The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association ground, Dharamshala. It's magnificent. Then again, with the foothills of the Himalaya for neighbours, how could it be otherwise?

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 Monday's Critters

May as well start this month of Mondays with reference to the representation of divinity in nature through the well-known image of Sri Ganesha.

All deity figures are there to remind us of qualities required to navigate life. For example, here we remember that we are stronger than we think we are, that obstacles can be removed with determination, that our ears should be bigger than our mouths...

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 SUNdays

...I did have a propensity for pointing the lens directly... which did for both the Uniden and the Nik...

Taken from the bus as we travelled the Sahyadri hills.

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 Saturday Symmetry

This is the follow-up photo from the single hasta-mudra shot provided in TAKE NINETY THREE. As seen in the airport in Delhi.

The handshapes exist in modalities such as Bharatnatyam (classical dance), yoga for pranayama and in ceremonial practices. Once learned by almost everyone, this ancient communication and health technique is now only used by those who choose to follow any of these things in-depth (in the same way as Sanskrit... although there is a resurgence).

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"I go to nature to be soothed and healed and to have my senses put in order."

(John Burroughs) 

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For the month of July, I have taken the decision to raid the archives very specifically based upon my time in India. The majority of the images will be from the ashram, but a few from the Himalayan trip also. Some of these may be repeats to the blog but am using others that have not been public before. I hope you will enjoy this retrospective. In the first year, I had a camera that was only 7mp quality. The next camera (The Nik) was 16mp. I almost never use flash. This is all to say, that picture quality is not 'magazine' - but the memories and sense of place are what count here.

Anyway, it's a Thursday. What a day to start the month!

The view from the terrace of my accommodation across Powai Vihar (lake). That is the recently established Hiranandani settlement over there, a lovely place to visit for shopping and the occasional 'escape lunch'!