miss_teerious

Elephant Ride: Photo A Day - Street

2013-06-18T20:59:00.001+05:30

Day 18 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : Street

Elephant rides, on the streets of Vaishali Nagar, Jaipur, India.

I had actually saved this photograph for Day 8 (An Animal), but then that Suicidal Cricket showed up, and I moved this forward to Day 18, i.e. today! :D

I find it really amusing that they paint these animals in so many bright colors before taking them out on the streets for rides.

Anyway, elephants are my all-time favorite animal. And this scene reminded me of the time they introduced those cute baby elephants in Farmville. We were all so crazy about them! My sister named mine "Killu". Don't ask me why though... I have no idea how her brain works!

This is my 18th post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - Centered"

Center Of Attraction: Photo A Day - Centered

2013-06-17T19:19:00.001+05:30

Day 17 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : Centered

Another one taken on the same day as the Orange Sunshine...

I was going to post some other picture today, but then I saw this one. Nothing screams "center of attraction" like a woman dressed in hot red... or a single bright red flower amidst all the greenery! Hence, the last minute change.

This is my 17th post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - Family"

Shiv Parivaar: Photo A Day - Family

2013-06-16T21:09:00.001+05:30

Day 16 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : Family

The family of Lord Shiva, in our building...

Lord Shiva is in the center, represented by the Shiva linga. Directly behind the Shiva linga is the idol of Mother Parvati, placed between their two sons - Ganesha (elephant-headed Lord of Beginnings) and Kartikeya (6-headed Lord of War). Lord Shiva's mount, Nandi the bull, is seated on the left of the picture.

This family was established in our building in July last year. That's when the above picture was taken by Dad.

This is my 16th post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - From Above"

Empty Playground: Photo A Day - From Above

2013-06-15T22:16:00.002+05:30

Day 15 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : From Above

The empty playground of my building... from the 7th floor.

It's not so empty in the evening though. Far from it, in fact. The noise level from that same playground, in the evening, is so high that you can hear it all the way up to the 7th floor! :D

This is my 15th post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - Texture"

Feather On Handmade Paper: Photo A Day - Texture

2013-06-14T11:17:00.001+05:30

Day 14 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : Texture

Simple take for today's prompt...

That's a pigeon feather I picked up from somewhere, placed on a sheet of silver-colored handmade paper. Two very different items, with two very distinct textures.

This is my 14th post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - Kitchen"

Morning Ritual: Photo A Day - Kitchen

2013-06-13T18:19:00.000+05:30

Day 13 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : Kitchen

The very first photograph of Dad that I took with my digital camera!

I was going to take a new pic today, but then I remembered some other "kitchen" pics I had in my archives - my nephew Yuvraj in the kitchen at his old home, me in the kitchen at his old home, my sister in the kitchen at her old place in Delhi, my mom in the kitchen at our childhood home in Kanpur, and the one I've posted above, of Dad in the kitchen at our place in Patna.

While going through all these old pics, I suddenly realized that the one of Dad in the kitchen was the first picture I took from my digicam at home. It was taken at about a quarter past 7 in the morning, on 28th November, 2005. I'd got my camera just a few days before. Dad was busy making preparations for our customary "morning ritual" when I took the above picture. Considering all the "memories" attached with this pic, I decided to post this one today, instead of a new pic.

This is my 13th post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - 11 O'Clock"

Chef In A Rush: Photo A Day - 11 o'Clock

2013-06-12T19:22:00.001+05:30

Day 12 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : 11 O'Clock

I was going to have a very very VERY busy day today. So the morning went by in a blur. You can even make out the "blur" in the photograph!

Was getting the lunch ready in advance. You can see me (not really, not even my hand!) taking the potato-capsicum dish out in a micro-proof bowl at 1 minute past 11 today.

It was ready by sharp 11 actually, but at that precise moment, my camera battery died on me, and I realized that I'd forgotten to charge the other set of batteries! So this pic had to be taken by Dad's cell phone camera!

(Why Dad's phone? Well mine is in the picture, isn't it?)

These photo challenges are turning us all into maniacs!

Anyway, if you're interested, you can also check out my other pictures/posts in food.

This is my 12th post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - Something Funny"

The Junior Janitor!: Photo A Day - Something Funny

2013-06-11T17:04:00.005+05:30

Day 11 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : Something Funny

I thought and thought and thought real hard... and still nothing came to my mind, for "funny", except the photographs of Yuvraj!

Sure there are funny sign-boards, funny Indian English, truck slogans, but if I have to pick a photograph taken by me (or one of my family members), I will automatically start looking through UV's folder in my hard drive.

March 2012 photo challenge also had the same prompt, for which I posted this. And for today, I found this photograph of our "Junior Janitor"!

That, I'm sure, is the story of every 1-year-old, at least in India.

Pull out the broom from wherever you've tried to hide it, and start sweeping the floor. Or pick up his/her napkin and start wiping the table.

Napkin not available? No problem. Your freshly laundered t-shirt will do just fine.

And God save you if you try taking the janitor's "tools" away from him/her. Don't you see that hard set mouth and those arched eyebrows? This "junior janitor" is definitely not pleased at the interruption in his work!

This is my 11th post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - You!"

My Shadow Self: Photo A Day - You!

2013-06-10T21:14:00.002+05:30

Day 10 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : You!

The "mysterious kaddu"... my shadow self...

we may look into the sunshine
to avoid seeing our shadow self
it's there nevertheless, at times
looming larger than our real self

we may choose to ignore it
but it follows us around, until
we walk into a night so dark
even our shadow is left behind

This is my tenth post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - From Down Low"

Green Canopy: Photo A Day - From Down Low

2013-06-09T11:55:00.001+05:30

Day 9 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : From Down Low

I've never before attempted to take a photograph from down low. It's amazing how a different perspective can completely change the view. From just another plant in my building, this turned into a beautiful green canopy of leaves!

My entire blog is based on different perspectives and different perceptions (as stated in my disclaimer at the bottom of the blog). I have written on it so many times before. (You can find those old posts here if interested.) And today, this photo challenge made me realize the importance of perspective yet again.

This is my ninth post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - An Animal"

Suicidal Cricket: Photo A Day - An Animal

2013-06-08T12:59:00.001+05:30

Day 8 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : An Animal

Today's prompt said we could shoot (with our camera!) any "animal"... from the teeniest of insects, to an animal at the zoo.

I started with an elephant, then found a camel eating leaves from a tree in my neighborhood, then a flock of sheep pasturing in the fields close to my apartment, then a small frog in our allotted car parking, and finally this suicidal cricket strolling on my computer table!

Why suicidal?

Well my philosophy with animals is quite simple. "You stay in your space, and I stay in mine. Live and let live." If an animal (or bug or bird), who is not injured or in need of help, encroaches my space without permission, he/she/it is asking for trouble!

If I hadn't been doing this photo challenge, that little bugger, in the pic above, would have surely met his death yesterday, for trespassing on my computer table. But because he stayed so still and posed like such a cooperative model, I left him to Dad, who "delivered" him out into my balcony instead, letting him live.

Lucky bugger owes his life to the creator of this photo challenge!

This is my eighth post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - Bright"

Orange Sunshine: Photo A Day - Bright

2013-06-07T09:05:00.000+05:30

Day 7 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : Bright

Sharing one from the archives today. It hasn't been posted earlier on this blog. Every time I look at it, the first thought that comes to my mind is - "These flowers look so bright... like pure orange sunshine!"

Needless to say, I couldn't even think of posting anything else for today!

By the way, this picture was taken on June 1st, 2007. Some other pics taken on the same day, that I have posted here before, can be seen at the following links:

This is my seventh post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - Transport"

Boat In Goa: Photo A Day - Transport

2013-06-06T18:42:00.001+05:30

Day 6 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : Transport

I had planned to post another picture for today, but then I found this folder saved on my PC, by my sister, of one of her Goa trips. And I liked this picture so much that I decided to post this one instead, for today's prompt - "transport".

All credits for this picture go to my sister (or maybe her hubby... I don't know which one of them actually clicked it!)

This is my sixth post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - Environment"

The Elusive One

2013-06-06T13:00:00.001+05:30

After having some bad experiences in the blogging world a few years ago, I had become very skeptical about interaction with bloggers. I had restricted my reading list to a small group of bloggers whom I knew were into clean blogging. And even among those, I commented on occasional posts only, when I really felt I wanted to say something.

Over the last couple of years (maybe even more), I've rarely logged into blogadda or indiblogger, never participated in any forums, and declined all invites into blogger groups on Facebook. I even avoided participating in any blog challenges or prompts (like blog-a-ton) that required interaction with unknown bloggers! (Reading their posts, commenting, exposing my own blog to their comments...)

Until last month, that is.

When I joined the May Photo Challenge, Shilpa Garg sent me an email, telling me about their small blogger group on Facebook, in which all participants of the challenge were going to share their daily pictures and links so that they could all be found together at one place every day.

It sounded like a well organized group. Plus, the suggestion came from Shilpa. Also, at that time, there were going to be only 6-7 bloggers participating in that challenge, which seemed manageable enough for me. So I decided to give it a try.

Well, the "6-7" eventually turned out to be "18-19", as quite a few late-comers joined in! :P But, overall, it was a fun experience. Life got a bit hectic, but in a pleasant sort of way. There was lots of encouragement and support all around. The participants helped each other out when we got stuck on some prompt. There was also plenty of random silliness.

In short, a clean group, full of positivity and activity.

I enjoyed being a part of it so much that I even decided to take on the June challenge! And that's when I've already blogged daily for two months straight! In May, I actually ended up publishing 41 posts in all. So it was more than one post daily. And that, I guess, speaks volumes about the level of positivity in the group!

So yeah, that's the one thing that had been eluding me for over 2 years now... the willingness to interact with more bloggers... and finally, I have achieved it... in May 2013. I am still selective (naturally... 'coz as they say, "once bitten, twice shy"!) but, at least, I've made a start.

Think.Eat.Save.: Photo A Day - Environment

2013-06-05T17:17:00.002+05:30

Day 5 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : Environment

Today is World Environment Day (WED 2013). Today is also the day for this month's charity prompt. The website for United Nations Environment Programme (http://www.unep.org/) states that this year's WED theme is "Think.Eat.Save." The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that a third of global food production is either wasted or lost, which means that all the resources and inputs used in the production of all that food, are gone for a toss! "Think.Eat.Save." is an anti food waste campaign that encourages you to reduce your foodprint, thereby reducing wastage of all those natural resources that went into creating that food.

The FMS site said that we could post a picture of our environment for today. But that really wouldn't have spread awareness about this year's WED theme. Last year, on the World Environment Day, we organized a tree-planting ceremony in our building. I thought maybe I could use a picture from that day for today's prompt. But even that seemed like taking the easy way out. So I kept last year's pic as a backup, and continued to search for a picture that clicked for today's charity prompt.

And once again, it was Dad who came to the rescue!

Please don't rub your eyes in disbelief... that really is a tray of vegetable peels (fruit, salad, green veggies, coriander stems - whatever we usually have)!

In India, it is customary to give leftover chapatis to cows, street dogs or even crows. But a few of us in the building have taken it one step further. We even save all these vegetable peels, and give them to our local milkman when he comes to deliver milk every evening. They're for his cows and buffaloes.

When this practice was first started by one of us, the milkman was very embarrassed to carry home a bag of leftover chapatis and vegetable peels. But, now, if we happen to miss 3-4 days in a row, he asks us - "aaj kal meri gaiyya logon ko bhool gaye na!" (You seem to have forgotten about my cows these days!) LOL!

We have to be careful though. Like, for instance, we can't put in onion and garlic peels in this bag. We've to make sure everything we put in is edible stuff for cows.

So that's my humble take for today. And if you'd still like to see that tree plantation ceremony of last year, here it is...

This is my fifth post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - After Dark"

Desertion, Loneliness... Desolation?: Photo A Day - After Dark

2013-06-04T21:39:00.001+05:30

Day 4 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : After Dark

I suppose, yesterday's picture of that glass painting lamp qualifies for today's prompt too, as it was taken in complete darkness.

Two of my posts, published in last month's photo challenge, would have also been strong contenders for today's prompt...

Then there was this entire series on after-dark pictures, that I posted in the April Spring Cleaning challenge here... in the post Night-time photography.

Unfortunately, all those pictures have already been posted before. So sharing a new one today...

It is a sad irony of life that whenever we go through a dark patch in our life, we find ourselves deserted and lonely, no matter how wonderful we may be...

Just like this swimming pool... looking so beautiful, with all that shimmery blue water... yet, so deserted... so lonely...

So desolate ???

Naaah... definitely not desolate! For after every spell of darkness, there lies the hope of a fresh dawn... with the promise of new light and new joy!

This is my fourth post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - On My Table"

(KBL-T30) Apr 2013: Spring Cleaning

2013-06-04T17:12:00.003+05:30

April was the month of spring cleaning here... both content-wise and design-wise. I posted some pending recipes and photographs, book reviews and silly-saturdays, memorabilia and wordless-wednesdays. I also cleaned up the blog a bit, removed unnecessary elements from the sidebar, made it cleaner and easier to navigate for my readers. I even managed to clean up my personal space in the real life, i.e. non-virtual space. Got some of my stuff more organized and de-cluttered.

"KBL-T30: Spring Cleaning"

There's still some pending stuff left to be blogged about, but I managed to cover a lot of ground during the month. Here's a list of all the posts I published under "Spring Cleaning"...

Day 1 - Book Review: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Day 2 - Master Chef In My Family!
Day 3 - Wordless Wednesday: Go Green!
Day 4 - Snack Time!
Day 5 - What A Week!
Day 6 - Silly Saturday: Eyes Have It!
Day 7 - Stuffed Capsicum in Microwave
Day 8 - Eggless Chocolate Cake in Microwave
Day 9 - Book Review: The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Day 10 - Wordless Wednesday: A Lose-Lose Situation?
Day 11 - Culinary Skills Enhancement
Day 12 - Haste Makes Waste...
Day 13 - Silly Saturday: The Bathtub Test
Day 14 - Molded Custard with Strawberry Starfish
Day 15 - Writers' Block... Yet Again!
Day 16 - Book Review: Arjuna by Anuja Chandramouli
Day 17 - Wordless Wednesday: Memorabilia-XI: Writer's Knot!
Day 18 - My Old Den
Day 19 - De-cluttering and Organization
Day 20 - Silly Saturday: The Family Tree!
Day 21 - Some Reader-Feedback Required
Day 22 - Night-time Photography
Day 23 - Ten On Tuesday: 10 New Blog Changes
Day 24 - Wordless Wednesday: Eco-friendly Garfield!
Day 25 - Winter Blooms
Day 26 - Reviewing Books
Day 27 - Silly Saturday: Dating a Writer?
Day 28 - Solo Multi Subjects Spiral Notebooks
Day 29 - Monday Blues!
Day 30 - Memorabilia-XII: Playing With Acid!

Glass Painting Lamp: Photo A Day - On My Table

2013-06-03T18:13:00.000+05:30

Day 3 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : On My Table

I had taken another picture for today's prompt actually. But then I saw this... at my friend's place in the building! And it was screaming to me - "Click me! Click me!" So I simply couldn't resist! Who could have, in fact? With colors like that...

The above picture was taken in complete darkness, except for the light of this glass painting lamp. No processing involved, other than the watermarking and minor cropping etc. in photoshop.

This is my third post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - A Moment"

Washing Hands: Photo A Day - A Moment

2013-06-02T20:46:00.003+05:30

Day 2 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : A Moment

A simple and very routine moment from my daily life... 'coz you know na... I love water!

(You don't? But then you must check out this post!)

In case you're wondering... yes, those ARE my pretty hands! And no, I don't keep my nails long.

Now I'm sure you're wondering... "If her hands are under the tap in the washbasin, then who's taking the picture?"

My Dad, of course! Who else?

So the credit for the concept goes to me, but the execution was totally Dad's! I guess team effort worked, didn't it?

This is my second post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - B is For..."

DID Super Moms Auditions

2013-06-02T16:59:00.004+05:30

Finally, one of my two favorite TV shows is back! Dance India Dance! This time, with "super moms"! [suuuper happy]

Marzi and Farah, in the auditions, remind me of Abhiroop and me, in our normal conversations. No matter what Marzi says, Farah twists it around, so that somehow the joke is on Marzi. Poor fellow is left speechless most of the times. (Abhiroop usually ends up stuttering though.) Even Marzi's Hindi is as masha-allah as Abhiroop's!

Are you reading this, OB? I know what you're thinking... "Now she's taken to ragging me on the blog too! Grrrrr..." Hehehehe! :P :D

By the way, I saw Dharmendra ji on the show, along with Bobby Deol. The way Dharmendra ji danced with one of the contestant moms, it appeared he's still more young-hearted than his son! :P

Oh but this song... of Bobby Deol... "Chori chori jab nazrein mili"... it brought back so many memories...

My sister used to be crazy about Bobby Deol back in those days. I used to buy Bobby Deol posters for her, and then talk rubbish about him just to annoy her! It was fun! But I need to be careful on this space now... my sister read yesterday's post, AND all the three posts I linked from it! And she's going to be keeping a close eye now, on what's published here...

So anyway, coming back to the song... I found it on youtube... have played it already for about half-a-dozen times... now sharing it here...

(Note: If you're reading this post in a feed reader or email subscription, you'll have to click through the post title to view it in a browser, 'coz the embedded videos apparently don't show up in the feed.)

Isn't it cute... like in a very old-fashioned, uncomplicated way? The girl's blushing, the guy's grinning idiotically... sighhhhh... innocent young love! Gives you such a warm fuzzy feeling, doesn't it? And I loved the way Bobby Deol played with that yellow sari in the song! And all those diyas in the water at the very beginning of the song... they were just beautiful!

. . .

Here's more in Music and in Videos!

Basket: Photo A Day - B is For...

2013-06-01T13:45:00.002+05:30

Day 1 of "June Photo A Day Challenge" : B is For...

Basket... of leftover decorations from my sister's wedding. Some colored stones, chips, scented potpourri, and some glitter strands...

By the way, that basket doesn't normally contain those items. That was just for the photo shoot. [grins] Its usual 'occupants' are a couple of small stuffed toys that belong to my sister, and they have been respectfully restored in the basket after the photo session!

Had to clarify that, or my sister would've gone ballistic! ... "How dare you throw my soft toys out of their home? How dare you even touch them?" [grins again]

In case you haven't already met my sister here, check out these posts...

P.S. - If you don't see the next post in this series tomorrow, it means that my sister read this one and I'm in BIG trouble! Please send flowers... yellow ones!

This is my first post for 2013 June Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the 2013 May Photo A Day Challenge: "KBL-T30: 2013 May Photo A Day"

Silly Saturday: Sleepology!

2013-06-01T10:17:00.001+05:30

Picture Credit: FB Community

Here's more in "Silly Saturday"!

(KBL-T30) Jun 2013: Photo A Day Challenge

2013-05-31T18:52:00.000+05:30

Hope you enjoyed going through last month's daily photo blogging on miss_teerious. In case you missed any of it, you can find it all here - "2013 May Photo A Day Challenge".

If you'd also like to check out what photographs I posted in the daily photo challenge of last year, please click on this link - "2012 March Photo A Day Challenge"

And finally, I'm starting on another exciting month of photography! The daily prompts for June 2013 are given in the picture below. If any of you would like to participate, just leave a comment on this post and let me know. You don't even need to have a blog for participating. You can share your daily photographs on Facebook, or Twitter, or Instagram, if you use it.

"KBL-T30: 2013 June Photo A Day"

Once again, I will keep updating this page, with links to the posts in this series, as I complete them.

Day 1 - Photo A Day: B is for... - Basket
Day 2 - Photo A Day: A Moment - Washing Hands
Day 3 - Photo A Day: On My Table - Glass Painting Lamp
Day 4 - Photo A Day: After Dark - Desertion, Loneliness... Desolation?
Day 5 - Photo A Day: Environment - Think.Eat.Save.
Day 6 - Photo A Day: Transport - Boat In Goa
Day 7 - Photo A Day: Bright - Orange Sunshine
Day 8 - Photo A Day: An Animal - Suicidal Cricket
Day 9 - Photo A Day: From Down Low - Green Canopy
Day 10 - Photo A Day: You! - My Shadow Self
Day 11 - Photo A Day: Something Funny - The Junior Janitor!
Day 12 - Photo A Day: 11 O'Clock - Chef In A Rush
Day 13 - Photo A Day: Kitchen - Morning Ritual
Day 14 - Photo A Day: Texture - Feather On Handmade Paper
Day 15 - Photo A Day: From Above - Empty Playground
Day 16 - Photo A Day: Family - Shiv Parivaar
Day 17 - Photo A Day: Centered - Center Of Attraction
Day 18 - Photo A Day: Street - Elephant Ride

My Fairy Pen Holder: Photo A Day - Four Things

2013-05-31T12:29:00.003+05:30

Day 31 of "May Photo A Day Challenge" : Four Things

This is the last post for this month's challenge. So I'm keeping it short and sweet today.

That's the fairy pen holder on my computer table. I have a separate one (with my zodiac sign on it) for all the different pens I keep on my table. So this pretty fairy holds all the other stuff, i.e. -

an anti-static brush for cleaning the keyboard
a CD marker pen
a pencil
a wooden acupressure jimmy

P.S. - My computer table is not so uncluttered usually. I removed a speaker, a writing pad, the zodiac pen holder and my camera from this space, to take this photograph! :|

This is my 31st (last) post for 2013 May Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - Tool"

My Camera: Photo A Day - Tool

2013-05-30T09:54:00.004+05:30

Day 30 of "May Photo A Day Challenge" : Tool

For today's prompt - "TOOL" - what else could I post but this...

... the tool that helped me complete the May Photo A Day Challenge!

While some of the pics I posted in the series were scans of old reel-camera prints, and a few were taken by my cell phone camera, most were a product of my Canon Powershot A610 digicam.

It's old... but it's still gold! :p

P.S. - Dad took this picture from my cell phone, while I held my digicam in my hand.

This is my 30th post for 2013 May Photo A Day Challenge.
Link to the previous post: "Photo A Day - Kiss"