29 May 2013

Wednesday Bazaar 7 - Bazaars of India

Few weeks back i had attended an exhibition on handicrafts from Maharashtra and Gujarat at Korum Mall. This included, Kolhapuri Footwear, Ethnic Gold and Beaded Jewellery, Paithani and Khann Cluthes, Warli Painting and Mud Art, and other Maharashtrian and Gujarati Handicrafts. Ten day exhibition ended with Lavni Dance and Garba on the last two days. An ethnic ambiance was created at the Atrium, with these stalls.
Bazaars of India

Bazaars of India


Bazaars of India
Warli Paintings

Bazaars of India
Kolhapuri Footwear

Bazaars of India
Gujarati Home Decors

Bazaars of India
Ethnic Gold and Beaded Jewelry 

Bazaars of India
Mud Art

Bazaars of India
Maharashtrian Heritage Handicrafts

Bazaars of India
Paithani and Khann Cluthes
Wednesday Bazaar is a series where I post pictures of Bazaar or markets from around the world.. Check more Bazaars here.
Linked to ABC Wednesday T as in Traditional handicrafts from India, Thursday Challenge.

21 May 2013

Wednesday Bazaar 6 - Shell Shop

A Shell Shop from the Sea Shore of Daman for this week's Wednesday Bazaar.
Wednesday Bazaar is a series where I post pictures of Bazaar or markets from around the world.. Check more Bazaars here.
Linked to ABC Wednesday.

Lodha Dham

The first thing which comes to our mind when we hear of Lodha are those luxurious properties in Mumbai..  It has been the second largest real estate developer by revenue.. Lodha Foundation has been indulged in many social activities in the fields of education, healthcare, women empowerment. 
Lodha Vihar Dham in Vasai, is dedicated to the travelling Jain Munis. Realizing the need to provide a comfortable stop over for Jain Munis, Lodha Foundation has built a Jain Derasar with attached dharamshala that houses over 200 pilgrims. Lodha Dham is being quipped with state of art water harvesting and recharge technology. This ensures we give back more than we take from Mother Nature.
The campus has a temple, library, catering area and a gathering place for devotees. The temple carved of marble is dedicated to Simandhara Swami. 
Lodha Dham

Lodha Dham
  
Lodha Dham

Lodha Dham
  
  The library has a collection of more than 5lakh Jainism books , with Samavasaran at the centre.
Lodha Dham

Lodha Dham

Lodha Dham
 And the catering area, though this is only for Jain community.
Lodha Dham
The whole Dham is so serene and worth to spend an evening at. You can also attend the evening Arti at 7PM.
Linked to Our World TuesdayTuesday Around the World.

20 May 2013

Crocodile Bird - Egyptian Plover

Sometimes even your little kids cartoon channel inspires you to write... Now a days my kiddo is fond of cartoons and the best channel, which i suppose for her is Nick Jr... They come up with some great series, compared to those Chota Bheem and Tom and Jerry ones. Team Umizoomi and Wonderpets are something which even i join her to watch. Today's episode of Wonderpets was about Egyptian Plover bird and Crocodile. 
An Egyptian Plover is referred to as Crocodile bird because of its relationship with crocodile, quoted by National Geographic in 1986. According to a story dating Herodotus, the crocodiles lie of the shore with their mouth wide open, and the plover flies into crocodiles mouth to feed on the bits of decaying meat that is lodged between crocodiles teeth. Though there is no evidence of this cleaning symbiosis interaction occurring in crocodile species and is mostly mythical or allegorical fiction. 
Image courtesy http://www.wolaver.org/
Isn't this worth to be shared, check more about this here.

18 May 2013

Bird Watch - Common Mynah

Yet another common bird from my backyard, which even my daughter recognizes is a Common Mynah. Much Smaller than a pigeon, this is a familiar well groomed dark brown bird with a black head, bright yellow legs and bill. It has a patch of bare yellow skin round the eyes. The large white patch in the wings in conspicuous in flight.  
Common Mynah


It is omnivorous found in open and light wooded areas.
Common Mynah

Happy Birdwatching...

16 May 2013

Varanasi Vibgyors

I was 5, when i visited Varanasi. During our visit was curfew at night, I still remember we cousins peeping out of our hotel windows to check out what was going on. There was dead silence, with gunned men roaming here and there. My memories with this place was cherished by this guest post Varanasi Vibgyors by Glad2baWoman
Glad2bawoman is an online media company for women with over 77,000 members. The articles on their site encompass various topics around Health, Empowerment, Relationships, Fashion and Leisure. Over to team Glad2baWoman,

India is a country known for its diversity in any possible field, be that religion, economic stature, culture, social progress, education, business, profession and what not. It has been a major attraction to tourists from all over the world who visit the country to experience every other stratum of society and civilization. It’s a major landmark in the tourist circuit, known for its ethnicity, heritage and culture. However, when it comes to experiencing India, its background, its cultural heritage, all packed up in a region as small as a city, one could never deny that the city of Varanasi is unrivalled.
Known as the one of the oldest continually inhabited cities of the world, Varanasi promises its visitors the most sumptuous treat of cultural heritage and diversity that India has got to offer. Located in the most populated region of India and having the topography of a typical river basin, Varanasi is very well accessible by all sorts of transport, be it air, railways or roads. Housing every developmental stage of social as well as religious progress, it is sure to offer a timeline of the civilization of the east starting from what it was to what it is. Being an important stop on the Hindu religious circuit, it’s attractive to tourists and pilgrims alike. It also lodges the Benaras Hindu University, one of the largest and oldest universities of Asia.
Photo Courtesy Wikipedia: Varanasi
The city of Varanasi, which lies on the right bank of the holy Ganges, can be reached easily from any part of the country. It has trains continuously plying from each of the four metro cities of India and has the Lal Bahadur Shastri airport for transport by flight. It also lies on the Kolkata-Delhi national highway 2, one of the four-laned expressways which form the Golden Quadrilateral. The best time of visiting the city would be from November to March, since temperatures might soar up past 40 degree Centigrade during the summer. Also, this period sees most of the traditional fairs and festivals hosted by the city.
Varanasi has two distinct parts. One is the old city, popularly known as Kashi, the oldest known centre of civilization in the Hindu mythology dotted with temples, narrow lanes and bounded by the famous ghats along the river on the east, which are of immense religious as well as historical importance. This part of the city is home to many a saint who have renounced worldliness to live a life driven by faith, austerity and in service to Hinduism. This part of the city has chosen not to indulge in the pursuit of modernization and has preserved its ethnicity. While the other part of the city has expanded to keep up with the pace of development, full of luxurious hotels, restaurants, flyovers and business centres.
For any tourist on a visit to the city, it is advisable to book an accommodation in advance to save the trouble of searching for one followed by a tiring journey. However, with hotels in plenty, one should never worry about being able to get a vacant one on the spot. One might choose from among a range of the less priced hotels along the congested ghats in Kashi to a plush 5 star hotel in the posh areas of Varanasi a few kilometers away from the ghats. A stay of around  4 days is adequate for covering the entire city and sight-seeing.
The first dawn in the city may be spent on one of the 84 ghats that line the eastern end of the city. The Dasaswamedha Ghat is the most visited one followed by the Raj Ghat and the Assi Ghat. A stroll on the Dasaswamedha Ghat in the early dawn would promise a spectacular view of the sun rising over the Ganges. The ghat is used by pilgrims, saints and worshippers to offer their morning prayers and you should not be surprised to spot swarms of photographers clicking away to capture the moments. You can also hire a canoe or a boat to have a wider view of the ghats which appear quite colorful with the diversity of activities they witness. After the sunrise, you can head for the famous Kashi Vishwanatha temple, which is an exalted place of pilgrimage and an idealize centre of faith. Legends from the Hindu mythology attach immense importance to the temple of Kashi. The approach to the temple through the narrowest of lanes lined with busy shops is quite intriguing. Offering prayers at the temple might take some time due to a large number of pilgrims and it’s advisable to have lunch once you are done with it. The afternoon can be spent in leisure or exploring the lanes of the old city of Kashi which have numerous shrines and lingams tucked into every corner buzzing with the activity of pilgrims, pandas and stalls selling offerings to the faithful. Every evening the Dasaswamedha ghat lights up in lamps in the aarti, a grand ritual which should never be missed.
Photo courtesy Wikipedia: Dashashwamedha Ghat on the Ganga, Varanasi
One may enjoy the ritual either from the ghat or from any of the numerous boats which remain stationary, touching and facing the ghats and serving as a gallery for the tourists. The following day might be spent in sight seeing in and around the city. One may book a cab for the day and start with Chunar fort dating back to 1540AD which has been the scene of many a battle. After Chunar, head for the Vindhyachal temples around 45 kms from Chunar. One can also pay a visit to the rock paintings at Mirzapur. The day’s trip should end at Varanasi by the evening. Varanasi is also a favourable shopping destination famous for its Benarasi Silk sarees. An evening in Varanasi may be spent shopping in any of the brightly lit shopping arcades or by tasting the famous sweetmeats of the city with rabdi being the most exquisite of all. The next day, take a cab to Sarnath, 15kms away lying in the Buddhist circuit. The major attractions are Ashoka’s Pillars, the Dharma stupa and the ruins of Mulagandhakuti. From here, move on to the Chandraprabha wildlife sanctuary. This is a   quiet and pious picnic spot lodged in a hilly terrain and adding the famous Rajdari and Deodari falls to one’s pleasure. This lies at a distance of 65kms from Sarnath, and should conclude the day’s trip. The evening in the city may be spent in leisure, at any of the ghats which become quiet and peaceful after the hosting the daily cycle of business. Hopping from one ghat to another each of which house its typical mystique environment would be quite worthwhile. Other attractions include the fort of Ramnagar on the ghats of the river Ganges, the Benaras Hindu University and the Jantar Mantar or the sun clock.
A visit to this ancient city which has been a witness to the birth and development of human civilization is sure to intrigue any visitor. It’s perhaps the only part of the country if not the world where the past and the present, eternity and continuity co-exist without interfering with one another. It’s sure to take you on a ride through the historical timeline and is equally worthwhile for pilgrims and tourists.

A Hollow Tree

During our visit to Silvassa we came across this Adina Cordifolia tree which was Hollow. These cavities are the results of physiological stress from natural forces, which may be wind, fire, heat, lightening, rain, attack of insects, bacteria or fungi. And these kinds of hollow trees also act as habitat for number of vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Luckily there were no such animals in this tree, might be because of the visitors, who keep the tree engaged for photography....
Hollow Tree

Hollow Tree

Hollow Tree

Even with such big cavity, the tree was alive. 
Hollow Tree


You can go through in detail about Hollow Tree.
Linked to Thursday ChallengeSkywatch Friday.

15 May 2013

Wednesday Bazaar 5 - Horn OK Please

This is a very common sight on the highways, but for me it was all together a new thing. I wondered what these colourful stuffs were. Then was told by my hubby that these are truck decor items.. For this weeks Wednesday Bazaar are shops which sell truck decors on NH8. 

And this is how a truck would look with all these decors..
Image from Wikimedia Commons

Wednesday Bazaar is a series where I post pictures of Bazaar or markets from around the world.. Check more Bazaars here.

13 May 2013

Jain Temple - Simandharaswami Jinmandir

This weekend we had been to Silvassa and Daman(detailed posts coming up soon). On NH-8, in Nandigram Thirti, in Nandigram Village is this Jain Temple. Dedicated to Simandhara Swami, this Shwethambar Jain Mandir was built in 1989.  There are other small temples as well in the campus.


 The temple is made of Marble with great intricate carvings.

 Jain devotees from across Gujarat and Maharashtra visit this place. 
Linked to Our World Tuesday, Tuesday Around the World, last picture for Tones On Tuesday.

10 May 2013

Skywatch Friday- Raja Seat

For this weeks skywatch is the view from Raja's Seat in Coorg, from my last vacation to Madikeri
Raja's Seat (Seat of the King) is a seasonal garden of flowers and artificial fountains. It is one of the most important tourist spots in Coorg/MadikeriA pleasant spectacle of refreshing layers of greenery, chain of high and low-rise-mountains attired with mist, this place was one-time-favorites of Kings of Kodagu who used to watch the setting sun, and spend time with their queens here.




8 May 2013

Wednesday Bazaar 4 - Mango Stalls

Its summer and time to celebrate with Mangoes(Queen of fruits)... Mango Festivals, and a big list of Mango cuisines, juice, milkshake, pastry, pudding, jam, chutney, pickle, jelly so on and so forth.. You can add to this cuisine list in your comment. Lets see how big our list will turn up...For this weeks Wednesday Bazaar are few Mango stalls.. 



Wednesday Bazaar is a series where I post pictures of Bazaar or markets from around the world.. Check more Bazaars here.
Linked to  ABC Wednesday

6 May 2013

Nehru Centre and Planetarium

My daughter started her summer vacations, to keep her engaged at least on Sundays, we planned our visit to Nehru Centre and Planetarium last weekend. We booked our tickets online for 3 PM show which was supposed to be in English and the reporting time as per their website was 15mins prior the show would start. Rest other three shows are in Hindi and Marathi. Sundays are always supposed to be lazy, right from waking up in the morning.... By the time we finished our work and started it was 1:30. Nehru Planetarium is almost 45mins  drive from my place. Unfortunately we got stuck in traffic, we were hardly left with hope of attending the show.
My husband wanted to attend 4:30PM Hindi show if we missed 3PM one. But i wanted the English one, so we thought will plan Nehru Science Center for the day and come for the English show the coming weekend. It was already 3 and we were few kms away, so i thought of inquiring till how long would they allow us to enter the hall, we were told even few mins after the start of the show was ok...
Finally we reached by 3:15, me and my daughter got down at the entrance and ran to the hall as i didn't wanted my daughter to miss the start and my hubby went in search of parking. We were lucky enough that the show got delayed and started after we entered the hall.
This is a sky theater show, a projector projects the night sky on the dome as seen by naked eye. The show we attended was Invaders of Mars, the audio visual show highlighted various missions to the red planet.

Nehru Centre comprises of Nehru Planetarium, Discovery Center, Culture Wing and Art Gallery.
Nehru PlanetariumA centre for scientific study of astronomy and for meeting of scientists and scholars for discussions and lectures.
Discovery of India: Discovery of India Exposition, a permanent unique exposition, covering every aspect of artistic, intellectual and philosophical attainment of India through ages, is depicted in 14 galleries which seeks to determine, true identity of the country. 
Cultural Wing: With a view to encourage young performing artists, the Culture Wing organises regular cultural programmes in all branches of performing arts, like dance, drama, music, etc. 
Art Gallery: The Nehru Centre Art Gallery is dedicated to the promotion of young talent and provides a platform for them to exhibit their work along with that of eminent artists. 
Nehru Centre
 Nehru Centre

Nehru Planetarium

Nehru Planetarium

Nehru Planetarium
Miniature Satellite Launch Vehicles

Nehru Planetarium
Astro Images

Nehru Planetarium
Miniature Astonomer model

Nehru Planetarium
Planetarium Projector
After the show we rushed to Discovery of India Exposition, which was supposed to close by 5. This is permanent exposition which depicts the true identity of the country.. Right from stone age till the independent India. 
Art Gallery had Paintings Exhibiton, "Shades of Life" by re-know painters Sunil Pardeshi and Kisan Khandori. 

Useful Information:
Name of the Sky Show: "Invaders of Mars"
Show Timings                      Language
12noon                                Hindi
1:30PM                               Marathi
3:00PM                               English
4:30PM                               Hindi

Admission Fee:
Adult Rs. 55/-
Child Rs 30/-(4 to 12yrs)
Admission 15mins before the show timing.
Mondays closed.
Check their website for more information: http://www.nehru-centre.org/