Spring Blooms & Blossoms

Its Spring time - the season of colors, blooms & blossoms. I always wonder how beautiful a city would look if it was meticulously covered with different flower bearing trees - a top view would look like a rainbow spread over the city... But its not so. We are rather happy with the top view of our ever increasing concrete jungle...

One fine morning on 23rd February, while I was returning back home after dropping my daughter to school, I happened to notice the road back home that was blooming with fresh newborn green leaves on all the trees along the stretch! It was magical... because just four days back all the trees had shed their leaves & the road was completely covered with dry leaves rustling in soft breeze (that's one amazing highlight of 'garden city', Bangalore!). And just within 2-3 days the entire stretch was green - that fresh & translucent green. 

I decided that I had to capture the innocence of Spring right when it had begun to blossom... And so the next day I waited for my daughter to come back from school, had my camera ready, got her little bag packed, finished our lunch quickly and set out in the afternoon to capture the 'Essence' of Spring! 

It was the the most beautiful afternoons I've spent - strolling around the forest & neighborhood street, clicking around, telling her about the wonderful leaves, flowers & colors... with soft warm sunshine & cool breeze to keep us delighted all the way!

A few trees were blooming with Pink & many had the amazing Lilac flowers hanging down their branches...

 While the stretch of road that leads to our home was beaming with soft sunlight through translucent leaves, the forest behind our house is not ready to bloom, not yet! (Deep Sigh!)

Some trees & weeds are taken for granted & perhaps we never bother to pay attention to the tiny blooming details - Not all who bloom are beautiful... perhaps their beauty lies totally in the eyes of beholder!

The area near her school is surrounded by some exotic trees & greens. I loved clicking there & thankful I captured them well in time!

As for her, she made a very logical point...She said, 'Mamma, the flowers on the road (spread all over) look jusssst like confetti!'

Yes indeed my sweetheart... Its Nature's way of showering us with its confetti & tell us that Life is a Carnival...forever.

He Bugs Me, Bugs Me Not!

This time its all about tiny creatures. They're tiny, they're beautiful. Yes, they do scare most of us despite their size! So, size really doesn't matter, does it?

I managed to capture most of them, alive - while they flap their wings, move around and never stay steady for a second. Except for the lovely Dragon Fly & the Flower bee (don't know its scientific name, have always seen it buzzing furiously around flowers...). I found the Dragon Fly today, half an hour back, lying at the steps near our lift. I love Dragon Flies. I had a beautiful dragon fly brooch. Love their colors, intricate wings and their gorgeous structure. Equally adore butterflies...to me, they are sort of actual flying fairies...specially the blue ones. I have begun to like other critters too. Love the lady bug. How beautiful! Like the grasshoppers too... Their essence lies in their microscopic yet meticulous details. Look at their dot eyes or their fragile feet. Not to miss, their gorgeous wings... 

Just thought of peeping into their tiny world filled with form, colors and shapes... I could go crazy with so much detailing... But that's Nature - pretty, detailed and impeccable!

Best things surely come in small sizes... including happiness!

Silhouettes against the Skies!

I love capturing tall trees trying to touch the sky. The dark silhouette they form reflects their grand yet silent magnificence. They exhibit desire... desire to touch the sky, to reach high, to sway along with the clouds and to live a dream. I love the way tender new stems at the top of the trees sway back and forth...just as a devout follower worships the Divine! The sharp edges of the leaves at the top looks like a razor tearing into the sky, raring to reach as high as it can...This is one of my favorite subject in photography & I never tire of capturing silhouette formed trees against the beautiful canvas of sky. The essence of a silhouette lies in the unspoken grandeur it depicts, the royal charm it possesses and the dignified silence you hear!

 

Bazaarein - Life in Markets

Bazaarein or the Markets, are so vivid and colorful. Not all of them though. I always feel that the arrangement and decor of a shop determines how many customers it can attract. No matter how big or small the shop is, if it displays a rainbow of its products, it is sure to find its customers hopping in happily. 

The first thing I am attracted to, in a shop, is definitely color. But color in order. You can have color in chaos too. But that's not what turns me on. As a person who loves discipline, I love order in everything. Neat stacks and piles of gorgeous spices, eatables, fruits, bags, clothes, baskets etc can drive me wild enough to enter a shop and start filling my bags (and emptying my purse if its a basket's shop!) I have been fortunate to see many a markets across countries. Love the dash of color, order, zest and life around a market. No matter which place I've been to, the feeling of being in a local market is the same. You get to capture the essence of that city, the vibrance of that country, the likings of the people who live there and the flavor of things you get in that place. And just in case the shopkeeper is a friendly kind, well, we splurge happily!

Would like to end on a poetic note... one of my poems on Bazaarein from my poetry blog...

Hai zindagi ki ek baazaar ye duniya

Milte hain kitne aise huzoor yahan

Dhoondte hain har kuch zindagi bhar

Bas pyaar nahi dhoond paate hain wahan

Har ek ka dil aa jata hai kisi par

khwayishon pe hai ye bazaar tikkta ... 

Bikk to jaate hain log pyaar mein

bas pyaar hi hai jo bazaar mein nahi bikta

Mil jaata hai yahaan har wo saamaan

katt jaati hai zindagi jiske sahaarey 

Jeeney ke liye to sirf pyaar hai zaruri

Milte hain jahan sabhi ke kinaarey

Hai zindagi ki ek bazaar ye duniya

Dhoond le tu bhi wo ik dukaan

Mil jaaye tujhe jeeney ki hasrat

Banaa le tu bhi khushiyon ka karwaan

A Shop in Market of Mekedatu, Bangalore

General Shop in Mekedatu, Bangalore

Jade Market, Hong Kong

Incense Shop, Macau

Cafe n Shops in Achol, Jakarta (Indonesia)

Local Shops in Jakarta (Indonesia)

A spice shop in Bogor, Jakarta(Indonesia)

Fish n Meat at a Chinese Shop in Chinatown, Singapore

The Chinese New Year Market, Chinatown, Singapore

Chinese New Year, Chinatown, Singapore

Basket Shop in Kampong Glam, Singapore

Chinatown Market, Singapore

Basket Shop in Kampong Glam, Singapore