Skywatch Friday: Rainbows

Last week the weather turned wonderful one evening and the sky formed storm clouds that almost supposed to rain.  But things turned different and surprise, when a rainbow appear on the sky.  I have seen rainbows before but I don’t remember when I saw one last in my city, Chennai. My neighbour pointed out the rainbow that curved up above the sky just outside the balcony and I was out already watching the sky and the storm clouds scattering instead gathered to rain.

First the rainbow appeared mild in colors and was difficult to notice but sooner the colors increased to look amazing and it was a nice curve and I don’t know it made quite a bow. Actually it was a double rainbow and I didn’t notice the second bow, which appeared mild, until I look into the picture. My camera couldn’t capture the colors perhaps because of bright sunlight and these are mobile shots from iPhone se. 

To say the sky's the only changing things in my life for last few months or from the time of pandemic began; sky watching has become an activity and I go out into the balcony to see the sky after I wake up and got ready and do the same before go to bed. I don’t know why I want to see the sky or at least want to see a star or anything celestial before get into the bedroom and I think it’s perhaps because of lockdown and fewer activities on road want me to look for something active even though I know the celestial activities aren't quicker.

Linking this post with Skywatch Friday

RGB Monday

'I have been sitting watching that ever since I came back, 

the continuous variations of light and shadow .' -

Laurie Lee

A part of simple light and shadow and shades of red, green and blue on the porch of uncle's woodhouse near Kodaikanal

The weather turned absolutely wonderful right away, from quite sunny to stormy, it was a kind of welcome weather during this season of hot summer although the temperature is mild this year so far. Usually it’s the June turns out hot for us in Chennai and being close to sea, the breeze rose from there is a kind of relief fought over the hot land breeze later by noon.  

We’re almost 70 days into the lockdown that was partially relaxed already but still a month long lockdown is imposed across India from today till June 30. Chennai had become the 2^nd largest city and hub in India with high Covid 19 cases next to Mumbai in Maharashtra and we lead by over 700-800 positive cases per day and it only seem to rise. North Chennai being a crowded residential place has become a vital part of transmitting virus in the city and it seems the people in age of 20-30 where influenced a lot to infective. The lockdown and Covid 19 awareness is well taken down into people and they mostly resist coming out after the noon, perhaps they used to the former time restriction and content through it. All evening seems Sunday here and life goes peaceful but can’t deny the fact that there’s a kind of fear of uncertain. Hope you guys take care and stay safe.

Silence Speaks Louder

Captured from one of my trips to mountains, staying at uncle's woodhouse in  kodaikanal

The world speaks in silence

Desert as ever before

Soundlessness is strange

Yet it is not so quiet,  

Tiny noises make sense

And annoys as well

Diverts the attention of anything

That I try to concentrate,  

Screeches and screams are loud

Perhaps we used to noises

That sustained to a level of decibel

Now, incredible low, due to lockdown

Silence reinstitutes the natural syllabus

In wind prose and bird poems,  

While the most dangerousness stays at home

The endangered are out

To give voice to their lost chord

Or shriek in restoring its space

As if they got their (last) chance

To speak, when world is mute.

Nature Heal Its Own

View outside the home... something sure to unchanged for sometime
or at least till April 14.

Nature volume increased 

As artificial noises decreased
The days become quiet
As well the afternoons are blissful,
Eventides turned pleasure
As birds sings in chorus
The days turned out beautiful
As well as sunny, expose
Nature at its fine light and shadows.
The nature would heal its own
If not man continue to dig its wound
Nature forced us in from of Covid 19
To take a backseat at home
To see how nature tackle its own
What world stumbles to reset!

Take care all 

Summer Breeze is Back

The summer breeze is back;
A favourite time of the year
Is here, and it embrace me;
The tender cool invisible wind
Inspires to take a break, to breathe
A refreshing sort of wind
Caressed me to goose bump.
While the sun shines bright
The simple cool sea breeze
Is a pleasure, immeasurable by levels;
Hold back lot in memories
I cherish solely sitting in the living room.
The trees shoot leaves outside
Brought spring in the air
Doubles the delight of summer
That ever leased alone to warm up.

Visit to Amirthi Zoological Park, near Vellor

Two weeks before, I visited the Amirthi Zoological Park in the vicinity of Amirthi forest on the foot of Jawadhu Hills, near Vellore.  Though the zoological park comes under Tiruvannamalai district, the Vellore city is closer by 25 kms.  I was planning to visit the park for last few years, and when I made a visit to Balamathi Hills, adjacent to Vellore city in Feb 2018, I couldn’t make up to the park due to lack of time and I too did not want the visit to be a hurried one.

I learned the zoological park is accessible by wheelchairs and visiting a park in the forest environment could never miss out of my pocket, because I’m someone always enjoy visiting forest and stay close to nature. We started the trip from home (Chennai) at 8am and get there by 12.30 pm, meanwhile stopping the car for breakfast and buying lunch (biryani) at Arcot, and the route from there was scenic and beautiful as it took us through mountains and countryside scenes.

'The Arcot – Kannamangalam is the best and shortest route to reach Amirthi for people coming from Chennai; and Arcot is the right place to buy food stuffs because there's nothing available at Amirthi, even though there’s a canteen run by the forest department, outside the zoological park, we could not expect anything surely. They don’t allow carrying foods inside the park, so we had our lunch at the parking lot and there are slabs to sit around the trees to have lunch but there’s lot of monkeys and stray dogs to cause fear.

Indian pond turtles

Amirthi is a small zoological park, developed on 25 hectares of forest land, which covers 25 km of forest, made as a wildlife sanctuary and tourist spot the other half. The park opened in 1967 has minimum number of animals and birds and during my visit I found many empty cages to make me disappoint.  The zoological park seemed to be renovated lately or the works haven't finished yet, as many cages left with a note of under repair; the park is well paved to reach every corner of the park without difficult and it helps to take closer looks at animals and birds in cage. 

Python relaxing at its room

I saw Indian pond turtles inside a glass tank and Golden fox in a den like setting, roaming alone sadly.  There’s a section for snakes with a series of glass rooms but only a python and Russell’s viper is available to see, while other rooms are empty. I saw a sign board at the park, warning people on snakes since the park is located in the vicinity of forest snakes are supposed to wander freely on the campus.  Mongooses are enclosed in a room next to snakes and porcupines in another small cage, peacocks, pelicans and herons are put in subsequence cages.

Golden Fox (see on the right) in its cage

 Pelicans and herons

There are many colourful images of animals, birds and reptiles painted on the walls inside and outside of the park captured our attention. The park, established in a forest land makes feel its presence though the number of trees that exist from the forest environment had made a natural canopy throughout the park to make feel always cool and shady. Amirthi zoological park could be a best picnic place for family and friends to spend a day on natural environment and shadows, apart watching animals.

Amirthi is a very small zoo where you could not expect more; even the children’s park in Chennai has more animals to attract visitors. Apart the park, there’s a seasonal waterfalls about a km from here which had to be reached by trekking. The best time to visit the park is from September to February to make use of more greenery and to enjoy the waterfalls and river run beside the park, but even on midsummer you won’t be feel the weather once entered the forest environment.

I really enjoyed the place despite being a Sunday; there weren’t much people around the park and only at the time of leaving found a bus full of school kids having lunch at the parking lot. Staffs at the park were kind to inquire about my convenient there, and was I able to go everywhere? The only thing that bothers me was to see fewer animals than expected. Though I don’t like seeing birds or animals in enclosed cages while they have wing to fly and legs to run… I’m at least happy to see them because even if we go to forest seeing them is doubt. 

I took many photos and I can't post all at a time here... so my future posts will carry those.

TELC Jubilee Church (aka German Church), Kodaikanal

Every time I decide to travel, even if the destination was same, I do some research for any new places to see because I think only if there’s a search for something a travel would be interesting.  And old is something always fascinate me and top my list of places to see, more than anything newly constructed. If you’re a follower of my blog, would know Kodaikanal is a beautiful place where I had yearly vacation in last several years and have covered overall places, but still my search of places haven’t end or doesn’t seem to. And one such place I visited in recent times was the century old TELC Jubilee Church.

Kodaikanal has many historic places esp. churches that are more than 100 years old, built during British regime and TELC (Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church) is a cute little church with unique architecture that really made me wonder have I seen anything similar in construction. It has a cylindrical bell tower to capture our attendance at glance and constructed in granite stones, the church still looks amazing in its original structure and features. As it located on a small hill mound, one need to climb the rock stairs to reach the door front, opening a small wooden gate at the entrance what resisted me further going up close to church.

We visited the church in evening after going through another historical church (which I would write about later) and the weather was pleasant with mild sunshine as we went in search of the church. It took us sometime to find the church as many unknown about it when enquired at the locality and Google maps did wrong locating as well; the church hide away like a treasure in a patch of woods cover above the upper lake road in Pambarpuram area of Kodaikanal. My parents, grandma and bro went up to the church, to capture some photos on my behalf and they were invited by someone in charge, took them around and explained about the church.

Dad, mom and grandma posed in front of church

The church was founded in 1906, by the Germans and the Swedes who emigrated over a century ago in Pambarpuram area of Kodaikanal and the church practiced worship in four languages: German, Swedish, English and Tamil, from the following year. In 1919, the Tamil congregation of different German, Danish, and Swedish Lutheran missions joined together to form the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church (TELC). And following the independence of India, in 1947, the Germans and the Swedes agreed to the self-administer of the church by Tamil people and later on to till date the worship is conducted in Tamil by designated priest.  

What I think special about the church was its architecture of German and Sweden, though I have any idea of its architectural style, its unchanged look of ancient beholds. The church still holds the sacred objects leftover by the Germans and the bell outside the church is also a German established in year 1923, and the name of the church is engraved on the bell in Tamil. The sound of bell is heard up to 2 km in radius. I find the entire atmosphere of the church is quiet and being evening, the birds’ noise was pleasant as natural prayers.  TELC Jubilee Church is a different aspect of Kodaikanal, from the regular tourist places, but I hope the future won’t be the same.

Delight through Sunlight

It was a fresh morning just out of dews, wrapped in warm sunlight as we moved out of the woodhouse in mountains (of lower palani hills in Kodai) the sun was dazzling above the sky even before it was 8 am. It was a coldest night of December blanketed quite in mist, clouds and rain and a day and two night stay at the woodhouse wasn’t different from the mentioned above until we hit the road sparkled in  dazzling sunlight.

The trip to the woodhouse then was a short break from our drive to Munnar, and the weather was awesome at both the places contrary to the splendid sunshine we had on the morning when we moved out of the woodhouse. It was blissful getting into the sunlight from an experience of overcast and mist weather for a week, thanks to the Ockhi cyclone formed in the ocean then, though it created a great damage in southern India it treated us well with multiple waterfalls flowing down the mountains and adventurous drives through dense fog and forests.

Further down the hills on road, the ride became magical with many light and shadow moments waived in front, with sun filtered its energy rich rays through natural foliage. The rain soaked mountains, trees and roads all sparked in sunlight radiates joyful ride and this is something I always enjoy anytime we pick up a return journey in morning. The play with light and shadow continued all the way to foothill but it wasn’t a sunny day all the way to Chennai rather many surprises waited ahead what I could share with image later.

Linking this post with ShadowShot Sunday2 

RGB Monday

Colorful Pongal Kolams by mom and aunt

Kolam is a cultural identity of Tamils, as well as to the southern states of India similar as Rangoli that spread all-over India, is believed to bring auspicious to home when it is drawn in front of the doorway or gateway as a sign of welcome. Margali, a month of winter (mid Dec-Jan) in Tamil, is a favourite season for Kolam, where those skipped or unpractised it as a daily activity will make certain drew something in front of the door and the month ends leaving way to Thai – the day celebrated as Pongal, where Kolams take much colourful form from the plain dotted Kolams. Pulli Kolam is a regular art form where it involves drawing a line looped around a pattern of dots (pullis) with certain that all dots are encircled and lines closed at the end.

Shot from the balcony and you could see my aunt coloring the Kolam down in front of home.

Kolam take a special place in our every custom and celebrations and drawing a Kolam creates an elegancy to the occasion and there couldn’t be a better reception than making a smile through a cheerful and colourful Kolam.  Mom used to draw Kolam regularly at the doorstep until we resided in the ground floor apartment and houses in ground, now living on first floor we don’t have space other than mom’s knee pain prevents her going down to drew a Kolam. But during the festival of Pongal and other special occasions she takes a strain and draw colourful Kolams in front of the house, and now along with my aunt in next door they help each other creating the magic of colors, Kolam. I always have an interest in Kolalm and never miss an opportunity in capturing the Kolam and what you see here is from the recent Pongal celebration.

Concealed

From pink to orange

my sky transformed, silhouette 

concealed the target - moon!

P.s  Actually there's a moon behind the tree but I couldn't capture it while I was able to see, my position or angle of shooting missed the target.

Linking this post with Skywatch Friday

New LG Nano cell LED TV, completes my home theatre dream

The year began for me with a real brand new thing; I expected to buy in last few years or at least from the time of purchase of my AV receiver, an initial step in building my home theatre. After a lot research, comparison and reading on various aspects I come down to choose the television that content my hunger for some quality. I was certain I want a direct backlight LED TV, just like my previous 26” Samsung TV, bought in 2010, and I have seen the differences in clarity the led TVs that produced later couldn’t live up to it and many who watched our TV had praise on its sharpness what their own led TVs couldn’t produce. I don’t want to go more on its detail. I know there’re greater TVs in market where finance decides the content and from my budget I looked for the best and I find the year end to be right moment for discounts and the television came in fair tag price of ₹ 57,000 at 35% discount in Paytm Mall online shopping.

We bought a 49” LG Nano cell Led TV and the LG promoted the TV as most advanced Led TV and a step down to OLED TV. Somewhere I read Nano cell Led TV is called poor man’s OLED! Ha ha. The TV has IPS flat screen and Ultra HD resolution with 4K Active HDR and 4K upscaler and wide viewing angle and many more visual enhancers to make watching pleasure. While choosing the TV I was much concern about the visual/image features because I already have the best sound resource in Sony AV Receiver to expand audio up to 7.2 channels, so the TV audio would be seldom used   but still the TV has good sound quality with DTS Virtual surround. Nowadays I watch movies mostly in Prime video (and yet to join Netflix) with almost contents available in HD and 5.1Ch audio, there are some 4K videos too that I am supposed to experience sometime.

I’m someone always lookout for tiny details or observe little things, so the detail was something strongly built within me couldn’t avoid this TV that has Nano cell particle to refine dull colors to accurate colors. The HD movies/videos are a pleasure to watch in this TV than the relayed satellite channels, that are mostly in SD content and it strains the vision with irregular to bright in colors and disband pixels. The best thing about this TV was its magic motion remote. The cursor at the shake of remote is easy to browse the television, access apps and above all it has voice recognition with both built-in Google Assistant and Alexa. The apple airplay and homekit is seems to help connect smart appliances but right away this will only useful to connect mobiles since they are the smart appliance we hold.

I was working on quite a home theatre setting from the wake up of 2018, when I purchased an advanced budget 4K AV receiver at half the price of its original rate through an Amazon offer and discount.  It was a dream comes true for me to buy a proper home theatre system than the regular surround sound existed through the satellite speakers system in market. Following the receiver I waited patiently and particular about the speakers’ purchase that should nowhere loses the signal and compatible with the receiver but the budget was something restricted me to progress step after the other. First I bought two powerful bookshelf speakers from Boston Acoustics for the front right and left, and last year I purchased the centre and surround left/right speakers from Yamaha to get a 5.1 Ch sound and for the sub-woofer I hold back from the previous system. Now with the big Led TV that was installed on the New Year itself my dream of a home theatre had come true really. I’m grateful for my parents to support and understand my need for building a home theatre, although they aren’t much interested they spent quite only because I desired for.  Thank you

RGB Monday

Festive season sieve
troubles, to make happiness
slid through tiny holes.

P.s. Hope you find the red, green and blue ornaments hung from a live christmas tree grown in the courtyard of my uncle's woodhouse at Thandikudi, near Kodaikanal. I capture the image from my last vacation in July and the ornaments weren't removed from the tree after festive season was over, but I loved seeing them pretty hung through the evergreen tree. Wishing you all Very Happy, Peaceful and Prosperous Pretty New Year, 2020!

In Month of Cold

I switched off the ceiling fan
as wind blows the coolest,
heart yearns for a warm hug
the moment slipped
between noon and evening.

I took pleasure, as sunlight
took a bright step into the home;
the air still filled by cold
sends goose bumps
to places could not define.

The wind is colder
when blows through the alley,
the back door become a cooler
to chill down everything
rather my heartburns sometime.

I feel for a warm embrace
what does my blanket at night,
and from the arms of dad
there is no wonder
December is a month of cold.

Blush

Hide away shyly

like a sweet sixteen, shimmer

through fresh morning dew.

The attempts to see

the Japanese beauty, blush

behind plank of wood.

ps.  The flower hide in image is Japanese rose 

Contemplating Woman!

One above the far

balanced rocks, gives shape to a

contemplate woman!

Ps. The cute balanced rock sculpture was capture at the courtyard of my uncle’s woodhouse near Kodaikanal and this was arranged by the manager of the woodhouse and cottages. I was really wondering how the rock on the top was balanced vertical but the secret was revealed within two days of my stay there. The rock was glued (with fevicol) on top of the other and it fell down when it rained heavy. The glue he used seems to stick woods so it couldn’t withstand the heavy shower and the rock slid off.  

Monsoon Feel

Rain always brings cheers to mind unless it was a kind of downpour or flood like situation. Chennai kept receiving rain now and then in the evenings mostly make feel cheerful, refreshing and relieving from the midday hot weather. During my vacation I experience wonderful showering moments with distinct pattering though the woodhouse and trees and coffee plantations and on the hills the weather was much treating. I tried to capture rain through various possible ways I could and managed to click some pretty images exposed to fresh green foliage and flowers. I’m stuck by thought of what to post and the evening rain comes to rescue and yet enjoyable. Here I share an image that gives me monsoon feel!

Notebook

There are some flowers blooms once in a while and one such blossom was the Notebook! It’s been a while I watched a beautiful film where love is exhibited in an awesome way or mood. Though the Notebook (Hindi film) is written with a simple love story it touched beyond the commonly held romance between a pair of love. Actually love is a part of the movie where each other liked without meeting but carries a silent message in the air blown through the mountain breeze and ripples on a serene lake.

=

Notebook carries the subject of a remote school in middle of a lake in Kashmiri and it was in a condition of closure due to poor student strength. A young ex-army officer joined the school as a teacher, for a change, tries to improve the condition of the school, finds a notebook from his desk drawer left behind by the previous teacher, and he’s nourished with confidence and love within himself as he read her story. The school is back to spring with children turning up to same as his every turn of a paper in the notebook, the former teacher re-joined the school later, found her notebook with comments from him made her fall for him.

Kabir and Firdaus characters as young teachers made a lovely presence on screen and create an affinity of love without meeting and it was really beautiful to watch them expressing their love in silence and voice for child education. The kids make fun at the school, which itself in a poetic houseboat and show emotions in return when its time. The whole setting of the floating school in mid of a lake, partially covered in vegetation, transport us to a world anew where we would love to go back to school! The cinematography is overall a hero of the notebook and the location of the school is a well choice to enhance the subject of rom com drama.

For both, Zaheer Iqbal and Pranutan Bahl, the lead of the film is debuted and so their screen presence was refreshing like the fragrances of bloom and I loved the character name Firdaus to sound very pleasant. For the observer like me, her tiny expressions and smile could be admired. The Kabir’s character is a nice example of soldier mind-set when he saves kids despite what bothers him including his life or love. Notebook is simply made out of love and wow simply like the breeze caress across. The Bollywood movie is produced by Salman Khan!   

Moment it Rain

My sky before it started to rain

First rain of the year
waked up the aroma of earth
from deep slumber, blanketed
in dust, drought and dryness.

A dramatic change in sky,
where scattered clouds gathered
filtered the radiating heats
to lesser, sprinkle as shower.

Not a kind of downpour
but it brings hope and cheers
to mind that so drought
and a kind of moody exists.

The senses woke up
as every drop knock the ground,
earth responded fragrant
as nostalgic rushes into vein.

The weather turns vital
since there isn’t a sign of rain
past failure of northeast monsoon
the rain becomes crucial
as there no prevention, care or cure
unless earth quenches thirst
to nurture its children.  

Linking this post with Skywatch Friday

A detour around Ooty

Trees rise and fall in nature's lap

During my visit to Nilgiris in 2017, I took a detour around the Ooty town, what I usually do or look forward to whatever places I visit, we took the road adjoin The Lawrence School following our stop at the lovely Lovedale Mountain Railway Station, and it was a casual turn toward this road while looked for a place to have lunch that we took along when we moved out of our homestay. The road led through calm and natural presence of woods and shrubs; amid where we found this Indian Gaur (aka Indian Bison) munching quietly some ten feet above our parked car and herd of sheep grazing alongside the road winding through some fresh patches of green or meadows. I really enjoyed taking this route even though the road isn’t good in shape it has some nice country sights where vegetables are cultivated and colourful houses built on hill slopes. Coming across these found the Mountain Railway track winding along the road and it was really surprise for me as I have seen this place and wished to visit when I read an article related to it on the Hindu Metro Plus, very long back, plus it has come in movies esp. the popular Tamil film Vaali.

I loved seeing the arched railway bridge at a turn of the road, which was picturesque but unfortunately it started to rain when nearing the bridge so I couldn’t get clear shots and also the iron fence along the way interrupted the view. There was lot of tiny wildflowers alongside the road and this stretch was really refreshing, breathing through the fresh mountain air and essense of soil and different form the usual views on Ooty. Following were some photos from the drive

Some sheep grazing on the roadsides

A cute one grazing alone

View on some colorful houses and residents made life thought mountains, grazing sheep and cultivating vegetables and tea. Being a part of Ooty perhaps their lives depend on tourism activities. 

A cemetery locating very close to the residences you seen a pic above

Something interesting caught our eyes, as we could see it was some kind of cultivation which resemble some arrangement of stones. There was none around there to enquire about the thing and it wasn't nearby to look closer

Saw this beautiful house on the way made through salubrious environment of green fields, tea garden and fresh mountain breeze.

A pleasant countryside view  

The winding mountain railway track along the road (between Lovedale - Fern Hill) and I wished there was a streamer passing by as we drive through.

Here comes  the pretty arch bridge or underpass of the Nilgiri Mountain Railways... where the popular tamil song Oh Sona (from Vaali) was shot.

Rising Fitness, Health and Fitness Studio – Bro’s Gym Inauguration

My brother has opened a new gym/fitness center in the neighborhood, Neelankarai, ECR, Chennai, and on Wednesday there was its inauguration function held in the presence of friends and family. He already administers a fitness center in the name of same (Rising Fitness) in partnership with friends and now he has executed his independent business named under title ‘Health and Fitness Studio’. He has worked hard last two months to create a theme based interior and it has come out exceptionally good and impressive by sight at first.  The gym is executed in a rental property and is located in the second floor of a building measuring 4500 sqft and he has taken loans to implement this fitness branch. Most of the gym equipment were imported but purchased through a company in Chandigarh that transported things through container truck.

Ribbon cutting

Mom lighting the lamp

Unlike the inauguration of their main fitness center in Madipakkam in 2014, any chief guest was invited and we had no ideas who will make over the show. We had arranged for breakfast for the invited guests and we reached the venue before anyone arrives, except gym staffs, and i took around the gym that was partially rubber floor and equipment were placed neatly with enough space from one another. A row of treadmills and exercise bikes are showcased across the glass panes facing the ECR main road and there’s a separate section for crossfit activities. I thought there isn’t a ribbon cutting event as time outstretched the defined period and most of the guest arrived and took their breakfast in areca plates (that came along the ordered food), my brother’s friend took me to the entrance saying that they’re going to cut ribbon.

But until I come out of the gym I had any idea that I’m going to cut the ribbon, along with my dad! Anyone other than my brother know this until the moment and it was quite unexpected and surprise move by my brother and this really showed his intend and care for me what put me on happy mood. Following this the elders and well-wishers lit the lamp (kuthu vilakku) that was placed in center of the front office and later all moved to the cross fit area for cake cutting. The crossfit area gives a studio/theater feel in the black/white theme and chairs where places there and cake was brought in center. I thought of sliding away to the side of the table placed with cake but my brother called me to come in front and in middle of the table made me realize his another  surprise move. The table was short for me, so he supported me from back to let me lean forward and mom holding my hand cut off the cake as people clapped in as signalling for the very success of the gym. Cutting off things could be side but I believe the real happiness is in its success and make revenues. Hope you all sent your wishes for the grand success of the gym.

Some interior shots