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 

Upset with Maya

For past two weeks, our pet dog Maya isn’t well and it’s been a week she had ate any and vomits whatever she takes in oral.  In September she had a severe wheezing and cough and was taken for x-ray and blood test revealed fluid in lungs and a bulge heart. Later she turned normal but couldn’t say she recovered fully. The one thing that always trouble us with her is she never take medicine easily and we use to apply tricks to let her pick the medicine or hide tablets in sweets and chocolates but this time we quite failed to do it either ways which perhaps led to a serious effect and kidney fault. We consulted the .vet when she refuses to eat or ate less and then a scan was took regard the signs, which exposed a gel like substance in the gallbladder but the dog refused to take a pill  and the injections also didn’t respond well. So the vet suggested taking her for a complete exam at the government veterinary hospital in Vepery, popular for treating animals. The amount for treatment is also considerably less at the veterinary hospital compared to pvt. clinics.

Maya look so tired sitting on the sofa

Again another round of scanning and blood tests confirms kidney fault in Maya, but this time she quit eating and was forced to put on DRIP as she turned weaker. For about a week she had been taken to the vet hospital for Drips, where medicine is injected as well and a blood test would be taken next week for further treatment. We really worry about her condition and she looks so pity now and had lost much weight and lie down sadly all the time. Last night she was vomiting for every two hours and mom had to wake up all night cleaning and comforting her. Though kidney fault had identified I see the gallbladder should be responsible for preventing her eating or digest the food. But we all hope she recovers and with that hope we bear all the difficulties. Though she’s almost 12 years old we hope for the best.

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.  

Fireworks @ Skywatch Friday

Deepavali – the festival of lights – just passed like a blink of light and flash of an aerial firework that treat eyes for few seconds. For my cousin sister, who got married in June, this was her Thala (first) Deepavali after the marriage so she had come home with groom, following an invite by us as per the custom. Thala Deepavali is treated special for every newly married couple that follows the tradition and I could see they had good time cheering the festival of lights in pretty new cloths and spirited while bursting crackers. I wonder how she enjoyed bursting crackers what I haven’t seen in a while, as she ever showed interesting on crackers was different on that day that I could understand it’s all the magic of newly married.

I had a great night that day watching the fireworks that made the new moon sky dazzle in display of colourful fireworks. I felt the crackers sounded a bit louder at my surrounding this year than the previous and many in the neighbourhood had lit auto bombs (and loud crackers) to disturb the ear eardrums and to the unusual my cousin too created some dreadful sound despite my unlikeliness. I’m always against loud crackers and particular about the choice of fireworks I buy that emit less sound and smoke. I enjoy watching fireworks either on the sky or ground level, the emitting of light and sound and the rush of fire creates an emotion that embark to a state of different and light-heartedness. I had fun lighting sparklers, the only firework I could handle enough but I liked capturing fireworks in video and photo modes.

Collage of aerial fireworks display in different forms, shot in firework mode in camera 

I share here some fireworks that lit my sky and the images in collages were all shot from the balcony. I planned to go out during the Deepavali eve to see things happening around but couldn’t move out a bit rather taking the backstreets in wheelchair. I usually go out a day before or on Deepavali night to watch for fireworks displayed in the neighbourhood even though I had the opportunity this time something conscious prevented me.  Glad I could watch some from the balcony and shoot as well.  

Galaxies created by fireworks

Linking this post with Skywatch Friday

Deepavali and Its Electric Feel

Deepavali or Diwali – which is around the corner (Oct 27) doesn’t need an intro to the world, and India is a multicultural nation with each has its own richness of colours, dynamic, values and unique practices progresses with zeal; and Diwali is a festival unites the nation under the limelight called festival of lights, just like the festival of colours - Holi. Every part of the country has a reason and belief to celebrate Diwali with common intent of good against evil and light in place of darkness. Though not everyone celebrates Diwali in India and you really don’t need to celebrate the festival but the mood of the festival of lights is delight! Those who grew up in 90s and 80s and further decades below would knew the real essence and spirit of Deepavali or any other festival in common, and we as kids used to begin the celebration weeks ahead to Diwali by bursting little firecrackers that we buy from the petti shops in neighbourhood.

Sparkler effect in playful way

Deepavali is an uplifting feeling leap off every year during the festival time and it has something to do with me, perhaps it was a favourite time of the year for me from the beginning and bursting fireworks was the intention behind the enthusiasm. During school days, we draw Diwali greetings on the black board on the last day in school before the Deepavali holiday and what we draw was rockets, flower pot fountains, sparklers… and some terror boys drew Lakshmi vedi, auto bombs and electric crackers and the girl students drew Diyas. Those days Deepavali means fireworks and still I could not imagine a Deepavali without the same and the sound of firecrackers. I don’t encourage the sound and I too stopped buying fireworks that exits sound, except for the Aerial shots, I handle only sparklers.

Apart fireworks, Deepavali is a festival of sweets and this was the only time that we make sweets and snacks at home. But these days many prefer buying sweets from the shops perhaps because of laziness or workload where they are not ready or impossible to spend time on preparing snacks at home. During our resident at apartment (from 2005-2013) we get to taste different sweets and snacks shared by the neighbours but we ever turned from Adhirasam and Murukku – the traditional sweet and snack that mark Deepavali. The Adhirasam made of rice flour and jiggery and Murukku with same flour and other ingredients produces a distinct sense and cheerfulness as we go through the smell and hunger for same. The snacks were later distributed to relatives and friends the same way we’re treated by them.  

Though new cloths are part of the festival, like any other festivals, Deepavali clothes has a special place and this was the time where purchases reach the peak and offers come in grand what people never wanted to miss. The online shopping has took a huge leap these days, where the festival rush to shopping streets and malls had gradually decreased and the great Indian festivals at online websites and apps like Amazon becomes an advantage to people who lookout for low-price and stress-free shopping experience. I remember going to shopping for Deepavali and Pongal festivals,   when I was a kid, even though I wasn’t much interested on dresses that was a time new dress made sense and gave happiness showing it to others. Only in last couple of years I took shirts for Deepavali and this year that too was nil, as I got stitched dress only lately, but generally I wasn’t interested shopping on special occasions.

For me it was the feeling, the cheerfulness of celebrating a festival and gathering of people and cherishing the memories that I hold dear from past celebrations makes Deepavali special. For me the past is always significant, not only because those moments unreturned but hold back the spirit and becomes a force to take forward.  I believe a festival is to celebrate and a celebration is impossible without sharing. For me Deepavali bring a feel of togetherness, what the sounds of fireworks on this day reproduce and I don’t see bursting fireworks as a rite or reasonable act but I like watching firework display that happens only during Deepavali and I buy some on my personal interest.  Enjoy your day and have fun.