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| Clicked at Badami Temple walkway, Karnataka, June 2014 |
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Friday, April 18, 2014
Fireflies : Day#19/30
A tiny spark that disappears if you blink, suddenly reappearing somewhere else.
Surrounded by the fragrance of moist earth, the twinkling with a orange glow seems almost surreal in the cool monsoon night.
You stare and suddenly there are many more of those tiny lights glittering about.
Fireflies! :)
My first encounter with fireflies was when I was about 4-5 years old, and although I don't remember much from times back then, I can clearly remember standing in our balcony after dinner and looking out for fireflies with my father. We used to have a firefly spotting contest and I used to pester him with lots of questions on light, sky, night, the moon, why the flies glow, how the stars twinkle, blah blah, the usual questions kids demand an explanation for and he used to patiently try his best to explain the workings of the universe to me...:)
Then I didn't think much about them, couldn't spot them that often after we moved homes, and our new home didn't have such a huge open space nearby...
So they were a reserved sight on the occasional monsoon trips/train journeys where you could spot them just for a moment or two.
Much later, during hostel days, as I walked back late nights to H11, they became a regular sight once again. This time around, I spotted a few glow worms on tree roots as well...It was almost magical...Fireflies and glow worms pottering about on cold windy rainy nights. :)
Of late, when I travel by trains frequently to Mumbai, there's a patch just before Palasdari station that has lots of fireflies flitting about. And the train almost always stops by for a signal here. The twinkling sight makes me super nostalgic...and I've started taking the train's stop and their being there almost for granted, a part of my journey home... :)
Surrounded by the fragrance of moist earth, the twinkling with a orange glow seems almost surreal in the cool monsoon night.
You stare and suddenly there are many more of those tiny lights glittering about.
Fireflies! :)
My first encounter with fireflies was when I was about 4-5 years old, and although I don't remember much from times back then, I can clearly remember standing in our balcony after dinner and looking out for fireflies with my father. We used to have a firefly spotting contest and I used to pester him with lots of questions on light, sky, night, the moon, why the flies glow, how the stars twinkle, blah blah, the usual questions kids demand an explanation for and he used to patiently try his best to explain the workings of the universe to me...:)
Then I didn't think much about them, couldn't spot them that often after we moved homes, and our new home didn't have such a huge open space nearby...
So they were a reserved sight on the occasional monsoon trips/train journeys where you could spot them just for a moment or two.
Much later, during hostel days, as I walked back late nights to H11, they became a regular sight once again. This time around, I spotted a few glow worms on tree roots as well...It was almost magical...Fireflies and glow worms pottering about on cold windy rainy nights. :)
Of late, when I travel by trains frequently to Mumbai, there's a patch just before Palasdari station that has lots of fireflies flitting about. And the train almost always stops by for a signal here. The twinkling sight makes me super nostalgic...and I've started taking the train's stop and their being there almost for granted, a part of my journey home... :)
Sunday, April 13, 2014
S.O.S : Day#14/30
This Sunday, went on my first night trek (Katraj to Sinhagad, or K2S as its popularly called). It was a huggeee gathering of people (almost 120 in our group and some 60-odd of another group!) and full moon night being just two days away, we didn't really need any torches.
Although there were patches where one was better off with a torch and also one slightly teeny weeny time frame where I thought I had lost the track, and couldn't see anyone ahead or behind me. :P
This, and the fact that I am fascinated by Morse code, and have tried to read/remember it quite a few times made me post this here.
Morse code, simply put, is a universally accepted signalling system, usually used by ships/planes/defence personnel etc. It consists of dots and dashes that denote alphabets. More on the wiki page.
(... --- ...) dot-dot-dot dash-dash-dash dot-dot-dot
And if you are using a torch/flashlight to signal, the dot is usually one second long, and the dash is two/three seconds long.
GK++ ho gaya :)
For now, (-... -.-- .)
PS: See this Morse code translator, for tp and if you want to annoy your friends next time you are bored ;-)
Although there were patches where one was better off with a torch and also one slightly teeny weeny time frame where I thought I had lost the track, and couldn't see anyone ahead or behind me. :P
In that infinitesimally small time frame, I thought I had no "effective" way of signalling for help, except obviously shouting till I went hoarse (and there was no need for it thankfully as well :P)
But, at such times, one realizes how few 'life saving' skills one has, and you wish you had paid more attention to all those 'knot tying', 'signalling' and other such sessions you had back in school ;)
But, at such times, one realizes how few 'life saving' skills one has, and you wish you had paid more attention to all those 'knot tying', 'signalling' and other such sessions you had back in school ;)
This, and the fact that I am fascinated by Morse code, and have tried to read/remember it quite a few times made me post this here.
Morse code, simply put, is a universally accepted signalling system, usually used by ships/planes/defence personnel etc. It consists of dots and dashes that denote alphabets. More on the wiki page.
You can't really remember every single thing...especially so since there's no real need to use it as often...
A simple S.O.S (Save our Souls) signal in Morse Code is :
(... --- ...) dot-dot-dot dash-dash-dash dot-dot-dot
And if you are using a torch/flashlight to signal, the dot is usually one second long, and the dash is two/three seconds long.
GK++ ho gaya :)
For now, (-... -.-- .)
PS: See this Morse code translator, for tp and if you want to annoy your friends next time you are bored ;-)
Monday, January 3, 2011
Kites, Camels and Krishna
A very happy 2011!!!
I got to welcome the the new year in a new city - Ahmedabad - the city of Kites, Camels and Krishna...:-)
Every city has its own unique flavor - its culture, history, climate, food and people make it a totally one-of-its-kind combo.
Ahmedabad city : first look from the railway station.
The first thing that leaps out as soon as you step out of the station are the auto-rickshaws - bright green and yellow, a fresh welcome from the "taxi" black and yellow ones here...
Another prominent thing was the numerous vibrant kites lined up in a riot of colours along shops in the street. Also got to see the "manja" in making... along roadsides - between two rotating wheels, and lines and lines of colorful thread spinning away merrily! Ekdum jhakkas!
IIMA - saw the campus from the outside!
What stood out in the city were its rows of quaint little pretty bungalows - complete with a lawn,garden and a swing - making me wish I owned one!! *sigh* ;-)
Peacocks - everywhere : from hotel motifs, kurta patterns to real ones along a particular stretch of the road (not kidding!) :-))
Camel carts : saw these quite frequently along streets, as conspicuous as horse carts in some parts of our city.
Gandhiji: Visited the Sabarmati ashram...will write about it soon.
Awesome tea and coffee : everywhere from roadside canteens to hotels to railway-ka-chai...normal tea was always spiked with masala - u needn't specify a "masala" chai! Ah, loved it! :D
Traffic : We named it "manmaani" traffic - thanks to the "manmaani" of the autowallahs, car-drivers and bikers who ignoring the presence of traffic cops and signals alike, continued to go about their way as they pleased.
Narendra Modi : staring out from posters and ADs promoting a "vibrant Gujarat 2011" - won't get into the politics and all, but you couldn't ignore the presence of this man - almost everywhere in the city.
Akshardham temple : Housed in huge grounds - the infamous terrorist attack spot.
But inside the temple, it was pure serene calm - almost making you disbelieve that such cruel and heinous attacks could have taken place within such environs...
Krishna : It was almost synonymous with the city, with every other shop/stall/hotel named after the God.
The food - TOTALLY deserves a separate post! :D
Have a wonderful and rocking 2011!
I got to welcome the the new year in a new city - Ahmedabad - the city of Kites, Camels and Krishna...:-)
Every city has its own unique flavor - its culture, history, climate, food and people make it a totally one-of-its-kind combo.
Ahmedabad city : first look from the railway station.
The first thing that leaps out as soon as you step out of the station are the auto-rickshaws - bright green and yellow, a fresh welcome from the "taxi" black and yellow ones here...
Another prominent thing was the numerous vibrant kites lined up in a riot of colours along shops in the street. Also got to see the "manja" in making... along roadsides - between two rotating wheels, and lines and lines of colorful thread spinning away merrily! Ekdum jhakkas!
IIMA - saw the campus from the outside!
What stood out in the city were its rows of quaint little pretty bungalows - complete with a lawn,garden and a swing - making me wish I owned one!! *sigh* ;-)
Peacocks - everywhere : from hotel motifs, kurta patterns to real ones along a particular stretch of the road (not kidding!) :-))
Camel carts : saw these quite frequently along streets, as conspicuous as horse carts in some parts of our city.
Gandhiji: Visited the Sabarmati ashram...will write about it soon.
Awesome tea and coffee : everywhere from roadside canteens to hotels to railway-ka-chai...normal tea was always spiked with masala - u needn't specify a "masala" chai! Ah, loved it! :D
Traffic : We named it "manmaani" traffic - thanks to the "manmaani" of the autowallahs, car-drivers and bikers who ignoring the presence of traffic cops and signals alike, continued to go about their way as they pleased.
Narendra Modi : staring out from posters and ADs promoting a "vibrant Gujarat 2011" - won't get into the politics and all, but you couldn't ignore the presence of this man - almost everywhere in the city.
Akshardham temple : Housed in huge grounds - the infamous terrorist attack spot.
But inside the temple, it was pure serene calm - almost making you disbelieve that such cruel and heinous attacks could have taken place within such environs...
Krishna : It was almost synonymous with the city, with every other shop/stall/hotel named after the God.
The food - TOTALLY deserves a separate post! :D
Have a wonderful and rocking 2011!
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