Snowflakes on my window pane...

Living in hot tropical Madras, snow always seems fascinating.... that celestial powder which gracefully caresses the land, blanketing everything in a sheet of white, is something I wish would happen here. Come December and I always make snowflakes to put on the window pane, half the carols I listen to mention snow anyway... point is, snow seems magical when you are not knee deep in it or scraping it off your car or shoveling your driveway. People who live in snowy regions don't seem to like it, but people who live in hot countries seem to wish for it...

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. ~ John Ruskin

All set for Sunday...

Sitting on the easy chair, sipping wine and reading a book... 

A Sunday well spent... 

“Give me books, French wine, fruit, fine weather and a little music played out of doors by somebody I do not know.”   ~ John Keats

Our favourite place, growing up...

The book store that we siblings used to frequent when we were quite young. This was when I obsessively read every hardy boy I could lay my hands on and fell really hard for Frank Hardy. Those were wonderful days spent kneeling on the floor and poking through a collection of books, trying hard to pick out only a few from the rows and rows of books that little shop held.

“Many people, myself among them, feel better at the mere sight of a book.”
― Jane Smiley, Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel

Gentle Giant...

This beautiful fellow crossed my house early one morning... I do hope his mahout is a nice person and that this gentle giant is having a peaceful life. Click on the picture for a larger view.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.
~ Anatole France

Smokey

Found this little fella outside on my terrace... one cold January morning.

If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies. 

Harvest Festival...

So Pongal the Harvest Festival is in full swing here and the roads are colorfully decorated with kolam patterns. 

Here is another one...

And another one... Happy Pongal, Folks!

Indian meets western decor...

Candle lights in Kolam patterns... so pretty right. Kolam is predominantly a south Indian tradition where rice and white stone powder is used to draw elaborate patterns in front of houses, as a sign of welcome and respect. 

Another picture of home...

Was home last weekend and it was great spending time with family and friends. This is the sight that greets you as the train crawls into my place early in the morning. Enlarge to get a bigger view, here's another picture of home posted long back.
Well, have a great weekend folks.

Faint glow...

There were some left over serial lights and mom just spread them over a bunch of decorative flowers in a vase. The effect was beautiful as seen below... the soft mesmerizing glow changed the mood of the room, made it more magical and dreamy.

Christmas at home...

A few pictures taken this Christmas...

The crib and the tree

The nativity scene...

The wise men following the star...

The tree...

My room, with a paper doily wreath...

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.

Indian Handicrafts...

Saw these at Mahabalipuram, pretty neat... right? I like the shapes and patterns of these objects... 

A closer view... as usual please click on the picture to enlarge it.

This is home...

Was away for a few days, had gone home to see my folks. Took this picture from the train as it was creeping into my hometown Nagercoil. Those rolling hills and the green paddy fields are characteristic in my region... I can never tire of this sight. The air is also so clean and inviting, not like the city, clogged with vehicle fumes and dust. Click on the picture for a larger view.

The Windmills Welcome...

The windmills near home... resembling sentinels that loom protectively in the distance along with those rolling hills.

A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine.

Anne Bronte