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

Applying Mehendi...

These were taken in Delhi, while I visited a local market... 

Deftly weaving intricate patterns... 

The finished work... (Click images for a larger view.)

The lingering patterns...

Pretty neat, huh?

To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour.  ~ William Blake

Contemplating in the shade...

Taking some respite from the relentless sun... a daily laborer in a contemplative stance. I hope his life is good, he is old but quite fit...


Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read...
~ Francis Bacon

Mahabalipuram: Bas Relief

To tell you the truth, these kinda creeped me out... I don't know why but it was sorta unnerving watching this bas relief work as the sun was setting in the horizon. I don't think I would be able to cross this place at night... 

But they do look nice, considering the work that has gone into sculpting them onto the side of a huge rock. Click on the pictures to enlarge them....

Mahabalipuram: Graceful Sentries

These sculpted figures adorn one side of the temple wall, one guy even has his hand resting on an animal that kinda looks like a lion. 

There's some sort of a pattern here, the guy with the beast must be a figure of authority. Flanking him are two couples and then a solitary figure. They are so slender and graceful... they seem like a calm and beautiful race. (Click on the pictures to enlarge them)

Other pictures in the Mahabalipuram series...

First Glance

Rock Elephant

Temple Carvings

Temple Entrance

Mahabalipuram: First Glance

The next few posts will feature pictures from my recent trip to Mahabalipuram, which is famous for its shore temples and other massive carvings by an ancient race called the Pallavas that ruled the region in the 7th century. These ancient monuments are mostly rock cut and monolithic, depicting various gods and the people of that era. It must have taken many men working patiently together to create these awe inducing relics of an ancient civilization. 

Pensive by the Firelight...

Fire is fascinating, watching the flames leap and devour the twigs you feed them is somehow relaxing. Here is a picture of a lady in a pensive mood, cooking something and staring into the orange glow.

To poke a wood fire is more solid enjoyment than almost anything else in the world.

Charles Dudley Warner

Oil Burnt Art...

A few drops of hot boiling oil splashed on my hand while frying chicken for my strictly non vegetarian husband. Here I've drawn flowers round the burned spots... my first ever oil burnt art and I hope the last.

Art is man's expression of his joy in labour.

Henry A. Kissinger

Uncle and Niece...

I like this picture... Tonio and baby Michelle. He likes to play with her and she seems to like him, she smiles when he is around (must be the resemblance to her dad). This picture was taken on my mobile phone hence the less than perfect image.

Babies are such a nice way to start people.

Don Herrold