Pot bellied

Somewhere on the highway between Delhi and Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. Pot bellied tractors like these are a common sight during the harvesting season. However, one that has rolled over and regurgitated all of its contents onto the road is, pretty rare and as evident in the picture, stressful. I took this picture through the back window of a car doing 80 Km/hr on a highway. The light blue tint to the picture was caused by the plastic film that covered the window, a futile effort to keep the summer out of the car.

A little of both

They've been selling fruits on the beach next to each other for 15 years . One sold Sitaphal ( "Sita's fruit" ) and the other sold Ramphal ( "Ram's fruit" ). I'm not quite sure what the difference between the fruits are , but they insisted I took a little of both, so as to not leave any fruit "lonely". I didn't fall for the story, but I sure fell for the attempt. Both fruits were delicious.

49 days.

A monk prays at the funeral of a fellow monk . Buddhist believe that the process of rebirth takes approximately 49 days. Monks pray during this period to assist the consciousness of the deceased to pass from death to rebirth. 

The great debt

A fishing boat at Kasimedu, Chennai . This unassuming quiet harbor has a different face to it at dawn, when it is overrun by fishing vessels, fishermen, traders and restaurant owners. Fish is brought into the main land from here, in vast quantities  all within a few hours . One morning spent here amidst the crowd, cacophony and sea of dead fish (no pun intended) and it requires no great effort to imagine our immense dependence on the sea for food and the great debt we owe it .  

Prayers for the dead

A Sikkimese woman offers prayers for the dead at Khecheopalri Lake. Legend has it that this holy lake in West Sikkim fulfills wishes and is frequented by pilgrims, tourists, monks and engineering students who need to pass their second semester math exams.

A preview of things to come

The long months of winter, followed by the onslaught of a dusty sharp summer make the perfect ingredients for a thunder storm over the city of Siliguri.Warm summer days are interrupted by a preview of things to come, when the monsoons roll in and do their thing.    

A sobering experience

The Sun rises over Vedanthankal Lake Bird Sanctuary. A large variety of birds migrate to this quiet little lake in the outskirts of Chennai  from places as far as Siberia. They come in the thousands and coexist in absolute harmony with the environment and with each other. A beautiful sight and a sobering experience.

The Fussy Firefox

Because of its dwindling numbers in the wild, thanks to poachers, human encroachment and their extremely fussy mating habits (the female red panda is ready to mate only once a year) the red panda has been labelled "vulnerable" meaning "likely to become endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Conservationists are fighting to revive the red panda population by carrying out breeding programs in specialized zoos. The picture above is a pass-out of one such program.  Unusually bold, this panda poses for visitors at the Himalayan Zoo in Darjeeling.  


Trivia: The animal in the logo for the Internet Browser "Firefox" is not a fox but is actually a red panda. Source

Hornet attacks

A bee eating hornet attacks a hive with devastating efficiency. With little or no defense against the attacker, honey bees use their bodies as shields and attempt to seal any opening into their hive; A futile endeavor. Entire colonies of bees have been know to be wiped out  by as few as three hornets.

The Ritual

The Andamans have semi diurnal tides, a phenomenon where a coastal region see two high and two low tied each day. Fishermen study the sea by carrying out the ritual of  walking the beach before they head out to fish.

A conversation in silence

He sat on the deck of the ship and look out into the sea for the entire duration of the journey. A conversation in silence, in which no other human was welcome.

Morning light

Travellers brave the sub zero winter mornings  to catch the sunrise from Tiger Hill, Darjeeling. The Kanchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world, bathes in the morning light as the rest of the world slumbers in darkness below. 

Mummy

Beautifully preserved, this Egptian mummy is over 4000 years old. While most organs of mummies were often preserved in jar's, the brain was never given such an honor and was said to be useless. It was believed that the ability to think, feel and reason was a function of  the heart and as such was preserved with utmost care.

The mummy in the picture was not someone of significance in Egypt , but is a star attraction at the Calcutta museum.

Cooum

Two men work to clean up the Cooum river . This once clean and beautiful river flowed through the heart of Chennai and was often used for boating and sport. The river has over the years become too polluted and toxic for any such activity. Efforts are underway to clean the river up and it is estimated that the river will return to its glorious form in under ten years. 

Dalle

Dalles, meaning “round-ies”, is the third hottest chilli in the world. Extremely popular in the District of Darjeeling and Sikkim in the North east region of India . Local children can’t wait for the dance that follows after a tourist mistakes it for a cherry.

Long Forgotten

They threw off their ragged clothes and ran into the sea. They played and thrashed about, oblivious to the world as it passed them by, oblivious to the bustling city and the urgency it commanded, and oblivious to me; just another part of a world gone wrong. They played on, with a reckless abandonment I once knew. They spoke to the universe in a language I had long forgotten, a childhood ago. I watched with envy, for at that moment they were far richer than I could hope to ever be, for the universe was theirs.