Seeking blessings

In most of the Indian houses, it is considered auspicious to seek the blessings of God before we begin any new work or a journey. Since I will be leaving for a 5-day long holiday to the heart of India - Madhya Pradesh, I thought it was apt to post the photograph of this small temple I had spotted in the lanes of East Delhi.

Hoping that your week will be filled with joy, wonder and adventure... I seek your best wishes and blessings to ensure my trip to Khajuraho and Panna Tiger Reserve is refreshing and full of anecdotes. :-)

Stop Asking Me To Smile

Never before anyone asking me to smile irritated me this much! A weighing machine at Sarvana Bhavan, a restaurant that serves delicious South Indian food, was asking people to smile. A very rude demand coming from a weighing scale I think. :-)

State Emporiums

This is the lane of state emporiums. These are government owned shops which have been established to promote the crafts and textiles of each state of India. It is one of my favourite places to take guests, who come from outside of India. Shopping here is bliss as you can buy souvenirs from the whole of India in a matter of couple of hours.

Chaat Street

Among other things, Delhi is famous for its street food. Lot of fried stuff of different shapes, a generous helping of boiled potatoes, sauces and chutneys of different kinds, curd and some dark dingy space are the ingredients for fun evenings. I have taken a series of photos as I went nearer my target -- a plate of Papdi Chaat. :-)

View of the dark street with the colourful umbrellas the only indication of good food!

As I went nearer, the aroma and the good food had me salivating.

After waiting for about 10 minutes for my turn, the shopkeeper gave me what I wanted to make my life meaningful... hehehe...


A plate of yummy Papdi Chaat.

Promise to treat you to a plate of Papdi Chaat next time we meet on the streets of Delhi! :-)

Venkatesh, Nalli Saree Shop

This is Venkatesh, who assisted a friend and me on our recent saree shopping spree at Nalli. He was very business-like to begin with, showing little interest in what I had to say. Once I clicked his photo and asked him his name, he was very sweet to us and helped us pick a beautiful saree. One of my most favourite teachers, Sabiha Farhat, had taught me, almost unknowingly, that a smile and a few kind words are all it takes to make someone feel important.

Delhi Photo Diary In The Sunday Guardian

Recently, I was interviewed by The Sunday Guardian about when I started Delhi Photo Diary. Here is the article for all you. :-) To Read, Click on the photo, and then enlarge :-)

Gurdwara Rakab Ganj

This is Gurdwara Rakab Ganj, located just 5 minutes away from my house. This is a Sikh temple and was decorated for the occasion of Baisakhi, which is a harvest festival celebrated across the various states of India. The Gurudwara was looking like a jeweled crown with the beautiful lights.

On Road View

Not the safest thing to do, but there are times while driving on Delhi roads that it becomes impossible to control myself from clicking photos. The one below warns the others on road of a 'Risky Rider' from 'Ligal Crime Club'. I love the fact that the Delhi drivers not only boast but enjoy a spelling mistake once a while. Atleast I enjoy their mistakes. :-) Enlarge the photo to have a better look.

Walled City

This photograph was taken at one end of the Walled City or Old Delhi. The Old Delhi area is surrounded by the walls of Red Fort. This here is an extension of the wall of Red Fort. Walking in this area gave me the feeling of being present in two very different eras at one time. I believe, like many other people who love the city, Delhi has magical powers of transporting a person from the present to past and even to the future. :-)

Generation to Generation

The lady in the white saree is like a grandmother to me. My Marathi friends and I call her 'Aaji' (granny). The little baby - Idhika is a friend's daughter. When Idhika grows up and learns to talk, she will call her 'Panji' (great grandmother). The love with which Aaji was talking to Idhika was heart-warming, and seeing Idhika responding to her was endearing.

Triveni Kala Sangam: Installations, painting, sculptures

Installations, painting, and sculptures were on display at the Treveni Kala Sangam over the last week. Portrayal of various aspects of life in a city had been done using these three different art forms. The exhibit was powerful and considering that it was a work of upcoming artists, it was more so commendable.

Jantar Mantar: Crevices, walls, windows, Maths

Jantar Mantar has it all. Here are some parts of the Jantar Mantar that caught my eye.

One level in the wall has a series of small windows to let the sunlight in for the measurement of time.

The structure is complex. Stairs, bridge, sun dials... you can spot a lot here.

The above image shows what lies below the sun dial. The image bellow shows the dial in its full bloom.

Pythagoras must have inspired the structure below. Wild guess.

Jantar Mantar: Confesstions of love

The sad part of visiting any monument is seeing these love messages scribbled across the walls. Though I strongly condemn such a hobby, some of these messages did amuse me and managed to bring a smile on my face.

The first photograph captures the love of a girl for Ranjan and in the left hand corner you will find that Saddam actually loved a girl called Heena.


A healthy mix of cultures can be seen in this scribble, 'Baby' an English word has been written with 'Jaan' meaning dear or life itself in Persian/Urdu/Hindi.

The last in the series a No Entry sign painted, very un-artistically I might say, on a inner door of the majestic heart-shaped structure.

Jantar Mantar

This majestic structure is located in the heart of Delhi, Connaught Place, and is merely 10 minutes drive away from my home. But unfortunately, I had never had the chance to see the place before this Saturday. Jantar Mantar was built by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur in the 1700s.

He was a patron of sciences and built five such structures across north India to calculate correct time. There are two sundials at the Delhi Jantar Mantar complex and there are a total of 13 architectural astronomy instruments. This is the inner structure of the cylindrical structures.
The shadow of the central pillar on the horizontal rays was measured to calculate time.
This is the view of the complex from atop the first structure I posted.

Delhi Logo #2

This is the second logo in the series which caught my fancy at the Delhi Domestic airport. The inner circle is made India Gate , the middle circle is Jantar Mantar and the outer circle is Red Fort. While India Gate and Red Fort have been covered extensively on Delhi Photo Diary, I will be posting a series on Jantar Mantar soon.

Delhi Logo #1

I spotted this logo at the Delhi Domestic airport. the inner circle is made of Qutub Minar, the middle circle is India Gate and the outer circle is Lotus Temple. All three have been featured on the blog from time to time. I will post a similar logo with different monuments tomorrow.

Chillam

Chillam is a long tubular pipe, usually used for smoking marijuana or tobacco. I do not smoke or encourage smoking but I could not resist clicking a photograph of these beautiful chillams I saw at the local potter's. While I was indulging in the clicking the photograph the lady selling the earthenware reprimanded me and said, "This is not good for girls!" It took me some time to convince her that I would not be the one smoking. She was sweet with her concern.

Waiting

I saw this old man waiting in the bylanes of Old Delhi for some generous soul to come and give him food. My guess is that he is a homeless and depends on the charities of others for survival. He was happy to be photographed.

Scorching Summer Day

A typical scorching summer day in Delhi. The trees look haunted without their green blankets.

The Blue Mug

I was lucky enough to catch the play - The Blue Mug, at Kamani auditorium, yesterday. The brilliant ensemble of Ranvir Shorey, Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Sheeba Chadha, Munish Bhardwaj and Konkona Sen Sharma, portrayed six characters, who go down the memory-lane and re-collect incidents of their lives - some important and some irreverent. It was an evening well spent.


Tickets coutsey Charu. Hope your cousin gets well soon.

Hot Babe

A lot of my male friends have been complaining that Delhi Photo Diary is devoid of hot babes. So on popular demand, this is one of the hottest babes that I recently had the good fortune of spotting in the by lanes of Delhi.

April Theme Day: Red: Horns

To welcome the month of April, CityDailyPhoto decided the theme as RED. I could think of nothing better but these RED devil's horns that are sold around the India Gate gardens. If you follow cricket, you would know that the Delhi DareDevils represent my city in the Indian Premier League. Most supporters wear these horns, which can be lit by pushing a small switch. I hope the month of April proves lucky for Delhi and the team fares well in the ongoing IPL.

Happy April!

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