Landscaped Garden, St. Thomas Jr. School

This is a landscaped garden adorning the St. Thomas Jr. School in Karol Bagh. This space is very close to my heart as I have played in this little ground as a girl in her school uniform, before the landscaping took over. Returning back to the school I suddenly felt like Gulliver on a miniature island. Everything that had been GIGANTIC as a child, seemed to have dwarfed significantly in the span of last 15 years. Hmmm life sure is a strange thing.

Gold Jewels

Jewels for the pretty ladies. This is the wedding season in India and several, despite the global crunch, can be seen hoarding shops like these. I managed to click an empty shop as I had reached it way before the market comes to its full glory. Happy shopping.

Parliament

A masterpiece by Akshat, my younger brother. This the Parliament of India on January 26 in its finery. Republic Day is the day India adopted its Constitution.

The Preamble Of the Indian Constitution States:

WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;

Lighted Rail Bhawan

This is Rail Bhavan, office of the Ministry of Indian Railways. With my mother working in the ministry for over 25 years now, I have practically grown in this office. Seeing it decorated and well lit up with the tri-color of our country proudly adorning its face, with the steam engine in the fore, I felt extremely proud and happy to click this particular photograph!

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Hilda from Manila, who is always Happy At Home and proudly shares My Manila with the world, tagged me to reveal five details about myself. And being a narcissist of the first order, my delight knew no bounds at the task… hehehe. So here I go:

1. I love to read and take ages to finish a book, as I tend to turn back pages several times.
2. Coffee, shopping and travelling have a neck to neck competition when vying for my attention.
3. Friends mean the world to me and I love to embarrass them by writing about them on Priyanka’s Point.
4. I love Shah Rukh Khan.
5. I am a true-blooded Gemini with 100 things on my mind all the time and another hundred that I try to work on at the same time.

Now I'm supposed to tag five other people. I hope they'll come out and play!

1. Patty Lincoln, Brookville
2. R.Ramesh, Dubai
3. Anu, Mumbai
4. One More Anu, Mumbai
5. Andrea, Hamburg

Happy Republic Day

My love for Delhi grows with each passing day. The city is decorated like a bride today and will be in her finery till January 29. This is the Raisina Hills, the seat of the government. The central dome is the Rashtrapati Bhawan, flanked on both the side by North and South block.

The lighting will continue till Beating Retreat on January 29. You had to be at Rajpath tonight to experience the magic and the festivity.

This photograph was clicked by my younger brother Akshat, while I drove around the heart of Delhi.

Shubh Kamnayein: Best Wishes

It is a festive time in Delhi, with the Republic Day parade just a day away. That is why I have a set of sweet boxes saying, "shub kamnayein" meaning Best Wishes. Its not all celebrations with the threat of terror looming strongly. Hope to receive your prayers and wishes for a peaceful time for my country and the city that I love so dearly.

With Rehman becoming almost a household name after the Golden Globe win and 3 Oscar nominations, I would like you to try and listen to the title track of his latest album "Delhi-6". I love it. Hope you too would like it too.

Award Again!!!

Deepak (from Time Of My Life) and Prachi (from Delhi with Avinash and Friends) presented me with this award. Thank you both, it is your regular comments that keep me going and the awards are a bonus. Thanks a ton!

The rules for the Friendship Award are simple:-
*Copy the badge and put it on your blog.
*Link back to the one who passed this tag to you.
*Spread this tag to at least 4 bloggers or more who you think you are friends with.

I would like to pass on this special award to my friends who blog:

1. Kanchan and Kshiteej: 361 Degrees
2. Vitendra Vyas: A Space For My Head
3. Yamini: Zindagi Ki Kalam Se
4. Charu: Chai Pe

Let each day be your masterpiece.

If this sky is not a masterpiece then I don't know what can be termed as one. Have a great start to the weekend. :-)

Mohan Singh Palace

Delhi is a place of designer lables and places where you can get good quality imitations made at affordable prices in sizes that will not force you to hold your breath and stomach inside for hours together. :-) This particular photograph is of one of the hundreds of shops at Mohan Singh Palace, which is a denim market. You can get any shade of denim you want here, the choice of threads, buttons and patches is also quite vast and a pair of jeans that would cost you not less than 2,500 rupees in a Levi store, you can get stitched here for nearly 500 rupees. Now that is a bargain!

Nalli Saari

Shopping is not just a happy activity it is more of a joyous occasion, especially if it is a saari that I am market hopping for. This man was the salesperson who ensured that I spent nearly 10,000 rupees on my latest trip to the saari store, Nalli. A trip to the store is highly recommended when you are in Delhi. The temptation of the fabric and the designs is something which is as hard to resist as a bag of Lays. :-)

Bata

This the place to buy shoes if you are Indian born before 1990, when the MNCs invaded our country and Nike and Reebok became the in-thing. Bata shoes is what we wore to school and to functions. For comfort and style, Bata is what parents said was the high-end thing, when the majority bought their shoes off the street vendors.

P.S: Bata is not paying me for promoting the firm... but i really really think they should. :-)

Award Time

Avinash, from Delhi with Avinash & Friends presented me with this award yesterday. It was great fun getting this award as I love getting awards :-)

The rules are :

* The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervade amongst different cultures and beliefs.
* The Blog contents inspire; strive to encourage and offer solutions.
* There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Cultures and Sciences and Beliefs.
* The Blog is refreshing and creative.
* The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.

The Blogger who receives this award will need to follow the following steps :

1. Create a post with a mention and link to the person who presented the Noblesse Oblige award.
2. Display the award conditions on the post.
3. Write a short article about what this blog has thus far achieved - preferably citing a post to support.
4. The blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award conditions.
5. The blogger must display the Award on their blog.
The five blogs I choose to receive this award are :

1. Jazzy from TuzlaDailyPhoto
2. Ramesh from Global Madrasi

3. Anu from Mumbai Daily Snapshot.
4. Amit Charles from Scribbler's Pad.
5. Indrajit from Eternal Sonatas.

Black And White Window Meeting

The Pomeranian dog,my neighbour's pet Bittoo, was engaged in a meeting with the colony crow (whom we have not christened so far). I believe the talks ended in a stalemate after the two parties barked and crowed respectively till their humans were wide awake.

P.S: Do suggest a suitable name for Mr Crow. Apparently he just has a last name and no first name. :-)

City Lights Up

This is how we in Delhi love to decorate even the trees and bushes when we are in a mood to celebrate. The lighting is similar for a new year eve's party, a wedding, or for a state celebration. Lights are an important part of celebrating. Here is wishing all the blog visitors several moments to celebrate in the days to come. :-)

Gol Guppas At Roopak Stores

This is one of the best chaat centres across the city. This is the Roopak Gol Guppa wala in Karol Bagh and I can guarantee you that once you have the gol guppas here you'll come back again and again. So I leave you today with a mouth-watering post.

Steel Gas Heater

This is a gas heater that most open venues use to ensure that the outing enthusiasts, like yours truly, do not die of the chill. Earlier, piles of coal were burned in iron tubs but this more sophisticated steel gas burner has my vote as some 20 such heaters actually raised the temperatures inside the tent, where I had gone for an event recently.

Makara Sankranti

A Happy Makara Sankranti to all.

Makara Sankranti refers to the event of the Sun entering the zodiac sign of Makara or Capricorn. In Hindu temples bells, drums, clarinets and conch shells herald the joyous occasion of Pongal. To symbolize a bountiful harvest, rice is cooked in new pots until they boil over. Some of the rituals performed in the temple include the preparation of rice, the chanting of prayers and the offering of vegetables, sugar cane and spices to the gods. Devotees then consume the offerings to exonerate themselves of past sins.

This is an evolution of rangoli that has emerged over the years in India. Flower petals are decorated over shallow clay vessels and floating candles are then placed on the water. Makes for an attractive decoration and the fragrance of the candles adds to the festivities.

Dismantled Mannequins

A set of dismantled mannequins always catch my eye. This range of legs, torso and busts were hiding in a shop in Karol Bagh. I had to explain to a bunch of salesmen that the clothes they had on sale did not impress me much, but it was this arrangement of mannequin's parts that caught my eye.

Purvottari, SPIRIT OF THE NORTH-EAST

Being the capital of India, Delhi hosts a lot of state festivals. I was fortunate enough to be invited by a friend and fellow blogger, Charu, to witness Purvottari, SPIRIT OF THE NORTH-EAST. The music and the festivities of the function were mind-blowing. Here are a few singers dressed in their regional best.

Foggy Morning!

Just as fog was almost about to disperse, I braved the chill and went out to click this photo!

Happy freezing winter over the weekend. :-)

Camel Joy-Ride

The turbaned man, a dressed camel, a child and his grandfather seated behind him. This is one of my favourite photographs. The camel joy-ride was conducted in Garden of Five Senses, when I went there last year.

Parking Lot From Office Terrace

The parking lot visible directly at the bottom of my office building. I clicked the top angle view as 1.) I was on the terrace trying to get a teeny-weeny bit of sun; 2.) Since I was on the terrace I was spoiled for choice and could just take this angle; 3.) I like top shots. They make me feel like a giant at the height of just 5'3". :-); 4.) The cold is so dreadful this time of the year (OK! agreed its not as bad as US r UK or even France or Canada, but I like to exaggerate) that exploring the city from the office terrace is the best bet I have to keep fueling the blog.

A nice and warm Wednesday to all. :-)

Garden, M-Block Market, GK-II

This is the garden just below my office. Some of my colleagues and I often go down here to have our tea during the chilling winters. The greens are a great remedy to brighten up the day when the sun is busy playing hide-n-seek with us. :-)

McDonanld's Advertisement

An advertisement that graces the glass wall of the McDonald's across India. Roughly translated from Hindi, it says, "in your age, food in the prices prevalent during your father's time." The two figures adorning the colourful poster are Bollywood actors - father-son duo - Dharmendra and Sunny Deol.

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) Building

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) building in Connaught Place is a landmark of sorts. I am not too sure whether this is a landmark achievement as far as architecture goes, but this building holds a special place in my life as over the years my friends and I have begun several days of fun from exactly this point.

Sparrows Return

I was overjoyed to spot sparrows in Delhi after almost 3 years. At one point in time these birds were very common in Delhi. As a child my grandmother used to make up stories to entertain me revolving around these little unconventionally beautiful species. Just to justify my excitement, I have put up 2 photos of the birds rather than the usual one that I post daily.

First Sun of 2009

On the second post of the year, I present to you the first sun of the year. The fog was so dense that I heard little children mistaking the sun for the moon. May the year ahead be a bright one for everyone across the world.

January Theme: Best Photo Of The Year

I am posting this photo today under the theme, best photo of the year, as this one is really special to me. I had taken special effort to go Qutb Minar and click the photograph that is the symbol for Delhi across the world. Hope all of you have a great 2009!

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