Story of A Bride

An innocent child is playing in her own dream world...
A cheerful smile has spread all over her face...it is a bliss to see her face...
She is gamboling here and there around her father...
Her mother is also smiling with an eternal joy on her face and watching her enjoying...

The little girl has now started going to school...
She has got her 1st award on achieving the 1st success of her life...
The serene pride on her Dad's face is a pleasure to watch...as if her little girl has achieved the biggest thing in the world...
Her mother is pampering her with all the good food that she loves to eat...
All the little achievements are decorating her life one by one...
Her trophies...her awards...her prizes were adorning her room and her parent's world...

The girl is now in college...she has taken her 1st step to the outside world...
The insecure father is very much afraid of how her little angel will face the cruel world...
He has become overprotective and trying to protect her from all the evil things in this world...
But he does not know that her little girl is not little anymore...she knows how to take care of herself...
He has to let her face the world alone...The father-daughter clash started increasing...
Both are stubborn in their own world...
At last she finished her college...now the big step...she has to leave her city and has to go for her new life...her job...which is also a dream of her parents...the insecure father now has to take the toughest decision...he has to let go of her daughter to fight with the world all alone...

The anxious parents has ultimately allowed her to go and live her life on her own...They have their trust on her that she will never let them down...and she never let them down...
Then started a new chapter in her life...the Dad's little girl is going to start another big phase of her life...
she started making new friends...she started making her own little world which is very new to her...she found out family in her new friends...she found the treasure of her life...
At last she has fallen for the world's most beautiful and complex emotion...she has fallen in love...
The feeling was so new that she could not understand what is happening with her...
She found someone other than her parents who is as close as her parents are...whom she can trust...whom she can rely on...whom she found as a friend for life...
She did not take much time to share this all new improvement of her life with her parents...
Things all fell in place and they both decided to get married...

It is a dream of her parents to see her getting married...they have saved all their laugh...all their moments of joy...all their tears...all their smile...all their pride...all their emotions...only for this day...
Finally the day has come, when the Dad's little girl will traditionally step from the arms of her parents into the arms of the man she will marry...
When she is getting ready for her big day, all the random thoughts...her childhood memories...her moments of being upset...the proud face of her dad...the satisfying smile of her mother...her tangled emotions...her journey from a little innocent child to an independent dynamic lady...and her parent's devotion sacrifice to make her to what she is now...all these are continuously flowing through her mind...her eyes are fraught with all those mixed emotions and sparkling with an unknown fear as well as joy...the unfold mystery of the new world is terrifying her...and at the same time the unknown thrill is titillating her continuously....
The young dynamic cheerful lady will leave her comfort aerie, and the family dynamic is going to change forever as the newlyweds form their own family together...

Monsoon Again...

It was a lazy sunday....12 in the noon...as usual I was engrossed in my story book world and struggling to solve a murder mystery...trying to find all the clues and connect them to create my own world of murder stories...naturally I did not have any intention to look for any other things happening in this world...suddenly a loud peal of thunder struck my attention...it was so loud that it could break all the thick smoke of my mystifying murder world and could pull me out of my detective hat...I took a glance through my window and to my awe the sky was covered with tar black devilish clouds...and they are roaring continuously...as if they were so angry that I ignored their black beauty since so long...oh I am so sorry for that...
But...it was so appallingly beautiful....it was looking like the sky has adorned with a black dress all over....the flashes of lightening were enhancing its beauty...
Surprisingly, I totally came out of my sherlock hat and totally absorbed with the aesthetic beauty of this awesome nature....
Soon it started drizzling...the pearl drops of rain was creating its soothing pittering-pattering music...the sound was so tranquilizing that it could appease the most fidgety mind....the tree branches were thrashing each other as if they were dancing with joy and greeting nature's one of the most bewitching season....Monsoon......
The enticing aromatic smell of wet soil was mesmerizing...and inundating all over...
Refreshing wind was caressing my face with splashing raindrops and the cool breeze was fingering my hair...
I looked up in the rain and took a deep breathe...my mind started dancing with ecstasy...I could feel the child like smile appeared on my face....I could dreamt of dancing myself on the slosh of puddles....I could only hear one and only alluring noise of drizzle pattering softly on my face...
The exhilarating lush shade of green everywhere was mollifying my soul...
I was giggling...smiling...enjoying like an innocent child....it rejuvenated me with inexplicable bliss...
Finally...its time for a hot cup of tea...and to company it with hot pakodas....:)))
Its Monsoon time again.....

Prawn Mayonnaise

Prawn Mayonnaise

It is time for some yummy delicacies....
I had this dish at Mocambo, Kolkata's one of the best Continental Restaurant...the mayonnaise sauce, smashed egg yolk with teriyaki addition...fresh prawn, sauteed fresh vegetables had made it a perfect finger licking dish....you can taste the freshness of the prawns with every bite...the sweet and sour teriyaki sauce when gets blended with the smashed egg yolks, sauteed vegetables in mayonnaise and fresh marinated prawns..it just creates fireworks of a heavenly tastes and and you are ought to be enticed by this...

I bet looking at these enticing pictures, your taste buds have definitely started kicking your brain to go and have a bite of this...so folks...have a bite and let me know your views on this....

Love Needs a Reason

LOVE does Need a Reason

Why? Why do I love you?

Everyone says love does not need a reason to love...but is it really so?

They also say, if you find out a reason to love...then it is not love, it is like...bullshit!!!

Everything in this whole world happens for a reason and so does love....yeah..I might be sounding like a selfish...but it is true...if a person says there are no reason to love his/her partner but still he/she loves him....then it means, the other person have actually no value to be loved which is impossible....if you love someone there must be a reason....

May be....

It is the way you smile!!!!

Oh yeah...the way you shout!!!

Yes...I love you for all the silly little things you do...for the way you walk with your head high...for the way you become angry on me...for the way you feel for me....for the way you tackle your own hurdles...for the intellectuality you have...for the intelligence you show in your work...for the way you take care of others...for the way you show care in all the little things you do....for the way you show how strong you are but deep inside you love to have someone to hold your hand....and among all I love you for the golden heart you have....

Yes I love you for all the good and bad reasons...which makes you the person you are and which makes me to love you more and more day by day.....

BAUL-The MadCap

Baul - God's Madcap

 (Please click on the pictures for full screen view)

BAUL-on hearing this word, I just visualize a wild and free person wearing saffron robes, singing the song of life and love, keeping his face upward and playing a one stringent instrument called ‘Ektara’…the man is dancing, jumping, shaking his head madly and acting passionately….completely engrossed in the raw and mystic tune which conveys the feeling of eternal passion and divinity rolled into one….

Ore Chhere Dile Sonar Gour

Khyapa Chhere Dile Sonar Gour

Aamra Aar Pabo Na

Aar Pabo Na

Tomay Hrid Majhare Rakhibo

Chhere Debo Na

Click for full screen view

The word ‘BAUL’ comes from the Sanskrit word ‘Batul’ which means the air around one – the air of madness… The air that is filled with the richness of nature, the fragrance of the earth and its capacity to soothe and uplift….The word ‘BAUL’ also means the madness and eccentricity of a person who renounces all his comforts and possessions to unite with the Divine Being…Their madness arouses passion which makes them to sing and dance wildly forgetting everything around them…

Engrossed in music

They are bards, composers, musicians, dancers and actors all rolled into one, and their mission is to entertain…..through their songs, pauses, gestures, and postures, these nomadic mendicants spread the message of love and ecstasy to lands far and wide……

In a land devoid of mechanical entertainment, Baul singers are a major source of entertainment….People love to watch them sing and dance, their narration of folk tales, and even commentary on contemporary issues through highly melodious songs and an extraordinarily high-pitched rendition…..Although their lyrics speak the language of the village folks, their songs are appealing to one and all….It has its own raw and mystic charm….Bauls always keep their songs simple and direct, profusely emotional, enjoyable, and needs no special knowledge for appreciation….

Music knows no boundary

Bauls croon from their hearts and pour out their feelings and emotions in their songs, but the interesting fact is that they never bother to write down their songs….It is always in their mind…It is essentially an oral tradition, and it is said of Lalan Fakir (1774 -1890), the greatest of all Bauls, that he continued to compose and sing songs for decades without ever stopping to correct them or put them on paper…..It was only after his death that people thought of collecting and compiling his rich repertoire.

Some instruments

Bengal's greatest poet the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore wrote about the Bauls: "One day I chanced to hear a song from a beggar belonging to the Baul sect of Bengal...What struck me in this simple song was a religious expression that was neither grossly concrete, full of crude details, nor metaphysical in its rarefied transcendentalism. At the same time it was alive with an emotional sincerity, it spoke of an intense yearning of the heart for the divine, which is in man and not in the temple or scriptures, in images or symbols... I sought to understand them through their songs, which is their only form of worship." The songs of bauls and their lifestyle influenced a large swath of Bengali Culture, but nowhere did it leave it’s imprint more powerfully than on the work of Rabindranath Tagore.

The mystical nature of Tagore's lyrics is also a product of his affinity to these wandering bards. Edward Dimock Jr. in his The Place of the Hidden Moon (1966) writes: "Rabindranath Tagore put the Bauls on a higher-than-respectable level by his praise of the beauty of their songs and spirit, and by his frank and proud acknowledgement of his own poetic debt to them."

Spring is Here

 

Are you able to hear the sweet and melodious songs of cuckoos, twittering over the green twigs...

Are you able to see the swarm of bees humming around the blooming flowers......the freshly hatched butterflies flying towards sunshine...the green meadows everywhere with budding, beautiful, colorful and fresh flowers?

Are you able to feel the soft touch of fresh cool breeze with the music of soils?

Then you know, the enchanting, lovely and hopeful Spring is here......

 

As Robin Williams says, "Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"
Spring is the season of new beginnings. Buds of flow­ers peep to see the beautiful sight of nature. Flowers spread their sweet smell in all directions. Earth seems to come to life again wearing a green dress. The trees bring new leaves on their delicate branches. The fields grow new grass and the entire Nature becomes green and fresh-looking. Farmers and gardeners plant their seeds, and temperatures slowly rise.

It is full of transformations. The temperature rises to a more bearable degree, opposing Mother Nature's last few months of freezing surroundings. The leaves we saw fall and flowers we saw wilt are now budding into lush, green, picture-perfect plants.

 

It is a grand feast for our nature loving hungry eyes to capture the blithe and happy nature in it's full bloom....Here I represent Spring in my way....

 



 

 

To view the individual pictures please click on them below:
(And don't forget to share your feedback here)

EXIF Details: NIKON D7K, 18-105mm Lens at 105mm
f/5.6, 1/500sec., ISO-200, No flash, Edited in CS5







EXIF Details: NIKON D7K, 18-105mm Lens at 105mm
f/5.6, 1/500sec., ISO-200, No flash, Edited in CS5








EXIF Details: NIKON D7K, 18-105mm Lens at 105mm
f/5.6, 1/250sec., ISO-200, No flash, Edited in CS5

EXIF Details: NIKON D7K, 18-105mm Lens at 105mm
f/5.6, 1/1000sec., ISO-200, No flash, Edited in CS5

EXIF Details: NIKON D7K, 18-105mm Lens at 105mm
f/5.6, 1/125sec., ISO-200, No flash, Edited in CS5







EXIF Details: NIKON D7K, 18-105mm Lens at 98mm
f/5.6, 1/250sec., ISO-200, No flash, Edited in CS5








EXIF Details: NIKON D7K, 18-105mm Lens at 105mm
f/5.6, 1/400sec., ISO-200, No flash, Edited in CS5






EXIF Details: NIKON D7K, 18-105mm Lens at 105mm
f/5.6, 1/500sec., ISO-250, No flash, Edited in CS5






EXIF Details: NIKON D7K, 18-105mm Lens at 18mm
f/7.1, 1/200sec., ISO-200, No flash, Edited in CS5

 

Which one is Real

Mirror, mirror on the wall
I see what’s there but is that all?
Do I perceive what’s truly me?
Or is there more than what i see?
 Past the surface and what’s within
Why can’t I see beneath the skin?
Something's there I know it’s true
But how can I see it what can I do?
Do I turn away to truly see me?
Because there has to be more than what you show to me
Or is it shown can I just not see
What may be there in front of me?
can i look at the surface and truly see myself
Am I able to see what I’ve lost and what is left?
How will I know how can I see?
Past my skin and deep in of me?
I don’t know maybe I will one day
It is my will so I know I may.

I am......

I am a simple man. I believe in simple living. I am happy if I can take care of my family nicely, spend a good life and can perform all the responsibilities properly. My day starts with the 1st morning sun ray that touches the earth. Everyday, I wake up with a hope to make my life better. I work hard whole day to earn and at the end of the day I get the earnings which is enough to look after of my family.

I am carrying my forefathers' tradition and I am quite proud of it. Somebody should be there to carry forward their names and I am happily doing it.

But, nowadays, it seems it is not becoming enough for daily living. These days, people are more and more getting inclined towards the modernization. Modernization has touched it's magic wand everywhere and the world is changing faster than my imagination. I know, I can match the modernization by working little harder. Yes, I know I have to work harder.

I have started working harder. Summer or winter, I know the sun is also working hard to make my path tougher, but, hard working has no other replacement. I know I will be successful to get my job done in a better way. So, be it the scorching heat, be it raining heavily, be it the chilled winter I started working harder. But, unfortunately after doing all these I am only able to earn a meager two square meals a day for my family. What should I do to make my life better. Since my birth I have only learnt to earn my bread and butter in this way. What is going wrong with it. My days are becoming harder day by day. I am ready to give my service whole day, I never care for my health when it comes to give my service, I don't care of the nature of the weather, still I am lagging behind time, I am getting defeated by the modernization. When everybody is going ahead of time I am lagging behind in spite of giving my heart and soul to the work. Is this what I should get to carry the old tradition with me since this long time? After all I am a Rickshaw Puller.....

 

This is what is today's story of a rickshaw puller. A person is a rag that pulls a rickshaw is called rickshaw puller. He is often seen here and there on the road, in market complexes, near cinema halls, schools, hospitals etc.

A rickshaw puller leads a very hard life. He earns little to meet two square meals a day for his family. He never cares for his health and pulls his rickshaw for maximum hours in a day. Apart from carrying person or persons, he carries goods like vegetables, tea and other things in the form of packed or unpacked bundles.

Nowadays some rickshaw pullers are seen engaged in carrying school children. It gives them a permanent income. And what is more, they get a change in their hard life in the company of the small children.

No matter to whom they pull, but it looks very pathetic in itself. It is really a great pity. It is the dark side of our social traditions that a man has to pull two or three persons to earn his livelihood without caring the nature of the weather. In this advanced age, when there are various transport facilities, rickshaw pulling is still in existence on a mass level.

Pulling of human beings by a man is a curse upon society. Hence, rickshaw pullers must be given full support from the Government in the form of loan so that they may purchase auto-rickshaw or may start some other business thus, they will be able to earn more money by comparatively less manual labour. It will also make their family life a little bit more comfortable. They will be able to educate their children in order to make them worthy citizens of the country.

But it does not seem that rickshaw pulling will come to a complete end because it has been in existence from a long time. Even in 18th century man used to pull Palki or wood cart on foot, which was perhaps more miserable. Hence, so long it is in existence, it is the moral duty of common people to be sympathetic to the rickshaw pullers.

Sometimes it has been seen some people do not pay reasonable wages to them and start quarrelling in loud voice. Poor rickshaw puller becomes helpless and satisfies him with whatever he gets from such quarrelsome persons. We must change our attitude towards him.

He gives valuable service to us. Sometimes when it is scorching heat and we find ourselves unable to walk on foot, we take his service. We sit in the shade while the rickshaw puller pulls us wiping sweat with a piece of cloth every now and then.

We must feel the rickshaw puller's misery and be a little more lenient towards him. If we do not pay him more than the real wage, it's alright. But we should never underestimate his labour.

 

Festival of Colors - Part 3

Holi celebration takes place with lot of joy and verve throughout the country. The enthusiasm of the people reaches its peak and matches with the nature which is in full bounty at the time of Holi.
It gives much liberty to the people to let their hair loose and enjoy their hidden crazy self.

Differences of any sort are drowned in the coloured waters of Holi and people just enjoy being a play animal. To further enhance the festive spirit of Holi celebrations we have a social sanction to get a kick with the tradition of bhang. Then there is total wildness as people dance to the rhythm of dholak and sing traditional folk songs in loudest possible pitch.

Children particularly enjoy the festival as they throw water filled balloons at passersby...and if anybody stares..they have ready answer, 'Bura na mano Holi hai..' and evoke a smile on the irritated face. Besides, they have their water missiles, called pichkaris to drench the person from far and escape further drenching. People also play with gulal or 'Abeer' which is available in various bright colors like - pink, magenta, red, yellow and green etc...

In the midst of these colouring games are savoured the mouth watering holi specialties like gujiya, malpuas, mathri, puran poli, dahi badas etc and downed with glasses full of thandai.

In some states there is also a tradition of breaking the pot full of buttermilk which is hung high on the streets. A group of boys form a human pyramid and one of them break the pot. All this while womenfolk throw buckets of colour water on them and sing folk songs.

And after a wild and eventful day, evenings are celebrated in a dignified manner by visiting friends and relatives. People exchange sweets and hug each other conveying the warm wishes for Holi. These days there people also participate and organise Holi Meets and enjoy the festival till late in the night.

Holi celebrations that starts with the burning of Holika on the eve of Holi thus culminates with the lot of fun-filled activity and bonhomie. However, at some places specially Mathura and Barsana Holi celebrations continue for a week as each major temple organise a Holi bash on different day. Lovers of the festival enjoy every moment to the fullest.

 

Festival of Colors - Part 2

It is said that Holi existed several centuries before Christ. However, the meaning of the festival is believed to have changed over the years. Earlier it was a special rite performed by married women for the happiness and well-being of their families and the full moon (Raka) was worshiped.
Today, this festival of Holi is regarded as a celebration of the Colors of Unity & Brotherhood - an opportunity to forget all differences and indulge in unadulterated fun. It has traditionally been celebrated in high spirit without any distinction of cast, creed, color, race, status or sex. It is one occasion when sprinkling colored powder ('gulal') or colored water on each other breaks all barriers of discrimination so that everyone looks the same and universal brotherhood is reaffirmed. This is one simple reason to participate in this colorful festival.

The festival starts with Holika Dahan(Bonfire) on the night before Holi where people gather, sing and dance. The next morning is free for all carnival of colors, where everyone plays, chases and colors each other with dry powder and colored water, with some carrying water guns and colored water-filled balloons for their water fight. Anyone and everyone is fair game, friend or stranger, rich or poor, man or woman, children and elders.

The frolic and fight with colors occurs in the open streets, open parks, outside temples and buildings. Groups carry drums and musical instruments, go from place to place, sing and dance. People move and visit family, friends and foes, first play with colors on each other, laugh and chit-chat, then share Holi delicacies, food and drinks. In the evening, after sobering up, people dress up, visit friends and family.



Next: Festival of Colors-Part 3

Festival of Colors - Part 1

Holi or Holika or Phagwah or Basant Utsav or Dol Jatra or Festival of Colors or Festival of Love 

- There are so many names for just one festival that is celebrated widely all over India, different regions have different name.Yes today, on the auspicious occasion of Phalgun Purnima(full moon day in the month of Phalugn), we all Indians are celebrating Holi, which signifies the beginning of the season Spring, which is the most colorful festival mainly celebrated by the followers of Vedic Religion or Hindus. Historians also believe that Holi was celebrated by all Aryans but more so in the Eastern part of India.

But in recent times, it has also become popular among non-Hindus in many parts of South Asia, in some parts of Europe, North America as a spring celebration of love, frolic and colors.

The festival has many mythological interesting stories behind it. Let me tell you 3 of them:

1) Some people says it is highly associated with Hindu Gods Krishna and Radha. Hindus think of them as the God of Love, so the festival is also called as Festival of Love.

According to the legend, Krishna was jealous of Radha’s fair complexion. He told about this to his mother Yashoda, she teasingly asked him to color Radha’s face. So that's how it started.

2) Another legend says, it is associated with demon king Hiranyakashyap. Hiranyakashyap wanted everybody in his kingdom to worship only him, but to his great disappointment, his son, Prahlad became an ardent devotee of Lord Naarayana. Hiaranyakashyap commanded his sister, Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap. Holika had a boon whereby she could enter fire without any damage on herself. However, she was not aware that the boon worked only when she enters the fire alone. As a result she paid a price for her sinister desires, while Prahlad was saved by the grace of the god for his extreme devotion. The festival, therefore, celebrates the victory of good over evil and also the triumph of devotion.

3) According to another legend, Lord Krishna killed the demonic ‘Putna’ on this day. And gowalas and gopiyas played Rasleela to celebrate it. Krishna played with colors to celebrate the victory of good over evil on this day.

The below picture gives you just a glance of how Holi is celebrated....

Taken at Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India, on the occasion of Basanta Utsav

Next: Festival of Colors-Part 2

Enigma

His dress told her nothing, but his face told her things which she was glad to know.

~A.A. Milne

Aaahhhhhh.....there are so many things to talk about....will you have the patience to hear that????Ok...let me take that as an Yes...:P..even if you do not want to know, you can easily turn the page off...hahaha...so all these, what I am speaking, are just to make a preface before I start....:D....

Soooo.....Yes....his face told her everything that she wanted to know....that she was eager to hear since long time.....mystery

Actually it is not the face....those eyes.....those mysterious puzzling deep dark black eyes....which have hidden so many mysteries.....so many interesting stories....so many thoughts....so many emotions...which hardly comes out in front of anybody....but...at the end he gives up to those eyes which open up all the stories....you will just have to have the wish to read those eyes....I would love to read them life long to solve the mysteries......and when you will be able to solve all the mysteries by simply looking at those eyes......then.....it is such a pleasure to watch him from far and just notice his body language, it tries to hide all the things that he thinks....but he has to abdicate to his mysteriously beautiful eyes...which now says it all without his consent.....

Haahh...so I could manage without blabbering a lot......

Attitude

Hey, are you the one, who has the tendency to stay up at night listening to music that reminds her of her current situation.

Are you the one, who hides her fears, hurt, pain and tears under the smiles, laughs and giggles on a daily basis.

Are you the one, who wear her heart on her sleeve.

Are you the one, who prays that things will work out just once and she'll be satisfied.

The one, who screams and cries to her pillows because everyone else fails to listen.

The one, who has so many secrets but wont tell a soul.

The one, who makes mistakes and regrets as a daily moral.

The one, who never wins.

The one, who stays up all night thinking about that one boy and hoping that he'll notice her one day.

The one, who takes life as it comes.

The one, who is hoping that life will get better somewhere down the road.

The one, who loves with all her heart although it always gets broken.

The one, who thinks it's over.

Then you are the one, who is beautiful on her own unique way, with all your mischievousness, with all your mistakes, with all your foolishness......Cheers to all those lovely girls........

~ Inspired by Zyan Malik's writing