We’re back at home after a wonderful vacation. I haven’t sorted out all the photos as yet, but once I do, I will post a few photos here as well. Here’s a shot that I took before leaving, but the sun is still shining in this little corner of my living room. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
..of greatness or self-destruction.
It’s in our hands to decide our future. Let us not elect people who enter politics for their own personal reasons, to divide us, to rule us, but let us elect those who want to serve, those who love this country and those who want to see it prosper.This is a photo I posted after the Mumbai terror attacks.
This is a walking bridge that connects the Dubai Mall (new-new) to the Souk Al Bahar (old-new, newly built but made in the old style) shopping area. It’s actually just another small mall, but a lot of the shops here sell traditional Arabic things….carpets, stuffed camels, shisha pipes, and so on.
Besides these traditional stores, there are some great restaurants here such as Dean & Deluca (there is another Dean & Deluca in the Dubai Mall as well, along with a D&D supermarket as well) , a great Italian place called Urbano and so on.
Both malls overlook the Burj Dubai and the area between them will be flooded once the Dubai creek is extended all the way here, making all of Bur Dubai an island. Yes, I know it’s really quite mind boggling!
Also, the largest musical fountain (like they have in LV) will be in-between the malls as well. Currently, construction on the Burj Dubai and the fountains is still ongoing, so there’s not much of a view.
Going for early morning walks has been quite a revelation for me. I really didn’t think I would enjoy them so much…well, I don’t want to get ahead of myself, since I’ve not been going regularly lately. I love them for their silence and peacefulness, for my clear thoughts, for the fresh air, for a sense of accomplishment that I feel and for so many more reasons. Here’s a shot that I took one morning. It’s really not as early as it looks…with the sunrise so much later these days, it’s easy to get shots like this much later on.
I’ve always loved art, even though I was never good at drawing or painting myself. It wasn’t until I took my Art 101 class in college that I realized that I was good at other things in art, such as more crafty things, collages, and so on. Now I realize that I am good at photography too 
I try to buy some art from each place that we have lived in. I don’t care whether it is large or small, a famous artist or an unknown student, my only requirement is that it must appeal to me, and that I must be able to have it on my walls. So nothing gory or ghastly for me, but not the other extreme of flowers and puppies either. The print in the picture is an etching of a gladoli and I bought it in Bangalore, at the annual arts fair. I wish I had bought some more.
Here’s a photo that I took on my trip in September. I’ve always loved to travel, but I never used to take photos of things and sights alone, it was always with people, as in us. But this time, I completely enjoyed myself taking photos of the sights and scenery around me and I’m so glad that I did, since I now have them to remember that lovely time. Really looking forward to the next trip now!
There is something special about the morning light, isn’t there? It washes everything in a beautiful light, glossing over the imperfections, hiding the ugliness and presenting a picture of pristine beauty. Interestingly, this works not only for beautiful sights but even for odd stuff….in the soft morning light, everything ends up looking beautiful.
Here’s a shot that I took just before 7am on vacation in Mussoorie.
Taking photographs has become a wonderful and fun part of my life in the past year. My camera is good but still quite basic and I plan to upgrade it sometime, not sure what I should get, but I’m sure I’ve lots of people to ask for advice from on flickr! Till then, I am making the most of my current camera, since it’s small size means that I can take it everywhere and anywhere! Here’s a photo from our vacation to Mussoorie in September.
I find it very interesting that there are so many things that we see these days that we actually end up blocking things, since there is only so much information that we can take in at a time. Everywhere you go, there are signs to catch your attention, things for you to see, lights flashing and constant, so the thing that happens is that while we end up taking in more information, we cannot process or remember it and so it just goes to waste. Which is why I am finding taking a camera along for my morning walks as such a cool way to notice, see and remember things. Here’s a shot that I took several months back. Enjoy!
I’ve been on quite a roll with my reading these past few months and am thrilled about it. I recently finished reading Fareed Zakaria’s The Post-American World and found it to be a very engrossing read. I started reading books on current affairs a few years ago when I read Longitudes and Attitudes by Thomas Friedman. Since then, I have become hooked to reading this genre of books as well books on economics, social behavior and culture such as The World is Flat, Freakonomics and Why we buy? Other than travelogues, this has become my favorite type of reading.
