Paper Lamps

We went to Jaipur a couple of months back. There was a festival going on along with an exhibition of handicraft. Most of the items were stunning. So were these paper lamps, or should I name them paper lamp shades. See how intricate and ethnic the work on the paper lamps is! It has a pure Indian touch, won't you say so?



I knowingly set my camera to take dark photographs to receive better colors using the bright light emitting from inside the paper lamps put on display at night.



What do you say? Was my setting correct?

26 Food Art Photos

Note: I received the above photos of food art in an email forward. These are not photographed by me. The copyright and credit of these photos remain with the original photographers. If you are one of the original photographers of these images of food art, please let me know; I'll very happily link back to you :)

House in heaven

My mood of monsoon is getting high. Have you seen my previous post on Lightning Bolt? See it; you will know why. The soothing breezes mentioned by me in that post have turned into mild showers of rain today. There was lightning also! The climate was so romantic I wished I jump out of the office window, fly to Megha and take her to a long drive on my Pulsar. As I could not do that, I am publishing this post from the past year post monsoon.

Driving back home after visiting the stunningly beautiful Varandha Ghat, a house made me stop the car. Let me express it as a house in heaven. Here is its photo…



The house in heaven had a great view in its farm…



There was a small hill behind the house in heaven. The hill had a big tree…



This is the road that lead to the house in heaven…

Sports Betting

Sports betting has become such a huge thing that even pure minds are becoming wicked. It's a lure that most are trying to avoid, but are getting engaged into without even realizing. Well, whatever it may be, good and bad are decided by humans. Even if it is bad, people are betting on sports from the very past in the history.

The recent times have openly allowed many bookies to take even a larger advantage of sports betting. Take the IPL cricket for example. The whole thing is so huge in terms of everything, including financials, that bookies are making manifold profits compared to their jobs in the past. Of course, some people must have lost their fortunes. But some made fortunes as well!

In India, recently a good movie was released based on sports betting. I don't recall the name, but it had great reviews all over.

And oh yes, the options are so many that there are special sports picks one can have a look at.

Lightning Bolt

Soothing breezes today reminded me the times of monsoon. I don't know why, probably because I am born and brought up in the monsoon-blessed part of the world, but monsoon has a great effect on me, just like sun, moon, terrain, water, trees, flowers, birds, and almost everything. Have you ever wondered what these things are and why these things are like they are. Well, the amazement cannot be expressed in words, and that is not even the topic of this post.

What I was writing was the remembrance of my rendezvous with monsoon year after year. The bond is tightening as it is aging. The remembrance made me look for the past season's photographs. Although, there is a dedicated post that I published last season — see monsoon photos, I found 2 pre-monsoon photographs of lightning bolts. These photographs were also enough for me to feel the joy of the arriving season. It's not away; just around 12 days to go in my part of India. It must have reached the Lakshadweep already. Until it reaches me, let me share you the photographs of the last year's lightning bolts pre-monsoon.



The above one was a very striking one. The one below was not so striking, but was the most beautiful one; see — it's a bunch of strings of lightning.

Fariyas Reception

A few months back, we went to Fariyas Resort for a cousin's wedding. The reception was simply stunning, and so was the whole of the resort. Well, I did not photograph all sections. But when I was at the reception at night, I did not miss the opportunity of taking a photograph. What do you say? How's it?

Green Bee-eater [Merops orientalis]

When we were looking for migratory birds a few months back on the shores of the reservoir of Veer dam, we spotted this Green Bee-eater. Although Green Bee-eater is a native and commonly found bird, it is no less beautiful than the migratory birds we were looking for. Look at the colors and finish. Doesn't it look like from paradise?



Some facts…
• The scientific name of Green Bee-eater is Merops orientalis
• As the name suggests, Green Bee-eater relates to the bee-eater family of birds
• It is found in almost all parts of Asia, some parts of middle-east, some parts of Egypt, northern Africa and many surrounding locations
• Green Bee-eater has many sub-species also with variations in plumage, size, etc.
• Green Bee-eaters are found in forests, grasslands and thin scrubs, usually away from waterbodies



Isn't is beautiful?

FALTU

I recently saw a movie named FALTU [full form: Fakeerchand and Lakeerchand Trust University], where in some students start a university and they don't even realize it until it becomes a topic of criticism. The movie has a good idea of letting the students do what they want to, to learn what they are interested in. However, there has to be a practical way of doing it.

In the similar context, not very similar actually, there are some online universities also, which facilitate freedom in education system. There are some disadvantages to it, but probably the advantages are more in number and rating. What's your opinion?

One of my friends is learning to play drums and other musical instruments. I am planning to suggest him online degree programs in music. If you can suggest some top ones that any of your friends/family have had good experience with, do give your input in the comments section below.

For those in need, please share the link to Free Application For Federal Student Aid at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

Gorgeous Garden

Note: I received the above photos of gorgeous garden in an email forward. These are not photographed by me. The copyright and credit of these photos remain with the original photographers. If you are one of the original photographers of these images of gorgeous garden, please let me know; I'll very happily link back to you :)