The Flower of the Creator - Part 2

This is the one of the pleasures of the monsoon is the number of invitations i get from friends to come and view this flower blooming in various gardens and balconies.

 This is the season for blooming of the Brahma Kamal also know as Saussurea Obvallata.


The flower named after Bramha, the God of creation, blooms for only one night in the year, during the monsoon season here. The bloom lasts just for a few hours. If one observes closely, the buds look like they originate from the leaves of the plant. The central white stamen is believed to represent Lord Krishna, and the reddish brown stalks surrounding the closed bud are supposed to represent the 100 Kauravas of the Mahabharata.



The thing that does NOT come across in this complicated description, is the enchanting perfume of the flower as you enter the balcony and bend nearer to click. I have just found out that the leaf of that plant takes root when planted in the soil.

I am planning to acquire my own plant. Some say it brings luck....

Life and times of Mr. Snail.....

                                   Found Mr. Snail relaxing on the greens near the Swimming pool.

                                                                Home Sweet Home!

Tree Surgery.

I have seen this tree since the last 15 years. Leaning across the bridge leading to the swimming pool which continues to be my daily haunt. Lately one had been troubled by vague smells coming from the tree as one walked  by. Looks like the tree doctor recommended surgery.

Effects of radical amputation. The age of the tree is known from studying the whorls seen along side.

I wonder what the whorls say. Is there a  life in the future for this tree?

The amputated parts were a feast for the monsoon creatures that seem to thrive in this season.

One Day, Fun Day.

Nothing as dull as a dark overcast monsoon sky.

Dark and Dangerous

Darker and Threatening

During the break in the rains i was out in the evening by the lake side. These lawns are normally full of children playing.

There is never a free place on this bench any evening usually. This a favorite spot for students,parents,visiting grandparents,walking ladies etc.

There is always something encouraging at the end of a dull day. I reached home to see my mom preparing veggies for a pasta dish.

I just realized i had the colors of the Indian flag.

 Life is more fun and sizzling when we are all mixed up together..........


Something sorely needed to be understood in these difficult times in Mumbai.

Monsoon Going-ons.....

The Guesthouse at the campus is surrounded by a lot of natural as well as landscaped greenery. Monsoon is a  good time to observe the going-ons. The guesthouse is on the banks of the Powai lake situated between the lake and an internal man-made pond which u see below.

They take care of there own......Torrential rains, stamping humans, wet mud, dogs running around, whipping winds :   and quietly to one side a concerned Ant helps take an injured/ dead relative safely home across the leaf.

Color Me Gold.....!

Living in a high rise has its advantages. There is a cloud movie happening everyday. I watch, enjoy and click......

Late summer clouds.... Fascinating how the color changes!














 

I zoomed in on the same clouds in the above picture....

Photographed looking westward from the terrace of our building. Notice the strip of  Powai Lake next to the silhouette of the tallest building.....

Experimenting in creating the same sunset colors.....

Road leading to the swimming pool at I.I.T where i practice.

Clicked with a self timer, keeping the  camera on the road divider.

It was 8:30 pm, dark and the halogen light was doing its sun-impersonation.

The Glorious Green.

The green of the land was as enchanting as the grey of the sea.... Further pictures from our Konkan road trip.

A view of the Konkan Railway that passes through very difficult terrain. The first major railway project after the British left. This is a view on the Pen - Mangaon stretch.

A View of Velneshwar village from the MTDC holiday home on the hill near the beach.

A typical road leading to the village, Nevre.

My paternal ancestors came from Nevre.....

En route to Ratnagiri on the newly opened coastal highway. The coconut and rice landscape between Nevre and where we were, on the hill. 

Is it true for people or houses?



Some old, simple and native....Some prosperous, modern and new....

(visiting the village from where my mother's ancestors came)

A typical view from the mountain roads in Konkan.....The undulating green Konkan landscape and a river sneaking by....











Please shut off the music in this blog by scrolling down the side bar and then watch the video. Konkan in all its monsoon glory.......

Kokan Monsoon 2010.

Road Trip to Kokan during the monsoon of 2010. All these pictures are taken at various beaches of Guhaghar, Velineshwar and  Ganapatipule. The sea looks different during the monsoon and these are not taken in B/W. This is how the sky and ocean actually looked. With a roaring wind.........

Driving on hilly terrain above the coastline. A view of the native village at Velineshwar.

Ganapatipule beach wave games......

The mountains along Kokan coastline have thousands of these waterfalls.

Please shut off the music on this blog (scroll to the bottom of side bar) and click below to hear the Kokan waves.

It maybe grey but it's not my mothers hair.....:-)

No this isn't a picture of anybodys hair!

This was a massive tree at the entrance to our building (6 storeys ). The tree was taller than the building...... This was cut down by the maintenance people claiming that rot had set in.... The bark was slipping away and this is what was inside....

Click...Click

This is the camera which i use.... :-)

The Flower of the Creator.

Unique flowering of Bramhakamal, clicked at my grandmothers house in Pune......

"Bramhakamal" the flower named after Bramha, the God of creation, (or or Saussurea Obvallata , if you insist on its boring botanical name) blooms for only one night in the year, during the monsoon season here. The bloom lasts just for a few hours. If one observes closely, the buds look like they originate from the leaves of the plant. The central white stamen is believed to represent Lord Krishna, and the reddish brown stalks surrounding the closed bud are supposed to represent the 100 Kauravas of the Mahabharata.

Sunsets.

I live on the shores of the Powai Lake. Some sunsets as clicked from my Nokia 6303........

Clicked from the Ganapati immersion point..........

A typical bank of the Powai Lake..... Clicked on the same time.









 

Looking westwards from the same point....

Golden Sweetness.

Just finished making these Gulab Jamuns.....

Resting in sugar syrup....

Sightings of Heaven

Clicked while cycling through Hiranandani area of Powai, at 7 am, on my Nokia 6303.

Feels like heaven !

Let there be light !

  Heaven confirmed.....

Another click around the corner in Hiranandani.

The grandeur.

Sun-dappled paths.

The long and straight road..... Approach road to my building clicked on my Nokia 6303 early morning 7 am.....

Coral Design

We lugged these coral structures back from our trip to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands..... Found on the beach in Dec 2009

This sample was immersed in water in a shallow part of the beach........

This was stuck in the sand away from the water and i had to liberate it.

Notice the difference in the two structures.. Interesting!

Life and times of a ladybug.

Industrious folks busy on the old balcony railing on a boring dull cloudy day............

May 2011



Ladybug busy fixing her make up. Taking a breather as she traverses across the old wood of the balcony railing.

Carrying on her research despite a difficult terrain of rotting wood........

Monsoon Magic,

June 2011




First Monsoon rains lashing against my room window.....

Water dripping from the balcony ceiling like a slow action replay of the over cast rain and sky outside....... Clicked in the afternoon

 To fly or not to fly
That is the question



 Contemplative crane amidst the green tree canopy that spreads below our balcony.














First monsoon rain water pearls on the garden leaf.

Wisdom Of The Day.

 June 2011


 MV Wisdom, a ship being taken to a breaking yard in Gujarat cut loose and drifted off the coast of Mumbai. Sensing danger to the Bandra - Worli Sea link, it was nudged away from it and ended up stuck at Juhu Beach.



Some vignetts.........

            


       
            


               A view from a wet Juhu Beach.










 

         





     Close Up of the wisdom.......

                 

                                        Wisdom : Front view

One of the worthies watching the Wisdom.....

A close up of the riches of the ocean embedded in the lower body of the ship.