Sunset 24-Dec-2013

Sunset 17-Dec-2013

Sunset 13-Dec-2013

Sunset 10-Dec-2013

Happy Birthday, kitten

Happy Birthday, kitten!  A new born in mom's warmth. Very touching and inspiring to see the nature's power.

In The Laps of Trees

Trees have witnessed
the time

Trees have withstood
the time

The very sight of Trees fascinate me.
It may be a very primitive, inherent desire to gaze at trees and admire.
Some how I am not able to dismiss them as 'part of the nature'.
See these trees.
They show elements of life.
They have witnessed the time.
They have withstood the time.
They have faced every day Sun, Soil, Wind
and all forms of invisible energy for long.
They take some shape beyond our understanding.

God rests in the
laps of a tree

They are among us.
Or is it other way round
- we are among them.
They point to the sky.
Probably their roots can be a more fascinating
- a brain like neural network.
If God had to rest, it could be in the laps of trees.

Colony of Bats

I dont remember when was the last time I encountered a bat in my life time.  But when I saw a colony of bats (a group of bats is called colony) in my office campus, it was very scary.  I thought they were crows, disturbed by a death of a fellow bird or so.

Colony of Bats

For long, we know bats as spooky birds having watched several mythological movies.  I researched on the internet and I found them to be scientifically great animals.  I wonder how did our education system does not bring all these fascinating facts during our schooling. Bats seem to be friendly mammals.

Today' sight of bats certainly created some interest in bats. I will explore and come back when I find something interesting.


Explore these online resources
BBC's Nature page on Bats - http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Bat
Interesting books on Bats - http://store.batconservation.org/batbooks.aspx

Mindfulness with Trees

What is Mindfulness ?  Being there where ever you are!

Trees seem to be literally manifesting Mindfulness through times.
The sight of trees remind me of wisdom, experience and magnanimity.
The bark of trees reminds me of the skin of a elephant.
The branches of trees resemble a nervous system.

The vigour in the branches tell me of strength and vitality, courage and confidence.
The web of branches remind me of harmony.
The entangled branches represent art form of life.

Talking of advaitam, Thirumular says

marathai maraiththathu  maamadha yaanai
marathil maraindhadhu maamadha yaanai
மரத்தை மறைத்தது  மாமத யானை
மரத்தில் மறைந்தது மாமத யானை 

(Translation - the huge carved wooden elephant hides the tree; the huge carved wooden elephant is hidden within the tree.  When you see the elephant, you dont see the tree; when you see the tree, you dont see the elephant).

When you live next to a tree, you become its neighbour.

Next time, when you see a tree, see if you can say Thanks from your heart.

Photo Credits:  Ganesh Subramanian @ August Minds

Rufous Grasshopper

Clicked this Grasshopper on top of a car in office car parking.  Got to know it is called Rufous Grasshopper.  The way he landed himself on the car, reminds me of Spider Man.

I did a little bit Googling on it, and it was very interesting to read about its 'courtship song'  (link)

Sometimes I feel struck in awesome looking at some of the very common insects / creatures around us. Every creature has some place on this earth!

Photo Credits: Ganesh Subramanian @ August Minds

The burning tree

JP Nagar 2nd Phase, 9th Cross, Near the Ladies Hostel.

Corporator Incharge: Chandrasekar Raju

Lalbagh on a misty morning

Nature from Terrace