Ellora memories

This photo will bring back sweet memories when we will see
it after 20 years. From my first visit to Ellora with my wife.

Out of Slumber

One early morning, when i looked out of my bedroom window, this view startled me out of slumber, or this was an early morning dream, about which some say it becomes true.

Hero's Welcome

A little over 150 year ago, through this gateway in the Purani Chaawni area, Maharajah of Dholpur used to enter his royal palace and court and held grand Darbars. His courtiers {mostly, men of extraordinary talents, along with their Maharajah, many of them went to fight in wars for British empire and won awards and laurels.} would assemble next to this gateway and give him a hero's welcome. Musicians used to occupy the place above the gateway and play shehnai. Today at the very spot unauthorized encroachments have been done by some men of extraordinary, apathetic talents. Unconcerned authorities of today laugh and look the other way at suggestions to improve and restore this little mighty thing of history, 'our history', our own history, created by our forefathers for us to enjoy the fruits of today..

Guarding Abode of the Lord

Never seen a statue guarding a Hindu Temple holding a Rifle, this adornes the walls of Chopda Mandir {Temple} at Dholpur..

The Guns of Mehrangarh Fort

Canons big and small are still placed on the ramparts of the Mehrangarh fort, perched on a 150 m high hill, is one of the most formidable and magnificent fort in Rajasthan. Rao Jodha founded it in 1459 and subsequent rulers of Jodhpur have also added to it over the centuries.

The Tree

For the past 24 years I wanted to take a photo of this very old Tree on road to Bari from Dholpur, it fascinated me so much because a road goes under it and there was no other tree around. When i saw this tree for the first time in 1984 as a 11 year old child i was visiting relatives (my uncle) at the Dholpur Military school and later they shifted to Delhi and we had no contacts here for 23 years, now when i was able to take this photo i was visiting my in-laws who live here. what a coincidence. Did God helped me..........India never fails you !

Osiyan: The Gateway to the Thar Desert

Osiyan or " Osian " popularily known as " Gateway to The Thar Desert " is a small town known for it's ancient temple ruins and exclusive Camel Safari , in Rajasthan, India.The ancient town of Thar Desert was a great trading center between 8th to 12th centuries. Today it is desert oasis with 16 Brahamanical and Jain temples, beautifully sculpted and designed, most of which have stood ravages of time.

Osian, an ancient small village in the Thar Desert,is located about 65 kms, North West of Jodhpur. Osian is a great centre of Brahmanical and Jain religions and contains the largest group of the Hindu and Jain temples in Rajasthan. These temples belong to the two periods, namely 8th century represented by nearly 12 temples and 12th century represented by 6 temples.

For a true lover of ancient architecture and artistic style, Osian reveals all its wealth, Osian is worth visiting. The city was a major religious centre of the kingdom of Marwar during the Pratihara dynasty. Of the 18 shrines in Osian, the Surya or Sun Temple and the later Kali temple, Sachiya Mata Temple and the main Jain temple dedicated to Lord Mahavira stands out in their grace and architecture.

Osian of today is a small town, but in its heyday, it was a bustling city and trade center of Northern India. Here convoys brought grains and produce, the citizens were contented and happy. To demonstrate their love for God, for what He had given them, they built shrines and temples. The temples of Osian are comparable in beauty to those of Khajuraho and Bhubaneswar.

The temples of Osian, though in a poor state now, have preserved their record well. The sculptures of Osian show us what people wore, how they amused themselves, how they worshiped, how they lived, what their social life was like and what they believed in.

Photos with the text are from the Grand Temple of Sachiya Mata:

The ancient temple of Sachiya Mata, a Hindu deity, is a perfect example of the medieval Indian architecture. With their artistic brilliance, temples in Osian are considered Masterpieces of Indian Heritage.

The ancient temple of Sachiya Mata, a Hindu deity, is a perfect example of the medieval Indian architecture. With their artistic brilliance, temples in Osian are considered Masterpieces of Indian Heritage.

The initial structure of the Temple in Osiyan, were built in the 8th century. However, the present temple was materialized during the 12th century. Sachiya Temple is dedicated to Sachi Mata. Wife of Lord Indra (Rain God), Goddess Sachi is also known as Indrani. The temple complex has two other shrines that are dedicated to Chandi Devi and Amba Mata respectively. Built in many phases, Sachiya Mata Temple can be entered through a series of wonderfully sculpted arches.

The interiors of the temple are decorated with beautiful images and sculptures of deities from the Hindu pantheon. In the north, a sculpture of Varaha (Incarnation of Lord Vishnu as Boar) embellishes the site, whereas an image of Lakshmi-Vishnu is visible in the east. A stone slab crammed with sculptures, emerging from the wall, can be traced in the west.

Traveller Cows

Cows looking for empty seats in Taj express at Mathura Railway Station going towards New Delhi.

I took this shot with my 1.3 megapixel Nokia 6630 cameraphone, in night mode.

Indians having a tryst with destiny

A family having food before catching a train. The gentleman? on the right almost kicked the provider. Took this photo with my Nokia 6630 cameraphone 1.3 MP. Time was 17:30 PM, 6th June, Ghaziabad Railway station. So close to New Delhi where promises were made on the midnight of August 14, 1947 to the nation. Photo in Black & White.

Jawaharlal Nehru : Speech On the Granting of Indian Independence, August 14, 1947

Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long supressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of Inida and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.

At the dawn of history India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries are filled with her striving and the grandeur of her success and her failures. Through good and ill fortune alike she has never lost sight of that quest or forgotten the ideals, which gave her strength. We end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself again. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future?

Freedom and power bring responsibility. The responsibility rests upon this Assembly, a sovereign body representing the sovereign people of India. Before the birth of freedom we have endured all the pains of labour and our hearts are heavy with the memory of this sorrow. Some of those pains continue even now. Nevertheless, the past is over and it is the future that beckons to us now.

That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we may fulfil the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over.

And so we have to labour and to work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world, for all the nations and peoples are too closely knit together today for any one of them to imagine that it can live apart Peace has been said to be indivisible; so is freedom, so is prosperity now, and so also is disaster in this One World that can no longer be split into isolated fragments.

To the people of India, whose representatives we are, we make an appeal to join us with faith and confidence in this great adventure. This is no time for petty and destructive criticism, no time for ill-will or blaming others. We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell.

II
The appointed day has come-the day appointed by destiny-and India stands forth again, after long slumber and struggle, awake, vital, free and independent. The past clings on to us still in some measure and we have to do much before we redeem the pledges we have so often taken. Yet the turning-point is past, and history begins anew for us, the history which we shall live and act and others will write about.

It is a fateful moment for us in India, for all Asia and for the world. A new star rises, the star of freedom in the East, a new hope comes into being, a vision long cherished materializes. May the star never set and that hope never be betrayed!

We rejoice in that freedom, even though clouds surround us, and many of our people are sorrowstricken and difficult problems encompass us. But freedom brings responsibilities and burdens and we have to face them in the spirit of a free and disciplined people.

On this day our first thoughts go to the architect of this freedom, the Father of our Nation [Gandhi], who, embodying the old spirit of India, held aloft the torch of freedom and lighted up the darkness that surrounded us. We have often been unworthy followers of his and have strayed from his message, but not only we but also succeeding generations will remember this message and bear the imprint in their hearts of this great son of India, magnificent in his faith and strength and courage and humility. We shall never allow that torch of freedom to be blown out, however high the wind or stormy the tempest.

Our next thoughts must be of the unknown volunteers and soldiers of freedom who, without praise or reward, have served India even unto death.

We think also of our brothers and sisters who have been cut off from us by political boundaries and who unhappily cannot share at present in the freedom that has come. They are of us and will remain of us whatever may happen, and we shall be sharers in their good [or] ill fortune alike.

The future beckons to us. Whither do we go and what shall be our endeavour? To bring freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman.

We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any one of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intended them to be. We are citizens of a great country on the verge of bold advance, and we have to live up to that high standard. All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or in action.

To the nations and peoples of the world we send greetings and pledge ourselves to cooperate with them in furthering peace, freedom and democracy.

And to India, our much-loved motherland, the ancient, the eternal and the ever-new, we pay our reverent homage and we bind ourselves afresh to her service.

JAIHIND.

The story of civilization

Build, Live and desert...........the story of civilization will continue.

Took this photo in the ruins of Machhkund, a mythological, religious and historical place in Dholpur, Rajasthan.

TATA Tiger TATA

It was 2:00 am, and i fell down and slept, that night I saw an episode on National Geographic Channel about dwindling Tiger population in Indian jungles. It was a nice programme with almost everyone related to things like Project Tiger etc, saying something or the other and making a genuine point. We arrived on the bank of a lake where a Tigress gave birth to three beautiful cubs. Me and my friend Karn took out our Cameras and start to roll our Video and still cameras, i was holding that Sony digital Camcorder and my focus was on the little cub still not making any move we waited for three hours and suddenly it moved its fore feets and there it is yawning and looking around, i got a pat on my right shoulder and turned my head and saw Karn with a Pale yellow face and with his eyes he told me to look behind his back and what i saw stunned me so much that i couldnot take a breath.

It was there, a huge, gigantic Cat, the national animal of my beloved country, the Cat which produced innumerable tales down the centuries and has been the most beautiful of all the Cats, standing ten feet away sniffing like a dog and with a lot of curiosity in her eyes made a move forward towards me as i made an eye contact with her, one good thing happened that i kept the focus on her and didnt stop my camera and it was all getting recorded, she came right upto my body and as i lay over Karn(he was looking away in the other direction), i never felt so Dead before in my life not even when i saw someone being runover by a WHITE TATA INDICA. That Tiger licked my fingers and suddenly turned away and there she was with her three cubs and how happy she was to see her third cub moving and alive, she the Royal Bengal Tigress possessing the strongest Jaws of all cats and having strength with which she can hold a giant Sambhar in her mouth for hours, sat down beside them like a good dedicated mother and they were all over her, she and her three cubs are alive and happy in that difficult place called jungle What a great mother this beast is.

Suddenly i saw a reflection of a giant dog leaping on the wall facing me but that dog didnt land on my stomach and wake me up sharp at 6:00 AM, like it used to do for the last 8 years, i stood up on my bed and realised that Sheru our pet dog was no more, she died a day before , running ahead of me, wanted to run outside and smell all over the place, i couldnot even tell her to slow down, that WHITE TATA INDICA, the call center CAB, was faster, running over Sheru crushing her face, she couldnt even make a noice, leaving her 7 month old pup behind, we have named him.....Sheru. He has bark and impatience of his mother.

I had this dream about being among the Tigers (wanted to bringing forth, soft corners of their nature) this was after the death of Sheru, and this is how it happened. I think this happened with me because i love animals, I LOVE TIGER.