Delhi Photo Diary

Running Backwards For Future

2008-10-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting athlete I spotted running in reverse. He has decided to run backwards to raise funds to combat global warming. A good cause... hope his efforts bear fruits.

Delhi Gate

2008-10-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

This is part of the Red Fort or Lal Qila as we call it in Hindi. The fort had fourteen gates,with Lahori Gate, Kashmere Gate, Dilli Gate and Ajmeri Gate being the most important and prominent ones. Though the growth of the city over the centuries has lead to the dilapidation of certain parts of the fort, these four still form very important landmarks in the city. This photograph is of a part of Dilli Gate. The gate is just a review of the Fort, which is a grand with its red brick architecture mesmerizing the visitors for ages now.

St. Thomas' School - Junior School

2008-10-02T21:33:00.000-07:00

I am still having the hangover of the October theme day, which meant we post photographs related to lines. This is the building of the junior department of my alma mater- St. Thomas' School. Whenever I think of lines, I think of this phase of my life when I had first been taught of shapes, falling in line for assemblies, doing Physical Education Drills and God knows what all. I learned to cut lines across my t's and dot my i's. Ah! It was a glorious time. :-)

You can read about my sentiments for my school here.

Theme Day: Lines: Waiting in GPO

2008-10-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

A queue is often called a line in India. Here I have a line of people standing in Gole Dak Khana (General Post Office or GPO) waiting for the postal clerks to answer their respective queries.

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Sick-Art

2008-09-29T19:00:00.000-07:00

Four days of cough, cold and severe back ache forcing me to take time off work and voila!!! I turn into an artist of sorts to relieve myself of the boredom. This is an abstract glass painting (not the best I admit) that I present to all of you, hoping that I would receive loads of bouquets for this one... they would surely make me feel better. If you think this is an emotional campaign to gain sympathy...

I certainly am not denying it. :-)

P.S: My phone, which makes this blog possible, makes its first appearance on Delhi Photo Diary.

Drops!

2008-09-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

I had hoped that my car would prove to be a blessing in exploring Delhi better. However, I am discovering with each passing day that life in a bus was better as far as capturing scenes on the road go. Just stopping the car whenever and wherever I feel like rarely happens. Guess with experience I'll learn even that. So here is a photo of the raindrops on the right side rear view mirror for now.

Awesome Foursome

2008-09-25T02:13:00.000-07:00

Today I present my friends from the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) stretch in south Delhi. These four are a part of a larger group that sell magazines and books to the people stuck in never ending traffic jams or those waiting for a few minutes at the traffic signal. I have a special bond with them as these guys know just the magazine that I want to read and bring me the latest issues of the ones I desire. The way they recommend books, it almost feels like they have read the selection themselves. This too is India where illiteracy and child labour is rampant and ironically it is books that help these kids survive.

Palash

2008-09-22T23:58:00.000-07:00

Watching Palash outside my colony gate, I often wonder what if one day Palash decided to talk. Since I am a proclaimed narcissist, I often wonder what Palash would say about me. Palash has been a witness to many a scenes from my life. Palash has seen me:

Prance on days when I was excited to go to school;
Tensed when I was not too sure about the exam or how I was going to fare;
Wishfully daydreaming when reality did not promise a fairytale ending;
Crying when the road was rough and so was life;
Solemnly bidding goodbye to friends after a get-together;
Waiting impatiently for guests who were having a hard time finding the way to my house;
Hesitate when there was something on my mind but my guts betrayed me to come clean with my mom;
Sad when I missed my dad too much;
Excited and even a little proud of my achievements when I could not just wait to come home and share the news;
Safe in knowledge that home was near;
Stunned to see the beauty of the colors of its flowers in spring;
Numb when the pain could penetrate no more;
Looking stunning when going all dressed for various occasions;
Teary when I came back from my school farewell and the college farewell;
Thrilled when going for the first day of work;
Tired when I returned from the first day of my job;
Smiling from cheek to cheek on the day I got my first paycheck;
Burdened with shopping bags after blowing up my first salary;
Crossing my fingers and blushing after I was dropped home after my first date;
Reliving that happy moment once the relationship ended;
Stressed over work related problems;
Analyzing personal follies and relationships;
In a hurry when I am sure to miss the bus, but make sure to put in the effort in the hope of catching it anyway;
Strolling in the cool breeze, taking in the spring air;
Enjoying the nip in the wind;
Invigorating the fragrance of the earth after the mild shower that wets her;

These are just a few things that are a shared secret between me and my beautiful Palash. Palash gives me the first sign that spring has arrived. I lovingly call him Palash. The scientific world decided to name him Butea Frondosa. I hope the Palash tree outside my house never lets my secrets out and honours the unsigned bond of secrecy between us.

Miniature Garden

2008-09-21T03:08:00.000-07:00

This is a miniature garden within a garden. The watermelon carving depicts the superstar of the Millennium, Mr Amitabh Bachhan. I found this little park in the garden of Five Senses. I have posted some other pictures of the garden here, here, and here. Hope you all have a pleasant Sunday. :-)

Metro Walk

2008-09-18T22:29:00.000-07:00

The aftermath of any terrorist incident is a number of hoax calls and rumours of similar threats across the city. With parents, friends and relatives, all overly concerned about my security I had to resort to making a trip to The Metro Walk Mall (not fond of the culture so much, though many yuppies my age are). I was pleasantly surprised with this one. As it was not too crowded and had huge open spaces where a bunch of us could just sit and chat and pull each other's legs.

P.S: Do check out what Wiki has to say about yuppies here.

Hamdard Building, Daryaganj

2008-09-16T08:38:00.000-07:00

I ventured a little outside my regular joints to go to Daryaganj, which is a conjunction between New Delhi and Old Delhi. This is the Hamdard building and I am guessing that it houses the headquarters of the company Hamdard. Will let you know if I am wrong, when I find more about it on my next visit. :-)

Ice-Cream At India Gate

2008-09-15T09:12:00.000-07:00

Delhi has bounced back after the bomb blasts that shook us. But I guess that is the most fitting reply to the terrorists.

This is a part of the line of ice-cream vendors that stand at the roads of India Gate. It is the favourite hangout for families that want to end a scorching summer day in a cool manner. :-)

Narrow Escape

2008-09-13T07:38:00.000-07:00

A black day for Delhi today, as serial blasts rock the capital of India once again. This time the threat was very real and very near. I was 5 minutes away from reaching one of the targeted areas - Gaffar market. A stream of people running in panic warned me and my mother and we joined the running crowd trying to find an escape route. It was a close shave for us. However, this post is dedicated to all those who lost their lives and their families. It is high time that something, ANYTHING!!! is done to bring an end to this menace.

Knight in shining Armour

2008-09-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

I found this Armour at Dilli Haat today. Interesting piece. Hmmm, question time.

For Girls: Who is your knight in the shining Armour?

For Guys: For whom do you want to be a knight in the shining Armour?

* Romantic answers are welcome but funny ones would be most appreciated. :-)

Flyover- Chirag Dilli

2008-09-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

Delhi is called 'Dilli' in Hindi. This flyover is in Chirag Delhi, one of the worst traffic jam points in the city. But I am glad to inform everyone that I managed to cruise just fine, on my first day of driving to office. :-)

Let me confess that the setting sun was what I wanted to capture and got the flyover as a bonus. Happy driving to all of you as well.

Adventure Island

2008-09-06T08:01:00.000-07:00

Today was my weekly off. So off I went with my friends for a great, great outing. We went to an amusement park - Adventure Island. It was just what the doctor had ordered. Too much fun. Something I prescribe for everyone, all ages.

Happy Teacher's Day

2008-09-05T02:23:00.000-07:00

Today, i.e., September 5 is celebrated as Teacher's Day in India in memory of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the second President of independent India. I have put up the photo of roses since this the most common gift that schoolchildren carry as a token of their appreciation to school for their teachers. Happy Teacher's Day to all the teachers out there. :-)

Ganpati Bappa Morya

2008-09-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

This is the elephant god - Ganesha or Ganpati. Yesterday was the beginning of a ten day long festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. It is an Indian festival, which is celebrated with a lot of faith and fervor especially by the natives of the state of Maharashtra (even I am originally from Maharshtra). This is the statue of Ganpati that was worshiped at my place with family and friends in full attendance. I was responsible for the decoration and the preparation of the prasad. I got a lot of praise on both the accounts. So I am a happy girl. 'Ganpati Bappa Morya' is how we show our respect and reverence to the deity and that is how most of us greet each other through the ten days of festivities.Ganpati Bappa Morya!

Theme Day: Sister Cities: Jaipur (Amer Fort)

2008-09-01T00:23:00.000-07:00

Delhi has no twin city so far. But it is a combination of two cities - the Old Delhi and the New Delhi. Unfortunately, I did not manage a trip to the Old Delhi this time around. So I thought I should put up a picture of a city I think should be Delhi's twin city. This is the Amer Fort of Jaipur. Jaipur, I believe has a lot in common with Delhi to vie for the status of the twin city of the capital of India. Both the cities, Jaipur and Delhi, have a strong and varied history lasting several centuries and both have shown tremendous sings of progress in the last few decades.

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Janpath

2008-08-31T01:13:00.000-07:00

This is college heaven. Most of the college students, who are not brand conscious but would kill to have a trendy wardrobe for less money flock the Janpath market in search of good bargains. The fact that I no more shop at Janpath... makes me feel.. old. :-)

Lord Shiva

2008-08-30T08:11:00.000-07:00

This is a lighted image of Lord Shiva. In India and particularly in West Delhi, Hindu Gods are pieces of art work, especially during festivals. This photo I clicked on Janmashtami day, the birthday of Lord Krishna. Even though the day celebrates Krishna, all the Gods are given adequate importance. I did not manage a single photo of Lord Krishna since crowds thronged all the display areas. However, I managed to capture Lord Shiv who was adorning a pillar on the way back home.

South Block

2008-08-29T03:08:00.000-07:00

This is the South Block at the Raisina Hills. It flanks one side of the Rashtrapati Bhawan (Presidential Abode). One of the most majestic sites that one can find in modern Delhi, this building houses some very very important offices like the Ministry of External Affairs, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Defence. Forget all that, I am totally mesmerized by the architecture and the color of the sky. It feels that even nature knows that this is the highest office of the country. :-)

Costa Cafe

2008-08-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

A treat for all of you. This is the food display at the counter of Costa Cafe, a slightly expensive cafe chain in Delhi. Slightly heavy on the pocket but their stuff is every bit worth the money, as you can imagine from the photo. Happy eating! :-)

Krishi Bhawan

2008-08-26T21:26:00.000-07:00

This is the 'Krishi Bhawan' or the Agricultural Office. This is where the Agricultural ministry sits. Considering that nearly 70% of the Indians are occupied in agriculture this building is a very important part of the ministerial block. the best part about Central Delhi is the greenery that you will spot. All the buildings on the Raisina Hills are made in a similar style.

Happy Times

2008-08-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

This is an apt time to have a number of watches on the blog. My time management skills are going down the gutters, which is not a great excuse for excusing my irregularity. So I hope that from today onwards I will give more time to the blog. This is how made in China watches are sold in Delhi. a good bargainer can manage to get a watch for as less as INR 100.