In search

Today it was a foggy and rainy day outside...such a day when  difficult to get out of bed and face the world.  But the begonias on my window cheered me up and promised me better days. She (the begonias) seemed to say that its okay to bloom on a gloomy day to imagine you are flying when the strong wind ruffles your petals And keep your calm until the turmoil settles...

Only change is real, everything else is illusion. Which one is real the caterpillar or the butterfly?

No new year resolutions this time-feels kind of strange and funny at the same time. Here are some photos of the new year taken at Madhuban Park in Siliguri.  A family picnic at the park - it felt peaceful to watch the children play and the ducks swim without any care for the world

Pity that I take so many photographs only to store them on my hard drive. Here's a little attempt to share the beauty on the other end of the lens.  This one is from a trip to Rimbick where we had gone to conduct a farmers training. Initially we were planning a night halt at Sandakphu but the villagers strongly adivised against it as the trek is nearly 6 hours long that too for experienced trekkers. On the other hand the local villagers reach Sandakphu in 4 hours and reach return back in 3 hours or so. Finally we decided to go for a trek towards Jarayo Pokhari (Deer Lake)  on the way to Sandakphu, a two hour trek from Rimbick Bazar, but then again we only made it half way up to the monastery.  The village around the Monastery is called Maney Dara and name of the monastery is Mahendra Samten Monastery which was built around 1917. The main monastery itself is new but the stone structures and relics around it are old and beautiful. A beautiful stupa stands atop the hill

A porter at Judge Bazar Darjeeling Porter, Coolie, Dai! We call them by different names. Without them, nothing will move...literally. Consumer goods from LPG (cooking gas cylinders), food items to construction materials; anything that needs loading, unloading and transporting-you name it! These Dai's or Coolies as we call them they are the ones who do the backbreaking work of lugging goods from one place to another with their Namlo. (Namlo is a sturdy string/harness used to carry things) They are people who have migrated from Nepal and its common to see both men and women working as porters in Darjeeling. Most of them are poor, often falling below the poverty line and it is only some who have gone on to make a fortune.  Most of them confess that they have vast agricultural lands back at home. Isn't it sad that they who have acres and acres of agricultural land should now live as BPL (Below the Poverty Line) people? Many welfare and social organisations in Darjeeling

It is said that patterns duplicate and replicate in this universe from the micro to the macro level. It is interesting to notice the beautiful patterns and juxtapositions of various plants together. The most interesting things to watch are the symbiotic relationships in nature. There is a lot we can learn from nature, however we have stopped looking at it closely, our connections with nature has completely stopped.  Go out, take a walk, make that connection and feel the change. For once shut down that computer and mobile phone and listen to the birds sing.  This post is part of ‘ Blogchatter’s CauseAChatter ' A Symbiotic Relationship [click on image to enlarge view] Trekking Trail at Lamahatta, Singrimtam Darjeeling [click on image to enlarge view] [Click on image to enlarge view] [Click on image to enlarge view] [Click on image to enlarge view] [Click on image to enlarge view] [Click on image to enlarge view] [Click on image to enlarge view

Soaking the Sun [click on image to enlarge view] Point of View [click on image to enlarge view] Enjoying the warmth of the fire [click on image to enlarge view] Taking a nap in the corner of a busy street [click on image to enlarge view] Graceful yet ferocious. Lazy but faster than the blink of an eye Selfish and diplomatic at the same time Survivors in the true sense of the world Hunters of the concrete jungle CATS!