Thursday 15 December 2011

Goa - Boat cruise on River Mandovi

We expected the Sunset Boat cruise to be a pleasant experience, unfortunately it was just the opposite. They had a cultural show on board which was unbearably noisy -- assault on one's ears. A foreign tourist who was on another boat felt the same, what's worse, he said that there was a lot of smoke in his boat which gave him a headache. Though we did not experience any smoke problem I felt a throbbing sensation in my head later thanks to the loud noise masquerading as music. Much of the show was about dancing to Hindi film songs. I wish Goa Tourism had given us an option of a noiseless cruise for those like us who have not been able to develop a taste for noise, but they call it a "cultural show". Without all the noise it would have been a pleasant experience.
Compere a welcoming us and announcing the "cultural show"
 

Watch video below:

Friday 18 November 2011

Goa - Panjim and Miramar

 Starting today I begin a series of posts on my trip to Goa in February 2010
Miramar Beach
Miramar Beach
Miramar Beach
Miramar Beach - Boat on sunset cruise
Panjim street
Fine Art Gallery, Gitanjali (left) at Panjim
Panjim
Panjim - Old house
Panjim - Old house

Sunday 9 October 2011

Uttarakhand - some more photos

My first four posts were all about my recent trip to Delhi and Uttarakhand, in this post I have shared a few more photos. This trip will always be memorable to me because this was the last holiday I spent with my mother who passed away recently.

Iron Pillar of Delhi in the Qutub Minar complex.
Cows relaxing at Triveni near Rishikesh
This can be seen at Triveni near Rishikesh
Temple near Laxman Jhula, (Rishikesh) this place is known as Tapovan.
Statue of Laxman near Laxman Jhula
Laxman Jhula
Near Laxman Jhula
View of the Ganga from under Laxman Jhula
My mother watching the Ganga flow. This photo was clicked at the restaurant of the hotel we stayed in at Rishikesh.
Ganga at Rishikesh --a close up
My mother at the balcony of our hotel room at Rishikesh.
People collecting rocks and pebbles from the Ganga riverbed at Rishikesh
Looking for food early in the morning -- Rishikesh
Temple at Shastradhara near Mussourie
Dhanaulti near Mussourie
Dhanaulti
My next post will be on Goa.

Saturday 3 September 2011

Jehangir Sabavala

This morning I learnt that Jehangir Sabavala is no more, I am one of his many admirers and I remember having met him very briefly when I visited his exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay way back in the mid 1980s; I do not recall the exact year. A colleague from my office had accompanied me and he happened to carry his camera. There were lots of visitors at the exhibition but I was able to talk to the great artist briefly. My colleague suggested that I pose for a photograph with Mr. Sabavala, the artist readily obliged.

Jehangir Sabavala was a lively person, a thorough gentleman and sharing a few moments with him was an honour. I love his work and I always felt that he painted his pictures with a great deal of care. His paintings do have an influence of cubism but are yet different, they are products of his own unique style which he had evolved. He was truly one of India's greatest painters who will continue to inspire generations of painters to come.   

Saturday 20 August 2011

Mussoorie and Dhanaulti

Some images from Mussoorie and Dhanaulti, Uttarakhand.
Dhanaulti is located about 27 kilometers from Mussoorie. We visited this place in the month of March this year. We learnt that it has snowed quite a lot in Mussoorie this winter but the snow had melted long before we visited Mussoorie, however we did see small heaps of solidified snow in Dhanaulti which were still in the process of melting. 
Mussoorie: View from the mall
View from Camel's Back Road in Mussoorie

Dhanaulti
Dhanaulti
Dhanaulti
Dhanaulti
Dhanaulti
Dhanaulti: Snow capped mountains seen at a distance
Dhanaulti
Dhanaulti
Dhanaulti

Somewhere between Dhanaulti an Mussoorie, this pic was clicked from a moving car
Somewhere between Dhanaulti an Mussoorie
Inside Hotel Park Plaza Sylverton where we stayed
Inside Hotel Park Plaza Sylverton, view from another angle
Hotel Park Plaza Sylverton, lawns
View from Hotel Park Plaza Sylverton
Hotel Park Plaza Sylverton, another view of the lawns
Flowers placed in the hotel's garden. 

Video: Mussoorie and Dhanaulti