10 Fabulous Fall Pictures of Minnesota

Last week, we went for a long drive towards Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota and saw some breathtaking sceneries along the way.

Here are 10 beautiful pictures that will make you smile and brighten your day.

Every leaf looks like a flower, isn’t it? It is glorious around here this season.

Also, I wanted to wish you all happiness, peace, success and prosperity as the beautiful festival of Navratri starts from today🙏🏻. Jai Maa.

Hope you liked the pics. Take care and stay blissful!

A Date with Animals

Last weekend was fun for kids as we went to the Minnesota Zoo, home to over 4,800 animals in ecosystem based habitats. There were many endangered species, wild animals and other attractions including camel rides and walking with llamas. I got some snapshots of the enriching date to share with you🤗

Driving through Downtown Chicago

Last month, we had a chance to drive through Downtown Chicago! The day was not particularly bright but quite pleasant. I remembered Downtown Minneapolis as we passed along the dominating skyscrapers, and compared the cities. If I may personify them, Minneapolis appears as an extremely beautiful ballerina while Chicago seems to be a gorgeous business woman.

We couldn’t spend much time there but here are a few interesting pictures of Millennium park and surroundings.

Mystic Sunset

As I caught the Sun leaving for the day, I realized that every sunset is different. Sometimes it is mysterious, other times gorgeous, on some days arresting and at times, spiritual. Today, it was mystic with brilliant orange around it. These days, the lake is frozen. I am eagerly waiting for summer evenings to catch the Sun’s reflection on this lovely lake.

When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the creator – Mahatma Gandhi

Yes, It’s Freezing!

It is that time of the year again when venturing out becomes a Herculean Task in otherwise nice Minnesota. In January, the beautiful state turns frigid, harsh and difficult. Here are some pictures as the temperature continues to tease and freeze the residents. Today, it is down to -24 degrees centigrade, but the golden Sun is shining, extending much needed cheer and warmth.

I Saw Sunset!

I was lucky enough to catch sunset through my window after a long time. Mostly I am busy or not paying attention. So many of us do not see it! We are either at the office or tied up to experience this everyday magic in the sky. I witnessed it and sat still for a while. It was a pity when the Sun folded back its rays and went down. The moment disappeared. I Caught just a teeny part of the magic and sharing my bliss! Especially for dear office goers who miss Sunset!

The Chair and The Pose

I had seen a similar old photo of my now 100-year-old grandmother back in India. Apart from seeing my grandma as a young teenager what had baffled me was positioning of the chair. “Why is the chair turned the other way,” I had asked her. She laughed and said it was the style at the time, back in 1910s. 

The picture was shot for arranged marriage purpose and there was another photo of her younger sister with the same chair and in the same pose. Later, I saw plenty of such photos in an old trunk at my house. I noted another thing – no one smiled in old photos. 

Recently, I came across another such photo and I thought of doing a little research on the chair as props in old photos. This is what I unearthed.

1) The use of the chair was a means to facilitate, relax and prevent the sitter from moving.

2)  It was used at the very beginning of photography  when long exposures were necessary for a successful result. 

3) Perhaps the long exposure and staying still was the reason why people would get tired of smiling. So people rarely smiled from old photos.

4) Posing with a chair was widely used and imitated. It got ingrained in psyche of the people of the time and everyone preferred it because of convenience as well as dramatic effect.

To learn more read this great blog – here. And do share if you know more. As of now, my curiosity got satiated regarding the weird positioning of chairs during portrait photography back in the good old days. Here are some more old pictures of royalty, with of course, the chair!

Images courtesy Google

Intoxicating Red!

The intoxicating red hue of this wayside tree arrested our journey. We stopped to admire this happy tree😀.

And rich yellow gold kissed our feet as we lost ourselves in nature’s bounty.

Everyday Sights of India!

Dear Confidant,

Hope you’ve been well and healthy. My recent visit to home country India was  memorable one. The familiar sights, sounds and feel of my motherland was warm and welcoming.

I miss the beloved land now that I am away from it.

I have captured a few of the everyday moments for you to get a feel of my country. I also wish that these pictures enable me to feel connected to my country whenever I am homesick. I mostly stayed in North India and here are some of my clicks.

A little garland seller at a traffic signal in Delhi.

Sight of historical monument in the midst of the bustling capital city.

The yellow green autorickshaw – most convenient mode of public transport across urban places in India.

A fruit seller and a prospective buyer.

A flower seller waiting for customers in Delhi.

Double rainbow in Ranchi. The capital of Jharkhand has lovely climate.

A picturesque hill in Ranchi. 

Famous temple of God Hanuman in Patna filled with devotees.

Common people on their way to work.

Freshly plucked mangoes of our home! Since, it is the season of mangoes, our innumerable variety of mango trees are laden with mouth watering mangoes.

Saw an elephant in Patna. It is the holy month of Saawan and Lord Shiva would be worshipped the entire month. Ascetics roam about on Elephants asking for offerings.

Goddess Kali at a famous temple in Patna.

Hope you liked the pictures!
This visit to my country had been fruitful one as I managed to meet most of my relatives and friends. It was so heart warming to see them all.

As I unpack my boxes, I am already hoping that our next visit happens sometime soon.

Do let me know what do you think of Everyday Sights of India! Take care!

Four Seasons through my window!

Last year, I vowed to capture the beauty of Four Seasons through the window of my house in order to blog it for your enjoyment. Today, on a warm summer day, I finally got all the four pictures.

Summer made the outside world look like this.

When it was Spring…

When it was Fall…

When it was Winter…

Did the music of Four Seasons touch your heart? I hope, it did!

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‘I Love You’ in the Snow

  What a lovely morning! Yesterday’s snow blizzard has left the world around me covered in a sheet of soft snow. It is a sunny day today and sunlight is gently alighting on the snow, giving it a sweet golden glow. 

  
Have you ever noticed? The sun and snow make a gorgeous, passionate couple. But their romance is always shortlived as they are extremes. They refuse to compromise and live together, respecting each other’s identity. I know, sooner or later, either sun will make the snow melt into oblivion or a snow storm will overpower the warmth of the sun. But for now, they look angelic together!

 As I slide the blinds of our little window, to admire this shortlived romance, something catches my eye. A big ‘I Love You’ on the snow carpeted ground takes me by surprise. Perhaps, last night or early this morning, someone braved the cold to engrave that for his or her beloved. It looks sweet and reminds me of sunny, sugary, youthful romance.

  
It is the month of February and Valentine’s day is nearing. Love is in the air and now engraved on the ground. Ah! I inhale the purity of love! 

 After a while, I want to play Sherlock and find out the lovers involved in this wonderful display of love. The footmarks around the engraved letters ‘I love you’ seems to be that of a man. The lover has written it hastily to surprise her. I keep a watch and wait for the beloved to arrive there. No one comes! Perhaps, she has seen that through her window. “Who is the lucky girl?”, I wonder!

Since a college is nearby, there are a lot of college-goers in our apartment. And such love extravaganza can only be expected from someone in his 20s. I make a few guesses and keep looking out at intervals.

  
My mind wanders back to the romance of sun and snow. Unearthly, sublime, stunning! But so shortlived! 

Love was dreaded and considered a frivolous word when I was growing up in a conservative set up. I never wanted anything to do with Love. I loved my books and the characters in it. That was it. Gradually, I learned to be comfortable around the four letter word. Lo and behold, now, I enjoy observing it!

I take my seat by the window to play Sherlock again. I wish this lover and his beloved have a life like the sun and snow but not short lived rather everlasting. I hope they respect each other’s individuality and not try to win against each other.

The glorious glow of love seems to be everywhere at this time of the year. My watch is on…hope the mystery lovers show up!

( This is based on a true incident. All pictures are mine except for the first one, ie, courtesy Google.)

Random sketches of the eye!

  When I was a little girl, I used to love sketching. I drew faces and figures all over my copies and books. I would often get frowns from my parents and teachers but it would never deter me.

My aunt is a lovely artist and I drew inspiration from her works. Even my sisters loved to draw figures and landscapes but I primarily focussed on the face, specifically the eye!

These days I hardly paint because colours demand a lot of time and effort. And also because I don’t want my kids to get supercreative and make artworks all over the house. But I do sketch a lot whenever inspiration strikes me.

Today, I felt like sketching the eye and I drew some random sketches in about fifteen minutes.

Here are the pictures…hope you will like them😀

  
  
  
  
And finally, a sketch of Krishna, I made recently.