Golden Temple is not only a unique building, which hypnotizes any visitor of any religion or nation; its mesmerizing, bewitching, spellbinding, magnetizing, enthralling – I can go on till I exhaust my own vocabulary and that of the entire universe. Trust me, a visit to Golden Temple is a soul stirring experience of life time. Whenever I go there and I see any `first time visitor’ to Golden Temple, I see them gasping with reverence at the main entrance gate itself. Where almost all first timers just stop and love to absorb the first glimpses. Trust me, it’s that life time moment and experience, which is hard to forget. Once you have entered the Golden Temple complex, then you are disconnected with the outside world, most people wish if they could spend all their lifetime there and would be very happy to involve with `kar seva’ (anykind of service for cleaning of floor, utensils, Langar – the holy kitchen). All visitors, known as Sangat at Gurudwaras, sit around the holy Sarovar (water tank) `parikrama’ (the banks and the path to complete a circle around Golden Temple) and listen to Shabads of Gurubani. The tranquility is spellbinding for the soul.

The regular visitors, mostly local Sangat, who visit Golden Temple, everyday before they begin for their daily chore, stop at the entrance point after descending the first flight of steps. I see God on the faces of the Sangat which stops at this point, they stand with their eyes closed and hands folded, murmuring words to endorse their wishes and repentance for their sins. I think, they beg to God to forgive them for the sins they did the previous day, lest He punishes.  How silly we are, majority of  us forget the right way, I think, its to ask for `Satbudhi’ (wisdom to think the right way). If we are blessed with `Satbudhi’ then we will not do anything wrong and no fear of punishment by God. I am sure, this world of `devotees seeking blessings and making wishes’ must be having quite an amazing spectrum of desires of human beings. Most of us, go there and beg for all the niceties of life, comforts, blessings for anything which can make people comfortable and happy and leaders to make other jealous and envious of us. May be, I am no exception to join this practice, I do beg to Him. I do not know whether my wishes are right, I ask to bless me with plenty of `Satbudhi’ to be a good human being, give me work, will to work, keep me honest, keep me healthy to do my work, I assure You that I will work and I am sure You will take care of me. A good religious preaching by spiritual teachers is that if you have faith in Him and yourself, then no need to even utter a word, He will take care, He knows. The root cause of all the troubles to our own life is that we do not have faith in anything, we are always worried and keep making calculations and make wrong projections to ourselves and thus majority are utterly unhappy.

One day, on one of my photography visits to the Golden Temple, I noticed people were in direct communication with God for those few moments, I think, He must be allowing these kind of calls at this spot. As you can see a different expression on the faces of people for these few moments. Some rub their head and some their nose on the floor, to please Him. They are `in trance’ for few moments. I wish people could carry these moments with them home and remain with these expressions all the day, this world could have been a heaven. I love capturing these expressions with my camera now.

My experience as a photographer at Golden Temple, has been unmatched by any other place on this earth. What I enjoy, apart from the solacing atmosphere, is no restrictions of any sort on anyone, can you believe this! Anyone can enter anytime of 24 hours, no restrictions as long as you respect the basics of visiting any Gurudwara i.e. cover your head, no shoes or socks, etc. Its such a free world at the Golden Temple – total freedom – as long as you are within `maryada’ - the norms. There is no pressure of anykind on anyone to make anykind of offerings, if wish to make then there is no specifications on miimum or maximum. On my travels, I have experienced some nasty things about offerings at religious places. At the Golden Temple, you are free to visit any place of worship, no bar based on caste, creed, colour, religion, etc. Whenever, I have requested any devotee to consent me for a phtograph, they happily agree.

How lucky are the  denizens of Amritsar! We all may think that they all visit everyday. Alas, we all falter!

Slideshow

What I know and can say about the Sikhs is that they are an unparallel race on this earth. Sikhs are the most brave and bold people, full of pride and self-esteem, most warm and kind hearted of all, uniquely handsome with their attire, well built; all this makes them unique. The self-esteem and pride is unmatched – you will never find a Sikh beggar on roads. They are the best when you request them for a photograph, no questions asked from photographers and ever-willing to be photographed with smile on their face.

The Sikh soldiers enjoy have very special place in the Indian army, they are known as the `THE BRAVEST OF BRAVE’ and have the highest gallantry awards to their honour, won in all the battle field. The stories of Sikh gallantry are unmatched in the world. Though, I did not serve with Sikh troops, but had close interaction with them in Sri Lanka, where I served as an IPKF member for 18 months. They were bold like no one ! Their military history is full of unmatched valour and grit.  Their contribution to the British Empire, as soldiers is very much appreciated by the British, even today.

They are traditionally generous to travellers and there is no bar to caste and creed or religion, when it comes to hosting a traveller. Though, materialism and modern `rat race’ have taken its toll of that unique feature of Sikhs to great extent in modern times. If one is travelling and finds a Gurudwara (Sikh temple), and one needs shelter and food even at odd hours, just walk in and you will be welcome to be their guest. I have never enjoyed photographing any other place as much as I have at the Golden Temple; its open 24 hours, no restrictions, free kitchen, cleanliness of the highest grade, water, bathrooms, rooms to stay, etc. Since, Sikhs are very prone to political interference in their religious places as well. Most political parties reach the people of Punjab via religion and have political offices in Gurudwaras.  Off late, when I went to Golden Temple, I was shocked to face the irrational restriction for the use of tripods in Golden Temple, which is really sad.

Sikhs are workaholic, this trait has made them the most successful farmers in India and have proved it even overseas. They believe in this philosophy `work like a horse and enjoy like a king’. Also, they have acumen as transporters and they dominate transport business all over the country, they are leaders in the automobile spare-parts business as well. They are bold to explore any place on earth to make wealth.

The biggest worry of the custodians of this religion is that young generations are diluting the values which were well guarded for centuries. The menace of drugs is engulfing the health of youth in Punjab, which is affecting Sikhs as well. It has lead the youth to be casual towards values and respect for the teachings of their Gurus.

They are very interesting people to know, till you do not get on to their wrong side !!!

DISCLAIMER : This post is NOT to promote or support any religion. Sikhs are like any other subject to me, as a photographer. I have not written anything about religion here, so NO controversies please. These are my own views. Do not try to dig things out of a mole hill. All religions are respect worthy. My religion is ONLY to be a `good human-being’.

Slideshow

One day in the summer of 2006, Ms Bharti Sharma, our family friend, who is a graphic designer, came to visit us. She had just returned from Egypt, after spending about a year on her professional assignment. Rajbir and me were glued to our chairs, with all ears to her travel log narration. We got so engrossed listening to her, we even forgot to offer any customary drink or something to eat. While listening to Bharti, we both realised that a visit to Egypt was our common dream, which remained only in our subconscious minds separately. Somehow, we never got around to ponder over the subject together. May be considering it a bit far fetched in our minds, or simply it just never came up for discussion. I think, sometimes we are discussing something else and our discussion drifts to your dreamy wishes, but even that never happened over the numerous cups of tea, which we both love sharing to discuss life and its goodies. We both were quite amazed at that mystery, when we both poured our hearts out to Bharti that we discovered our common `love’ for Egypt only through her. Moreover, I think, we are so used to travelling in total comfort, onboard our Kingcobra (motorhome) that we never put our minds together to plan any trip to Egypt. Also, the most tricky thing is the process of choosing a tour operator, who can either shatter your dreams or make it as the most bitter travel, even make it wonderfully memorable trip of life time.

I was quite amazed when Rajbir was expressing her wish to visit Egypt, like a child does, to Bharti. And we crawled closer to Bharti to hear more, as if we were inching towards Egypt. I looked at Rajbir in amazement that how come I never knew about her this dream and wish for Egypt. As the journey through Egypt was being done with talk of Bharti, we oftent interrupeted her with volley of questions. I am sure, at some point Bharti must have had headache with us. I did not want to have a rush trip like that is organised by a tour operator, you miss so much in that regimented group tour. So, I was trying to discover if there were other options like that of staying with one of Bharti’s friends in Egypt who could accept us as `paying guests’ for two to three months. Bharti also gave us an idea of hiring an apartment in Cairo and stay there for three four months and capture Egypt in our minds and cameras as much as we wanted and at our own pace. This plan swept me off my feet and I was already soaring high in that dreamy world, day dreaming like I never did before in my life. I was gasping in awe and dream, I was getting restless and wanted to fly to Egypt anytime. All of sudden, Bharti got a call from her mother and she left our house abruptly. We could not conclude anything concrete about our plans for Egypt and thereafter we could not meet Bharti till she got married. Bharti left us in doldrums. That night, I could not sleep dreaming about Egypt only. But it seems, when you are passionate and madly in love for something, God gets on your side. Exactly, at this point a miracle took place. One day, I got a mail from Sushil Gaur whom I had met briefly at Haldwani (now in Uttrakhand state of India) at my cousin’s place who used to run a career counseling academy in their hometown. Sushil wrote me that he has always been wanting to communicate with me, eversince he saw me at Haldwani, while travelling in our Kingcobra. He envied our life style, drifting with the wind of life and enjoyed every whiff that came our way. Sometimes, even we wonder and enjoy about the will of God, that how exhilarating life we have been blessed with, so far, indeed.

Finally, Sushil fixed up a photography assignment for me with Eastmar Tours. The notice was too short to organise myself and the family for the Egypt tour. I realised that our kids did not have passports and my passport had expired. As I mentioned, when God is happy with your passionately done work, He decides to be on your side always. I wanted passports in four days and I could not dream of getting passport before two weeks at least. As I was wondering how I will get it, I got a phone call from Mr Ashwani Attri, who was the Accountant General of Haryana at that time, to meet him for something. On meeting, I asked if he could help me in getting the passports and he helped me in a proper legal way honestly and got me passports within four days. Rajbir often said that she will believe only when our aircraft for Egypt will take off. And one day soon, we were airborne for Egypt!

We, as a family, did a great memorable trip to Egypt, stayed in Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, the best was Nile Cruise. It was organised by Eastmar Tours. They have superb Nile cruise ships named as RA-I and RA-II. We were taken by pleasant surprise on our arrival on-board RA-II, we had not expected it to be so mesmerising atmosphere on the ship. We had great views of the River Nile, right from our cabin itself. I must say Nile cruise is really an experience which one should never miss in life. I met many tourists on the same ship, who told me that its `dream come true’ tour for them. They all had heard a lot about Egypt and dreamt about the River Nile.

I must appreciate that Eastmar has a great Chef and bis team on board; food was superb and very hygienic. And that is what one wants on a tour, good food, good room!

I am told Eastmar Tours is the oldest tour operator company in Egypt, since 1939.

I am planning to organise photo tours to Egypt, soon. I have proposed Eastmar Tours to make all the arrangements for a good photo tours. If anyone desires, please contact via email wildhiss@gmail.com

In the photo galleries below, you will see all the photos by me. I must say, its a highly recommended tour for anyone, even a 90 years old can do these tours.

Dervish Dance/ Sufi Dance Video

MORE ABOUT EGYPT

Taj Mahal (also “the Taj”) is one of the seven wonders of the world, and established historians have noted that its architectural beauty has never been surpassed. And is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles.  The Taj is the most beautiful monument built by the Mughals, the Muslim rulers of India. Its stunning architectural beauty is beyond any kind of description in words, particularly when seen at dawn and sunset. The Taj wears different looks in different weather conditions of all seasons and the time of the day, like a married woman looks in different colours of her dresses and jewelry – there is mesmerising glow on it in the light of the full moon, on a foggy morning, the Taj looks as if suspended, especially when viewed from across the Yamuna river, at sunset and sunrise it entices all the photographers as the glow of the last and first light transforms it into a big jewel.

In 1983, the Taj, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage.”

Like any other photographer, I was fascinated to photograph the Taj. The day I bought my first digital SLR Canon 20D at Delhi, I drove straight to Agra and spent a week around the marvel. With everyday spent around the Taj, it fired up the intensity of my love to photograph it, which I have never had with any other subject. During all the winter photo sessions, I stood shivering behind the Taj at 0515 hours in winters (used to get get up at 0430 hours), I could not touch my camera tripod with bare hands, it was chilling. Also, I have scorched myself  under the Sun of June, I have stood chest deep in the muck of Yamuna, which doesn’t have much of water content, I have slipped and banged my bums on human excreta many times (lost count now), sometimes the level of the muck flow increases and when it recedes leaves an evenly thin coating of muck behind on ground, which is nothing other than the sewerage flow of whole Agra city. But my passion always took over me and I could not see all that.

In June 2007, I went to photograph people congregating behind the Taj for the celebration of Ganga Dussehra. It is a local fair to Uttra Pradesh (one of the states of India). On my first such shoot, while I was shooting large congregation bathing in that murky Yamuna River, composing the Taj in the background, I had to be in my underwear, as I was not prepared for the kind of shots I was being offered by the festival. On my previous shoots, I used to avoid touching the water flowing in Yamuna, with my feet even. I was moving around very carefully, while holding two cameras up in air in my both hands, scared of slipping and hitting the cameras on ground first. But then the inevitable happened, I slipped on the thin layer of muck and then discovered that it changed my life and my view of the shoot. I was sitting on ground comfortably all over to shoot and regain those lost shots, which I had missed in last one hour, it was like losing virginity - thereafter no worries. I sat all over without any hesitation and was rewarded with some excellent photos. All this gets eclipsed when your passion makes you blind for as a while.

Now, I love going behind the Taj Mahal, on Yamuna side, on my each visit to Agra and the kids of Kacchpura village love to tag along with me on each shoot. After the shoot, its a ritual to have tea at the `cart mounted tea stall’, with the whole gang and my driver. My driver has never been able to understand why I visit this area again and again, why I am not tired of photographing  Taj. After this ritual, I take my driver to `Ram Babu Pratha Walla’ at Belan Ganj in Agra. You have to visit this place to believe and enjoy the best `prathas’ you can ever taste in India. This routine has been evolved to keep my drivers in good humour and motivated to bring me in the morning hours when he loves to sleep. I get up at 0430 hours to reach the entry point on the road near the village Kacchpura village at 0515 hours and be in Yamuna riverbed at around 0530 hours. And the driver has no charm to get up in the morning and then wait indefinitely in the jeep for me, while I am shooting. So, I pamper my drivers at `Ram Babu Parantha’ shop.

Why I reach there so early? Most of you may wonder about me being there with my cameras, behind the Taj so early in the darkness, much before the sunrise. I am sure some readers may ridicule me being there so early. I like to scout around the right spot in the river bed for the day-break and then have enough time to deploy my camera tripod, lens cleaning, filter mounting rings, etc. I do a stock check of each pocket of my photographer’s jacket, to ensure that I know where is what and in case I need anything suddenly, I can pull out things without any confusion. By being there right in the nick of time, I do not want to be caught running around by the first light of the day and then the rising Sun, likelihood is that one may trip over something as well. I am always there at the right spot and be ready in advance to catch the royal structure making shapes in front of the crimson light, at first light of the day-break. And when fog adds to its beauty, its like newly married lady shows her face through the veil slowly. Its simply mesmerising, ecstasy!

No words can express my joy of each day I spend behind the Taj. Though, I will try to do that through my photos of the Taj, posted here in its gallery.

Slideshow

Dr J S Sarkaria joined the army shortly after outbreak of the Second World War.  He was a Captain in the I.M.S. (Indian Medical Service) and was in the frontlines during the entire Burma campaign.  His field hospital was once virtually bombed out of existence by the Japanese, with very heavy casualties, and he was mentioned in dispatches for his bravery under fire. Sometime after the end of the war he joined P.C.M.S. (Punjab Civil Medical Service), and post-1947 his first posting was in Palampur.  He served subsequently in a number of stations: Amritsar, Rewari, Simla, Sirsa, Ludhiana, Simla again, Bhatinda, Nangal, etc., etc.

When he sought premature retirement he had been Medical Superintendent of Rajindra Hospital, Patiala for 2-3 years. Previous to that he had served in Chandigarh as Assistant Director of Health Services and Drug Controller at Chandigarh for some years.

He had obtained M.S. (Master in Surgery) early on in his service, when he was posted in remote Rewari (Haryana), a feat in itself because (at least at that time) this degree was very demanding even for people posted in medical colleges.  My father was acclaimed as a brilliant surgeon and had a fantastic amount of energy and drive.

Single-handedly he converted — through donations that he sought from the public directly — the ramshackled and run-down civil hospital in the desert town of Sirsa to a really good facility.  This was during the Chief Minister Mr Kairon.  He was quite impressed when he came there for an opening ceremony.  It is a great pity we now have very few (even in those days such people were rare) government officers with this kind of dedication and drive, which Dr JS Sarkaria had.

The biographic details of Dr Sarkaria, that are directly relevant to the Cactus Garden pertain to the years after he took retirement from P.C.M.S.  Quite a lot about these is in his book on this garden. The book can be accessed via this Link.

More will be written about Dr JS Sarkaria later probably with photos, if I can get from his family. I have written this as extracted from the e-mail sent to me by Mr Karanbir S Sarkaria, son of Dr JS Sarkaria.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” - St. Augustine

I love travelling!

Probably, travel is one of the best things which I have inherited from my father, apart from the wealth of values and sense of pride which is priceless. I am ever-ready to travel, I used to be ready to travel at half an hour of short notice, to any place in India. Now, I am married and have two small kids, I need to organise things for my own family before I set my `travel-itching foot’ on any voyage, so my wife doesn’t have to run around paying bills and shopping grocery, while managing two kids, etc.  Before our daughter Sukhmani started going to school, we always travelled as family together. I am trying to device some way out to go against the conventional education method and then travel on-board our Kingcobra.

My father has been my best teacher and trainer. In fact, he taught me more than what the Indian army could about how to live with self-esteem and honour. He grilled the civic sense first and made me good human being. He has been my trainer for developing my personality through various ways. I am amazed how he learnt all that, as he has been only a school teacher of a government primary school, where there is no scope of any exposure to an atmosphere which could instill this kind of character or personality in a teacher.

Its my father who initiated me into travel. His perception about life has been far beyond average Indian parents. Its with this outlook that he trained me to be prepared to take on life on my own without any kind of external support, which most of other Indian kids always depend on. Unlike Indian parents, he had set a deadline for me to stand on own feet to earn my living. I still hear echo of those words often – Suresh, do not think this will go on forever, as fun while living on father’s money. He further said very firmly that he will not support me beyond 20 years of my age and he made it very clear to me in just few words. Often, Indian parents keep supporting their children all their life, keep interfering in their personal life even. They always keep their kids under their own umbrella so much that they never grow out of this parental cocoon. Now, I realized that how lucky I am to have father who groomed me well to be self-reliant. He made me bold to make my own decisions. My father supported me for whatever best education, diet, basic amenities he could afford. But he never asked me about which subjects I have opted for in college and let me have freedom to set my own course in life. When I had just stepped into my college (S.D. College, Ambala Cantt.) for graduation in arts, I was also contemplating for professional colleges which could guarantee me a job after I complete my education. In those days, there weren’t much wider options as are nowadays. My father told me that he is not going to impose any of his choice of profession or any professional education on me, I was free to make my own decisions. All this training took place so smoothly and quietly that I never realised, it made a me a man.

Since, crime was less in those days, life was much safer for a 15 years old boy to travel alone for such long distances in overnight trains. Soon after my tenth class, I travelled alone to other cities to seek admission in professional courses; travelled by overnight trains alone, explored life and liked it, made my own arrangements for travel. It was unheard of  an Indian family, extending freedom to explore life to a raw lad of just 15. This phase changed my life and was a silent turning point in my life and attitude, changed perception to a great extent towards every aspect of life. Basics of cooking were taught to me at home, respect for elders drilled, respect for the system and the society was a must. Also, my father always encouraged me to buy books other than text books, which was not a common practice around me. After exams, I was given money to fund my small projects i.e. I made my own guitar (everything except its cords was crafted by me), small television which was fitted with a slide projector (again projector was made by me with local lenses), etc.

I remember, eversince I started walking, my father used to take me along for morning walks, exploring old buildings, temples, grave-yards, mosques, culture, etc. We used to walk long distances, go on bicycle trips, made me self-reliant, inculcated self-confidence me as a routine. He also motivated me a lot about the value of good health; its my father who could convince me so well against smoking that it had everlasting impact on my mind. In fact, my father encouraged me for anything good in life, never discouraged.

All these had prepared me to become a good traveller and fired quest for wanderlust, adventure and to enjoy the wonders of nature from close. I was enticed by the army with the opportunities it offers to travel and pursue adventure, partly the influence of an army cantonment. My father never forced me to join the Indian army, but he had won my impressionable young mind with the library books about `war heroes’ of India. All things put together developed a very strong desire in me to join the Indian Army for my profession and had no second option in my mind.

I strongly believe that travel shapes one’s character and personality, inculcates a great amount of self-confidence, one starts respecting all cultures and religions, becomes more civic, makes you humble, realise the value of every small thing, one starts to respect even the smallest denomination of currency, fuss about anything is defused, respect for life and all the living things - making you a good human being.

I have been lucky to have got married to my `lady love’ Dr Rajbir Kaur, who is a Sikh by religion, but we both respect humanity and life more than religion. I never imposed anything on my wife, she took to traveling like `fish to water’ and that was a great asset to both of us towards a happy married life and towards our family. I have met some men who love traveling but their wives not at all, I think they have no idea how much of great fun of life they deny to themselves. But this makes life very drab and dull for both.

Blessed are those who love travelling !!!

Slideshow

Cat Snake © Capt Suresh Sharma

Snakes are considered by many as perhaps the most dreadful of all animals that cohabit our planet. Fear about snakes prevails due to the total ignorance about these graceful, agile and useful creatures. In India, snakes are part of our mythology, yet, first reaction on seeing a snake is panic, fear and thought to exterminate the species. Non-poisonous snakes do not pose any major problems for humans besides fear and sometimes being pests. Lack of basic knowledge about snakes, leads to `fear of the unknown’ and then panic, which further leads to disasterous results.

Snakes, however, play important environmental roles in the fragile ecosystems and can play a very important role in agriculture. They control the population of harmful rodents and pests, thus helping people. Though sometimes dangerous, snakes can be useful, and, as any living creature, they have the right to exist.

In spite of being the most dreaded animal, snakes evoke curiosity like no other animal on earth. I have observed that people love to look at snakes, even when they scream and shiver with the sighting of a snake. Snakes have always been on the centre stage of special attention in the folklore and mythology, all over the world. On seeing a snake, reaction varies from screams, detestation, advocating the extermination of snakes from earth, worship, urge to touch and feel, etc.

Snakes never harm you, unless they perceive threat from you, when you move too close or you step on them. They are like a naked electrical wire, maintain distance and you are safe; both are very useful to us.

Basically, it’s the lack of information which leads to fear and chaos. I have experienced that if people are given the right information, their fear will be reduced and the confrontation will be converted into being more friendlier.

My mission is to remove the fear of snakes from the minds of people and save the snakes. The Snake Cell is a step in this direction and undoubtedly has been effective, so far.

I remember the days vividly, when I used to accompany my father on a bicycle from our ancestral village Kanthala to Panchkula area, at that time Panchkula was not even a village. Panchkula derived its name from the five irrigation canals known as `kuls’, making it `Panch Kul Wala’  thus Panchkula. We used to come from our ancestral village Kanthala (now The Tribune building, one of the most well known landmarks of Chandigarh, has been built here) to Panchkula, about 5 kms, to buy plants from the plant nurseries to be planted in our farm.

Chandigarh was developed as the most well planned city of India, post independence. But it engulfed many villages and swallowed the rich regional cultural heritage. It displaced so many families by paying them pittance as compensation, most of which could never regain their lost paradise and are fighting futile legal battles. The poor families of these villages had to bear the brunt of this forced displacement. Which proved a point, we often discuss, in India only rich and powerful have their way and lead life the way they like, commoner suffers as they did for centuries. In spite of the right to equality, we are not equals.

Anyway, Chandigarh was forced to grow as expected and it was a sleepy modern city till about 20 years ago, considered as a nice city for the retired and the working class; in spite of being capital of two states and having status of Union Territory.  There is no city India which enjoys the unique status like Chandigarh does. Now, its teeming with materialistic life. It has become business  capital of northern region. I strongly believe, city of Panchkula is the product of political agenda. The Haryana government speculated that Chandigarh might be transferred to Punjab, as there have been many attempts in the past. Which lead to some violent protests in Haryana. The think-tanks of Haryana government opted for Panchkula, as the best suited site for the contingency. It’s next to Chandigarh and still in Haryana. If suddenly government decides about Chandigarh to be handed over to Punjab, then Haryana will have its own capital ready in place and fully operational. In fact, Panchkula has reduced the congestion of offices in Chandigarh.

Dr JS Sarkari, had good collection of cactus and succulents. As he was growing old and he worried about his treasure of cactus. He decided to donate it to the ones who will care. He had given adverts in newspapers about it and at that time HUDA (Haryana Urban Development Authority) came forward and offered land. The present Cactus Garden was started here and Dr Sarkaria devoted most of his time here working under the Sun, even the younger lot could not keep pace with him. He is admired and revered all the time by the staff of the Garden.

MORE WILL COME HERE ABOUT THE CACTUS GARDEN SHORTLY, IN A DAY OR TWO.

nature is full of colors
with beautiful scented flowers
if your’e in a forest or a park
its nice even in the dark

nature is full of beasts and birds
with so many shrubs and ferns
its mountains are very high
they almost touch the sky

nature has its deserts
and nature has its plains
at times its sunny
sometimes it rains

nature is so pretty and bountiful
with snow covered peaks and sounds so beautiful
when people destroy nature, remember
we need nature for our future.

a poem by Rishi Menon (11 years old)

]]> http://captsuresh.com/nature/nature-mother-of-all.html/feed http://captsuresh.com/nature/flowers/flowers-natures-jewels.html http://captsuresh.com/nature/flowers/flowers-natures-jewels.html#comments Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:04:05 +0000 Capt Suresh http://captsuresh.com/?p=155

“Of what I call God, And fools call Nature”, Robert Browning

We all agree unanimously that Nature is the best creator, designer, planner, researcher, architect, healer, doctor and undoubtedly the best for everything. It has gifted millions of wonders to the denizens of this beautiful planet. And flowers are one of the most beautiful creations of all, the colours, designs, patterns and the intrigue process which goes on all the time for making them shine, like a factory to make these flowers embellish the surface of our planet.

Flowers are one of the most fascinating subjects and photographers have always been attracted by these wonders, like they do to bees al the time.

I will try to share my experiences about flowers here with you, of course, more through photos. Also, I will try to share some experiences in words, as most of you would be keen to know how a particular image has been created.

Petals

a poem by Amy Lowell

Life is a stream
On which we strew
Petal by petal the flower of our heart;
The end lost in dream,
They float past our view,
We only watch their glad, early start.

Freighted with hope,
Crimsoned with joy,
We scatter the leaves of our opening rose;
Their widening scope,
Their distant employ,
We never shall know. And the stream as it flows
Sweeps them away,
Each one is gone
Ever beyond into infinite ways.
We alone stay
While years hurry on,
The flower fared forth, though its fragrance still stays.