Flag Position

One brave soul rode a bajaj scooter to Pangong Tso! The road is bad, the winds are chilling at 13,500 ft. This scooter belongs to a guy who works at the small army cafe at the lake. His jobs takes him there but must be one bone-racking yet exhilarating experience to drive up. I loved the morning light filtering through the clouds and lighting up the lake like a portal to another world. Nature is frightening and calming at the same time.

Wrap and Weft

This raffia bag caught my attention during one of my trips to Khan Market. The vibrant colors were quiet a puller. I loved the texture and the details of the natural material. Now that everyone is going green, such things are not only environment friendly but also fashionable. An added bonus is the employment it provides to the people in cottage industry. Looking at the weave made me think how like our lives it was. Isn't our life made of different strands, our life as a child, friend, spouse, parent, boss, citizen of our country etc.? All these lives are woven together to make us complete as the complex person we are. We have our high points and our shadows and all the happy moments that stand out in bright orange against the blues.

Picnic at the big mountain

Chilly morning wind, bank of of an Himalayan lake and and a backdrop of breathtaking mountains, what could be a better spot for a picnic. I saw this group of Americans braving the sharp cold on the side of lake Pangong at 13,500ft up in the Himalayas. Swaddled in down jackets they were enjoying mangoes, the bounty of the tropics. Watching them made me hungry too. All you need is the company of your friends to make even an inhospitable terrain a party place.

I See You

It is said the eyes are the windows to the soul. They show what the face tries to hide. There eyes that are innocent or soulful or mirthful or shifty. The eyes say it all when they blaze with anger, shine with excitement, cry with anguish or twinkle with naughtiness. A laugh is meaningless until it lights up the eyes. Eyes communicate without words without sound. There are looks that can kill and then there are come hither looks. A mother can admonish or reward a child with just one look. Eyes are all seeing but can choose to be metaphorically blind.

Eyes form prominent imagery in Hindu and Buddhist culture. Goddess Kali is depicted by blazing eyes. Shiva's third eye is believed to destroy all. They have inspired centuries of poets. Every artist has tried to capture the soul of the subject in the depiction of the eyes.

Eyes are what attracted me to this statue of the Buddha. The exude a serenity that is very de-stressing. Every time I look at them I feel a little more peaceful with my surrounding. They draw me inwards to the anchor of my innermost thoughts and to the place that calms me. They tell me 'I see you' as you are and not as others perceive you. Be true to yourself and you need not fear what others think of you.