Encroachment

Another one straight out of Baijnath, Pushkar (Rajasthan). Its an old Banyan tree, with its roots, untramelled, unrestricted, encroaching over whatever that may come in its way. The snap covers only part of the roots; in real, the roots had taken over quite some area around the tree, as if it was marking its property.

Right of Way

A right of way is a strip of land that is granted, through an easement or other mechanism, for transportation purposes. I named it so because of the way the road slides from between these rocky mountains, as if to say that it has a right of way, wherever, whatsoever be the hurdle.

The snap had been clicked while I was coming back from my Convocation Ceremony at National Law University, Jodhpur. The place is Barr, somewhere in between Jodhpur to Ajmer.

Success

Generally, any graphical representation wherein the graph is moving up is taken as success or progress, so thats why I've tagged it so. The snap had been clicked in the Mehrangarh Fort, at Jodhpur (Rajasthan).

Bold & Beautiful

I guess the title says it all. A soft hand wearing a bold colour, and the combo together, simply beautiful. The snap has been clicked while sitting in a car.

Reflections

It was the evening of Deepawali, and I'd just laid down the diyas everywhere in the house. Once done with that I just switched off the lights to click a single diya in its natural light, but while clicking it, what I realized was that instead of one, the complete queue would look better, and so, here is the line, being reflected in the wall paint, doubling the beauty of the lamps.

Signature

I was at Lake Foy Sagar, the picturesque artificial lake near Ajmer (Rajasthan) when I clicked this one. It was not the boat that attracted me, but the way the name of its owner was written in its front. How people abandon their belongings but leave behind their imprints on them, only for people like me to find them later.

Edgy

Commonly known as Kevda, this is a leaf of Screw Pine [Pandanus fascicularis]. It is a very thorny leaf having hook-like thorns all over the leaf edges after regular intervals. Generally, the thorns are not visible and it is only when one touches the leaf that he realizes about his mistake. I clicked this snap at my home in Ajmer, where we have this plant in a pot.

Together

These are flowers of Bougainvillea, bunched together to form a cluster. I have it in my home at Ajmer. It is a depictive snap wherein I rendered the background as black & white, only to depict that when friends are together, they are happy amongst themselves and rest all seems dull. The depth of focus came exceptionally well because of the distance between the flowers and the background.

Tranquility

Lake Foy Sagar is a picturesque artificial lake named after the engineer Mr Foy, an Englishman, who created it under a famine relief project. It is a masterpiece when it comes to artificial lakes. He created it to tackle with harshest conditions of famine under a famine relief project. This artificial lake was constructed in the year 1892. It appears as flat as a pancake, and offers the eye-catching sights of the neighboring Aravalli mountains. After years I had visited it this time, and it had changed considerably. I was sitting there observing nature in its truest forms when I clicked this snap.

Baradari, Ajmer

The historic man-made lake Ana Sagar lake of Ajmer was constructed by Maharaja Anaji, the grandfather of Maharaja Prithvirāj Chauhān, between 1135 A.D. to 1150 A.D. By the lake is the Daulat Bāgh, a garden laid out by Emperor Jahāngīr. Emperor Shāh Jahān later added five pavilions, known as the Baradari, between the garden and the lake. In the snap, you sure can see three of those five pavilions. For Ajmer today, this place is a lifeline. If you happen to visit it in the mornings, you would find people on their morning walks, in the evenings kids along with their parents are a common sight running from one end to another here.

I remember coming here often when I was a kid, but when I came after a long gap of considerable years, the place seemed changed, needing more support and maintenance from the Government. But well, like all other historical places, I think this has the same fate of running dilapidated with time and ignorance of the (un)concerned authorities.

Breakfast

Another one straight out of Daulat Bagh (Ajmer). I was off from my clicking some snaps here and on my way back home, hungry, when I noticed these pigeons having their morning breakfast of grains. Lucky them!

Shock!

Its a funny snap of a toy that I got for my two year old nephew. I had just hung it from a nail in the wall when I felt like clicking a snap of it before handling it to him. It looked cute and a perfect description of someone in a shock. You'll feel more familiar with the title of the snap if you've seen the advertisement of Center Shock chewing gum.

Supporters

Its said that only the supporters make someone famous. Here what we have are the supporters in form of pillars of this structure. This is one of the five Pavilions built by Emperor Shāh Jahān, known as the Baradari, between Daulat Bagh and Ana Sagar Lake in Ajmer (Rajasthan). Behind the pillars is visible the Ana Sagar Lake.

Countless

I don't know the name of the plant variety, neither am aware of the flower name, all I know is that its a very beautiful flower. I call the snap Countless because of the innumerous flower petals that are coming out.

Vector

Generally vectors are used to represent physical quantities which have both magnitude and direction. I titled this snap as vector only because all that was common between these five birds was their vector. Usually, birds of the same feather create an aerodynamic shape to reduce air drag while flying, but these birds did not display the usual trait.

Goose Bumps

To keep Acharya Tulsi's teachings immortal, his followers built a memorial in the village of Todgarh (Ajmer, Rajasthan) named Mahashila Abhilekh. I was there, looking for something when my Mom told me to look at this bud, belonging to a Gulmohar Tree [Delonix Regia] growing nearby. I liked it and so I clicked it. When I later saw it, I could not come up with anything better than this tag.

Walk The Line

Recently I visited Todgarh, a wildlife sanctuary in Ajmer (Rajasthan) spread in total in an area of 495.27 Kms. Unfortunately, the only wildlife I saw was this pretty li'l creature whom with my limited knowledge in this field I am unable to work out about. But this one was damn interesting, especially with its three differently enabled set of legs and a radar-like tail-cum-sting. I titled it so because this creature was totally unmoved by my coming close to it, and just kept itself busy in reaching the other end of this twig.

I was quite curious to see its typical eyes, but later, on close scrutiny I found that the yellow circle with blue dots within was nothing more than a mere pattern, and the real eyes were in the front. Now, except the fact that I did not find any wildlife, Todgarh is an amazing place, especially to be visited in the rainy season.

Chained

I love this one. This is Anasagar Lake, and its morning time, where this Boat which otherwise rules the waters of this Lake, is chained to the dock, waiting for its routine to start. I took the pains to wake up early morning hours to go visit this place to get some good clicks, and I can't complain of being disappointed. This historic man-made lake was constructed by Maharaja Anaji (1135-1150 AD), the grandfather of Maharaja Prithviraj Chauhan. And I must add here that its the lifeline of the people living in Ajmer (Rajasthan). There were times, when the lake was flooded with water, but thanks to the irregular rains and climate change, water is one thing this Lake yearns for.

Adjustability

Adjustability: of all these stones to sit together, even though being so brittle and hard in itself. Its a general way of making walls in Rajasthan Villages. I clicked this snap in the Forest Department Office in Bhim, District Rajsamand (Rajasthan) when I was on my way to some other place. I like this style of making the walls, without using anything else but a simple arrangement of stones. that's why I named it adjustability, because if these hard unbendable stones can be put together to form such a beautiful structure, then why can't us humans work together keeping aside our egos? Its just a thought. Think about it!

Diffusion

Clicked in the morning from the frosted glass window near my bed, this snap needs no explanation for its tag. Diffusion is generally a transport of material from a region of higher concentration to one of lower concentration. That is what is happening here, because there is a gradual mixing of the flower petals into the window, as if forming various identifiable pixels of various colour tones. The flower is a Bougainvillea Bonsai kept outside my room. And it always is equally beautiful when I wake up. Feels awesome to be greeted by nature in such a colourful manner.

Alive

There are only few things that always stay vibrant. Whatever be the weather, the water always is alive. I love this tendency of water, and its something I love to stare for hours. This is Anasagar Lake in Ajmer (Rajasthan). The white marble Bara-dari on the Anasagar Lake is exquisite. This historic man-made lake was constructed by Maharaja Anaji (1135-1150 AD), the grandfather of Maharaja Prithviraj Chauhan.

Anger

The colour Red and Yellow collectively denote Anger, and thats what I've tried to depict here with an extremely contrasting subject. The plant is in my garden, but I don't know what specie it actually is of. Stop laughing at me! It was an easy click, no issues, just a simple zooming and... press the shutter!

Support

This one's dedicated to all my friends, who're nothing less than my complete Support System. If I am something today, I owe it all to them, coz if it were not their perfect advices at the right times, I wouldn't be who I am. It takes a lot of stones to make a building, and its not the stones on top that make it big, but the hidden stones lying in the foundation that decide the height of the building. Its something similar, coz its the hidden support of a friend that makes you YOU. This snap has been clicked on my way to Baijnath, a place ahead of Pushkar, in Ajmer (Raj.). It was the side wall of some dilapidated abode made by someone.

Platonic

Taken at a railway crossing near Barr (Distt. Pali, Rajasthan), I guess its a standard snap that every photographer has in his album. So, even I was compelled to click this one. Anyways, I chose this title after consuming loads of time. I did not want to give it the standard age-old tags of distance, or journey, or something similar. So, I just concentrated over those two rails, who although being each other's best friends, never meet... Platonic, hunh?

Packaging

Its an Indian Star Tortoise [Geochelone Elegans], and well, it comes in a package. Its hard bony or chitinous carapace covering the head and thorax has always been a point of curiosity. But well, I think its one of the best packed animals, having a ready home, and aptly protected against any predators. The carapaces are available in various colours, attractive all of them. I love this snap because of the way he's standing in it, like an aristocrat.

Mehrangarh

Mehrangarh Fort, located in Jodhpur (Rajasthan) is one of the largest forts in India. The fort is situated on a lofty height, and is enclosed by imposing thick walls. Mehrangarh (etymology: 'Mihir' (Sanskrit) -sun or Sun-deity; 'garh' (Sanskrit)-fort; i.e.'Sun-fort'; according to Rajasthani language pronunciation conventions, 'Mihirgarh' has changed to 'Mehrangarh'; the Sun-deity has been the chief deity of the Rathore dynasty.

This place has been my favourite hangout while I stayed in Jodhour for my Law Degree. I still remember how all of us friends used to go there and sit for hours. This snap has been taken from the terrace of Pal Haveli, a very nice restaurant in the Old City of Jodhpur.

Over The Edge

A simple snap, the tag says it all. Have nothing more to add, abstract click actually. I was playing with focus, thought of focusing in the middle, rather than the extreme ends and clicked this.

Follow Me!

This guy's cute. Its an Indian Star Tortoise [Geochelone Elegans] and is stunning in its beauty with the radiating star pattern on its carapace making him an eye-catching display. He's a baby, probably a month old or so, and was quite interested in the camera lens initially, sniffing it to see if it could be eaten. But when found nothing to his taste, he just turned away... as if he was asking me to follow him if I needed to click a snap.

Remnants

Remnants of a tree eaten by termites. I was in Deer Park, Pushkar, when I located this one. Somehow, liked it, and well, what else I had to do than to click it...?

Restricted

Restricted! The mere image of a barbed wire brings such thoughts to our mind. This is something I've been wanting to click from quite some time. Finally I clicked it...!! It was the wired boundary of some field. You may notice the background of standing crops. Initially I thought of taking it against the setting sun, but then thought better to have a dark background such that the barbed wire may get more attention. It was tough to focus on the wire alone without a tripod, but finally the image came well.

Haven

This snap has been clicked on my way to Baijnath, a place ahead of Pushkar, in Ajmer (Raj.). It was some dilapidated abode made by someone, looking at its condition it didn't seem as if someone still resided here. Standing in the middle of the greenery, on the foot of a rocky mountain, it looked as if some home of the people of the stone age. I don't know how people managed to find the right stone to fill in the spaces to erect such straight walls. Anyways, I titled it Haven because for today, in the middle of that way, where there was no one around, this stone structure seemed only like a refuge.

Camouflage

A green grasshopper sitting on a green leaf ready to greet you; that's what camouflage is all about. When I noticed him initially, he was sitting on some other leaf, and by the time I came running back with my Nikon, he'd already left that place. It took me 2 minutes to locate him again, but to my good luck, he was sitting on a more clickable position on a greener leaf. So, all I had to do was to look at him from my viewfinder, and Click!

Impenetrable

"United We Stand, Divided We Fall"

Impenetrable! That's what these forests look like. The only reason for their looking so is their unity; cvery single tree has an identity here, but their strength is their unity. It felt so soothing to look at them, something I can't explain in words. I was on my way to Pachkund, near Ajmer, when on the way came these Naag Mountains. All covered in green due to the July rains, they looked marvelous.

Catkin

When I was in school at Kota, I had a group of four, and we named it CatKiNS, after the four of us. Today, when I had to name this snap, I knew it couldn't be anything other than Catkin. I was in Deer Park at Pushkar, looking for some deers, when I found this one catkin hanging down the plant, obstructing my view. So, guess no need to mention, this snap is dedicated to that group which taught me the real dimensions of life.

Vespers

The setting sun, and a bird of prey, back at its abode, bidding an adieu to it. That's what I tried to capture in this one. This peacock, sitting on a tree standing at Deer Park, Pushkar, was staring intently at the sunset as if making his vespers for the day.

Lonely

All night I waited,
Sitting on this leaf with caution;
But lonely I die,
Reducing with the rising sun.

I guess that's what this dew drop must have been thinking. I clicked this snap way back, and somehow never realized that I'd not uploaded it to my Blog. So, for such a belated recognition, I felt this droplet deserved some appreciating words. Clicked in December 2007, this is one of the first snaps that made me observe the beauty of dew drops.

Midnight Beauty

The magnificence and the exquisite manner in which this Plumeria flower stood starkly different from its background attracted me to click the snap. I always wanted to click something like this, a bright flower against a dull background. Amongst darkness around, this flower seems to be the only attraction… A true midnight beauty…!!!

Strike

Female Rock Pythons lay up to 100 eggs between March and June and stay with them for the 80 days till they hatch. I guess this kid freshly out of his shell came to my house. He was only approximately 9 inches long and looked so damn cute. I tried to hold his tail with my bare hand, but I guess that scared him enough to get back to my hand only to bite. Luckily, apprehensive enough to be alert with him, I removed my hand in time. Otherwise, though not venomous, the bite of a python is painful because of the many sharp teeth it has in its mouth. Then with the help of a stick it was caught and put in a bucket.

This snap of him is while he is inside the bucket aiming for a strike at anything that comes nearby. Although I did leave a live earthworm for him to feast over, he did not even care to kill that one. He too must be a 'Jain' I guess.

Beauty and the Beast

Hmmm... I know Maneka Gandhi and PETA would not like my calling this honey bee a beast, but this is only a symbolic description of this beautiful (and dangerous) insect. I've been bitten by eight of them once, so I know how dangerous they are!!!

I was planning to take a snap of this beautiful flower belonging to the Touch-Me-Not plant [Mimosa Pudica] when this hungry beast came flying by. It was hard capturing her primarily because my D60 was on a tripod and the settings were made for capturing a still flower. Without wasting time I changed the settings to capture this moving bee, but still, I guess the speed at which she was flying was more than what I assumed- that's why her wings couldn't come well into the snap, but only a glimpse of them. Anyways, something's better than nothing; would try clicking a better snap next time!

Oh! If you think the way I do, let me tell you... No! The flowers of Touch-Me-Not plant are not like its leaves which fold inward and droop when touched or shaken. I'd seen the flowers for the first time in such plant. So, my first instinct was to go touch the flower to see if it also droops. It didn't..!

Ogling

Before my Mom showed me this Cactus, I thought only guys ogled their eyes at 'beauties'. But well, this Cactus would beat any guy around in ogling its eyes. Of all the snaps that I've clicked this would be the funniest one I think. It amazes me how nature has all colours, all feelings absorbed in its various creations. When everyone looks at a Cactus as one very tough and lifeless plant, this one just fights away all such thoughts. These actually are two buds of this plant which give way for some small flowers. I don't know what exact specie is this Cactus belonging to. Please let me know if you do.

As per a general Indian superstition, it is considered bad to keep cactus in home since they lead to untoward happenings. How funny? Look at this cute plant, anyone who says that it can affect a home adversely should first go consult a Psychologist.

The Eye

The unemotional eye of an Indian Rock Python. I love the way he stared at me while I clicked him. Well, Snakes appear to stare at their prey because they have no eyelids. The eyes of snakes are lidless, but are protected by a tough, transparent covering, or scale, that is shed with the skin. Within the animal world, they tend to have one of the most beautiful eyes.

Chit Chat

An evening on a rainy day. I was, again, in Pushkar... the best place to be at, near Ajmer, if its raining. I noticed these pigeons sitting on the overhead transmission lines, as if they were cursing the rains and chit chatting amongst themselves about when would it stop.

When I thought initially to take the snap, I was apprehensive about really getting one, because it was dark and I prefer not using the flash (just kills the natural beauty!!). So, I just set the ISO settings to get something meaningful outta that click... and here it is. See if you can notice, many pigeons are sitting in exactly the same position, as if its a customary way of their sitting.

Crossing the Line

Squirrels are one of the cutest animals that you can find in your home garden; obviously if you have a puppy, there's no match for him. Its hard to click squirrels because they are too apprehensive of humans, so going near them is impossible. I was following this young one for quite sometime when I got this shot. She was small and very very cute. It was the first time I'd seen a squirrel baby, and take my word for it, they are absolutely adorable..!!

The tag has been given simply because this one looked as if she was waiting to cross the road. Traffic Sense, hunh?

Fear

Only four snake species across the whole of India are venomous enough to kill us. They are- Cobras, Kraits, Russell's Vipers and Pit Vipers. But the fear of these four make us kill the rest of them all too. Poor them, for no fault of theirs what they are awarded by us is nothing but a cruel death.

I had to click three snaps before I could capture his tongue once. Its just so fast. A Snake or a Python finds its prey by using this tongue. It places its tongue on its Jacobson's organ after having its tongue in the air. It touches its tongue on the two pits by the Jacobson's organ to allow it to properly sense its prey. The reason snakes have a forked tongue is so that the tongue can touch these pits. The deeper the fork in a snake's tongue, the more the snake uses its Jacobson's organ.

Drenched

Leaves of Christmas Tree drenched in the July rains. Midnight rains always are good for photographers it seems. It had rained in the night and I came out in my garden looking for some nice things to click. Luckily got two nice shots together. Click here to see the other snap clicked with this one. Since I left the other snap coloured I thought I'll transform this one to monochrome.

Ripples

I'm always attracted to the beauty of ripples. They are a distinct type of wave. And I'm not gonna enter the world of Physics to explain why I hold such a view. It was dark, and I had to use flash to click this snap, therefore, there is a specific lighting effect in this snap.

Now since I did not know where the next rain drop would fall, so like most professional photographers, this is not that good a capture of the real beauty of a ripple. Till the time I click a better one, let this be it.

Innocence

This is my cuuuuutteee nephew Sukrit, known better as Wishie. Amazingly adorable, guess he's the only kid till date whom I love to play with. There's a story behind this click. Actually he was sitting on the bed laughing, and I wanted to capture that chuckle, but the moment he saw the camera in my hand, suddenly he got scared and stopped laughing. So, here we have, Mr. Wishie Singh (as his Dad lovingly calls him) in his most innocent look.

I rarely am able to click good snaps of people, depicting their emotional colours. So, this one especially means a lot to me.

Fragile

These are Asparagus leaves. I initially thought of naming this snap something else but while clicking, one set of leaves got moved and came shattering down all the droplets. So, while clicking this one, I knew what to name it. The beauty of this plant is encompassed in its much feathery foliage. It looks delicate, and over that, water droplets stranded over it, gave it a new dimension.

I did use a tripod to click this one, primarily because I had been inspired by a mail wherein they had some very beautiful snaps of water droplets. In every droplet stood crystallized the things behind the drop. In the bigger resolution of this snap, this thing can be clearly seen. But sorry! Can't upload the full version here (only to be copied by people!).

Collage

Nothing to say for this one- A macro close up of a python's scales. Collage is well-suited because of the way these varied scales are forming a distinct pattern giving him his identity.

Pace

This snail is very small, at max one centimetre long. I didn't know snails were found in Ajmer unless I noticed this one climbing up the side wall of the lawn, coming out of rain water stagnated there. Its a mysterious animal: Small and Slow, I donno how it even manages to have a stomach full every night before going off to sleep in its very own custom created abode, a spiral shell into which the whole body can be withdrawn. They are soft bodied invertibrates having antenna like eyes. Look into the snap above and you'll be able to locate them in the front, standing above.

After gaining some knowledge from Wikipedia, I've come to know its a pulmonate land snail. This specie which is found in gardens is anthropophilic, that is, found most often around human habitation. The easiest part of clicking him was that whatsoever may happen, it could not run away from me; and the hardest part was that it was so small that to click his features properly I had to bring my lens too close to him, and the moment I did that, it went inside the shell. Frustrated for not having been able to click a front pose, I rather got satisfied with a side pose... Yep! The snail running its pace!!!