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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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…!!!

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.

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.

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!).

Curvaceous

What else could have I tagged this beauty with? This is the second snap of that same python which you can find below. He is a 2 year old Indian Rock Python still growing. You may notice the recent growth towards its tail, still bright and shiny. Sitting tranquil in my house's front lawn this one just kept on curling in a splendid yet bravura display of raw power. It being a cold-blooded animal, actually feels cold to touch to. You can actually feel its constricting muscles moving inside the body which give you a good idea how would you feel if caught between them.

Although this python stayed mostly idle and motionless here, but when we went off to free him in the jungle, the speed with which he jumped out of the sack was worth admiration. I never could have attributed that agility to this bulky creature unless seen with my own eye. Once in a lifetime opportunity I must say!!