Skies come alive....

I was up in the sky, high high above it all.. after ages.. This time, I got upgraded and travelled in plush seats, with wow level leg room. And so I did not have to excuse myself every time I turned or twisted in my seat... That apart, the windows seemed bigger as well and I could see all the way beyond with ease... 

There was a bit of turbulence, but wasn't too bad. I watched a few episodes of downloaded show, read a while, chit chatted with my co-passenger and dozed a bit as well..Here are some shots I clicked during the flight from Bombay to Chennai...  [Psst- haven't edited any of the images]

Skywatch... The rolling hills

We were doing with the wedding rehearsal, it was time to go drop off a friend whose daughter was part of the wedding entourage and head over to the Bridal dress store. The venue was quite a distance from their house and the route my aunt took was absolutely breathtaking. 

The day I landed in LA, I realised that people relied completely on GPS/Maps to get them to their destination. Nobody drives based on self knowledge, you would end up in circles I was told. So, this afternoon she had the GPS on, and we went.. Took us about an Hour which is exactly what the Map told us and the route was magical. Along the way, we saw nothing but sprawling mountains, some covered in mustard and others just lush green. One section of the road had Orange trees lined up on one side with the fruit hanging low. The sky was clear blue and not a single cloud in sight...  

Oh and we also spotted a farm that had horses, goats and even llamas enroute...Here are a few photographs taken along the way [some are blurry cos I was clicking from a moving car] :-) 

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Skywatch Friday- High up in the sky

There is something about being 30,000 feet up in the air. For some it is scary, but am not one of those. I enjoy travelling and so the mode doesn't really matter as long as it gets me to the destination without too much fuss.  While flying, I love sitting in the window seat and clicking pictures of the sky and clouds. 

This time, my friend was kind enough to let me have the window seat during both legs of our journey towards Jaipur and I was happy there. Looking out through the little window, looking at the buildings and the ground slowly disappear can be unnerving for many. Am not the Meg Ryan from French Kiss who is petrified of flying and is chanting all kinds of prayers. I, on the hand freak out with excitement. And when we are finally up in the air, the clouds engulf me, making me feel all warm and fuzzy. I drift into my own world where there is nothing but me and emptiness around.

Here are a few images of the changing scene around us as we flew from Chennai to Delhi and then from Delhi to Jaipur. It was magical to say the least. 

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Skywatch Friday.. Flower Friday.... Roses Galore

We were in the Blue hills, the Nilgiris and this trip was with my dear darling friend and her family [who are as good as mine]. Since it was my friend's 1st time in Ooty, we decided to do all the touristy things. One of them was a visit to the Rose gardens[also called Centenary Rose Park], situated on the slopes of the Elk Hill in Vijayanagaram area. Luring the kids with a promise of a park, we piled into the car and drove down to the place. Upon parking the car, I ran ahead with the kids only to stop stumped. The Rose gardens seemed never ending. My friend's son and I tried to see far ahead and all we saw was mist and a hill hiding behind the sheet. Wow... We wondered how large the garden was and if we would be able to explore the entire space. The other interesting thing about this place is that the tiles you walk on have rose image engraved on them. :-) 

Jumping down the staircase one at a time, we kept pointing out to the largest rose in the garden. He would point to one, and I would rush over to see it; pretty soon his sister would point to one and we would tumble across. This went on till my friend and her hubby joined us and knocked some sense into our heads [atleast we let them think they did..] My friend had knee pain, and could not walk long. We asked them to rest in the gazebo while the brat and moi went ahead. The girlie wanted to join, but I knew both would be more than  a handful. I made a pact, 2 rounds with her brother and then it would be her turn to walk with me. :-) 

The roses we saw were beautiful, some were huge, bigger than my palm [yes, I have big hands]. It was such a burst of colour- pale pink, bright pink, white, red, burgundy, yellow, orange, peach, orange and red, yellow and red, the colours were just amazing. Some were small, some were large, some with pretty petals while others had small petals. Some stood tall, while others seemed to be searching for something on the ground below. 

The skies were clear and blue, the roses such a stark contrast to the soothing skies, as if they were telling the visitors "this is how life is, good and bad, bright and dull, learn to accept & move on"... 

Phew, not sure how long we were there, but we were exhausted and had managed to see about 3/4th of the place. Would need a day, but we dint have that kind of time. Suddenly, I heard my name being called out. It was time to scoot, we headed out but not before taking a few group photographs. 

PS: This garden has received the as "Garden of Excellence" by the World Federation of Rose Societies (WFRS) in 2006.. There are only 4 other gardens to have received this award. 

For more beautiful skies, visit skywatch Friday. Am also submitting this for Flower Friday, the theme set by Chennai Bloggers Club for today! 

Skywatch Friday... Touching the skies

This past week has been quite hectic, work , travel and generally been busy! The travel bit was exciting, as it was a last minute plan.. Tuesday early morning, we hit the road to Coimbatore, a journey that took nearly 8hours, with a few pit stops... We were tired, and felt like we had been on the road forever. But good company, music and scenery kept our spirits high. It was more so on the return journey, the path chosen was different, which offered a plethora of colours, and vivid skies. 

As we cruised along the Krishnagiri Chennai highway, the skies were clear, clouds white fluffly like soap bubbles, and the mountains seemed to be playing with them, probably bouncing them around to see who could push the clouds higher up in the sky.... 

Both were taken sitting inside the car, that was cruising at nearly 90kms an hour... What a ride it was... :-)

For more beautiful skies visit Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday... In Flames

After a few grueling months, i finally decided to take a break, albeit a few days only.. There were no two ways about where  i was headed, the destination was clear as crystal and i held the tickets in hand.. I sat in the flight, staring out into the open sky, watching in wonder as the colours changed, just as emotions did within me. From excitement to joy to glee, i was going through it all.

It was not the destination that had me in such a state, it was the people who were at the destination. Friends, people i have known forever, people who were more than friends, heck, they were family....


The sky came alive with every passing cloud, sometimes fiery red, sometimes bright yellow, and i could not get enough of it... Alas, time wore on and i sat back closing my eyes, allowing the beauty of it all sink in as the plane descended..

The only thing i kept wishing was- why wasnt my window cleaner? ;)

For more beautiful skies, please visit Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday- Dusk

Work to be ploughed through

Deadlines to be met

My mind is in such a buzz...

The only thing that soothes my senses is blogging, reading, or revisiting the photographs i had taken... While doing just that, i came upon the Hampi collection and this one photograph in particular... I think it was around 5.30- 6pm, and i was heading back to the resort, when i stopped enroute to see if i could get a cup of tea...

The evening sun was just about ready to set... go into hiding behind the mountains afar...  What a beautiful moment it was... :-) 

 

Have a beautiful Friday and a fun Weekend ahead.... 

For more beautiful skies, do visit Skywatch Friday

[Skywatch Friday] Blazing glory

Like fire

lighting up the sky

the clouds

scattered about

Like fire

adding a bit of spark

the clouds

liven up the skies

Like fire

blazing glory

the clouds

they add life and spice!! 

These were shot on my Blackberry few days ago from a moving car in Chennai, hence the blurred effect! :)

[Skywatch Friday] Reaching high

This picture was shot during my visit to Madurai enroute Rameswaram 2months back....

The beautiful Madurai meenakshi amman temple in madurai.. 

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[Skywatch Friday] Raging river and shooting skies

Hampi is a land filled with heritage and history... Whilst we were there last weekend, the River Tungabadra was brimming and raging across the town.... 

I took these while we were out doing a bit of birding the morning we landed in Hampi...

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[Skywatch friday] Flags in the sky

It's Friday again... Time for some beautiful skies with Skywatch Friday

The Jagannath temple in ECR, Chennai is such a peaceful.. serene.. uncluttered.. not crowded place that one feels as if spending hours just sitting there! It has been built as an exact replica of the Puri Jagannath temple, and the priests hail from Orissa..

[Skywatch Friday] emotions galore...

What you feel is what you see,

Is that true?

Watching the- 

Clouds scattered around 

where they lost?

i wondered.... 

An artist

A painter, perhap!

Colours 

across the horizon..

Oh what sheer beauty it was..... 

Silver lining-

is this it? 

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