Kumaon Hills..The Breath taking beauty

Kumaon hill.s are the most beautiful among hills:)-atleast i feel so..there's something about the fragrance of the wind,the wild flowers,the strawberries,its everlasting beauty,shimmering lakes, and the   inherent heritage.

For us Kumaon was the chill, strawberries,the innumerble chais we had,the road side dhabas,the maggi ,the amazing flowers,the hills,the winding roads,sunsets,winter shawls and all about the umpteen number of images that got captured on my camera

Images and  Ideas:Lakshmi Arvind

Miracles Dwell..

2013  and no posts so far...Contemplating on the posts and selecting the best images,my post just sat in folders.Reiterations on appreciating life comes into my mind once in a while..But it shouldn't be once in a while,I thought always.I have read "an appreciation to the ones who helped you the most can get you closer to god"

You can accomplish a hundred other things but if you do not accomplish the one thing for which you have been sent, it will be as if you have done nothing.Be a lamp, a lifeboat, a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal." Rumi

Let our lifes be a prayer.

"We can do no great things, only small things with great love." (Mother Teresa)
"Never lose hope, my heart, miracles dwell in the invisible".Rumi


These where images on a travel to the Kumaon. Some Images always make me think beyond a simple picture..these are some of them

Images and Ideas LAkshmi Arvind.please do not copy or steal..

my warmth in winters

The traditional old house with tiled roofs,the long windows that always creaked when closed,the colourful ixora flowers that surrounded the home.Images that gave me some warmth this winter  morning.

These are all images that made up our summer and monsoon holidays down  south this year

Old images  are beautiful,arent they?

The rainy stories on the painted brown box,the hibiscus flowers and the milky tea(no fancy cups here:)- the steel tumblers and glasses,the peeling paints on the parapet are all images that flash when  I think of our home down south.
The grandma who sits waiting patiently for us..every year,the stories that she tell us,the rain that poured constantly

the rain drenched ixora and a tumbler of chai...the peeled  off parapets...its an old house

it rained the whole night

ixoras wet and eaten by  bugs

the arecanut palms leaf fallen 

the colours definitely matched,the dull browns and pinks...love them

old photographs,the  old memories,nostalgia,a ravivarma oleograph,the right hand corner are my parents

the book on the rusted box

rainy memories,hot and humid days

love these slats

loved each angle

the colourful hibiscus

the tea that got cold in my hands

the collection

beautiful....days

So far ...

I remember the last time i sat to write a post here.The year is coming to an end and so far has been good.Filling the minds with fragrance ,the sheoli flowers will again bloom next year. Deepavali and its excitement just left us ...its fully not gone from my home yet.We still light some tealights in some corners for the warmth it gives in the wintery nights..The cushion covers still adorn the rich colours worn for the festival.

There where many a images taken before and after,but some register in minds quite well than the rest and shows life in its nuances.These are some images taken before Deepavali.The pink flowers cover an entire wall beautifully at a nearby home.A kalamkari printed bedsheet on our low bed ,some morning left over tea where all beautifully becoming subjects of photography..I am falling in love with the textiles of India and abroad.

all images Lakshmi Arvind.

the Fragrance

Its morning time.Its pujo time.The fragrance of the sheoli fills the home and mind these days.A handful after a morning walk,some on the lamps..Flowers necessarily need not be kept in vases.It  looks good otherwise too.

As i have read somewhere,the familiar sound of Dhak,Dhanuchi Nacch and the mild fragrance of the air,clear skies,blue clouds,red and whites ,lifes are blessed.I can feel the Pujo..The second last image got into the front page of flickr explore...I am blessed,yes an achievement of its own..

Don't you all think I am blessed?i found it near the tree...Never noticed them..
copyright:Lakshmi Arvind