The Mindful Break 2016

I need to slow down. Things have been happening at break-neck speed recently, and October is shaping up to be worse. It’s a very busy period for me at work, and to add to that, it’s also the season for the biggest festival in India – Diwali.

In the middle of all this craziness, though, it’s easy to get stressed out and overwhelmed. And so, I need a bit of a daily break. A reminder to myself to just breathe.

Which gave me the idea of a 15 day {because that’s all that seems doable to me this month} photography challenge – The Mindful Break. It’s just a simple reminder to be in the moment, a gentle pause in the middle of all the frenetic activity.

And I’d love for YOU to join me on this challenge.Continue reading→

#InstaTales 2: Stardust and Light

We are all made of stardust and light. Of magic and infinite possibilities. The spark is within us all – we just have to learn to tune in to it, to follow the call of our heart, heed the advice of our soul. We hear it in the quiet whispers, in the fizz of joy that runs through our veins, through the lightbulb that goes on in our heart when we are doing what we love.

Continue reading→

#InstaTales 1: The gathering house

Welcome to Insta-tales! A new series where I will use one of my original photographs or digital composites as a starting point to weave together a story, a life lesson, or an anecdote. Hope you enjoy today’s offering – a short story! {It’s my first attempt at fiction, so please be kind!}

The gathering house

I wiped my dusty hands across my brow and took a final look around the attic. Everything had been sorted out – five huge garbage bags of thrash were piled up at the backdoor, two cartons were earmarked for charity, and five shoe boxes of treasured memories lay at the foot of my bed. As I was about to turn off the light, something glinted at the corner of my vision. On closer inspection, I noticed a small, dusty box with gilded edges that I had never seen before. I picked it up and made my way to the bedroom.

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{V} V for Victory

As I was curled up on the sofa engrossed in a book, I suddenly heard Pepo grumbling deep in her throat. Looking up, I saw her sitting on the window, absolutely alert, looking like she was ready to strike something. Curiousity spiked, I uncurled from the sofa and walked over to see what had her hackles raised. Out on the balcony, oblivious to the threatening cat behind a closed window, were these birds, strutting around, preening and grooming themselves. I grabbed Pepo and put her into another room, ran for my camera (the Sony H5) and fired off a few quick shots. This one is my favorite from that afternoon.

PS: No animals were harmed during the course of this photo shoot. Pepo is a house cat; she isn’t allowed outdoors unsupervised.

PPS: Pepo was my first cat; she died last January. This is a post from my photoblog, which I plan to discontinue due to lack of time. I will be transitioning all those posts and doing more photography-related posts right here.

Friday Frame #18: All in a row

Shoes lined up in a row

This week’s frame is one of my own photographs – in fact, one of my first experiments in manual focusing!

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If you have any artwork or photography to share, please leave a comment, a link back to your blog and your e-mail address, and I’ll feature it on an upcoming Friday Frame!

Friday Frame #17: Sea of blue

This week’s frame is from the archives of my photoblog, Shutterbug.

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If you have any artwork or photography to share, please leave a comment, a link back to your blog and your e-mail address, and I’ll feature it on an upcoming Friday Frame!

Friday Frame #6: Happy Diwali!

Diwali

Wish you all a very Happy Diwali! May this festival of lights brighten your life, filling it with love, joy and abundance.

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If you have any artwork or photography to share, please leave a comment, a link back to your blog and your e-mail address, and I’ll feature it on an upcoming Friday Frame!

Friday Frame #2: The fruit thief

It’s been raining in Pune, light drizzles that leave the trees looking fresh and green.

When I woke up this morning and looked out the window, I noticed a parrot perched on the custard apple tree, hanging upside down from a branch, pecking away at the fruit. It looked so adorable!

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a better angle, but this was a moment that was just begging to be captured!

Have you woken up to such pleasant surprises? I’d love to hear!

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If you have any artwork or photography to share, please leave a comment, a link back to your blog and your e-mail address, and I’ll feature it on an upcoming Friday Frame!

My new passion: photography

For about 4 weeks running, I’ve had at least one of my photographs adjudged the Best Photograph of the Week at the photography hobby club @ work! It’s so exciting!! Here are a few of my winning pictures!