A Wandering Mind

This tiny flower, nestled amidst thorns, is so pretty, that I brave the thorns (and the others' warnings) to try and get a decent photo....

What do you do when you visit a place for the first time? Do extensive research, or go unprepared, ready to be surprised? I chose the latter on my visit to Fort Kochi this summer, and within a day, I was so enchanted, I wished I could spend more time there! My experiences were too varied to fit into one post, so this is going to be a series... and here is the first one….

Yes, that's one of the names this plant is known by. The other common name for it is 'Golden Shrimp Plant' and its quite obvious where it gets its names from.

Looking back , collating the images from my summer trip, I realized that we had seen many flowers, and most of them were red!! Here, take a look - Red Passion Flower - can you see a bee buzzing in there?

The only good things about summer are school holidays and the vibrant colours that surround me. This is the time the Ashoka tree outside my window blooms, and these gorgeous red flowers brighten my day each morning....

The Mimosa or touch-me-not is one of the few plants I know the botanical name of. There is something fascinating about how the leaves close at the slightest touch!

Summer is here...

These flowers are pretty, aren't they? But these arent just any decorative ones.....

Its rare to see roses in our garden - simply because there are lots of people waiting to pluck them..... When we saw these roses, we were thrilled, for they had been left to bloom in peace, and I rushed to get my camera to capture them forever.....

Water Lily at Jalgaon

A few of the roses we saw at Jalgaon...... We had been to Jalgaon last weekend for a puja..... and were fascinated by these roses... more pics will follow..

The month of July brings along more than just the rain – it marks the beginning of the most auspicious period of the year, a period dotted with festivals. The first of these is the Varalakshmi Puja, the south Indian equivalent of the Lakshmi Puja during Diwali. This is strictly a family festival, the right for performing the puja being handed over from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law. I would love to give you a glimpse into the grand way we perform the puja at home, but unfortunately, we are in a period of mourning, and haven’t performed the puja for the last two years. Hopefully, the period will end this year, and we can get along with our festivals… Meanwhile, I accompanied my sister to buy the flowers required for the puja. Join us in our trip….. The flower market at Dadar is certainly the most popular, the most crowded, and the place to be if you want fresh and wonderful flowers, at the best rates, of course…… Here is a photoblog of our journey… Our very first halt - all s...