For it is we who must pray for our daily bread, and if He grants it to us, it is only through our labour, our skill and preparation. Paracelsus

Life artwork

A flower for you…

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. e. e. cummings

Twinkle twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are…

Is our world that bad?

These days, after reading the news papers in India, I get depressed because of the prominence of negative news. Today’s headlines in the news papers of my home state are about the resignation of a minister who was tortured by his wife. On the other side, it is the wife’s version of the story or reality. Another major news is the murder of a catholic priest in Bangalore. Then some rapes and murders…plus the regular obituaries and the sports page, the news paper is complete. I am paying money and buying this negativity. Is our world that bad?. Or is it just that the negative news only reaches us, because it is what sells. I would love to believe that there are lot of good things happening around us, and unfortunately they are not getting reported by the media. As an exception there was this news about a village lady in Tamilnadu state of India, who planted and nurtured more than hundred trees on the road side, which gives shade to the passengers in the scorching summer. In my village, there are heroes who voluntarily conducts volley ball camps for the kids, absolutely free of cost. There are thousands of others who does positive things for the betterment of the environment, society and for the upliftment of the underdogs. Unfortunately they are not brought into the public’s eye, and the people who do these positive acts never complain because they are not motivated by the worldly things, but of divine providence. This is where Gandhiji’s quote ‘Be the change you want to see in this world” has it’s significance. Whom are we waiting for?. Let us shut ourselves to negativity and do whatever positive deeds we can which will impact someone, somewhere positively. That could be the need of the hour, and that is modern day prayer and spiritualiy.

Who is the one hundredth subscriber?

My photography blog  colorbridge has 99 subscribers at this moment, and I am eager to know the 100th subscriber. That is a great milestone for me. Around one hundred people from across the world seeing some value in my blog entries and photographs (which do not have anything to do with my profession as a coach and consultant of agile project management), is really thrilling. Thank you all, who supported me till now, and hope to enjoy your support in the future as well.  As a beginner in photography, an exclusive blog of my photographs helped me to learn a lot from other bloggers experiences and insights about blogging, photography, life and life styles. One of the biggest learning was unity in diversity. People from different countries, while they look different, they are all alike as well. This was one of the great lessons. In fact, I got the inspiration to choose the layout of my blog, from another blog. Initially I started with color rich photographs, then I learned that people love simple, subtle photographs, which have a soothing effect on their souls (disturbing photographs the majority do not like). People see photographs to relax, so do not burden them. Every good photograph is an obligation because the next one must be better than the previous. So, is the reality. When I see a photograph today, which I captured months back..that sometimes make me regret about publishing them. Any way, at that time, that was my best, and I improved over a period of time after several youtube videos on photography and experimentation with mt Canon 550D and Nikon Coolpix S6200. After spending money for the DSLR, and some lenses, my credit card balance shot up, and I thought that I am the biggest spend thrift, till I came across crazier people in my hometown itself, who have spent much much more than what I spent on photography, without any financial returns from it yet. Most of my photographs are published along with an appropriate quote, and these quotes sometime have great positive impact on me myself.  For me photography is quite relaxing, and I do not think that I will be stopping it voluntarily at some point in time. I will continue till my health and financial position permits, that is for sure. Photography has a connection with Thursdays as well. If you publish a photograph on a Thursday, you get maximum likes. I learned it from another blogger from my own town. Do not ask me for reasons, honestly I do not know….but it works….Here is the photograph I just published at colorbridge, which pushed up the subscribers to 99…captured at the backyard of our ancestral home. This tree was planted by my father…bringing back the old memories of  my father and  mother…..

My sincere thanks to wordpress team, for providing this platform to blog and network.

Do you know him?. Maybe, he is there in your neighborhood as well…

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Visit to Kochi Muziris Biennale…

Kudos to the Kochi Muziris Biennale team. You have converted me into an art lover, with just one event!. Today, me and a friend of mine, drove down to Fort Kochi, for the first Kochi Muziris Biennale, and it was awsome. We went there without much planning, and the only image I had in mind was the painting on the fallen tree at the parade ground, Fort Kochi, and we landed there first, to witness this magic of an artist on a fallen tree.

Then we saw some pointers of this event  to the Fort Kochi beach, and we were totally misguided. There was nothing related to Kochi biennale on the entire beach. The walk along the beach under the hot sun was not very entertaining. We took an entire circle ans came back to Parade ground again. In David hall, there was a book exhibition related to this event going on, and the volunteers there was very adamant about not letting us in without the pass, which is issued a mile away. After some pleading, they let us in, and unfortunately the book exhibition at David hall was miserable. Since the ambiance of David hall was excellent, we just sat there and had a very bad tea made at the trident hotel’s outlet, inside the David hall.

From there we walked around a kilometer to the main venue of the Kochi Muziris biennale 2012, which is the Aspinwall house, where a feast of art was awaiting us.

I have not seen the other venues. I will be going there again soon. A great place for those with any sort of artistic taste to hang out. This event lasts for three months, and artists from various countries are participating.

About the event

The Kochi-Muziris Biennale is an international exhibition of contemporary art being held in Kochi, Kerala. It is the first Biennale being held in India. The exhibition is set in spaces across Kochi, Muziris and surrounding islands. There are shows in existing galleries and halls, and site-specific installations in public spaces, heritage buildings and disused structures.

Indian and international artists are exhibiting artworks across a variety of mediums including film, installation, painting, sculpture, new media and performance art.Through the celebration of contemporary art from around the world, The Kochi-Muziris Biennale seeks to invoke the historic cosmopolitan legacy of the modern metropolis of Kochi, and its mythical predecessor, the ancient port of Muziris.

Alongside the exhibition the Biennale is offering a rich programme of talks, seminars, screenings, music, workshops and educational activities for school children and students.

I have uploaded more photos at http://www.facebook.com/kerala2dolist

The event web site : http://www.kochimuzirisbiennale.org

How to go?
I will prefer going there by the government boat service from the Ernakulam boat jetty, if you are staying at Ernakulam. This time, we went in car, and had some challenges in finding a parking space.

Entry fee : Rs: 50 / head (USD 1 / person)

Approximate time required to view the Aspinwall displays : 4 hours

Duration : 12/12/12 to 13/03/13

Address:
Kochi Biennale Foundation
1/1903, Kunnumpuram
Fort Kochi P.O, Kerala
Pin : 682001
India.

 
email : info@kochimuzirisbiennale.org
twitter.com/KochiBiennale
facebook.com/KochiMuzirisBiennale
youtube.com/kochimuzirisbiennale
web site : http://www.kochimuzirisbiennale.org

There is a souvenir shop, at the Aspinwallhouse. A very ordinary coffee mug is Rs.500/-, which is very expensive for me, hence did not buy them. May buy, when I go back again. This time, because of time constraints, we had to rush through, and still it took around four hours, just to complete the Aspinwall house and the Parade ground. I will go there again for a detailed view of the artifacts and the other installations.

Kudos to the organizers. They deserve a big applause for what they have accomplished against many odds. It is every art lover’s responsibility to make this event a great success. I was not an art lover till I witnessed this event. Now I am one, and I appreciate every artist, and the pain behind every creation. Well done, Kochi Biennale team.

Did I break the rule of third….never mind, rules are to be broken…

Did I break the rule of third….never mind, rules are to be broken. I took this photograph, just outside our apartments. There was no space for me to compose a better shot. Within the constraints, this was the best possible. My first serious attempt and success story with the Hoya circular polarizing filter. At last I got a bluer sky, which is very difficult to capture in South India. People blame it on our position with respect to the equator, which is behind the comprehension of my mind. I was in a dilema of violating the golden principle of rule of thirds. Rules are there to be broken, at some point in time, by some. So, please bear with me. This was the best possible within the given circumstances. One aspect of photography, which I adore is, it teaches us lot of life’s lessons.

Think of a world without them, and thank them…

Think of a world without them, and thank them…

They carry garbage. . Garbage, created by us. They carry the garbage created by us, day in and day out. Nobody notices them. Everybody take them for granted. I was no exception.  I started observing them carefully after listening to an interview with one of them in the local FM station. They sounded very professional during the interview. They were fully aware of their duties and responsibilities. They were loving fathers, husbands, brothers and sons. Like any other Indian, their ambition in life is to provide good education to their kids.  One of the key challenges they are facing is lack of discipline by the public in not sorting the bio degradable stuff from the non degradable stuff. This leads to lot of additional work for them. The highly educated are the prime culprits. Can we be slightly more sensitive to the citizens responsibilities, so that the garbage collector’s life become better. Today morning I spotted the garbage collection team, and thanks to the radio program, they have a newer vehicle.

The possibilities of 2013

2013 is welcoming me to lot of possibilities. The first of it is, if everything goes well, we will be moving to our new independent house at Varapuzha, which is a small town on the suburbs of Kochi. That means, we will be bidding bye to the apartment at coral crest, Kochi, which was our home for almost two years now. While we will be missing out the luxuries of the urban life, the semi urban life will help us to enjoy the best of both worlds. More than urban Vs rural, it has more to do with apartment Vs independent house. More opportunities to be closer to nature is something fascinates me. There is always room for a small garden, and some pets in the new home. That means I will have more to focus my lenses at. That is going to be a whole lot of possibilities…..If God is with us, everything is possible…