Prasad Rasal Photos

Kurdistan in 12 Photos

2022-03-19T14:30:00.001+05:30

January - Mountain View from Amedi

February - Snow in Duhok

March - Hint of Spring, Duhok

April - Delal Bridge, Zakho

May - Pumpkin Chicken, Sumel

June - Vegetable Market, Duhok

July - Pickles, Jams, Sweets, scarfs, Sarsing

August - Flower bed, Rovia

September - Apple Orchid, Mangesh

October - Tea Cattles, Zawa mountain

November - Autumn in Kurdistan, DeraLok

December, Christmas Celebration, Erbil

Missing Spring of 2020 in Kurdistan (Work from Home day #51)

2020-05-01T12:00:00.000+05:30

Month of April is the most pleasant and green time in Kurdistan, which I am enjoying since 2015. Nawruz announce arrival of the most beautiful season of Spring in Kurdistan. This is the time of year that the hills and plains are green from the winter rains, water flows freely in the streams. While, different varieties of flowers, new leaves of trees confirm the news of expanse of the spring. The temperature is pleasantly warm in the day and cool at night with couple of showers now and then. This is also time for families to come together and enjoy picnic in the nature.

Nawruz, the beginning of the Kurdish New Year has been associated with joy, dancing, family gatherings, cooking traditional food and, of course, making huge customary fires. Spring has always been a sign for a new chapter in Kurdish lives.

हिरवे हिरवे गार गालिचे,

हरित तृणांच्या मखमालीचे ...... बालकवी

For last five years, whenever I go out of the urban areas for the field visit, nature amaze me with its green blanket of wheat and barley. Travel of hours becomes minutes, with the scenery around you. I can see many families enjoying the weather and greenery with picnics.

श्रावणमासी या प्रसिद्ध कवितेत बालकवी यांनी म्हणल्याप्रमाणे

सुवर्ण चंपक फुलला विपिनी रम्य केवडा दरवळला,

पारिजातही बघता भामा रोष मनीचा मावळला …

While travelling out of the city and in the mountains, one can see trees with flowers – various shades of pink and white. From distance looks like a colourful blanket. These are mostly trees of various nuts – peaches, plums, almonds, walnut, etc. Plantation of nuts provide much needed dry fruits to the area and to me, as every time, my bag contains at least 5/6 kilos of various nuts.

The pear is a symbol of affection in many cultures. In ancient China, people believed that pears represented immortality and prosperity because pear trees live for a long time. The compound where I stay, is full of trees. One of them that blossoms during spring is Pear. Trees are full of ivory white flowers.

A mysterious Cypress tree (Kash in Kurdish and Saro Amodi in Arabic) symbolizes different things in different places. In Italy, cypress is associated with vacation destinations to the Mediterranean region. However in other cultures, it was a symbol of mourning, and in the modern era it can be found as principal cemetery tree. In Greek mythology, the cypress is also associated with Artemis and Hecate, a goddess of magic, crossroads and the underworld. However, in Kurdistan and for me it looks stunning during spring when it starts bearing fruits / seeds. These are the fruits, which becomes seeds later.

देवाचे घर या कवितेत गदिमा म्हणतात -

देवाच्या घरात गुलाबाची लादी

मऊ मऊ ढगांची अंथरली गादी

त्यातील गुलाबांच्या ऐवजी असंख्य विविध प्रकारच्या फुलाची लादी इथे बघायला मिळते.

Spring is full of flowers, everywhere, be it mountains, or roadside, or houses, one can see various colourful flowers, which I am enjoying since 2015. This year, though I am still in Kurdistan, I am missing the Spring as just seating in the apartment and satisfying myself with flowers that I can enjoy around the place where I am living.

There is an assurance from nature that –

The Dawn comes after the night,

And

Spring will bloom after next winter,

In and Around Hatay

2014-07-30T12:00:00.000+05:30

One of the roundabout in Antakya near fish market

Spice market in Antakya - this covered market is in the old part of Antakya.

Green cover along the hill slop in Harbiye

Daphane tree - leaves used to make soap

One day in a Mall, I shoot this video

Road to Samandag passes through hilly and green terrain.

Besikli (Cradle) Cave is situated near the Titus Vespasianus Tunnel is a cemetery from the Roman period.

In this cemetery that was caved in the lime plates on the rocky hillsides there are twelve graves.

Arsuz provides also the needs of the summer tourism of the region with its beaches.

Qat - A Social Curse

2012-12-28T12:00:00.000+05:30

Qat (Catha edulis) is a slow-growing shrub or a tree that typically attains a height of between one and five metres. It usually grows in arid environments, at a temperature range of 5°C to 35°C. However, it can reach heights of up to 10 m in equatorial areas. The plant has evergreen leaves 5–10 cm long and 1–4 cm broad. It is a flowering plant native to the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.

Qat chewing has a long history as social custom dating back thousands of years. Its fresh leaves and tops are chewed in order to achieve a state of euphoria and stimulation; it also has anorectic side-effects.

Qat is so popular in Yemen that its cultivation consumes much of the country's agricultural resources, though it is legal in Yemen. It is estimated that most of the country's water supply goes towards irrigating it, with production increasing by about 10% to 15% every year. It is also estimated that one "daily bag" of qat requires about 500 liters of water to produce. The plants are watered heavily starting around a month before they are harvested to make the leaves and stems soft and moist. A good qat plant can be harvested four times a year, providing a year-long source of income for the farmer. One reason for cultivating qat in Yemen so widely is the high income it provides for farmers. Some studies done in 2001 estimated that the income from cultivating qat was about USD 11,600 (2.5 million Yemeni rials) per hectare.

Qat verses drinking water conflict is becoming very serious in Yemen, as can be seen across the country, specially in areas producing qat. As per the organisation, “Generation Without Qat”, qat farming consumes 70% of groundwater in Yemen. Visit to few villages, which produces qat realised effect of qat plantations on the increased difficulties on women collecting water. There is water, but pricing makes it sure that the water goes to qat farming and not for drinking. During couple of visits, nice and green qat plantation is seen along with women carrying jerry cans for collection of drinking water from small springs.

Qat is sold in the market around ten in the morning onward. People become restless, after lunch. Habitual chewer can't concentrates on work after 3 pm. This type of qat markets can be seen in many places. Typically there are high rise tables (iron), with a big umbrella to protect form sun. In Sana'a they are also sold in back side of a pick up or even in the boot of a car.

Qat chewing is socialising, irrespective of its effects. Except drivers, I never saw a single man chewing qat. It requires some sort of setting, where people can relax, seat, chew, discuss and enjoy. This typical setting can be seen in many houses. I even saw, couple of men eating along the mountain slops and enjoying qat chewing.

This is the end effect. Qat is normally sold in plastic bags. After chewing, plastic bags find their way to in and around villages. They are so light (low gauge) that they can easily show direction of wind in a village.

Old Sana'a - Architectural Gem

2012-08-15T12:00:00.000+05:30

Sana'a is the one of the oldest populated places in the world. According to popular legend, it was founded by Shem, the son of Noah. The City, capital of Yemen since 1962, is a fine example of artistic and pictorial quality life. Situated in a mountain valley at an altitude of 2,200 m, the old fortified city Sana'a has been inhabited for more than 2,500 years and contains many intact architectural gems.

The old city of Sana’a has a distinctive visual character due its unique architectural characteristics, most notably expressed in its multi-storey buildings decorated with geometric patterns. Many-storeyed tower-houses built of rammed earth (pisé) add to the beauty of the site. The Bab al-Yaman (Yemen Gate) is an iconized entry point through the city walls and is more than 1,000 years old. The city's religious and political heritage can be seen in the 103 mosques, 14 hammams and over 6,000 houses, all built before the 11th century. It was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 1986. The protection of the Old City of Sana'a is ensured by the Antiquities Law of 1997 as well as the Building Law of 2002. Protection will be improved when the Historical Cities Preservation Law comes into force.

Today, old Sana'a is tourist attraction. It has many shops selling many things - this one is selling dry fruits - dates, etc.

As people are living here, one can find shops selling basic - day to day requirements.

One of the items, that is bought by tourists is "Jambia" - dagger. It comes with a belt. Jambia is part of traditional dress, and Yemeni man is incomplete without it. Many shops in old city sell them. Some also prefer Yemeni jewelry, which is also available here.

If you venture inside the city, you can find small workshops where people are making things for tourist. This particular small workshop is making handles for Jambia.

Picture about a small trader selling sweets. In the old city there are some locations, where you can rest with a glass of juice, coffee and have good kababs.

As mentioned earlier, most of the buildings are old. Most of them are constructed on the similar types and designs. For a visitor, it might be difficult to find out which one is old and which one is comparatively new.

This is one of the old buildings.

Another view in the local market. The board says - Art Centre - but did not go to explore.

Another building with different architecture.

This is "Saila" - river. This is a new additional to old city, probably for beautification. The river passes through the old city. With external support, the river is converted in to something, which beautifies the area. Whenever, there is a rain, all water comes to saila and goes out of the city. During that period, vehicular traffic uses high level road along the banks. On the other times, saila works as road. Looks nice, but as water person, I can see - a small problem is solved which has created a big problem. Due to stones and concrete, now water does not percolate in to ground, so no recharge. It is said - Sana'a will be the first national capital anywhere in the world, which might be shifted due to lack of water. I think saila made the things bad, if not good.

It is dusk time, time to return to your base.

Banana Country - South West Uganda

2011-09-03T02:00:00.000+05:30

Our office in Kampala has a canteen, where mostly local food is available. During my first visit to the canteen, I came across matoke - cooked mashed banana. I did like it as a desert. But later on, I learned that it is the staple diet of many Ugandans. Like and instead of rice, matoke is eaten with beans or meat sauce.

When I drove from Kampala to Mbarara, where I am based now; the roadside scene changed gradually and banana plantations increased. When I travel to the field, there are more and more banana plantations. Banana is part of life in south west Uganda. Bananas mainly come from this region. Almost at every 10 minutes, one truck loaded with green bananas was crossing us during our journey.

As I come nearer Mbarara, I see people are bringing bananas by various means - mostly by bicycles. They modify their cycles to carry bananas with the help of wooden poles. They can carry minimum six and maximum (that I saw) ten clusters of bananas.

Afterwards, bananas are stored along the road side mainly in nearby trading centres. You can buy from there, but mainly it is for Kampala and other locations.

Trucks come and load the bananas for the next destination. This is very common scene in this part of Uganda. Price of a cluster of banana increase many folds (from around UGX 7000 to anything around UGX 30,000) as it makes its way from fields to markets in Kampala.

Banana are grown everywhere - along the road, in the garden, and even along the hills. This photo shows big banana plantation along the hill slope. It is very interesting, even though banana requires lot of water for growth, most of the banana plantations are rain fed, no irrigation. The leaves, stems are spread on the ground as mulching, so as to reduce the evaporation or drying of land.

Bananas come in various varieties, there are some mainly for matoke - cooked smashed banana, but some are for desert - the small and sweet variety. You can buy them along the road. They are not sold as dozens or by weight, but as a tiers (bunch of 10 - 15 bananas). There is also a special variety of banana which is used mainly to make local / traditional beer.

Another variety of banana is used to prepare "Gonja" i.e. roasted banana. Green banana is peeled and roasted like a corn pod. It tastes very good.

Lake Bunyonyi (Place of many little birds)

2011-08-21T12:00:00.000+05:30

Lake Bunyonyi in South West of Uganda is a wonder in itself. It is three hours’ drive from Mbarara, where I am based. This Saturday, I visited this wonderful place. It was a mesmerizing visit where road passes through different landscapes, with every turn you get different scenes, winding and climbing rough road in the last leg and finally you see the lake. Here are some of the pictures of my journey.

This photo was taken from a car, when I started my journey on the sunny morning of Saturday. In fact I was a bit skeptical about the weather, as there was rain on Friday. You can see banana plantation all along the road.

After some time, the sunny day turned in to a foggy day, but luckily only for a short distance. The road passes through the hilly terrain, but there are hardly any ghats / winding roads in the first leg till Kabale town. Many people make bricks and you can see some of the kilns.

When you cross Kabale town, you get al together different experience. The road become murrum road, slopes are steep, greenery is thick. There are different shades of green on the way. You enjoy eucalyptus and other wild trees, field of Irish (I don’t know the reason, why they are called Irish and not simply potatoes) and sweet potatoes, and grass. It is hardly that you see soil.

We reached the lake around noon time, and we realized that it would be difficult to get some good photos; there was no sun, little fog. I still managed to get some spans. You do not get idea about the lake from its shore.

This lake is a great tourist attraction, tourist from Europe and US of A come here. Accommodation is available in various types from camps to cottages. Typically tourists come here with their tents and resorts lend their land to them. People like me prefer cottages. Some come with small tents, others put their tents on a car (really, I saw one).

This is a panoramic view of the lake. My camera has a facility of connecting three photos to make one panoramic view. As I mentioned earlier, it is bit difficult to get idea about the lake form shore. Please check on other blog with a photo from some height.

Like everywhere, there are many enterprising people around. This boy made his own all terrain bike from locally available material.

On our way back, my friendly driver Mossa, was looking for fresh vegetables - cabbages, potatoes (Irish), some green leafy vegetables, carrots, onions, bananas, beetroot, capsicum, etc. I was sorry that I could not find a house to stay, otherwise i would have purchased these fresh, organic, pollution free vegetable.

Village Life in South Sudan

2010-12-23T12:00:00.047+05:30

During my field visits, I see lot of similarity and also lot of diversity in villages across this country. This photo blog contain some photos from other part of the country.

This is very common scene in Upper Nile state of South Sudan. Palm tree with branches reminds me about Diu near Somnath in India. The tukuls are normally made up of soil and roof with grass.

This photo is of the tukul which is bit improved and for the first time, I saw something like veranda to the tukul.

Hard life continues whether it is India or South Sudan for women. Most of the household works are responsibility of women of house. This lady is using पाटा वरवंटा to grind corns soaked in water. The paste is then dried to make flour or some other food preparations.

This is quite interesting tradition in this village. Four / five women come together and spend around two to three hours pounding corns. They do it together, finally divide the flour among themselves, every day. The work starts with removing kernels from corn pod, then pounding in wooden उखल. Next stage is winnowing, so flour is separated, and coarse corn flour is again pounded. This process continues until everybody has enough flour for eight to nine members from each household. Comparatively inferior quality of the flour is used to make locally brewed beer, while superior quality flour is used for food.

My earlier photo blog, I put photo about honey collection. Here, people use white guards, which have more than 25 / 30 litres capacity . These guards are normally used as storage of grains, water, transportation of good, etc.

This photo shows many nests of birds. There are many trees around, where one can see these nests. They are in thousands, but no birds around. I was told about a tradition. When these birds lay eggs, and small chicks come out, people go and collect them. Before people go out for collection they have a traditional dance. All chicks are collected, killed, dried and powdered and then used as food, seems to be delicacy.

This is last photo from South Sudan. Very few khavajas (expatriates) go to these remote villages. These people are more welcoming, they like visitors. So, this photo is taken after completion of my visit to this village. I can count around 50 - 60 kids, youths and elders.

Ma Salamat South Sudan.

Countryside in South Sudan Part II

2010-12-21T12:00:00.000+05:30

Some more snaps of South Sudan from different area

During my visits to Upper Nile state, I took this river Nile snap from the plane. After the rainy season, river Nile shrinks and looks like a small river. On the other hand during rainy season, it takes much of the floodplain (green in the photo) and expands on both banks.

Just imagine, travel for five and half hours (non stop) on a bumpy road, seating on the back side in an ambulance type land cruiser. What you can do? You cannot sleep, you cannot work, you cannot make a phone call (no network), roads are straight, and on both sides you see trees with red and white skin. I started thinking about work, but then how long you can do that?

This is another common sight now days. Here the area is either forest (trees and grass) or grassland. After the rainy season is over, people burn grass. Some say - it is good for the land fertility. Some say, they would like to kill snakes, so that their cattle are unaffected. For me, as a result, we get the flying ash even in Juba.

This food on the way, reminded me of Darfur. Aish (round bread), ful (beans), basal (onion), shatta (red chili powder), and kebab (meat in a gravy).

In most of the smaller towns, you can get cuisine from Ethiopia and Uganda. Most of the restaurants are run by women from these countries. This Ethiopian coffee takes around half hour to prepare. They roast the coffee beans, and then pound them to make powder and then coffee is prepared.

Compliments to our house keepers in Juba

2010-12-20T12:00:00.003+05:30

These pictures are taken in the room, where I was staying while in Juba. The lady used to make beds for all of us. I was quite fascinated by the way they did it. So, I started taking pictures of it. Here are some photos to get an idea about it. I still do not know who was the person making my bed, but just a tribute to their efforts.

These are not extraordinary, but the patience they have, the passion they have, incredible.

पाट्या दक्षिण सुदानच्या

2010-12-05T12:00:00.054+05:30

पुणेरी पाट्या are like special पाट्या, which can be found only in Pune. Being पुणेकर, I always try to find out if we have any competition anywhere in the world. So far, nothing that interested me. South Sudan may be an exception, thought they do not come anywhere near Pune. You are the judges.

Here are some of the boards, messages, writings, I captured while in South Sudan.

I am sure, you will not get this board anywhere in Pune or may be in India, but there they are common. South Sudan has more than 300 airfields (including certified and licensed), which are used good roads are not available in many places. Most of the airfields are not concretised, or tarmac. In some places like this they cross the normal roads. Thus this board warns drivers to be careful. I am not sure, if there is any such board warning pilots.

Welcome to Wulu, a small county in Lakes state of South Sudan. Population of Wulu County is 40,000, as per 2008 census. I can put town population to somewhere around 6000; still it has everything in the hospitability business - international name, bar, restaurant, accommodation, etc. May be what they lack was patrons. When we visited they had none, nor food. I think, they may be having good business in the evening / night.

I couldn't get nearer, and the photo is not clear. If I get another photo, I will replace it. Meanwhile the message is not clear; I think they would like to segregate visitors by their level of education. Those who cannot read, go to right, while those who can, go to left.

This board, advertising internet cafe, is on the main road, from where we regularly travel to office. But, what I see is the big electrical pole. I still hope, one day I will go inside and find out where is the internet, and get a cup of coffee too.

This is very clear message. This tukul is of a person, who either does not want people to smoke or drink inside, or does not want to share his resources. Does this classify as पुणेरी पाटी?

Non Conventional Livelihood Opportunities

2010-11-30T12:00:00.060+05:30

It is always very interesting to know how people are living in various parts of the world. It is bit interesting to know various opportunities, as South Sudan is gearing up for the referendum, which may lead of birth of a new country.

Most of the people, I met are of the opinion that once they become a new country, everything will be OK. This is only a wishful thinking as I see no deliberate efforts to make it happen. I only hope in this situation they will get a great political leader like Pandit Nehru, who believed and worked on temples of new and modern India, immediately after independence.

Meanwhile, I would like to share some pictures, which I clicked while in South Sudan.

This is the most interesting one. This kiosk is for mobile phone charging. In general, there is a lack of electricity in most parts of the country, but most of them have mobile phones, so this new livelihood has become way of life of many people.

This seems to be another interesting livelihood specially in towns and where various infrastructure projects are ongoing. There are very less or no quarries of aggregates, so many people, collect big stones and break them to make small aggregates. After wards they are sold as per tins / cans and not as per cubic meter or etc. I just remembered what we used to have under EGS (Employment Guarantee Scheme) in Maharashtra, breaking stone and making roads. The only difference - people have started by their own and buyers come here to buy.

Making char coal and selling along the road is quite common in this area. Many people make incomes form this activity throughout the year. After char coal is made it is kept along the road, so that buyers will come and buy. Pumpkins are common this time of the year. Interestingly nobody is there to sell. Once a car / vehicle stop, somebody will emerge from nearby GRASS / huts.

This supplements char coal making. Sacks are loaded on bikes, trucks, pickups, etc. and transported to towns, cities.

Later on in the towns, small plastic bags are used to sell char coal to retail buyers. This was taken in Jebel market in Juba.

This is honey collection, not really unconventional, but the way they work on it, it seems to be. The long tube like structure on the tree is made from bamboo. It is smeared from inside. It has one opening at the central part. It is kept on the tree, and special smoke is made, so that bees are attracted inside. Once the colony is established, then it is regular - they make smoke, so that bees will run away, while they collect honey.

This is most interesting - Super Money Maker. This money making machine, is actually a treadle pump, to lift water from shallow depths, to irrigate gardens, agricultural land. I envy the brain which used this name for this pump.

Countryside in South Sudan

2010-11-14T12:00:00.046+05:30

I visited our programme in Western Equatoria state of South Sudan in second week of November. This was my first visit outside of Juba. This gave me good idea about how the rural part of South Sudan looks like. I also got little more about the life of people, but that will be difficult to capture in pictures.

Juba city has few kilometres of tarmac road, while some roads are under construction. When you leave Juba main road, there are mainly dirt roads. You can experience good body massage when you travel through dirt road with bumpy ride.

"The road seems to be busy today", a comment from my colleague, after we passed 19 cars and overtook one during a travel of three hours. This is one of the passenger buses we overtook.

Once you leave the main road, you have to be a very good driver to find out your way as there are only few tracks, grass is at least 10 - 12 feet tall, and you can't see anything on both sides. I was told; one can see some wildlife during summer, as most of the grass will be dry and cut. I did see a fox, antelope and monkeys.

Villages here are very different. The settlement is spread out and there are group of huts, where entire family lives together. One hut is one room, so as children gets older, married, number of rooms / huts increase. The area between the huts is very clean and they like to maintain in that way.

Traditionally, all household items are kept at some height. All utensils, food, etc. probably to protect from animals. Here you can see pods of sorghum and Okra (ladies finger) are kept for drying.

After drying and threshing and cleaning grains are stored in this facility. This is a small mud storage covered with grass roof. This is constructed at some height, where as space below is used to store some other things.

Photos of Jebel Market, Juba

2010-10-31T12:00:00.047+05:30

"My contract ends within a years' time."

This was a response from one of the three colleagues when I asked how much time we will require for shopping. Where as other one was more helpful, as she will be leaving next week.

We were on our way to Jebel market in the southwest part of Juba. OK, finally, we did not take up that much time.

Jebel market has many shops selling almost everything for everyone's needs. It has groceries, cloths, cosmetics, etc. everything. I took photo of this shop for two reasons - there was nobody - so no need to ask for favour. But, mainly for the hibiscus tea. On the extreme left side of the photo and at the middle you can see red colour flowers. This is quite famous in Sudan.
In other shop, I found special gum from a particular tree, which is used by women for making their skin soft and glowing. Taking smoke of the gum and / or the wood of the same tree will do the needful. I came across these trees when I was in South Darfur.

You don't need to bring any bag for shopping, as they are available here. This particular shop is displaying bags with Obama pictures. It seems he is quite famous here. I saw him in one of the poster. The photo shows, he came to south Sudan and (it seems voiced his support for south Sudan) addressing a big gathering.

And, I found out - Bajaj, as auto rickshaws are known here. They are not there on the road in Juba, but sure in a toy store. I don't know what happened to the front wheel. The shopkeeper was quite happy when I told him that I came from the same city from where Bajaj come.

This lady insisted that I should take her picture, after she saw me taking photo of toy Bajaj rickshaw. By the way, the labels on the bottle do not say anything about what's inside them.

My colleague liked middle bag in the lower row in a Ugandan shop, but cancelled the idea to maintain neutrality as the four letters mean a lot in South Sudan.

Sudanese version of छकडा mostly used for transporting material around.

We have to wait for quite a long time for a car to take us back, after the shopping. So we headed for water / cold drink shop. This cute girl - Sheila at the shop, eased our entire wait.

Places visited by me so far....

2010-05-29T12:00:00.001+05:30

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Photos of Sindhudurg and Goa

2010-04-30T12:00:00.022+05:30

In the months of April, I went to Sindhudurg and Goa along with my family and relatives. We were three families with two cars and stayed in Amboli, Mayem Lake and in old Goa. These are some of the pictures which give idea about these wonderful places.

Amboli is a place of maximum rainfall in the state of Maharashtra. This place is on Sahyadri Mountains along the western coast of India. Amboli is marked by high altitude, winding roads, green forest, waterfalls, etc.

This place is in Amboli is known as "Kavalesad" - it is said that if we throw any object in the valley it will come back to you.

There are few bungalows like this in Amboli, where you can stay and enjoy the nature.

After climbing down from mountain, we reached Savantwadi. This was a place of power before independence. The town has a beautiful lake in the centre. Savantwadi is also famous for wooden toys, the art which is becoming extinct.

Goa is smallest state in India along the western coast. Goa is quite famous for its lovely beaches along with beach side activities such as water sports, shopping.

Goa is also famous for its old temples. Now many people in Goa are Christian with Portuguese influence. Before that the Goa was Hindu and those old temples survived the ingress of other religions. This photo shows a deepmal (tower of light) in compound of one temple.

This temple is from Mangeshi village. World famous singer sisters Mangeshkars are from this place.

Apart from beaches and temples, Goa has natural beauty. Mayem Lake is in the northern part of Goa, away from the beaches, so little quieter. The lake has boating facilities.

And, a nice resort to stay. There are many cottages in this resort run by the Goa tourism department.

Goa is low laying area along the Arabian sea with many westerly flowing rivers. There are many bridges, where one can cross these rivers, but traveling in a ferry with your car on it is a different experience all together.

Vasundhara Film Festival, Pune 2010

2010-02-21T12:00:00.002+05:30

Vasundhara (Earth) International Film Festival was organized in Pune from 14 February till 21 February 2010. During this period, there were many lectures by eminent environmentalist. Many films related to various aspects of environment were screened. As a part of the festival, various walks were organised early in the morning. I joined three of them. All photos are taken by my daughters.

On 18th February, a walk was arranged along the Pashan Lake to see various birds. It was the time when most of the birds are separated, and were searching for food in the water in different directions.

On 19th February we went to Empress garden - one of the green lungs of Pune city - to get acquainted with various trees.

We saw few climbers / runners, which were at least 100 years old, with a girth of 50 cm.

On one part of Empress Garden, Palm garden is under development. This photo shows Red Palm.

While this photo shows triangular palm. Normally all palms have a circular stem, but this has triangular.

On 20th February, we gathered near Shaniwarwada, one of the landmarks of Pune city. Statue of Thorle Bajirao with the backdrop of Shaniwarwada can be seen here.

Another important landmark of Pune city is about 400 year old Ganesh Temple. This Ganesh has three tusks, so known as Trishund.

Photos from Afulu, Nias, Indonesia

2009-10-20T12:00:00.002+05:30

This photo is taken in a village called Fachuana in Afulu sub district. This the most remotest village for us, towards south. As we go towards south, the road conditions becomes bad, and number of vehicles crossing is reduces to a large extent. May be due to the fact that this area is not frequented, roads are bad, but the area is more scenic.

Lahewa area is known for horticulture - not in real terms that we use in India, but major crops are Cocoa, betel nuts, clove, etc. There are very few activities for better variety plantation, providing irrigation, etc.

This is very common, you can see major use of the road is to dry seeds of cocoa or betel nuts as in this case.

This is traditional house in the village Ombolata in sub district Afulu.

And, this is Canadian Red Cross build house in the same village - Ombolata.

In couple of villages, we found traditional wisdom. In this picture, we can see water is diverted from the spring using split bamboo as a pipe. Number of pipes depend on how many families are getting water.

I am having a cup of coffee in this traditional weekly market on a non market day with some of the staff. When I asked for a cup of coffee, most of them were scared, as this area is known for black magic. Finally we could drink - coffee ready mix, or cold drinks in a can. Cooked food from an unknown person is not allowed.

Photos from Austria - MSM20 training, Styer - Part 2

2009-10-15T12:00:00.008+05:30

. . . . from last photo posting

This is me, during insecticide spraying field work.

And, this is me too. Funtime (?). All other group members were working very hard for setting up CTC practical. I was enjoying with the protective cloths, which were wore wrongly.

This is our daily bread and butter (not really it is only meat).

Like, Rome, Steyr is also settled along two rivers. A beautiful view near the confluence of both rivers.

It is very easy to say - people are good, and they are keeping their houses beautiful. This scene is not rare, but quite common.

And finally, this photo made my day, not because this taken by me, but it tells you how to burn the CDs in reality.

Photos from Austria - MSM20 training, Styer - Part 1

2009-10-15T12:00:00.004+05:30

All these photos are taken by participants of the MSM20 training.

This photo is taken during welcome session. All participants were supposed to identify one word of the maze, and then finally identify the hidden word. I received the price to identify the hidden word. a nice welcome at least for me, I can say.

All participants were divided in to four groups. This is my group. We were more comfortable on the ground, though the group was not grounded.

This was location for one of the dinner. A really nice one, though I couldn't see outside. But the place where we were seating, was underground, celler in one of the old building.

This photo is taken during a practical on water treatment. We were told to measure 100 g of alum, without using any balance. We preapred one as you can see, and we were able to measure upto the last gram. The only small problem, out reference weight was missed by 15 grams.

We were making a Mozambic slab for emergency latrines. As you can see, I am trying to show of, that I am working.

One of the session, where we were working on routes of contamination.

to be continued . . . . . .

Photos from Yogyakarta

2009-05-31T12:00:00.018+05:30

Travel from Bandung to Yogyakarta by train is a journey through greenest part of the island. In India I like to travel by train, as you can see many places, meet many people on the way.Like Jakarta most of the photos are taken by my daughters.

Six - Seven hours through greenery is a dream in many parts of India.

I would like to stay in such a place, where you can see greenery, clouds touching mountain heads, ....

This was my second visit to Borobudur temple. Borobudur is a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms. Last time I came in the morning, it was a breath taking scene in the morning.

The upper platform features seventy-two small stupas surrounding one large central stupa. Each stupa is bell-shaped and pierced by numerous decorative openings. Statues of the Buddha sit inside the pierced enclosures.

Borobudur contains approximately 2,670 individual bas reliefs. The narrative panels, which tell the story of Sudhana and Manohara, are grouped into 11 series encircled the monument with the total length of 3,000 meters.

Jatakas are stories about the Buddha before he was born as Prince Siddhartha.

Candi Pawon is only 2 km from Borobudur. This temple was restored in the early 20th century.

Maliaboro Street in Yogyakarta is famous tourist destination. We went there for batik dress material, dresses, etc. along with handcraft items.

Photos from Jakarta

2009-05-31T12:00:00.005+05:30

In one of my earlier blog I mentioned about Jakarta along with a remark. In the month of May - my family came to Jakarta and we had good week in and around Jakarta and in Java - specially in Yogyakarta. All photos are taken by my daughters.

Jakarta international airport gives very good impression about the city. Its greenery accompanies you once you get out of the plane till where you board a vehicle.

My daughters enjoyed Gondola ride in Ancol, a modern enjoyment centre in Jakarta.

Ancol also house an aquarium, which I was told is bigger than the one you can see in Singapore. This photo is of Manta ray. During out Maldives stay - we enjoyed many of them live in the sea.

This photograph was taken on the way to Taman Safari, located in Bogor. These fruits are mainly for the wild life that can be enjoyed in the safari.

It was rainy day - so little light, any very few good quality photos.

Puncak is another nice place just few hours away from Jakarta. It is at a higher altitude than Jakarta and most frequented place by Jakartians. Lush green tea gardens add to the beauty of the place. Hot ginger tea and roasted corns are delicious.

Photos - Beaches around Lahewa - part - 2

2009-05-17T12:00:00.002+05:30

Whenever, I go to the beach, I walk around the beach. In Toreloto, I found different types of corals. They all are now above the water and not live. These pictures will give some idea, how they would look like, when they were under water and alive.

This picture shows how much land has come upwards.

Variety of corals like a tree - different sizes, shapes and sure different colours.

I was told this is known as brain coral.

This is like coral with branches of a tree.

This coral is like hollow tubes.

Another nice one.

Photos from Medan, North Sumatra

2009-04-15T12:00:00.003+05:30

This photo is taken from the room of Novatel hotel, where I used to stay for most of the time. On the right side, water tower - Tiranadi can be seen.

Roads in Medan city are good (there are few exceptions). This photo is taken of a bridge, which blends is near hotel Danau Toba. When ever I used to have some time, I walk towards it.

This is a statue of flame near the museum. I went to Medan mostly for transit or during week ends, so never ever able to visit the museum and then I decided to at least take a photo.

This photo is taken along with our Medan staff, in my Bollywood. This is a place for Indian food, just behind Sun Plaza.

This is a typical congratulation messages in this part of the world. I can see them in Jakarta, Nias, everywhere. A big boards, decorated with flowers, really a nice way to congratulate someone.

Medan is a commercial hub with very nice buildings. This one is near hotel Novatel.

As any big city, this is the other side of the city, that you can not see.

Photos - Beaches around Lahewa - part - 1

2009-02-15T12:00:00.002+05:30

Lahewa is located along the Arabian Sea. The place where I stay is hardly half a kilometre from the sea. Toyolawa, Toreloto and Afulu are the main three beaches around Lahewa.

This is - Toyolawa beach - around one hour form Lahewa. This is quite secluded location, as it is among the coconut plantation and near coconut oil factory. This is very nice sandy beach, with few corals along the sea shore.

Toreloto beach is around 20 - 25 minutes from Lahewa. I do not swim, but enjoy being on the beach, and specially this one. This area is on north-western end of Nias Island, and it is said that this area is lifted by around 1.5 metre due to earthquake which caused Tsunami. This is very evident as we can see corals are out of water, beach has moved towards water. This is not a sandy beach, but a nice pool of water due to reef nearby.

As any beach, there are many activities around the beach - boat building / repair.

This photo is taken, while fish smoking. The fish seen here is said to be a special parrot fish - very rare species.

This is a barge, which is mainly used to store fish and then transfer the fish catch to deep sea. I wanted to stay in the house / room on this barge, but nobody was ready to come with me.

When I visited this beach for the first time, a snake was found by local youths, hidden in the corals in the water.

A nice shell trapped in the corals, along the shore.

On Toyolawa beach, I find this shell - flat, circular, with small hairs, but nobody was able to tell me - what is this.