Springtime...

     It's spring time and the colors that this season throws are at times amazing. No better example of this than the Palaash flowers (Butea Monosperma). Bright orange and red in color, this flower was compared to Fire by the Nobel Laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore in his poems. It is even called a form of the God of Fire by some. The flowers are also used to make colors for the Indian festival of Colors- Holi.
     Painting this was fun. It was a pleasure playing with such bright colors. It really brightens up ones mood. Hope you all like this work.

Cavalry....

     On 26th January India celebrates The Republic Day. On This day in 1950 our constitution came into effect. To commemorate this day  a large parade is held in New Delhi. The military, paramilitary and police etc come out in marching columns in all their finery. Amazing tableaux take the breath away from spectators. In spite of all the changes over a period of time, my favourite still remains the Cavalry columns. The horses are elegance personified. I am not much of a rider myself but love them any way. Had been wanting to paint one for a long time. Found this picture very interesting and decided to paint it. The composition was difficult as both the horses and riders needed equal footage. Hope I managed to do justice and you like it.   

Gurudev

     'Gurudev' or 'Teacher' as he was popularly known, Rabindra Nath Tagore was the first non European Nobel laureate for literature. His mesmeric personality, flowing hair and other worldly dress earned him a prophet-like reputation in the west. His poetry was considered spiritual and mercurial. However it is still hardly known outside Bengal. He is probably the only individual to have composed the national anthems for two countries.... India and Bangladesh ! This year is his 150th birth anniversary and next year will be the centenary of his winning the Nobel prize. My tribute to this great man.... 

Fishing boats @ Sassoon Docks... Mumbai.

     Sassoon Docks are the only docks in Mumbai open to the public. It harbors the biggest fish market of Mumbai. Early morning the boats start docking with their booty. By 10 AM the place is deserted! The place happened to be quite unorganized till sometime back. There were no checks on who entered or went out... till the perpetrators of the 26/11 terror attack struck. This was the dock from where the terrorists entered and created havoc in the city. Things have changed now.Unknown faces raise eyebrows. Some semblance of checks have been established. But fortunately life has not changed otherwise. It is still the biggest fish market here and the catch still gets sold out by 10 AM.

Sheesh Gumbad

     Lodi Garden is a 90 acre park in the heart of Delhi. There are numerous tombs in the park dating back to the 15th century. They were mostly built during the rule of the Lodi dynasty. The 'Sheesh Gumbad' or 'Glass Dome' is the only one having unmarked graves. It gets the name because of the remains of blue glazed tiles on the top half. Probably earlier the entire top was covered with these tiles. Any way the identity of the inhabitants of the graves remains a mystery. They must have been important, judging by the grandeur of the tomb. Delhi-ites frequent this garden for their walks, or in search of some peace away from the hub-bub of the city. An occasional vagabond may be found sleeping right next to the graves, oblivious to the missing piece of history.

Ghantaghar

    Kanpur is an old dusty town in northern India. Till some time back it was one of the most industrialised cities in the country. It was in fact called the Manchester of the east. However due to labour union troubles and bad politics most of the industries have moved out.All that remains are the relics of a by gone era. The Cawnpore Woolen Mills was established in 1876. It kept sputtering and finally closed down a few years back. To remind us of the good times remains the Clock Tower or 'Ghantaghar' which was a part of the mill structure. It continues chiming undeterred. 

Dream...

     What else can a pilot dream about but flying! That too flying over a spot where flying is not permitted!!! This is the Gateway of India in Mumbai. It is a heritage site built to commemorate the visit of King George-V and Queen Mary to Bombay in 1911.Low flying aircraft are not permitted over it. So what... like Picasso, I can also dream and then paint my dreams! This painting was done about ten years back. Came across it recently and decided to post it.