SILHOUETTE - THE PAMPA

I had been to this place 12 years back and I got the opportunity again last month. It was nostalgic. 

This was a favourite spot for me and my cousins to play around in Kerala. We would watch the fishermen on their boats, boats gathering sea sand, cranes looking out for stealing the fishermen's catch, urchins diving into the river just appearing from nowhere. Today we all have got into jobs, fast lives and fast cars. But faraway from nature and its silent beauty.

We had little money then, but lots of time to hang around in pristine spaces like these.

SUNSET'S LANGUAGE

TIPPU SULTAN'S SUMMER PALACE WITH ALL GREENERY

ABBEY FALLS, MADIKERI

BIRDS AT THE KARANJI LAKE, MYSORE

I never knew that there was one place in India where we could get so close to birds and that too in a huge cage left open for us. A beautiful lake nearby for us to sit and spend time was another great thing here.

I have heard that peacocks can give us a tough time if we got close. But we took the risk and it paid off well.

THE ROAD TO MYSORE

PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK WITH THE KINGFISHER

I believe this stint of photography has been the most successful attempt that both me and my daughter have made in taking a picture of the kingfisher in our digicam. This kingfisher visits our garden frequently.

Very much like me, my daughter also tends to take everything seriously. I am yet to come out of that lock fully, but lots of training of my mind, I have managed to come out a little.

When we were trying to take a snap of this bird, I saw my daughter getting desperate with every miss that happened, or every mistake she made. The kingfisher hopped and flew from one tree to the other. Many times it just flew away and came back after sometime.She was on the point of giving up, very much like a mathematics problem that never gave in.

Although it was like one blind leading the other, I still spent some time with her explaining that everything in life should not be treated like a school subject or a school exam. I told her that it was important to have some hobbies where we could just enjoy making mistakes and explore without conditions or boundaries.

I believe that that instilled more self belief in her, and relieved her from the burden of having to achieve accuracy, each time she attempted anything.

It is more important to keep getting up and walking tall after every fall, than to just keep winning always without taking any risks.