On the road

Traffic in the morning peak office rush hour today was held up by an elephant (what the...!) strolling along on one of the main highways of South Delhi, totally oblivious to the vehicles honking away. After a while people gave up and just followed the elephant wryly.

On the way back from work, close to home, two tiny little confused calves have been standing in the middle of the road darting to a side and then suddenly hopping right back in the middle of the busy road. These two must have given a scare to countless drivers today. Traffic has been crawling around them, while they play hopscotch.

Rush hour traffic? Hmm thats two mysteries solved today.

:-)

Shoepolish-wallahs and monkeys darting across roads..

Delhi and Delhi-ites seem to be rushing around to fill the few days of still bearable summer evenings with outdoor activities. One such event was a live symphony and orchestra by the children of Prayas, providing a live soundtrack of a silent movie on Delhi, which was also made by the children.

Forts, monuments, heritage, children, life, struggle, hope, traffic, movement, dusk, light, glare, baloons, brooms, shoepolish-wallahs and monkeys darting across roads. Heading out of the home for an hour of this was well worth it.

The hills. Today morning.

The wind.
Soft drizzle on the corrugated roof.
Distant chimes of a bell. Its a temple. I know.
A child crying in one of the distant cottages.
Crows.
Rain.
Mist.
Clouds.
Raindrops splattering on the ground, on leaves, on trees. Loud.
The wind. Gets a word in every few seconds. Getting bolder with each try.
A man walking on a path. On the only hill that I can see in the mist.
Silent footsteps.
Monkeys bounding across the tin roof, seeking shelter from the rain. Jarr the senses. Wake you up from your thoughts.

The morning is full of the silence of the hills, and the sounds.

The kindness of strangers

Among the pep talk recounts by friends. Here's one that I heard recently -

On the train right now, was offered a share of the home-cooked food being eaten by the elderly woman sitting next to me. Brought back memories of another incident. A few weeks ago, on the same train, travelling on the same sector..it had been one of those days being repeated again and again over the past two months. And as I sat staring out of the window unble to hide the pain and tears, two elderly men sitting across from me offered me tea. And insisted that I drink it. About an hour later, as they got ready to get down at their station, one of them very gently and for a fleeting moment patted my head, wispered 'take care' and disappeared.

The lady sitting next to me, brought back that incident. Sometimes, the kindness of strangers, just keeps you hanging on.

I like Flowers

Mist


Temptation


Symmetry


Maze


And if you like these, keep an eye out for more such colours and travel photography, on my online picture portfolio, to be launched soon.