Shadow Hunters

The hot African sun beats down on them. Paying no heed to it, they trudge on through the bush. Their day is made, they have their prize catch. An Antelope. They'll reach home just in time to let the women cook the meat in time for their next meal. They are the shadow hunters.

These guys don't have to worry about RUF or Janjaweed en route. They're part of the Africa that was meant to be, sans rebels, sans war, sans conflict diamonds, sans poverty.

History is littered with instances where something shows so much promise but doesn't follow through.

A dedication to Blood Diamond, a movie that opened my eyes to things I never knew about.

PS : It's a tile bas-relief. Quoting Wikipedia;

"Bas-relief ('bah relief') is where the overall depth of a projecting image is shallow. The background is compressed to such an extent it may be flat, as on coins."

Yellow Brick Road

All roads lead to Rome; Maybe they do! But the routes are always different in most cases. Different for you, different for me, different for some other person and so on. After all the path we choose is a consequence of our choices in real life.

But I figure all these different paths constitute the ultimate road, one that everyone travels on no matter which path they choose; The path of life (I know it sounds corny :P).

This is the path I'd like to call our yellow brick road. Maze-like, intricate and made up of so many different grooves and right-angle turns. Just perfect to indicate choices, and even better to get yourself confused ;)

Wherever we go, however we go, may our paths cross again :)... Sometime, somewhere :)

A dedication to all my friends, and to The Wizard Of Oz, one of my childhood favorites.

Squashed

There are so many people
There's so much to do.
Time's precious and space is scarce
Unbelievable? Trust me, it's true.

Take Mr. Styrofoam for example
Round denizens of a white land.
What you see is a taste, a sample
Of a place where everything seems so unplanned.

Everyone's waiting for their chance to shine
Everyone seems so close together.
They're all standing, standing in line
Bumped into, stepped on, squashed. Forever.

Hanging Dead

When the ball isn't in your court, there's not much you can do to force the pace at which things happen. In fact you can't do anything but wait. Wait, wait and wait some more till something gives.

Things are hanging in the balance, and your existence is of no relevance.

You're essentially hanging dead. Dead as far as how everything turns out is concerned.
But don't lose hope... Ever. Make sure you hang around long enough.

A dedication to every single person who has felt the same way.

Splash!

These pics just go to show that you can freeze time. All it takes is a click, a simple press of a button (after all the zooming and focusing is done of course)... It's that easy.

Falling raindrops and splashes in progress :) Next time you take a pic, tell anyone who asks you're freezing time. It sounds so much cooler :)

A dedication to technology, which is an integral part of almost everything today.

PS : The dark shadows in the first image are all raindrops.

White Beauty Dark

White chocolate. Or albino chocolate, as I call it.

Come on take a piece, and if you're not too shy, a chunk! Bite into it. Twirl your tongue around it. Sniff at the warm chocolate smell as it wafts into your nose. Luscious. Swallow as the chocolate melts; Sweet, white, gooey goodness... Feels heavenly doesn't it? I think it does :)

A dedication to chocolate and chocolate lovers alike; Half the pic to those who love it white, the other half to those who prefer it dark and the whole pic to the ones who enjoy chocolate irrespective of its color.

Also dedicated to the Mesoamerican people for first making xocolat, as they called it.

Rain Mosaic

I guess random things can turn out to be real pretty... Like this pic, for instance :)

The water and the ripples, highlighted by the flash... Refreshingly fresh. Seemingly alive. Glistening mosaic revealed.

A dedication to all the things that are there to be noticed but aren't because no one looks hard enough.

PS : Click on the pic to get a view that might just quench your thirst :D

It All Stacks Up

Everything you put aside for later keeps piling up; One day you finally decide to take a look at this pile and realise, much to your dismay, how much you've not done... Everything can wait, but you panic, your mind starts looking for reasons to worry and your heart starts to race. Panic. Unnecessary, and uncalled for.

But you find this little realisation doesn't change the fact that new things keep cropping up even one tiny bit. So you've to deal with the new stuff, plus you're panicking. That's when things start getting out of hand. You try to take on everything in one go; You can't do much with the stuff that's gone, the new stuff ends up half-done, and you start putting things randomly into your nice and ordered stack of things to do...

If you find yourself in the above situation, I wish you good luck... Hopefully things turn out well. It's all your fault; You see, it pays to realise that it all stacks up!

Retro Orange

Orange against green. The white light shining right at both... This description would most certainly fit the bill when the Netherlands football team makes its way out onto the turf for the quarterfinal clash against Russia :)

Their die-hard fans are in orange too :) That explains all the extra orange :)

Rooting for the Dutch all the way!... A dedication to Euro '08, Austria-Switzerland.

Deer, Oh Dear

Captivating beauty held captive... There's not much good you can do by freeing them, they've been tamed. They're used to being taken care of...

Warm, pettable, adorable, yet dependent. It's inexplicably sad :(

A dedication to all the animals meant to roam free that have ended up in cages and zoos.

Alone In The Dark

There are times when you're stranded in the dark like a lamp-post, and can see only about an arms length on all sides... You catch glimpses of things lurking in the shadows, but you can't investigate. You can't run either.

Scared, alone, helpless...

We all feel the same way at some point of life. All we can do is wait it out. Daybreak brings more than just light, it brings relief :)

However dark it may be, things are bound to change :) Rest assured, you're never left alone in the dark for too long :)

Jetlagged Neighbours

Their day starts when ours is just about to end. That's about when the lights come on, one by one, shockingly visible against a backdrop consisting entirely of their opposite :) Aids in the never-ending quest to expand the city skyline. The crane keeps lifting, the machines ramble on, the humming noise in the distance never ceases and the announcers voice occasionally booms out over everything else; All this goes on, least affected by the fact that everyone around has, in all probability, drifted off to some corner of dreamland already! A constellation of little balls of light in the distance that helps meet construction deadlines and gives workers their daily light exposure ;) Handy little balls of light indeed, they're quite an eyeful too :)

It's hard to believe there's so much going on when we're all fast asleep...

The construction yards next door, my jetlagged neighbours...

PS : Click on the pic to get a fuzzy full screen view. The arrows on the building to the left seem to be pointing at something... maybe a treasure chest? I guess it's more likely to be a toolbox! I should definitely keep my unusually active imagination under control :P

Heaven's Spotlight

Don't you wish in times of doubt for a moment, a moment during which everything suddenly becomes clear; uncertainty gives way to clarity; that moment, when the directions seem marked in color on the map of your life and all choices become so much more easier to make...

Every now and then the veil that keeps you in the dark gives way, and you see the light as it shines through; guiding you, bathing you in certainty and making you believe you know. Very enjoyable. This is the exact moment heaven's spotlight is shining right at you, and the stage is yours and yours alone! Don't forget to wave goodbye to those cloudy wisps of ignorance when you pass them by :)

White Screen Of Death

It's colorful face, once caught in a texting race,

Ended up winning after all

It's beautiful, ringing voice, heard over all noise,

Barely let me miss a call.

The color's gone now, I don't know how,

The blue back light is all that remains

Its face has gone the shade of the purest white snow,

This white screen of death causes much pain.