Here is a video I shot on making of wedding garland in south India. You can read the details here.
There is a street called Big Bazar street in the heart of the town Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu. Surrounded by temples this street is famous for flowers, garlands and such likes. When I saw this skilled man making some wedding garlands, I requested for a video and he obliged me.

So, now

These thick & heavy special wedding garlands are called Kalyana Malai ( कल्याण माला ) in Tamil and are made of mainly rose petals and chopped leaves. To keep them together in this conical shape and to prevent the petals from falling off, they are ‘wrapped’ in threads.

After wrapping up with thread some decorative pieces are being inserted.
There are two such pieces of each garland. Mostly, only one piece

About my recent solo backpacking trip. As I always maintain, my idea of travelling is not counting no. of places but the memories attached to them. Carrying a backpack, wandering, observing, uncertain about next destination (well, mostly) is my way of travel.
This time also it was not a temple trip. But since I was wandering mostly in temple cities of Tamil Nadu, plenty of them happened in between. I also went to craftsmen’s villages to see their art… some of them in dying stages. I chatted with the artists …

This time I thought of posting some nights shots of not the sky but from the sky. Spicejet is a domestic carrier.

More than sunrise, I like to click the skies at evening… especially when the sun is not set fully.
I think the diffusion of sunlight through the atmosphere and dust gives surroundings a feel of life and completeness compared to when it is totally dark and the contours of silhouettes represent mere outlines.
What do you say?
And somehow I always get an opportunity to click … so what if it is from a moving vehicle.
Though I have been to Bangalore 2-3 times, I am not familiar with roads or landmarks; …

It was my first visit to Trivandrum or even Kerala.
I was apprehensive about the place I was going to stay. I needed a budgeted, clean and safe place. On Googling I found, hotels near Trivandrum station were all of similar nature and class.
As soon as you put your foot on the ground, the touts swam you with offers to take you to a nice hotel. They get commission, hotel gets a customer and you pay the bill. To tell you the truth, I am susceptible to these pressure tactics, especially …

Kovalam beach is one of the sought after beaches of India. So when I happened to visit Trivandrum… well, what do you expect of me ? I made it a point to go there in evening even if it was for a short period of a few hours.

Sunset at Kovalam.
Beach is as beautiful as you could think of. It reminds us of many beaches around the world. It has 2