thoughtfully thoughtless……

 

The serene environs of the Jantar Mantar, the astronomical  wonder  located at  New Delhi are no longer serene.   The peace is shattered by periodic shrill whistles, reminding one of old Hindi movies, where the villains try to escape their ‘alleged’ crimes, by running  through narrow gullies, pursued by over-zealous, pot-bellied policemen.

Even the doves who rule the roost in the structures and are the only ‘permanent’ residents here, were sent aflutter every few minutes…

But then, this is no movie, or even a shooting of one….. this was the reality that greeted a few dedicated photographers who were at Jantar Mantar trying to capture its lines and shapes for digital posterity. Considering that this was happening at 7:30 in the morning, when there were about 10 odd people in the entire area, the entire situation  was even more preposterous and Orwellian.

A search for the offender brought us to a semi-officious, semi-literate, uniform-clad moron, who gruffly informed us that he has strict orders to make sure that no-one stays at one spot for  more than 5 minutes or sit anywhere. In confirmation with his ‘orders’ our friend in uniform, blew his shrill whistle at random intervals'.

After a while, realising that we were not going to listen to his dictates, especially after we pointedly asked him for his name and other particulars, he dumped his bright yellow plastic bag containing  God knows what, into one of the niches, and promptly sits down on the steps ( the selfsame place where he was supposed to roust people from) and dozes off. The scene was too attractive to resist and so here are the photos, that portray another attempt to add a nail in the coffin of India’s freedom.

 

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Psittacula posturing……

Inspired by several friends who shot action photographs of birds, I tried my hand at some during a recent walk in Deer Park.  The whole thing turned out to be real fun and so decided to share a few of my photographs here.

I found a flock of noisy, gregarious, Rose ringed parakeets (Psittacula krameri), feeding on some grains and managed to get some really fun images.

Rose ringed  parakeets, also known as the Ring-necked Parakeet, are gregarious tropical parakeet species that has an extremely large range. In the wild, this is a noisy species with an unmistakable squawking call.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

del.icio.us Tags: Psittacula,krameri,Rose,ringed,parakeets,Ring-necked,Parakeet

Changing of the Guard….

Come Saturday and the space between the North and South Blocks, resounds to the hoof beats of horses and martial music. This is the ceremony of the 'Changing of the Guard' which is a military tradition whose origins are lost in antiquity. From time immemorial, guards and sentries at Forts, Palaces and Defence Establishments change periodically to enable a fresh body of soldiers to  take charge.

Every Saturday, it's time for the Ceremonial Changing of the Guard - a traditional ceremony in which Infantry Army Guards and the President's Bodyguard, in spectacular red, riding well - bred horses, change guard with clock-work precision, demonstrating time honoured military ethos and discipline of both animal and man. This tradition of Ceremonial Changing of Guard dates back to the raising of the President's Bodyguards with 50 handpicked Horsemen in 1773, then called 'The Guards of Moguls'.

The 40-minute Ceremony includes inspection of the New Guard, nomination of sentries, a formal march to take post and an exchange of compliments by the Guards. A formal military ritual, the Ceremony is a coming together of smartly-attired soldiers of the impressive Army Guard and statuesque President's Bodyguard Troopers, astride their caparisoned, sleekly muscled, powerful and exquisitely groomed steeds. The regal bearing and hard training of the noble mounts of the President's Bodyguard,  greatly enhanced by their superb ceremonial equipage, heavily embroidered saddle cloths, ceremonial bridles and bits, lend a regal dignity and spectacle of incomparable colour and pageantry at this Ceremonial Parade. A zestful Band and the impressive arrival and dispersal of the guard, makes the Ceremony an unforgettable spectacle.

The New Guard marches from Rashtrapati Bhavan to the Dominion Columns lining the two wings of the Central Secretariat in perfect military tandem. After inspection, Officers of the guards take salute, and march past smartly. Upon entering the driveway, just inside the Iron Gate of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the New Guard takes position alongside the Old Guard for formal salutation. After exchanging salutes, the sentries of the Old Guard hand-over the keys to the New Guard. Sentries of the New Guard on duty take post and the remainder troops march off to the tune of "Saare Jahan Se Achcha".

 

Text Courtesy - Rashtrapathi Bhavan

del.icio.us Tags: Saturday,North,South,Blocks,hoof,beats,horses,martial,music,ceremony,'Changing of the Guard',military,tradition,Infantry,Army,Guards,President,Bodyguard,spectacular,Ceremonial,Parade,Rashtrapati,Bhavan,Dominion,Columns,Central,Secretariat