On the way - part 1

Traveling is boring for some and it is all the more so when it’s a daily routine - namely going to work.

Whether you travel by a car or a bus, observing your surroundings and the daily activities can be really interesting.

To start with, its interesting to watch the morning walkers getting along with their brisk morning walk.

If you are lucky you get to see the fag end of the combined exercise activity  by the senior citizens. Everyday the leader keeps changing but the exercise goes on. And then there is the laughter club which some find very amusing.

    The church opposite the Race course is probably one of the oldest one in Pune.

And when you look at it from the other side of the race course, it’s the only landmark in the horizon.

The race course is one of those exciting places. You get to see the horses taken for the early morning training. The horses are wary of the traffic and the cacophony, so the trainer has a tough time holding on to them till they reach the tracks.

Once on the track they just sail through the morning routine of warming up and alternating between a trot and a gallop.

Its good to see people on tracks having their morning walk while the horses move in the opposite direction.

After a good work out they are back in their stables for a much required  rest.

There is a cross road named Victoria road right next to the race course The name of this road reminds me of my school days as our school in Bombay was situated on  Victoria Road (not far from Victoria Garden)  Of course Bombay is now Mumbai,  Victoria Road is Mustafa bazaar and Victoria Garden is Rani baug.

Right behind the Victoria Road sign is the Southern Command Riding school where young guys get their training.

Come summer vacation and you can see a lot of activity here where young boys and girls get a real feel of the horse and horse riding. 

Talking of the Race course you get to see a lot of activity there. Apart from the horses being trained, you come across joggers (who have a different track)

And there are some who do the Surya namaskar the right way -facing the rising sun.

Some believe in walking backwards as they say that it is a better form of exercise.

And after all this the juice vendor is always there to give you your choice of juice.

 I am always fascinated with this tangle of roots and trunks. Wonder how old it is, standing there right on the perimeter of the Empress Garden.

This Garden is one of the oldest in Pune and has some huge trees. Just a sideways glance is enough for one to appreciate the foliage and dense growth there.

From time to time Empress Garden holds some good exhibition cum sale of flowers and saplings. On such days you can expect a minor traffic jam in the evening.

These sugar cane vendors are getting ready with their stock for the day, anticipating the rise in the temperature. The complete contraption is made of wood and is very cost effective. The family pitches in as it requires minimum two people to run the show.

(this is getting to be a long one. . . . . .  so will be continued in part 2)

Marina Beach Chennai

During a short trip  to Chennai recently, I decided to go to the Marina beach early in the morning to get some interesting shots. Though the weather was overcast, I did manage to click some pictures.

The first thing that caught my attention at the beach was the statue of the Italian Tamil scholar Constantine Joseph Beschi. 

I made a mental note about looking up this guy who was here in India three centuries ago. When I read about him later on the net I was dumbfounded.   

He was an Italian who landed in Madurai in 1711 to learn Tamil. This would be putting it mildly when one reads about him in detail. I leave it to you to read more about him in Wikipedia.

As I proceeded towards the sea, I saw these guys playing beach volley ball, only the team looked stronger with five on one side.

This boy with his horse was on the look out for some prospective customers for a horse ride.

There was this unusual sight where people were doing some sort of puja as per the directions of the pundit. They seemed to be at a loss about the sequence of the ritual and  simply followed directions, while I just went on clicking. 

Finally they picked up the banana leaves (on which they were doing the puja), went as close to the water as possible and threw it into the sea. 

Meanwhile another set of people sat down and started the whole procedure again.  

Curious, I asked one elderly man (who just finished the puja) the meaning of the ritual that was taking place. 

The man apparently knew a lot and was happy to explain it to me in detail “Today is Aadi Amavasi - new moon day. It is a day for Pithir Tharpanam, a day for praying for your forefathers.  A ghee lamp is lit, manthras are chanted,  bells toll, these were done for the souls to rest in peace. 

Sesame seeds are considered to be holy and is used in this puja along with grass”  

He went on “Aadi Amavasi is special as it is the first Amavasi in Dakshinayam - Sun’s southward journey"

Well that enlightened me a little, something like the ‘All Souls Day’ observed by the Catholics.

Looking at the bundle of leaves, I was sure that they were all prepared to take in any number of people who wanted to do the puja.

From the corner of my eye, I saw that that the enrollment was in progress for the next batch.  Maybe the picture is out of focus because it is a view from the corner of my eye :-)

I moved on.   The ‘Beach Volleyball’ continued . . . . . . .

 and this boy (horse rider) was still looking for customers.

Two fishing boats were pulled up on the beach. The over cast sky made it a perfect setting for Aadi Amavasi. 

I think there are more photographs than text in this post, but then, why not let the the photographs speak for themselves for a change.