My sixteen year old jazz dreams

That was the best set of statues I have seen. Maybe because it evokes action, music, life, whatever you call it. I just loved them. Their body stance is so perfect. 

It is Seward Johnson's creation, cast in bronze. 

If you are at the "Grounds for Sculpture" in New Jersey you can see a vast variety of sculptures and statues, which cannot be covered in a day.

The one on "God Bless America" is quite big. It is in aluminium and wood. 

If you want to gauge the size here is one more picture.

The girl on the bench reading a book looks very realistic from a distance, and all are curious to know what is so interesting in the book. 

What you see in the foreground is "Painting by the glow of the green Fairy" The Van Gogh figure is working on his painting lit only by the stars and the lantern to his right.  

Sailing to Siena is again cast in bronze and painted (chromobase paint system) clear coat. This is based on Eduorad Manet's painting "Argenteuil" 

One thing I realised is that all those that are outdoors, remains outdoor so it has to withstand sun, rain and snow.

Coming back to our musicians shown in the first picture, I clicked a few pictures, put them together and added some music to make them come alive. Wish I had clicked a few more pictures to make the video longer.

Bangalore to Bengaluru

 I just can’t believe that I am looking at a piece of wood which is actually twenty million years old. But that is what the sign board says. Technically known as Tree Fossil, it is right now placed at the Lalbagh Botanical Garden in Bangalore.

Had been in and out of Bangalore many times but this is the first time I actually paid a visit to the famous Lalbagh.

Had been there in the morning, but not early enough to see the morning birds.

The only one I could click was this one who seem to be looking back at me with his beady eyes. 

The early morning joggers were relaxed and they looked like the regulars over here.

The statue of Sri Chamrajendra Odeyar is slowly taking its toll, after all its been standing for more than a century.   

Had to click this as the contrast of the old and new can be seen here. The bandstand in the fore front could be from the British era as every public place had a bandstand in those days.  In contrast the steeple in the background is supposed to be the building owned by Vijaya Mallya. 

Enjoyed some authentic Korean food at a prominent outlet in Kalyan Nagar. I was fascinated by the small figurines kept at the hotel. 

There is a lot of change happening in the city including the fact that the name has been changed from Bangalore to Bengaluru. With the addition of the metro rail, the charm of walking down M G road is not the same. One has to pay the price for development I suppose. 

                                                                             pic source

On the way back home, I had some time to kill at the airport and tried the tea from this outlet known as Chai Point.  

You can pick up a chai as per your choice, and they have a variety to choose from.

I was impressed by their efficiency and cleanliness

It’s a pity that they don’t have an outlet in Pune.

I picked up a Dum Chai and sipped it watching our tricolour lazily swaying in the dusk.  

Come to think of it, there is a flag in front of every airport but we barely notice it in the scramble to catch that flight.

At the airport, I met an acquaintance with whom I had worked with in Pune. He is now busy shuttling between Germany and Bangalore.  While chatting with him I couldn’t help recollect the fact that some decades ago, I had worked with his father too in the same organization.

 

The Red Rocks

Just about 10 miles from Denver Colorado is this huge natural formation of rocks that has been converted to an Amphitheater.

As we approached the location, I was taken in by the huge stone structure jutting out into the sky.

I noticed that the rock formation in the surrounding area had a peculiar colour and finish.

Tribute should be paid to John Walker who had a vision of artists performing on a stage with perfect acoustic surroundings. He even produced a few concerts on a temporary platform. ( this was way back in 1900)

Later in 1941 this was converted to a full fledged amphitheater with a seating capacity of 9450.

An old picture of how it looked from way up above:

I noticed that the seats were quite wide. I suppose this gives the audience enough space to stand up and dance when the mood demands.

During the day time there are many health enthusiasts who use this place for workouts. You require real good stamina to run up those stands.

 There is a display of the pictures of all the groups who performed at this theater.  

Sonny and Cher, Pat Boone, Beatles, The Carpenters, Rolling Stones, John Denver, U2, Jimi Hendrix . . . . . .  the list is endless.

The Amphitheater was used for filming the start and finish of The Amazing Race.

Almost every big name has done their promotional video shooting at this amphitheater.

A tribute in the form of a statue to all the workers who actually carried out the work of converting the place to a theater.

After visiting the place we had lunch at Willy's Buffalo, which is at the foothills of the Red Rock.

What I liked about Willy's is the patio outside where you could sit and relax after placing the order.

Their favourite (chicken wings) could be ordered in Medium, Hot, Xtra Hot  and Xtra Xtra hot. We ordered in all the varieties and when they were served, the sight itself was appetizing. 

One bite and everyone was scrambling for more. Even though the skin was crisp, it was real meaty and juicy inside, and the taste was divine.  (the Xtra Xtra Hot was not all that spicy as we expected it to be) 

No wonder it has a four star rating on Yelp.

On that appetizing note I sign off, till we reach our next stop.