Horses

Coincidence .. . .  . ?  I had decided to use the word Horse as my topic for today and it also happens to be the birth centenary of Eadweard J. Muybridge, who was born on April 9, 1830.

A famous photographer. Muybridge is especially known for his breakthrough work on animal movement, especially of the Horse and today’s Google Doodle shows the same.

 This brings us to the commonly used term Horsepower. Just to brush up what we learned in school, if you were to lift 33,000 pounds, one foot, over a period of one minute, you would be working at the rate of one horsepower.

 Something else that reminds me of school was the text book “Black Beauty” which gave all the finer aspects of a horse growing up.

When I go for my morning walk at the race course I can see the horses zipping past for their morning training. As they run on sand, you don’t hear the click of their hoofs (at full gallop) but you can hear them snort as they come close to you. Motion in action is what you get when you click them. Here is one which I clicked.

This is a picture of a horse during the Ganapati procession that is held annually in Pune. It was drizzling and that explains the wet look.

In India (especially in north India) the groom is supposed to arrive on a horse back for the wedding, a tradition which they carry out even today, though it may be just symbolic now.

Talking about Indian horses, the Marwari horses from Rajasthan,  are supposed to be the descendents from the splendid war horses that served the ruling families and warriors of feudal India. It is said that they are the best breed in India. They even have a dedicated web site with all the details about the horses.

The horses in Europe looked prim and proper with all those decorative tufts. Tourists prefer to take these rides as they can do the sightseeing with a running commentary. The cobbled roads adds to the effect with the hoofs going clippety clop. Some pics which I clicked last year.

Giraffe

If you are on the second story of a building and if you find a giraffe peeping through the window, don’t be alarmed as that is the natural height of a Giraffe.

Surprisingly for the long neck, it has only seven vertebrae, the same as what a human neck has, but each vertebra is over ten inches long.

 Sophie la Giraffe, a teething toy created in 1961, is making a come back and is being sold in the American stores at $25 each. Innovative  advertising tactics has made this an international hit and is being stocked in high end baby boutiques around the world like Australia and Japan.

It maybe debatable, but the sad fact is that in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe it is still legal to kill these gentle long legged friends. Some pay as high as 10,000 pounds for a kill after which they pose with the kill. 

After reading an article (on the net) I just asked myself “Why did they not shoot them with a camera instead of a gun?” For those who want to read the article and see the pictures.

And more pics in the Daily mail.

Fruits

Its always nice to see fruits hanging in the market especially in country side.

These are some of the pictures I clicked in Kerala (South India)
There are many varieties in these yellow small ones and some are real sweet.

These pineapple display look great in the shop 

but if we cut them into thin slices and add them at the bottom of the cake then its known as Pineapple cake upside down (yummy and juicy too)

This lady has a make shift shop and is waiting for the customers

Then there is the regular weekly market where you get all the fruits:

Some of the fruits that are available in plenty during the summer season in Kerala are the Jack  fruit:

and mangoes

When it comes to tomatoes, most of us are in two minds..... is it a fruit or a vegetable?

This shop keeper was keeping an eye on me while I was clicking. Can't blame him, if I dislodge one, it will send the whole pile tumbling down.  

Elephants

I was always fascinated by these gentle giants who roam the earth. They look so calm and in no hurry.

Unfortunately they are used for joy rides or in the temples or in the circus (I wonder if the ban on using animals in circus is in force now)

In a natural surrounding, elephants have no predators, but are threatened by human intrusion and poaching (a sad fact)

Have yet to physically see an African Elephant, but the ones in India are also quite huge.

I was impressed by this one, the way he neatly tore off the palm leaves with his trunk and guided it to his mouth.

This lady was petrified of the huge animal, but at the same time she wanted to cross over to the front, so that she could click her husband and child. The mahout had to make a show of holding the elephant so that she could pass. I was watching the whole episode (and clicking at the same time) Later I asked the man on the elephant for his e mail ID and send across the soft copies of these. Was he happy. 

Every year in January these elephants come out in procession during the temple festival in Cochin (South India)

These trunks can suck in 14 litres of water at a time and then blow it into their mouth. (yes that chain around the feet should not have been there)

While writing this post I learned something new. Like humans who are right handed or left handed, elephants are right tusked or left tusked. Usually one is shorter than the other based on their use. If the left tusk is shorter and rounded then it’s a left tusked one.

Considering their body size, the eyes are real small but they take in everything.

I stopped my car and crossed the road to click this picture to include both the elephant and my car in the frame. Incidentally last week a publishing house in Mexico asked me permission to print this in one of their books. 

Once done, I will add the link here. (I wonder what they are going to write about this gentle giant)

Dancing

I recently read that the Tunisian choreographer Radhouane El Meddeb likes to cook while he dances and vice versa. 
I am trying to imagine that situation. Wonder how he could manage both.

Dancing they say is an expression of the mind.

I never miss a chance to click pictures when people are dancing and one out of ten turn out to be a good shot.

It can be of small kids trying to do what the adults do

Or of couples having a good time

Or of those in a group dance

The bride may be having a good time with her friends

 Or it could be her first dance with the father-in-law

If you go in for the low angle then foot work is something that can be of interest while dancing (especially if its a wooden floor)

A small gathering in the family at home is an excuse for the kids to freak out

Here is one at the mehendi ceremony (during the engagement)

The gentle breeze from the river is good enough reason for all to shake a leg in a house boat

Like I said, dancing is an expression of the state of your mind.

What do you say?

Candid pictures

Candid pictures speak a lot. One can weave a complete story around a candid picture.

This little girl was showing off her skills on how to make her little sister laugh, and when she realized that she had a large appreciative audience, she was making sure that all eyes were on her before her next act.

Or these group of young people discussing the daily affair. Each one has a different expression, but it’s a common meeting ground for them I suppose.   

For these musicians it must be a daily routine, performing in front of the passing crowd. Some do contribute out of pity, while some out of genuine appreciation of the music. I noticed that the guy on the trumpet was really enjoying the music.

And here was a girl patiently waiting for mother to get the hang of the camera and click them while her dad was doing the balancing act so that the complete Louvre Pyramid would be in the frame.

Group photos are fun, and time consuming, but just hang around on the side lines and click them in between shots. That is the time when they are more relaxed and natural, till the official photographer calls out for the next shot. I clicked this when the whole family had gathered to celebrate grandmother’s 90 th Birthday.

 (she is the only one who was looking at my camera) She is one enterprising lady and you can read more about her and her achievements here.   

One can gauge the anticipation of this gentleman as he prepares his bait before he goes in for that swing with his long fishing rod.

I wonder if this falls under candid pictures as wifey caught me wearing a ladies hat.

She says I kinda look "cute" in this.

By the way today's post with C is Candid pictures and not "Cute"

Baking

Yesterday was Sunday and I asked my wife “Hey, how come no baking shaking for many days?”

Wifey: “Many days? How about that yummy Brioche that we had last month?”

Me: “But that was last month, shouldn’t we do it more frequently? Something like once a week or maybe daily?”

Wifey: “So you like my baking eh? Well in that case we can start off right away. Let me see, we can make use of some of the left overs and see if we can make something appetizing”

Here I was talking about baking and she is talking about left overs. But I played along.

Me: “Do you want me to do something? Like knead the dough or something like that?”

Wifey: “What you can do is boil a few potatoes and peel them and we can make some meat roll”

Well, I did exactly what she said while she went about mixing and kneading the dough. It was real magic to see the dough rise up within no time. By the time I finished with the potato episode and  got my camera ready, she had already started working on half of the dough.

So this is what I got to click (the remaining dough)

Meanwhile she was using her artistic talent on the dough.

Me: “Why are you cutting it up like that”

Wifey: “Its for braiding”

Me: “Braiding? I thought you said something about meat roll”

Wifey”: “That is exactly what I am doing. There is no harm in making it look a little attractive”

After giving the dough a few cuts, she spread out the mashed potato and the leftover meat in the middle.

Then she wrapped up the whole thing with some intricate braiding work, and this is how it looked.

She took a brush and dipped it in some liquid and painted it all over the rolls.

Me: "Why do you do that?"

Wifey: "It will give it that glazed look"

She left it in the oven and told me to keep a watch, "tell me when its medium brown" 

Geez, the things I have to do for the Big B

But then she realised that I am not the person to be entrusted to keep a watch on the oven as I kept asking after every five minutes: "Is this brown enough?"

Finally it was done and this is how it looked.

Now it was my turn to have the glazed look and that gave me the idea for today’s A-Z

Its Baking starting with a big B.