Skip to main content

Featured Post

The Elephanta Caves

The Elephanta Caves , located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri, about 11 Km off the coast of the Gateway of India, Mumbai, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A visit to these caves, excavated probably in the 6 th century CE, is awe-inspiring, and also thought-provoking. Over the years, I have visited the caves a number of times, and also attended a number of talks by experts in the fields of art, history and archaeology on the caves. Together, they help me understand these caves, their art, and the people they were created for, just a little bit better. Every new visit, every new talk, every new article I read about the caves, fleshes out the image of what the island and the caves would have been like, at their peak. I last wrote about the caves on this blog, in 2011, almost exactly 11 years ago. Since then, my understanding of the caves has, I would like to think, marginally improved. Hence this attempt to write a new and updated post, trying to bring to life, the caves of Elephan
Post a Comment

Partial Solar Eclipse in Mumbai

For the last hour,I have watching the partial solar eclipse, explaining the phenomenon to Samhith, and trying to get a reasonably good photograph.Success at last!!! Guess what I used to take these pics!!!
















Beautiful, isn't it???
(ANS. a double layer of film for the first 2 and 4 layers for the last 3!)

For More pictures of the solar eclipse, check out the following blogs:

Ashish Parmar's Nature's Imagery (Bangalore)


Mridula's Travel Tales from India (Delhi)


Quest's Quest beyond eternity (Thiruvananthapuram)



Posted by Picasa
Labels:
Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Comments

  1. A journey called LifeJanuary 15, 2010 at 3:16 PM

    awesome, i might sound silly, but the partially eclipsed sun looked very powerful even in the photos..

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anuradha ShankarJanuary 15, 2010 at 6:38 PM

    @AJCL: hey, u dont sound silly at all!!!! in fact, the sun was so bright that the eclipse which i could see thru dark glasses wasnt even visible when i took pics... i tried all sorts of things to reduce the brightness but to no avail.... even tried taking a pic thru the glasses!!!

    finally, i was looking at some pics on the net of people gathered to see the eclipse and there was a pic there of a child with a photofilm... that gave me an idea and i tried it out.. even then, one layer of the film wasnt enough... as u can see, the more the layers, the better is the pic!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Reetesh KhareJanuary 15, 2010 at 8:03 PM

    amzzzzzzzzzzing anuji u did wonder for us by capturing this moment...how did u do this. i wud like to click the same way next time...so please teach me the way..

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownJanuary 15, 2010 at 8:54 PM

    lovely images anu, I was kind of expecting this when I came to your blog. In banglore the eclipse was more complete. It was incredible...Thomas

    ReplyDelete
  5. MridulaJanuary 15, 2010 at 8:55 PM

    I too tried to capture the eclipse between a day full of taking classes. I managed to take it by clicking the reflection though my office window and missing lunch :D

    Loved the hue of your pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anuradha ShankarJanuary 15, 2010 at 9:08 PM

    @ Sabr: Thanks a lot.. but theres no real technique.. just read the comment above... simply trial and error!!

    @T&S : Hey, I was just seeing some blore pics of the eclipse and wondering if u had taken some too..... and also wishing i was there to see it...

    @Mridula: im sure it was worth missing the lunch!! actually so did we, for we dont eat during the eclipse :-(
    and i tried taking pics of the reflection,but somehow it didnt work out well.. waiting to see yours....

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousJanuary 16, 2010 at 12:12 AM

    Hey Deepa Akka...Absolutely Fab photographs...Amma and Shyam saw them too :) Chance'ille!! Shalu

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anuradha ShankarJanuary 16, 2010 at 8:46 AM

    @Shalu: thanks so much!! great to hear from u...

    ReplyDelete
  9. RajeshJanuary 16, 2010 at 7:31 PM

    Snaps of solar eclipsed are awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  10. sandeepJanuary 19, 2010 at 3:41 PM

    luved that red tinge - luvly

    ReplyDelete
  11. QuestJanuary 25, 2010 at 1:19 AM

    The sun was indeed too bright.....saw the eclipse with naked eyes :) and got a few pics too

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anuradha ShankarJanuary 25, 2010 at 9:54 AM

    @ Quest:Hey, u should be a little more careful! but the pics are great!!!!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please leave a comment for me so that I will know you have been here....

Popular posts from this blog

The Havelis of Bikaner - A Photo Post

The lanes are narrow , twisting and turning amidst buildings old and new. Crumbling old structures with intricate workmanship stand side by side with art deco buildings, and more modern constructions, which follow no particular style. Autos, bicycles, motorcycles and vans rush past, blowing their horns as loudly as possible, while cows saunter past peacefully, completely unaffected by the noise. In the midst of all this chaos, children play by the side, and women go about their chores, as we explore these by-lanes of Bikaner, and its beautiful Havelis. Facade of one of the Rampuria Havelis
6 comments
Read more

Ladakh - Planning The Trip

Over 2000 Km by road, in around 10 days. Stunning landscapes, wonderful people. That sums up our Ladakh trip. But how did it actually work? How did we make it happen? Read on to find out!  Leh, the capital of Ladakh , is accessible by air and road. Flying into Leh is the easiest, and time-saving option, while the road is the time consuming one, but with the added advantage of driving past some of the most beautiful landscapes in our country. Each option has much to recommend it, and we chose the road for just one reason – altitude sickness. Altitude sickness was one of my biggest concerns, since I suffer from motion-sickness. Yes, I do travel a lot, but that is despite my condition, and, over the years, have learnt how to handle it. I struggled with it when we visited Nathu-La in Sikkim, and wondered if I would be able to manage a week at the even higher altitudes that we would encounter in Ladakh. This was the reason we stuck to a basic plan, of only 9 days in Ladakh, though we
12 comments
Read more

Bhedaghat - Home of the 81 Yoginis

The Narmada flows down the mountains , carving out a path for herself as she makes her way down to the plains of Central India. She cascades from the rocks, her fine spray making it appear as if billows of smoke (dhuan) arise from the flowing streams of water (dhaar), giving it the name Dhuandhar. Dhuandhar Falls The force of her flow creates a gorge , smoothening and carving out the rocks into fantastic shapes, the pure white of the rocks standing starkly against the shades of the water. It is a joy to cruise down the river in a boat, seeing the natural contours created by the river, now famous as the Marble Rocks. We are at Bhedaghat, located on the banks of the Narmada near Jabalpur, where thousands of visitors turn up to see these natural landscapes, creations of the sacred Narmada, and pay obeisance to her. However, to me, the most interesting thing about Bhedaghat, isn’t the falls or the rocks, or even the river. What makes Bhedaghat special is t
40 comments
Read more