My Photo Diary

Don't try this at home ... part II

2011-03-07T00:23:00.009+05:30

This guy is fixing the airconditioner outside the window of the 12th floor - balancing himself precariously on a narrow slab of concrete (which is not even wide enough to accommodate the air-conditioner ) - with neither anything for support nor any harness to fix him to any secure spot.

Eid

2010-11-11T23:24:00.013+05:30

The world will move if you are ready or not - a bystander waits motionless on the road while the traffic and crowd hustles and bustles through.

The Common Wealth of Nations

2010-11-08T21:07:00.003+05:30

Western Ghats during monsoon

2010-11-08T14:04:00.001+05:30

HWH

2010-11-08T13:58:00.001+05:30

Its a wired world ...

2010-11-08T13:56:00.004+05:30

Its also a wierd world

Neemrana Palace

2010-11-08T13:55:00.000+05:30

Poor Man's Station-Wagon

2010-11-06T18:45:00.005+05:30

Rural India had a $1000 6-seater long before the $2000 Tata Nano arrived.

I think there is tremendous business potential for a stretched version of the normal two-wheeler which can accommodate more than two.

Sariska

2010-11-06T18:40:00.003+05:30

On the beat

2010-09-24T16:34:00.000+05:30

Dusk at Stranraer

2010-07-13T21:36:00.003+05:30

Id Midnight Bazaar

2010-07-13T21:31:00.001+05:30

Machineweg Middelpolder

2010-07-13T21:16:00.002+05:30

Republic Day

2010-05-16T15:18:00.003+05:30

Einstein in the making

2010-05-16T14:38:00.003+05:30

Our next Nobel winner ?

King of Spades ...

2010-05-16T14:10:00.001+05:30

Mandermoni

2010-05-16T13:59:00.004+05:30

Don't try this at home ...

2010-05-16T13:29:00.001+05:30

Buildings of the Raj

2010-03-28T03:47:00.005+05:30

The New Heineken Experience - II

2010-03-28T02:10:00.003+05:30

Vroom ...

2010-02-14T03:25:00.001+05:30

Taxicabs

2010-02-14T02:55:00.001+05:30

Paparazzi

2009-11-15T03:34:00.004+05:30

Jubilee Walkway

2009-11-15T01:52:00.003+05:30

Magna Plaza

2009-10-21T01:52:00.003+05:30

People & Places in Amsterdam

2009-10-21T01:32:00.009+05:30

Pink is finally ... the new pink.

Now it is my turn !

Catwoman

Amsterdamaged

2009-10-21T01:09:00.009+05:30

Lone soul ...

Amsterdamned

2009-10-21T00:40:00.010+05:30

Het Oranje

2009-10-20T23:59:00.007+05:30

A dose of British sense of humour

2009-09-26T18:07:00.002+05:30

DANGER

ANTI CLIMBING

DEVICE

Treated with Anthrax

and a dose of British sense of humour

Marken

2009-09-26T11:14:00.000+05:30

Marken ... as seen from Uitdam

Uitdam

2009-09-26T10:55:00.001+05:30

How to lock a car

2009-09-26T02:38:00.005+05:30

in 3 easy steps:

1. Find vacant space in a busy pavement right in the heart of the city.

2. Park vehicle on pavement.

3. Tape vehicle to wall.

Volendam - the filled dam

2009-09-26T01:03:00.004+05:30

Street Name FAIL

2009-08-30T03:35:00.002+05:30

I would not want to live in this street :-)

Eton

2009-08-28T04:32:00.003+05:30

The leaders of the pack are not Nicholas Nassim Taleb's black swans, but rather ducks :-(

Kotachiwadi

2009-08-28T04:09:00.002+05:30

Khotachiwadi is a heritage village in Girgaon, Mumbai, and consists of a set of 28 dainty and colorful villas set in Portuguese style of architecture (there used to be 65 originally, but greedy capitalists bought over half of them to build skyscrapers) .

Trek to Garbet Point, Matheran

2009-08-10T01:46:00.019+05:30

Yeah, I got myself a new hairstyle ... finally

(The parting ...

has departed)

(Photo: Shreyan ML)

15 kilometres, and 4.5 hours later ...

Paris, Paris, Combien

2009-08-10T01:25:00.002+05:30

The most beautiful avenue in the world

2009-08-10T00:47:00.003+05:30

The Avenue de Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets in the world. It is the most expensive strip of real estate in Europe.

In France it is also known as "La plus belle avenue du monde" ('The most beautiful avenue in the world').

In this 'most beautiful avenue worldwide', where a single meal for one person might cost as high as 400 to 500 €, beggars jostle for space amongst uber-rich shoppers, and genuflect all day to meet their monthly expenses of 400 to 500 €.

Les Bleus

2009-08-10T00:38:00.002+05:30

Everybody needs good neighbours ...

2009-08-03T02:04:00.005+05:30

A few of my neighbours from Amsterdam.

The Little Prince

2009-08-02T23:42:00.003+05:30

Did the vandals in Glasgow (The City of Sculptures) copy this idea from us ?

(See Petr's Photo in front of the Tokyo Tower in the blog post "The Journey of the Five Travellers")

Hold your hands up high Jack

2009-08-02T20:47:00.011+05:30

Once some captors took some passengers in a vehicle hostage. Now as we all know, Jack is a very common name in the English language. The captors shouted: "Hold your hands up high Jack" (using Jack as a placeholder for a man's name). A newspaper reporting this incident referred to them as "The highJackers". The name stuck, and was later shortened from 'highjacker' to 'hijacker', and the act itself became known as 'hijack'.

When I was in school, a friend (who now conducts quizzes at the national level) told me this convincing piece of logic.

Gullible as I was, and as specious the explanation was, I took it to be true. Until about 2 minutes ago, when I decided to verify the veracity of the fact on the internet. Apparently this is wrong.

The correct order of evolution is:

Jack -> Jacker -> Highway Jacker -> High jacker -> Hijack.

Jack = device for holding a vehicle up for repair.

Jacker = holdup man who uses a jack to hold a vehicle up (for repair or otherwise)

Highway Jacker (= = A bootelgger who holds a vehicle in transit on the highway

World Press Photo Exhibition

2009-07-23T16:17:00.000+05:30

The World Press Photo organizes the world's largest and most prestigious press photography exhibition (http://www.worldpressphoto.org/)

The travelling exhibition is organized in 45 countries and visited by over 2 million people annually. The office of WPP is based in Amsterdam and the exhibition starts in Amsterdam every year at the Oude Kerk (The Old Church).

The Oude Kerk is the oldest church in Amsterdam and the original form was built in the 13th and 14th centuries. You can notice that the floor of the church is actually a series of tombstones - some of which are very articulately designed.

Some people find it amusing that this pious old church is surrounded immediately by the notorious red neon lighted windows of Amsterdam's world famous red light district on all sides.

Europa Boulevard

2009-07-23T01:41:00.004+05:30

Clear Orff ...

2009-07-23T01:24:00.000+05:30

U-Tube

2009-07-14T17:14:00.002+05:30

Compartmentalized

2009-06-10T04:47:00.000+05:30

Apparition

2009-06-02T05:46:00.005+05:30

At a haunted underground vault in the city affectionately nicknamed 'Auld Reekie' (Scottish for 'Old Smoky').

The 120 rooms in the underground vault were discarded for use between 1835 to 1875.

And they were simply forgotten, until they were discovered serendipitiously in 1988 !

King of the hill

2009-06-02T05:36:00.001+05:30

2nd most safest city worldwide ...

2009-06-02T05:28:00.003+05:30

... as voted by tourists in an UN poll !!!

These pictures are taken from the western areas of the city - within 10 minutes walking distance away from the heart of the city.

One of the two pictures is from a residential area which is closed at night for safety reasons.

Liberation Day

2009-05-31T19:35:00.020+05:30

With nurses as beautiful as these, I don't mind falling sick at all.

Framed

45 year olds (?) totally engrossed in children's games.

Tommy Cruise

A-OK

2009-05-31T19:17:00.003+05:30

Cheesemarket at Alkmaar

2009-05-31T19:12:00.006+05:30

My Name is Red

2009-05-31T19:00:00.007+05:30

I am so fortunate to be red! I am fiery. I'm strong. I know people take notice of me and that I cannot be resisted.

I do not conceal myself: For me, delicacy manifests itself neither in weakness nor in subtlety but through determination and will. So, I draw attention to myself. I am not afraid of other colors, shadows, crowds or even of loneliness.

How wonderful it is to be red.

Gelatto lipstick.

Who is jealous of red - blue and yellow.

(Those girls showed me an interesting trick - inhale from an inflated baloon through your mouth. And say something immediately.

Addendum: The key is helium. Excessive inhalation might cause health hazards)

Tipsy turvy

2009-05-11T14:08:00.005+05:30

The joy of having a sibling

2009-04-23T16:29:00.001+05:30

Westerpark

2009-04-23T16:27:00.000+05:30

Claustrophobic

2009-04-23T16:23:00.001+05:30

200th post ... yayy !!!

:-)

Groeneburgwal

2009-04-23T16:22:00.003+05:30

The New Heineken Experience

2009-04-23T16:12:00.003+05:30

Ouder Kerk Aan De Amstel

2009-04-23T16:10:00.003+05:30

Amsterdam - bicycling to sustainability

2009-04-23T16:08:00.001+05:30

Tripel

2009-03-23T02:50:00.001+05:30

Amsterdam at Night

2009-03-23T02:21:00.010+05:30

Time is also a dimension

2009-03-23T02:08:00.007+05:30

Time in two different dimensions .... differ by 5 minutes.

This is not a visual illusion. The two watches differ by 5 minutes ( 2:53 & 2:58 respectively).

I should have taken the pic when the minute hand (on the left) was yet to strike 12 and the one on the right had crossed 12 - that would have made the difference between the two watches easy to fathom visually (and would have made me late for my appointment also).

This one is more pronounced and easy to detect.

Koln Karneval

2009-02-25T23:58:00.002+05:30

Anything but blue ...

2009-01-14T03:03:00.001+05:30

The Blue Mosque ...

Parisians favourite fixation

2009-01-14T02:41:00.004+05:30

Les ponts sur la rivière Siene

(The Bridges over the river Siene)

Any Parisian can spend hours proudly detailing the intricate designs on the different Parisian bridges over the river Siene.

Immortal warrior - Tomb of the unknown soldier

2009-01-14T02:36:00.004+05:30

... and someday the killings will end

2009-01-14T00:33:00.006+05:30

On either sides.

Of innocent civilians.

Of guiltless soldiers who act selflessly to restore peace.

The ruthless terrorists and the barbarous soldiers can go to hell.

------

Candle light demonstrations by Palestinian sympathisers against 'Israeli aggression in Gaza' at Museumplein Amsterdam:

I give you best price, $34.50

2009-01-13T04:04:00.007+05:30

Take it and go.

Maybe u no buy purse for $34.50.

U go away, u see something, u no buy, u come back, u say 'hey! I want to buy purse for $34.50'.

I say 'noooooooo, price go up, maybe $40'.

Be strong enough. Do the right thing.

U save 50 cents here, maybe u go souwhere else n save another 50 cents.

U have 1 dollar, then u take ur dollar to the dollar store u buy sumthing else.

Siene - What a Scene

2009-01-13T03:54:00.004+05:30

The Christmas Mass at Notre Dame

2009-01-13T03:41:00.006+05:30

BTW, notice the 'trendy' serge de Nimes and Converse All Star of the modern day priest. And only one generation ago, blue jeans were associated with the idea of rebellion and non-conformity.

Graveyard Shift

2009-01-04T01:35:00.000+05:30

From one continent to another

2008-12-23T03:48:00.003+05:30

No, I did not embrace Islam - I just loved such these caps so much that I could not resist myself from buying 4 of them during my 5 day trip to Turkey.

Behind me is the the Bosphorus bridge. I am in Ortakoy which is in the European part of Istanbul. On the other side of the bridge is Uskudar which is in the Asian part of the city.

The Bosphorus bridge is one of the two bridges connecting Europe to Asia in Turkey (and probably worldwide)

I amsterdam

2008-11-24T02:46:00.003+05:30

I am Glad

I am Fresh

I am Covered

I am Forward

I am Ahead

I am Curious

I am What I Want to Be

I am Around

I am in Vogue

I am Lucky

I am Shining

I am Inside

I am Unstoppable

I am Expressing

I am Loved

I am Desirable

I am Popular

I am Special

I am Famous

I am Happy

I am Hot

I am Secure

I am Forgiving

I am Light

I am More

I am Smooth

I am Improving

I am Paitent

I am Transparent

I am Sweet

I am Cute

I am Unique

I am Up

I am Helping

I am Awake

I am Strong

I am Fast

I am Alive

I am Sharing

I am Growing

I am the Future

I am Moving

I am Spicy

I am Sure

I am Crazy

I am Younger

I am Supported

I am Updated

I am Better

I am Cool

I am Flexible

I am Fine

I am Having Fun

I am Everywhere

I am Here

I am Getting There

I am Having Success

I am Smarter

I am Trusted

I am Choosing

I am Me

I am Humble

I am Showing the Way

I am Going to Make it Happen

I amsterdam

Incredible India

2008-11-17T02:06:00.002+05:30

Tomorrow's Answers Today

2008-11-17T01:59:00.003+05:30

Clothlines

2008-10-06T04:02:00.002+05:30

The Castle Of Their Dreams

2008-10-06T03:57:00.003+05:30

Hinlopen's apartment

2008-10-06T03:52:00.003+05:30

Baba

2008-09-02T02:38:00.003+05:30

Utrecht

2008-09-01T01:58:00.003+05:30

The play of the colour red everywhere also happens to be the 175th post of the blog.

Red, Red and more Red.
A long series of red window panes - all open completely.
The red T-Shirt of the passer-by.
And the red colour of the pillar in the foreground.

The IJ Chanel

2008-09-01T01:48:00.002+05:30

A view to a kill

2008-09-01T01:30:00.005+05:30

Juliet O' Juliet

2008-09-01T01:22:00.001+05:30

Let your smile be your umbrella

2008-08-18T05:26:00.004+05:30

The grass is always greener on the other side....

2008-08-18T05:05:00.003+05:30

... and the greener side is very likely to be the one filled with litter and rubbish !!!

Tomorrow is not just another day

2008-08-07T22:36:00.002+05:30

Bijlmer

2008-08-07T04:38:00.006+05:30

Illegal in 80 countries

2008-08-05T03:15:00.003+05:30

Phoney characters

2008-07-13T01:25:00.002+05:30

The most dangerous volcanic region in the world

2008-07-12T23:01:00.007+05:30

Mount Vesuvius (in Italian Monte Vesuvio and in Latin Mons Vesuvius) is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting.

Mount Vesuvius is on the coast of the Bay of Naples, about nine kilometres (six miles) east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. It has erupted many times since and is today regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people now living close to it and its tendency towards explosive eruptions. It is the most densely populated volcanic region in the world.

There has been a total breakdown in the garbage disposal system in Naples. All the garbage land-fills are full and the government/municipality have no idea as to what to do next. Garbage just lies on the streets and fills the air with stench.

The city of Remus and Romulus

2008-07-12T21:19:00.010+05:30

Connect
* Caput Mundi (Capital of the world)
* la Città Eterna (The Eternal City)
* Limen Apostolorum (Threshold of the Apostles)
* la città dei sette colli (The city of the seven hills)
* l'Urbe (The City).

Well .... these are some of the nicknames for Rome. And it is no wonder. It is a fascinating city - the third most frequented city in Europe by tourists.

Light at the end of the tunnel

2008-07-10T03:09:00.003+05:30

The 'light' is obviously at the end of the tunnel closest to the camera ;-)

The smallest independent state in the world - The Holy See

2008-07-10T03:01:00.006+05:30

Mesmerized

2008-07-10T02:50:00.000+05:30

You may now kiss the bride

2008-07-09T03:13:00.005+05:30