Thursday, 6 October 2011

Saturday, 1 October 2011

Indian decorative floor art: kolam


Indians, mostly South Indian women, like to draw huge floor art designs early in the morning. In the past, they did this by using rice powder. The idea was that poor creatures like ants would be drawn by the rice powder that can feed a whole colony of ants every day. So the custom went off for centuries with every house in a village or town exhibiting their painting skill of endless designs on the floor. Kolams came in different hues and designs for every occasion. A house with a kolam on its porch was considered good for inviting fortune angels. Drawing an elaborate kolam at festivals became a topic to discuss hotly among women. Most kolams used geometrical designs as layout. All in all, kolams were really a welcome sign to the guests. 

A rooster and hen in an Indian village

What does a dog want?


What does a dog want? A dog wants  many  things. But most of all, it wants food. In fact, food forms almost all of its `wants' in one way or another. In every which way, all its wants end up being food in its imagination. But sometimes, a dog may also want to be loved, needed by its master. If a dog is not loved, it may even lose its appetite for food. Here is Lucy in picture lying on its favorite cot. Lucy is not much of an eater though. She only nibbles at food. And leaves half of it untouched. That gets quickly finished by her male companion Tiger whose hunger never ceases. Not eating well doesn't make Lucy a tired dog. On the other hand, she is one ferocious guardian at home against any intruder. Even a casual visitor at the gate gets shocked by her terrifying barks. So any visitor who wants to drop in had better watch for Lucy. She's one good dog after all.

Thursday, 29 September 2011

Poultry family at an Indian garden

On his last weekend visit to his home village Satish Seth witnessed this strange poultry birds family at their garden. Even as gusts of wind beat with a noise in the background this rooster and his companion hen kept busy at digging for food particles. Not that they were hungry or such that. They simply had to dig to pass their time off. It was only a while ago that the two had been fed a bowl of rice thrown for lunch. But as all poultry birds do, they continued eating and purging out all at the same time. That's part of a chicken's life, he thought. Even if you offered them a sack of cereals or rice they would still continue to hunt for food. That's strange. Where does all that food eaten go? Nobody knows.