Capture the Colors Contest

Mr.P.N.Subramaniam has roped me into this contest and I therefore am obliged to participate. I had to search and research my picture archives before selecting what I considered the most appropriate to present for this contest. In the process I had to exclude many nice ones since I did not want to unnecessarily clutter this post: 

Enjoy these pics and have a great Sunday !

BLUE

Parambikulam Reservoir

A Temple enroute to Trichy

RED

Ladies wearing Madisar or nine yards sari (Coimbatore)

Pongal Pots

YELLOW

Floral  Kolam(Design) during Pongal

Goddess Saradambal adorned with Yellow floral garland (Coimbatore)

WHITE

Flock of white geese at Kalayarkoil Temple in Sivaganga District

Magnificent waterfalls at Athirapally (Kerala)

GREEN

Water body in Tirupathi Saram near Nagarcoil

Ahirapally Falls (Kerala)

This competition is organized by Travel Supermarket. The rules of the competition are given here:http://www.travelsupermarket.com/c/holidays/capture-the-colour/ . Now as per rules of the competition I am supposed to tag five other bloggers to do the honors. The five I have nominated are selected purely at random and without any bias or preferences. I am sure they will accept the challenge and enjoy participating .

 Ed and Reub

 Eye in the Sky

 Mom with A Dot

My Unfinished Life

Ranjana's Craft Blog 

Independence Day - 15 August

India became an independent nation 65 years ago on 15 August 1947 - it became free from British Rule and became a Sovereign Nation. This day also coincides with the partition of India and the formation of two States - Dominion of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Independence Day is a National Holiday in India. The Prime Minister hoists the National Flag at Red Fort in in the National capital of Delhi'followed by his speech which is nationally broadcast on Radio and TV.This is followed by the singing of the National Anthem. The day is observed all over India with flag hoisting ceremonies,parades and cultural events.I wish to recollect the famous opening paragraph of the speech given by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru when India attained freedom:

"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment, we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity "

Did you know how India's flag looked like before Independence? Frankly I did not know till I found this in the Wikipedia !

Flag of British India  -  1858-1947

The Indian Flag of Independent India

The Indian Flag is a horizontal rectangular tri-color flag sporting tri-colors of Saffron(top), white(middle) and Green(bottom). In the center of the white is a navy blue wheel having 24 spokes. The Flag by law is made of Khadi,a special handspun cloth of cotton or silk,made popular by Mahatma Gandhi. The Saffron color represents Courage and Sacrifice,the White stands for Truth and Purity and the Green for Peace and Prosperity. The Asoka Chakra(24 spoked wheel) represents Dharma or Righteousness.

A recent photograph of a kid celebrating Independence day :) (Picture from Wikipedia)

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY GREETINGS TO ALL BLOGGER FRIENDS AND VIEWERS

Marina Beach Chennai

The city of Madras (Chennai) was founded by Francis Day of British East India Company on a three square mile strip of land, on 22nd July 1639. Immediately afterwards his boss Andrew Cogan laid foundation of Fort St George and established seat of the Company’s Agency in the Fort on 24th September 1641. Madras became the capital of Madras Presidency controlling whole of south India except a few princely states.Madras enjoyed the status of Capital ever since.Madras was renamed as Chennai in 1996.The first conventional lighthouse was the oil wick lamp placed on the roof of the officer’s Mess cum Exchange building in 1796. The building is now known as Fort Museum.

The present modern Lighthouse was built in 1976 at Marina Beach and Electrical Lighthouse equipment manufactured by BBT, Paris was installed on it which started functioning with effect from 10th January 1977.

Present Light House at Marina Beach

Vivekananda House

Vivekananda House on the Marina Beach, Chennai, built 158 years back, has a long and interesting history. It was meant to store ice and hence it got its popular name, the Ice House. In 1842 Mr. Frederic Tudor, the 'Ice King', built a house in Chennai to keep ice under proper insulation so that it could be stored for months together. Tudor maintained his business in Chennai from 1842 upto around 1880. After the invention of making ice by 'steam process' in India, his business collapsed He sold Ice House to Mr.Biligiri Iyengar, a prosperous advocate of the Madras High Court. He remodeled the house adding circular verandahs and provided it with many windows to make it fit as residential quarters. Also he named the house 'Castle Kernan,' as a tribute to his friend, the famous Justice Kernan of the Madras High Court.  this landmark was re-christened Vivekananda House in 1963  in remembrance of Swami Vivekananda's brief sojourn and stay here for over a year in 1897 when he delivered seven historic lectures at Chennai.

Statue of Vivekananda - The Wandering Monk

Lady Mounted Police at Marina Beach

Freshly made corn soup: For the benefit of morning walkers

Walkers at Marina Beach (wife Shobha & friends)

Breakfast at Idli Vilas on Dr.Radhakrishnan Salai. The items on the banana leaf are Guntur Idli with a variety of chutneys. This was followed by crisp & hot vadas made from freshly made batter.

Shobha sampling the mini coffee served in steel davara tumbler

The art of Vada making

Disc around the Sun

Around 11.00 am this morning at Coimbatore there appeared a large round disc around the sun which lasted around two hours.Several theories were abounding in the neighborhood. One theory was this a unique phenomenon  happens nonce in 100 years. Another rumor was that a great disaster is about to happen to the world. A third rumor that was floating was that a great man is about to die.On quickly looking up the Wikipedia I learned that this a unique optical phenomenon produced by ice crystals creating colored or white arcs and spots in the sky. I quickly rushed home to get my camera and was able to take a few shots of this rare spectacle which I have never witnessed before.This lasted for around 90 minutes and then the ring slowly dissipated. I am unable to explain the blue spots in the images - maybe a refraction from the camera lens.I think I was very very fortunate to see this glorious image in the sky. Did any one else see this phenomenon in your city?