“THE SIGN OF ALLAH [ Arabic: الله ]”

I often get confused about the relationship between faith and destiny. Whenever I lacked subjects for photography, something used to appear out of the blue. It was one of those hot summer days in India while searching for a suitable subject for my photography.  Surprisingly, a nutmeg fruit fell in front of me and broke open to two halves.  The bright red mace around its black seed made it look like a heart. Though every seed has a unique finger print, this one looked peculiar. A closer look at it through my lens revealed an Arabic word that resembled ‘Allah’.  Well, it could be a coincidence or a weird imagination of my crazy mind. Anyhow, I believe that the heart shaped nut with the inscription of Allah was conveying a message to me.

“THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS”

The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage. Nothing is as precious as one’s freedom. Dreams, aspirations, and ideals mean nothing if one does not have the freedom to pursue them. An image that portrays a free world beyond all boundaries, all restrictions. The wings and open sky behind the barbed wires represent one’s faith and opportunities in a free world.

“LIFE, A QUESTION MARK ?!”

The picture itself is self-explanatory. It doesn’t matter how rich, powerful, influential or independent you are, your last journey to the grave will be in the hands of others ! And the painting on the wall matched perfectly. It looked as if the body was going under earth…!

“PRECIOUS DROP OF WATER”

Life originated in water and it is an essential element for every living organism, but drinking water has become extremely scarce these days. Out of the all the water available in the world, the amount of fresh water is only 3%, which is an alarming number. As of today, one of worst hit continent is Africa and it has been estimated that ‘Day Zero’ is not very far for cities like Cape Town. This is another miracle shot I came across lately. A water-repellent Yam leaf that contained a droplet of water which was shaped like Africa ! Indeed, it conveyed a strong message about the value of precious, clean drinking water.

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“FINEST OPTICS IN THE WORLD”

Those who boast about their latest photo gear would have never imagined who owns the world’s most powerful lenses & sensors that money can’t buy…In technical terms, a human eye has a resolution equivalent to 576 megapixels much superior to any digital sensor in the market. But, an eagle’s eye has a resolution comparable to 1296 megapixels !! We humans have a tendency to under-estimate everything, but don’t you think we are much inferior to several other creations found in nature ?!

“ARCHITECT AT WORK”

Miksang is a Tibetan word that translates as ‘Good Eye’, and was developed by photographer Michael Wood and based on the Shambhala and Dharma Art teachings of the late Buddhist teacher and artist Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Miksang Contemplative Photography is a way of using your camera as a meditation tool. A photographic image not only records what it is pointed at – it speaks to the photographer’s relationship with the world and their quality of presence. Are you looking, seeing, trying, rehearsing? Are you present to what is before you? This picture is a perfect example of Miksang perception.

Now, let’s have a look at the scientific facts about a spider web.

Believe it or not, the tensile strength of spider web is better than that of high-grade alloy steel. But the density of spider silk is one-sixth of steel which makes it a much superior material. A single strand of spider silk long enough to circle the earth would weigh less than 500 grams only. An interesting fact is that it is not the intricate fiber that makes the spider-web strong, but the complex way it has been engineered & constructed. If a single strand of a web breaks, the overall strength of a web increases. The web also acts as sensors notifying the spider about a prey getting caught. Scientific studies have proven that the web contains a negative electric charge which attracts the tiny insects towards it. An amazing creation, isn’t it ?

“ENERGY FOR EVERYONE…ENERGY FOR LIFE…”

It was a fine morning in the month of March 2011. Fukushima Nuclear Reactor in Japan had just exploded after the Tsunami and the plant operators were struggling to save thousands of innocent lives from radiation, what they called ‘existential sacrifice’. I was sitting idle in my room, cleaning my camera. Surprisingly, a milkweed seed came flying through the window and landed in my hand and stayed there brightly lit by a beam of light that fell through a narrow opening of the window. More than the childhood nostalgia about those floating fantasies, it did plant a seed of imagination in my mind. I visualized that hairy seed as a symbol of clean energy source and posted it in Flickr, dedicating it to those brave operators of Fukushima Reactor. The picture got selected by European Fusion Education Network and was published in their web site as the picture of the month.

A photograph exists everywhere, in every moment of life. Getting a chance to freeze that right moment is just luck.

“PANCHA BHOOTA ; FIVE ELEMENTS OF NATURE [ Sanskrit: पन्च भूत ]”

‘PANCHA BHOOTA’ refers to the five  prime elements of nature : LAND, WATER, AIR, SKY and FIRE . Though there is tremendous potential in each element, man always underestimate the power of nature . It is believed that the Pancha Boothas are kept in a certain balance in the Universe as well in the human body. The variation in this balance could cause natural disasters, and diseases in the body . This frame symbolizes the five elements of nature. The man on top represents the human life filled with energy and an empty bottle in the bottom depicts death.  One of my ever favourite captures .

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PANCHA BHOOTA . FIVE ELEMENTS OF NATURE

“CONVICTED BY NATURE’S COURT”

Whatever you have done to satisfy your greed was detrimental to the land, sea, air, animals, plants and what not ?! You have been found guilty of destroying the valuable assets of nature. So, the nature’s court has made a decision to hang you for your crimes. Frozen moments when nature speaks for itself.

“MOTHER NATURE SMILES, BUT WE OFTEN FAIL TO NOTICE IT”

MOTHER NATURE SMILES, BUT WE OFTEN FAIL TO NOTICE IT

A picture that is self-explanatory. Mother nature often plays several tricks, but we are too busy to notice those.

“OPEN YOUR INNER EYES TO SEE THE UNSEEN”

Dragonflies have incredibly powerful vision that surpasses most animals and birds. In fact, 80% of its brain power has been dedicated for its eyes that enables it to see 360 degrees around itself and gives it lightning fast reflexes. In the spiritual world, dragonfly symbolizes ‘uninhibited vision to see beyond one’s mind’. These mysterious and delicate creatures always used to fascinate me whenever I chased them for a photograph.

This lady in red was a bit shy to face my camera, but finally when she posed for that perfect shot, something caught my attention, that could be a coincidence or a wild imagination of my unstable mind. Either way, I could visualize an image of Jesus Christ with his hands spread out like the wings of an angel that resembled the controversial image derived from the ‘Shroud of Turin’. Perhaps my crazy mind is seeing those weird things again. Scientists say it is a psychological condition called Pareidolia. Before laughing it off, let’s have a close look again…

THE LADY IN RED WITH A HIDDEN SECRET

HAVE A LOOK AT THE HIGHLIGHTED AREA. DO YOU SEE THAT ?

HOPE YOU ARE ABLE TO SEE IT. IMAGINATION HAS NO LIMITS.