Category: Travel Shot

Travel Shot: The white peacock

Posted on by sudhagee

The Leeds Castle in the Kent county of England is a beautiful castle and located in very picturesque settings—the kind that’ll take your breath away. The extensive grounds offer opportunities for picnicking, playing golf, jousting tournaments, knight school, and so on.

The man at the ticket counter was very helpful in pointing out the various attractions at the Castle. So, when he told me not miss seeing the peacocks, I didn’t really believe him or pay much attention to this fact. Having seen many peacocks in India, they were not really on my priority list of things to “see” in the Castle.

But as it happened, I didn’t really have to go looking for the peacocks; they happened to be loitering near the path I was taking to the Castle. I actually heard the peacocks before I saw them, or rather I heard the “oohs” from the adoring tourists. It’s only when I saw the first one that, I couldn’t help “oohing” myself ! See for yourself:

The White Peacock at Leeds Castle

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Travel Shot: The “spooky” organ of St. Pierre Cathedral

Posted on by sudhagee

One of my favourite instruments is the church organ, and I never miss an opportunity to listen to a performance. It is not just the organ’s music, but also the mechanics of the instrument that intrigues and fascinates me. The grandness of the organ never fails to thrill and always sends a delicious shiver down my spine. No visit to a church or a cathedral is complete without me checking out the “resident” organ.

When I checked out the organ at the Cathédrale St. Pierre at Geneve or St. Pierre’s Cathedral at Geneva, Switzerland, a shiver did go down my spine, but for entirely different reasons !

The “spooky” looking organ in the St.Pierre Cathedral at Geneva

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Travel Shot: Art, music and stained glass

Posted on by sudhagee

The Gloucester Cathedral is one of the most beautiful and fascinating place of worship that I have been to. A fine example of English cathedral design, it is home to about 400 memorials and some of the most beautiful stained glass windows I have seen.

I was particularly taken in by the variety and different styles of the stained glass windows, which range in age from the 14th to the 20th century. But the one stained glass window that caught my attention was the Herbert Howells memorial window.

The Herbert Howells memorial window at the Gloucester Cathedral by Caroline Swash

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Travel Shot: Sunrise at Kovalam Beach

Posted on by sudhagee

In the winter of 1998, a friend and I embarked on a trip along the West Coast of India beginning at Honnavar (Karnataka) and ending at Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) 10 days later. It was a hop on, hop off trip, one of the best trips I have ever undertaken, and a trip that I remember for various reasons.

While in Thiruvananthapuram, we took a spur of the moment decision to spend the night at one of the hotels on Kovalam Beach. That turned into quite an experience—being the only Indians staying back, being the subject of countless stares and comments, and dealing with plate-sized spiders in our room. After a sleepless night (you didn’t really expect us to sleep with the spiders around, did you?), we stumbled out of our room at daybreak—all red-eyed and cranky—to see a glorious sunrise.

Sunrise at Kovalam Beach, Thiruvananthapuram

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Travel Shot : An… er… village scene

Posted on by sudhagee

What happens when enthusiastic designers and planners go overboard about a theme or take their brief too seriously? See for yourself.

2nd September 2010: Reproduction of a village scene at the Almatti Dam Gardens

You can see the above reproduction of a village scene and other scenes as well along with, dinosaurs, birds, giant turtles and frogs, crocodiles, naked little boys, Krishna frolicking with gopikas, etc. at the Almatti Dam Gardens, in northern Karnataka. Though the large gardens are beautifully laid out, the whole effect is spoiled by placing sculptures, statues, and what-have-yous like the one above. The effect is unbelievably cheesy. You can see more such photographs here.

Have you come across something like this before?

Travel Shot: Leonbergers in London

Posted on by sudhagee

I loved travelling by the tube in London as not only did it get me from point A to point B at the shortest possible time, I always delighted in seeing something new or unusual. It was not unusual to see people travelling with their pets, but one day I met two Leonbergers on my way to the university.

20 May 2009: Leonbergers in the London tube

Like most  big dogs, they were extremely friendly and only wanted to climb on to my lap ! The only problem was that they were big, really, really big. I spent a happy 20 minutes admiring them and photographing them till my stop came.

Bliss 🙂