At the Cliff

Varkala is a comparatively under-explored spot in the tourist map of kerala. a rare combination of long clean golden beach with slow tides, and a cliff that hangs into the sea which gives the misty feel of a hill station, varkala sweeps u away with its charm...

Cliff 2

view down from the cliff, in another angle..

Cliff 3

the deep blue sea seen from the cliff..

cliff 4

far away the sky kisses the ocean...

A Day at Fort Kochi

A municipal town from 1866 to 1967, Fort Kochi now is one of the three main urban components that constitute the present day City of Kochi in the Indian State of Kerala, the other two being Mattancherry and Ernakulam. Once a fishing village of no significance in the Kingdom of Kochi in the pre-colonial Kerala, the territory that would be later known as Fort Kochi was granted to the Portuguese in 1503 by the Rajah of Kochi, who also gave them permission to build a fort near the waterfront to protect their commercial interests. The first part of the name Fort Kochi comes from this fort, Fort Emmanuel, which was later destroyed by the Dutch. Origin of the name „Kochi“ The most accepted theory is that the name derives from „kochazhi“ which, in Malayalam, denotes "small lagoon". Another view says that the name denotes, "CO-CHIN", meaning "LIKE-CHINA". yes, it looked like CHINA when the Chinese came here in 14th century and erected these beautiful Chinese nets. The chinese fishing nets (Cheenavala) are distinctly unique to Cochin. It is believed that traders from the court of the Chinese ruler Kublai Khan introduced these nets here. Oddly, these nets are found only in Kochi, outside China! Many fishermen earn their livelihood by fishing using these massive nets. A whole stretch of the coast along Fort Kochi and Vypeen are dotted with these nets.
Mythological explanation: An ancient legend says that the god Parasurama created Kerala by throwing his axe into the ocean. The ocean god retreated until the mark where the axe fell into the ocean.
Scientific theory: Some thousand years B.C. the region of today's Kerala had been covered by mangrove woods. When the sea level rose, turf/ and sand banks were created which formed the shape of the coastal area as we see it today.

Blue Hues

Farm - fresh

Zoooooomm...!

Cliff

Freedom Hurts?

Independance Day is a holiday for them in calendar... But these tiny tots are awakened earlier than a usual working day, and made to do a final rehearsal of the numbers they must stage, and rushed to school.. at some moments during the long wait for the chief guests, they lose temper and break into tears of anger and frustration, like i witnessed here... Freedom...!

Serene

Rail and Road

Cotton Shreds?

Water Birds

Say it with Flowers...

Its a flower arrangement done in my institution in connection with a national seminar

Cormorants

Our small pedalling boat was approaching the bordering fence of the lake, where a row of cormorants rested.. My friend tried to make the pedalling as quiet as possible, while i tried to get them ito a frame.. but as we reached closer, the birds sensed us, and fled away, one after the other...

Guests in Monsoon

The heavy downpour has come to a break it seems... When i stepped into my backyard after many days, it was all green with newly sprouted plants, and i could spot these tiny guests among them...

Kumarakom

Nature soothes, nature heals... it makes one refreshed and reinvent himself... these are snaps from the bird sanctury, kumarakom.. gone there for a much needed break last weekend, when the pressures of work became too tight...