Dentist off duty

A dental clinic in Chandni Chowk area of Old Delhi dentist seems to be off duty

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School Time

School kids line up to get in the bus at Rajouri Garden, West Delhi, India

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Guarding the Fort

Machinegunner watching the entrance to the Red Fort, Delhi

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Bangla Sahib

Early morning prayer Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, New Delhi: Tired of hovering in crowded shopping malls of the city, I along with few of my friends decided to visit Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, Connaught place, Delhi.Iit was very peaceful experience, the whole place is very soothing and complete tonic to tired minds,
must visit if you get chance to visit this peace ful place.

Early Morning Bangla Sahib Gurudwara : Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, the biggest gurudwara in Delhi was at one time the bungalow of Raja Jai Singh Amber of Jaipur. In 1664, the eighth Sikh Guru Harkishan Dev resided here during his visit to Delhi. The Samovar situated in the compound is believed to be blessed by the guru and hence, it is held sacred by the sikhs. The gurudwara also has an art gallery and a hospital is situated in the building.

Corridor of Gurudwara early in the morning:

Religious relevance, One of the most auspicious religious places for Sikhs, Gurudwara Bangla Sahib is located along
Baba Khadag Singh Marg in Central Delhi area.This Gurdwara is associated with the Eighth Guru, Shri Guru Harkishan Sahib Ji. Guru Sahib was summoned by the Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb, on the complaint of his elder brother, Ram Rai. After first refusing to come to Delhi, the young Guru decided on the visit when Raja Jai Singh offered to take care of his security.

The Legend The legend has it that the Guru blessed the water of a pond situated nearby as it received the virtues of curing people suffering from dreaded diseases like cholera and small pox. The tank exists even today, continues to be worshipped by the Sikhs. Also located within Gurudwara premises, is a magnificent museum-Baba Baghel Sing Museum.On reaching Delhi, the Guru stayed at the bungalow of Raja Jai Singh, the present site of the Gurdwara. However, he steadfastly refused to meet Aurangzeb. During this time, a cholera and smallpox epidemic swept Delhi. Without heed to his health, Guru Harkrishen went about serving the poor and the needy. As if he took over the sickness of the people of Delhi on himself, he contracted smallpox and breathed his last in March, 1664.

Reverence Hindus and Sikhs pay their respect to the memory of Guru Harkrishan, nominated as successor by the seventh Guru, Sri Har Rai. He passed away on October 6, 1661 A.D. When only a little over five year old, he had been tried and tested as a perfect fearless and fully illuminated soul.

About Gurudwara Management Committee Gurudwara Management Committee runs a hospital in the basement of the Gurudwara building. Besides, the Khalsa Girls School is located in the adjoining building. A tank 225 x 235 ft. with 18 ft. wide Parikarma and 12 ft wide varandah along its three sides has been constructed entirely with people's contribution and voluntary labour.

The Art Gallery The Art Gallery located in the basement of the Gurdwara is also very popular with visitors. They evince keen interest in the paintings depicting historical events connected with Sikh history. It is named after the Sikh General Sardar Bhagel Singh who supervised the construction of nine Sikh shrines in Delhi in 1783 during the time of Shah Alam II.

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Spicy Delhi

Spice Market, Kari Baoli Road, Old Delhi: I went to see the spice market on saturday and it was one of the most interesting experiences I had in Delhi. It was great to see how spices are traded and the vibrancy of the market.
Colors of Old Delhi: Spotted this coloful house in the heart of Old Delhi at Kari Baoli Road, I just loved the colors of it.

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Jama Masjid

Pigeons at the top of Jama Masjid: The Masjid-i Jahan-Namaa (Persian: مسجد جھان نما, the 'World-reflecting Mosque'), commonly known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi, is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India and the largest mosque in Asia.. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal, and completed in the year 1656 AD, it is one of the largest and best-known mosques in India. It lies at the origin of a very busy central street of Old Delhi, Chandni Chowk.

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Capital heritage: Feroz Shah Kotla

Feroz Shah Kotla: Located near the famous Feroz Shah Kotla Cricket Stadium, off Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Firuzabad, the fifth city of Delhi, now known as Kotla Firuz Shah, is a large enclosure of high walls, which then lay along the Yamuna river.
With an entrance through a barb caned main gate on the west, it contained palaces, pillared halls, mosques, a pigeon-tower and a baoli (stepped well) some of which are still in good condition.
The main public mosque, Jami'-Masjid, has a spacious courtyard, the whole structure resting on a series of cells. It is, however, a pyramidal structure with a diminishing covered area in each successive storey, on the top of which, within a stone-railing, the Asokan column is planted, that strikes as a unique edifice

Ashoka pillar at Kotla: Features of Ashokan pillars in Delhi The four lions of the Ashokan Pillar in Delhi are the main features of the historic monument. There are also non-religious interpretations to the symbolism of the pillars, describing the four lions as the symbol of Ashoka's rule over the four directions.The wheels at Ashokan Pillar in Delhi are symbols of enlightened rule (Chakravartin), and the four animals as symbols of four surrounding territories of India: -

The Lion of the north. The Elephant of the east. The Bull of the south.The Horse of the west.

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Award Time: Let's Be Friends

Its Award time again Tripti Joshi gave us this award which is called "Let's be Friends Award". I am really honored as she is courageous lady, a good blogger and a very good human, if you are still to visit her blog, I will recommend to visit because then you will discern what factual valor,courage & fortitude is all about. You can visit Tripti's blogs at In Loving Memory of Mahendra &
Life is a Quest

This is what the "Let's Be Friends" Award represents:These blogs are remarkably charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers(or more) who must choose blogs of their choice and include this written text into the body of their award.

Here is roll of blogs & bloggers to whom I am passing this award, please accept my love and gratitude.

• Deepak Acharya at Humanobserver. Deepak writes on several issues but he is master in writing on societal & global ones.
• R.Ramesh at Global Madrasi. He writes short but very precise & always transmits imp message.
• Jinsky at Napple Notes. Since I am a poetry lover, I love her blog. She writes brilliantly well, not only poetry but also true stories. A great inspiration for me as far as writing is concerned. She helped me a lot in improving my poetry composition.
• Vinisha at Sanguine Life . Conveys important point from her life experiences.
• Riya at Riya's Diary Contains some topics that can always be debated upon (specially on societal matters) and she does write very good.
• Nitu at Nitu's Corner. A photo blog of Shillong and she has got some lovely captures in her blog.
• Priyanka Khot at Delhi Photo Diary. Photo blog of walled city Delhi, I like the way she present her shots.
• Gargi at Secretely MOI. A very nice blog and she writes well specially on social issues.
• Gunmeen at Writer's Paradise. A beautiful blog contains some good poems & her random thoughts which always gives vital meaning & leaves me thinking.
• Pratibha at Of somethin n everything. Well she writes outstanding poems, short & sweet.
• Priya at Journal Recently discovered her blog and she writes excellent poems. I just like her compositions.

Friends are the angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly

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Marriage & Money

Waiting: With wedding season on & Delhites are known for show of its big business time for these members of band group. During this busy wedding season, band members wait for a ride outside the Red Fort, which was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in 1639.

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"झील को दर्पण बना"

रात के स्वर्णिम पहर में

झील को दर्पण बना
चाँद जब बादलो से निकल
श्रृंगार करता होगा
चांदनी का ओढ़ आँचल

धरा भी इतराती तो होगी...

मस्त पवन की अंगडाई

दरख्तों के झुरमुट में छिप कर
परिधान बदल बदल

मन को गुदगुदाती तो होगी.....

नदिया पुरे वेग मे बह

किनारों से टकरा टकरा
दीवाने दिल के धड़कने का

सबब सुनाती तो होगी .....

खामोशी की आगोश मे

रात जब पहरों में ढलती होगी
ओस की बूँदें दूब के बदन पे

फिसल लजाती तो होगी ......

दूर बजती किसी बंसी की धुन
पायल की रुनझुन और सरगम
अनजानी सी कोई आहट आकर
तुम्हे मेरी याद दिलाती तो होगी.....

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City's One woman 'Army'

And, they say teachers don’t work! In addition to taking her classes at school, Prem Lata also regulates the traffic at Dhaka Chowk. There are three government schools---- primary, middle and senior secondary, in the vicinity of Dhaka Chowk, barely half a kilometer from Kingsway Camp. When school hours are over at around 1 o’ clock, students from these schools would stream out of the gates where, there are no traffic police around to regulate traffic at this crucial hour.
Finally, somebody came forward to clean up the mess. Prem Lata, a teacher from the Government Girls Middle School, volunteers her help by regulating traffic at the busy road. She is the honorary traffic warden of
Dhaka chowk."I am doing it just for the safety of these school children. I feel really honored in doing this responsible job,’’ says she. Says Surinder Sharma, whose two daughters study in the school, "Previously, we used to remain edgy due to the traffic chaos on the main road, which was a cause for major concern. We felt relieved only when they reached home safe. But now this traffic warden has improved the condition."Regardless of the risks involved in manning the traffic at the chaotic chowk, this feisty traffic warden soldiers on. The only thing always at the back of her mind is the safety of school children and ensuring their safe return home".

Thanks to her efforts, the traffic has been streamlined to a large extent. Students now no longer feel jittery while crossing the road. Interestingly, even motorists and motorcyclists have fallen in line. Gone are the days of rash driving at the Dhaka stretch. Says Sohan Kapoor, who regularly passes by this stretch, "Things have improved tremendously over the last few years on this busy stretch and that too without the help of traffic police. It is really incredible. Even five years ago, Dhaka Chowk used to be considered one of the most dreadful traffic intersections of North Delhi."

It goes to Prem Lata’s credit that she manages to perform this role despite her teaching job and household duties and responsibilities. "I will continue to perform this job come what may. One has to strive always to improve things,’’ says the soft-spoken teacher cum traffic warden.

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Lonely Delhi

With so many lonely souls around us it 's inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone

Unless we love and are loved, each of us is alone, each of us is deeply lonely. Dreams have only one owner at a time. That's why dreamers are lonely.

I've sold my soul for freedom. It's lonely but it's sweet.The road had the lonely times, but I kept myself busy.

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Sufi's Delhi: Nizamuddin Dargah

Nizamuddin dargah(1562 AD), Delhi, India: How can one explain spiritual progress? What is it? What is it like? Spiritual progress is the changing of the point of view. Hazrat Khawaja Nizamuddin Auliya (1238 - 3 April 1325) (حضرت خواجة نظام الدّین اولیا), also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin, was a famous Sufi saint of the Chishti Order in South Asia, an order that believed in respect for religious traditions and renunciation of worldly powers. He believed that pious action should be favored over religious worship.

Inside of the dargah:He died on the morning of 3 April 1325. His shrine, Nizamuddin Dargah is located in Delhi and the present structure was built in 1562. The shrine is visited by people of all faiths, through the year, thoughout it becomes a place for special congregation during the death anniversaries, or Urs, of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Amir Khusro, who is also buried at the Nizamuddin Dargah.

Tour of the Dargah: The entry point to Nizamuddin area is marked by a traffic island with a blue-domed tomb known as Sabz Burj (sabz, green; burj, dome). The blue tiles
are reportedly a recent restoration effort, but some of the original green, yellow and blue tiles can still be seen on the walls.

Walls of the dargah: It has high recessed arches on all sides and a double dome covered with coloured tiles which gives it its name. Architecturally, the building probably belongs to the early Mughal period. Reportedly, the British used this building as a police station for many years till the beginning of the last century.

Sabz Burz : Even though it is right in the heart of Delhi, you can easily miss the little alley in the Nizamuddin area, closer to Humayun’s Tomb, where the mausoleums of Hazrat Nizammudin Auliya and his dearest disciple Amir Khusrau are located. We reached Mathura Road and headed for the street leading to the dargah On a working day, the usual throng of visitors was missing.I had arranged with a friend, Shamshad, who lives in the area, to use his contacts so that we could gather the maximum possible information about the shrines. We entered the street leading to the dargah area from New Delhi’s Mathura Road and found a distinctly medieval ambience: labyrinthine alleys, street-vendors, bazaars with cheap eateries, people selling caps, rosaries and religious posters.

The complex houses six important monuments:

1. The dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya
2. The tomb of Ataga Khan
3. The tomb of Maham Anga, the wet Nurse of King Akbar
4. The tomb of Amir Khusrau
5. The tomb of Jahanara
6. The Jamaat Khana Mosque.

Hazrat Khawaja Nizamuddin Auliya was born in 1238, in Badayun, Uttar Pradesh (East of Delhi), though at age five, after the death of his father, Ahmad Badayuni, he came to Delhi with his mother Bibi Zulekha. His biography finds mention in Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th century document written by Mughal Emperor Akbar’s vizier, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak..

At the age of 20, in the year 1269, Nizamuddin went to Ajodhan (the present Pakpattan in Pakistan) and became a disciple of the Sufi saint Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakkar, commonly known as Baba Farid. Nizamuddin did not take up residence in Ajodhan but continued with his theological studies in Delhi while simultaneously starting the Sufi devotional practices and the prescribed litanies. He visited Ajodhan each year to spend the month of Ramadan in the presence of Baba Farid.

It was on his third visit to Ajodhan that Baba Farid made him his successor. Shortly after that, when Nizamuddin returned to Delhi, he received news that Baba Farid had expired.
Nizamuddin lived at various places in Delhi, before finally settling down in Ghyaspur, a neighborhood in Delhi undisturbed by the noise and hustle of city life. He built his Khanqah here, a place where people from all walks of life were fed, where he imparted spiritual education to others and he had his own quarters. Before long, the khanqah became a place thronged with all kinds of people, rich and poor alike.

Many of his disciples achieved spiritual height, including Shaikh Nasiruddin Muhammad Chirag-e-Delhi, and Amir Khusro, noted scholar/musician, and the royal poet of the Delhi Sultanate. He died on the morning of 3 April 1325. His shrine, Nizamuddin Dargah is located in Delhi , and the present structure was built in 1562. The shrine is visited by people of all faiths, through the year,

Besides believing in the traditional Sufi ideas of embracing God within this life (as opposed to the idea that such partial merger with God is possible only after death), by destroying the ego and cleansing the soul, and that this is possible through considerable efforts involving Sufi practices, Nizamuddin also expanded and practised the unique features introduced by past saints of the Chisti Sufi order in India.

These included:
Emphasis on renunciation and having complete trust in God.
The unity of mankind and shunning distinctions based on social, economic, religious status.
Helping the needy, feeding the hungry and being sympathetic to the oppressed.
Strong disapproval of mixing with the Sultans, the princes and the nobles.
Exhortation in making close contact with the poor and the downtrodden

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Temple of Learning: St. Stephen

St. Stephen's college, New Delhi, India: Here it’s all sparkling & emerald red bricked structure, with English speaking folks, supposed to be India’s best, established in 1881 by the Cambridge Mission in response to Government policy promoting education. St.Stephen college is one of the nation’s very best institute. Getting admittance into this college is some task
with cut-off percentage increasing every year.

Doorway to the chapel: Here you may assume you are in a century-old English garrison. Not factual, the construction is as new as New Delhi, constructed during the 40s. Don't be disillusioned. Continue hovering aimlessly. At St Stephen's, distinct to other Delhi colleges, anyone can go in, amble around, and lounge down on the grass. Yes, even stroll down the hallway. No predicament. But don't ogle at the classroom aperture. Harangue may be taking place. Studious & snobbish folks: Nonetheless, if nearby is a vacant hall, tread in. The unfilled bench and the portrayal of dead professors make the environs as hushed as a... well,
tomb If that's not spooky enough, try this: at the ground is an old well, now safe and sound inside a rounded construction. Gaze through the filthy casement and you will locate stairway going downstairs.

Corridor of wisdom: Having produced from Presidents (Fakhrudiin Al Ahmed, Zia-ul-Haq) to top journalists (Barkha Dutt, Sagarika Ghose), from sports person (Jaspal Rana, Kirti Azad) to writers (Khuswant Singh, Shashi Tharoor) it still continues to give gives India some of its best citizens. (See wikipedia LIST of famous Stephen’s alumni)Play time: I fully revere the stringent selection criteria employed by the college, which makes sure the high quality of our student intake

At the same time, I recognize that St. Stephen's has always understood that some of the most important elements of our edification occur in college outside the classroom, and that the remarkable young all-rounder with 92% marks is often a worthier Stephanian than the swat with 95 per cent. The Principal himself had authored an article titled `Marks Can't Be the Sole Indicator of Merit' on the St. Stephen's College web site (www.ststephens.edu). Someone St. Stephen's should be proud to admit; to turn him down over a few percentage points was folly indeed. At the same time St. Stephen's was, astoundingly for a college in Delhi, insulated to a extraordinary extent from the prejudices of middle-class Indian life. It mattered little where you were from, which Indian language you spoke at home, what version of religious faith you espoused. But at St. Stephen's, religion and region were not the distinctions that mattered: what counted was whether you were "in residence" or a "dayski" (day-scholar), a "science type" or a "ShakSoc type", a sportsman or a univ topper (or best of all, both). Caste and creed was no bar, but these other categories determined your share of the Stephanian knowledge.

Some fun : College's snobbery was still elitism in an Indian context, although one shaped, like so many Indian institutions, by a colonial legacy. There is no denying that the aim of founding St. Stephen's in 1881 was to produce more obedient subjects to serve Her Britannic Majesty; their idea of constructive missionary activity was to bring the intellectual and social atmosphere of Cam side to the dry dust plains of Delhi. Improbably enough, they succeeded, and the resultant hybrid outlasted the Raj.

The bright red brick structure: St. Stephen's in the early 1970s was an institution whose students sustained a Shakespeare Society and a Criterion Club, staged avant-garde plays and wrote execrable poetry, ran India's only faculty-sanctioned Practical Joke Competition (in memory of P.G. Warehouse’s irrepressible Lord Ickenham), invented the "Winter Festival" of collegiate cultural competition which was imitated at universities across the country

Harmony- college feast: Invariably reached the annual inter-college cricket final (and turned up in large numbers to cheer the Stephanian cricketers on to their accustomed victory), maintained a careful distinction between the Junior Common Room and the Senior Combination Room, and allowed the world's only non-Cantabridgian "gyps" to serve their meals and make their beds.

Fashion parade in Harmony: And if the punts never came to the Jamuna, the puns flowed on the pages of Kooler Talk and the cyclostyled Spice (whose typing mistakes, under the impish editorship of Ramu Damodaran, were deliberate, and deliberately hilarious.)

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City Landmark: 'Gyarah Murti' sculpture

Gyarah Murti: This massive black sculpture is sheer poetry in stone. You’ll spot it on the T-junction on Sardar Patel Marg from where roads lead to Willingdon Crescent and Teen Murti House. The sculpture, by Devi Prasad Roy Choudhary, depicts the famous Dandi March led by Mahatma Gandhi in 1931 against oppressive salt taxes imposed by the British regime.

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Meaning of words women use

Nine words women use and their real meanings:-
1.) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are Right and you need to shut up.
2.) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more Minutes to watch the game before helping around the house
3.) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.
4.) Whatever: Is a women’s way of saying Get lost.
5.) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don’t Do It!
6.) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.
7.) That’s Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That’s okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when.
8) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you’re welcome.
9.) Don’t worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking ‘What’s wrong?’ For the woman’s response refer to #3..

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Valentine's Day Love Birds

Love conquers all things; let us surrender to Love

Love is always bestowed as a gift - freely, willingly, and without expectation - We don't love to be loved; we love to love.

All I really, really want our love to do is to bring out the best in me and in you too.

When you love someone, all your saved-up wishes start coming out

A lawful kiss is never worth a stolen one.

Gravitation is not responsible for any one falling in love

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Bird's Delhi

For all those who thought Delhi is walled city with 16 million people and ever increasing concrete jungle, there is other side of Delhi too, its birds Delhi. These are few captures I have taken in last 2 years here.Hoopoe The hoopoe is commonly seen even in urban areas across India. In IIT Delhi, JNU & Pusa agricultural institute they are seen but its very rare in city like Delhi. The fluffed up crest and the flip-flop flight makes it rather remarkable, and one remembers it. This one was photographed JNU campus Delhi.

Brahminy Myna Although this bird is quite common, and sports such brilliant colours, it is relatively less known, being often mistaken for the common myna. This species has been renamed "Brahminy Starling" officially - in fact, the entire Myna range was renamed "Starling", a fact lamented by J.C. Daniels in his preface to the Salim Ali Birth Centenary edition of "The book of Indian Birds".

White-Eye This tiny restless bird is a frequent visitor, sipping on the flowers. Even if you can't make out the white ring around the eye, you cannot mistake the yellow-orange colour, and the tiny size, as it jumps from branch to branch, sometimes in small groups. Getting a white-eye to sit long enough for you to photograph it is a rarity.

Indian Robin Saw this on my lawn a couple of times in Oct 2008, and then again in a Delhi park in April.

Cuckoo (Asian Koel) One can hear them calling mellifluously in April May, but finding them is harder. Murphy's Law: They never call when you are looking at them. Proof: You are so focused on looking through the lens that you can't hear. Female Cuckoo (above) The cuckoo gene apparently carries a marker that specializes the female to lay eggs that match the host
species that it parasitizes. So daughter cuckoos will also parasitize the same hosts.

Male Cuckoo It is only the male cuckoo who sings, the female is largely silent (lucky him!)One April morning the cuckoo to the left was sitting on a branch, serenading away to the world, when another male cuckoo quietly landed on the same branch to its right. There was a ritual sparring, after which the intruder flew off again.

White-breasted Kingfisher This is the bird that got me interested in bird photography - October 2005, Delhi. (with the blue tail visible) is from the banks of the Yamuna in Delhi. It is also called the White-Throated Kingfisher.

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