Harmony of the Rival Giants

They are big, they are influential, but they are the greatest rivals. You guessed right, I am referring to Microsoft and IBM (The Big Blue). But finally they found harmony in a campus in India, on the same building. The second shot is of the frightened crowd, just after the employees were evacuated due to a bomb threat today!

The European Vacation - in India

Spotted a European family of three, in a small electric car in Bangalore, India. The car is a 2-door, only electric car available in India, called Reva. It has 4 seats (3, I would say, with 2 full and 2 halves), meant for 2 adults and 2 kids. I wonder how they managed to fit in 3 adults (the two guys in the front were well built, and a chic in the back) in that ultra compact car! I hope they enjoyed their vacation, in the Indian way… It wasn't easy to take the pic with one hand... and the other on the wheel...

For more info:
http://www.revaindia.com/design/index.htm

Gleam of Heaven

This picture was taken sometime back, from the sky. Can you see the gleam of heaven from the clouds? Itz Christmas time... it was on Christmas day that a new hope was born for our human race, the way to salvation. Wish you all merry Xmas and a blissful new year! Happy vacations...

Letz go for bowling

Ready... set... go...

Let the balls roll! Bowling is a great entertainer as well as a good physical and mental exercise. It seems the roots of the game date back to ancient Egypt. The most popular version of current times is the American version called Ten-pin bowling. Pins are the bottle like structures you can see at the end of the alley.

For more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling
http://www.bowling.com/

Letz go to God's own Country - Kerala

This is Kerala, a beautiful state in India, known as the 'God's own country'. Kerala is full of backwaters, rivers, lakes, hills, paddy fields, rubber, coconut, coffee, tea, elephants, boat races, beaches, palaces... what not! It is also the land of ayurveda (herbal medicine). Kerala is culturally very rich too. It has many traditional forms of dances and music.

For more info:
http://www.keralatourism.org/
http://www.ktdc.com/
http://www.keralatourism.com/
http://www.goodhealthnyou.com/alternative/ayurveda1.php3
http://www.everydayayurveda.org/

Letz play with the pups

Ever tried taking a pic of 5 puppies, all together? I would say, almost impossible! We tried to get a group photo of these 5 cute siblings, before two of them were going to their new house. It was interesting and exhilarating, but cumbersome and frustrating at the same time. Even with the help of two guys, we could not manage to get a smiling pic... lol. I tried say cheese, chicken.. everything.. but in vain! Finally the nanny of the pups decided to hold the departing ones close to her bosom... voila! Look how innocently they are posing for the shot ;-)

Note: Apologize for the grainy pics. These were taken with my Nokia 6230i, under bad lighting conditions... and in a hurry (the models were too busy)!

Letz go for a ride in the countryside

You might have heard of the Road to Perdition or the Road to El Dorado. How about the road to Heaven? Any guesses where this place is? If you thought it is again New Orleans, sorry! This is a place which is diagonally opposite to nola in the globe. This is a countryside, little off from an emerging city in India, called Bangalore. Bangalore is fastly growing as one of the major IT hubs in the world. This place is actually in Tamilnadu, and is on the way to Thirupathur (Vellore) from Bangalore.

For more info on Bangalore:
http://www.bangaloreit.in
http://www.virtualbangalore.com/GenInf/index.php

Letz go to the sea - a Rig!

These are some of my favorite shots. It was taken from a helicopter. This is an offshore platform of one of the Oil giants, in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. We had to travel for more than an hour in a helicopter to reach here. If you think it is a small one, look again! What you see next to it is a small ship, which is usually used to carry cargo or waste in and out. This oil rig can house more than 150 people and belongs to the tension legged type (it floats!!). The platform is fitted with a rig (the tall metal frame you see in the centre), which is used to drill under the sea bed. You might get scary about the see-through netted floor in the work area (to reduce wind drift) and the loosely chained small posts in the balconies (supposed to prevent you at the edges?). It has multiple helipads. Even the blueness of the ocean is different in the deepness. I stayed there for one night; hmm... the food is yummy! They even have satellite TV and internet access. Only thing you might miss is a... you know it... the fairer sex :-)

Find more info here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_platform
http://www.naturalgas.org/naturalgas/extraction_offshore.asp

Letz go for a ride - Streetcars

Note: Click on the picture to see a bigger version.

New Orleans (Louisiana) is the second American city to have streetcars. They first came into being in 1835. It is the oldest continuously operating streetcar in the world! The mahogany seats, brass fittings and exposed ceiling light bulbs are from a day when plastic seats and aluminum rails were not even a thought. Rumbling around the ''neutral ground'' of St. Charles and Carrollton avenues for more than 150 years, the streetcar symbolizes the charm and romance of the City of New Orleans.

History sleeps here. A place in US where you will feel you are totally out of US. New Orleans is a Southern city known for its multicultural heritage (especially French, Spanish and African American influences) and its music (especially Jazz) and cuisine (Cajun). It was once a french colony and was bought by US for 3 cent per acre ($15 million in total, in 1803).

Whatever you do, dont call these street cars 'Trolleys' in front of them. They say: ''Streetcars'' rolled through New Orleans for more than 60 years before the ''trolley''.

Find more info here:
http://www.neworleansonline.com/tours-attractions/tours/streetcars.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans

Letz Gamble - Harrah's Casino

This is the Harrah's Casino in Canal Street, New Orleans (US). This pic was taken sometime in May 03. Cameras are not allowed inside the casino, but somehow I managed to take couple of pics. The casino is always crowded and Harrah's has a big chain of casinos all over US. The casino is really huge, and lot of ppl spends a whole day there. They serve great buffet (multi-continental) for less rates. Most of the people are elders, who visit almost daily. It's like a job for them, a way to spend time and to earn money, if lucky. But sometimes, I felt they are being forced by their children to go there and make money, rather than doing it on their own will! God save them...

More details:
http://www.harrahs.com/

Letz start with prayers! St Louis Church, New Orleans

This is the St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, the oldest in US, built in 1760s. A local friend told that you have to book more than an year in advance to have a wedding here! It's cemetery is notorious and is an unavoidable part of every 'Ghost Tour'.

Find more info here:
http://www.nps.gov/jeff/history.htm
http://frenchquarter.neworleans.com/history.html
http://cml.upenn.edu/nola/14history/L2historypgnola.html
http://www.hauntedhistorytours.com/Voodoo.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans,_Louisiana
http://www.neworleanschurches.com/stlouiscath/stlouiscath.htm

I hope this would become a successful platform for me to show off my electronic eyeshots. After all, they say : "A picture is worth about 20 blog posts". Enjoy ;-)