Scenic Sunday

A Good Morning for a Scenic Sunday. Captured this moment in the Bandra Kurla Complex with the sun rising over the mangroves.
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Happy Sunday to all!

Rakshabandhan

Today is Rakshabandhan day in India. It is bonding time for brothers and sisters.
Raksha Bandhan is a festival celebrating the bond of affection between brothers and sisters. The day when the siblings pray for each others' well being and wish for each others' happiness and goodwill. As the name 'Raksha Bandhan' suggests, 'a bond of protection', Raksha Bandhan is a pledge from brothers to protect the sister from all harms and troubles and a prayer from the sister to protect the brother from all evil.
Raksha Bandhan assumes all forms of Raksha or protection, of righteousness and destroyer of all sin. The rakhi tying ritual has become so much a part of the families that come what may brothers and sisters try to reach out to each other on this particular day bringing back the oneness of the family, binding the family together in an emotional bond.
Info sourced from http://www.raksha-bandhan.com/rakhi-traditions-and-customs.html

SkyWatch - Happy Independence Day!

It is our 61st Independence Day today so I have posted our national flag fluttering this morning against a bright blue sky!
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Crime busters

The Directorate of Forensic Science Laboratories, Home Dept., building in Santacruz (East), a suburb of Mumbai.
Forensic science is primarily concerned with the application of scientific principles for the investigation of crime. Using the very latest in technology, forensic scientists convert the clues collected from a crime scene into evidence admissible in a court of law. It is the use or application of science in courts or legal proceedings.

ABC WEDNESDAY - D for Desilting

Desilting of the place where the Mithi river joins the Mahim creek to prevent flooding around Kurla and Bandra during the monsoons.

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Rajnigandha

Rajnigandha sold in the old flower market in Dadar.
The tuberose is a night-blooming plant thought to be native to Mexico along with every other species of Polianthes. The Aztecs called it Omixochitl or bone flower. Its Indian name is "Rajnigandha". The Hindi name Rajnigandha means "night-fragrant" (rajni=night; gandha=fragrance). In Bangladesh it is called "Rojoni-Gondha", meaning "Scent of the Night". In parts of South India, it is known as "Sugandaraja", which translates to "king of fragrance/smell". In Singapore it is called Xinxiao which means "that on which the moth rests". In Indonesia it is called "bunga sedap malam", meaning fragrant night flower.
The tuberose is also used traditionally in Hawaii to create Leis and was considered a funeral flower in Victorian times. Its scent is described as a complex, exotic, sweet, floral.
It grows in elongated spikes up to 45 cm (18 in) long that produce clusters of fragrant waxy white flowers that bloom from the bottom towards the top of the spike. It has long, bright green leaves clustered at the base of the plant and smaller, clasping leaves along the stem.
Info sourced from http://www.4to40.com/encyclopedia/index.asp?id=961

Champa

Champa - a very fragrant flower being sold in the old flower market in Dadar.
Champa is native to Indonesia, India and other neighbouring areas. It occurs naturally in the eastern Himalayan region. It is a large evergreen tree with a long straight bole of 18-21 m with a close tapering crown composed of ascending branches. The most interesting part of the tree are its flowers which are not very showy with few narrow yellowish white petals, but have an extremely heady fragrance. This fragrance has made Champa flowers very popular and they have been part of the culture in India from time immemorial. They are used in religious offering in various parts of India. On a warm humid night, the scents can easily be enjoyed several hundred feet away.
Info sourced from http://www.flowersofindia.net/