Camera Critters

Contemplating on the flight ahead is this crow at Sion Fort in Mumbai.

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Saturday Photohunt - Mother

The photograph of Mother Durga - a Goddess, is on the cart on the left, and the picture of Sai Baba is on the right. This cart belongs to a nomadic family that is relaxing in the background in Kalina, a suburb of Mumbai. This family will go around accepting alms in the name of God/Goddess and park their cart wherever they find space and something to graze for their bulls.

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Skywatch Friday

A clear blue Mumbai sky as seen on 02May2010 at 1:33pm.

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Thursday Challenge - water

Off Mahalakshmi coast of Mumbai there is this Dargah (tomb) in the Arabian sea. The Dargah Sharief is built on a tiny islet located 500 meters from the coast, in the middle of Worli Bay, in the vicinity of Worli. The edifice is a brilliant specimen of the Indo-Islamic style of architecture. The islet is linked to the city precinct of Mahalakshmi by a narrow causeway, which is nearly a kilometre (0.62 mile) long.The Haji Ali Dargah was constructed in 1431 in memory of a rich Muslim merchant, Sayyed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari , who gave up all his worldly possessions before making a pilgrimage to Mecca. Hailing from Bukhara, in the ancient Persian Empire and now in Uzbekistan, Bukhari travelled around the world in the early to mid 1400s, and then settled in Mumbai. As per the legend surrounding his life, once the Saint saw a poor woman crying on the road, holding an empty vessel. He asked her what the problem was. She sobbed that that her husband would thrash her since she had stumbled and accidentally spilled the oil she was carrying. He asked her to take him to the spot where she lost the oil. There, he jabbed a finger into the soil and the oil gushed out. The overjoyed woman filled up the vessel and went home.Later, Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari had a recurring - and disturbing - dream that he had injured Mother Earth by his act. Full of remorse, he soon fell ill and directed his followers to cast the coffin carrying his body into the Arabian Sea, once he died. Haji Ali left this world during his journey to Mecca and miraculously the casket carrying his body, floated back to these shores, getting stuck in the string of rocky islets just off the shore of Worli. Thus, the Dargah was constructed there.

Info sourced from Wikipedia.

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ABC Wednesday - P for Palkhi

People carrying the idol of Sai Baba in a Palkhi (Palanquin) in a procession to celebrate the anniversary of a Sai Baba temple in Vakola, a suburb of Mumbai.

Sai Baba of Shirdi (Unknown – October 15, 1918), also known as Shirdi Sai Baba , was an Indian guru, yogi and fakir who is regarded by his Hindu and Muslim followers as a saint. There are many stories and eyewitness accounts of miracles he performed. In his life and teachings he tried to reconcile Hinduism and Islam: Sai Baba lived in a mosque which he called Dwarakamayi, practiced Hindu and Muslim rituals, taught using words and figures that drew from both traditions and was buried in a Hindu temple in Shirdi. One of his well known epigrams says of God: "Sabka Malik Ek Hai" ("One God governs all") which traces its root to the Bhagavad-Gita and Islam in general, and Sufism, in particular. He always uttered "Allah Malik" ("God is Master"). He had no love for perishable things, and was always engrossed in self-realization, which was his sole concern.Sai Baba taught a moral code of love, forgiveness, helping others, charity, contentment, inner peace, devotion to God and guru. His teachings combined elements of Hinduism and Islam and tried to achieve communal harmony between these religions.Sai Baba remains a very popular saint and is worshipped by people around the world and idolized in temples all over the country.

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MyWorld

Night lights of Kalina, a suburb of Mumbai.

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Monochrome mania

Windblown Mumbai sky at 8:44pm captured with a 20sec exposure 400ISO f/6.3

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