Ikebana arrangement follows a rigidly fixed pattern – a triangle
of three points representing Heaven, Earth and Man. Emphasis
is placed on linear perfection, colour harmony, space and form.
The slideshow below has pictures taken at the annual exhibition of Ohara School of Ikebana at Lodhi Road, New Delhi held on 14 and 15 November, 2008. The theme for the exhibition is "Vasudaiva Kutumbakam' (The world is one family).
Indianwildlifeclub.com was one of the sponsors for the exhibition.
We have made a number of videos on Ikebana exhibitions. See them at our playlist below
The highlight of visiting my mother-in-law, who stays in Kangra (Himachal Pradesh), has always been the prospect of walking through the lush countryside. I was there late October, just before winter set in. As always, the countryside is ever changing and never fails to reveal something new for my camera to capture. The mongoose family scurrying about the neighbour's vegetable fields was amusing.
So was the sight of giant wood spiders alongside walking paths. The females are nearly ten times larger than the males, I believe. They weave the strongest and largest spiderwebs known to us. Shiny legs with yellow joints are their hallmark. Giant wood spiders are the subject of research- Humans would love to know the secret of creating the strong golden websilk. "In modern times, the Golden Orb Web Spider's silk is set to become a major product. The silk is almost as strong as Kevlar, the strongest man-made material which is drawn from concentrated sulphuric acid. In contrast, spider silk is drawn from water. If we could manufacture spider silk, it would have a million uses from parachutes, bullet-proof vests, lightweight clothing, seatbelts, light but strong ropes, as sutures in operations, artificial tendons and ligaments. Studies are now being done to have genetically engineered plants produce fluid polymers which can be processed into silk"
The wild red and white berries were all over.
The fields had spawned metallic mushrooms which vied with the pebbles lying around.
My husband was only too pleased to pose for a photo, framing a wagtail which he was pointing out to me!
Madurai is in Tamil Nadu, India. The IV th Development Film Festival organized by Dhan Foundation of Madurai gave me an excuse to visit this temple town famous for the Madurai Meenakshi Temple. Living with the Park was screened at this fesival to an audience of over 400.
Dhan Academy is surrounded by green environs and the use of organic manure and near absence of plastic waste ensures that the place is a haven for a variety of butterflies.
The butterflies flitting about included common crow, lime, pansy, mormon, castor and many more. I could capture lemon pansy, chocolate pansy, a skipper ( my first) and plain tiger.
