My Love Affair with Gokul

Relax. Gokul is my DSLR.

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I'm sure I'm annoying someone with this off-season posting, but I forgot about these too! And, can't we appreciate the snow better when it's not on the ground right now? 🙈

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Words cannot describe the connection I feel with this song, but perhaps the most special thing about it is that it's the last one I learned from Amma. Felt apt to offer it on this auspicious day 😌 . . . "Kesha Paasha" An excerpt from the scripture "Narayaneeyam" in praise of Lord Guruvayoorappan.

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Happy Vishu!!! Since it’s my first one as a married woman, does it make it my Thala Vishu?? I have so many vivid memories of Vishu as a child, waking up at absurdly early hours and being dragged to the kitchen with my eyes closed to see the #vishukani Amma had so beautifully decorated. She would explain that we should begin the new year by seeing auspicious things first. The silver plate would be covered in grain, and placed on top would be various fruits representing the different tastes (mango for sweet, lime for sour, etc.) She'd tell me to look through the mirror at all these fruits, gold, and silver, to see, appreciate, and thank the Lord for all that He has blessed us with. So grateful to be able to do this myself this year, in my new home, and to have someone whom I can blindfold and drag along 😉 P.S. Pretty proud of this grandmother-recipe-taught-via-skype prasadam: Vella Avil. I may or may not have eaten it all myself... HAPPY VISHU and இனிய தமிழ் புத்தாண்டு நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள் ❤️

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Okay I know I'm off season but I took these last fall and totally forgot about them! These colors are a photographer's dream 😍I bet you wouldn't believe me if I said the colors were actually this vibrant in person. Also, this neighborhood is where I grew up, so so picturesque :)

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How do you decide between color & BW?

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"Doors (and windows) of Cambridge" Went wandering around my neighborhood yesterday to discover these colorful and unique doors! The door to a home makes the first impression and these colorful doors make a huge statement!

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Some of my favorite photos from a recent trip to San Fransisco and Fremont, California. First time exploring SF, and what a dream it was! It was refreshing to see how different it was from the east coast. Rolling hills, colorful architecture, and windy streets.

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“Sacred” 5/29/15 

#pooja #indianphotography #flame #brahmin #brahman #upanayanam #poonal #tamil #southindian #culture #ritual #religious #hindu #hinduism #vedas #india #indianculture #dslr 

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"Highly flammable" 8/12/14

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Radha Kalyanam, 12/25/13

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Remembering this beautiful day in Newport, RI. 

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Taken in Kanatal, Uttarakhand, India.

July, 2014

When my family and I were vacationing in this beautiful hill station a few weeks ago, we spent a lot of times doing out-doorsy activities: hiking, ziplining, valley-crossing and such. Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm not the least bit athletic -_- To be fair though, this place was super hilly and very hard to walk on, even with good shoes (that I wasn't wearing of course). While my aunt, uncle, cousin Ganesh, and I were tip-toeing in this rugged terrain trying our best not to face plant or go rolling down this hill that was at an altitude of 8500 ft, I came across this adorable sight. These women, walking barefoot, carrying a bundle of leaves on their head, were walking swiftly up and down the windy path with no problems at all. I mean, I don't understand - how could they possibly see where they were going?

I love this picture and love these ladies, hope they're always walking around with bundles on their head with such ease and efficiency :) 

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Taking pictures of food: that's been a thing for a while now right? I feel like it's almost an instinctive thing now, whenever you're about to gulp down some delicious-looking food, you gotta reach for your camera to snap a pic of it, no matter HOW hungry you are. I know some people hate the concept entirely (ahem, Sharayu), but there's just something I love about it. Food excites so many of our senses and I appreciate a photo that can do that. Is it gooey? Chewy? Spongy? Tart? Everything. I want to know and remember everything about that delicious thing I just ate. The only annoying thing though is when the picture makes it look much better than it actually tasted.

Sigh. Whatever. At least the picture came out well right? ;) 

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Throwback to Spring Break, March '14. Taken in Newport, RI.

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Sunsets. I love everything about them. I guess they're a bit overrated in the sense that everyone takes pictures of them, and you don't necessarily need good photo technique to get a beautiful shot of a sunset. Lots of high-tech cameras and photo-editing softwares these days make mundane things look a lot more beautiful than they are in real life, but sunsets are one of the rare things that are just as, if not more beautiful in real life.

I love how sunsets are different in every season and how they're just a little bit different each day. I'll never get bored of them, and will probably never stop posting pictures of them, so hopefully you don't get bored either ;) 

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My first post dedicated to one of my favorite humans on this Earth: My cousin Raj :) This little fella is the prime source of happiness for my entire family and will probably be yours too, if you met him. This photo was taken right after he saw people parasailing on the beach, during our recent trip to Goa. At 4 years of age, he's extremely observant and insightful. He was absolutely NOT a fan of parasailing, deeming it far too risky and thereby prohibiting my uncle and I from trying it. I often wonder what goes on in the tiny little mind of his. I'll probably never know, but I'm glad to be able to capture his priceless expressions. One of the most dramatic toddlers I've ever known.