Merry Christmas and Happy New Year with my poems.

156th Posting : 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

 As Google Doodle says : 'Tis the season!', I too echo their words. The weather is perfect (though chilly and snowy at some places), the backdrop is ready and it's time to celebrate with one and all. Yes, I repeat, one and all! Let's share all our pleasure and happiness with those who are deprived - for reasons they can not be held responsible.

The festive season is everyone's and celebrations should be the common word. My best wishes, love and congratulations to you all. Laugh or smile with my nonsense poems or rhymes in Bengali... and the world will laugh with you. Wishing you the best of everything.

Happy viewing.

Robin Banerjee.

P.S. Yes, I too have a point to rejoice. My Blog has crossed 15,040 page views till my last (155th) posting. I am indeed thankful to all of you - for patronizing and encouraging!

Capturing India through my lenses.

155th Post : Capturing India through my lenses.

India - the land of the Vedas, Upanishadas, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata is the cradle of the human race and the mother of history and civilization. It stuns us by the richness of its land, by its lush beauty and elegant architectures and by its ability to mesmerize our senses with its colors, smells, tastes, sound and 'feels' and it is impossible not to be astonished by its creative burst of cultures, races, tradtions and religions.

It is indeed difficult to describe or understand India completely, because, as the famous french scholar Romain Rolland once said, "If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India."

This 155th issue of my Blog brings 16 of my pictures taken during the last 15-20 years of my journey through different parts of India. Hope, these Kaleidoscopic pictures will tell you some stories about the great country, India - my motherland. You may 'click' any individual picture and view the enlarged/zoomed version of it. 

Happy viewing.

Robin Banerjee.

Nonsense rhymes and nonsense rhymes...

154th Post : Nonsense rhymes and nonsense rhymes...

Edward Lear... Lewis Carroll... Mervin Peake... Edward Gorey... Colin West... Dr. Seuss... Spike Milligan... Ivor Cutler... and the Martian poets are considered by many to be the pioneers in the business of propagating the nonsense tradition with their wonderful 'creations'. The poems, verses and rhymes they penned down over years have made us wonder how people, animals and situations before us can make us laugh, think and wonder!

Bengali language and  literature too have seen stalwarts like Rajsekhar Basu, Shibram Chakraborty, Narayan Gangopadhyay, Parashuram and Sukumar Roy et al - who made us smile, laugh and think. Rabindranath Tagore too ventured in this field - though his creations were rich mainly in contents and lyrical in nature. I am nowhere near them, yet still, I penned down a few nonsense rhymes/poems and illustrated them with my cartoons and illustrations. Here, in this 154th issue of my Blog, I'd like to post six (6) of them - which I hope, will be enjoyed by you. The attached illustration by me is a bonus for you.

Happy viewing.

Robin Banerjee.

                       

Ghats of Benaras : A photo essay.

153rd Post : Ghats of Benaras.

The Ghats of Benaras (Varanasi) have always attracted me because of their unique character that only this 3000+ years old, holy city can offer. The pilgrims, the sadhus, the vagabonds, the snake charmer boys, the poor men waiting to receive alms from the devotees, the boats, the stairs, the chaiwallas, the health conscious persons practising yogas & other physical exercises, the mundane tasks the priests and preachers perform, the infinite number of stairs leading to the famous 'gullies' or lanes of Benaras, the Sandhya-aarti  or evening prayer and above all, the vastness of river Ganges or Ganga that kisses the ghats at every opportunity - have kept me wondering with astonishment and awe! The stories of Benaras ghats seem to be endless.

The colour, the textures, the lines, the compositions and the stories the Ghats weave throughout the day and night - caught my fancy ever and waited for my finger to click the camera 'shutter' at the opportune or decisive moment. I wish to 'share' some of my recent pictures on Benaras Ghats through this 153rd posting. I also wish to take this opportunity to thank you all - 12,575 viewers of my Blog worldwide. Please 'click' each individual picture to view enlarged image of the same.

Happy viewing.

Robin Banerjee.

Sunrise at Benaras - a pictorial essay.

152nd Post : Sunrise at Benaras.

Arguably the oldest city in the world, Benaras or Varanasi is claimed to be older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together. Believed to be the abode of Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati, the origins of Benaras is still unknown. The holy city perhaps derives its name from the names of two rivers, namely Varuna and Asi (a small steam near Assi Ghat), though it is situated by the great river Ganges.

As per the Wikipedia, Benaras has at least 84 ghats - the steps of which lead to the banks of river Ganges. The most famous of them is the Dashaswamedh Ghat, which is believed to have derived its name from Dasa- Ashwamedh Yagna (ritual sacrifice of 10 horses simultaneously), that was performed by Brahma to welcome Shiva at this place. Sandhya Aarti is performed at this place every evening by seven priests in a synchronised manner after sundown. The ghat being very close to the legendary Kashi Viswanath Temple, thousands of pilgrims from all over the world throng this place every day to perform pujas with ritual bathing in the river. The Benaras ghats offer a spectacular view of the sunrise on the opposite side of Ganges.

I had the opportunity of visiting Benaras for the 2nd time - a couple of months back and I tried to undertake an extensive photo shoot of this great place. Here in this posting, you may view eight of my dawn and sunrise pictures of Benaras..

Happy viewing.

Robin Banerjee.