Gently the snow falls...

(please click to enlarge - looks better that way - though, i admit, not a very good snap)

New Camera + Home snap

Finally got a new camera - about a week now. Given that fall is almost in full form, couldn't wait any longer and miss out on the colours.

The new camera

Not something hi-tech. Nikon 7600. Just a warning for those of you planning to buy a camera:
a) I do find that it fails to take good pictures in low light and indoors - gives 'blurred image' warnings too often.
b) Before buying this camera, i had gone through reviews and had found many complaining of the same. I took a chance though - i was running out of time and had to take a decision fast + was already used to a Nikon and had it's charger etc.
c) Speaking of charger, this is a battery guzzler. So you have to buy a rechargable battery /charger set along with the camera.
d) Time-to-flash (i forget the technical name) is quite long. So i take a snap requiring flash and then i would have to wait quite some time for it to be ready to take another snap requiring the flash.

First snap

Meanwhile, here's the very first picture from the new camera. This is my home's backyard - it's got a nice mini valley that you might just about figure out from the snap. The sunsets are spectacular. The best time to capture them would have been in the summer (when i didn't have the camera!) - it get's pretty cloudy nowadays and rains often.

Ann Arbor Flora : Hibiscus or Dish-Antenna?

Well, it was a large Hibiscus no doubt. I tried taking it an angle that would communicate the size well. But didn't bargain for this:

Ann Arbor Flora : Playing with the Sun

Might be good to add: The dual colours above are due to the Sunlight. One case, where the Sun gives rise to duality! Philosophically, the Sun stands for Advaita (non-duality) but let me not get into that right now...

Ann Arbor Summer - More on Marigolds

This is a follow-up to the comments on the previous post. I thought it would be better to put the reply in here as a separate post and add some more details along with some other snaps i had taken.

And if you are a botanist reading this and find something even slightly technically incorrect, please let me know!

Types of Marigolds
If you are from India you would associate marigold with the orange flower that is used on festive occassions (and used in large quantities, may i add - among all the loose flower cultivations in India, Marigold occupies the largest cultivation area. Reference here.)

But there are many types of marigolds. What we commonly call the marigold belongs to the botanical family 'Compositae' and can belong to either of two genus:

1) Calendula
What is commonly called the 'pot marigold' : 'Calendula Officianalis'. The flower in this genus has medicinal properties. This type of marigold looks like this - very different from the following genus:

2) Tagetes
Within this genus there are two major species : Tagetes Patula (French Marigold) and Tagetes Erecta(African Marigold or Tall Marigold).

French marigolds are the smaller of the species in terms of length of the plant and are available in more shades (more orangish shades). The cultivar ('cultivated variety', see here for more info) Safari Tangerine is what we see commonly in Indian markets like here.

The African marigolds are also sometimes called American marigolds since they have been grown in the Americas for 1000s of years. In fact, one particular type of Tagetes Erecta is called the Inca series. Below is a snap of a Tagetes Erecta called Florist's magic:

In fact, there is even an African marigold variety that is white - the vanilla cultivar. See here for picture.

Significance of the name
- The genus name for marigold (Tagetes) gets its name from the Etruscan god 'Tages' - the god of wisdom.

- The common name 'marigold' comes from "Mary's gold" after Mother Mary.

- The common name used for it in many parts of India is Genda. The word Genda possibly comes from the 'Gonda', the tribe in Chhatisgarh where the flower is cultivated - my guess though, i am not sure. In fact, the Gondas even have a legend behind the origin of the flower. Read about that in this excellent site:
http://www.plantcultures.org.uk/plants/marigold_spiritual.html

Use as a 'Torana' in Indian homes

'Torana' means gateway in Sanskrit. A garland made of Mango and Marigold is used a torana in Hindu homes. In other words, the garland is tied to the frame of the main door of the house. This garland is changed on every festive occasion - and given the number of Hindu festivals :) , you can be sure that the garland keeps changing frequently.

One strong reason for the use of the flower as a torana is that it has protective properties - has an unpleasant odour that keeps insects and other pests at bay (these properites have now been well documented by researchers) . So it is particularly useful in the Indian tropical climate.

But then, if it has an offensive odour, why is it used for worship? One reason straight comes from the above, in that when marigold is offered along with other pleasant smelling flowers, it performs the function of keeping insects from coming near the image that is being worshipped.

But there is more to it...

Spiritual Significance

(French marigold)

In both Christianity and Hinduism, the marigold has a lot of spiritual significance.

The flower is offered to Mother Mary on the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25th of every year). This is the day when the angel Gabriel came to Mother Mary to tell her of Jesus Christ's coming. On this day, in some traditions, marigold seeds are sown in pots as a symbol for auspiciousness and patience to await the divine.

In Hinduism too, the flower symbolizes auspiciousness. The saffron/orange colour signifies renunciation and hence is offered to God as a symbol of surrender. While offering the flower one should also remember that marigold is a very hardy flower and has a stout, erect stalk (hence the scientific name of 'erecta') - in fact, the Sanskrit name for marigold is Sthulapushpa which signifies this. It symbolizes a trust in the divine and a will to overcome obstacles. This is also why the flower assumes such improtance on Vijayadashami - the day Lord Rama prevalied over Ravana - a victory of good over evil.

One of the great Indian mytics of the last century, 'Mother' (Mirra Richards) of The Aurobindo Society said that the marigold signified 'Plasticity':

The spiritual significance given by the Mother to the Marigold flower is 'Plasticity'. About Plasticity the Mother says:

"When you come to the Divine, you must abandon all mental conceptions; but, instead of doing that, you throw your conceptions upon the Divine and want the Divine to obey them. The only true attitude for a Yogi is to be plastic and ready to obey the Divine command whatever it may be...

Ann Arbor Summer - Marigold

The flower traditionally associated with auspiciousness in India. Many Indian doors are adorned with garlands made of marigold and mango leaves alternating each other. The flower is also used in ceremonial Hindu worship.

Wish it would rain...

..because right now : IT'S HOT! ~90 degrees F = ~ 32 degrees Celcius.

So to feel a little better am posting a series of cloud pictures. This was a 'time-series' track across an hour taken some time back from my apartment - .
Watch the cloud cover come...and go...

See in a zig-zag fashion (left to right and then one-step downwards diagonally). Click on picture to enlarge.

Ann Arbor Summer - Playing hide and seek...

She won. But by cheating. Breeze helped her.

Ann Arbor Spring: White, Form over colour - 2

Second of the four parts of this.
One of these snaps is a repeat though from a different angle - couldn't resist posting it again because it looks very beautiful. You'll know which one if you've seen the earlier posts!
So here they are - starting with Miss Elegance herself (click for a larger image):

Ann Arbor Spring: White, Form over colour - 1

If you ever found the colour white uninteresting, here's the way nature makes it interesting - introduce it in various forms! This is the first of a four part series.
(click on the snaps for a larger image)

Ann Arbor Spring : Trees on fire

This was taken 10 days back when there was quite a cloud cover. I loved the way the setting sun lit up the trees and changed their colour.

(Looks much better in a higher resolution - but you know how it is with Blogger. Also, have increased the brightness here to try and reproduce what i saw)

And the cause:

More on the oft-ignored hydrants...

I was speaking to a friend just after i published the earlier post and she refused to believe that a hydrant that was shown there - an emergency-utility object - can be beautiful. For me - there it was, in the midst of 'real' beauty - flowers, greenery etc. but it stood so proudly amidst all that. It was almost saying "i am happy to be what i am and i know what i am" - yeah, we know - in a God-forbid situation....!

















But guess what? There's even a 'movement' called the 'Fire up downtown' movement which involves artists (from UMich and otherwise) here in Ann Arbor to make these objects look beautiful! The movement is sponsored by corporates (obvious eg. paint companies) as well as street associations. The snap below is from one of the sidewalks on South University avenue in 'Central'.

















You can read more about this movement here - a nice way to channelize energies. Wish we could do this back home:
http://www.arts.umich.edu/programs/special/firehydrant/index.html

There's a similar thing in Ohio (not sure if this is done widely across cities in the US) that i came across:
http://urban.csuohio.edu/~sanda/pic/travel/us/ohio/cleveland/cleve04/hydrants/

Ann Arbor Spring - The hydrant too...

I had always seen a bunch like this coming out of porcelain vases - never part of nature herself.
















Right, i am talking about the flowers and not the hydrant. The hydrant's part of the snap because i thought it was wrong to have only have the 'beautiful' in the snap. After all it is the 'ugly' that makes the 'beautiful' look beautiful.

And the mandatory close-ups...

Ann Arbor Spring - ahhhhh.....

curse that date print coming on one of the petals on the left...sorry for ruining the beauty....if you noticed :)

Spring-Summer in Ann Arbor :Tulip Time

No. These are not artificial.
...and just to spoil the fun, what do you think would have been left of these if some pucca desis were left loose here...yes! pluck, pluck, pluck!
All said and done, when it comes to tulips, nothing to beat this

A single tulip can be my garden

Wish i could be like this. Calm, Composed, Simple and Elegant in the midst of all the mess.