photos – Sukshma

Obscured from View

Sunday morning mist clings desperately to the trail.
WA, September 2005.
Santosh Dawara.

Mist rolls down the hillside.
WA, September 2005.
Santosh Dawara.

At last! We’ve reached our destination.
WA, September 2005.
Santosh Dawara.

Fellow trekker and companion. A well behaved boy throughout.
WA, September 2005.
Santosh Dawara.

Swan Lake

Hyde Park, London

Endless Countryside, Isle of Wight, UK

Stretched on to the horizon and then beyond!

You could spend an entire day walking or cycling from one end of the island to the other.

Fiery Summer Blooms

7AM

Rains Drench the NCL Venture Center Campus

Balmaadi Coffee Estate, A Photo Essay

Coffee Plant, Balmaadi Coffee Estate. — This December I was a guest ar the Balmaadi Coffee Estate in the Nilgiris. Balmaadi is led by entrepreneur Unnamalai Thiagarajan. Growing coffee at an altitude of 6000 feet in the wild Nilgiris is challenging. Unna sticks to principles of sustainable biodynamism to produce organic coffee beans that have been recognized in India and globally for their unique flavor. Like their coffee, my short stay there was both a journey through Unna’s vision and an experience into the coffee grower’s life in the wild.

Continue reading Balmaadi Coffee Estate, A Photo Essay

Visitor on a Rainy Day

A Koel (Asian Koel) perches outside my verandah. — I inadvertently caught a Koel perched on the barbed wire fence.

Asian Koel – Original photograph by Doug Janson.

Original photograph by Doug Janson. — I inadvertently caught a Koel perched on the barbed wire fence.

Asian Koel – Original photograph by Doug Janson.

May Sky

Still undecided ... — Indecisively weighing both blue and red.

Orange-red gulmohar flowers. — Orange gulmohar flowers add a touch of flair and drama.

Reflecting ... — Giving in to the thirsty spirit of the summer evening.

The Eyelids of the World

Legend has it that Bodhidharma after meditating for seven years fell asleep. When he woke up enraged, he cut off his eyelids to prevent it from happening again. Tea plants grew up from where his eyelids fell and monks drink tea to stay awake ever since.

Here’s a tea story of plantations from all over Munnar Kerala.

When driving in to Munnar, the humble tea bushes dominate the landscape together. — When driving in to Munnar, the humble tea bush dominates the landscape together.

Munnar's Tea Estates, Kerala — In conversation with the sky.

Munnar Kerala — Munnar is also a national park.

Eric Francis and his colleagues were the first to introduce tea to the hills of Munnar. — Eric Francis and his colleagues were the first to introduce tea plantations, railway, boilers, motorcycles, other technologies to the hills of Munnar in 1911. Growing tea in Munnar was not a profitable venture for most of the twentieth century. It survived on the passion and entrepreneurial spirit of a few individuals before making it to mainstream.

Munnar's Tea Estates, Kerala — Green Tea.

The Kanan Devan Hills Plantation Company is employee-owned and sponsors a tea museum in Munnar.

Munnar's Tea Estates, Kerala — Thank you for watching! Photos were taken by Santosh Dawara with a Nikon DX7440, January 2013.