Just About Everything

Kiangs,Ladakh, India I thought I would take a break from ancient architecture for a bit,and post something else today. I am sharing pictures of animals and birds from Ladakh, courtesy Soma Jha, who was in Ladakh earlier this month. Some of these are commonly sighted, but the black-necked cranes are special, they are not very often sighted because they come to Ladakh around this time of the year, to breed. Quite a few juvenile black -necked cranes can be sighted during this time. The  Great-crested grebe and  Bar-headed goose are found near the  Tso Moriri Lake in Ladakh. The  Woolly Hare is found everywhere in Ladakh, but the The Cape Hare is found in the Nubra region only. Bharal-Blue Sheep-Ladakh,India Long-tailed Marmot-Ladakh-India Long-tailed Marmot-Ladakh-India Woolly Hare-Ladakh-India Bar-headed Goose- Tso Moriri Lake-Ladakh Black-necked Crane,Ladakh Chukar, Ladakh Tibetan Snowfinch-Ladak...

Bibi Ka Maqbara, Aurangabad There are quite a few places to see in Aurangabad, one of them is Bibi Ka Maqbara. If you have time, may want to spend another day in Aurangabad and see Bibi Ka Maqbara, Daulatabad Fort, and if time permits Pani ki chakki. I will cover these places in my next few posts. Built by Aurangzeb's son's, Azam Shah in 1678 in Aurangabad in the memory of his mother Rabia-ud-Durani, Bibi Ka Maqbara is a beautiful structure and looks like a replica of The Taj Mahal. There is a reason for the similarity, it was intended to be as much an imposing structure as The Taj Mahal, but due to lack of funds imposed by Aurangzeb, it could not be what it intended to be, and therefore this structure is often referred to as the Poor Man's Taj. If one were not to compare this structure to the Taj Mahal, it would be a beautiful structure anyway, the carvings and the work on the walls and ceilings are beautiful. Interestingly, this structure was designed by Ata-Ull...

Cave temple 21, Ellora, India This is my last post on Ellora cave temples and paintings ...I hope I could bring a little bit of Ellora to you through my posts...this is one place you must visit, especially if art and sculptures interest you. Excavated in the 7th Century A.D, Cave temple 21 is another beautiful cave temple dedicated to Shiva.  I loved the sculptures in this cave. There is a sculpture of Ravana shaking Kailasa, and this seems to be one of the most popular themes in Ellora, we saw similar sculptures in a couple of other cave temples in Ellora.   Ravana shaking Kailasa Carvings on a pillar

Although Ellora is better known for its sculptures, and Ajanta for its beautiful paintings…we chanced upon some paintings tucked away in the nooks and corners, walls and ceilings of the Jain cave temples (32 to 34) in Ellora. The paintings are not in a good condition at all:(…but we can still make out faces, colours, expressions…I could not resist sharing these pictures.