Endemic birds of India; Happy new year 2018!

White-bellied blue flycatcher

A very happy new year 2018!

May this new year bring you love, joy, good health,  more wisdom, peace, magic, the courage to speak your truth, to hold your head high, and see your dreams fulfilled.

Just like our feathered friends, wouldn't it be nice to free ourselves of worry and fear and soar higher and higher....

I am sharing pictures of these beautiful birds that are endemic to India.

Out of 1266 species of birds in India, 61 are endemic to India (from wikipedia).These pictures are courtesy Soma Jha.

Grey Junglefowl-female

Grey Junglefowl-male

Kerala Laughing Thrush

Malabar Whistling Thrush

Malabar Grey Hornbill

Malabar Parakeet

Nilgiri Flycatcher

Nilgiri Wood Pigeon

Photographs of places relevant to Jesus's birth; Merry Christmas:)

Merry Christmas! Wish you a very-very happy Christmas, and a wonderful  year ahead; a year filled with love and joy.
On the occasion of Christmas, I thought of sharing some pictures that are very relevant for this day. These pictures are courtesy Soma Jha.

The Church of Annunciation in the city of Nazareth (in northern Israel) is where Mother Mary lived. This is where the angel Gabriel appeared before Mother Mary to give her the message that she would conceive a child who would grow up to change the world. This church is built over a house from before Jesus was born. It is believed that this is the house where Gabriel appeared before Mother Mary.

The Church of Annunciation in the city of Nazareth

Mother Mary's house

Church of Nativity, Bethlehem (Palestine) is where Jesus was born.Mother Mary(who had already conceived Jesus) and Joseph travelled from Nazareth to Jerusalem (a census had been declared and Joseph had to register his name at Jerusalem). They stopped over at Bethlehem, a short distance away from Jerusalem, since night had fallen. They could not find any accommodation since all the inns were completely full. Jesus was born that night in a stable.

Church of Nativity

Inside Church of Nativity

In the picture below, the Silver Star shown is believed to be the birth place of Jesus. This is one very-very holy place for all Christians

Jesus's birth place

Shepherds told of Jesus's birth

The Church of Shepherd's Field, Bethlehem, is the place where the angels first announced the birth of Jesus to the three shepherds (who were asked to follow the star over Bethlehem, and go to this place)

Chapel of Shepherd's Field

Where is the world going?

When I picked up today’s newspaper, it did not say anything unusual, it was pretty much in line with what I read almost every day…killings, rapes, starvation, poverty, global warming,….

From TOI Kolkata, Dec 10, 2017

Some of the news that we come across may cause us a momentary disturbance, unhappiness, and may even cause some of us to squirm… but we forget about the news as soon as put down the paper, and move on with our lives...

By now we seem to have grown a thick skin, and nothing seems to matter as long as we think it does not impact us.

Does it truly not impact us? Can we progress without considering the needs of everyone around us?

And where are we moving? Are we moving forward, or backward? Should we call ourselves a civilised society or a primitive one?

Should we call ourselves advanced just because we have made some technological advancements? What about advancement of humanity?