Small and beautiful animals

I have been an animal lover since childhood. I am not one of those who wishes to own and control animals. I would rather watch them strut around free of fear and enjoy watching their antics. Back in India I would simply watch and enjoy the sight, but here in the US I started photographing them. Here are some pictures of small animals busy in their day-to-day lives.

Waterfronts - my favorite getaways

Perhaps because I am a piscean... I am simply enamored by large water bodies; lakes, rivers, dams, and of course the mighty oceans attract me like iron to a magnet. Standing and staring at the vast azure expanses soothes my soul. Of course I love to take a dip wherever possible... When I was in Bangalore, India weekends I'd head out to Manchinbelle dam, Kanva dam or YG Gudda dam and take a refreshing dip. Here in the US that is one thing which is possible only for the rich. All the dams and public water bodies are fenced up and the water front lands have been sold to private entrepreneurs who charge an arm and a leg to enter and access the water. The only ocean front I have visited is California where waters are so cold that it is impossible to get in without a wet suit. So here I content myself by taking pictures of lakes, rivers, dams etc... Here are some of my favorite water fronts in the US.

Lake Travis, Austin, Tx

Grapevine Reservoir, Texas

A large dam on the highway which links San Jose with Los Angeles

The Ocean at Santa Cruz

Paintings and Art Works

I have always been a great fan of fine arts such as paintings, sculpture, drawing, etching, sketches, etc. I have spent hours and sometimes days in museums and art galleries admiring the creations of artists who seem to possess some special gift from the creator.

Recently I came across the works of Vladamir Kush, an artist whose career started when he was a toddler. When I saw some of his recent works exhibited at an art gallery in Los Angeles I was awe struck. The artist who started commercial painting only in 1987 has come a long way both in terms of geographically and artistically.
I simply loved his painting series Metaphorical journey of which only one has not been sold yet. Here is a picture of that fantastic painting. This is renowned as Vladimir Kush's signature series of paintings which is also the name of his book in which he writes about creation of the universe and inner workings of man.

Along with Kush's creations there are the seminal works of several other artists such as Stephanie Clair, Tim Rogerson, Elena Bond and Elaine Murphy. The creations carved a niche for themselves in my heart. I currently can't afford to own any of these fantastic pieces of art but once it becomes financially viable for me I will definitely invest in one of these works. I sure hope that it will be soon.

Vistas of California

These are pictures from my visit to California last year. I had thought about posting them here but never got around to doing it. Now that I remembered I thought I'd post them and talk a little about my trip too. The reason for the visit to California was to participate in the volunteer meeting of Sankara Eye Foundation, a non-profit working to raise funds to set up FREE eye hospitals and perform FREE cataract and glaucoma surgeries for poor people in India.

We flew to Los Angeles and then from there drove to San Jose where the meeting was held. The road winds its way through beautiful and lush green mountains and provided enormous amount of photography opportunities. These are some pictures shot during the return journey from San Jose to Los Angeles. Your feedback will be appreciated.

Plumbing Solutions for LA Residents

One of the most vital necessities for life is water. But like every other good thing, water too can cause enormous damage to the house if not managed properly. When I talk about managing water, I am talking about Plumbing in homes and buildings. A small leak or drip can go unnoticed and cause enormous amount of harm, not only to the building but to people living inside too.

Plumbers are hard to come by, especially in large cities like Los Angeles. A good Los Angeles Plumber is even more difficult to find. Hence most homeowners learn how to fix small plumbing issues such as repairing a leaky faucet or unclogging drains, etc. But when it comes to big jobs they fumble and flounder to find a good plumber. These jobs may not be difficult but may be just time consuming and hassle some. Under such circumstances it is best to call in a trained and experienced plumber to take care of the task.

Getting the right man for the right job is equal to getting a major portion of the task accomplished. This is true of plumbing too. Your home could end up getting wrecked if you chose the wrong plumber for the job. Often homeowners don't bother about preventive maintenance and wait for something to fail to call a plumber and when that happens it is usually the wrong guys that get the calls first.

I think it is a good idea to have contact with at least one good Los Angeles Plumber, just for contingency sake. This will help you save time, money and give you peace of mind.

The next question is how to identify a good plumber and set up contact. Getting referrals from family, friends and colleagues would be a good idea. But a still better idea I have is to visit the A-1 Total Service Plumbing. The company has been in business for the past 60 years and has been serving Los Angeles homeowners excellently.

Vistas of Rural Christianity

During my recent visit to Los Angeles, I was surprised to notice that in several places across California, religious symbols of Christianity like the Cross have been installed atop mountains and natural areas. This, according to me is an assertive display of christianity which is required in non-christian countries, where missionaries are still asserting their identities. But I wonder why they have installed so many symbols of religion atop hills.

Malibou Hindu Temple

Continuing the report on my recent trip to California I would like to post some pictures of the Hindu temple in Malibou near Los Angeles in California. There are two temples, one dedicated to Lord Balaji or Vishnu and another dedicated to Lord Shiva sited within the same compound here. The former has sub shrines dedicated to the lord's consorts, while the latter is still under construction and has a place for Navagrahas . Once complete I guess there will be lots of subshrines dedicated to various gods and goddesses of the Hindu Pantheon.
One thing I really liked about the temple is its setting on the slope of wooded hills which California is so famous for. The drive to the temple is beautiful and it is well worth visiting. Of course for those interested in sight seeing also, the Malibou beach is close at hand. Paucity of time prevented us from visiting the beach, we have reserved it for next time though.

Exterior view of the Vishnu temple in Malibou

The temple has the traditional south Indian style dwarapala sculptures at the entrance

And of course the Garuda Kamba inside the courtyard

Another view of the main temple building from within the courtyard

Exterior view of the Shiva temple in Malibou

Another view of the Shiva temple

Temples in Los Angeles

Visiting Los Angeles, the world's largest city which also hosts Hollywood gave me quite a few surprises. First the amount of trash strewn along the road sides is amazingly high. For a moment I forgot whether I was in India or in the US. The next surprise was when I visited Artesia. Here the sights and sounds made me forget that I was in the US. The place is completely like India, full of Indian stores offering all conceivable products: jewelery, clothes (ethnic Indian), restaurants offering cuisines from all parts of India, temples and of course people of Indian origin attired mostly in traditional Indian outfits and some in Western clothes.

We had lunch at the Tirupathi Bhima's Restaurant and I don't know what to say. The ambiance and service is completely Indian. But that is where the Indianness stops. The food is atrociously expensive, $7.50 (approx Rs.300) for what is known as "Business Lunch". The food provided is something similar to the Rs.25 thali meal that most fast-food restaurants serve in Bangalore. And I would say the rice used back home in India is much better quality than served here. The food is priced 10 times its price in India and yet doesn't even meet half its standards in taste and quality.

This is not the first time I have been disappointed with Indian restaurants in the US but I have decided to make this the last time. After eating at the Tirupathi Bhimas in Artesia I made a decision not to visit any desi restaurant during my stay in the US. Not only is the price atrociously expensive but the quality is abysmally low. If I eat too much in these places I will forget what original Indian food is like and feel alienated when (if) I return to India.

Here are pictures of some temples I saw in and around Artesia and Pioneer Blvd.

The Sanatana Dharma temple is located right next to the Swami Narayan temple and it looks like a church taken over and converted into a temple. We didn't have time to enter inside any of these places of worship so I had to content myself by just photographing them. It is a little gladdening to see this happening because historically in India it has always been that Hindu temples were destroyed by invaders to make way for building mosques and churches. Here at least Hindus as immigrants have paid for and bought/ rented these places to create places of worship. That is the unique nature of Hindus.

While driving around we also visited a temple in Northridge, this temple is built in a strange shape like an igloo, is apparently a makeshift one. The real temple is under construction in an adjacent site and will be a grand traditional style building.

Los Angeles airport to Pasadena

Last week we visited California. We flew from Dallas to Los Angeles and then travelled around in a rental car. Here are some of the pictures shot in Los Angeles area.

Beautiful palm trees swaying to the breeze on street intersections, no wonder this is the world's glamour capital.
The other side of Hollywood
Los Angeles hosts Hollywood and belong's to America's most prosperous state of California. But like every other city in the world this has its downsides. Graffiti is seen everywhere, trash abounds along highways and mainroads. Here are some pictures I shot of the Graffiti and Trash. For those of us in India who were led to believe that America is as clean as a operation theatre, this comes as a shock.