Bird or Branch? - Pic 24

Early in the morning, I looked out of my window and

there it was - a bird perfectly camouflaged on the tree trunk.

I waited and waited for it to move.

It didn’t.

Because it was not a bird!

It was just a dry branch jutting out of the trunk.

I laughed quietly to myself.

Sometimes, our minds are too eager to find patterns, to make sense of things, to see something.
And sometimes, a dry branch is just a dry branch.
Or… maybe it’s a reminder to pause and smile at how playful perception can be.

What story is your mind creating today?

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the Present.

Guru Poornima special - Pic 23

 I stepped out to the balcony just to check if it was raining.

That huge tree, the one that usually blocks all sunlight, did something quietly magical yesterday.

It parted its dense canopy just enough…

And the Moon slipped through.

As if it knew.

Even the leaves knew to make way for the Moon at that instant.

It felt like a message, gentle, clear, and full of grace.

On this Guru Poornima, I am reminded:

You don’t have to chase a Guru.

Don’t rush to search.

Just be.

Be in stillness, open and ready…

Let Light find you. Let Grace come through the gaps.

Guru is within you and me!

Happy Guru Poornima to all.

 

#RanDhoomPics #suswasaSpace

Abstract Art - Pic 22

 

A for Art.

A for Abstract.

When concrete chunks lean and crumble,
some might see waste.

But pause.

Look closer.

There’s an ‘A’ rising from the earth.

Art doesn’t always hang in galleries.
Sometimes it rests quietly by the roadside.

Modern art?
Or just concrete practicing yoga poses?

Either way… roadside exhibitions are getting bolder these days.
No ticket required. Just presence. 😊

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the Present.

 

Passport photo, Please! - Pic 21

“Passport photo, please!”
This lotus turned up right on time.
Chose a maroon curtain backdrop – looked like a studio curtain.

(But, it is actually a parapet wall!)

Held the pose. No blink. No smile.
Totally nailed the "serious expression" passport requirement! 😊

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the present.

Green Leaf? - Pic 20

I thought it was just a leaf...
until it flew away!

Even nature has a sense of humour.
And a reminder -
what we assume isn’t always what it is.

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the present

We work in rainy season too! - Pic 19

This little mound caught my eye.

At first glance, it’s just an ant hill.
But look closer -
meticulous work, done quietly, even during the rainy season.

We often assume ants are only busy in summer.
But they work year-round, with no fanfare.
Just doing what needs to be done.

*****
Sometimes, self-awareness starts

with observing how nature simply… shows up.

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the present

Tree in flight - Pic 18

The trees look like they are ready to take flight
like eagles spreading their wings.
But they stay rooted,
calm and strong,
offering shelter to birds and stillness to us.

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the present. 

𝐂𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐚 — 𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭, 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲! - Pic 17

Cicada - I found it, finally!

Every April and May, its jeering chorus fills the air...

Mesmerizing. Persistent. Alive.

A sound that stirs something ancient in the present.

Click on the image and you too can enjoy the sound!

#RanDhoomPics — A simple click in the present.

 

Moonlight - Pic 16

 Clouds tried to hide it.

City lights tried to compete.
Moon said, “Cute.”
And shone anyway.
Just like your mind on a tough day!

Presence has its own glow.

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the present.

 

Shedding - Pic 15

Shedding leaves.

Let the Sun shed its light.

And in that golden stillness,

A whisper arose -

“Shed your repeated thoughts,
and regrets of the past may fall away too.”

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the present.

Stillness amid chaos - Pic 14

Clicked this on a casual stroll in Mumbai, just outside my guest house.

In the heart of city chaos, this statue seemed to speak - not with sound,
but with silence.

A reminder:
You don’t have to escape the noise.
You just have to find the stillness within.

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the present.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐯𝐚𝐬. - Pic 13

The sky canvas.
No brush. No frame.
Just nature’s quiet hand,
blending light into stillness.

I stood still.
And my mind stopped painting stories.

 

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the present.

Presence dissolves everything - Pic 12

All miseries vanished.

The aching body, no more.
Deadlines faded,
pending payments dissolved,
future plans paused.

In that still moment,
only this lotus remained
basking, blooming, being.

No past, no future.
Just presence.
Just peace.

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the present.

Getting to Stillness, Presence is effortless!

Look, who is the engineer? - Pic 11

In 1981, I was allotted a seat in Civil Engineering. I was all set to become a structural engineer!

But by my second year, I switched to Electronics and Communication.

Now, four decades later, here I am, pausing to admire this unexpected engineering marvel.

A tiny, unseen insect has applied structural principles, balance, and vector forces…

to build this tower, from scratch.

No blueprint. No cement. No fuss.
Just instinct, purpose, and presence.

Nature has its own quiet PhDs.

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the present.

Getting to Stillness, Presence is effortless!

Blue sky, fluffy cloud, peeping tree! - Pic 10

I captured this frame lying flat on my back, with no agenda but to look up.

No filters. No edits.

Just a vast blue sky, a fluffy cloud drifting by, and the tip of a tree peeping into the frame.

No planning. No perfect angle.
Sometimes, presence really is this simple.

 

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the present

#StillnessHeals #suswasaSpace

Graceful Exit - Pic 9

This leaf looked like it was having a midlife crisis.

half saying “I’m done,” and half saying “Not yet, boss!”

Even while drying out, it’s showing off its design.
Graceful exit, no drama, only beauty.

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the present.

High Cliff, lower Bunglow! - Pic8

 I clicked this while walking through the tea estates in the Nilgiris.

“High Cliff - Lower Bungalow” the sign read.
And I paused. High? Lower? A bungalow on a cliff?

Who named this place - an optimist or a poet?

It felt like one of those directions your uncle gives:
“Just go straight till you see a left. Take a right there.” 😄

Maybe it’s not about the place at all.
Maybe it’s life telling us - to reach the high cliff, you have got to go lower first.

And the tea leaves whisper back, “Relax. You’ll get there.”

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the Present.

#TeaEstateTrails #NilgiriNotes #suswasaSpace

Stone Heart - Pic 7

 I felt my heart hardening.

Too many unpleasant events- both in my personal space and the world outside - were beginning to weigh me down.

So I took a walk in the reserved forest tucked right in the heart of the city.

And there it was… this heart-shaped stone, sitting quietly among the trees.

In that moment of stillness, something shifted.

The stone didn’t just reflect the shape of a heart, it helped mine soften again.

 

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the present

 

#StillnessHeals #suswasaSpace

Purple Patch Ahead - Pic6

Purple Patch Ahead

I captured this frame while sitting at Triptych in the Nilgiris.
Surrounded by green trees, one tree stood out - with purple flowers quietly blooming.

Something about it made me pause.
It felt like my mind’s way of saying,
“I’m ready for a purple patch - a season of calm, joy, and ease.”

Stillness has a way of showing us what we truly long for.
We just need to notice.

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the present.

#StillnessSpeaks #PurplePatch #suswasaSpace

https://triptychnilgiris.com/

Green Rays and a Thought - Pic 5

Green Rays and a Thought

I stood in front of this coconut tree, simply enjoying the view.
But soon, thoughts came in.

Is the frond*  dividing the scene… or holding it all together?

Then another thought—
What if my ego was like this frond, saying:
“I am the sun, spreading green rays across the sky!”

Amazing how one small thought can take us galaxies away.

That’s why small moments of self-awareness help -
they bring us back to stillness within.

#RanDhoomPics – A simple click in the present.

* Frond – The name for the Leaves of a coconut tree, I just learned this while writing this post!