Attractive swimming pool inside the Lake View Resort in Alleppey, with cottages

Inside the Lake View Resort in Alleppey, in the state of Kerala, India, look at this attractive site. There was this beautiful swimming pool in the middle of all the cottages, with pool balls calling out attractively to people to come and indulge in the blue water.

View of the cottages inside the Lake View Resort in Alleppey, with a water body right next door

This is a view of the beautiful cottages inside the Lake View Resort in Alleppey in the state of Kerala, India. They make for a nice comfortable stay, away from the worries of the world. Spend a couple (or more) days over here, and you can really enjoy the beautiful setting.

A bird in the middle of the water inside the Lake View Hotel in Alleppey, looks like a very calm location

The Lake View Palace is a resort located in the city of Alleppey, located on the shore of a large lake. This entire area has a huge network of inland waterways, and a large amount of the transport done by the local population is through these waterways. For reaching this resort as well, there is a need to use a boat, since there is no road reaching the resort.

A small stone bridge in Kerala, near Alleppey, over a weed infested creek

Looks like a very beautiful location, doesen't it ? Well, yes. We were on a trip through these creeks on a motorboat and came across this functional but obvious old stone bridge over the creek. There is a path on boat sides where people can walk, and there is enough of a waterway between the weeds through which boats can pass. This is in the waterways located in the state of Kerala, in India.

A man taking his boat through weed laden waters

In the state of Kerala in India, there are a number of creeks and lagoons that form a huge inter-network of waterways that are used by people as a ways of navigation (rather than depending on roads); in this photo, you can see an old man plying his oars as he navigates his small boat on these waterways with weeds covering the surface of the water.

View of a houseboat in Kerala making a turn, at sunset

This photo was taken at just after sunset, which should explain the colors in the sky and water, as well as the low amount of light overall in the photo. In the center of the photo is a houseboat, with a large portion of the outer structure having been built from palm trees; and if you look closely at the waves, you can see the boat making a turn. The overall effect is of the whole place being calm and serene.

Houseboat making its way through the waterways of Kerala

Kerala in India is renowned as tourist place which is very close to nature. Part of this is due to the large network of creeks and lagoons which are also used as inland waterways for transport. In this photo, taken from a houseboat, you can see another houseboat slowly making its way through one such creek, flanked by coconut and palm trees, and also having leaves and other such greenery on the surface.

Photo of a sunlight in Kerala, from the open window of a houseboat

There is a lot of pleasure to be had from the thought of a cruise in a houseboat, slowly making its way through the waterway, and then catching the sun rising. This was precisely the scene in this photo, where I was taking a cruise in a houseboat with the spouse (and we were the only guests on the houseboat), and at some point in the night, the boat was tied up. When we got up, there was this view, with the sunrise shimmering over the water in the rural part of Kerala (India).

A small single room church at the side of a creek in Kerala, India

A church can be a place of great beauty, a solemn place. How about this photo, which shows a small single room church in the state of Kerala, on the shore of a creek near the town of Alleppey. The setting is beautiful, with gently lapping water and swaying coconut and palm trees all around. We were on a motorboat, taking a ride of the large network of waterways and saline creeks, and it was a pleasant sight.

Photos on diplay inside the old Jewish synagogue in Cochin - showing arrival in Kerala

The historic Jewish synagogue in the old part of the city of Cochin or Kochi (in the state of Kerala, India) is one of the oldest structures in the area, venerated as a historic place of religious significance. It has a section where paintings depicting the arrival of the Jews into the area as far back as 72 AD (after the destruction by the Romans of the sacred Jewish temple and dispersal of the Jewish people into various areas of the world).

Display of old documents inside the Jewish syngague in Cochin by a tour guide

Inside the Jewish synagogue (a historic building in the South Indian city of Cochin, in the state of Kerala); there is not much of regular prayer sessions because the number of Jewish people nearby, and in the general population is not very high. The synagogue typically gets most busy as a tourist location, and even in this case, it is the tourist guide who is holding forth the religious book inside the synagogue.

View of one of the islands in the Lakshadweep from a passing ship

The Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea, off the coast of India, consist of a chain of Islands. They are typically reachable by ship (although there are some flights available). Many of these ships start off the mainland, and then hop from island to island (with boats coming out to meet them); we were traveling in one such ship to our destination, the islands of Kadamat.

Sunrise over the Lakshadweep Islands in India, a beautiful view of the sun rays over palm and coconut trees

A photo of a beautiful sunrise over the Lakshadweep Islands. The Lakshadweep Islands are a small set of islands set in the Arabian Sea, reachable by ship from the city of Cochin in Kerala, on the mainland. These islands are islands with a beautiful coral reef and a lagoon between the reef and the islands, making for a very beautiful place. They are also very famous for scuba diving.

An inside view of the Jewish synagogue in Cochin, with a person sitting near the pulpit

A view of the historic Jewish synagogue in Cochin, in the Indian state of Kerala. This synagogue is also known as the Paradesi Synagogue, which is the oldest surviving synagogue in India. The synagogue was built in the year 1568, built in the then Kingdom of Cochin. The synagogue is also known as the Mattancherry Synagogue, located in an older part of Cochin (known as the Jew Town). It is a beautiful complex, although there are not enough Jews in the area to make this a fully functioning synagogue.

The inside of the St Francis Church in Cochin, Kerala, India

A photo of the inside of the St. Francis Church in Cochin, in the state of Kerala, India. The church has a complex history, since it was controlled by different people at different points of time. The Church was built as a simple structure by the Portuguese in 1503 under permission by the local King, and then the Church was claimed by the Dutch (who were Protestants versus the Catholic Portuguese) - they destroyed all churches except this one. Then the Church was controlled by the British; and the Church was also famous since the body of the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama was buried here for 14 years (in the 16th century, until it was sent back to Portugal).

A view of the shops in the Jaipur old market, taken from inside a car

The previous photo talked about the decorated gateway to the Jaipur old market, and here is a photo of the same market. The photo was taken from inside a car, and inspite of my best efforts, I was not able to remove some of the reflection effects. Jaipur is known as the pink city, and the reason for that jumps out of the color of the walls of the structures. This market area can be very crowded, and it was unfortunately in a similar area that terrorists had detonated a series of bombs some years back (which killed many many people).

A decorated doorway leading to the older part of Jaipur Market

Jaipur has a thriving market, a older market section. This is a well preserved and very crowded market section, with the shops all following the same design (with the color and the naming structure of the shop remaining the same). This is a photo, taken from inside a car (and you can see the reflection in the glass) that shows some of the decorated gateways that leads to the market area.

Shadow cast by a metal door with the suns light passing through

Sometimes, one comes across some scenes that are part of everyday life, but there is a strong wish to capture such shots in our cameras and store them. This was one such situation that I liked, where the door to the house was of a metal pattern, with a grill and mesh rather than a solid metal door. As a result, when the inclined rays of the setting sun fell on this door, the light set a nice shadow patter on the ground. Specially, the contrast between the lighted area inside the room and the dark area was a study in contrast.

Scene of Chokhi Dhani when leaving at night, in darkness

The darkened entry door of Chokhi Dhani, as we are leaving. When we entered Chokhi Dhani, it was evening, with some light in the sky, but as time went by, darkness kept on increasing. And then, by the time we left, it was more like 9 PM, and the only light outside the main door was the lamps that were kept on the main door. There were a couple of people standing in the doorway as well, but the features were not visible in any detail because of darkness in that area.

A lantern made of straw inside the tourist village of Chokhi Dhani

Near the entrance of the tourist village of Chokhi Dhani, there is this pillar made of wood, with a lantern on top. This is not a lantern made of glass or ceramic or metal, instead it is made of straw; this mimicking the usage of traditional materials which are easily and cheaply available.

A small regal looking house near the front of Chokhi Dhani - the tourist village near Jaipur

This is a small structure which is near the front part of Chokhi Dhani, and very close the restaurant where people can eat seated on comfortable tables and chairs (as opposed to the traditional restaurant where the seating was seating on the ground). This is a structure resembling an old type structure built with a mud outer surface since that helps against the hot outside.

An old chariot on display at the Chokhi Dhani tourist village near Jaipur in India

Photo of an old chariot on display at the Chokhi Dhani village near jaipur. In the time of the kings, one of the most deadly weapons for quick movement was the chariot drawn by horses, which was fast and could move from here and there on the battle field. The persons in the chariot, typically noble warriors could fire arrows from the fairly stable position in the chariot, as well as throw lances at their enemies, and then move away when in danger. This chariot is in a pretty fragile condition, and must be very old.

Artists at the Chokhi Dhani dancing, with a lot of smoke in the air (visible in the photo)

In this photo, you can see a performance going on in the tourist village of Chokhi Dhani. This is a square platform built with bricks and covered with a thin layer of concrete, and every night, these artists perform a traditional Rajasthani dance, complete with pots and lanterns. Because of fire nearby used for cooking, there is a lot of smoke in the air, and it is clearly visible in this photo.

Preparing food for the large number of visitors in the tourist village of Chokhi Dhani near Jaipur

The open air kitchen at the Chokhi Dhani tourist village near Jaipur. Given the large number of visitors who come to the place and enjoy the wholesome food, there is a need to prepare the food efficiently and in large quantities; and here, they make the food in the open and in large metal containers.

Various village people around a well, carrying pots in the village of Chokhi Dhani

An integral part of the scene in a village is the well, since there did not use to be many other sources of water in villages (except where there is a stream or a river nearby), since canals and other such means were not available in olden days. This tableau with its models is a depiction of that situation.

A man giving out the future using a parrot in Chokhi Dhani

One of the ways used to foretell the future is through many astrological methods such as tarot, through sun signs and zodiac, and yet another way is by having a parrot which picks out the correct card. This is a photo of a fortune teller whose parrot is currently in a cage and used when required.

A huge metal disc meant to be in the shape of a gong in the village of Chokhi Dhani

An adaption of the time before we had electric bells and ringers, although the concept of metal gongs (struck with a huge hammer) to make a loud clanging notice is something that is not unique. The only difference with this object is that it is made much larger in size than the normal gong.

The various puppets against the background of a curtain at Chokhi Dhani

In a previous post, I had mentioned about how puppet shows would serve as a source of story telling and amusement; this post gives a much detailed look at the puppets used. Obviously, they are no match for 3D realistic computer aided animation, but they have a certain appeal (but the whole concept of puppet shows are a dying breed).

Artist performing a pupper show in the tourist village of chokhi dhani

The tourist village of Chokhi Dhani has a lot to attract tourists drawn by diverse cultures, and this village showcases traditional rural culture of Rajasthan. One of these cultural items was about how people in the countryside amused themselves, and a puppet show was one of them. It was not only amusement through, since mythological tales would be narrated through puppet shows and a number of people would watch.

Clearer view of the dancing troupe performing at Chokhi Dhani

A dancing troupe doing their performance at the traditional tourist village of Chokhi Dhani. One main dancer is doing the performance, and the others are sitting by the side, proving encouragement, music, and getting ready for their turn.