Azure Window was a 92 feet natural limestone arch, located in Gozo island of Malta at the Dwejra Bay. It is also called as Dwejra Window. It was one of the most popular tourist spot on the Gozo island in Malta.
Stamp Connect – Caravaggio
What can photographers learn from Renaissance-era paintings?
– A lot!
A recent article in THE HINDU with a photo of Rajiv Menon (cinematographer) and Monalisa painting in the background aroused my interest.
Interesting facts from Maestro Ilaiyaraaja
StandardWhat’s New: According to WordPress statistics, this post has garnered the most number of views (2200+) in my blog till Dec 2023. I have added some more related postal materials.
Original Post – 2016
I recently read two books of Maestro Ilaiyaraaja. Having grown-up listening to his film music, I was all the more interested in his writings when I saw these books at the recent Chennai Book Fair.
The first book, “Ilaiyaraajavai Kelungal” (“Ask Ilaiyaraaja”), is a compilation of questions that were asked to him by readers of the Tamil weekly magazine, Kumudam. The second book, “Paal Nila Paathai” (“Milk Moon Path”), is another compilation of articles by him that were originally published in Kumudam. These articles are about his childhood, family, music career, and numerous interactions with various personalities in the world music and Indian film industry.
Continue readingGet lost in the jungle
As a kid who grew up watching Doordarshan TV during my school days, I have fond memories of my favorite shows. Though my Hindi is bad, I can still recite the song, “Jungle Jungle baat chali hai….”, the popular title track of Jungle Book cartoon series.
So, when the new movie adaptation by Disney, The Jungle Book, got released last week, I was all the more excited to watch it.
The movie is awesome. The CGI makes the jungle come alive. With great voiceovers for the animals, it is a delight to watch the characters of Sher Khan, Bagheera, and Baloo. Neel Sethi as Mowgli is cute, but looks more rehearsed.
Rudyard Kipling’s wonderful story of a kid lost in the Indian jungles has come out well in this movie. Go watch it and get lost in the jungle visually.
Stamp of Zoological Survey of India
Browse Efficiently on Android
It’s been a while since I blogged about mobile apps. For the past few months I’ve been using an app, which helps me efficiently browse links from search, social media, blogs, news, etc.
When browsing in Desktops, if we want to view links in separate browser window, we can either right-click on the link and select to open it in new tabs or windows OR press CTRL key and click on the link to open it in a new tab. When browsing in Mobiles, you can press the link longer to view a list of options to open it in separate tabs or windows. Of lately, I don’t get these options in Android. It is a pain to go back to the search results to view other links on the mobile. I think in iPhones this still works.
My Oscar Delight
StandardLast week when I was looking at this year’s Oscar winning list, I was pleasantly surprised and felt happier for one person than for other winners. He happens to be the oldest ever to win an Oscar in the competitive category. I saw that movie (for which he won the Oscar) in the big screen in January. His work in the movie kept me mesmerized right from the opening scene till the end.
An Eye-Opening Exhibit
I was surprised after reading an article in the supplementary of THE HINDU last Thursday. Another related article in the newspaper the following day aroused my curiosity even more. The second article had details of an exhibition in Chennai that was on till Sunday evening. I didn’t want to miss the exhibition. So I visited the exhibition with my wife on Sunday afternoon. And what an eye-opener it was!?
What’s in a Stamp?
StandardLast week the Government decided to withdraw two definitive postal stamps. Definitive stamps are the ones available at the counters in all post offices. In this digital age where writing letter is almost a forgotten thing, stamps don’t matter much to people. Even among stamp collectors, very few collect definitive stamps. I have definitive stamps of few countries in my collection, but I am more interested in commemorative stamps.
However, the news prompted me to look for definitive stamps in my collection that might have had some significance in the bygone era. Here are the ones that I thought might interest you or raise a curiosity in you.
Stamp Connect – Yoga
StandardWith all the craze over the First International Day of Yoga around the world, here’s my share of the enthusiasm through stamps.
Yoga postures on stamps
The four set of stamps on Yoga postures were released on 30th December 1991 by India Post.
Here’s a small news article that traces the history of Yoga that came in The Hindu.
Stamp Connect – Jamini Roy
StandardWhile glancing through The Hindu newspaper on Tuesday this week, one image caught my attention. It was the picture of a painting of three women. The almond-shaped eyes of the women and the shape of their faces reminded me of a similar one I had seen somewhere. I smiled gently after realizing quickly where I had seen it earlier. I started reading the news article with interest.
The article was about Jamini Roy, a Bengali artist who is considered as a pioneer in Indian modern art. You can read the article if you are interested.
Now, where did I find the earlier painting? It was on an Indian stamp in my collection.
Stamp of a painting by Jamini Roy
The stamp is one among the set of four stamps titled ‘Modern India Paintings’ released in 1978.
I am glad to have it in my collection! 🙂
Ravi Writes 
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