The Lost Hobby

In our childhood we develop few hobbies that we stop pursuing as we grow older either due to disinterest or lack of time. Sometimes they even do not find place in our to-do list or back of our minds. Recently while reading a novel I was reminded of my hobby of Philately. Well it can't be called much of a "hobby" as defined by Wikipedia. My Didi and later on me (who inherited the album when she got busy with studies) just collected for fun and on basis of country or design or theme. Our maternal uncle had gifted this stamp album to Didi and it is the reason behind this hobby. We collected stamps from envelopes in the traditional way, but mostly we bought packets either mixed or of some particular theme (Thanks Dad for spoiling us!!) During ragging in college, we had to introduce ourselves by giving name,place,branch and hobbies. I used to say Philately as hobby. Used to save me from dancing or singing!! I post a tribute in the memory of my oldest and life saver hobby.

The Album

It had pages dedicated to countries in alphabetical order with some information about them at the top...but some like Bangladesh were missing so I had to make entry for them. When there was no more space under India, we converted the less known and stamps unavailable countries' pages to India.

India

Pakistan/Bangladesh

Japan/Korea



Bulgaria




This country Ajman had these small weird figurines on its stamps and these were available in plenty. God knows why! We had to see carefully so that we don't paste any same stamp twice.

Ajman

Great Britain/Scotland



Mocambique

Russia




Romania



United States of America



Then there were thematic pages in the album both empty (for us to write) and specified.

Space

Birds



Animals

Sports

Reptiles




I miss the hobby but of course it was fun only when done with Didi. Once in childhood I was showing my album to a family friend's son who nicked two stamps while I left the room awhile but soon I counted (Trust me to trust no one!) I caught him and threatened to tell his mom (who was a strict lady). He surrendered the booty. :D :D

My Garden

I used to be very interested in gardening and believed I have a green thumb. Once I had even planted a small sapling in a flower pot and stuck a paper label with gum with "Planted by" and my name written in sketch pen (which washed off as soon as I watered the plant with a hose). Now looking back I think this act was a kid copying the events shown on TV where some big shot plants some tree and a plaque is put up in his honor. Anyway so now I just wanted to share some beautiful snap shots of the garden at my home.

My Town - Part 2

Some more pics of my town. I went on a photographing spree especially for my blog!!

This is a park built recently for beautification of town. Nice place especially for kids as there are lots of swings,slides and roundabouts. Thats me walking by as my accomplice took the snap.



An artificial crocodile of the park.



An artificial hippopotamus of the park.



The biggest road of my town...Central Avenue..running right across heart of town..captured in early morning sunlight.





This is the front view of the public-sector organisation owned hotel called "Bhilai Hotel"....where all the ministers and VIPs stay when they come to Bhilai. Thats the Nataraj.....Or Figure of Dancing Lord Shiva.





This is the entrance gate to the hotel.



This is another park....Pioneer's Monument park.....a hangout of couples mostly.





This is an art gallery where exhibitions of paintings or sculptures are held.



This is my high school ...one of the best schools of my town.



This is another major road of my town called the Forest Avenue.



This is another park called the Jawahar Udyaan and the structure is called Wheel of Excel.





Love my hometown, its greenery, its peace.....No matter where I go, whenever train enters the station of my town....I feel so relaxed and at home.

The New Seven Wonders

Time to time I get wonderful emails, sometimes funny, sometimes beautiful and sometimes philosophical.....I thought of sharing some of these e-mails as my posts.

One of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Taj Mahal, India: The white marble-domed mausoleum in Agra combines Indian, Persian and Islamic styles and was built by a 17th century Mogul emperor for his favorite wife, who died in childbirth.

One of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Great Wall of China: The 4,160-mile barricade running from east to west is the world's longest man-made structure. The construction of the wall took place over hundreds of years, beginning in the seventh century B.C.

One of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Petra, Jordan: This ancient city in southwestern Jordan, built on a terrace around Wadi Musa, or Valley of Moses, was the capital of the Arab kingdom of the Nabateans. The city is famous for water tunnels and stone structures carved in the rock.

One of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Christ Redeemer Statue, Brazil: The outstretched arms of the 125-foot statue of the Christ the Redeemer overlooks Rio de Janeiro from atop 2,343-foot Mount Corcovado.

One of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Machu Picchu, Peru: Built by the Incan Empire in the 15th century, Machu Picchu's walls, palaces, temples and dwellings are perched in the clouds at 8,000 feet above sea level in the Andes.

One of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico: This pyramid was part of a sacred site in an important Mayan center on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. Built according to the solar calendar, shadows at the fall and spring equinoxes are said to look like a snake crawling down the steps, similar to the carved serpent at the top.

One of the New Seven Wonders of the World. Colosseum, Italy: The 50,000-seat amphitheater in Rome was inaugurated in A.D. 80 and served as the backdrop for thousands of gladiators who dueled to the death.