Looking for Beauty

“Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it.”
Confucius

Our world is full of beauty. Nature is the manifestation of the creation’s desire to experience life. The cities, towns, settlements houses are a manifestation of man’s dream to create shelter and a sense of permanence. Man’s possessions act as his crutch and anchor as he negotiates life and its curves.

Often we go through life, sleepwalking, thinking only of our immediate concerns. At other times, we march on, eyes firmly on horizon, looking only at our dreams, desires and goals.

In between all this, we forget to live the most precious gift of all, our present and our now. Do we stop to smell the flowers, to notice the vibrant colours around us, to appreciate the beauty in the mundane?

Inspired by these thoughts, I took a day out to appreciate and capture these fleeting moments, the present that is on the cusp of becoming the past.

Blue Railing

I went looking for the now dilapidated, abandoned Bantony Castle on the Kali Bari Road near The Mall in Shimla. Constructed in 1880, it was the summer palace of Maharaja of Sirmour and had seen better times. I was won over by the blue railing although I could not get a closer look because of frolicking monkeys.

Scandal point marks the convergence of two of Shimla’s most important roads, The Ridge and the Mall Road. It is a great point for ‘people watching’. Taking shelter beneath the canopy, I looked up and saw this pattern.

The Ridge road is a large open space, located in the heart of Shimla. It is the hub of all cultural activities here and is always teeming with people, except on a rainy day like this one. A rarity indeed and worth capturing.

This moss covered wall caught my eye and I followed along the path.

I passed by the red door at Tara Hall, a school founded by Mary Ward in 1894. I wanted to peep in, feeling sure of seeing little children laughing and playing in their school room.

These radiating lines gave a mysterious look to whatever was beyond.

The lovely colours and objects were everywhere and I wanted a part of them.

The fog rolled down from the hills and obscured everything in the distance. The building looked stark against it.

And finally, the clouds parted and there was sun in all its glory. I stayed outdoors to watch a beautiful sunset.