Raja Rani

So What does this title make you think is the image I have posted below ?

Did you think it was the photograph of a royal couple from my Rajasthan tour .....

Or maybe a couple of twittering, fluttering birdies on the tree ......

or .... flowers ?

butterflies ?

or two little chubby kids decked up as the royals all set to make their school stage debut ?

well ... well .. .. all very good possibilities... but in this case its something that very few could have imagined... 

RajaRani is really a very filling experience. 

It is a feast to the eyes and the heart (not for the weak hearted though) .

It is a coolingly sweet experience, full of bright colors and multiple tastes.

Raja Rani is a ...hold your breath, its about to go creamy cold !.....DESSERT , served at Shiv Sagar !  Made up of 3 different flavors of icecream precariously balanced on thin wafers. All of this balanced in a bowl full of rabdi and dry fruits. Richly decorated with varak, RajaRani is a simply yummy combination of Pista, Strawberry and Mango ! 

Can you finish it all ?

Night Queen

My Friend Sonali has big terrace. She is an absolute gardener and loves to surround herself with all kinds of flowers and plants. Her big terrace is one big garden. So this season we got talking and she mentioned that her Brahma Kamal was ready to bloom anytime. Ofcourse I wanted to be around to click them when they did. Thanks to her, I was able to click these beauties.

Botanlically called the Epiphyllum oxypetalum this flower blooms once a year and only for a night.   Lot of Indians called the Queen as Brahma Kamal after Brahma Dev. The blooming of this flower in ones home is considered a very auspicious sign. 

The blooming of the flower brings along a strong sweet smell which legend says dispels evils from all the corners of the home. Don't know if it is true or not, but it surely does invite moths from afar.

If you want one of these all you need to do is to plant a leaf of the plant (no seeds / no seedlings) and it will grow into a 4-6 foot high plant. The flowers usually bloom in July- September so give it enough time :).

Splash

Remember the days when your were kids and went to trips and picnics by the water.

Do you remember throwing stones in the water. Competing for the highest number of jumps of that flat stone on the water surface, or just throwing the stone in the water to create a splash. As I wandered around Sinhagad one sunny day , a couple of kids brought all these memories back with this SPLASH