In London

Dated: 20th September 2007

The famous London Bridge by night. To me lighting is an art that redefines the way we perceive things. I have seen the bridge by day and it was not even half as beautiful as it was by night.





The Tower Bridge, another monumental landmark of London. This one however did look quite impressive by day too, though it looks more grand at night. I love the night...

Dated: 2nd Oct 2007

Westminister Abbey, a grand structure standing seemingly almost aloof.

Dated: 9th October 2007

The Millenium Bridge spanning across the Thames.

A boat speeds away along the Thames and the castle in the backdrop presents a good view.

A view of the Thames in the evening.

Modern architecture.

A pretty flower basket hanging on the wall.

Buckingham palace.

Dated: 2nd November 2007

The magnificient Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner beautifully lit up by lights at night.

Dated: 19th December 2007

Picadilly Circus at night wears a dazzling look. A favourite meeting place for us.

In Berlin

Berlin, Germany

26 Aug-7 Sept 2007

The combined group consisted of students coming from 29 different countries and comprising 29 Erasmus Mundus, 14 tropEd and 3 DAAD students, including the facilitators of the International Health Summer School. We had our classes at the Humboldt University, Berlin and it was an exciting and interesting experience.

The TV Tower is an impressive structure standing 368.03 metres tall and situated in the centre of the city near the Alexanderplatz train station. The lift took us up to a height of 203.78 metres which gave us a bird's eye view of the city. It was great being up there and surveying the beautiful city. Towers around the world has always been associated with pride and achievement and this will always remain so.

Albert Einstein's house is located in a quite and serene hill overlooking the pretty town of Caputh. Simple in design and perfect as a getaway resort for the great man of science.

In front of the Studentendorf Schlachtensee, the student hostel where some of the Erasmus Mundus students were accommodated during the Summer School period. It was pretty far from the city centre but has its own charm. I remember the breakfast time before rushing to catch the bus to Wansee and then the train to Freidrichstrasse station which is near the Humboldt University. I also remember Sebastian and I taking a 15 minutes walk to Schlachtensee station and then taking another train to Freidrichstrasse. Good moments well spent.

My dear friend Sebastian, a medical doctor from Chile with a good sense of humour, seen here reading a Spanish novel on our was to Freidrichstrasse. He's pretty good with his Nikon camera and some of his shots are worth putting on display. I wish him the best in his track (health policy and management).

The Argentinian beverage Mate. Sebastian offered me a drink and I like it instantly. The shapely carved wooded cup and ornamental steel straw added to the charm. It tasted like herbal tea and is actually an infusion based on the herb Yerba Mate. Mate is usually taken with hot water. The drink is also common in other parts of South America.

This is a Turkish meal and it was definitely one of the most fulfilling meals I had in berlin. Each item on the plate has a distinctive flavour that tickles the taste buds resulting in an expression "Hmmmm,ummmmm.." each time the food is chewed upon.

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And finally after a hard day's work, time for bliss.

School Drawings

My school drawings at the time when I was in Class 7 and 8. Though I also drew from my own imagination, I also could replicate other pictures I see. Below are replications I made from various sources.

Stallion

It was from an old cowboy comic strip that I saw this picture. Actually there were few horses but I picked to draw this one, as it was leading the rest. I used pencil and sketchpens.

Lioness chasing antelopes
This was from a Tarzon comic strip. I used pencil and watercolours. Hopefully one fine day I would see such a scene somewhere in the African wild.

Anaconda attacks a mule
This was from some adventure comic strip. I just used pencil and sketchpens. I like to follow stories of these giant snakes in National Geographic or Animal Planet whenever I get the chance.

Obelix putting his menhir to good use
Definitely one of my favourite comic strips. Obelix doing what he does best. If anyone knows where to get a good deal for Obelix and Astrix comic strips, please let me know.




Kite flying
This drawing was incomplete. I was yet to colour the background or mountains and sky.




Ready to draw
One of those cowboy comic strips again. This chap was a good guy and pretty damn good with his gun too. So he was still seen till the end of the comic strip.




Gun battle
The lone chap was a good guy in the story. He was on a revenge path after his wife was killed by 'them scums' seen here biting the dust. Actually there were six of them and the good guy had just six bullets, one for each scum. He managed to kill 'em all. Thats the law of the wild west.