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old manali’s blankets

Posted on February 2, 2008 @ 6:02 pm by massimo | Filed under: another green world, india, travel, wordpress

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manali india aynaku illustration travel

Manali, at the northern end of the Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh, is a hill station situated at a height of 2050 m in the Himalayas. It is a very popular and crowded tourist spot for Indians and foreigners in summer and in winter: actually too crowded according to my standards.
That’s why, a few days after I got there I moved further north to Old Manali, famous for its orchards and old guesthouses. This impressive array of wonderful, old wooden houses was perfectly deserted by tourists in early January for the very reason that no sort of heating system was provided at night when temperature dropped dramatically…Nothing better for me that lie on the bed under heaps of heavy (so heavy!) woollen blankets and wait for the next sunny morning…
PS
My friend Silvia is travelling Sikkim these days…She dropped me a line a few days ago, complaining for the intense and cold mist surrounding the snow capped peaks around Mirik…I guess she too is dealing with heaps of blankets!

Illustration Friday’s topic is: blankets

 

great Indian desert

Posted on October 13, 2007 @ 11:33 am by massimo | Filed under: another green world, blog, india, travel, wordpress

rajasthan desert aynaku illustration travel

The Rajasthan desert  is the biggest desert in India; it encompasses about 70% of total landmass of Rajasthan and hence it is identified as the “Desert State of India”.
Rajasthan desert becomes very hot during the summer and it experiences extreme climate. Days are hot and the nights are cold .The desiccated land becomes more parched and dry during the summer owing to the scorching heat of the sun and the temperature reaches the peak of 49°C. During winter it may even reach the freezing point-0 degree C at night.
In the sacred town of Pushkar, the Savitri temple is built on a nearby hill:I climbed this hill a couple of times, and had an amazing and breathtaking view of  the desertic surroundings…

Illustration Friday’s topic is: extremes

another green world

Posted on April 6, 2007 @ 9:56 pm by massimo | Filed under: another green world, blog, india, travel, wordpress

green world aynaku travel illustration

Darjeeling is a fascinating place rich in natural beauty and surrounded by the Himalayan range. The scenery are stunning: the roads snakes their way through rice fields, sub-tropical thick jungle, rocky valleys, endless roadside waterfalls, grassy tree-dotted plains, dense green forest and huge mountains!
Down below in the valleys flow the rivers swollen by rain-water or melting snow, all canopied by cotton-wool clouds…Really, really another green world!
In Darjeeling, on board an slow bus going uphill, I was contemplating the landscape and listening to Brian Eno’s music on my walkman:
”… I’ll find a place somewhere in the corner, I’m gonna waste the rest of my days. Just watching patiently from the window, Just waiting seasons change, some day Oh, oh, my dreams will pull you through that garden gate…”
There is no good news today about the planet: I wonder if tomorrow’s people will still be able to have the benefit of a green world.

Illustration Friday’s topic is: green

the floating world

Posted on January 27, 2007 @ 6:43 pm by massimo | Filed under: blog, india, japan, travel, ukiyo-e, wordpress

 

From1688 up to1868 the chonin, urban merchants and townspeople became the affluent bourgeoisie and the standard-bearer of a new Japanese popular culture. With plenty of money, they lived a life of luxury and created a lifestyle of their own, …

hymalayas

Posted on December 23, 2006 @ 11:21 am by massimo | Filed under: blog, india, people, travel, wordpress

This illustration is inspired by Nicholas Roerich’s paintings dedicated to the ethereal beauty of Himalayas. Born in Russia in 1874 Roerich went to India in 1923 and settled in the Kullu Valley, Himachal Pradesh.
Here he painted a …

goggles

Posted on October 7, 2006 @ 9:42 am by massimo | Filed under: beach, blog, india, travel, wordpress

What a trouble for me getting my expensive goggles lost! I am a bit short-sighted and use to wear special goggles. Though they are not really necessary to me they become a fundamental item I rely …

change

Posted on September 16, 2006 @ 10:54 pm by massimo | Filed under: blog, india, people, travel, wordpress

Madness and Holiness change our lives deeply. The Indian concept of holiness is quite different from that in the West and it is not necessarily associated with the “good.” Actually there is a long tradition of …

clean / unclean animal

Posted on July 30, 2006 @ 3:29 pm by massimo | Filed under: animals, blog, india, people, wordpress

A mild variety of viral gastroenteritis got me these days. So, all I can do is rest and drink lots of fluids; off course I abstain from eating any meat at all, including good …

spring

Posted on April 1, 2006 @ 5:19 pm by massimo | Filed under: ancona, beach, blog, india, travel, wordpress

Spring has broken here since a few days. Spring means to me early and unrequired raisings. There’s nothing to do: as soon as the bright light of dawn filters from the outer world into my …

lighthouse

Posted on November 6, 2005 @ 10:08 am by massimo | Filed under: beach, blog, india, wordpress

Kovalam is maybe the southernmost beach of India. Since the mid-seventies, Kovalam has been reputed as a place not to be missed among freaks, budget travellers and beachcombers.
The times are changing and the fashion too… never mind! …

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