Fortune Telling by a parrot!

Ever heard of a green pet parrot telling your fortune? Well, it's not uncommon in certain parts of India where a bird picks a card that decides your fortune. These so-called fortune tells are found on the streets. It's a version of tarot card reading.

Here you can see the parrot (popat) trying to pick a card. Something it has been trained to do. It's sniffing around in the middle of the pack. The owner is sitting on a pavement on the streets with his wares spread out.

Here the parrot or popat has found the card for the girl customer and has lifted it from the top of the pack.

Related Pictures: A medicine man on the streets who claims to cure almost every ailment that afflicts mankind!: Herbs and Spices in boxes

You might also like Silhouettes of birds in flight or Emu the bird or Weaver Birds Images

See other Silhouettes and Sketches on this blog or pictures of Animals or Birds.

Louvre Museum Exterior Silhouettes and Sketches

A silhouette of the exterior structure of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. A fair amount of detail is visible in the silhouette.

This is a simple black against white silhouette of the Louvre Museum.

A simple line drawing or pencil sketch of the Louvre Museum in Paris.

A sketch of the exterior of the Louvre museum with  more detail but less clean.

Related Images: The Louvre Museum Paris - exterior and interior with pieces of art
More Images of the Louvre: Venus de Milo at the Louvre in Paris or Painter at the Louvre, Paris
Images of Paris landmarks: Birds Eye View of Paris from the Eiffel Tower  or Eiffel Tower - free photographs

Black and Yellow Turtle

Turtles are reptiles, but they are pretty and can be quite colourful! This one has a yellow and black shell and some streaks of orange or yellow on the face as well. It is swimming in a small pond.

In this photograph the head of the turtle as it stares at you looks almost green an effect of the water. If one considers the background of the dark green waters and yellow leaves floating in it, this is an excellent camouflage.

Related Images: Colourful Lizards or Striped Ground Squirrels

Cloth and Textile Market in Ahmedabad old city

These are photographs of the famous cloth and textile market of Ahmedabad where you get cottons, dress material, linen or sarees at reasonable prices. The rates are low as many wholesalers and cloth merchants operate from here. Embroidery work is also available. The sights are quite colourful due to the wide variety of typical Gujarati cottons available here. Many small businesses pick up their material from here.

This is a small lane which winds it way through this old city market in Ahmedabad. Easy to get lost here. A worker at one of the stores is carrying bales of cloth on his shoulders to another storage place or perhaps another shop.

A salesman is folding the material after customers have left the shop. He has a lot of work to do as reams of dress material is lying on the floor, and some has spilled on to the road.

Here is another cloth merchant in his shop, folding dress material. The shop also sells sarees which are hanging on hangers to the right of the image. Some duppattas decorate the right side of the shop.

A cloth salesman hard at work folding material which the customers have just seen.

Related Images: Crowded market places in India   or or check out the posts under the label "Markets"

or try this one: Inexpensive shopping in Bangkok

Kuala Lumpur Skyline Sketch and Silhouette

These is a silhouette of the skyscrapers of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. It shows the outline of the Petronas Towers which are the tallest twin buildings in the world and have now become symbolic with Malaysia. The silhouette is a wide angle view of a large number of buildings including the towers.

This is a sketch of the Kuala Lumpur skyline. It encompasses a smaller cluster of buildings as compared to the silhouette above.

Related Images: Kuala Lumpur Skyline or Kuala Lumpur Skyline at Night photo and colored illustration
You might also like Urban Landscapes and Skylines from different parts of the world

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Golkonda Fort Pictures

Golkonda or Golconda is an ancient ruin of a city in South India. These photographs are of the Fort at Golkonda which was built by the ruling kings of the Kakatiya dynasty which ruled this area in the twelfth century AD. The Qutub Shahi Dynasty  contributed significantly to refurbishing and re-building the fort in the early sixteenth century. The Golkonda Fort itself is spread over a large area and has a 10 km long outer wall. The place is on the outskirts of where Hyderabad city stands today. Inside the fort you will find the ruins of  bastions and cannons,  gateways and drawbridges, royal apartments, temples and mosques. 

The Fort looks like a lost city but these ruins can give you an idea of the massive built-up area of the fort. The outer wall is visible in the picture.

In this photo a part of the fort with its semi-circular bastions is visible.

The roof of the various structures is missing and all you can see is the deep blue sky over the ruins of the Golkonda Fort.

Another view of the walls of the Golkonda Fort

A broad passageway of some type inside the fort.

This appears to be the remnants of a hall of some kind or a religious place.

A gaggle of girl tourists at the Golkonda Fort.

Photos of some other ancient forts in India: Red Fort at Agra or the Agra Fort - Photographs or Daulatabad Fort near Aurangabad
Or try the label  "Monuments" for ancient monuments from India and the world.

(Photo credits: Purp-ler)

Ayyappa Devotees in Madurai

Ayyappan is a Hindu deity worshipped in the southern states of India, particularly Kerala and these are photographs of the devotees of this God. They usually wear black and in these photographed they are wearing black lungis mostly. The lungi is the ethnic male dress in South India.
Here are some Ayappa devotees lined up outside a temple in Madurai. Ayyappa worshippers are predominantly male or perhaps only male. I have not seen any female devotees.

A closer look at the Ayyappa devotees standing in line outside a temple. They are wearing black or dark lungis and are bare-chested except for strings of holy beads.

Related Viewing: Priest performing a Pooja or Holy man, Godman or religious baba or Pilgrims singing and playing the Manjira musical instrument
For religious symbols from Hinduism: Swastika graphics from India or Paduka or Guru's feet or  Shiva Pindi or Lingam 

Picture of a Frog

This is a free stock photo of a brown frog with striped legs. This one was seen in Thailand. Frogs are Amphibians.

Related Images: Colourful Lizards or Striped Ground Squirrels . 

Queen's Guard photo, sketch and silhouette

This is a photograph of a Buckingham Palace guard or Queen's Guard, who is one of four at Buckingham Palace, the royal residence. At regular intervals there is a change of guard and this ceremony is a sight for tourists.

A silhouette of the Queen's Guard or the guard at the royal residences of Britain's monarchs.

A sketch of the Buckingham Palace guard or the Queen's guard.

Related Viewing: Buckingham Palace Panoramic View or Victoria Memorial Fountain outside Buckingham Palace in London or Britain's Royal Emblem and Sketch or Silhouettes of the London Skyline
For pictures of more London landmarks: Free iconic scenes from London or Westminster Palace and Big Ben or London Eye
For London scenes from daily life:  or Musician in the London Metro or London streets with traffic, buses, crowds and people
Other Related Images from the U.K: Manchester aerial view or the city of Bangor in Wales

Fire Station and Fire engine

These are photographs of a fire station in India and images of a fire truck and a fireman.

Here is a small fire station with some fire trucks and vehicles parked inside.

A close-up of a fire-truck with its equipment of a thick nylon rope and electronically operated water hoses.

The fire truck with the fireman.

The front of the fire-truck waiting on the road. It's a Tata truck and the word "FIRE" is emblazoned on the front of the truck.

Related Pictures: Pune Municipal Corporation Buses or Water Tankers
More Images of Transport or Occupations.

Ancient Doors in India

A few photographs of ancient doors, some of them centuries old. Some are carved, some plain, some with heavy bolts.
This one is an ancient door at Bibi Ka Maqbara in Aurangabad in India. The door is made of brass. It is intricately carved and it is huge as it is to the entrance of the tomb.

This heavy wooden door with various decorations is from an old 18th century temple in Sadashiv Peth in Pune city. The thick brass ring in the centre of the door serves as a means to knock on the door as electricity was not available at the time at this temple was built.

This is a giant door from an ancient fort belonging to the Purandare family of Saswad. It still belongs to them, but the fort lies unused and in ruins. However the perimeter is intact and so is the massive iron door designed to keep out intruders and invaders. Opening it is a herculean task and it's best to make one's way in and out through a small trapdoor on the bottom left of the massive door. This door would be 12-16 feet high. The doors had spikes right on the top too, to prevent enemy elephants from trying to break it down.

This is a close-up of the spikes of the door. You can see how sharp these long pointed cone shaped iron spikes really are!

This photo is of the bottom of a gigantic iron door at Golconda (Golkonda) Fort in Hyderabad, a Fort built by Hindu Kakatiya dynasty . The thick iron gate and the protrusions on the door were to keep invaders at bay.

The rest of the pictures are of plain wooden doors from ancient monuments. This one is from the many doors of the rooms inside the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. Bolts were usually made of heavy iron or brass and the doors were wooden with brass decorations. Often these doors were tall and therefore some of them had the bolt fasterners at the bottom.

A simple wooden door at the Red Fort in Agra. The bolt or "kadi" is at the top of the door as the fastener.

Just a plain locked door at the Agra Fort with an iron bar to fortify it. Not sure whether this is indeed a centuries old door, or whether it is comparatively newer, but still old. A simple chained "kadi" or the typical ancient type of bolt (not seen in modern doors) is at the middle of the door. The metal bar appears to have been added later to stop people from accessing the door. 

Related Images: Designs from the Red Fort Agra or Agra Fort or  Designs and patterns from Taj Mahal interiors or actual photos of The Taj Mahal at Agra or Red Fort at Agra or the Agra Fort - Photographs

Images of some ancient sites in Maharashtra: Vishram Bag Wada Pune - Photos or Ancient Narsimha Temple in Pune

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The Great Sphinx of Egypt

This is a side-view of the Sphinx with the Great Pyramid in the background.

A front view of the Sphinx on a bright and hot day under the scorching desert sun. The figure is under repairs.

This is a frontal view of the Great Sphinx. The Pyramid of Khafre (or Chephren) is behind it.

The Sphinx is believed to have the head of Khafre. In this picture there is part of the Great Pyramid in the background, and it appears as if the Sphinx has a headdress!

A view of the Sphinx from the side, in the bright, almost blinding, desert sun. Tourists are milling about the Sphinx which is under repairs.

More photos of ancient monuments from Egypt:  Three Pyramids of ancient Egypt or the Temple and statues of Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt or Karnak Temple and Pillar Designs or for more related photos try the label "Egypt"

Shah Rukh Khan wax sculpture at Madame Tussauds, London

This is a wax statue of the Indian cinema superstar Shah Rukh Khan at the museum of Madame Tussauds in London.

Related Images: Sachin Tendulkar Wax Sculpture or Mahatma Gandhi and Indira Gandhi together at Madame Tussauds London

Hollywood celebrities at Madame Tussauds: Michael Jackson Wax Sculpture at Madame Tussauds or Wax figures of Johnny Depp and Leornado DiCaprio at Madame Tussauds

Young Women Walking Silhouettes

Here are silhouettes of women of all types walking along, some slowly, some briskly. 

This silhouette shows a young woman dressed in shorts and a scarf around her neck and a bag casually slung over her shoulder. The silhouette is of her back as she walks in high heels or stilettos.

Here is a silhouette of an Asian teenager in shorts and T-shirt.

Another teenager silhouette. Young thin woman with dark goggles or glasses on her face and shoulder length hair. The girl is wearing casual clothes, a T-shirt and jeans.

The silhouette of the back of a young Caucasian woman with short hair walking in casual clothes. She is wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and pants, with a scarf.

The silhouette of a young curvaceous or full bodied woman or well built woman walking. She has long hair and is dressed in casual clothes. She has a full figure.

The silhouette of a young walker wearing pants and shirt and keds or sports shoes.

The silhouette of a young African woman walking briskly with a small purse. She is dressed in trousers and a jacket, her hair in a pony-tail.

A silhouette of a woman dressed in a pant suit and her hair in a pony-tail. She is wearing formal shoes.

You might also like: Silhouettes of Women in Uniform or Travelers or Women with bags Silhouettes or silhouettes of a man walking: Travelers or men with bags
More: Silhouettes of activities: Silhouettes of people skating
Silhouettes of old and elderly women from India: Old woman silhouettes
Or click the label "Silhouettes" for all types of silhouettes including those of monuments and places and people.

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