Young girls enjoying an ice-cream bar

This is a candid photograph of two young girls in India enjoying an ice-cream on a stick.

More photos of women: Young Women Walking Silhouettes or Women filling water from village well in India or Road-side food stalls or street food or check out any of the labels below this post.
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Interiors of rural homes in India

These photos of the inside of villagers' homes were taken in a small village with 500 houses no more in Maharashtra, India, and there were no huts here. All pucca houses. A curious aspect of houses in India (not just in rural homes) is that there is less of a demarcation between the different types of rooms.

These photographs also demonstrate that rural India used consumer brands, with Parachute coconut oil and Colgate toothpaste found in almost every home! Consumer durables like refrigerators, coolers and generators and even hair dryers are used frequently in afflluent homes. FMCG products like talcom powder, toothpaste and even face wash is used. It is a myth that rural folk subsist on toothpowder and basic soaps!

In these homes the kitchen often serves as a dining room and often even a living room where the family sits and spends time with each other. It also functions as a store-room with large containers with grains lined on the side. The distinction between the bedroom and living rooms is blurred, with the bed serving as a seating area. One is not sure why this is so. It could be because of numerous family members (in some cases two wives as was seen in this case) including several children. This makes it quite difficult to have separate rooms for everyone and rooms are thus shared.

An air cooler in a village home. A photographed of a married couple, a poster of a celebrity or historical figure and a framed photograph of a diety (Ganesh) decorate the wall.

In this bedroom the attic area is used to store grains which are from their own farms.

There is no shortage of consumer durables in rural homes. From a sewing machine, to television sets to coolers, it's all there although electricity plays truant.

The furniture may not be swanky, and in fact cheaply made either of board or plastic, but it's there for its utilitarian value.

These are closeups of different shelves in the house. This one is of a dressing table area. Dettol, a face wash and a couple of hair dryers lie around.

More FMCG goods seen here alongwith with branded medicines like Vicks Vaporub.

A wash-basin in a rural home with Colgate toothpaste and an after-shave lotion.

You might also like: Middle class kitchens of rural India or A village in Maharashtra or Huts in an Indian village or Photos of thatched huts from the Chennai area or Photographs of houses and huts from Dakshinachitra in South India (which has a picture of a model thatched hut)
For photos of rural people, click: Rural People
Related viewing: Sketches of traditional Indian houses

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Flowers as backgrounds

A single orange flower against a green background. Orange hibiscus with striped yellow and green leaves. Higher res images available.

Here is a painted impression of violet chapha (plumeria) flowers against a fading blue and white vignette background. In the foreground are the large green leaves of the chapha. A slight effect has been given to this picture, a painted look.

White flowers like a cobra's head. A herbaceous perennial with white flowers which look like the hood or head of a cobra. Also called the peace lily.

Chapha the tropical flower, Plumeria in English or Unusual Hibiscus or Or try the label Flowers

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Temple Outlines and Sketches

These are sketches of different types of Hindu temples. This one is a large temple, with a few spires at the back. The main rectangular area in front of the inner sanctum is a prayer area.

A sketch of a Hanuman Temple with a large temple steeple in the background and a huge statue of Hanuman in front of the temple. Hanuman is usually portrayed as larger than life.

A simple black and white sketch or line drawing of a small temple in India.

A black and white sketch of a small Hindu temple.

You might also like Temple Silhouettes or Ravana photograph and sketch or Ganpati or Ganesh sketches
Swastika graphics from India
Or check out all the posts on Hinduism which includes photographs of priests, deities, religious symbols and more.


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Chinese architecture silhouettes

Silhouettes of different examples of the Chinese style of architecture.Chinese architecture has its own unique style and is centuries old, as ancient as Chinese civilisation itself. There is an emphasis on articulation and bilateral symmetry.

This is a silhouette of a rather staid and normal building on the outskirts of Beijing.

A simple black and white silhouette of a few buildings in the Forbidden City complex.

Another main building in the Forbidden City complex.

A black and white silhouette of the Temple of Heavan in China.

A silhouette of a shopping complex in Lu Garden in Shanghai.

A silhouette of a small temple like structure inside a large temple complex. The intricacy of the decorate work on the doors and windows has been highlighted.

You might also like sketches of the Chinese style of architecture: Chinese Architecture Sketches or  Chinese style architecture sketches of the Forbidden City
You can check out more photographs and posts on China which have pictures of tourist attractions, Buddha temples, Chinese cities and the Chinese people.  There are also pictures and sketches of skylines of Chinese cities like Shanghai.

If you are interested in buildings then check out the label "Architecture"and here you will find sketches, silhouettes as well as photographs of ancient monuments, skyscrapers, high-rises and other types of buildings from different parts of the world.

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Young Muslim boys

This is a photograph of young Muslim boys in traditional dress waiting to cross the road in fading light. The photo was taken on the side of a road near Airoli (near Mumbai, India) and near a suburban railway station. They are wearing a type of salwar kameez often donned by Muslims as a traditional dress.

You might also like: Street kids playing cricket or Children playing Holi in semi-rural India or Women in burkhas or burqas - photos

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Meenakshi Temple or Tiru-alavai images

The Meenakshi Amman Temple or Tiru-alavai is located in Madurai, also known as India's Temple City which is over two and a half thousand old. The temple itself has been re-built (1623 to 1655) on the ruins of an ancient temple which existed for centuries but which was invaded and destroyed by the Mughals (Malik Kafur in 1310). The ancient temple existed as early as the 7th century ( it has been.  The beauty and fame of the temple has spread and it was one of the 30 nominees for the "New Seven Wonders of the World."

The temple is built in the honour of Parvati (also known as Meenakshi) and the her consort, Shiva (Sundareswarar), and is a huge temple complex with 14 gateway towers and over 30,000 sculptures! This is one of the tall towers with elaborately carved sculptures.

Another temple tower, even larger than the previous one.

One of the smaller temple towers with sculptures of deities.

Inside the Meenakshi temple. Even here there are elaborate carvings.

You might also like to see photographs of the ancient temples of Ajanta and Ellora  which remained intact through the last 16 centuries because they were in a remote location and thus not destroyed by invading Mughals.
More: 18th century ancient Narsimha Temple in Pune or check out all posts on Hinduism.


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Male sculptures in Vatican city museum

Here are images of the sculptures of Hercules, Tiber (Greek Gods) and also that of Laocoon in the Vatican city. There are all types of sculptures of male figures at the Vatican museum in Rome, some are gods and some are men. The sculptures and statues, sculpted decorations and paintings here are priceless masterpieces. Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio worked on the paintings, statues and sculptures and frescoes in the chapel.

This is a bronze metal statue of the demi-god Hercules in the museum of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Fairly a modest statue if one compares it to the other statues. Hercules was the son of thr God Zeus but his mother was a mortal.

This is a sculpture the River God Tiber in the Vatican Museum, sculpted during the Roman period. The river Tiber was where Rome was founded and this river was life-giving for the people. It is natural that the ancient Romans worshipped the river. A pity that the symbolic worshipping of nature is now looked down upon.

This white marble sculpture of Laocoon and sons (Trojan priest Laocoon and his sons Antiphantes and Thymbraeus being strangled by sea serpents) is one of the more famous sculptures in the museum of the Vatican city museum in Rome.

Most of the sculptures in the Vatican city are male figures, although sculptures of female figures can be found too.

You might also like Statues and sculptures of women at the Sistine Chapel or check out all the images in the Sistine Chapel including that of exterior architecture and other types of art.
More related images: The Louvre Museum Paris - exterior and interior with pieces of art
Sketches of Venus de Milo at the Louvre in Paris or Venus de Milo at the Louvre in Paris or Painter at the Louvre, Paris
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Beer glasses close-ups

Close up shots of frothing beer in glasses.

A more fruity draft beer being poured into a glass from a tap.

You might also like to see images of a Microbrewery in Pune and Bangalore or Beer in jugs, bottles, and glasses cut-outs or Beer shops in small towns in India or photos of Drinking in a beer bar or pub
Or check out all photos filed under the label Alcohol

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Kuala Lumpur photographs

A serene view of a main street in Kuala Lumpur showing the Merdeka Square with one of its most famous buildings which is also a  historical landmark. Primarily famous for its Islamic style architecture, it was built in colonial times and today houses the courts. It has 40-metre high clock tower.

A Kuala Lumpur street with its trademark palm tree and iconic buildings in the background. A pretty street-lamp adds interest to the picture.

The skycrapers of Kuala Lumpur are impressive and ofcourse the twin towers have come to symbolize Malaysia. 

There's more to Kuala Lumpur that it's fancy buildings and skyscrapers. This picture that more than just encapsulates Kuala Lumpur, with it's metro running over a busy and bustling modern city. Fancy cars and ads in the foreground.

In the foreground there is a fancy lit-up part of a mall, and in the background the iconic Petronas twin towers of Kuala Lumpur.

All of KL is not pretty or rich. This photograph shows the housing of the poorer section of the society.

Related Images: Kuala Lumpur Skyline or Kuala Lumpur Skyline at Night photo and colored illustration or
Kuala Lumpur Skyline Sketch and Silhouette
You might also like Skylines or Urban Landscapes

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Diya graphics and illustrations and Sketch

These are simple coloured graphics of a diya or deepak or deep and are small earthen lamps used in festivals across India. It is an essential part of any religious ritual and Diwali or Deepawali is a Festival of Lights. During this festivals it is a tradition to light as many of these tiny lights as possible, as a kind of decoration of the house.

Fire itself has significance in all religions, and these diyas or lamps in Hinduism are symbols of purification and truth and upliftment.

All of these images are simple graphics of a multi-colored clay diya or small clay lamp. This one is a colourful illustration of a clay lamp

A waxy effect and look given to the diya image, using the plastic wrap function of Photoshop.

A painted and colored illustration of a clay lamp or diya, giving a slightly diffused effect.

A glowing outline of a diya on a black background. A glowing line drawing.

A black and white sketch of the same diya or lighted clay lamp.

Related Images: More religion oreinted graphis: Swastika graphics from India
Or Flowers with special effects useful for simple header images

Or check out all the posts under the different labels below this post.

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Emu the bird

Although native to Australia, these pictures are of Emus in India, at an Emu farm.

Emus are farmed for their oil, and leather and the meat, although not a white meat, is lean and thus healthy. Besides, it has low levels of cholesterol, is  high in iron, and ofcourse protein and is low-fat. The drawbacks are that it is a little tricky to cook, and also expensive. Perhaps that is why it has not become popular.

The face of an Emu. An Emu's facial features consists of dark bristly hair, yellow staring eyes and a prominent beak.

The profile of an Emu!

A bunch of emus prancing around at an Emu farm.

An Emu sitting down.

Related Images: Fortune Telling by a parrot! or or Silhouettes of birds in flight  or Weaver Birds Images or check out some other posts on Birds.

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