Bee Hives

This golden tube is probably the entrance to a larger bee hive. Like a small passage into the tree. Saw this hive in the jungles of Malaysia, in Tamen Nagera forest.

A close look at the mouth of the bee hive. Bees crawling inside and out. Some bees resting on the bark to the right of the image.

A swarm of bees buzzing around a bee hive, enough to make the hair on the back of your neck prickle! This hive was made on sheer rock showing that bees are very versatile. This picture was taken in Aurangabad.

Related Images: Photographs of brown and black bees or  Big black fly with red eyes - Photos and Sketches or Cobwebs or Spiderwebs or Bee Silhouettes and Sketch

Tea Gardens in Kerala

These are picturesque scenes of the tea gardens in Kerala, India. These photos of tea plantations were shot while moving in a car.

A row of pretty houses, a temple and a dirt road in the backdrop of lush tea gardens.

A closer shot of the tea bushes.

Tea being grown on the hills of Kerala.

A photo of a tea estate plantation in Kerala.

Related Images: Rubber Plantations in Kerala
You might also like Palm Plantations of Malaysia or Man and Bullock cultivating field  or Sugarcane fields or Rice fields near Chennai

Cat watching television

Caught a cat sneaking a peek at the outdoor tv screens outside PVT, Parel, in Mumbai. This cat was not in a hurry, but sitting there for several minutes watching the moving images. Who would have thought that cats like to see dollar notes!

If you want close up cat pics then you need to check out this post: Cat Portraits or you might also like Green caterpillar images or Monkey faces

Sayings from the Buddha Pagoda

These are quotes and spiritual sayings of Dhamma, which have been put up on the Buddha Pagoda at Manori, near Mumbai. A pity that the English translation is poor.
There are least a hundred such sayings put up all around the Pagoda. Framed in large gold decorated frames, these sayings are in three languages - in Marathi, the regional language of Maharashtra, Hindi, the regional language of a few states in North India, and English, the working language of India. They have apparently been translated into English by someone poor in English because the translations are not proper.

This board says "Deeper the craving, deeper the aversion, deeper the aversion, deeper the affliction".
The Marathi/ Hindi ones make more sense. The Hindi one means "Deeper the anger, deeper the hate, deeper the hate, greater the misery"
Either the words have been lost in translation from Hindi to English, or the translation is very wrong and cannot be understood unless you know Marathi or Hindi.

This one says in English: Good to have mastery over speech, good to have physical mastery, but one who is the master of his mind is the warrior of courage.
The last bit which says "warrior of courage" makes no sense. A person who does not understand Hindi or Marathi will not understand the English words.
The Hindi and Marathi words actually mean that the person who is the master of his mind is a true warrior.

For our own actions, we ourselves are the authors. For our happiness or suffering, we alone are responsible. These words are a better translation because they make sense, but the translation is a poor one. In the first sentence the word "actions" does not match with "authors.' However we do get the meaning.

Transform your deeds of body, transform your deeds of speech, transform your mental deeds, this is the essence of Dhamma. Here the word "transform" is an incorrect translation of "Sudhar" which means improvement. Change is a better word than transform, but even the word change is not the correct one. Improve is the correct translation.

Gandhian principles explained by the Wheel of Life or read Mahatma Gandhi's famous sayings which have been framed and put up at Gandhidham: Mahatma Gandhi quotes

Beetroots photographs

These are photos of beets or beetroots in an Indian market. A bunch of these may not look so red on the outside but inside they are blood red. Beetroot powder is a great safe way to color food. Nutritious vegetable mostly used in salads.

Close up images of beetroots.

Bunch of beets in a wicker basket for sale.

Related Images: Vegetable Vendors or Vegetable Markets in India or Crowded market places in India

Images and sketches of different vegetables and fruits: Carrots photographs and sketch or Tomatoes in the market - closeups or Frozen Peas or Onions being transported
Or Bananas - free stock photos and sketch or Photos of Mangoes
More images and sketches of Fruits

Lemons Images

This small yellow fruit is rich in Vitamin C. The lemon is supposed to have originated in India. The green ones are not fully ripe but taste as good!

Lemons for sale on the streets of India.

You might also like Strawberries photographs and sketch or Bora (Berry) - the red tropical sweet berry
Or Melons Photographs or Jackfruit or Phanas Photographs
Or Fruit Vendors vs supermarkets
You can also try the label Fruits for photos of different types of fruits and the label Vegetables.

Old men in India

A group of old men in rural India relaxing on a concrete bench. Their sticks lie next to them.

A large group of old and elderly men in a village gathered for a chat.

The Old Man in the doorway. 

An old man with white sparse hair outside his house.

Related Images: Old Rural Indian Men portraits and expressions or Elderly Indian men in ethnic clothes
or A village in Maharashtra Old and elderly women in India
More images: Old men reading newspapers in India or Pilgrims singing and playing the Manjira musical instrument or Destitutes and beggars - portraits of old men or check out all the photos displayed under the label Men.

Cooking pizza in a wood fired brick oven in Italy

Pizza has a better flavor when cooked the natural way, in a wood fired brick or stone oven. There are restaurants which specialise in providing pizzas cooked this way. It has a yummy smoky flavor, and the pizza itself is more crisp and crunchy including the toppings, and the crust is also light and fluffy. It is believed that the brick oven cooks very quickly and so the pizza does not become soft.

A thin crust pizza is fairly light in calories, with 1 slice of a 14" pizza (63 gms) is about 192 calories
A regular crust slice of a 14" pizza (107 gms) is about 285 calories, and that is quite high.

A chef or cook placing the pizza in the brick oven.

Taking out the pizza very gently from the wood fired brick oven.

A close up of the inside of the wood fired brick oven. With the fire so close, no wonder the pizza cooks so quickly!

You might also like to see images of Beef Steak Barbecue or Cooked Pork Meat
More cooking related images: Chinese cook making barbecued meat or Photos of frying in hot oil  or Fried and roasted insects in China or Tandoor Oven, tandoori rotis and cooks
Or try the label "Food" for more images of food.

Muesli Nutrition Comparison and misleading labelling

Which Muesli product is the most nutritious and which breakfast brand of Muesli has the least calorific value? What does the nutrition information tell us? Muesli by itself is a high calorie food because of the nut and sugar content. 1 small katori is about 60 grams of muesli (half a cup) and this can contain about 180-200 calories.

Bagrry's No Added Sugar Crunchy Muesli, if compared to another Bagrry's Muesli product with added sugar, should logically contain fewer calories, right? Otherwise why advertise it as "No Added Sugar" on the food label? The calorific difference is just 1 calorie as seen in the nutrition information! The No Added Sugar Muesli is 119 cals for 30 grams and 398 cals for 100 grams, even though this high calorie muesli has no nuts, just rolled oats and  bran, wheat flakes and bran, and apple juice concentrates. Where are the calories coming from then? This makes one doubt the nutritive value of Muesli as a breakfast food.

The other Crunchy Muesli from Bagrry's has the same ingredients but added sugar, honey and raisins, corn flakes, and also almonds and yet it is 120 cals for 30 grams and 399 cals for 100 grams! Just one calorie more than the No Sugar and no nuts variety? Something seriously wrong here. Misleading and false claims by Bagrry's one would think.

Express Foods' Harvest Crunch has similar ingredients like nuts and honey, and it is 123 cals for 30 grams, just slightly over the Bagrry's nut mixture. However this is a very poor quality product. I have bought it several months before the expiry date but it still emanates a stale stink. Probably due to inferior quality ingredients. Avoid this one if you can.

Interestingly, a muesli mixture of dried nuts and fruits (the Indian brands referred to here have a very small quantity of nuts and hardly any dried fruit) from a developed country is just 118 for 30 grams. This too with a far larger number of nuts! And muesli without nuts and fruits from a developed country is 108 calories for 30 grams, with sugar included! And Sainsburry's no added sugar muesli with nuts is only about 106 cals for 30 grams.

Our Indian brands skimp on the nuts, but put a high calorie count on their labels, it would appear. Either the labels are wrong or we are consuming hidden calories. Even if we assume that developed countries like the UK and the USA are labelling their products wrong despite the strict labelling laws there, the minimal difference between two products of Baggry's (one with sugar, another without) raises suspicions.

The reason I have not mentioned Kelloggs here is that I cannot eat their muesli and never buy it. I hate those little fruity brightly coloured fake food that they put in their muesli. Also I think their value for money equation is very poor. I am not at all satisfied with the quality, and I consider Kelloggs worse that Harvest Crunch and Bagrry's. Unfortunately their distribution might ensures that they sell their products!

Related Images: or How to recognize a fake Tata Tetley tea bag or
Obesity statistics of the world or Obesity silhouettes or Images of overweight people
High Calorie Food - Sausages and Fries or Processed foods in India or Should you take Multi Vitamins and Mineral tablets?
Sketches and images of feet on a weighing machine or pictures of Gymnasium and training equipment