Beach Installation Sculpture

Let me introduce Sculptor A.Guruprasad and his unique Installation Sculpture at kollam beach (Kerala) to convey a green message and awareness on global drinking water problem.

A.Guruprasad who is a recipient of the Kerala Lalitha Kala Academy award in 2005 and a honorable mention in 2008 is the first to introduce this art form (Beach Installation Sculpture)in Kollam. A policeman (a job that never suits him) by profession, Guruprasad is a Graduate from Fine Arts College, Thiruvananthapuram.

The sculpture is titled "Two-two four Save Water Save Life".

The 224 plastic pot filled with sea water represents the number of countries.

The water which is unfit for drinking in the plastic pots reminds us of the plastic waste which is the biggest threat for water resources.

And a human form sitting in meditating posture near a tap competing with a crow (which represents other living beings) for a drop of drinking water is a warning statement to remind us on pure water conservation.

He says he selected a public place instead of an art gallery to make the message reach more people!!

Wonderful Job Guruji!!! And the world outside is waiting for more from you...Great Going and all the very best for all your future Endeavour!

Sculptor A.Guruprasad

ashtamudilake.com

mobile: +91-9446558665

email: guruprasad3451@gmail.com

A few more from A.Guruprasad.

The Guard_Medium_JackFruitTree

Women real and imagination

Under Lock and Key

The Youth

The Judge and Judgement

The Great Smoker

Anyone can Imagine their own face_(Commercial)

Random shots

A few shots on the way towards Kerala...

tamaso ma jyotirgamaya

"asato ma satgamaya

tamaso ma jyotirgamaya

mrtyorma amrtam gamaya"

(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad — scripted around 2800 years ago)

"Guide us from darkness to light from unawareness to awareness; from incompleteness to totality.. Let that be our impulse... Let us believe or not trust in that ‘ultimate reality’..Let us be irreligious or religious…..
O, Guru, help me liberated myself from my various misunderstandings regarding myself, the universe and God and Grace me with true knowledge."













'Our Lady of Fatima' shrine on the way to our school. As kids we use to go visit this church and kneel just like our christian friends do. And one of our Anglo-Indian friend use to recite some prayers, which we repeat.

Wish this sort of combined prayers continue with the new generation kids too.......













Easily a century old typical kerala style house with full of greenery all around.
The technique and info on making these types of houses was preserved by trained architect-painters who are well versed in the science of 'Vaastushastra'. Much of the rules of construction are codified clearly and neatly in this.


















The tainted bulb holder and a hole in the roof........













The bug














spidermaan ! spidermaan! friendly neighborhood spidermaaaaan.....
































Why this idiot needs my picture ?? See how uncomfortably close he stands and takes my picture@@.... that too without my permission.....@@


















When will these 'people' grow @@@?? Do we ever try to peek into their bed rooms @@@ ?? Manner less creatures.....Come Darly!! Lets find some other place for romance!!!














Oh no....here again he comes.......Hey you!! don't you understand or don't you respect the feelings of other beings ??? Do you think you people are the only one who lives in this planet earth @@@ ??? Get Lost !!!































A tribal kid with his 'Catapult'. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has been doing a wonderful job for the last few years in finding and training kids from various parts of India, especially in tribal areas to find out talents in Archery, Swimming and Canoeing. But the fact is neither India hit the 'bulls eye' or found the 'Target' so far......There is enough talent.....Awesome Trainers.....But then why ???...... something fishy in the selection process ????












The Endless Road !!!

Thank You!
Nara

Kallu Villakku and Public Library

Entrance of reading room of our Public Library in my native state, Kerala.
The black structure on the right is called 'KALLU VILLAKKU' a lamp carved in stone.

The Auditorium and the reading room was constructed, keeping in mind, the Baker model. Laurie Baker an award-winning British-born Indian architect, popular for his inventiveness in cost-effective energy-efficient architecture and for his unique space utilization. His models are simple yet beautiful with aesthetic sensibility. He made a name for himself both in sustainable architecture as well as in organic architecture.















The auditorium adjacent to the public library. This has all the state of the art facilities. I watched that wonderful movie Forrest Gump here, in a special show in the mid 90's, with friends

Happy Vishu

Wishing all my friends a Wonderful and Prosperous Vishu















Vishu is a festival celebrated in Kerala, Gods Own Country, falls mostly on 14th April every year as it marks the Malayalam New Year which falls in the month of Medam (April – May). It is also celebrated in areas bordering Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and a few other Indian States. This occasion signifies the Sun's transit to the zodiac - Mesha Raasi (first zodiac sign) as per Indian astrological calculations. The word "Vishu" in Sanskrit means "equal". Therefore Vishu is more probably denoting one of the equinox days. Vishu is also considered as the harvest festival of Kerala.















Among many other items, Banana Chips is an integral part of 'Sadhya' which simply means a grand typical south indian lunch

How to make it ?

Yes here it is.....

5 - 6 bananas
lemon juice, coconut oil or vegetable oil
salt, sugar syrup or honey (optional)
tumeric powder(optional)
cooking spray
baking sheet
slotted spoon
cloth
chip slicer

Step1 - Cut bananas in diagonal slices 1/8 inch each or use a chip slicer.

Step2 - If you are using salt and 1/4 tsp. of turmeric powder, place bananas in iced salted water for ten minutes.

Step3 - Remove all the water from bowl and place bananas on a cloth to take out the excess moisture.

Step4 - Heat up the oil so that it is almost burning but not yet, and fry bananas in coconut oil or vegetable oil in one layer for a minute or two or until they are crispy.

Step5 - Take the chips out with a slotted spoon and place them on a napkin. Sprinkle with salt if you so desire.

Step6 - If using the lemon juice, dip the bananas in the juice and place on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

Step7 - Bake at 200 degrees for two hours and then turn the slices over and bake for another hour and a half to two hours until brown and crispy.

Step8 - Remove slices and cool completely. Dip or soak in sugar syrup or honey if you so desire and want them to be sweet

It's best when cooked in Coconut Oil. Good Luck !!! :-)
Yes now you can go try once ;) and dont forget to visit Gods Own Country when you are here in India

Thekkady (Periyar National Park)

Altitude 1200 meters above sea level
Around 300 km from Bangalore, near Kerala-Tamil Nadu border
This is the best place for the wildlife enthusiast
One of the few Indian reserve forests which allows trekking
One can also enjoy an elephant safari through the forest to see the wild life in their natural habitat















The Periyar wildlife sanctuary amidst the rich jungles, which is spread across 300 sq. miles is one of the most sought after tourist spot in India. The Periyar Wild Life Sanctuary was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1978. The marvelous non-natural lake formed by the Mullaperiyar Dam across the Periyar River adds to the charisma of the park















Since this region never goes to extreme cold in winter nor goes too warm in summer, periyar is a great tourist attraction through out the year. Famous for its dense evergreen, semi-evergreen, moist deciduous forests and savanna grass lands it is also home to herds of sambar, gaur, elephants , tigers, lion-tailed Macaques and Nilgiri Langurs.

Just don’t miss it when you are here….

Incredibly Incredible

Incredibly Incredible (slightly different from Danny Boyle's perspective)

Prosperity














Back to business














The sun and the electric pole

The Village

A few snaps from my last trip to my village (Kerala), about 400 miles from Bangalore.














Thats the way to my village once where my ancestors lived .....













An old temple near village; a very good example of bio-diversity and it shows the importance of peaceful co-existence of all living beings. They are called 'Kaavu'. In and around this temple, there are variety of birds, insects and small creatures including snakes. The villagers feed them daily a share of their own 'daily bread'. Even at the midst of summer the premises of this temple stay cool with plenty of water all around.....














Way to my ancestral home........... (which unfortunatley got demolished about a couple of decades back)














The beautiful 'village moon' at night :-)














one of the oldest hanging bridges in India (1877) constructed by the Dedicated British Engineers, still standing tall. The Government has converted it into a monument and is preserved and well protected till today. And the best part is, it was in use till a decade ago.














Does this place remind you of your childhood and the jungles of some fairy tale that you read ??? This is about 20 miles from the village.














A few minutes after the clouds above 'cried'; so that the farmers down on earth 'smiled'.
A train shot on the way to native.














Another shot from train.....














A 'family get-together' when i shed a bit of my breakfast on the floor. Shot taken in a friend's house in village.














These are places seen while travelling by bus.....














When the bus pass by a Tea Estate.......














another one...................














Just after the Tea Estates...bus coming down the hill..............












That is one of Grandpa's treasures......

Hope you all enjoyed the time spent and liked my village..............will get you more in the next visit.......

And we will be conducting many interesting events in Bangalore in the next few months. Will update you on it in the coming days.......................
Take Care...........