Anika Choudhary

This is a picture of the beautiful Nidhivan in the holy city of Vrindavan. This forest is filled with trees of Tulsi, growing on dry sand. These Tulsi trees are low heighted trees that are present in pairs with interlocking stems. This beautiful forest is said to be the forest where Shri Krishna and Shri Radha used to perform ' Ras Leela' which is a dance that Lord Krishna is believed to have danced with Devi Radha. There are even famous landmarks in Nidhivan such as the Rang Mahal, Lalita Kund, Bansichor Radha Rani temple and the Ras Leela sthaan (place where Ras Leela is performed). Nidhivan may seem like a simple forest from the outside, but on researching, we find out that this pious forest is much more mysterious than it seems.  Around 7pm, the doors to the forest are locked and no one is allowed inside. Supposedly even all the animal and insects leave Nidhivan because it is said that Radha and Krishna come in Nidhivan to perform Ras Leela at night. No one is allowed to wi...

Finally, autumn season has arrived. The trees are getting ready for winter by changing the color of their leaves and the temperatures are starting to drop. Then soon, the freezing winter will arrive. After winter comes spring, then the hot summer and we come back to fall again.  One thing you may realise about these changing seasons is that it's a continuous cycle that keeps going on and on. That's the phenomenon of nature and life both. Things will come ans they will go. This phenomenon is like a spinni wheel. You always reach back to the point where you started. And you can't do anything about it. Whether anything is changing in your life or nature, sometimes it's just better to accept it. Because it's better to just leave some things be. Changing them can just make everything worse.

See how all of these crows are sitting on one tree? You may additionally observe that they are sitting peacefully without disturbing anyone else, even when their sitting space is quite limited. This is called unity. Unity is a simple word with a complex meaning. Of course, it means staying united, but the true meaning of unity is much deeper. In unity, we have to become someone's support, and that person has to support us also through thick and thin. Every living being has to be united in order to flourish. We humans may be living on one Earth, but we are separated mainly by mental barriers. We must learn to overcome these barriers and learn to live a prosperous life while staying united. We must learn the actual definition of unity. But, this is easier said than done. It may take a while for us to learn the concept, but we must start with baby stepa. And we all can take the first step by learning the example of these crows.

Let's take a look at this beautiful hibiscus flower. Look at its bright red petals, the lush green leaves surrounding it and the blue sky in the background. With the sunlight hitting it perfectly, it looks, well, perfect. But see, that can be quite deceiving as nothing is perfect in this world. Yes, something in this world can be amazingly pretty, but it will never ever be flawless. Wherever there is good, an equal amount of bad will be there. Let's understand this by taking the example of the flower again. This flower may look very nice, but it may have diseases or parasites or any other thing that is considered as unattractive. This same principle can be applied in any other living being on Earth like humans, animals, insects and others. But guess what? That is normal. Everything in this world is perfectly balanced. Every living thing has its flaws and imperfections. So learn to embrace those and accept yourself and try to do the same with others. You don't need to think ...

One day, this beautiful colorful structure caught my eyes while wandering around and I had found out that this pillar contains numerous bird nests.  It seems quite uncanny at first, of someome building a pillar full of birds nests. But the more you think about it, you may realise how kind that person must have been who thought about this. In this world, there is a place for every living being, but every being on this world doesn't have a place of its own. Whether it's a lion, a bird or even a small insect, everyone deserves to live in a safe place.  But, things are much easier said than done. Anyone can preach about loving animals, but actually doing the job is difficult. That is why, we must respect those who are brave enough to help those who can't help themselves. Just think about the hardships that person must have faced to make their voice heard.  But it seems like it all worked out in the end. Because now, the birds living there have a safe place to live in. And the...

While looking at this picture, your attention may have been centered to the little grass growing from the hard tiles. This is one of nature's miracles, as we all know that although possible, it is very hard for plants to start growing out of such tiles. And the growth that these plants are showing is absolutely outstanding. But the real question is how did they grow? Well, if you look at the picture close enough, you might see the little crevices between the sides of two adjoining tiles. Now, these plants may not seem very interesting at first, but thinking about the symbolic meaning is mind blowing.  In this messed up world, it sometimes feel like evil is prevailing over good. The atmosphere around you gets so negative that you feel like every day is just sadder than the previous one. In all of the negativity, we forget to look within ourselves and awaken our inner happiness, stability and goodness. But it's always important to remind ourselves of the fact that goodness is eve...

Look at this picture and take a deep breath. Think to yourself for a moment. Imagine that you are outside your busy lives and are staring at this beautiful landscape in solitude. Peaceful, isn't it? Such a peaceful landscape with so much freedom. It is quite cherishable, isn't it? You might feel like you have finally taken a breath of relief. Well that is how the Indian citizens must have felt like when they had attained freedom from the British Raj on August 15, 1947, which was 77 years ago. The British Raj ruled over the country for nearly 200 years. Now, don't think of this the wrong way. The British did indeed benefit the country in numerous ways and helped establish the base for India's development. But there is no greater reward than freedom. Today, India celebrates its 77th Independence Day. Happy Independence Day! Jai Hind!!