monomad challenge: 6 shots from Shiroda/Arawali

here are 6 unrelated shots from our village in Maharashtra, India. 2 from the market, 2 from the beach and 2 from at home in the garden

Sunday is market day. both sellers and buyers come from long distances for the event

an electrical fire in one shop spread and destroyed several of the neighboring shops. this still life inspired shot is from one of them under reconstruction

some friends of ours from Norway escaped the cold winter and visited us with their three sons. here is the oldest son while enjoying a walk on the beach

earlier this year the Maha Kumbh Mela was celebrated in India at Prayagraj. it is most auspicious, occurring only once every 144 years. millions of pilgrims gathered to partake in the rituals, especially a bath in the holy river. there were also local observances of the festival around the country where idols of local deities and their followers gather for the event. for Shiroda and the surrounding area the gathering was on Arawali Beach where the prayers and rituals culminated in the idols and their many followers joined together for a purifying sea bath

families of monkeys regularly stop by our garden to feed on the various fruit trees in the garden. chikoos are always in season while cashew apples ripen from february to may. but the most attractive are the mangoes which ripen in april to june. we don't mind much about the chikoos and cashew apples but we try our best to keep them away from the mangoes. this one is enjoying a chikoo with our coconut trees in the background.

you may presume that all coconuts are pretty much the same but that i not true at all. when i cracked open the hard outer shell on the chopping block the unique design of this coconut peel was revealed