A Slice of Art and Design

I received these images by email. The mail did not carry any credits to photographer. I believe and you will agree that due credit should be given to both the photographer and the Creator. What comes next to my mind is the phrase...... Incredible India! Doodhsagar waterfal Doodhsagar waterfall, Goa A fisihing Village in Konkan Amboli Ghat Back Water in Ratnagiri Betul nuts drying on roofs Bhimashankar cliffs in karjat Caves in Ladghar Ganpatiphule beach Jog falls Kashedi ghat Khumbarli Ghat Malvan Marleshwar waterfall in Sangameshwar Mumbai - Goa Paddy fields in konkan Paddy fields Pune to Shrivardhan bus Rice fields in chiplun Road to Konkan from Satara Tamhini ghat Typical village in Konkan Varandha ghat Varandha ghat Varandha ghat View from Kashedi ghat Water falls on the way to Mahableshwar on Konkan side Yana rocks sirsi

In my series on malls of Dubai, this post is about the Mercato Mall. The Jumeirah road is one of the most upscale streets of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is part of one of the fastest growing and probably the most prestigious residential and retail districts which houses several hotels resort and private residential properties. On one end of the road is “Souk Madinat Jumeirah” which I have described in my earlier post. That one is based on the traditional Arab Islamic souk concept. The Mercato on the other hand is with Italian, French and Spanish flavors and the literal translation of this Italian word (Mercato) is “Market”. Looking back at history we see centuries ago, peasants would bring their produce and goods for trade to the Mercato. As time passed and the concept grew popularity the shops became permanent features. The place started to gain social importance in the sense of community living. People used to meet for coffee and chatted for hours while all the shops started t...

  09.09.09 has been a Red Letter day in the history of UAE and particularly for the people of Dubai, the day when Dubai metro was officially inaugurated and it was formally opened to the public the next day. The media and the citizens of Dubai gave a double thumps up by flocking to have a ride on the brand new mode of transport. This also provided an apt opportunity for the authorities to prove ... if we promise we deliver! After all actions speaks louder than words! The date was well in advance and while the residents debated and argued about the feasibility of this milestone, RTA saw to it that no stone remained unturned to achieve this feat. The commitment has been honored, at least to a good great extent and we shall wait for 10.10.10 to see the metro fully operational in all directions and stopping at all stations. When the Dubai metro was conceptualized, the economic situation on ground was much different than what we see now. The current economic downturn, rightly ter...

A few days back I took the metro to go to the bank and once inside the NRI (Non Resident Indian) section I was quite astonished to see a brand new advertisement on display. It has used a metro station as the symbol of Dubai while the Taj Mahal remained the emblem of India. This actually opens up an interesting topic of finding a permanent symbol for a city which is changing so fast and so much. I have observed quite a few symbols that signified Dubai over the past few years. The two most popular of all has been the Dubai Creek Golf Club and the Burj Al Arab. While the golf club found its place in the twenty (20) Dirham currency bill, the Burj Al Arab could be noticed in the car license plates. But soon new contenders to take the pride of symbolizing Dubai started to appear in the fast changing horizons of the Dubai sky while the earlier ones struggled to retain their positions with their share of diehard admirers. There are plenty of iconic structures, but the most famous ones which m...