Indra Anandasabapathy in Sri Lanka

A few of us met Indra at a dinner hosted by Senarat and Hemantha Jayatilake last evening.

L - R: Sanath, Hemantha, Senerat, Pram, Mangala, Lucky, Indra

Another e-mail from Najma

I received another message from Najma

Dr. Farouk Mahmoud	10:41 (3 hours ago)
to me

Thank you.i too can't believe it.so the Farook/Najma is no more.im sure it will hit me in a few days.funeral today at 1pm in london.

Najma

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In case you want to send an e-mail to her, Najma's e-mail address is the same as Farouk's. It's:

drfaroukmahmoud@hotmail.com

Sad News

I was shocked to receive this e-mail from Najma (wife of Farouk Mahmoud).

Dr. Farouk Mahmoud	22:32 (9 hours ago)
to me

Just to let you know that farouk mahmoud passed away peacefully today 27th November at 2.45 pm in london.

His funeral will be in london tomorrow.prayers will be conducted in Sri Lanka tomorrow at his sisters.

103,Ravenscourt rd,Hammersmith london w6ouj.

Mobile 00447491802332

Thanks,

Najma mahmood

Creative Spot by Mahendra (Speedy) Gonsalkorale

I composed and played this song exactly one year ago on my then Tyros 4.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3YguYSkL2M

Speedy

Creative Spot by Mahendra (Speedy) Gonsalkorale

This is my latest musical composition on my Yamaha Tyros 5.

It is based on the poem "Tears" written by Polish Poet Magdalena Podobinska with whom I have collaborated before.

Please click on link given and NOT on the picture to start the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIvVhpf6Z_Y

The incomparable Beauty of Autumn

“No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face."

― John Donne

I am sure these photos will be appreciated by our discerning colleagues. This was prompted after reading Razaque's last post. Autumn in England is time of continually changing panorama of beautiful colours. Of course this is also the case in many other countries and one of my most vivid recollections of autumnal beauty was at Central Park in New York a few years ago. They call it Fall of course - very appropriate after the Fall in grace of the US people following the Rise of Trump!

Creative Spot by Razaque Ahamat

The changing weather scenes.

Weathers may come, weathers may go on for ever but we do not go on for ever. We have a finite life span. In that period we should enjoy what the different Seasons bring .It shows show us in their true colours to enjoy & appreciate the natures wonders that we tend to take for granted & care less about it.

I am posting changes that take place in some plants in my own garden. In fact Scotland, Perthshire being so up North, in particular is very prone to these changes when compared to the rest of UK and of course places like Sri Lanka-- very tropical and NZ, at 'the edge of world' where everything seem to be somewhat inverted and not so colourful..... of course Rohini Ana will go to war to defend her "corner" of the world!!!.

I am starting with some shots of a few plants that are most prone to weather changes & one particular plant where I had to 'go with the grain' & take advantage of its profuse growth to create an 'Archway' leading on to the 'Pathway' that leads to my home.

On one shot my 'BIRD' is bringing  'the bacon home'--- carrying heavy shopping, through the archway that I created. She is used to carrying heavy loads...... you know!!!. Now, Now..... behave yourself & banish those unsavoury thoughts. I was only meaning that in her three pregnancies, my older daughter was 8lbs.+, my son was 9lbs.+, & my twins were 6.5lbs.EACH. That is carrying heavy loads by any standards!!!!.

The first few shots were taken in the Summer and progressing through on to glorious Autumn. The last few shots are some Acers I have in my garden.

Hope you enjoy & appreciate the progressive changes in colours of the foliage.

The first few shots are taken in Summer
One is my 'Bird bringing the Bacon home'.
The rest are progressing on to Autumn.
The last few are some Acers in my garden.
Can anyone guess what the other plant is???.

A comparison of two photographs

Creative Spot by Zita Perera Subasinghe

Photography, the Story

 The oldest surviving photograph

Photography is the process of using light or other electromagnetic radiation to capture an image of a subject in front of the observer and recording it in a device using lenses and any other focussing method so that the record of the image is cast on a surface impregnated or painted with a light sensitive substance and where the image which can be fixed and duplicated for the purpose of preserving it for the future and also for spreading the message to others for information and entertainment.

Photography: The word photo came from Greek phos to mean light and graphy the art of ‘drawing’ with light. It is both a science and an art.

History: Long before modern photography, Chinese philosopher Mo Ti (also written Mozi) in and Greek mathematicians Aristotle and Euclid described a pinhole camera in the 5^th Century BC ^[1]. But it was not until 6^th Century AD that the Byzantine mathematician Anthemius of Tralles used a type of camera obscura in his experiments using the observation that some substances are visibly altered by exposure to light. Initially nobody thought of bringing these two phenomena together until around 1800, when Thomas Wedgwood made the first reliably documented although unsuccessful attempt. In the mid-1820s, Nicéphore Niépce succeeded, but several days of exposure in the camera were required and earliest results were very crude.

Niépce's associate Louis Daguerre went on to develop the daguerreotype process, the first publicly announced photographic process, which required only minutes of exposure in the camera and produced clear, finely detailed results. It was commercially introduced in 1839, date generally accepted as the birth year of practical photography.^[2]

Metal-based daguerreotype process soon had some competition from the paper-based collotypenegative and salt print processes invented by William Henry Fox Talbot.

Subsequent innovations reduced the required camera exposure time from minutes to seconds and eventually to a small fraction of a second.

Introduction of new photographic media which were more economical, sensitive or convenient, including roll films was the next advance. This enabled its casual use by amateurs. It was now made possible to take pictures in natural colour as well as in black and white.

The commercial introduction of computer-based electronic digital cameras in the 1990s soon revolutionized photography. As a result traditional film-based photochemical methods were increasingly marginalized and image quality of moderately priced digital cameras was continually improved.

You’ll find below two good examples of how old photos of get-togethers of Batch’62 bring back memories. Talking about it alone wouldn’t be the same!

Sent by Zita PereraSubasinghe

with technical help from Mahendra Gonsalkorale.

References:

(1)http://www.sennhs.org/ourpages/auto/2013/4/1/41446028/The%20Birth%20of%20Cameras.pdf

(2)The BBC radio, Wikipedia, and other Internet sites

Creative Spot by Indra Anandasabapathy

The Harvest

Creative Spot by Srianee (Bunter) Fernando Dias

Srianee had been inspired to write this very short poem while sitting on a beach on the Long Island Sound. The photo is also one she had taken on the same beach in Madison, Connecticut. As you can see, the markings on the rocks are beautiful. This is probably just the second poem Srianee had ever written in her life! She is modest in declaring that she doesn’t consider herself a poet at all, but nevertheless, thought it was worth sharing it with her friends.

Rocks on the Beach

The ocean is life 

At times turbulent and unpredictable

Tossing us to smithereens on its unforgiving waves

Some of us learn to ride the waves with the grace of a ballerina

Others succumb to its merciless fury

Most of us survive like these rocks on the beach

With our rough edges smoothened out over time.