Before I start this post, I have some questions for you. When was the last time you think a miracle occurred in your life? Another question that I would ask, at times when you are highly annoyed by this or that in life, which is that place you go to? In other words, what do you really do to cool off your head? The terrace-top has always been one of my favourite places that makes me feel comfortable and feel free. Maybe because there’s only the open sky above my head and it reminds me of free thinking and freedom, or maybe because there’s always air blowing there, and the feeling of air hissing on my hair with my eyes closed gives me a Zen feeling about life.
Now, let’s travel back to the summers of 2010 when a small incident took place. I had gone home on one of the semester breaks after my Engineering studies. My grades in one of the subjects hadn’t come out very well. Not that, that I was a topper whole of my life, ð but parents have heavy hopes from their children (and I think it’s true all over the World, isn’t it?), and so I got a good scolding from my mom and in the process I had lost my temper and I badly needed to go somewhere away to cool my head off. A cultural cue here: In India, youngsters have deep respect for their parents and so, it’s very unlikely that someone will shout back at his/her parents. As the terrace was the only place I could go and have some free thoughts, I went away. I sat there for about an hour, when suddenly a “Miracle” happened.
Beautiful dragonflies started circling over my head and gradually the terrace was filled with hundreds of them. For all those people who might have read Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist“, will surely understand what I am about to say. All these beautiful, tiny creatures seemed to be good “omens” to me. I was more surprised because dragonflies, which otherwise are skittish and fly away the moment you try to make a connect, had started playing with me. And in the process, I had forgotten everything about my altercations with my mom. I quickly ran downstairs and brought my sister’s DSLR. These jittery angels were still there, although quite curious about the newbie, the black-bodied instrument on my other hand. I finally managed to make a wonderful connect with one of them and get this shot.
And as they say, patience and timing are two key things you need to get good shots, I tried my best to give my best. You will be quite amazed, or maybe even shocked to know that I was on my toes for a continuous 8 minutes to get the above shot. More-so, I was standing on the top of a stack of shaky bricks, which would at any moment send me to the hospital with a fractured leg. I am sure, I somehow acquired the tenacity of a Yogi during those 8 minutes. ð But, as they say, some things are just worth it!! I just hope my mom doesn’t read this because I am sure, this time it will be her who will want to send me to the hospital, if she gets to know the behind-the-scene story ð
For all those still wondering why I named this post, “The Miracle“, I think a day that was so worse and it changing to a day where you felt bright sunshine come into your life, I think that definitely has all the ingredients for it to be called a miracle. Moreover, you must have noticed in all my posts until now, I try to throw-in a cultural cue. Hehe, maybe today I would like to end by saying that most of the Indian moms are very strict (and, you definitely have to score some really good marks to keep them happy all the time. Damn!) ð
Hopping Across Cultures 
Nice one Anku! Really enjoyed it!!
Thank you so much! Glad you liked it so much ð
Very nice story! It let me think about the “Peter Pan” adventures!
Hehe, ‘Peter Pan’ and this post, what a contrast ð
Fabulous picture!
Thank you so much ð
Wowwwee…those pics are awesome dude.
Thanks ! ð
Absolute stunning post, and astoundingly beautiful images!! Very impressive! Aye a miracle indeed. The dragonfly poised on your fingers just leaves me in awe. Aye, I know the feeling of tenaciously going at it in the most awkward of circumstances for a photo- the “I will stop at NOTHING!” feeling, ha, ha, and always worth it. Many times I have contorted into the most painful positions for endless minutes, clambered onto very unstable crumbling foundations or rotting vegetation on the side of a gully, climbing way up in trees, and so on- risking serious injury, but so worth it. And yes, somehow, the photographer manages to hang on with a tenacity, despite all odds, just to capture that miracle. Well done!! I am very inspired. Lovely post!
Risking death by lightning strike was my latest- but indeed it was worth it! P.S. I am so glad a very emotionally tolling day converted into a miraculous one of the stunning beauty and wonder of nature. So often it happens with me too. All I have to do is step outside, become aware of the natural world all around, and I start to behold miracles indeed. The other night before a storm I was astounded to have charmed a butterfly, or the butterfly charmed me, into resting on my hand. I got no photo but the memory remains. Many cheers to you!
-Autumn Jade
I am enamoured by your use of such impressive words and vocabulary to appreciate my work. Thank you so much, Sir.
I am simply impressed ð
Cheers !
There is so much in that photograph, and its explanation – takes my breath away. THANKS!
Thank you so much! ð
amazing photo…well done
Thanks ð
Beautiful! the way you have written your post makes the picture fascinating.
So glad you enjoyed! Thanks ð
Beautiful post; and stunning photographs. Thanks for stopping by my blog too. Always keep on the right side of Mums!
Hahahaha ð Your comment’s kinda funny! And yeah, I definitely will always be on that ‘right side’ ð
this pic is really cool!
Hehe, thanks ð
What wonderful pictures and a lovely post to go with it – mothers can be formidable, in any culture, and no matter how old we get, they always know how to make us feel small and in the wrong again (even when we aren’t). So glad the dragonflies decided to stop by and cheer you up. Thanks for visiting my post and liking it the other day.
So true ð Moms will be moms, no matter what culture or society it be. You have such an amazing blog. It was a pleasure reading your posts. I enjoyed them ð
Thank you very much! I’m sure I shall be visiting yours frequently in the future:)
This is so beautiful! Thanks for sharing. I am glad you made me find your blog ð
Ahh, that’s so kind of you. Angus, you’ve such a cool name!! Have you watched the movie ‘The Water Horse : Legend of the Deep’. The main character’s name is also Angus McMorrow. I so much love the movie. Thank you once again. The pleasure’s actually mine ð
I will pass your compliment on to Bee who came up with my name ð No, I haven’t watched that movie yet. It sounds as if it’s worth watching though. Take care, Angus
You sure should watch that movie. You’ll love it ð
What a wonderful post! I stopped to think what the last miracle in my life was… and I remember lying on a terrace a few nights ago when all of a sudden a bright light began to move across the sky. At first I thought it was a shooting star, but then it began to slow down and move in all kinds of different directions until it whisked into the night. It wasn’t a plane, or a shooting star, or a satellite… but I just felt happy to have seen it.
Good omens for those who follow their hearts!
Peace, brother ð
While reading your comment above, I wondered if it was the ‘Aurora Borealis’, but that will be true only if you are living near the South pole. But, I am so glad that even you have such a pleasant connection with the terrace and peace. Maybe we recognise good omens, hehe ð
Thanks for the kind words, brother !!
I happen to feel the pain of bugs when they struggle. Sounds crazy. I believe in the miracles animals big or small, including insects, can bestow upon us. They are less than “human” but more like God. Today, while walking, I saved two struggling worms caught on the cement sidewalk. Anytime a little bug comes in my house, I save it as best I can, and release it back to nature. Lovely post, and you have a beautiful mind. Beautiful minds make the world a beautiful place. “High marks,” do not.
True, so true !!
Philosophy AND photography! Cool… And, always listen to your mum (mom).
Hehe, my Momma’s an expert in making me listen to her. She knows the tricks of trade pretty well ð
Thank you so much for your time and comments. Appreciate that!
Reblogged this on The Three G's.
Thank you so much !
Awesome pix!
beautiful
Great photos and great poems are worth the risk, my friend. What a wonderful photo!!!!
Pingback: The Miracle (incredible photo and story!) « Ink Pastries
That you got that picture at all is a miracle! Amazing the things that remind us of the real things in life and help us get over our anger and other issues. Thank you for dropping by my blog and liking my posts. Angie ð
aloha Ankur Sharma. miracles to me are always everywhere, whether i am aware of them or not. if i open my awareness even just a little i become aware in the flash of a moment that everything has about it a miracle. and that is true whether i become aware of the miracle or not.
one of the places i find i like to go when i’ve become unsettled is into creating. when i step into creating i become lost in a peacefulness much as you describe your terrace. it’s also true that there are physical places on this planet that are extremely conducive to me finding a peace – again, i just have to open my awareness up to find this peace within a place. what amazes me is that i ever allow this awareness to lapse. aloha.
Oh that’s so true, sir! And, I would definitely agree to what you say. Even I feel, miracles can be felt more if you have a creative streak inside you. Because as you create a beauty, be it art or a piece of music, that miracle heals the inner soul and transforms all that valuable energy into bringing the best out of oneself.
Cheers!
VERY nice shot, Ankur! Superb balance of light and composition in a lighting situation, that is by its very nature, very difficult. Even more, your thougths are as beautiful as the picture itself. Bravo! troy@thedeathofonlinedating
Ankur thank you for visiting me… I keep looking at the special photo up in your blog it is amazing
Beautiful!
Thank you for stopping by my blog!
Great post great images beautiful i want to say so much but don’t have words to say…and that is a totally good thing ð
Great photos, great story. If you can get great shots like that standing on a pile of shaky bricks, think what you’ll be able to do standing on firm ground!
Get those grades up and make your mom happy! : )
I loved this post, truly beautiful. Dragonflies have magical and otherworldly powers so you experienced a miracle in more ways then one. Sometimes things are sent to show us the way and the purpose when we feel we have lost it.
Wow, thank you for stopping by my blog because now I have the pleasure of meeting you here. And not only is my jaw dropping at your incredible photography but, I promise that I tell the truth when I say… that two words that have been popping into my head all week are 1.miracle, 2. dragonfly. The reason for these words appearing must be because of you?!! Thank you for making my day. Michele
That’s so kind of you, Michele!
it’s rather unusual humans have no fears of dragongflys. we usually don’t like insects of anykind, ranging from the harmless ant to the harmful malaria-carrying mosquito. but there’s an attraction to a dragonfly (even considering it’s firey name) as much as butterflys and ladybugs, some kind of magic/wonder/mythology even outsripping those characteristics attributable to human beings. your photos are wonderfilled and your words prosaic.
My son is also studying engineering. I’m glad you liked the post, and are so respectful to your Mom. Thank you for sharing about how you found your miracle.
Highly creative photography. You can use this effect to tell many different stories.
Certainly amazing and miraculous. Your Indian Mom’s have a lot to be proud of! Yes I too take things like the dragon fly and butterflies as positive omens. You are very talented and sensitive soul.
Much love,
Sindy
Holy Cow!! I just opened your website to thank you for your beautiful comments, and immediately a song started playing. You won’t believe me, I started closing all my windows here thinking my computer’s RAM gonna crash. Oh mother of Christ !! Hahhahaha…man’o man! that was shocking!! ð
I am sorry, the music can jar you or throw you off. I have considered removing it but I get mostly positive feedback so I haven’t lol. Your blog is amazing.
Oh no no, ma’am. I ‘LOVED’ the music from my heart. I like these kind of music. It has some kinda rhythmic soul to it, and that’s so pleasing to hear. It’s only that your blog is one in thousands that I come across. And the ‘beginning part’ of that music is so strikingly similar to a hard-disk crash, hehe ð I hope you didn’t mind that! Your blog is so amazing too!
Lol no I did not mind. I was apologizing for the scare…I can imagine your heart raced thinking your computer was in jeopardy.
I really enjoyed this post! Thank you.
Hi Ankur………..thanks for stopping by “Unwalled” and liking my post “Celebrating Bahamian Praise – (5)”. I like this post and your photos are amazing……all the best………KIm
liked the photo and your straight from the heart style of writing, keep it coming
Fell in love with the dragonfly photos and your intentions. Thanks for visiting my blog.
Great post. Beautiful photos. Sometimes the struggle (for me) is just to recognise those miracles….
Amazing pic!!! Definitely a miracle in my book! The Alchemist is one of my favorite books and Paulo Coehlo is one of my favorite authors. I have a special connections to dragon flies as well. They often play with me too and I connected with them on a day like you are describing. Thank you so much for sharing the beauty and they story… and for liking my blog! Namaste.
Hello Ankur,
Found your posting on MonkeyChi-MonkeyDo – Becky Jaines website. In the Native American tradition, they say to pay attention to your “Medicine” – it is when nature is speaking to you. So when an animal or insect comes so obviously to speak to you, search for the message they are wanting to give you by looking up their “totem.” Dragonfly “totem” represents “giving up habits that don’t support you and a two year transformation.” Perhaps it all has something to do with your grades. ð
Wanted to share my own butterfly story with you. Cheers! Cecilia
This butterfly landed on my skirt at a restaurant I was in the other night it was utterly delightful! As I walked out the door, I gently shooed him away, but he flew up and landed on my finger. Didnât know what to do with him, so he took the ride home with me in the car.
I put him on a bush outside of the house, or so I thought. I went inside to use the restroom before heading out for an evening walk, and he was flying around inside the bathroom!
He jumped back on my finger and then joined me on my walk. It was really windy, but he stayed glued to me the whole time. Heading to bed he was still on the tip of my finger. That’s when this photo was taken. Waking in the morning, he was still with me. Went to the bakery and still he hung on, now spreading his wings as if he was a ring on my finger. Which was fun as I got to show the children in the store who oohed and aah-ed, over this live beautiful âringâ? I had.
When I got back in the car he started to fly around so I opened the window and he finally flew away. It was one of the most precious moments of my life. Sheer joy.
Butterfly Totem: Transmutation, Dance of Joy
The butterfly is the symbol of change, joy and color. It is the symbol of the soul.
They remind us that life is a dance, not to take things quite so seriously.⨠They also remind us to get up and move. Dance brings the sweetness of life.
Butterflies bring color and joy to your life. Look at them and remember what joy is in your life, if its a lot or a little, it is still joy. They teach us that growth and transformation does not have to traumatic; â¨it can occur gently, sweetly, joyfully.
My Father had passed away 5 years ago today. The weekend he died, there were 100âs of butterflies in migration all around us. Think I was visited.
Good post. I like the combination of image and words. My favourite place to go when the world is coming in is the woodland where I sit under a tree, even when it is raining, and watch the light filtering through the branches. Just a shaggy old tree-hugger at heart, but each time is a little miracle!
So delicate. To be able to touch nature in this way…and photograph it, is a gift; not only to you but to us all. Jen
Gorgeous photographs and well-written stories really grab the reader’s attention.
And thanks for visiting my blog!
Beautiful!
Very beautiful post, Ankur. That picture is so inspiring. I’m glad your terrace does to you what swimming in the ocean does to me ð Loving my days on Keralan beaches at the moment ð
Today, your photography- and the dragonflies- are the little miracle to encourage and cheer me. Dragonflies have been present in three different forms on three separate occasions in the past two weeks, the third being just now through your brilliant post and photography. I have read this about what the dragonfly represents: “The dragonfly, in almost every part of the world symbolizes change and change in the perspective of self realization; and the kind of change that has its source in mental and emotional maturity and the understanding of the deeper meaning of life.”
As I continue to walk a different path in my own life, I marvel at the inspiration I find from people, like you, all around the world!
Oh, such heavy and beautiful words. Thank you so much! ð
Best photo so far I see in the entire month! Super like this one! Worth the trouble, even If U did go to hospital, I think still worth it to get this photo! *not that I curse U… no! ð Greetings and thank you for visiting me ð
Hehe, thanks ð
A simple story with profound beauty!
I tried to like this post, but it doesn’t work for me for some reason. At any rate, I actually had a similar experience with dragonflies in a park in Tokyo once. I am all about the small miracles.
Awesome photographs.
Stunning photos! Definitely a miracle and it takes a gentle, intuitive soul to recognize that
amazing pictures and a very well written article. Keep up the good work