We celebrated Sarim’s first birthday twice (yes we were THAT happy about it!). Since it was the first birthday and traditionally it needs to be a big occasion, we had to arrange the actual party on a weekend (to allow the 100 odd guests to actually be able to attend the tea party). So on new year’s day, we had a very small gathering at home for a quick cake cutting thing.
There was a wall decorated with home made banners and balloons while Sarim dressed up in a silver sherwani (and a matching cap) which I wore on MY first birthday 
The food was great and we spent more time eating than taking pictures, but over all the whole thing went very well. Sarim enjoyed dressing up in the fancy sherwani even though it was a bit stiff. He took the cap off mid way through the evening but it still looked quite ok.
Here are the rest of the pics from the evening.
… whispers; playing games with my mind
Continuing from the previous entry on similar subject, here is the best of 2010 featuring Sarim while he starts his second year!
‘Royal Mosque’, when literally translated, is the most well recognized Mughal era landmark in Lahore. Dating back to 1673 when completed by Emperor Aurangzeb as the largest mosque in the world. It held this title till as recently as 1986 when overtaken by Faisal Mosque built in Islamabad (apparently we have the distinction of having 2 of the largest 5 mosques in the world today).
I went there with Sara for a casual shoot, both of us trying out our newly acquired gear moments before the Sun hit the deck. It was a mixed experience as the colors of the limestone building of the mosque were truly majestic, but the crowd and the ‘picnic’ atmosphere inside the courtyard was a bit too much to bear. Although I still think its the kind of place which can produce interesting candid street closeups with a long telephoto.
For a complete history lesson, please refer to Badshahi Mosque article on Wikipedia.
Images from the relatively well preserved Roman ruins at Sabratha, few kilometers out of Tripoli.
Driving on the main ring road from Tripoli city center outwards to west, you arrive at the small town of Sabratha within 45 to 50 minutes. The drive is quite easy and normally uneventful and the town is so ordinary that you might even miss it. We drove through the town twice to actually find the correct right turn which takes us to the ruins.
The small Roman town was laid on the Mediterranean sea and was presumably connected to Roman empire through the sea.
“In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.” Aaron Rose
