Dreaming of Moonriver in the Garden of the Taj Mahal, Redux

Yet one solitary tear
Would hang on the cheek of time
In the form
Of this white and gleaming Taj Mahal

Rabindranath Tagore

Statement of Purpose: The white marble tomb of the Taj Mahal stands prominently along the Yamuna riverbank, situated on the northern edge of a classic four-fold Mughal garden built in Agra, India in the 17th century. Although legends of a "Black Taj" across the river had long been dismissed, this research examined the archaeological evidence at the garden opposite the Taj Mahal, known as the Mahtab Bagh or "Moonlight Garden." Working as a collaborative team, we sought to determine the landscape architectural aims, layout, components, and meanings at this historic Mughal garden.

In 1995, the Mahtab Bagh comprised a roughly 24-acre rectangular site buried beneath a meter of flood-deposited soils, with fragments of a riverfront wall and corner tower. Residents of three nearby villages cut grass and scrub around the garden, scavenged brick and sandstone building material from the site, and commuted to work across-the Yamuna River by ferry.








This is a new incarnation of a favorite post, that I viewed on Moonriver long ago, that speaks to my love of poetic beauty.

Riding a sphere into paradise

I found this post on Moon River via swissmiss.

Jason Lee: A girl floats inside a sphere on a river on the outskirts of Beijing on May 3, 2007. The ball-shaped device enables people to "walk" on water surfaces.


Who wants to sign up for a bubble ride?

Thinking Blogger Nominations

Princess Haiku was nominated for a Thinking Blogger Award by, Synchronicity of Indeterminacy.

After deliberation, Princess Haiku's unveils her own List of Nominees.
Tangled Up in L'Heure Bleue: The Tales of Bob Dylan's Cat; a gentle, musing, commentary on the joys of everyday life and is a rich archive for information related to the iconic music of Bob Dylan.

Julian Peglar- Journal of a Creativist.This is a new blog that gets my vote for high potential. "I work with many media and so to describe myself as an artist or poet or writer or investor - it just doesn’t cover everything I do. Créativist does. It is all encompassing and it has a certain qualité. Here is a portal through which you can view my ideas and thoughts on the world. I would also be happy to receive comments from others who may find that they too, are a Créativist, in this marvellous and incredible world."

Flowerville-Secret Edition since 1846. The discourse of this blog, written by Antonia is delightfully poetic, erudite and at times even a bit obscure. Part of it's charm is in its mysterious unveiling of secretive thoughts and intuitive mind. This excerpt from a post illustrates this. "This name is connected to some sort of consciousness, some sort of aura. The aura nevertheless has its origin in the words, in the music, but it is transported to the name and therefore the name possesses this aura, it shines."

Blue Tea- Blue Tea is one of the most aesthetically beautiful and intriguing textiles of mythos, art and folklore I have found online. A phrase bluewyvern uses to describe a recent entry on her blog applies to her entire space as well. "..A combination of breathtaking locations, masks, props, a dreamlike palette and a perfect sense of composition to create imaginative, storytelling scenes."

Moon River continues to be one of my favorite blogs. Her space is a cornucopia of maps, fine art, poetry and sophisticated musings belonging to the virtual future. In her description she is, "Night Traveling, Day Dreaming, while Mapping my Escapisms, Tracing Love." Moon River has introduced me to several contemporary artists and the poetry of Fernando Pessoa. Be warned though, Moon River isn't afraid to look at the harsher aspects of reality and sometimes it's a sharp bite. This space can dazzle.

Now, is a blog written by Camille; a woman rising to the challenge of personal transformation. Camille's open-hearted honesty, capacity for insight and care for others are an inspiration to all of us. The prelude to her blog says it all. "Arriving in the town of Santa Cruz CA on a bus, my friend Starling and I decided to take on new identities. I chose the name Camille because in college people had called me a chameleon. I changed my name to Camille, bought a motorcycle and rode down the coast to Los Angeles, where I spent the next year. Many exciting adventures later, some of which I write about in this blog."

Occam's Razor Library: A bibliophile's satirical quest to list all books making reference to the word, "razor." The first thing that comes to mind in describing occam's space is razor wit. In his words, "Anyone know of a good mental institution? No, ... too bad. We'll just keep at it, then."

Rules:

1. If, and only if you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.
3. Optional: Proudly display the Thinking Blogger Award

Because I am aware that some of my blogger friends listed above, prefer to not participate in social interaction, I have nominated a few extra blogs. If your name is above and you want to parlez- Take the tag and run.