Myopic Endeavour

Vision of the Future

2011-11-06T14:03:00.000+05:30

Not all visions of the future need be apocalyptic. Not all apocalypses need look scary and fearsome.

Multiple exposures, with three different colour filters, on a single frame. It's still only a bush. And not quite as tangled as it looks here.

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Lomography La Sardina
Kodak Ultramax 400ISO
2011, At home, Bangalore, India

Split Personality

2011-10-17T00:01:00.000+05:30

They cannot scare me with their empty spaces
Between stars--on stars where no human race is.
I have it in me so much nearer home
To scare myself with my own desert places.

- Robert Frost 'Desert Places'

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Lomography La Sardina
Kodak Ultramax 400ISO
2011, At home, Bangalore, India

The Light Fantastic

2011-10-16T17:59:00.000+05:30

After a hiatus of over two years, this blog is back with a brand new template. Plenty has happened in the interim, not the least of which is my new found love for analog photography courtesy the Lomography movement. Who knew toy cameras could be so addictive.

Today's post is one of my recent experiments with light painting using a Lomo camera.

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Lomography La Sardina
Kodak Ultramax 400ISO
2011, At home, Bangalore, India

Interesting bedfellows...

2009-03-11T18:44:00.005+05:30

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Distance makes for strange collaborations. Ritu and me decided (well, she decided, really and I just played along thinking it would be a fun thing to do), a while back, to collaborate on a daily diptych project. I'd send her an image everyday and she'd add one of her own and post the two to her FlickR page.

And as you can see, above, the fact that we're two very different people in two very different cities with two very different agendas makes for interesting compositions.

The first one was a delightful co-incidence and the second, a study in contrasts.

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For the curious ones- my pictures are on the left, and Ritu's on the right.
To see the live project visit here

Line, colour, texture

2009-03-03T21:05:00.000+05:30

Sometimes it helps to see the whole as a sum of parts. The hard, angular lines and the texture that stands out under a hard mid-day sun combine to create a sort of abstract composition.

The humble, and ubiquitous, transformer is elevated to an entirely different place in the scheme of things...

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Nikon D90, 28-105mm
2009, By the roadside, Toy City, Greater Noida, India.

Tatooed landscape

2006-07-09T14:03:00.000+05:30

The desert, the camels- one and the same. Softly undulatnig mounds, both.

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Illford BW 800ISO
2005, Camel Fair, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India.

The Bride

2006-07-06T14:25:00.000+05:30

As you can see, I'm really having to trawl the archives now. Camera's gone in for servicing and replacement of certain parts damaged in drunken stupor during recent trip to Goa. Though, having said that, pictures of pretty women is something that this photoblog can do with a certain measure of...

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 800ISO
2005, Pune, India.

The doctor's morning secret

2006-05-25T22:41:00.000+05:30

My younger brother once asked me 'How come there's no pictures of me on your blog?'. So I searched my archives for the goofiest, most embarassing picture of him that I could find. This is it- what I call his 'teeth-brushing' expression.

On the other hand, he's a bloody good surgeon. And the best brother I could have wished for... I love you Salil.

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 800ISO
2005, Bombay, India.

Schadenfreude

2006-04-30T16:04:00.000+05:30

scha·den·freu·de (shädn-froid)
Pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.
[German : Schaden, damage (from Middle High German schade, from Old High German scado) + Freude, joy (from Middle High German vreude, from Old High German frewida, from fr, happy).]

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Camels have a sense of humour, methinks

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 100ISO
2005, Pushkar, India

Blue

2006-03-03T21:46:00.000+05:30

And there- on a busy market street- like a portal into Wonderland!

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 100ISO
2005, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India.

Once...

2006-02-23T22:47:00.000+05:30

in bright white battles
they did their time;
Now, mute sentinels,
with each passing moment
they mark it...

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Illford ISO400
2005, Diu Fort, Diu, India.

Like Multi-Coloured Phalii !

2006-02-12T13:27:00.000+05:30

India is a colourful country. More so if you visit Gujarat and Rajasthan- both primarily desert states. The weather's arid for the most part, rainfall is scanty and the terrain is littered with scrub vegetation. The people make up for the drabness by filling their lives with colour. Their clothes, their homes, the streets- everything's vibrant and in your face. You can't help but want to shoot everything you lay your eyes on...

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Vijay Lakshmi Sindoor Bhandaar- makers and roadside sellers of pigments, dyes and other colours... The best Point-of-Purchase publicity I've seen in a long time...

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 100ISO
2005, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India.

A Puppet Portrait

2006-02-07T23:40:00.000+05:30

When one visits a place like Pushkar, a little town teaming with foreign tourists the year round but primarily a pilgrimage centre for Hindus, the last place one expects to be staying in is a little weather-beaten joint called The Pink Floyd Cafe and Hotel! Nonetheless, that is exactly where I stayed!! A charming little place that you must visit if you're ever in Pushkar... If you go in for that kind of thing, each room is named after a Pink Floyd album- mine was called A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Considering I shelled out almost three times what I would've paid in any other hotel at that time of the year, it must've been exactly that!! This puppet was cheerily posing for me in the rooftop cafe, though the fact that she was hanging from the rafters did seem a little morbid...

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Oh, and I've been tagged by George of 'A Daily Photoessay', so-

Four jobs I’ve had:

1. Code Monkey
2. Part-time Computer Assembler
3. Industrial Design Consultant
4. Entrepreuner

Four movies I can watch over and over:

1. Pulp Fiction
2. Life Is Beautiful
3. Ice Age
4. Sholay

Four places I’ve lived:

1. Bombay, India
2. Kodaikanal, India
3. Aurangabad, India
4. Guwahati, India

Four TV shows I love:

1. I
2. don't
3. watch
4. TV

Four places I’ve vacationed:

1. Thimphu, Bhutan
2. Goa, India
3. Pokhra, Nepal
4. Pushkar, India

Four of my favorite dishes:

1. Mincemeat Lasagna (the way I make it)
2. Spicy Bitter Beans Curry with Thalipith (the way my Mum makes it)
3. Blueberry Cheesecake (haven't had a better one since Churchill's in Bombay about 2 years back)
4. Kadhi-Moong ki dal-Rotli (yes Yash, I know I should be dropping in at your place soon)

Four sites I visit daily:

1. Google
2. Myopic Endeavour (well, almost daily)
3. A whole bunch of photoblogs (see photoblogroll in the sidebar)
4. Core77

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. Biking it from Manali to Leh
2. Attending Partha's wedding in Delhi
3. Visiting my brother in the UK (Stoke-on-Trent, charming little town and all that)
4. Working in Bangalore (?)

Four bloggers I am tagging:

1. Ritu
2. Salil
3. Suyog
4. Ajay

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 200ISO
2005, The Pink Floyd Cafe, Pushkar, India

Camel Herder

2006-02-03T18:16:00.000+05:30

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Illford BW, 400ISO
2005, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India.

The Steel Bird

2006-01-23T13:55:00.000+05:30

Sculpted metal
Majestic in repose
Dismissive of lessness
by it's very existence.

Streak of silver
Poetic in motion
Exalting the tar-strip
with it's thunder-run.

The squiggly skid marks
The ponderous approach
belie the grace and beauty
it was made for.
Man's desire
to leave Gaia's womb
reflected in that tense arc -
The orgasm of flight.

What a glorious sight
to see the steel bird fly.

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Kodak Easyshare DX7590
2006, The Bright Blue...

The lake at night

2006-01-03T22:47:00.000+05:30

First off, a very happy, very crazy new year to everyone who's been in the habit of dropping by here. Do take time off from work and blogging to go out there and live real.

A very helpful samaritan (you know who you are) took me by the hand the other day and safely got me across the quagmire that is independant hosting. This blog, in effect, will be shifting to a new domain with a spiffy new template that lets me, and you, do much more with it. And, hopefully, sooner rather than later.

On another note, I came across this very nice link courtesy file magazine, and with my fascination for cows (see here and here if you're a Doubting Thomas) I just have to put it out for anyone who hasn't seen it. Its fascinating how a simple subject transforms into art under the hands of a skilled artist!

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Pushkar lake, late in the night, is a sight for sore eyes. No tourists, none ofthe riff-raff that run up to you and ambush you into buying a trinket or souvenir, no priests, no dogs, no cats. Just the still of the night, the lights, the water and the little hill. A nice place to be. For sore eyes and sore minds.

This one's a longish exposure- about 30 seconds or so. As a result there's a fair amount of colour shifting and the photograph looks nothing like what I actually saw there that night. But that's part of the fun of shooting at night with the shutter wide open...

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 400ISO
2005, Pushkar Lake, Rajasthan, India.

People, Pink and Blue

2005-12-30T23:00:00.000+05:30

Small town niceties;
Little things, really-
An hour or two
chatting up friends
And watching the world go by...

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 100ISO
2005, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India

Tea-time Triptych

2005-12-22T13:49:00.000+05:30

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 100ISO
2005, Ahmedabad-Udaipur Highway, Rajasthan, India.

Shiva and the Technicolour T-Shirt

2005-12-18T17:29:00.000+05:30

So you think only the likes of Nike and Reebok know about merchandise, eh? Well, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present to you Brand India. Or, if you're the finicky type who likes his/ her infobytes to be contexed 'just so', to be more precise Religion conveniently packaged onto a T-shirt...

Forget the outsized tick-mark with the tagline proclaiming loudly Just Do It. For Rs.50 (or just over a dollar, if you prefer to deal in foreign exchange) you could buy yourself a shot of multi-coloured moksha in the form of a beatifically smiling Shiva adorning your T-shirt front...

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 200ISO
2005, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India.

Elephants can't fly... So they hang (?)

2005-12-15T01:41:00.000+05:30

Bel-Totas. That's what they're called. Bel, meaning vine or creeper and Tota, meaning parrot. Roughly translated that would be- a parrot-vine. I know, I know these are elephants. White, at that. Not even remotely green. And no they don't have red trunks either. I can see that as well as you. Humour me please...

The villages around Pushkar have a thriving handicraft cottage industry. Today, that is. Wasn't always so. Was a time when the village women made parrot-vines in their free time. Yes, miniature, stuffed, cloth parrots hung on meters and meters of braided cloth. Decorated them with tassels and tinsels and sequins and bunched them up together to use as screens. To divide the living space inside the house, you know. Why parrots? I don't know. I'm not quite sure they know either or they would have told me. Yes, we asked.

At some point in time someone figured there might be people living in cities who'd want to use bel-tota screens too (don't ask me why, I don't know). And sure enough there were! And a thriving cottage industry was born. Eventually, I'm sure, some of these city dwellers got fed up with all the parrots hanging around their house (who wouldn't?). Couldn't we have something different, they asked. Like other birds, for example. Or better still- not birds. Camels or tigers or what-have-yous. No?

Obviously, the villagers complied. They probably figured they needed the money and I don't blame them. The long and short of it? This fascinating specimen- a vine of hanging elephants. White, at that I know...

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Nikon F75, 70-300mm, 1:4 Macro at 300mm
Fuji 400ISO
2005, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India.

Of facades

2005-12-11T14:56:00.000+05:30

The town of Pushkar, situated around 15kms from the city of Ajmer in Rajasthan, is built around the Pushkar Lake. It is a holy town, of around 12000 inhabitants, and home to several temples- notable among them being the temple of Brahma (one of the Hindu Trinity). A city of temples, naturally, attracts wandering sadhus (Hindu holy men) from all over the country who come here to spend a few days in the company of God.

The sadhus have a very strict code of life. They remain celibate and give up all the worldly pleasures in search of the greater truth. They live off the charity of townsfolk and their determination to live a life of penance and eternal seeking.

Pushkar, unfortunately, also attracts a lot of foreign tourists. Ostensibly in search of the same greater truth but quite incapable of giving up the wordly treasures. The hotel industry caters to their every whim and fancy- drugs, booze, sex- the works. To me, during my stay there, Pushkar smacked of commercialism and all the entrapments that come with it.

This moment, though, seemed too good to miss. Bleached white houses. Deserted street. And a lone sadhu walking towards the bathing ghats in the mid-afternoon heat. Pity, the garment shops lining the street betray what Pushkar has really become. Oh well, nothing's perfect...

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 200ISO
2005, Pushkar, Rajasthan, India.

Of the human mind

2005-12-08T12:58:00.000+05:30

The human mind is a strange thing. Consider this- a grainy, monochrome, macro image of a marigold. Look at it carefully. Let every detail seep in (or as much detail as a grainy, monochrome will allow). Take your time.

Now close your eyes. Try to remember every single marigold you've ever seen. As a child. As a grown up. At home or in the fields. If you've grown up in India it shouldn't be difficult at all. Marigold torans are ubiquitous during weddings, on festival days and in some of the more orthodox households, even on ordinary days like today.

Go back to those moments. Let your mind drift. And watch the colour creep back in. The rich yellows and the deep goldens. Feel the details fill themselves out. The crepe-like petals encircling a heart of miniature towers- fortress like. The marigold in all its splendour- only in your mind's eye.

Truly, the human mind is a strange thing.

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Nikon F75, 70-300mm, 1:2 Macro at 300mm
Illford 400ISO
2005, My workshop at Khatraj, Some 25kms from Ahmedabad.

Check out the do, dude!

2005-11-30T23:01:00.000+05:30

The small town of Pushkar, in eastern Rajasthan, completely transforms itself in early November to a spectacular fair that attracts tourists from the world over. The tourism revenue generated during the fair sustains the local population and takes them through the entire year. The Pushkar Fair is, essentially, two events coming together- the annual exhibition and sale of prize camels (Pushkar's a desert town and camels are much in demand throughout the region) and of course the marriage fair where the camel herder community's decked out in their finest and matches are sought for all their eligible young men and women.

There's colour and festivity all around. And, of course, camels- as decked up as the young brides and grooms to be. There's painted camels, dressed up camels, tatooed camels. Camels of all shapes and sizes and various forms and degrees of adornment.

But this one, I thought, took the cake. It's one thing, you know to do a David Beckham to your hair or shave your Premier League team's name on to your pate. It's another thing altogether when you try the stunt on your hairy deriere (assuming, of course, you've got hair enough back there). This guy seemed pretty happy, though, chewing cud and showing off his rump to the world at large!

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 100ISO
2005, The Camel Fair in Pushkar, Rajasthan, India.

Isn't he a beaut..?!

2005-11-28T10:20:00.000+05:30

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Kodak Easyshare DX7590
2005, My workshop outside Ahmedabad, India.

Some died. Some lived- to see this...

2005-11-19T00:35:00.000+05:30

The monsoons this year were especially unkind. Ahmedabad, and the places around, saw torrential rains beginning late June and continuing well into September. Heavy damage to life and property. The world around things were no different. Katrina, Wilma and all that sort of thing.

But out of every bad thing comes some good. A few days after the last of the heavy rains I came across this flooded brick-kiln on my way back from work. It was a few minutes before sunset and though the sky was blue everything around was tinted a vivid golden. A picture perfect moment, if not a perfect picture.

As I said, out of every bad comes good.

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 100ISO
2005, Ahmedabad, India

Oiled and ready for battle

2005-11-11T12:41:00.000+05:30

Like the oliphaunts of Tolkien's fantastical imagination. An army of fearful size and mammoth proportion.

Reality check- Actually only about 45mm high, carved out of solid teak wood and fresh-sprayed with a coat of melamine finish. Left out to dry before being shipped in bubble wrap. Not that intimidating, really...

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Kodak Easyshare DX7590
Shot in macro mode
2005, My workshop outside Ahmedabad, India.

Hair Art

2005-10-22T00:05:00.000+05:30

A mirror. The usual paraphernalia- shaving kit, scissors and combs. The ubiquitous good luck charms. A quiet corner on a busy thoroughfare. And a bright red board announcing an artist at work. After all what does an artist really need but a discerning patron?!

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 400ISO
2005, Ahmedabad, India

Kids will be kids...

2005-10-18T02:51:00.000+05:30

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 400 ISO
2005, Bombay-Pune Expressway, India

Green, on the beach!

2005-10-17T00:28:00.000+05:30

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 400ISO
2005, Diu, India

(S)nail Paint !

2005-10-12T18:24:00.000+05:30

Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 800ISO
2005, Diu, India.

Dancing in the streets

2005-10-08T18:42:00.000+05:30

Due apologies for being out of the circuit for so long. Work's a bitch, what can I say...

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Right there in the middle of a fairly, if not altogether very, busy thoroughfare and staring me straight in the face so I couldn't ignore it if I tried stood this tacky Plaster of Paris drummer woman thingie in bright red and green. Right there on the little divider that separates the UP lane from the DOWN lane...

Apparently it belongs to no one in the neighbourhood. No one remembers who put it there. It just happened to be there one morning, or so I've been told, and remained there ever since.

Dance anyone...?

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 400ISO
2005, Ahmedabad, India

Walking on...

2005-08-25T19:54:00.000+05:30

Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 800ISO
2005, Nagoa Beach, Diu, India.

Of threads and bonds...

2005-08-22T19:30:00.000+05:30

[Edit] Entry for Photo Friday: BLUR [/Edit]

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Saturday, last, was Raksha Bandhan. Hindu women tie a sacred thread (rakhi) on their brothers' wrist on this day. Symbolic of the bond tieing them together. The brother, in turn, vows to stand by her and protect her for life. There's an old story of how a Rajput queen in Rajasthan sent a rakhi to the Mughal ruler in Delhi, when her state was attacked by a neighbouring kingdom, beseeching him to come to her aid. The sultan, respecting the symbolism of the rakhi, promptly sent a huge army to ward off the invaders. From what I remember, the story had a happy ending. Anyway, it made for good story-telling when we were little.

Raksha Bandhan, this year, brought back memories of my little brother's wedding a couple of months back. A bond sealed, albeit of an altogether different sort. They tied sacred threads on each other's wrists, a miniscule part of an elaborate wedding ritual that made them one, and promised to stay with each other through thick and thin. This one's for them...

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 800ISO
2005, My brother's wedding, Pune, India.

Mangalore tiles, and wet pigeons

2005-08-17T09:21:00.000+05:30

And this one comes with no accompanying text. At least for now. Because I'm down with a really nasty case of flu and I can't get my brain to jump-start this morning.

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Nikon F75, 70-300mm
Fuji 800ISO
2005, The little bungalow behind my office, Ahmedabad, India.

Faerie Lights

2005-08-15T11:00:00.000+05:30

You don't have to search very far or look very long to find beauty in this world.
No..?

Faerie lights always take me back to Diwali and Christmas, when we were children. The entire family would get together once a year and it used to be bonus time for us kids. We were a wild bunch and got into all kinds of mischief, my brother most of all, but Diwali and Christmas are times of good cheer and our parents, more often than not, chose to be leniant and let us have the run of the place. As Alexandra says, and I agree, faerie lights are about warmth and family. Even if they're strewn carelessly on the bed with the express purpose of photographing them, as these obviously are...

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Nikon F75, 70-300mm, 1:2 Macro at 300mm
Fuji 800ISO
2005, In my bedroom, Ahmedabad, India.

Red Spider Lilies

2005-08-14T14:17:00.000+05:30

Once-a-year bloomers, these. A couple of weeks back the one in my garden suddenly decided to show up. Pity it was in the middle of the monsoons and the sky was overcast for the entire week that it was in bloom.

I spent two years of my life in the north-east corner of the country, back when I was around 10 years old. The north-east was virgin territory then, almost unheard of by tourist-folk, and therefore wild and beautiful. And prime orchid country! My mother took a fascination to cultivating orchids at home and over time I was taken in by the wildly eccentric plants that orchids can be. When my mother shifted back to warmer climes she got along with her a whole truckload of cultivated orchids which she tended with much care. But Ahmedabad's not a very kind place for most people, let alone orchids.

While not an orchid, this spider lily has that 'quality' that I find so endearing. A certain eccentricity, if you will...

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Nikon F75, 70-300mm, 1:2 Macro at 300mm
Fuji 800ISO
2005, In my garden, Ahmedabad, India.

Tuk-Tuks

2005-08-04T22:31:00.000+05:30

I've been busy at work these last couple of weeks so I haven't been able to spend as much time here as I would've liked to. But I've been scanning old films, some new ones, processing some pictures and I think I've put together enough material to last me another week or so. So tonight I'll post something that's very close to my heart.

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Tuk-tuks (or chhakdas as they are known in some parts of India), motorcycle bodies mated to a large wooden carrier, are mostly ubiquitous all over the country. Especially so in the more rural areas. They are seen as a cheap alternative to mainstream transportation, and small enough to maneuvre easily on the tiny, winding country roads. Almost all are characterised by intricately painted patterns in bright, often psychedelic, colours. To most Indians the garish designs come across as loud and crass. Nonetheless they seem to be a favourite with those in the 'transportation' industry, since the 'shout-out' colours are a recurring theme even on other mass transport vehicles such as buses, trucks and autorickshaws- not just in India but all over the south and south-east Asian region. And sometimes it takes an outsider to get us to appreciate something that we find repulsive, yet is an integral part of the social fabric.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s Ettore Sottsass, the Italian architect turned industrial designer, made several visits to India as part of the UNDP cultural exchange program. A professor of mine from design school, then a much younger man, travelled with him through parts of northern and central India and they spent long hours discussing the aesthetic as typefied by trucks and tuk-tuks in this part of the world. A significant portion of the discussion focussed on Sottsass' dissatisfaction with the International Style prevalent then and the Post-Bauhaus black-box designs churned out in the US and Europe. He saw something in the irreverant humour and the gross aestheitc of tuk-tuks that we Indians had obviously missed.

A decade later, in 1981, Sottsass and a few associates launched the Memphis Group. Their work, touted by many as more fashion than academia, went a long way in breaking out of the black-box mould that design had gotten into post-Bauhaus. Characterised by bright colours, rich visual texture and a complete disregard for function or propriety, Memphis soon became a fashion statement. While the group disbanded in 1988, Memphis became a watershed period in the history of modern design.

And, as some of us in India like to believe, it all started here with the tuk-tuk.

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 400ISO
2005, Diu, India

Off limits?!

2005-07-16T04:35:00.000+05:30

Diu, a small island on the western tip of India and an overnight journey from Ahmedabad, where I stay, is a former Portuguese colony that retains some of the old world charm even today. I spent a lovely weekend there a few days back, enjoying the sea, sun and sand. And getting pissed drunk at night. And making pictures, of course...! One of the popular tourist attractions in Diu is the fort which once housed the cellular jail- home to several prominent 'reactionaries' during India's freedom struggle.

This odd juxtaposition of elements caught my eye at the entrance to the fort. A 'NO ENTRY' sign, a couple of cannons and several assorted cannon-balls seemingly announcing 'Bugger off! You've no business being here!!' and a stalk of flowers nestling among the cannons as if to say 'Don't take us seriously, we're all about the sun and sand, really...'

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 100ISO
2005, Diu Fort and Cellular Jail, Diu.

Stairway to heaven?

2005-07-11T06:39:00.000+05:30

Just wondering; is this what a stairway to heaven would look like? Framed by an elaborately, and intricately, carved arch and solid, brass-studded, mahogany doors? An ethereal figure-in-white ascending before you as you await your turn, next?

Temples, mosques, churches- all purport to get you closer to heaven, and to God. Do they? Really? Just wondering...

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 400ISO
2005, Jain temple at Khaaraa Kuwa ni Pol, Near Fernandes Bridge, Ahmedabad.

A quiet sunday afternoon in the pols

2005-07-07T23:46:00.000+05:30

The modern city of Ahmedabad was founded, on the banks of the river Sabarmati, by Ahmed Shah Abdali in the year 1142AD or thereabouts. Over centuries the city has changed much, as most cities are wont to, now spanning a good 20 kilometers or so from one end to another; The 52 gates (or Darwaze), which at one time stood sentinels to the outermost periphery of the city's walled defences, now lie battered and buried in the very heart of a city bursting at its seams.

Given the harsh climate (often over 45 degrees celsius in the summer with only a month or so of monsoons in a year) and the lay of the land (leeward side of the mountains and all that) the city has evolved, over centuries, into a tightly woven warp and weft of intertwining, narrow streets called Pols with tightly packed houses bordering each side of the street; the architecture and street planning especially suited to battling the mostly harsh, arid climate. The newer, sattelite townships that have sprung up in recent years, of course, bear no resemblance to the Ahmedabad of old, but that is another matter entirely. The pols have always harboured vibrant, tight knit communities and even today continue to be the throbbing center of commerce and trade in the city. That apart, the way of life as typified by the pol is rapidly on the decline even as several organisations including the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Alliance Francaise have been working for years to restore the pols to their former glory and have the entire walled city declared a World Heritage Site.

Sunday afternoons in the pols, though, tend to be a mostly quiet affair with most of the shops downing their shutters and most people prefering to sit out the afternoon heat in the relative comfort of their homes. This picture was taken on a typical pol sunday as I sat outside a closed shop smoking a cigarette, looking out at the world and it struck me that here in the pols, despite the outward degradation, not much has changed since the days of Ahmed Shah...

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 400ISO
2005, Near Fernandes Bridge, Off Gandhi Road, Ahmedabad.

Idle tears...

2005-07-01T01:17:00.000+05:30

I met this little girl on one of my usual jaunts in the heart of old Ahmedabad. She sat there, comfortably ensconed in her grandfather's lap yet, inexplicably, and inconsolably, crying.

I tried the usual gamut of 'kiddy chatter' to get her attention and, maybe, make her give up the bawling. Nothing worked. Until I took my camera and started fiddling with the controls, that is!

This is a picture of her, tears still wet on her cheeks, but curiosity most certainly aroused. I'd like to think that after I walked away she forgot about crying for a bit.

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 400ISO
2005, Near Fernandes Bridge, Ahmedabad.

Blue and Red, or The Sad Case of God Behind Bars

2005-06-28T01:54:00.000+05:30

Depending on what religion you believe in, or have been brought up to believe in, the concept of God may be, variously-

a. An object of great and superhuman power to be feared, revered and make sacrifices to
b. A benevolent messiah sent to earth to deliver the people from all sin and misery through his own life of utter hardship
c. An omnipresent, all powerful entity who promises eternal heaven, and all the pleasures thereof, in the afterlife to those who follow his tenets faithfully and selflessly
d. Any other definition, as many possibilities of which exist as there are religions in the world

If you've grown up, like I have, to shun organised religion and believe that God is a personal concept to which you may be unable to ascribe a physical form; a concept you may also be reluctant to discuss openly with others of a different opinion then the definition set increases itself to include at least as many more variations as people who have their own personal concept of a God.

But no matter which God you believe in and what powers you ascribe to him/ her/ it, the concept of a God only makes sense to me if it helps people live more amicably with each other regardless of their own individual religious/ spiritual preferences. Most people, however seem to take the opposite view. To them their own God, suitably sanctified by the relevant religious body, stands head and shoulders above all other Gods by virtue of the reason that he is real and the others are not. That he exists while the others are figments of the imagination of misguided people. It is sad to see so many wars fought, and so many people killed, in the name of religion.

We have created, for ourselves, Gods and then put them behind bars; Gods that bind our minds rather than set them free.

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 400ISO
2005, The little shrine just outside Sunday Market, EllisBridge, Ahmedabad.

The world from down there...

2005-06-26T20:37:00.000+05:30

The flower vendor and her little kid- a study in a contrast of priorities. This, I suppose, is what the world looks like from down there.

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 400ISO
2005, Outside the Swaminarayan Temple, Kalupur, Ahmedabad.

The mirror shop

2005-06-25T01:13:00.000+05:30

Caught on film-
A frozen moment,
of waking life, framed,
in a hundred fragments.

No, this isn't one of my pics...! This was taken by the pretty woman from three posts back. But I liked it so much I persuaded her to let me post it here (with due credit, of course). I think she has a wonderful eye for detail. I also think she should take up photography in earnest. But then she has a mind of her own...

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 400ISO
2005, The mirror shop at Sunday Market below Ellisbridge, Ahmedabad, India.

Roothraj Tea Stall

2005-06-23T07:15:00.000+05:30

For sale-

Chai- Rs. 3 (7 cents)
Bun and butter- Rs. 7 (17 cents)
Bun, butter and jam- Rs. 9 (22 cents)

Daily sale-

Chai- Rs. 15,000 ($375)
Bun and butter- Rs. 7000 ($175)
Bun, butter and jam- Rs. 900 ($22.50)

Total daily earning- Rs. 22,900 ($572.50)

Daily expenses-

Milk- Rs. 3000 ($75)
Water- Rs. 1250 ($31.25)
Buns- Rs. 4400 ($110)
Butter- Rs. 4400 ($110)
Jam- Rs. 40 ($1)
Tea Leaves and Sugar- Rs. 500 ($12.50)

Total daily expenses- Rs. 9190 ($229.75)

Overheads-

Bribing the cops to keep his roadside stall safe- Rs. 1000/month or Rs. 33/day (85 cents)

Total daily profit- A whopping Rs. 13,677 ($340) !!
Brilliant economics, that! Maybe I should switch to selling tea by the roadside!!

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 400ISO
2005, At Roothraj Tea Stall, University Road, Ahmedabad, India.

Travel weary

2005-06-12T21:35:00.000+05:30

The entire family was travelling from Mumbai to Pune for my younger brother's wedding. We'd been on the road for well over four hours with numerous breakdowns along the way. First the airconditioning conked, then the fan belt gave way and later one of the tyres was punctured. Everyone was tired, frustrated and just about ready to give up and turn back (figuratively speaking, of course). And then, towards the fag end of the journey when we were about 20 kilometers outside our destination, I looked across from my seat and I saw this. And there, framed in that one moment, was the distilled mood of the entire day.

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 800ISO
2005, Mumbai-Pune Road, India.

Portraiture | Lee

2005-06-08T01:14:00.000+05:30

Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 400 ISO
2005, On the balcony outside my house, Ahmedabad

Rust in peace - Revisited

2005-06-01T22:48:00.000+05:30

This post seems like a long time ago, but guess what..? The bicycle still rusts there..! Talk about longevity. So here's a slightly different viewpoint and mood.

Ahmedabad is a scorching 45°C during the day and I guess that shows somewhat in the picture...

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Nikon F75, 28-105mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2005, Ahmedabad, India

Portrait of a cow

2005-05-21T23:23:00.000+05:30

I started this blog, quite atypically in fact, with a post about the bucolic bovine. Atypical because I've never consciously thought of myself as being especially fascinated by them. Until I wrote that post, that is...

This is 'Cow Revisited' or 'Bovine II' or whatever it is that cathces your fancy... Fact is, it's a sequesl beyond the slightest shred of doubt. And, as sequels go, not particularly up there with the original (though even that may not have been quite so high up either).

Rest assured, though, that there's another cud-chewing post coming up very soon. As far as this blog is concerned the cows have come home...!

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Kodak 100 ISO
2005, About 12 inches from the cow's face, Ahmedabad, India

Big Gods, Little Gods

2005-05-20T17:59:00.000+05:30

White for calm.
Red for anger.
After all, there's all kinds of gods, and you never know which one you might need?!

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Kodak 100 ISO
2005, The little shrine at the sunday-market below Ellisbridge, Ahmedabad, India

Pigeons-on-wing

2005-05-19T03:39:00.000+05:30

In India it would be very difficult indeed to go anywhere at all without bumping into the ubiquitous crow (a little like the ravens in London). As far as Indians are concerned, survival wise, the crow is the winged rat- Living anywhere, and off most anything.

Ahmedabad is one of the few cities in India, however, where this phenomenon is startling by it's absence. Due to the unique topology, and the lifestyle of the people who've made this city their own these last few hundred years, it's the pigeons that have come to rule the roost, so to speak. These thoroughly pesky birds have completely nudged the wily, and hardy, crow out of it's ecological niche here!

Peskyness notwithstanding, there's few sights as enchanting as a bird-on-wing...

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Kodak 400 ISO
2005, Swaminarayan Temple in Kalupur, Ahmedabad, India

Mother

2005-04-06T03:32:00.000+05:30

It's very, very difficult to catch my mother in a casual frame of mind. Perhaps it's a hangover from her days as a hard-nosed woman economist in a mostly-man's-world. This is her, captured in a rare candid moment.

Who says 60 somethings aren't pretty?

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Kodak 400 ISO
2005, Mum's home, Ahmedabad, India

Mundane-ness

2005-04-05T03:27:00.000+05:30

Sometimes an otherwise ordinary night, following an otherwise ordinary day, suddenly transforms into something a little less mundane because of one magical moment; a moment that makes the entire day worth it!

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Kodak 800 ISO
2005, Ahmedabad, India

Palm Psychedelia

2005-01-31T03:23:00.000+05:30

High on Photoshop
And grass
Gives you this!

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Nikon FM10, 35-70mm
Kodak 200 ISO
2004, Mt. Abu, India

Sharded Thread (8/8)

2005-01-19T03:20:00.000+05:30

And the cycle starts over again...

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2005, Ahmedabad, India

Sharded Thread (7/8)

2005-01-19T03:16:00.000+05:30

After all the hard work, a well deserved rest... I`ll sit on my haunches and sip tea...

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2005, Ahmedabad, India

Sharded Thread (6/8)

2005-01-19T03:13:00.000+05:30

Spooling it all in... All that pristine-white yarn transformed by dint of hard work into fuschia coloured glass-shard coated lethal `manja` needs to be spooled on to wooden, metal or, increasingly nowadays, tacky-plastic `firkis` before it can be sold... The colourful firkis serve as point-of-purchase and product rolled into one... It`s a sight to see, all that colour by the roadside...

But these rag-covered, cut and bruised hands tell the real story behind the `manja`... And tell it only too well, I think...

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2005, Ahmedabad, India

Sharded Thread (5/8)

2005-01-19T03:10:00.000+05:30

The process of dyeing the yards and yards of stretched out yarn is probably the most demanding. Coloured dye, organic glue (usually made from rice water) and glass shards are all mixed together as a paste. The bright fuschia colour is ample warning to everyone that handling the material can be potentially dangerous; the glass shards are lethal!

These pair of hands shown here have been hardened through weeks of handling the lethal paste. These people are usually too poor to afford protective gloves or suchlike. Some of them do have rags of old cloth wrapped around their `dyeing` hand to afford some protection, but most of them just live with the cuts and bruises as professional hazards...

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2005, Ahmedabad, India

Sharded Thread (4/8)

2005-01-19T03:05:00.000+05:30

It never ceases to amaze me how surprisingly organised even some of the more unorganised sectors of the industry can be; with clearly defined heirarchy and job profile!

This man, for instance, supervises the entire yarn-stretching process. After the young kid is done walking between the posts laying out the yarn, it`s upto this man to ensure it`s been done right; that the threads are evenly spaced out on the holdfasts and that the yarn is neither too taut or too slack. Only when he`s completely satisfied does the actual dyeing process begin!

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2005, Ahmedabad, India

Sharded Thread (3/8)

2005-01-19T02:57:00.000+05:30

Stretching yarn might seem like childs play, but this young lad walks close to 10 kilometers on an average working day stretching the white yarn between the two wooden posts. He works from seven in the morning till about sundown and earns about Rs.50 (a little over a dollar) for all that...

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2005, Ahmedabad, India

Sharded Thread (2/8)

2005-01-19T02:48:00.000+05:30

White yarn must first be carefully stretched out, each strand carefully spaced away from the other, so that the dyeing is even and fast. Makeshift wooden posts, stuck into the dusty roadside, serve as cheap and efficient fixtures on which to stretch the yarn. Metal pipes, rods, anything long and tubular tied or nailed onto the posts serve as holdfasts so that the yarn doesn`t slip or sag during dyeing.

The gnarled wood adorned with bright coloured powder dye; the worn-smoothnes of the pipes; the twisted wires; the stark white yarn and the well worked hands of the person plying the yarn makes for an interesting combination of textures..!

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2005, Ahmedabad, India

Sharded Thread (1/8)

2005-01-19T02:39:00.000+05:30

Uttarayan is the festival of kites, celebrated in early January throughout India (under various names, depending on the region) to celebrate the change of season. Winter gives way to spring, the direction of the wind changes and suddenly the sky is awash with kites.

This colourful time of the year is a favourite for photographers who want to capture the ebulient spirit and the joi de vivre of Uttarayan. I have tried it on occasion in the past. The colourful, and fanciful, kites; the blaring music; clear blue skies and pleasant weather; people- old and new alike, wallowing in the fun that`s so intrinsic to the festival. It`s the perfect time of the year. This year, for a change, I thought it would be a good idea to document the saga of the manja- the sharded yarn that`s used to fly the kite, rather than the colourful kites or the mood of the moment.

I`d love to have your comments.

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Come Uttarayan and the roadsides are dotted with manja makers. Impromptu roadside set-ups to manufacture manja- the glass shard coated yarn that`s used to fly the kite. The mid-air duels between kite fliers is a sight worth watching with each trying to outfly the other- the winner is the kite that stays flying; the loser, the one with just a cut string in his hand, watching his kite floating away.

Bright coloured dye, glass shards, glue and, of course, yarn. The raw materials that go into making the spools and spools of manja that are consumed during this two day festival.

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2005, Ahmedabad, India

Flirting- In stone | Entry for Moody Monday- Sportive

2005-01-01T02:28:00.000+05:30

[Edit]

Entry for Moody Monday
Sportive: Archaic. Amorous or wanton

[/Edit]

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The step well at Patan, about 130 kilometers north of Ahmedabad, is known as Rani ki Vaav, or `The Queen`s Well`. It consists of a series of steps descending from ground level, in seven tiers, to a natural spring at the bottom.

The historic town of Patan served as the capital of the state of Gujarat for around 600 years, between the 8th and 14th centuries AD, under the Solanki kings. The step well at Patan served as the private bathing pool of Rani Udayamati, the consort of King Bhimadeva, the most illustrious of the Solanki kings.

The walls and pillars, all the way down to the seventh, and lowest, level are adorned with sculptures of gods, godesses and mythological characters from the Hindu pantheon. The coquettish Apsara (or celestial nymph) revelling in her vanity is a recurring motif in a lot of Hindu architecture of that period.

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 400 ISO
2004, Patan, North Gujarat, India

Mustard field

2004-12-29T16:22:00.000+05:30

If you've ever been in a mustard field before you'll know that I took this picture despite an almost 100% chance of coming to greivous bodily harm... I'm talking about the honey bees, of course... ;)

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2004, During a bike trip from Ahmedabad to Modhera, India

Afternoons off

2004-12-18T16:14:00.000+05:30

The Jumma Masjid in Ahmedabad one balmy afternoon. These kids were playing cricket (believe it!) in the mosque, and quite enjoying themselves, until I took out my camera- then everyone wanted themselves photographed. No amount of cajoling could get them to resume their game and they just sat there posing to the camera, talking and laughing amongst themselves and I thought what the hell, here goes...

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2004, Jumma Masjid, Ahmedabad, India

Chai shop and fire hydrant

2004-12-16T15:52:00.000+05:30

Chai, or tea, is a socio-cultural phenomenon in India. 'Let's meet over a cuppa' has a whole different experience connected to it! Most villages, towns and even bustling megapolis' are dotted with roadside vendors selling a decidedly heady version of the brew involving, apart from the ubiquitous tea leves of course, milk and sugar and a host of spices- cardamom, cinnamon, cloves. More often than not these roadside stalls become popular socialising spots for college students and office goers alike.

The real estate scene being what it is, in India, business establishments vye for every available space, eventually taking what they get. But a chai shop around a fire hydrant is a first for me...!

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Pentax ME II Super, 50mm
Kodak 400 ISO
2004, Ahmedabad, India

Can you...

2004-12-05T15:43:00.000+05:30

...imagine us years from today?
Sharing a park bench quietly,
How terribly strange to be seventy.

Old friends
Memory brushes the same years,
Silently sharing the same fears...

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2004, A roadside 'graveyard', Ahmedabad, India

Light play

2004-12-03T13:58:00.000+05:30

Some pictures don't need paragraphs written about them. Not because they're especially evocative or anything, but because they just are!

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 400 ISO
2004, Cafe Mint at Ahmedabad, India

Night Market

2004-12-01T20:17:00.000+05:30

Ahmedabad is a funny town. Or rather, two funny towns. You see, a river runs through it, effectively dividing the city into two halves- the older, more conservative half mostly inhabited by families and businesses that have been there for the last 300 years or so; and the newer, more upmarket half comprising a cosmopolitan demographic of people who've chosen to migrate here in the last 15-20 years or so.

The newer half purports to be hipper and more with it, looking down at the people from the other side of the river as the lesser half. It's funny it should be seen this way because, in my experience, the lesser half is where all the action is; albeit if you go for that kind of action, of course.

While the new town goes to bed around 10pm or so, the little alleyways on the other side of the river are choc-a-bloc with streetside vendors and road-revellers till the wee hours. This streetside meat stall, for example, was shot at midnight and in the background you might just pick up a barber's shop doing brisk business even then!

Me? I'm from the deader half. Go figure...

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 400 ISO
2004, Teen Darwaza, Ahmedabad, India

I love red...

2004-11-20T01:42:00.000+05:30

Red. The colour of blood, of fertility, of life.
The colour of joy and vitality.
The colour of festivity.

This was taken a few days back around Diwali (the Hindu festival of lights). The red-painted clay lamps are filled with oil (or wax) and lit. It's common to find Hindu households lit up with the light of a multitude of lamps during Diwali...

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2004, Outside my home in Ahmedabad, India.

Tiny little catherine wheels...

2004-11-19T22:24:00.000+05:30

A slightly different composition... A little more depth...
This picture, and the one before, were taken in my garden eight feet away from the main door to my house... There's so much beauty in everyday things, if only we're willing to keep our eyes open...!

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Nikon F75, 180mm Macro 1:2
Fuji 400 ISO
2004, The lawn in front of my house in Ahmedabad, India

Lances and shields

2004-11-19T22:21:00.000+05:30

First post after nearly a month... I've used the time, or the lack of it, to move off the streets for a bit and search for moments in my immediate surroundings... It's also been a time of introspection and analysis vis-a-vis my approach to photography, and I think it shows in the overall quality of the pictures...

This shot turned out almost as I'd visualised it. Oh! And this is my very first true macro shot- a huge achievement in itself...!

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Nikon F75, 300mm Macro 1:4
Fuji 400 ISO
2004, The lawn in front of my house in Ahmedabad, India

And the monks live in splendor!

2004-09-21T01:16:00.000+05:30

The opulance and the vibrancy of this place never ceases to amaze me. And to think of it, what you see is supposed to be a dormitory for monks!

The dormitory is part of a sizeable temple complex- the oldest temple of the Swaminarayan sect (a devout and wealthy sect within Hinduism) in the world. The temple complex is located in Kalupur, in the heart of old Ahmedabad, at the start of my favourite 2.5km route. The atmosphere, even early in the morning is always festive and loud and noisy; such a marked contrast from the Jumma Masjid (from a couple of posts back) which is usually the end of my route which is always serene and quiet and calming. Two extremes of the spectrum, you might say...

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2004, Swaminarayan Temple in Kalupur, Ahmedabad, India

Parakeet and blue window

2004-09-21T01:13:00.000+05:30

Compositions are, after all, just visuals...
Colours, textures and mood...

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 200 ISO
2004, Streetside in Ahmedabad, India

The solitary walker

2004-09-21T01:00:00.000+05:30

One of the many bylanes in and around Kalupur, in the heart of old Ahmedabad. Solitary walker, old temple, languid day- seems straight out of a rennaisance painting. Perfect for picture-making!

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Ilford 100 ISO
2004, Ahmedabad, India

Bare Essentials...

2004-09-09T01:50:00.000+05:30

... A datoon and a prayer cap; often that's all a faithful needs!

The Jumma Masjid (or the Friday Mosque) in Ahmedabad never ceases to amaze me. This sight greeted me on my very first visit there- prayer caps and datoons (a kind of low-tech toothbrush made from a neem twig) propped up against many of the multitude of pillars that flank the ablution tank. Apparently it's a regular feature for the devouts to leave these there for a few hours until the next time they have need for it...

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2004, Jumma Masjid in Ahmedabad, India

White on white

2004-09-09T01:49:00.000+05:30

What more is there to say?

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2004, Streetside in Ahmedabad, India

Rust in peace

2004-09-08T21:46:00.000+05:30

A rusty bicycle leaning on a dusty wall bordering a forgotten alley that leads to a cul-de-sac... How lonesome is that?

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2004, Ahmedabad, India

Looking up...

2004-09-08T21:45:00.000+05:30

The skyline looks so different when you're looking up from a narrow alley. A frequent haunt of mine, early on Sunday mornings, is a charming 2.5km route in the heart of old Ahmedabad. The streets are narrow, the marketplaces quaint and the people, more often than not, curious about the comings and goings of a tall, gangly man more interested in just being there than actually taking any pictures.

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Nikon F75, 28-110mm
Fuji 100 ISO
2004, Ahmedabad, India

Patterns

2004-07-02T23:58:00.000+05:30

And the pattern still remains
On the wall where darkness fell,
And it's fitting that it should,
For in darkness I must dwell.
Like the color of my skin,
Or the day that I grow old,
My life is made of patterns
That can scarcely be controlled.

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Nikon FM10, 35-70mm
Kodak 200 ISO
2002, In my house in Bombay, India

Graffiti- Indian Style

2004-06-24T23:18:00.000+05:30

On a languid Easter weekend morning, strolling along a little-used pathway that runs all around the solitary lake in a small hill town of western India I found this- the wise utterings, of some sage or the other, scrawled, on the whitewashed walls of an otherwise ordinary house, in brick-red paint for posterity- or at least as long as the next monsoons...!

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Nikon FM10, 35-70mm
Kodak 200 ISO
2004, Mount Abu, India

Puppet on a string

2004-06-23T21:01:00.000+05:30

How often have we felt like puppets on a string, pulled this way and that...? This one seemed to be asking me the point of it all...

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Nikon FM10, 35-70mm
Kodak 200 ISO
1996, At a marketplace in Kathmandu, Nepal

Speed thrills...!

2004-06-23T20:57:00.000+05:30

Schumacher or Average Joe, no matter who you are, you've probably dreamt of your one moment of insane speed- wind in your hair, the ground rushing by beneath you and the adrenaline surging through your veins.

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Nikon FM10, 35-70mm
Kodak 200 ISO
2002, At a kart track in Bombay, India

Father, son and holy goat...!

2004-06-21T23:17:00.001+05:30

This picture was taken at 6.30 in the morning in a small village outside Pondicherry, in the south of India. Father and son were out, together, grazing their solitary goat. It struck me that the trio were probably representative of life in rural India, where families own few resources and survival is often the difficult way out. The look in the little boy`s eyes, to me, says it all...

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Pentax ME II Super, 50mm
Ilford 800 ISO
2004, Pondicherry, India

Beach-front Cafe

2004-06-20T12:32:00.000+05:30

The view from a quiet beachfront cafe in Pondicherry conveys the lazy mood of the afternoon complete with a high contrast azure and white sky, people-less streets and one solitary observer lost in his own thoughts...

Pondicherry, for the most part, is a quaint and quiet little Union Territory on the south-east coast of India, a few hours north of Chennai. Though this picture could've been shot just about anywhere in the world, it's the epitome of the typical Pondicherry afternoon.

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Pentax ME II Super, 50mm
Kodak 400 ISO
2004, Pondicherry, India

Some invoke the elephant-headed god, I prefer bovines.

2004-06-19T13:38:00.000+05:30

Hurried as this attempt may be at setting up a photoblog, it'll have to do... It seems fitting to start off with one of my obsessions- cows. Thankfully Ahmedabad, where I stay, has an overabundance of the bovines!

Cows are revered and worshipped by some, others see them as a nuisance on the roads. I see them as the very picture of tranquility, idling away their time while they languidly chew their cud oblivious of the world around them. It takes a lot to make the average Indian road cow get moving...!

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Pentax ME II Super, 50mm
Kodak 400 ISO
2004, Ahmedabad, India