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...

_____

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

Read more »

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

_____

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

Read more »

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!

_____

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

Read more »

... 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...

_____

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

Read more »

What more is there to say?

_____

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

Read more »

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

_____

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

Read more »

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.

_____

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

Read more »

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.

_____

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

Read more »

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...!

_____

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

Read more »

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...

_____

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

Read more »

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.

_____

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

Read more »

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...

_____

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

Read more »

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.

______

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

Read more »

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...!

_____

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

Read more »