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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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

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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...

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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.

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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

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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