Me, through my lens

Interactions...

2010-05-29T02:21:00.000-07:00

....on the way.

Green......

2010-05-16T00:21:00.000-07:00

................turning into orange.

Sunny Side Up...!

2010-05-13T22:02:00.000-07:00

Today's breakfast.....

....totally cheered me up..!

Autumn...

2010-05-12T03:10:00.000-07:00

...here in New Zealand.

Dont we just love it..!

A Matter Of Faith...

2010-02-24T07:58:00.000-08:00

Faith is complete surrender and knowing that your prayers are going to be answered.

When surrounded by darkenss, faith is knowing that there is light behind the closed door, and waiting patiently for it to shine on you.

Faith is a special relation with Him...a special space inside our ownself, which defies any logic.

New year thought...

2010-01-02T05:06:00.000-08:00

~A New Year Has Begun~

In this beginning,
I pray that~
We all are blessed with the STRENGTH and the SPIRIT
To face everything that life holds for us in this year, with a SMILE
May we stand tall against all the strifes and struggles with pride,
And emerge VICTORIOUS against all odds.

A few portraits from Pushkar ~

2009-12-13T00:19:00.000-08:00

Posting a few faces from Pushkar, which caught my attention and got captured in my camera....

While at Pushar ~

2009-12-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

Had recently visited 'Pushkar fair' ~which is the largest cattle fair of india...the experience was amazing ~ colourful people, hundreds of camels, festivities and spiritual touch...it had everything...Here are a few pictures from the fair...The pictures were too many and the place here is limited...so posting a few random pics here...will post some more in the coming posts....

Hope you enjoyed seeing these pics...i had a blast shooting these...!

Let the light fill up our lives...

2009-10-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

May

~DIWALI~

The festival of lights

Fill up your lives with love, peace, happiness, health and wealth

For your and your loved ones.

~ Wishing you all a very Happy Deepawali ~

~ RED ~

2009-10-05T10:36:00.000-07:00

The colour of passion, love, energy...

Have always loved this colour. Looking at it I always feel charged up...Hope the image makes you feel uplifted too.

Waiting for its turn...

2009-09-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

.......like we all do in life.

Beneshwar Fair- People (Part-2 of the Beneshwar Series)

2009-08-08T22:41:00.000-07:00

Some interesting faces from the Beneshwar fair. These were the faces which had touched something inside me.

The tribal woman laughing her shyful laughter

Tribal men with colourful turbans.

Colourful dany selling his stuff in the fair.

A tribal girl selling weapons. Her expressions perfectly suiting to the things she's selling.

Peaceful loving face of a tribal mother. I loved the light in her eyes.

A tribal women taking a bath in the river, as per the ritual of the Beneshwar fair.

A jolly old couple selling bows and arrows.

All the sterngth to combat the hardships of his life are visible in his eyes.

A tribal child with her stern expressionless face.

Colourful children selling rangoli colours with their father.

Oblivion in his bliss..!

Hope you enjoyed seeing these, as much as I did clicking.

Beneshwar Fair-Place and the mood (Part-1 of the Beneshwar Series)

2009-07-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

A couple of months back I, with another friend of mine had made a photographic trip to a tribal fair in Rajasthan. Its called the 'Beneshwar fair' named after the diety-Beneshwar Mahadev (Lord Shiva). This is supposed to be the biggest tribal fair of India and is visited by around 5 lakh tribal devotees from the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, just over a peiod of 4-5 days ! The Baneshwar fair is predominantly a tribal fair with more than half of the congregation consisting of Bhils. The fair is held at a small delta formed by the river Som and Mahi near Dungerpur (Rajasthan).

Though we were there just for one day, it was a very interesting experience in its own way ~ we witnessed fascinating tribal rituals, shopped in interesting small shops with even more interesting things being sold, talked with rural tribals ~ clicked pictures and enjoyed the energy and enthusiatism flowing in the rustic air...

To present a complete feel of the place I'm posting pictures of the fair over four posts under the following:

1. Place and mood
2. People
3. Traditional rituals
4. Other activities of the fair

Hope you would enjoy seeing the pictures...

Here are a few pictures of the overall feel of the place and a glimpse of the mood.

Morning 6.30, the fair is about to begin..a group of tribal women huddled together walking towards the fair...

Still very early in the morning... a group of tribal men and women spreading their stuff and getting prepared for the fair to begin...

Yes, these actually are bows and arrows being sold at various spreadings! While the lads smoke, the old men have started analyzing the stuff...the map above gives direction for the whole area where the fair is spread.

Midday ~ inspite of the sun being overhead, the number of people have increased considerably...seen behind is the merger of rivers Som and Mahi where the most important ritual of the fair takes place...

Traditional tribal music on drums ~ a common sight in different corners of the fair...

A vendor selling fancy stones, bracelets, thread, beads and the like..

~Evening settling down ~

As evening finally settles down the colours of the fair becomes all the more vibrant...

...and all the more live.

I've tried to presnt the mood of the fair at different times of the day...unfortunately we couldnt stay beyond evening to enjoy the festivities of the night...maybe on the next trip sometime..

The next post of this series will be on the tribal people at the Beneshwar Fair...

~Memories~

2009-06-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

Few glimpses from a flower market...

2009-02-28T11:54:00.000-08:00

Had recently visited a local flower marker ~ vendors scattered on the roads along with a lot of yellow, red, orange and white flowers. The purpose was to capture street vendors in some interesting angles and situations in the market. Have tried to capture the street vendors in their different moods, their activity and their surrounding with the elements of the street.

Here are some glimpses from the visit...

Limes and oranges...

2009-02-21T10:14:00.000-08:00

A morning with some fruity, juicy colours of life........

Standing still in eternity...

2008-12-25T10:14:00.000-08:00

Had visited this amazing place a few days back called...."Rani ki vav" ~ A place from the long lost and forgotten past looking at you straight in the face...a place situated in Patan (Gujarat).

A 'vav' is a step well which used to be build in the olden days for water sourcing. How these 'vav's used be be ornated with intricate carvings of Gods, Goddesses and human forms has to be seen to be believed ! Here are a few pics from that trip in the past ~

The statues were beautiful and seemed real in an amost eerie way...

Just imagine ~ these statues have been standing there for centuries.... seeing everthing happening around them, people coming-going, people who had created them dying, dynasty after dynasty of rulers perishing ! But they are still stnading there.

Everything around them since the time they were built has changed...they are are a witness to the changing of the eras, but they are still the same, standing there quietly ~ observing everything, knowing everything...

It seemed as we they are living in their own world in that structure...

Standing still in eternity.....

And whispering to each other the secrets of those ages, which these days would never know...

~Lilies On My Terrace~

2008-12-05T10:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning went up on the terrace after many days.....and got a beautiful surprise ~ Lovely Lilies were blooming on my own terrace...! I had planted these long back and then had forgotten all about it. And just when I was not expecting, here they come in all their splendor... ! Isnt it so much like things in life......?

Their sight reinforced my belief in life and its beauty....

And the feeling that even when things seem too bad, and everything seems to be falling apart, there is someone who is taking care of things, even when you are not aware of it.

You just need to hold on.........................

......................... am trying to hang on to that thought and that moment.

~Looking upwards~

2008-09-06T11:08:00.001-07:00

Today again looking upwards,
At the source ~
Of all things visible and invisible,
Existing and non-existing,
Of wantings and blessings,
Of singings and wailings,
To blow the wind of rythmic madness ~
And drench me with the music of life...

Pachmadhi ~ Water, Fog and Greens...

2008-08-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

Just back from a rejuvenating trip to pachmadhi ~

The senses are still filled with its emerald greenery, mystic fog and refreshing water...

The place is beautiful and worth visiting without a doubt, but for some reason other than this, the place brought about the much needed peace and calm to my mind...

Here is some freshness of those greens...some droplets of those water falls and lakes and some magic of the fog ~

At Pachmadhi Lake

A place in between somewhere to nowhere

A carpet of green spread for anyone who wishes to tread and do himeslf a favour

Some wild berries

Some unknown meadow on the way

View from the top of Pandav caves

On the way to Apsara falls

The affair of the droplets of water and the leaf...

~ A wild flower ~ The reckless beauty of the wilderness

At Apsara falls

The Bee Falls

The other colours of the place will follow in the coming posts...

Alone...

2008-07-01T11:49:00.000-07:00

Born in this world alone,
Someday I shall die alone
In the moments gone ~
I was alone
In the moments to be ~
I will be alone.....

If only I could accept it.......

After a long time...

2008-07-01T02:39:00.000-07:00

Had gone to Alliance Francaise (A.F) on last to last sunday to pay a visit to the library with firm determination to work a little on my french. But as they say "Man (also woman !) proposes and God disposes..!". The library was closed and was not going to be opened that day. I had my camera with me, which I had carried with me just like that. Not knowing what to do with my firm plan disturbed, I was just walking around in the premises of A.F and reached up to the small garden behind the building. Well, needless to say what happened then. A happy hour and a half was spent in taking pictures of the flowers and leaves in the garden. After a long time spent sometime with myself. After a long time picked up up cam and did some involved clicking. So even if the pictures that have come out are not extraordinay, I felt satisfied with the way they turned out.

The hours which were going to be spent in french grammar surrounded by books got spent amidst nature into photography. C'est la vie..!

Here are a couple of pics from that afternoon ~

Glasses at the water cooler ~ loved the red here !

Life ~ making it's way through ~

Harmony ~

Bouganvillea ~ The happy flowers ~

Heart of a flower ~

Lost ~

Waiting ~

Barefoot on the soft green grass on a hot afternoon...ahhhh..what a feeling.....

2008-06-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

We got our house painted recently...after little more than a year of having shifted in this place....It is a good feeling to see the place full of colours as opposed to how it was earlier- plain white. I'm posting a few pics of the newly done house ~ mainly to highlight the colours of the wall and also to make a collection of some of the corners that I adore in here...

This is the main view of the dining passage which lead to kitchen on one side and the other rooms on the other.

This is a close view of the passage...I like it as it shows little bits of colour of the other rooms..

This is one corner that I particularly like. We had picked up the green lamp from Nainital on an instinct and the clay models were picked up from a handicraft exhibiton.

This painting has been made by my mom. It is made from coloured sand. This is something that my mom specializes in besides making yummy food :)

This is a corner that I particularly like from my mom and dad's bedroom...

This table piece was gifted by me and my sister to my mom on mother's day some 3-4 years ago. She has still kept it by her bedside...while cleaning the place up, for taking the photograph, i happened to read it after years....and it wet my eyes....some things are so precious in life...

This is one little corner of my room...(the cleanest that i could find..!) I had fallen in loive with the violet when I had seen it in the shade card book...glad that it turned out as expected...

And this is the area dining passage leading to the kitchen...

Thinking of the colours to choose from, deciding on some, short listing a few then cancelling the whole scheme and thinking of another set of colours...finalizing on them and then again rethinking the whole thing ~ whew..! the last few days did see a lot of brain storming and peeping into others houses :) to zero in on the colours to put on the walls...

But i guess after everything done ~ and on feeling harmonious with the colours you see when you wake up, makes the whole effort worth.... :)

"My weekend out" ~ In Mumbai

2008-04-02T09:33:00.001-07:00

Sometimes unplanned and unthought out events turn out be the much better than ones where we have done a lot of advance thinking and planning. This is what happened in this recent trip I made to Mumbai. On an instinct I had decided that I would go to Mumbai and see a performance that a dear friend of mine was participating in. I didnt have any idea or plans about what I would be doing in the rest of the one and a half days there. Not that I dont know anyone in Mumbai, I have a lot of friends there but "meri jaan, yeh hai mumbai..!" With its fast paced life, everyone has some or the other plan worked out for the weekends. And not having chceked with anyone in advance I ran the risk of having to spent the time alone in the city. But in my case that was not much of a problem as I am quite friends with the city. In the time that I was staying in mumbai, I had developed quite a close relationship with the city, it's people, its local trains, its vada pavs and its fast paced life style. So I guess I was not much worried by the thought of whom I would be able to meet or where I would be spending the time. I had the city and it's magic which I could re-explore, and I had my camera with me. I couldnt have cared less!

And so as it would turn out, I had a great time there. Roamed around in the areas i love in mumbai ~ Churchgate, Bandra- Hill Road, caught up with friends, and spent some relaxing and rejuvenating time with myself. On one of the local train stations came across a book I had been wanting to read since long~ Shantaram by Gregory Davit Roberts. Picked it up and spent the saturday afternoon in the colourful ambiance of Churchgate Mocha with this book, a black currant ice tea, and great music in the background.

I was alone with my thoughts and my book but there were people around with chatting, laughing, chilling out, talking about their own stories. There was something very relaxed and positive in the atmosphere. There was hope and dreams and ambition and style and charisma. All of this along with the memory of the times I used to hang out so much in this place earlier did something very positive to me. It somehow charged me up from inside.

The evening was spent in Bandra at my friend's program, which turned out be a wonderful experience. A musical drama based on the stories from the Bible, replete with angles and demons. The dances were beautiful, the music peppy, the acting of the cast perfect and the light effects were amazing..! And off-course the whole thought behind the play with it's script was touching. So, all and all it was a wonderful experience!

Some glimpses of the show ~

The next day morning was spent in a shopping spree at Alpha- the duty free custom shops, which are quite poplular in mumbai, though i had remained unknown to them when I was staying in mumbai. Actually I had gone there with Nishu's mom, who had a lot of things to buy. I had just accomapnied her. She had a huge of things to buy from toys, to watches, to footware, to chochlates, to toiletteries to dry fruits to...the list goes on and on....! Though I didnt have to buy anything, I had a super time ! Well, I am a girl, and so am genetically inclined to love shopping! And in the process I did buy a couple of things for myself too ~
Soft comfy, cushiony bathroom slippers, a Nike deo and a Garnier lotion...
I guess, the cushiony slippers were my best buy..!

Lunch was with Sonali's (the friend whose program I had come to attend) family. Yummy hot puris, palak sabzi, some mix dal, mango pickle and cool kheer! It was delicious, and I couldnt have asked for more. Since I was meeting her parents for the first time, out of hesitation I missed out on taking a snap of the food. Though the hot round puris completely deserved and demanded to get captured in the cam, but I dont think Sonali's parents would have agreed with me! They would have thought I was nuts, and you see the first impression matters ! So, i would leave it to the imagination of whoever's reading this. Her parents and brother were very nice to me. Very simple and loving people.
Here's the snap I took of them for remembrance ~

Spend the whole afternoon with Sonali. Lying on the cool bed, sipping tea and chatting about everything from guys to God ! This is generally the range of our discussions. Needless to say we both had a great time. While talking on something suddenly out of the blue she remembered about a book that she had begun to read. And she had liked it so much that she wanted me to read it to. So, she insisted that I take this book with me, read it and then send it back to her. The book is "The mind is a battlefield". I have a theory that for myself that a book enters my life only when I actually need to read it, or when I am prepared to read it. So, I took this as a sign that maybe it was destined that I read this book at this point of my life.

The evening and the subsequent dinner was with another close friend- Asha, who stays in Borivelli (W), near the station (thankfully!). She used to work with me at Astron and we shared a good bond. This is was the first time I was meeting her after her marriage and after she left Ahmedabad. So it was a treat to catch up with her ~ to fill her up with the latest office gossip and to listen to her new life. We ordered pizza for dinner and had it in the comfort of her house. My return train was at 10.50 pm from Borivelli station, so finally I picked up up bags and headed for the return journey.

And oh yes, before I forget, I also bought these lovely colourful bangles, while travelling in the local trains ~

So this trip did bring lots of colours in my life ~ some old , some new.

.......

Companions for Life...

2008-03-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

I have always maintained that I am very strong and I I dont need anyone. To quite an extent this is true too. As long as I am in the right frame of mind I dont generally feel bored or lonely. I can and have travelled alone, done things on my own and do manage the general issues of life by myself. But at times certain sights touch me in such a way that they stir the notion that I carry about myself. This sight of my parents while waiting for the train on a cold wintery morning suddely stirred me up. The companionship, the journey which they had begun together years ago still continues. Since then my dad's shoulder has always been there for my mom's head to rest upon. The relationship which they begun years ago, has seen its ebbs and tides and has become mellow like the golden hue of the sunset. It has become a relationship that can be counted upon ~ A relationship of a dependable companionship. Looking at them I saw myself thinking what a beautiful feeling it must be to have seen the world together, travelled together, done things together, to grow old together...........for a moment my independency seemed shallow and I saw myself wishing for a shoulder too, on which I could lay my head and forget all my troubles.......

Journey or destination...?

2008-02-17T02:12:00.000-08:00

Parallel tracks of the train ~
Moving together,
What do they gain..?
Talking to them without a mask,"Do you ever meet" I had to ask.
"Does it matter?" the return question
"Do you believe in journey or destination?
Together so much in every terrain,
We shine in the same sun,
And gleam in the same rain;
Still alone in our own way
Never coming in each other's way,
Far in the horizon we may seem to be nearer,
But here in the now we are together;
Any dream is alive till it shatters,
Ours is living, isn't that all that matters?"
I nod in agreement with them and with me,
Yes, it's not the destination, its always the journey...

Rusted

2008-02-01T06:59:00.000-08:00

A bright blue once fresh and promising turning into a rusted, fading brown. Why did this happen? Was the blue not taken care of? Was the weather too unfavourable? Did the blue not wish to remain so? But who would want to get rusted and faded? Actually nobody. But then why do you and me let the spark inside us get extinguished? Why do we let the circumstances get the better of us and let the fire in us die off? Why do we let our weaker side get the better of us and let our individual assets fade away? Why do we not take good care of the fresh and bright blue, fight against the weather to retain its colour and take efforts to prevent it from rusting......?

Waking up on a lake...

2008-01-17T22:44:00.000-08:00

One of the most beautiful and peaceful experiences one can have on this earth is waking up on a tranquil, blue lake. And what makes it better is that you have spent the night in a tent by the lake, and you awake with the crooning of birds to soak your eyes with the blue of the sky and the lake. This is what we experienced on our trip to a quiet, lesser-known hill station called Bhandardhara ~ a small, uncommercialized place some 3 hours on road from Nasik. The lake rests peacefully surrounded by the Sahayadari hills and indulges in its own subtle games with the changing light since sunrise till sunset. We watched mesmerized as the sun rose from somewhere behind the hills and a golden hue spread over the blue of the clean waters of the lake. With mugs of hot tea in our hands we sat quietly looking in awe as the soft golden rays tickled the lake and then moved on to the trees and eventually us too. How were we feeling..?? Bliss is the word...! :)

This is the tent that we stayed in....

India in the heart- Spirit of Independent India

2008-01-17T21:53:00.000-08:00

Taking India in the heart, today's Indian youth is going places.

The spirit of India today is the confidence of the youth in themselves and their determination to do something and make a difference. Free from the age old superstitions India is today a happy blend of eastern values and western practicality. Adopting the best of the western world, but at the same time feeling immense pride in our Indian roots ~ That's the spirit of Independent India today.

Brothers

2007-10-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

On a recent visit to ravivari, the sunday flea market below Ellisbridge, came across these two kids. These two brothers living in slums. There seemed to be an age difference of around two years between the kids.

What caught my attention was the signs of the growing up phase of siblings during childhood, where the elder one generally takes up the responsibility of showing off his newly discovered found knowledge about things around them to the younger one.

It was a joy to see the bond between the two children.

How they were playing together, running, laughing, oblivious to the environment and condition that they were born and living in.

How the two brothers were there for each other, learning with each other and taking care of each other while their parents were out to earn their daily bread was very heart touching. It does bring back some nostalgia of our our own childhood and the relationship that we shared with our siblings.

Some time with these leaves...

2007-09-19T23:35:00.000-07:00

After many days today morning went to the balcony with a cup of tea. The breeze was cool. Suddenly my eyes fell on one of the plants that we have placed in our balcony. Such a beautiful arrangement of light and dark green flowers ! I was still halfway with my tea, but then it could wait ! I had to take capture the foliage in its element, in the morning light....

After this first capture, i started looking for other interesting arrangements. Did find some, but felt something was missing. Sprinkled the leaves with some water and found this set of leaves...It seemed as if the leaves were smiling with this splash of water...!

Another arrangement which caught my fancy ~ Liked the way the leaves were hanging in this one...

Wanted to make use of some depth of field in this one, blur the rest of the leaves and make the leaf carrying the water droplets stand out. But my lens allowed no more effect than this. Still like the way this came out ~

Taking these pictures, dowloading them, resizing them and sending them to my official id so that i could upload them in the day, ensured that i had to rush madly to avoid being little late for work.... but felt good that i began the day well....

and yeah, the remaining tea also tasted much better after that........ :-)

Street vendor in the evening glow

2007-09-10T10:44:00.003-07:00

It was the evening of our second and last day at Jodhpur. It had rained in the afternoon for around an hour and again in the evening the sun had come out with it's beautiful golden light. We were passing through the market near the clock tower where we spotted this turbaned street vendor. The golden light on his face and the quality of his eyes caught my attention. Took a couple of his photographs from different angles, but liked this the most.

Rajasthani women

2007-09-10T10:44:00.002-07:00

Bright coloured clothing, smooth tanned skin, ornaments in every possible place and an earthy charm ~ these are the images that come to our eyes when we think of rustic rajasthani women. This trip to Jodhpur, ressured that reality is indeed very close to the imagery. Took a lot of photographs of the locals around the Mehrangardh fort, but somehow found myself clicking the females more, no marks for guessing why.

Saw this lady on our way up towards the fort. She was walking down in a group of people. Probably with her in-laws. That explains the pallu that she had covered her face with. But did mange to catch her in my cam the moment she raised her pallu to look around. Loved her bright yellow and orange attire.

As we walked further up and reached the fort, there was a horde of locals sitting there. Spotted this lady on one side. Her flawless complextion and a bright green dress with the white bangles attracted me to take her photograph.

We had gone into one of the local's houses and this graceful woman of the house gladly posed for me on her staircase. Red saree, red bindi, red bangles and compassionate eyes...

Another beauty from around the Mehrangardh fort. She was sitting under a tree with her husband and two kids. She was singing some folk song and her husband was playing some musical instrument along with it. I was impressed by her subtly beauty and sharp features. Also liked the effect that came about with the pallu on her head and a nose stud. This candid photograph of hers remains one of my favourite portraits from the trip.

Jodhpur-The Blue City

2007-09-10T10:44:00.001-07:00

Returned from a trip to Jodhpur ~ The Blue City, a couple of days back, but the visions and experiences of that place are still fresh on my mind...

With its blue houses and colourful people, the trip was a visual extravaganza. It was a treat to the eye to see the locals with their sun-kissed skin and chiseled sharp features, moving about in amazingly bright coloured clothes. Their attire also went very well with their warm and hospitable nature.

We had specifically gone there to see the unadulterated lifestyle of the people of old jodhpur in their houses and capture it in our cameras, but we were quite skepticle about what would be their reaction when a bunch of stangers like us would want to get inside their houses, disturb their peaceful lives and on top of it take their pictures too. But to our pleasant surprise, in each house that we went to, we were welcomed with such warmth and enthusiasm, that we were touched. In every house that we entered, we were taken on a tour inside the whole house, up to the terrace and the people gladly posed for us too. There wasnt one house that we left without having water or tea or some snacks.

The hospitality of those people to compelete strangers liked us won our hearts. They also brought us closer to our Indian values where a guest is valued like god "Atithi devo bhava". Where else in the world do you find people who show so much of warmth even to unknown people? This trip to this colourful city with its even more colourful and warm people gave me one more reason to feel proud to be an Indian.