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2009-03-17T23:13:00.003+05:30

Group 'Wah'...

Group 'Wah'. What's that? When was the last time that you traveled in a bus and the driver applied a sudden screeching break and all the passengers dashed forward from their regular positions. All at once, at one time, simultaneously.

Group 'Wah' is all about unison, applying the principles of wave propagation that we learnt when in school, it's a mantra to send multitudes into a kind of frenzy, something like a mass psychosis, it's the automatic clock that makes millions of others who are in different time zones and not within their native land, to sleep and wake up, perfectly in sync with the match timings.

Do you feel that it happens only in India or with desis. No, it's a global phenomenon. Now, to explain the behavior that you see in the video, you need to understand the phenomenon known as Brainwave Entertainment.

Don't miss the complete article here. Also, at the end of the video it was mentioned that the
IPL kicks off on 10th Apr'09. But so far nothing is clear and the final dates are not yet sorted out. Most likely this event would get delayed keeping in view the nation wide election which is slotted to be conducted in phases.

If in Honk Kong the sounds of horse racing announcers can stimulate the brains of people from a delta state to a beta state, it's a game of cricket, that does wonders in our desi land. Sahi boola na..

[Hat tip: Larry Feign for the Theory of Group 'Wah'.]

Keep reading and remain connected.

2009-03-14T19:12:00.002+05:30

The Magic of 'Pata Chitra'...

Come to think of it, the winter season is famous for something, which is the biggest form of celebration in an Indian family, the marriage function. I do not understand the nitty gritty about why only this part of the year, but know for a fact that from May to July and again from November to February of the calendar, is the season for marriage functions in India. All I know is that these months are considered auspicious for the event.

A couple of months back my elder brother got married and like a similar function in any part of India, it was marked by a riot of colors, get-together of relatives and friends from within the country and abroad, gossip among the guests, sumptuous food, glittery jewelery, shimmering attires, and lots of naach, gaana dancing to the tunes of the latest Bollywood hits.

But to add a paaka desi-flavor to all these, to showcase something that is authentic and to patronize a dying art form, my maa had her own charter. She had planned for miniature paintings to be done on few walls of the house. She had contacted the artists and made the entire blueprint for her project from planning to its execution.

The art form that was followed is from the school of 'Pata Chitra'. 'Pata' in Sanskrit means piece of cloth and 'Chitra' means painting or picture. This art form is defined by its use of rich colors made out of vegetables and mineral extracts, its portrayal of pure and simple themes, depicting a combination of folk and classical elements and is not limited to religious themes.

In the picture below, the theme is that of a marriage and it is painted in the style of an oleograph on the wall. But as you can see, there is deviation from the basics here, synthetic paints are used, unlike the colors made out of vegetables and mineral extracts.

The digression from the fundamentals was done because the base for the painting was not a piece of cloth but a concrete wall.

The colors are bright and possess a peculiar charm, very distinct and a remarkably original art form. As I was writing this post, it also reminded me of an excellent project work that one of my friends had done, while he was a Product Design student at National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. He had spent close to one and a half months in a village, Raghurajpur where artisans create sheer poetry on pieces of treated cloth or dried palm leaves or paper and learnt the fine nuances of this art form. More about Raghurajpur here.

The 'kolam' on the floor of the marriage 'mandap'(platform) was also done by the same artists who did the work on walls.

Do not miss a very interesting article by Raji on 'The Kolam Festival' at the Mylapore festival.

But what is hurting is that these timeless art forms are loosing their value with the advent of modernity. To cite an example, take the case of 'Pata Chitra', the entire process starting from the design to the final output is managed manually by artisans. It's the creation of their deft fingers and immeasurable imagination, an art form whose intricacies are passed from one generation to another. But duplicates of such paintings are made these days using modern printing capabilities. So the artists feel their authentic creations do not have as big an audience as for faux products. Many artisans leave the villages to find menial jobs in cities and towns to make a living. Sad but true.

Now, I know why my maa wanted those paintings, it was to showcase the creativity of the bunch of smart artisans, who need support. Don't you endorse, her thinking?

Check the pics here, looks better against a black background.

Keep reading and remain connected.

2009-03-11T08:33:00.006+05:30

Happy Holi Wishes...

Wishing you all a Happy Holi. Enjoy this season with colors of life, colors of joy, colors of happiness, colors of friendship, colors of love and all other colors you want to paint in your life. Of course with lots of mithai, thandai and thoda sa bhang. The air reverberates with Rang Barsee.

Keep reading and remain connected.

Note: The pic that you see above is by Xavier Zimbardo, a French photographer and journalist whose marvelous works have been featured in several European and international photography publications. A recipient of several grants and prizes, from different countries, including those from the Kodak Foundation and the French government. He is also author of several books, one among which is 'Holi'. Anyone who has been to Paris's Bibliothèque Nationale and Maison Européenne de la Photographie, would have never missed his work.

The entire collection of his pics on the colorful festival of Holi is here. Simply put its poetry through a camera lens.

2009-03-09T17:51:00.001+05:30

Summer is on...

sitting with my knees close to my chest,
with a different silence,
my lungs and my nose inhale the dry morning air,
there is a sudden change around.
winter is all gone,
leaves crackling in front of my door step.

roosting like an eagle at my place,
i see the streets which appear hebetudinous.
kids hurrying to school,
running over a bed of jacaranda.
withered grass meets drooped leaves,
they say summer is on.

Keep reading and remain connected.

2009-02-24T06:53:00.005+05:30

Mark Tully's, The Heart of India...

A couple of days back, the news of Chander Mohan, son of Haryana's seasoned politician Bhajan Lal getting himself converted to Islam, with a new name Chand Mohammed was the talk of the town. The conversion was apparently not because of Chander Mohan's strong faith but for getting married for the second time to his lady love, lawyer and former Assistant Advocate General, Anuradha Bali, who also got converted to Islam, to be reborn as Fiza.

Don't you feel that this incident had all the ingredients of a Bollywood potboiler and even beyond?

Also a couple of weeks back, while reading the newspaper, I learnt about a spine-chilling incident, in which a mother, wanting to fulfill her religious vow, dipped her three-month-old baby three times into a boiling rice pot in Jumalapur village in Bijapur district. It does sound scary, something like the ripley-believe-it-or-not kind of act.

But why am I talking all these, when incidents such as these and many more occur in abundance in India day in day out. We are sort of used to it. Few of these find coverage in the media and few do not depending on the location of the events and also on the accessibility and penetration factor for media coverage. But incidents such as these are a part and parcel of life in this colorful nation and that’s exactly what Mark Tully, has covered in his book, 'The Heart of India'. I completed reading the book which is full of color, noise and scent, akin to desi lifestyle.

Mark Tully needs no introduction, for he is well known for covering many major incidents in South Asia during his tenure as a reporter. What sets him apart from other reporters is his deep involvement in the tinges of this land, his genuine love and in-depth, innate understanding of India's psyche. 'The Heart of India' is a not a coffee book of Indian hinterland but rather it delves sensitively into the nuances and shades of everyday life in villages of the northeast states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The author writes in the preface part of the book that he chose this region of India because it has remained largely unaltered from ancient times and also for the fact that, Hindi is widely spoken in that belt and he is quite comfortable with the language. Time and tides have come and gone, but this region has not changed much.

Tully has also mentioned that most of the chronicles, are true but he has tampered those a bit here and there to add an element of imagination and fiction. The stories revolve around the social requirements of childbearing and how a barren lady conceives after a visit to a holy man, the false superbia that is attached to the Indian caste system and the toxic syrup that is drunk in regular dosages to keep the engine of administration moving both at the local bodies and the state level, corruption. The writing is soaking because, Tully doesn't swim at the surface level, rather he dives into the ground level writing with great detail about the degrees of gossip, ghar ghar ki kahani and the lack of privacy in village life. In one of the tales, he tells about the erosion of the old rural India, by the careless rush towards modernization through the lens of an old Muslim ikkab-puller who owns a dilapidated horse-carriage, a vehicle which has turned unserviceable in an age of auto-rickshaws. In another, he narrates the story of Madhu, who leaves her village to do a B.Ed degree at the famous BHU, becomes an active participant in college politics, falls in love and then life takes a never anticipated turn as her romance ends in blackmail. A tale of reality check, of a life hedged with numerous limitations. He also examines how the people have tagged many things in the name of religion, while they are in a state of disarray or confusion when it comes to differentiating between ritual and reality. Tully's unhesitating assumption of his characters illustrates life as it is, in a heartfelt manner. It's not like he wishes to show the good side and cover up the not-so-good side. The stories don't paint an idyllic picture.

The book gives the feeling of a letter written by someone while traveling in a 2nd class sleeper compartment of Indian railways, drinking chai with the sight of Indian hinterland dancing in a graceful and rhythmical way in the window frames. I also felt that, Tully has listed in a subtle way the obstacles that India has to overcome in its march towards attaining the status of economic powerhouse.

This book may not be one of the finest of Tully's creations (my perception though), but definitely it gives a vivid and true portraiture of village life. It also educates those, who grew up in cities within India and outside, and are a bit cut off from the ground realities about India's complex social, cultural and political matrix that persist even after we have undergone a dramatic change from a third world country to under developed nation to a developing economy.

Keep reading and remain connected.

2009-02-14T21:38:00.002+05:30

V-Day Wishes...

Wishing you all a Happy V-Day.

Keep reading and remain connected.

2009-02-09T02:52:00.007+05:30

Celebrating Love Writing Contest...

This is the time of the year, when love is in the air. Ooops, now I would be under the radar of the various groups who have taken upon themselves the burden of upholding Indian 'tradition' and 'cultural values', for the starting statement of the post or am I safe?

Fine let us get to the main point and like the fringe elements, not waste our time, creating issues out of non-issues. I also feel that participating in this fun-filled event won't even attract an iota of disgrace or generate a feeling of shame, which few young ladies in Mangalore faced. The young ladies suffered the ignominy of being beaten, trashed, and molested by a band of preservers of Indian values, for the crime they committed of visiting a pub.

Since what I am going to tell you involves fiddling with your writing implements, scrambling words, so I guess both you and me are safe.

Post liberalization in 1990's, along with the economic revolution that was witnessed in India, gave birth to class of neo-rich, a clan that traveled to foreign lands with greater frequency for better opportunities in all spheres of life and business assignments. Did this tribe, import the culture of fancy dinners, exchange of greetings cards, offering gifts, etc to mark the romantic moments in one's life? Is V-Day another decadent influence of the West, because our parents and grand parents never celebrated this day? We all know that our parents cared for each other and so did our grand parents, but they didn't earmark a separate day to express their love and caring. Was our society conservative then and now it is more open and broad-minded and hence this transformation. Is it as simple as this or a bucketful of linkages have to be coupled to provide some convincing views?

See, slowly the momentum is gathering. So all you have to do is use your fresh and vibrant words to express your views, of course not just on what I broached about above, but on any topic celebrating love in all its shades. Desicritics is conducting a Valentine's Day Contest - Celebrating Love writing contest. Anyone and everyone can participate in this contest, with a simple condition that all the posts should be about or relate to love in its many forms. More details here.

You don't have to be a Robert Grant or a Heidelberg or a Shakespeare to participate, just spin your thoughts, sew your words deftly and weave your own story or sonnet. Also your write-up can be sentimental or funny, fiction or a true story, a memoir or a photo-essay - the choice is completely yours. For instance, Deepti goes down the memory lane when she was in her early teens to tell the Love Remembered between her grandpa and grandma.

Romance and Love cause all of us to get teary eyed. Some stories have tragic endings and some make us wish that we would also experience the highs of love.

Just scribble, you know why? Because, simple words make the maximum impact.

Hasratien dil me dabane se kya haasil hoga
Apne hoth hila kar to dekho
Khamoshi se kab hoti hai khwahishein poori
Dil ki baat bata kar to dekho
Jo hai dil mei use kar do bayaan
Khud ko ek baar jata kar to dekho

I intentionally didn't do the translation because it kills the flavor and piquancy of the message.

'Yes you can', says RC. 'It's simple. Just pick up your pen and .....'

Keep reading and remain connected.

2009-01-27T03:06:00.004+05:30

That's how 26th January was...

The day was 26th January, a very important day for Indians as this was the day when we were declared a Republic in 1950. For me this day definitely evokes warm memories from my childhood. Those were days, when Republic Day meant going to school early in the morning in the cold winter to participate in the flag hoisting ceremony and making sure to collect chocolates, candies and sweets distributed at the end of the ceremony. Once back home, the Republic Day Parade broadcasted live on the idiot box from Rajpath, Delhi was unquestionably the program to watch. In present times, the day still holds its significance but I am sure the way we look at it has changed a hell lot.

For many it was nothing more than an extended weekend. For few others, it was a welcome break from steering their vehicles in the chaotic traffic. Instead it was a day marked by an air of relaxation, to sit and watch columns of soldiers marching in perfect harmony in different Republic Day events conducted across the nation in various television channels. Add to this, the display of tableaus showcasing the diversity and the varied cultural traditions of the nation.

But for me, this was another day to capture colors in the surroundings. I had been to Lalbagh Gardens, Bangalore early in the morning by 8:00AM to compose some frames from the Republic Day Flower Show organized at the glass house located in the center of the garden.

This flower exhibition dates back to the year 1922, when it was conducted for the first time, and since then this once-in-an-year event has seen a steady increase in entries for participation.

Lots of people had come with friends and families to see this exhibition, a carnival of colors. From whatever I saw there, my rough estimate is that around 200 flowering plants, mostly those that bloom in the winter season were on display.

Through my camera lens, I managed to capture some images, which had little to do with flowers and more to do with colors. It was as if everything were united by a riot of colors. Do you agree with me or you don't?

Apart from this, there were a number of stalls related to gardening in which companies such as Indo-American Hybrid Seeds, Namdhari Seeds, the Department of Horticulture, Coconut Development Board, Coir Development Board, etc exhibited their products and technologies.

Booths selling products from cottage industries also drew handsome crowd. The artisans displayed their rich crafts such as pots, vases, urns, molded images, trinkets, pottery and terracotta items, etc in the typical setting of a rural Indian marketplace

To ensure security when hooligans have turned moralistic leaders, when terrorists are recklessly determined to spew terror, special security arrangements had been put in place. Door frame metal detectors, hand metal detectors and cameras were deployed at several places for efficient tracking purposes.

All in all, it was two hours of time well spent.

Also, the day was noteworthy for another reason. It was the day, when Desicritics, turned three. A journey which started with around 75 bloggers in the desi blogosphere way back in 2006, today has grown into a family of 500, covering everything from nuclear deals to macaca-gate, from Bugti to Boston, from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to Slumdog Millionaire, from the US Economy Fears to the Satyam's Fraud case, from men's rights to reservation rights. RC is proud to be a member of that team, still miles to go.

So here goes the rest from the lot of my today’s clicks to my friends at Desicritics and to all my readers. Hope you liked it too.

Keep reading and remain connected.

2009-01-16T23:50:00.002+05:30

Smell of an Indian Bazaar...

It was long since I had been out to shoot with my shutterbug friends. When I got an invite, if I could join them for a weekend shot at Russel Market, one of the prominent landmarks for the native Bangalorites, I thought why not. The reply was prompt because I have always preferred colder climes and at present winter is in full flourish. Also, wintertime mornings are usually marked with less activity and lots of freshness rules the air.

So all set and done and I reach the market place at 6:30AM. The market place was a melange of action, buying, selling, trading, chaffering, transporting, cleaning and lots more.

Russel Market is one of the oldest markets in Bangalore and it was built in 1927. The freshly painted minaret that stands across the road is a testimony that this place which was once the frequented by the memsahibs driven in their carriages is now replaced by the Marutis, the Fords and the Toyotas.

Even though the city today offers plenty of departmental stores from Sunday-to-Monday to Food World, from Reliance Fresh to Nilgiris, from Spencers to Spar but still there is a sizeable population that visits this bazaar for its weekly stock of fruits and vegetables and other requirements. The building that accommodates close to 100 vegetable shops and mandis today looks a bit jaded.

This place has narrow streets, filled with people unloading mini-trucks ladened with fresh vegetables and fruits. At one corner an old woman is selling a handful of vegetables, while at the other corner there is a middle-aged lady making a garland with different kinds of flowers, sipping hot tea from a glass. Even found a man who was so bitten by Bipasha Basu's 'Beedi Jalai le', that early in the morning he was puffing his jigar maan bari aag in a foolhardy way.

At this early hour of the day, there is action all around as vegetable vendors were busy sorting the vegetables into gunny bags which would be sent to various restaurants and hotels across the city. This place is a trading center for flowers, and florists can be seen exchanging their supply for cash. The topsy-turvyness here is more complex than what one would find in any stock exchange when in action.

As I was walked a little ahead, I saw the central courtyard, where there were neatly arranged rows of meat shops. Strung up were fresh cuts of mutton with hooks. Adjacent to the dark alleys of meat shops, dimly lit with bulbs is the street, which is a must visit place for any sea-food lover.

Variety of fish, prawn, crab, squid, etc of all sizes were available and the best part is it was all fresh stock unlike the refrigerated and preserved ones sold in department stores. This place is a beehive of activity and chances are high that a visitor would soil his/her clothes while purchasing sea-food here.

It was 8:30AM by now and people returning from the early hours mass at the nearby church were indicative of city life about to get started in a while. I along with my friend, proceeded to a nearby shop, which offers chai 24/7 and while having the chai, a person rushed hurriedly towards me. Seeing, a camera in my hand he told, 'Saab ek photo aap jaldi se lea lo, abhi thodi deear maain guard ke naukri ke liye, ek interview hai' [Can you take a pic immediately because I have an interview for the post of a guard to attend]. I had to politely decline to his request as my camera, doesn't have the instant printing capabilities.

Don't be surprised when I saw, you can click and publish pictures instantly, infact you can do this something similar to the Polaroid cameras of the 70’s. This year PoGo, an Instant Digital Camera unveiled at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, allows one with a push of a button to take pictures, edit those and then print those on full-colour, 2x3-inch prints. Can someone gift me one of those :)

You can see the rest of the pics here.

Keep reading and remain connected.

2008-12-31T15:24:00.004+05:30

New Year Wishes...

We wept, we cried, we lost, we gained, we fell, we stood up, we were bewildered and confused, we tripped the light fantastic toe, we learnt, we un-learnt, we made mistakes, we made strong allegiances and also pointed fingers at our foes, we rebelled, we read, we blogged, we traveled, we consumed, we foundered, we made headway, we dreamt, we innovated, we embarked the ride on global recession's whammy, but as the year comes to an end we got apprehensive about what next.

Arre, whatever be it, just 'Yes We Can' is my slogan, your song, as is Obama's hope, that today ricochets across the Web. Two brothers Gregg and Evan Spiridellis founders of JibJab, have put a short video which chronicles some of the major tales of this year.

I wish you, your family and friends a very Happy New Year. A beaming smile, a warm embrace and lots of good wishes to you all. You know why? Because you are simply the best in whoever and whatever you are. My simple gift for you with my first attempt on animation juxtaposed on one of the pics taken long back.

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2008-12-29T00:06:00.005+05:30

The White Tiger...

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, starts off in an unusual format as a series of letters addressed to Wen Jiabao, the Premier of China by a Bangalore-based entrepreneur, Ashok Sharma spread over a span of seven nights. The Chinese Premier is excited to learn how India is able to churn out so many entrepreneurs in spite of so many stumbling blocks in various domains of life.

Apparently, sir, you Chinese are far ahead of us in every respect, except that you don’t have entrepreneurs. And our nation though it has no drinking water, electricity, sewage system, public transportation, sense of hygiene, discipline, courtesy or punctuality, does have entrepreneurs.

In short this is the story of the transformation of a man born as a servant to the rich and elite, from Munna to Balram Halwai to Ashok Sharma, the successful entrepreneur. The story is narrated in a one-to-one conversation format with few relevant touches of wit, sarcasm and dark humor. The first person narration is simple and straight-forward.

The main protagonist of the story is born and brought up in a remote North Indian village. To meet the needs of his family, he drops out of school at the age of eight to work in a tea shop. Well a different godsend script is composed for him, to leave the village and become the chauffeur for a rich family. In his chequered career as a chauffeur, Balram Halwai sees life from different perspectives, the good, the bad, the ugly, the honest, the dishonest, the corrupt, the moral, the immoral, the jugaad flocks, the maain baap generation and lots more. Finally he decides to make a 'U' turn in his life and that's when he commits the murder of his master, for nothing else but money. The money he acquires by killing his master is siphoned for his entrepreneurial venture, running a cab company in India's technology and outsourcing hot seat, Bangalore. In short this is the story.

So now you can make out why the title of the book is 'The White Tiger'. Just as the white tiger is a very rare species among animals found in the jungle, so is Balram Halwai a very uncommon individual found in the sea of darkness, who crafts and designs his own blueprint for the road ahead.

On the outside it seems that the author has an excellent understanding of the economic changes and its effect of lifestyle, the oft-discussed topic of outsourcing, the class and caste differences in the society and many such related topics. But deep dive a bit and it has a storyline replete with the clichéd images and reflections, written to live up to the expectations of the western audience. The image of once-upon-a-time, the country of darkness, still retaining its share of darkness.

I don't deny the fact that the country is home to cases of brutal injustice, dirty corruption, victimization of the underprivileged by the rich. But but creating a painting on canvas in which each and every stroke of the paint brush portrays an image of extremity gives a very bland taste and a superficial touch to the entire framework. It smells of an outsider's view from a desi's quill.

Set aside these, the author is remarkably skilled in characterization of the people who dictate the plot. The language is very simple, non highbrow and straight-forward. But at certain segments of the plot, I found that the author was struggling with his script and has used repetition of events as fillers.

'I drove the Mongoose to the railway station and got him his favorite snack, the dosa once again, from which I removed the potatoes, flinging them on the tracks, before handing it over to him.'

The above few sentences with mild variations have been mentioned five to six times in the plot, each time the protagonist, Balram Halwai goes to drop another character, the Mongoose at the railway station.

Overall it was an ok-ok-sort of book to read. Rather it was my fault that I had lot of uber expectations from the book, considering that it won the Booker Prize for the year 2008. But one thing, I am very sure about, if Chetan Bhagat's books storyline could form the plot for Bollywood movies, then Adiga's, 'The White Tiger' can definitely book for an eligible Bollywood movie script.

Keep reading and remain connected.

2008-12-27T13:52:00.004+05:30

Nothing special...

Is there something special about this pic? Does this qualify for a snapshot or a photograph? You decide and tell me.

I just look it early morning on a foggy day, when I was on vacation. The owner of the car had parked his broken-down car, Ambassador, don't think it is manufactured any more these days.

Few details about this pic.

Time : 7:00 A.M. on a foggy day.
Exposure Time : 1/60 or 0.017 seconds
Aperature : f/5.6
ISO : 320
Metering Mode : Matrix
Exposure : Manual

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2008-12-22T08:58:00.006+05:30

Poppins...

How many times did my uncle, tell me the story of how the universe was formed. With his index finger he would draw the line of a rainbow through the air and tell tales about it's formation in the aftermath of light rainfall, with the sun still shining bright. I still remember, I was in standard two or three then and whenever my uncle realized that concepts were not settling distinctly in my mind, he would pull an edition of Britannica encyclopedia from the book rack and show me the details.

Well, he was to me, my Poppins uncle. I used to visit his house on Saturdays after school, (we used to have half day school on Saturdays) and return back on Sunday night, so that the regular school routine from Monday was not neglected. Every time when I used to leave his place, on a Sunday night, it was a sad faced me, tears rolling down my eyes and a tantrum-filled goodbye. This man, in his late 50s then was a member of the teaching faculty in one of well known technical institutes in India, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela.

I always felt the separation anxiety while leaving on Sunday nights for a number of reasons. First and foremost was, Monday means back to school, getting streamlined for the regular monotonous life again. Other than that, those two days spent in the college campus were literally doses of middle class pampered treatment. Those who have seen any of the IITs or National Institute of Technology or IISc campus, can appreciate better, when I saw the campus is vast, open, lush green, widespread and Brobdingnagian. These are mini townships in themselves and the staff quarters are generally situated in one corner of the unit. Staff quarters have open space and the garden within each quarter's boundary provided the perfect pitch for a game of cricket, cycling, and just run around among the guava, mango and litchi trees playing hide and seek. At evenings, rush to the college campus open-air theater and watch a movie, (am sure this is sort of a ritual in every good campus, of screening movies on weekends at night) and fall asleep in my uncle’s lap half way through the movie.

More than all these, he was one who taught me to write perfectly within the four lines in my notebook to master cursive writing. He was never a teacher to me, just that I felt it more fun and interesting to do something when he asked me to do so. He was the one who instilled in me the pleasure of reading since I was a kid, grew up with Enid Blyton, Hardy Boys books, Tintin and Amar Chitra Katha comics, National Geographic Society magazines, etc.

My downhearted and blue departure from his place on a Sunday night was always buoyed up by a simple gift from my uncle every time. Yes, it's every time. A pack of Poppins and a bar of 5-Star chocolate. So don't you feel, it was pampering, when I had to request my parents many a times to get this share of candies during a 5 day week's time. Fullto masti, reading comics, encyclopedia and no school books, cycling, watching movie in the college campus (cable TV by then was not popular), visiting engineering labs full of boilers and machines such as lathes, drilling machine, etc and last but not the least a pack containing 10 differently colored, button shaped candies. What more do you need?

So that was Poppins uncle to me and to this day, I call him by the same name, though both of us have grown in the past 19 years or so. A couple of weeks back when I saw him at a family function after a long long gap, found that he had grown old, could see wrinkles on his face, hair gone white and he had adorned all the symbols of aging. That's natural, but what I liked about him is that still he is youthful at heart.

True to his keen appreciation for books and keeping in mind the childhood days, he had gifted my elder brother, a book on the eve of his marriage. I even overheard what he transpired to my brother when he handed over the gift in the crowd of guests who had gathered for the reception party.

'I am really proud of you and the kind of individual you have grown up to. Work hard, be smart and make sure that you have a nice life ahead with your partner for life. I also recommend you to open this pack and there is something special inside this. Make sure to read 'this' when you settle back at Chicago'.

Later on, when my brother opened the pack, it was this, a book. Just shows how thoughtful someone can be. Perfect cursive writing.

And there was another small pack, and it had 20 packs of Poppins. A small note was there saying that it was for us brothers. It said 'Even today, the taste of orange, lemon, strawberry, black currant or the pineapple flavored sugary buttons of Poppins is the same, what it was when you were kids.'

Still the words keep resonating in my mind.

Because we live in an age of gross accumulation, flash and displayism. Anything big and showy when it comes to gifting draws more attention. Think 'Bada Hai Toh Behtar Hai', it's the size, the bigness that matters AD from Videocon. But still there are things that generate more compassion and warm sensitivity when it comes to gifting. All it needs to select one of those are attitude, an attitude to embrace the good things of life and in a wordless way of telling someone how much they mean to you or what you think of him/her/them.

This brings to my mind, an unforgettable gift, that one of my friends, a retired newsman and reporter, GV Krishnan had given his friend, Kini. Can you make a wild guess what was that? It was a B2B gift. I know your mind would have thought Business-2-Business for the word B2B, but it stands for Blog-2-Blog. It's the tale of two friends who are now in two different corners of the world but started their career in reporting decades back traveling round the globe.

Kini and I had lost touch with each other when we were still young, wild and experimenting in London. When reconnected, we found ourselves wizened by age, hassles of living, and, in Kini's case, by an incurable ailment. Our re-connect dates back to a mail from him well over a year back, informing me of a change of address. He had shifted base from London (where he had spent four decades) to a chalet bungalow in Herne Bay, Kent - "a geriatric land where one is more likely to see dear old ones scooting around on electric-scooters than young lads on noisy motorbikes". The real message was in Kini's sign-off line that read - 'Uncertainty and hope fills my life at present'.

The complete B2B series is here. Check those, perfect tapestry with words.

Now since this is the time of the year, when people exchange gifts, what gift are you giving me? A pack of Poppins, 'Doooin kya'

Keep reading and remain connected.

2008-12-18T18:53:00.009+05:30

Little Fluffy Cotton Candies...

Since we were kids, we always wanted to fly. Fly high above, to see how the earth looks from above and to swim in the clouds. We were taught about different varieties of clouds such as the Cumulus, Stratus, Nimbus and Cirrus. I guess there were lots more but I can re-collect these for now. We used to draw neat diagrams in our Geography workbooks when there were anything related to clouds and I even read the book 'Around the World in 80 Days' always thinking when I will get a chance to fly and go places as Phileas Fogg did.

Hailing from a regular middle class family, I never got an opportunity to fly until I completed my graduation. But still at my early 20's then, for me the clouds meant blotches and patches of cotton puffs floating high up defying the laws of gravity.

The lessons taught in science that clouds are just aggregates of water vapor would sound so fictitious and un-real. It just meant sufficient cotton candies were sprinkled at a higher altitude to gratify all my buddies and school friends when I was a kid.

Ear plugs please. If you have heard of an English electronic music group, The Orb, the above piece is one of their most popular one, composed in 1990. Its again 'Little Fluffy Clouds'.

Later on as time passed, travel became a regular part of my life and I flew miles and miles and saw some of the best panoramas sitting by my flight's window seat. Flying above the Nordic nations during the dying winter season at an early hour when the sun is dressed in its robe of sybaritic lavishness, had offered me some of the best sights of the earth close to the North Pole. Other than that every other city within my country and outside, that I have traveled to offers something special to see when the flight is about to land. For example, when the flight hovered over Paris city before landing at mid-night, the entire city looks like a black bed sheet with small dots of yellow lights. In this ocean of regularity, suddenly you can see a taller and brighter yellow light and my fellow passenger, a native Paris'ian says, 'Hey that's the Eiffel Tower'.

I always opted for a window seat rather than an aisle seat. It's simple the way it works if you wish to get your choicest seat when traveling in economy class. Either stand in the queue first when collecting the boarding pass or have your frequent flying card ready. For me it worked both ways.

But have you ever thought of taking pics when you are traveling miles above the earth's surface. Try it and it's really a different experience altogether.

Some neat tips on how to make your compositions and how to take pics from your plane's window is in a blog here.

Now my mind still keeps racing to my school days when we used to make simple experiments for creating clouds. All one needs are a clear plastic jar, a small metal tray full of ice cubes, and some hot water. Fill the plastic jar till its half full with hot water. On the top lid of the jar, place the metal tray full of ice cubes. After a while one can see the cloud-like formation. What happens is really simple, the air and water vapor inside the jar near to the base of the tray are cooled and temperature falls to a level such that, the air and water vapor condense into water droplets. In a very similar format the clouds are formed in the atmosphere, air rises, cools, and water vapor present in the air condenses into clouds.

Was it too much of gyan? Ah ha, just can't imagine losing interest in the clouds. Even these days, have climbed hills and went out of treks in the early mornings before the city life sets in just to catch the clouds in my lenses. Some days it's luck and some days it's plain disappointment. Whatever be the case, old habits don't die fast and easy. Isn't it.

Keep reading and remain connected.

2008-12-15T09:52:00.000+05:30

Missed size 10...

A couple of months ago, Steve Ballmer was treated with eggs thrown at him by a college grad while addressing an audience in an University campus. So now, it was Bush's turn. While Bush was in Iraq, delivering his farewell speech on Sunday evening in Baghdad, a man identified as an Iraqi journalist, Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw shoes at him but missed it by a whisker.

Bush here acts really smart and his reflex action is superb. He dips at the right moment and evades the shoes. Well the Iraqi Premier, Nuri al-Maliki also did his bit of immediate spur-of-the-moment rescue act.

The journalist was yelling in Arabic, "This is a farewell ... you dog!" . "You killed the Iraqis!"

A little later, Bush replies to the press, "That was a size 10 shoe he threw at me, you may want to know."

"So what if the guy threw his shoe at me?"

"Let me talk about the guy throwing his shoe. It's one way to gain attention. It's like going to a political rally and having people yell at you. It's like driving down the street and having people not gesturing with all five fingers. ..."

More details here at BBC news.

I am sure Bush is not going to forget this farewell treatment for the rest of his life. This also sets an alarm for him to be extra cautious for his forth coming farewell addresses, which I am sure, is lined up in his schedule before he hands over his baton to Obama.

Keep reading and remain connected.

2008-11-24T12:48:00.003+05:30

Slumdog Millionaire...

It so happens to me that, many books in my personal collection and those that I have read have plots that form the storyline of a major blockbuster later. Be it Jhumpa Lahiri's 'Namesake' or Mariane Pearl's 'A Mighty Heart' or Dan Brown's 'Da Vinci Code' and many more. I don't know why but the words sinks in better for me or is it because after reading a book, I form my own framework and don't like it to be altered for good or for not-so-good.

Recently while reading an article on the internet, it freshened my mind that I had read something on similar lines, about a year back. What's that?

Well, those who have read the Vikas Swarup's spectacular debut novel, Q&A can read my mind. It's the story of Ram Mohammad Thomas, a (don't be surprised about the name, the book has more details.) poor orphan who can't read a newspaper and has never attended school but goes on to win India's biggest quiz show, Who Will Win a Billion? answering all twelve questions on dot to the point. Each chapter in this book untangles how an incident or episode in the deprived individual's life provided an answer to each question.

Plot is brilliant and it's the story of struggle between good and evil, a reality check by a very young boy who has no other choice in life but to survive.

Now from what I can make out from the plot line of Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire' is that it has dotted link to Q&A's plot. I may be correct or in-correct in my view because I have not seen the movie, just guessing from what I have read so far.

The chief protagonists are Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), his brother Salim and Latika played in her adult avatar by Freida Pinto. The movie 'Slumdog Millionaire' is quickly finding a widespread audience and has been acknowledged world over though its casting list is a bit obscure for now, leave apart Anil Kapoor and Irfan Khan. Freida Pinto who had made a few TV appearances and hosted a travel show is making her debut with this movie.

Pinto feels that "Slumdog" captures the Mumbai she knows better than any film she's seen, despite its having been directed by a Brit (although Tandan, who receives a co-director credit for the film, was apparently instrumental in making sure dialogue and situations were culturally accurate).

As for her own work, Pinto says, "It was literally like I'd put in 22 years of research, just everything I'd seen in my life, without knowing I would ever do a film like "Slumdog".

You know, my name is Latika.

The frames marvel of color and music and life in Boyle’s Mumbai. The scenes of kids running, jumping, scaling trash heaps expresses the existential climate that thrives in one part of the metropolis. That's reality and you and I know that. The music is downright Rahmanistic. Isn't it, try it yourself.

The movie is already out there in theaters, and methinks I will go and watch this movie in the cinema hall. Are you going too?

Keep reading and remain connected.

2008-11-17T09:40:00.002+05:30

It's foggy today...

the rhythm's festival is on
someone weaving wet water reeds
today also there is smoke
the mood is laid back
no mood for bits and bytes
need a book and some chai
similar days spent in scotland
chasing my thoughts
only that my breath was colder.

but then i am to put back
all these frames
....to get back to life.

Keep reading and remain connected.

2008-11-13T06:29:00.009+05:30

Postcards from Bylakuppe...

There is a riot of colors which I can feel, when the vehicle accelerates on a dust-covered road, its noise annunciating modernity's further invasion of a calm form of society. Which is this new place?

Whenever anyone talks about Tibetans in India, the places that pop up in our minds are Darjeeling and Dharamasala. But there is one such settlement down south where there is a fully grown community in the town of Bylakuppe, near Mysore, 250 km from Bangalore. Apparently, after Tibet was invaded in the year 1959, the State of Karnataka offered land to any Tibetan who wanted to settle in this land. Quite a huge number of people accepted this offer and today this small patch of land is home to a magnanimous temple and a Buddhist monastery.

This is named as the Namdroling Monastery, often called the Golden Temple of South India. The title 'Golden Temple' is befitting because the structures are bathed with a layer of glittering gold, and this make the edifices more conspicuous from a far off distance.

There is a series of structures and each of these looks more or less the same. As I entered the monastery, the air was absorbed with chants and loud voices of Lamas reading something. I feel they were rote learning some slogans from scriptures which seemed to have been written ages back. They were dressed in ochre and red robes.

The monotone of drum beatings and pipes intermittently filled the environment because it was the prayer time and all the disciples were busy with their respective activities.

Once I entered the main entrance hall of the monastery, I was awe-struck by the grandness and richness of three larger than life gold plated gigantic statues sitting on a platform.

Richly painted murals dolled up the walls and even the ceilings. Dragons twirled up the walls. Colors, colors and colors and nothing but colors are what define the interiors of the main temple of the monastery.

Since most my friends were in a hurry to drive back, I had to listen to them even though I wished to spend some more time at this place. All I had with me was half an hour so I was not able to capture some interesting compositions of the monks. I cannot take pics in a hurried situation. For me what works the best is, go to the place, trip around and see things and then, when the elements are in their most natural form, make my own frames and click pics bindaas.

Seems we got a bit derailed here, let's get on track again. One more striking feature is the myriad hues of flags that one can see fluttering in all corners of this structure. Is it the embodiment of hope? A hope for an independent state after having made an epic journey so far.

Or is it that the road ahead seems a bit dark and direction less.

More details about this place are here.

Also don't miss shutterbug, Anita Bora's post soaked with some brilliant pics here.

Keep reading and remain connected.

2008-11-07T09:09:00.004+05:30

Just like that...

There was nothing special about this composition. Just in the wild bush something had grown and this was during a trip to a hill resort. Somehow it caught my senses and even though I had gone few yards ahead, took a few steps back and clicked it.

I don't know if it came out the perfect way. But something came at the end and that's what you see above.

Keep reading and remain connected.

2008-11-04T18:47:00.007+05:30

Vote and Grab a free Coffee....

Yesterday, while I was reading the New York Times online (nytimes.com), I found an AD by Starbucks before it could let me read the front page. Later, I learnt that Starbucks is offering a free cup of coffee to anyone and everyone who vote on the 4th of November'08 for the US Presidential elections.

Now, a questions is it a conscious initiative to stimulate civic participation or is it a ploy to jack up its own business which is going through a tough patch during a period of economic downturn when 600 of the 7,200 Starbucks branches in America were planned for shutdown a couple of months back.

Whatever be it, I unquestionably vouch for the fact that drinking coffee, makes one feel good. Definitely so after you have come out from the voting booth, after having cast your ballot. The hope remains, may be my vote would make a difference.

So ahead, vote and grab a free coffee at Starbucks.

Keep reading and remain connected.

2008-11-04T06:35:00.007+05:30

The Last Lecture...

I generally don't like reading autobiographical books, but sometime back, I had picked a book after reading reviews about it. It was for the simple reason that I was thrilled when I heard the first few minutes of a lecture (nah nah not the kinds that we have in grad schools, anyways I was always a last bencher) by the central character of the book on iTunes. To me it is always more pleasurable to read a book, rather than to see it, converted into a movie or a television series.

So pause, pause after 2 minutes of viewing the video on my iPod and I made sure I read this book. For all those who believe that 'The Last Lecture' would be a gyan book considering the word 'lecture' in its title, please don't be misguided. Once you have completed reading it, you would realize the real worth of this book. I am not sure, if someone would buy my views but that's how I felt once I flipped the last page of this book.

The Last Lecture is a book on Randy Pausch, a Computer Science professor at Carnegie Mellon. It centers around a remarkable speech he gave - Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams after being diagnosed with terminal cancer on September 18, 2007. The book is simple and talks about living a satisfying and productive life and these are cited by means of incidents that Pausch confronted and faced in his personal life. That’s why people say, there is no better classroom in this world than 'Life'. This word of wisdom may sound hypothetical but that's true to the core.

I felt the kernel of what Pausch wants to convey is that, dream, dream, dream and work towards it.

"Almost all of us have childhood dreams; for example, being an astronaut, or making movies or video games for a living. Sadly, most people don't achieve theirs, and I think that's a shame. I had several specific childhood dreams, and I've actually achieved most of them. More importantly, I have found ways, in particular the creation (with Don Marinelli), of CMU's Entertainment Technology Center of helping many young people actually *achieve* their childhood dreams."

"It's not about how to achieve your dreams, it's about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the dreams will come to you."

Randy Pausch, was recognized as a pioneer in human-computer interaction and design, and one of the very first person who worked extensively on virtual reality research. Although diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer in September 2006, it was his spirit and zest for life that won him accolades as a teacher and a mentor. Though he is no more, (he left this world on July 25th, 2008) he has left behind a treasured legacy.

One of the most important points that Pausch speaks about that impressed me was 'Head Fake'. What's that?

When we send our kids to play organized sports -football, soccer, swimming, whatever - for most of us, it's not because we're desperate for them to learn the intricacies of the sport.

What we really want them to learn is far more important: teamwork, perseverance, sportsmanship, the value of hard work, an ability to deal with adversity. This kind of indirect learning is what some of us like to call a 'head fake."

There are two kinds of head fakes. The first is literal. On a football field, a player will move his head one way so you'll think he's going in that direction. Then he goes in the opposite way. It’s like a magician using misdirection. Coach Graham used to tell us to watch a player's waist. "Where his belly button goes, his body goes," he'd say.

The second kind of head fake is the really important one - the one that teaches people things they don't realize they're learning until well into the process. If you're a head fake specialist, your hidden objective is to get them to learn something you want them to learn.

Limpid style of telling things and it’s so simple that it aplies to each and every aspect of our lives. Pausch mentions in his book that, there were few hidden intentions of delivering the speech, Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams at the University.

"The lecture was for my kids, but if others are finding value in it, that is wonderful," Pausch wrote on his Web site. "But rest assured; I'm hardly unique."

This was probably the best gift he would have offered his three kids: Dylan, Logan and Chloe who would miss their father when they grow up. Kids definitely bask in the warm cocoon of their fathers and their presence makes life more meaningful. One of my friends, Kishore has written a letter to his father and sent it with the hope that he would reply to it soon.

"Under the ruse of giving an academic lecture, I was trying to put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children."

Pausch loved his wife, a lot and this lecture was his gift to his wife whose birthday was on the same day, as he delivered the speech. Before concluding his talk, he invited his wife, Jai to the stage, embraced her and the entire crowd sang 'Happy Birthday' song for her. Another head fake, if you got it.

What goes deep down and finally settles after reading this book is the message of optimism. When Pausch was asked on the day of his lecture, 'What was the best thing that had happened to him that day?'

He replied, "Well, first off, I'd say the day's not over yet. So there's always a chance that there will be a new best."

Well, can one think of a reply that is more optimistic and affirmative than this, when one knows that six months down the line there is no road ahead?

A jubilant read definitely for book lovers. For others, even though you can watch the entire lecture on some forums or video website on the internet, just try on this book. And I am pretty sure each and every word would distill and settle down as you turn the pages.

Keep reading and remain connected.

(Note: None of the pictures used in this post are taken by me.)

2008-10-30T07:24:00.002+05:30

Weekend @ Kabini...

There are times in life when there are lots of tasks to be attended and heart in heart one feels, that one needs a break to get perked up again. This is exactly what happened to me, when in the midst of lot of activities, I had the opportunity to visit Kabini and spend a day there in the Jungle Lodges and Resort.

Kabini is a river in Karnataka that passes through a picturesque terrain before joining the Kaveri near Mysore. The Kabini Jungle Lodges and Resort (KJLR) has been rated among the top five wildlife resorts in the world by Tatler's way back in 1995 but I am not sure if it still retains that ranking today.

Situated at a distance of 220 kilometers from Bangalore, a drive to reach this place in five to six hours by road is the most preferred option for most of the visitors. More so this place is close to the Nagarhole Wildlife Sanctuary, Wayanadu Wildlife Sanctuary, Bandipur National Park and the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, parts of which are visible during the river ride inside the jungle.

We reached KJLR by 2:00 in the afternoon. At the reception we were apprised about the rules and regulations of the resort and some simple guidelines to follow during our stay for a day there. The KJLR has colonial style architecture and can accommodate around 50 people, so advance booking for this place during the peak season is must. There are around 14 colonial style double rooms with modern amenities, 10 twin-bedded cottages and 6 tented cottages.

The accommodation is very comforting and satisfying but for those people who are used to TV and air conditioners, sorry, one won't get either of the two at KJLR. Personally I too feel that its incongruous and such luxuries shouldn’t find place in a jungle resort. It's a complete eco-friendly resort and noise of any form be it load music or partying late night is strictly prohibited here.

Food during lunch, breakfast and dinner is served in buffet style in the common dining area called the Ghol Ghar that overlooks River Kabini. I really enjoyed the food, that I had here, which mainly comprised of Indian dishes, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Even breakfast was filling and there was a rich variety such as bread, omelette, fruit juice, dosa, idli, vaada, upma, etc along with the regular entremetses.

Leave the food part, let's get into the real action now. The first day after lunch, we took some rest in the hammocks before we started for our wildlife safari at 4:00 P.M. in the evening. The initial half an hour drive of our safari was through a small village, which is situated on the periphery of the forest. Once we entered the heart of the forest, our guide, a naturalist instructed us to be as silent as possible. So all that one could hear was the sound of engine and the tyres ruckling down the jungle road. The undefiled smell of the forest was all around us. As we drove in the open jeep, we could feel the crisp evening wind on our faces, something similar to the cool effect one gets on having a mouth freshener.

Since that day was cloudy and there were early signs of rain, spotting elephants was out of question. Suddenly our vehicle came to a jerky stop because our guide had spotted a leopard camouflaged in the branches of a tree about 200 meters from the road.

We saw lots of wild dogs, bisons, sambhars, crested hawk eagles and herds of spotted deers. Our guide told us that a pack of seven or eight wild dogs can shoot down a tiger in few seconds, even though these creatures appear to be so harmless.

The best part of the safari was when we were about to return, it started raining cats and dogs. The rain drops were striking us like tiny boulders with great force. We were in the middle of the jungle, and it was twilight by now, and because of the rain, there was practically no visibility. Since I was in an open jeep, I wanted to enjoy the rain, but before doing so made sure that my camera was safe in my kitbag.

That day at night, had a wholesome dinner and spent some time with my friends before hitting the bed. Early morning, I woke up by 5:00 A.M. and was able to capture the nature in its true colors. I didn’t use any filters or any post-processing for this photograph. It was taken just like any other snap, and the end result was this.

At 8:00 A.M. we started for our 3 hour boat ride and it offered to me the perfect setting for taking some landscape shots while on the boat.

I spotted some birds in the middle of the river, right in the bowels of the jungle.

Our guide gave us tons of information anytime we spotted a new bird. We had even spotted a crocodile very near to this congregation of tree trunks egressing from the surface of the water like forks. But probably, it was the sound of the motor engine, that disturbed the crocodile and it disappeared inside the colored water like a shot.

The journey was refreshing and all, I could see around was water, lush greenery and some birds chirping in the air. At that moment our boat rider, diverted our vessel and paved our way towards a bamboo jungle adjacent to the river bed, where tigers come to have water at night. We even saw the carcass of a spotted deer that was killed by a tiger, the previous day night.

I didn't realize how time passed and we were back to the resort after an unforgettable river ride.

For those of you who want to pamper themselves with a traditional massage, the KJLR has facilities for an Ayurvedic massage center, run by a family from Kerala. I went there and checked the prices and those were very decent. By this time, it was 12:00 P.M. in the noon and the custodians of the resort informed us that it was time to check out because the cleaning has to be done before another gang of visitors come by 2:00 P.M. in the afternoon.

If someone asks me, Kabini is a good weekend getaway for nature lovers and KJLR is a perfect place to stay in cottages in sylvan surroundings. The rates are not very high too, considering that it includes food, stay, jungle safari and river ride.

Complete album is here.

Warning: The carcass pic may be disturbing for few readers.

Keep reading and remain connected.

2008-10-26T19:06:00.003+05:30

Diwali Wishes...

May this festival of lights, light up your life.
May the glow of the divas usher in good times for you and your family.
Live upto your dreams and keep moving...

Wishing you and your family a very Happy Diwali.

More about Diwali here.

Keep reading and remain connected.

2008-10-25T13:12:00.004+05:30

Click Maadi...

They all line up, from the eldest to the youngest for the breakfast served in a buffet format in a resort. I was standing at one corner and could see some perfect frames in my viewfinder. Just then I could feel someone pulling my t-shirt.

'Hurry up, Dhruv. Have your breakfast soon' a mid aged lady's voice says.

'Mama is calling, but can you take a nice pic of myself and my brother, Dhruv', the individual who had pulled my t-shirt says this.

I turn back and see, Shruti.

The brother and sister, immediately link arms and the sister who is elder between the two hugs his brother. I took a picture and immediately both the kids, unlink and rush to see how both of them appear in the photograph.

Shruti says, 'See, I am looking nice' but Dhruv see you have something on your face.

Post 2000, was the period when the online social networks, the nets of relationship that grow using high-tech socially engineered websites took the world by storm. Starting from Orkut, to Linkedin to Flickr to MySpace to Facebook, each of these sites serve a purpose, but stands unfaltering on the concept of networking. In each of these cases, the webs grow from conversations among people who share common interests, yet who differ in other ways such as living halfway across other side of the globe. All this is fine.

I don't know and even some may even laugh at it but I consider a camera, a tool of networking aside from its exclusive purpose of capturing and storing experiences, panoramas, cycloramas, etc. I met Shruti and Dhruv through my camera and till date have met many others within India and abroad through the small window of my viewfinder. There is always the lure of the unknown, something new.

The pic below is one of a Panditji, whom I had met in a solitary and unfrequented temple on a hill, where the mobile signals fail and there is no internet connection. It was pretty dull and foggy that day and this person, came forward and told me if I could take a snap of his.

My reply, sure, why not. After I took the picture, Panditji, saw his image on the view finder, and was impressed. He rushed inside the temple and came out with a small chit of paper, in which he had written the address of the temple, of which he is the owner and the steward. He asked me if I could send him a hard copy of his photograph.

Similarly, sometime back I had mentioned about an incident, when I was offered a yard long dosa for free.

(Note: The gentleman who prepared the foot-long dosa that you see in the pic, didn't charge me a single penny because he liked the pic that I took for him. I requested him and told him that this was not fair as he deserved his due, but he smiled and asked if he could meddle with my camera for a while. So this post is for that humble soul.)

So what are you waiting for, start clicking pictures. It may be your style of social networking and who knows, you can come with a new big bang idea that challenges Mark Zuckerberg dude.

Keep reading and remain connected.

2008-10-06T06:28:00.003+05:30

Want to be a part of it? M.I.L.K. ....

Yesterday, while reading on the internet, I read about a contest that would excite many people who often wish to capture the best moments of life and otherwise in their lenses.

The contest titled M.I.L.K.(Moments of Intimacy, Laughter and Kinship) is open to any photographer and that’s the best part of it.

To give a small background about this contest, it goes like this. In 1999, British publisher Hodder Headline (now Hachette Livre) held a global photographic competition called M.I.L.K., inspired by the 1950s landmark photographic exhibition, 'The Family of Man'. The main motive behind this event was to offer an open platform for photographers and search for unique and geographically diverse images on the themes of friendship, family and love.

The results were praise worthy as it turned out to be not only one of the richest photographic collections in history, but also one of the most significant, drawing participation from 17,000 professional and amateur photographers in 164 countries. In total over 40,000 images were received by M.I.L.K., including at least four Pulitzer Prize winners. The 300 winning images were chosen by the Chief Judge, Magnum photographer Elliott Erwitt, and were the basis for three books entitled Family, Friendship and Love and an international touring exhibition launched at New York's Grand Central Terminal in 2001.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the original M.I.L.K. competition, M.I.L.K. Licensing (now a subsidiary of PQ Blackwell), again in association with Elliott Erwitt, is conducting a new competition, this year. It is based on the on the themes of friends, families, lovers and laughter to create a new collection of 150 images from across the world.

The photographers would be judged on the basis of these simple requirements.

• The Images that celebrate friendship, family and love.
• Images that tell stories and convey real emotion.
• Images that evoke a humorous response.
• Technical quality.

The contest is open till the 31st Dec'08. Ah ha that's a long way to go. And with the season of festivities and togetherness just starting, think Dusshera, think Diwali, think Thanksgiving, think Christmas, the canvas is just open to paint each one's own composition on the themes that celebrate friendship, family and love.

The contest offers $125,000 as prize money, with the winner getting $50,000 as cash prize. In the end the top 150 pictures would be included in the coming up publication of 'Fresh M.I.L.K.: Friends, Families, Lovers & Laugher', which is scheduled to be printed in autumn 2009. All featured photographers will retain copyright on their images in exchange for granting M.I.L.K. a non-exclusive license.

For more information, regarding how/where to submit the images online, FAQs and other details check the site here.

Does this pic, celebrate friendship, family and love? You decide. But let me try out some other compositions using my frames for this contest and wish you do too. All the best.

Keep reading and remain connected.

(This pic was taken when the mother had left the puppies for a while in search of some food and I made sure to click this without disturbing their natural moods.)