The Journey so Far

out of action

2009-11-04T10:57:00.001+05:30

A month back I injured my knee and was diagnosed with an ACL tear in my left knee. Photography has taken the back seat for a while, however just couldn't stop myself to go to Hebbal last week after I saw a few black and white birds flying over Hebbal lake. Had a quick 30 minute shoot before my knee gave in.

So out of action for a few more weeks before I start traveling and photography soon :)

Frames of Mind 2009

2009-08-31T11:03:00.002+05:30

Finally my frame made it to the Annual Photography Exhibition Frames of Mind held by Bangalore Photography Club this year. It was a great feeling to see my frame up there this weekend - couldn't spend much time at the exhibition, but have been receiving loads of messages about the frame. Thanks a lot everyone for your wishes.

Here's my exhibit displayed at Frames of Mind 2009

Nature Nirvana - A trip amidst clouds

2009-08-06T13:01:00.008+05:30

The excitement was high and it was too late to take a nap. The clock stuck 4:30 AM and we were on our way to Chickmagalur. The journey was getting dull with nothing to see, no one to race with, no more choices of songs and no FM radio with completely confusing route markers. And suddenly you are traveling amidst clouds and the weather takes a 360 degree turn - chilly, misty and the clouds just embrace your face.

The energy is on an all time high and the excitement is building up. The journey amidst the clouds continue for a while on mud roads through coffee plantations and we reach Nature Nirvana.

Cricket, Volleyball, Basketball, Carrom, Scrabble, Hiking, Trekking, Sleeping, Eating, Dancing and loud Music hit Nature Nirvana for 23 hours.

Its been the most amazing two days this year for me. Not much of photography this time - thanks to the rain, however a portfolio shoot, new ways of taking pictures in absolute darkness and tons of fun.

Suraj, Madhu, Vishal, Sharath, Shashwath, Sudhi, Parari

Vandan, Manu, Amitha, Sharnitha, Christelle, Ruby, Nishchith, Krishna

visiting the western ghats

2009-07-31T13:18:00.010+05:30

Am off for the weekend to have a much needed break.

Have been down with a viral infection and fever for almost 5 days - sleeping and getting bored at home...

The moist air, the lush green paddy fields, NH 48, the curves at the ghats, the lovely evenings with mist and fog all around, the dark clouds and the occasional drizzle.... Just cant wait to be at the Western Ghats and the coffee plantations of Chickmagalur.

Hopefully, the rain gods will keep away for the weekend and the sun shines just at the right times to capture glimpses of my trip.

Quick short trip to Mysore!

2009-06-26T11:06:00.004+05:30

Danny called me over on Saturday and asked, f*****, what you doing?
Nothing came the reply and so the story was set by danny for a quick short photography trip to Mysore.
Well, Mysore... I say! There is something fishy for sure! Well the trip was on Danny and so we left for Mysore at 4 PM from Bangalore.

Somnath called, was bugged with work and his cellphone and so we picked him up on the way. The confusion between Danny and Somnath was whether Deve Gowda petrol bunk near or his house :) We picked Somnath right in the middle.

Mysore it was, we stopped at Barista for a quick refill :) and headed towards Mysore... Stopped to capture the dimming light and reached Mysore at 7 PM.

I started searching for St. Philomena's church... couldn't make it on time. Probably next trip I will make it on time.

We then hit "The Road" pub. Amazing food, Thaiwa Shrimp (Tandoori Shrimp) was good. But Chicken breast stuffed with mutton keema and cashew paste... sounded weird, tasted out of this world.

Danny bid adios to his "special friend" and we headed for Bangalore at 10 PM. An interesting comment that danny passed on his way back; "I don't sleep in the night and specially while driving".

Well he snored away to glory and woke up when we reached Kengeri!
So...
Break at Barista: 540 INR
Chilling out at The Road Pub: 1700 INR
Fuel for the Trip: 1000 INR
Dinner at Barista: 300 INR
Watching Danny as a good boy: Priceless :)

Back to Mangalore

2009-06-04T14:52:00.008+05:30

Yes, I was back to Mangalore once again in January, not to capture Buffalo races but to witnessYakshagana.

Yaksha-gana literally means the song (gana) of Yaksha. Yakshas were an exotic tribe mentioned in the Sanskrit literature of ancient India. Read More on Yakshagana on Wikipedia.

Sindhur not taking any risk after his experiences with Danny and myself, made sure the tickets were booked. Well Sindhur, we really did miss you when you had to drop off at the last moment...

So it sure was a bigger group this time - Ashit, Vinod C Gowda a.k.a. Danny, Vic, Sunil & Myself reached Mangalore in the cool and comfortable KSRTC Volvo bus.

Somnath and Pratheush (due to non availability of chuttis) decided to ride to Mangalore. Little did Pratheush know about the experience he is going to go through.

So Ashit was silent on his trip (traveling in a bus after a long time), Vic - the gadget man had Slumdog millionaire for entertainment with a 2.1 speaker system and Sunil after drinking some battery coolant (Aristocrat and Leher soda) that burned danny's throat slept like a baby till we reached Mangalore.

Sunil - thanks to stop the bus when we really needed. Peeing under the stars in open fields is really an experience

Somnath and Pratheush were already at the hotel and for Pratheush, he understood the importance of A** for the first time in his life.

We had to wait for the evening to have a go at Yakshagana, so it was Kambala once again in the morning, Chicken Gassi for lunch and a dizzy ride in an Innova all around Mangalore.

For entertainment, Vic suggested to replace “dil” with “a**” in whatever song that was playing in the car.

On the way back to the hotel, we captured moments at a Kushti competition. The boat ride to the place was good where danny nearly drowned himself in the small little boat that we shared. Danny, next time don’t yell, don’t move and if you feel the boat is going to trip, throw your gear in the water.

Dinner at Kudla made the day complete. Chicken Ghee Roast, Chickn Gassi, Fish Fry, Neer Dosas and a lot of food… Mangalorean food is something that all of us relished. Pratheush, how was the vegetarian food?

It took us about an hour to find a place where Yakshagana was going on. It was amazing to witness, very colorful, full of energy and absolute passion. The two hours that we spent clicking the artists, were one of the best moments of the day.

Festivals form an indelible part of the people of Mangalore that are celebrated with extreme enthusiasm. The festivals of Mangalore provide a deep insight into the socio-cultural pattern of Mangalore.

Aati, Dussehra, Sri Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh Puja, Tiger dance, Bhuta Kola, Fishing festival, Kambala and Yakshagana are some of the events that brings out the passion and enthusiasm that people of Mangalore celebrate. The culture and ritual for all these festivals are still alive and have been carried out from the past 500 years or more.

With so much to witness and with so little that I have experienced; it’s a long way to go to really feel the passion, fun, enthusiasm, entertainment the city of Mangalore has.

This is my culture, my religion, my ritual! And I love being part of it!

I experimented shooting with transparencies on my Film SLR for the first time on this trip. Will upload the photographs once I get them processed.

back to photography... hopefully!

2009-05-01T23:28:00.006+05:30

Finally took some time off from work last Saturday.

After about 8 long weeks, took my camera and just clicked around.

On a mission to take some good model photographs, I noticed a few dancing men on the lamp shade and something just triggered in my mind.

Low light, 50 mm at high ISO's and here it is...

Well, Thanks you for the lamp shade, next time I'm sure will get a good portfolio done for you!

Hope to get back to some serious photography soon!

working late tonight!

2009-02-25T23:15:00.005+05:30

Its been a long time since I have been on a shoot! Have been busy with a couple of things and at work.

View my exhibits at the Bengaluru Mandis Coffee Table Book Exhibition

Looking forward towards this and coming weekends!

Sankranthi

2009-01-16T09:03:00.009+05:30

Sankranthi, is a festival that marks the beginning of the harvest season for the farmers of Indian Sub-Continent. An interesting fact I came across while browsing the Internet was that this is a harvest festival celebrated not only over India but other South East Asian countries as well. This day also marks the beginning of the gradual increase of the duration of the day.

The beautiful part about this country is that every festival is celebrated in its own way in different states. Pongal as its famously know down south, villages in Karnataka celebrate by making their cattle jump over burning haystacks in a sport called Kichchu Haisodu.

I happened to witness this in one such village on SH17. People never looked so happy and playful. The entire village is there to witness the event...

Of course you go there with your camera you get specially privileges and grants to stand anywhere, however at your own risk. People are high, screaming in joy, booing people whose cattle go around the fire than over it, kids try to chase the bull to get their garlands, balloons or for the matter any thing from the bull.

At the end of the event, I noticed people collecting ash in huge quantities. Of course its sacred however I couldn't stop myself asking someone there what they use it for, and back came the reply - for everything!

The ash would give them a better harvest once sprayed in the field, and would keep the evil spirits away from their house and make their children brave!!!

I am sure a lot of organizations have major concerns about the event, however its a ritual that has been followed for hundreds of years now and holds a lot of importance to the farmer! It's difficult to replace such rituals specially when they happen at remote locations where people worship Rain (Jal), Fire (Agni), Air (Vaayu), Earth (Prithvi) and Sky (Aakash)

View More Photographs on my flickr Photostream.

...

2009-01-07T22:29:00.010+05:30

a few places...

2009-01-06T17:02:00.007+05:30

A few places that I always look up on flickr & Wikipedia and wish to Travel someday!

- Sausalito
- Canon Beach
- Panther Beach
- Taj Mahal
- Hampi
- Waikiki
- Heimaey
- Borgarnes
- Hvalfjörður
- Paris
- Versailles
- Marseille
- Swiss Alps
- Tuscany
- Galapagos Islands
- Kilimanjaro National Park
- Serengeti National Park
- Yosemite National Park
- Grand Canyon
- Luxor
- Cairo
- Venice

Season Greetings!

2008-12-28T11:35:00.004+05:30

Wishing all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Mangalore - Day 2

2008-12-15T12:52:00.011+05:30

Trying to catch up with some sleep after a long chat, the alarm goes out of control. Damn, how could it be 5:00 AM so early?

6:00 AM

Danny is woken up by the Auto rickshaw guy!

Danny: Vandan, the auto has come!

Me: Well, I am ready ;)

Sindhur: Shit Man! I don't want to be late for the race!

Danny: Wake me up once he is ready! And tell something to this auto fellow (zzzzzz)

Me: (Called the Auto fellow), 15 minutes bartini!

Danny: ha ha ha ha ha ha!

6:45 AM

Changed from a Delux room to a single occupancy room, since we just wanted a place to keep our luggage. Room no. 412!

7:00 AM

Boarded the Auto!

Danny: Kadri Kambala!

Auto: Hmm!

7:15 AM

Kadri Kambala Venu! And there is not even a sparrow!

Danny: Fuckers, 6 AM you woke me up! I could have slept for some more time.

Me: So where do we go for a shoot now?

Sindhur: I am hungry!

Danny: Ya, lets have some breakfast!

Auto: Sir!

Danny: Sir, take us to some place to eat!

7:30 AM

Some Darshini near to the venue!

Danny: Idli Vada!

Me: Idli Vada!

Sindhur: Idli Vada!

Auto: Idli Vada!

...

Danny: One plate Vada!

Me: One Plate Vada!

8:00 AM

In the Auto!

Danny: What places are there to see here?

Auto: (He spoke a lot of places, mainly temples, something that I heard was the church)

Me: *Sigh! The mass is going on! lets go to some other place!

Auto: (Again a lot of temples suggested and this time i heard something) Fishing Village!

Me: FISHING VILLAGE! We go there!

8:30 AM

At fishing village! Fish everywhere and anywhere!

A Mouth Watering Experience is all I can say!

9:30 AM

Back to the Venu! Kadri Kambala and extremely glad to see some people!

One thing about Mangalore Auto Drivers! This auto driver was with us from 6:00 AM! He waited for us for an hour! He took us to half of Mangalore, to make sure we get something to shoot! And at the venue

Auto: 113 Rs Sir!

Me: Danny give him 200!

Danny: :)

Auto: Thank you very much!

At the venue!

Me: Hey Ashit! Good Morning! Are you on your way to Kadri Kambala!

Ashit: Hi Vandan! I will be there in about 5 minutes!

10:00 AM

Meet Ashit for the first time! Not getting into the details of introductions!

So Kadri Kambala was scheduled to have a Slush water running race, a tug of war and finally the buffalo race!

12:00 PM

The running race gets over...

1:00 PM

Me: Chicken Curry and Neer Dosa

Sindhur: Chicken Curry and Neer Dosa

Danny: Pork Curry and Neer Dosa

Ashit: Pork Curry and Need Dosa

BURP!!!!

Danny: Fuck, I never expected this food to be so tasty!

2:00 PM

(sleeping)

The tug of war gets over...

3:00 PM

(sleeping)

The buffalo team starts coming in!

As long as I have knows these creatures, they are pretty shy and calm animals.

But these guys are different; huge, aggressive, blood shot eyes and that nasty look on their face. We got into conversation with one Shravan (a local of Mangalore) and got decent piece of information about these buffaloes.

Shravan: So you have come to watch the Kambala!

Me: (No, I am hear to fly kites!) Yes :)

Shravan: First Time!

Me: Yup!

Shravan: Good! Its fun to watch these guys! Did you have a look at the buffaloes?

Me: Yes, the one in that corner!

Shravan: Oh they are new ones! You should wait for the champion buffaloes!

Me: O.. K..

3:30 PM

Drumb starts beating up, the traditional trumpet blows real hard and in comes the champion buffaloes. Now thats a grand entry in the battle field. They went on playing for about half an hour until the complete ceremony was over. The buffaloes are decorated, tied hard, so that they don't get loose, cause these guys are capable of killing someone!

Me: So, has anyone been injured seriously by these buffaloes!

Shravan: Injured! One buffalo has claimed 16 lives! He is not tied all the time, doesn't come in the race.

Me: Good!

Me: So the ceremony is done by every team before the race!

Shravan: Yes its a tradition. Because they will be beating up the buffaloes during the race so that they run faster!

Me: No wonder the animal rights are trying to ban this sport.

Shravan: Well these buffaloes are taken care royally!

Me: Meaning?

Shravan: The entire year, they get no beating. They have food for 24 hours, one person is always there to give them. And once in a week they get a complete body massage!

Me: MASSAGE!!!!

4:00 PM

The first trial run happens, and it sends your adrenalin high! You are facing them head on, charging at you, clicking away, and at the last moment, you run to your safety.

The one bad thing about these races; it takes almost half an hour before both the races and their buffaloes are standing with all their feet stationary. With you sitting down to capture shots since morning, my ankles had given away. Tried find Danny, he was sitting in the pavilion! Sindhur was no where to seen.

I station myself right opposite to the race track, and right in front of the pavilion. A good 20 feet away form the finish line! Was that safe! Well I didn't bother. I had the best place to shoot from!

The race happens, I start clicking and don't stop until they cross the finish line. I get my camera down and see not one single soul near me and the buffaloes about 4 feet away! Well thats not bad! :)

Me: Hey Ashit, come along, just sit here, its pretty cool!

Ashit: Are you sure? Is it safe!

Me: Well I trust these guys, the moment the buffaloes cross the finish line they run and catch them.

Ashit: Oh, Good!

...

The next race starts, me and Ashit click away to glory. Ashit managed to click through a pair of legs too!

Ashit: Fuck, the bulls were right next to us!

Me: Yeah, but its safe!

Ashit: Fuck, I am so tired, I am not getting up!

6:00 PM

Danny: Lets go to Liquid Lounge!

Sindhur: No, lets go to the hotel and packup!

Me: I am coming!

Ashit: Where is this place?

6:15 PM

Danny: Ashit and Sindhur, you take this auto and reach Liquid Lounge! We will take the next rick!

6:20 PM

Walking on the streets of Mangalore, tired and hurting legs, heavy gear on the shoulders and the tripod in the hands.

Danny: Fuck! If someone sees me here like this...

Me: LOL

6:30 PM

At Liquid Lounge!