What about us?

2011 has almost come to pass and relative damage already done. And the results -halfway, somewhere lurking between Relief and Distress. Each stare must have had its own perspective.
However, Time is the medium...
Place: The corniche at pondichery.

India's first !

A view of the Pamban bridge- the double leaf sea bridge that connects Rameswaram and Pamban.     The first Sea bridge in India.
A capture, couple of hours before sunset.



Warning amidst confusion

With flashy colors all around on the outside and shyness ruling his 'inside', those little eyes could have gone totally missing. But curiosity revealed a part of his face.
Although not vividly expressed owing to lot of other colored elements, that 'killer stare' was for me,the final warning.

Stroked over!


An appearance that demanded attention - Colors of contrast decorating the forehead.
Routine can be quite different from belief, but he probably did enough to get himself a meal for the afternoon.

WATER + Water + (earth)

Place: Dhanushkodi, Tamil Nadu
This tiny ancient city was completely washed away by a wild hurricane in the year 1964. And now it exists an uninhabited island closest to Srilanka (30 km), near Rameswaram.
A place where 'insignificance' was constantly revealed even at a distance of few meters, as nature ate up petty sized objects.
The experience of being, was sufficient.


ps: The tiny objects are tourists and vehicles.



Rail-sail !


A north bound train crosses the Bay of Bengal at Pamban, 30 minutes before sunset.
For the passengers it is a 3 km sail on water.
View of the train from the equally long Pamban bridge.





Where lines converge!

A casual walk from the south end to the north end lasted 5 minutes.
It was the temple corridor at Rameswaram in South Tamil Nadu. The rest is known.

Dream loner!

Short after the sun showed up in Rameswaram, was a loner, waiting to get on-board for a ride along the coast.
Before he could, he had to wait for 24 more enthusiasts.

Escape to freedom!



Place: Sethukarai, Ramanathapuram.
A parking lot that seemed dangerously far.
I waited.......watched them reach,unanchor and sail further deep.

ELEPHANT house

An array of stone compartments where war elephants of Vijayanagara were put to rest.
A place called Mahanavamidibba at Hampi.

Pit-stop!

A bright sunny morning at the Guesthouse at Hampi in Karnataka.  Here was one, who found moisture, a luxury.
- short after i left a shirt to dry.

Acid darbari within!

An exhausting 1 km climb of uncertain routes and certain monkeys. Reaching the windy mountain top to find myself alone, lost in the middle of the lost civilization of Vijayanagara, was a feeling of fantasy close to disbelief .
Certainly may stand incomparable to a Himalayan experience.
However, the 360 degree view of space open to nature was an experience in itself. Drops of rain from the threatening clouds added to the disbelief.
When things gradually came to a standstill ,it was 'Acid Darbari' of 127 hours that was playing within.

The 16th Century frame!

Roaming around on the unknown hills of Hampi, it was just never, that one could get away from the sight of Art.
The pillars here - firm old frames!
Every single place where one might rest for breath, stood in the vicinity, an effort towards architecture, to relish............................even for the weak pair of eyes.

Destined to reach!

The four ferries stood at one's disposal, one who wished to reach the destination which was quite far.
Reminded me of those texts (now almost in obscurity).Those that have been torch-bearers for the brave who did dare to journey across...
Here however,it was the Tungabhadra river shaped by the picturesque setting all around and the destination being twenty minutes away.

Talking stones!

Every sculpture out of hundreds at Haleebedu was a story.
Details of the ribs sticking out like that of a collapsed cage and the life sculpted to the faces not just conveyed ideas but were sufficient to express the value for art.

Deep enough!

 









 Place: Hampi
The rocks may have camouflaged this elephant against people.
But splashing revealed it all!
The ritual of a morning bath seemed to be the best time for pranks.

Alone, never lonely!

Overwhelming was the experience in the middle of 26 sq.kms of ruined forts, places and temples at Hampi in Southern India.
Mostly uninhabited except for a few tourists.
This picture was set at the Hemakuta Hill in Hampi that supposedly offers a peaceful view of the sunset of which the clouds deprived me.
With a strong current of wind and a couple of langurs behind me, this room of worship located on a slope with a serene looking tree at the entrance blended with a cold color tone was for me the mood of this place.

After Art!

This almost dilapidated temple which stands at the heart of Hampi, the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire has still a few visitors.
The monolithic stone chariot being a masterly work of art and the temple 'Mandapa' with 56 musical pillars resonating to "Sa Re Ga Ma" of Indian classical music being an experience.
The fact is still puzzling as to how Sound could be programmed into a stone pillar in the 16th century, while the destroyed temple gate was proof enough that even art was programmed into every stone that went into building this huge temple complex.

A Rare Feet!








The concept of 'The Superhuman' in the Jaina Religion finds its expression here at Sravanabelagola in the south of Karnataka, Southern India- An 18m high figure of the all-renouncing Bahubali carved to perfection.
A drizzling 7'o'clock morning, when the priest was found performing a ritual for a couple of followers who found themselves secure.

A different war!


Detailed carving of thousands of such mini war elephants pressing against each other, competing to circumambulate the sanctum, was a constant characteristic in all temples of the Hoysala period in the Hassan District of Karnataka.
Belur, the place, one of the ancient capitals of the Hoysala Empire.

Goethe's Violet

'Give away as a rose gives' is an ancient teaching.
This is certainly not a rose. But the teaching holds valid for the entire world of flora that gives away its fragrance for free.
The unconditionality in giving away....should then be worthy of contemplation.
This was shot in the southern Indian region of Kerala.
- A scene where this flower patiently tolerated a relatively heavy striking from the water pipes, with the underlying wisdom that promised endurance and growth.
And hailing from such a gentle source, this falling drop may never hurt the earth.


The Unfair fairs!


With open confession of my inability to explain what he had in mind while he was photographed,  i introduce to you this young friend who occupied a corner in one of those busy Chennai streets during a Temple festival.
For a change, i was insisted to photograph by an unusually overwhelming smile that all of a sudden switched over to.........i don't know what.....!
He belonged to that tribe of hunters from northern India who were prohibited entry into forests and were forced to migrate and take up selling for a living.They are seen living now more in the southern region.
That plaything on the forehead probably pointed to a whole lot of unsold products....a point of concern.
But it is a fascinating fact that this selling community persists inspite of weak responses.
The Papershade protected nothing while the umbrella played the selling platform..

Bond makes Safe!






A dangerous tent to sit under and breakfast, but this Mahout had once even used it as a shelter against rain. He fears not!
The interwoven bond that forms between an Elephant and its Mahout is an indian bed-time story.
Elephant taming is a famous 'family business' here.The Mahout as boy, is assigned an elephant calf and the attachment they share towards each other grows in range and dimension with time.
This was outside a temple here in South India.
- The Elephant, automated to bless devotees while the Master watched on.

'Drum'a of Life

Louder the beats, longer the distance travelled...and he makes his living.
Constant playing of the "Dholak", "Dolki" and "Damru" were his only purpose until he found customers - A fascinating young man, from the northern part of India who had travelled to the southern coast of Pondichery with hopes, initially hesitant to being photographed until few words were exchanged.
He perhaps did not know if his beats were rendered to perfection, but he enjoyed the rhythm and was by all means driven by it.
Accompanied by couple of his fellow mates, he was constantly being watched over by a manager who probably was his sponsor.
That implied i had to keep off.

After school.........


After the shutter snapped back, nothing really had happened to the kid. It was the age-old gimmick, a mother normally plays.
An act to re-establish the fact that she was the mother! But the girl seemed to be nonchalant.
One could just like that find such kids on Indian streets. Waiting desperately every afternoon for the school bells to ring, then speed back with barefoot to their vendor parents.Sometimes, critical competitions to reach back esp. when siblings are involved.
When back, few of them are of assistance during selling. But most of them are invariably mischief-makers in the opinion of parents.
The carefree attitude of this young one was apparent when she continued to stare at the camera disregarding what her mother had to offer.She knew anyways, the end result..
It was all smiles!!!
And 'Smiles' may never end until the mother continues to remind herself that there are smarter wagons for her little girl than the coconut selling wagon.

An ancient hobby

One of the favorite pass times....And the idea belongs to all of humanity. We have been doing it since the time we were primates.
With curly strands of hair caressing the ear, this little grandson of an Ice-cream vendor on the East Coast Road in Chennai, chewed that tiny little thumb of his, long even after my share of Cornetto was finished.
With stained hands of melted remains, i rushed to pull the camera out, not to miss the moment. But there was no necessity to hurry-up. The toddler was working on a long thumb-sucking session, with rhythmic repetitions. He did not know my intention and was quite content to hold himself still.
We have all done it. And some of us might have had a 'favorite finger' in this regard. He was one of us.
Perhaps his 'ice-cream' was unconditionally available and most important...... it never melted!
My clock had struck 2 pm.

Roof keepers!





Must have been 30 feet high where they rested. Walking on the streets, i noticed them having a light talk, with the evening breeze joining them. With the roof yet to be layed, the built-up space was open to the pattern on the sky.
My SLR had encroached upon the otherwise casual discussion they had. While i looked through the view finder, busy changing the settings, came an unpleasant howl from one of them, not okay with being photographed.

Courtesy: Science of Light for re-inventing the silhouette.

Waiting for an invitation

I drove a short distance away from home to meet a friend, i had not met the last 8 years.
This grilled window belonged to his home.
And the muskteers are reported to have been coming there regularly and sit by that window. Luckily, it was not any military operation nor were the muskets put to use. An intriguing television programme was binding them to the grills.
Pavan, the foregrounder, spoke Telugu, one of the southern Indian languages and could very well understand Tamil.
All this time one could here the rumbling noise of concrete and construction work nearby.The kids belonged there and were found always chalking out a new game plan on the streets that was interrupted by a high volume on the television.
I don't remember if they walked to school, but were practically bright.
The evening that came to pass was the time for me and my friend to invite them inside, for a brief game that we had chalked out.

Lost!


People rushing in to breakfast, queue at the wash area, few of them hastily looking for chairs to sit, bearers speeding up the orders and the manager trying to be fast in settling the bills.
I had been waiting for quite sometime to place an order when i found somebody quite unaware of all the turmoil.
Dressed up with holy marks on the forehead, he was in a state of deep sleep, unaffected by the jolting to & fro movements of his mother who was breaking fast. Neither the aroma of masala dosa nor the howls of the bearers could wake him up. He was a great scene of stability.
Trivandrum was the place.
I had given away 5 more minutes before i ordered a dosa. When the order was at my table, this little guy had left the scene, unperturbed.

Call of Water!


These houses were static as concrete like their counterparts on Land.
Perhaps a pose for breath for those Ferrymen.
Taking a few days off from traumatic households and closed office spaces, these mobile houses are most sought after by many for relaxing and celebration.
A watery landscape with Coconut tree umbrellas?
Alappuzha is the place and i vividly remember my toes being gently cleansed by the serene backwaters, when our ferry swam past a passage of such boat-houses.
It was pleasant to watch the inhabitants of one boat greeting the other when the latter ferried past.
Families and Friends got together on these boat-houses. Couples, old and young enjoyed the comforts of Spa and traditional kitchen.
With the ferryman and the cook at one's disposal, traveling on these boats for a couple of days can prove to be a momentary period of absolute rest, before vacation gets over.

Being his own lamp

He wasn't one of those reluctant sellers who usually get annoyed at the sight of a camera. And probably he had seen many such.
Hurricane lamps are one with 70% of this country that lives in villages and were named so in the belief that they don't turn off even if a hurricane strikes.
This humble-looking corn seller seems to be contemplating on a change of name.
It took all his patience to light it up.
The legs of the wooden stand confined the Man and his Lamp to their private 2D-space.
It was 7pm at Elliots beach.

Indian Engineering

Soaring high and expanding wide, this grand Gopuram at the Thiruvannamalai temple challenged the wide angle capabilities of my lens. It was crafted with passion - One of those structures that baffles modern engineers.
I should have been a little patient to include the right hand side corners. But a    14 km walk around the sacred mountain (encompassing the temple) was exhausting.
Perhaps a bad excuse now!
Thiruvannamalai- the home to many enlightened souls that are believed to walk the land in subtle forms. And this temple gate seems to have been so constructed to indicate the various stages, an aspirant graduates through in the process of evolving.

There he was!


Friend!
That reminded me of a few close associates.
One of the shops by the roadside in Munnar featured this group key chains.
A brief pause for nostalgia before i took this picture and another one now before i write further..............
Nothing was very special about this key chain, except that this imprinted 'Friend' stood out brave among those who were shy to reveal their identities.
An Analogy to a real-life situation?

I continue to hope.

Men at Marina

One of those pictures that gave me an elaborated sense of satisfaction.
Though it is fading away like the slowly setting sun at the backdrop.
An ever-unsatisfied urge grows, that demands for betterment.
This picture was set at Marina, Chennai - An amateur training ground for some Gymnasts who cannot afford urban sophistication.
Speaking to the trainer, whom i came to know as one of those cine stuntmen who risk to live, i learnt that about 10 youngsters who train under him aspire to be stuntmen.
This picture for me, represents a state of inertia.
The executor never knows how he will end up - A question that always confounds stuntmen.

Mittais on the coast





"As if they had bequeathed a part of those packet contents to the sky, but with a discoloration."
They are two among the thousands who sell, the much beloved of all 'Mittais'.
The Corniche at Pondichery witnesses many such.
Taking a few minutes off the mundane walkways, they could be discussing the strategies of effective selling.
On a bright noon which hardly witnesses children, these two will have to wait until evening.
No cubicles to sit in. For a few, the natural scene drives the clock faster.