I look back to count the most inspirational moments of life.. And I cannot stop thinking about the dew drops, simple flowers, blue sky, cool breeze and the life sounds echoing in my ears...Appearing as they are !! No pretensions !!
Nature - Inspiration at its best !!
I look back to count the most inspirational moments of life.. And I cannot stop thinking about the dew drops, simple flowers, blue sky, cool breeze and the life sounds echoing in my ears...Appearing as they are !! No pretensions !!
Unfounded Fear
When I was asked to visit Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, as usual my excitement was manifold. However it did not last long. Multiple security clearances and field safety exercises (on first aid, terrorist attacks, hijacking, landmines, trauma counseling) laid down in the arduous tests and clearance process dissolved my enthusiasm to the hilt. Finally, I got through the paper work and was ready to travel.
Excitement and fear mixed in equal proportion in my mind for a country under Phase I security conditions. (this is a phase categorized based on security and political conditions existing in countries). It essentially means, choose a secured hotel, don’t spend too much time in lobbies, prefer rooms near elevators/fire exits, avoid unnecessary travel in city, avoid crowded places and restaurants –coffee shops, remain in constant touch with security focal points etc.etc). With no choice I gave up and decided to stay indoors!! What happened in next few days laid down the foundation for my sincere appreciation of the principles of freedom, stability, peace and security.I t further reinforced the value of carefree life in the streets, the sense of brotherhood, openness and gender equality that is essential for our way of life.
After a tiring journey, I land at Queen Aila airport, small and confined. As I go through the immigration and exchange my notes. Several thoughts cross my mind. I cannot wait till I get the clearance stamped on the passport. I drive through the highway to the capital city -
The nooks and corners of all highways / roads are guarded by small teams of army men in jeeps with rocket launchers, hand grenades, AK 47 and a lot of stuff that I have never seen. As I foodie and street food enthusiastic, I am keen observer of road side food stalls. Here it was only guns stuck out of the check points!! Enough to scare the life out of me!! I wonder how they (arms and ammunition with neat army men) could be so entertaining in action packed movies. While in real life, they had a deep psycho impact that screamed fear.
However, I must admit the streets are clean, traffic is orderly without honking and people are soft and mild. I check in to my hotel, call back home and colleagues, who have religiously asked me to be in touch at every major arrival and departure.
For the next few hours, I peep through the large French window trying to figure out the parking lot and the city. The room is cozy, food up to the mark and bed perfect. I read through the hotel city guides and stuff googled about the city, its culture and local practices. It doesn’t seem convincing. The light fades out and I cannot anymore see through the window. Its only the hundreds lights that spread up to infinity with soft arabic tunes playing on my tv set in the background.
I want to scream “Will someone please let me out?” But I blabber softly. I have to start early tomorrow morning. I better switch off my lights and try to get some sleep! (to be continued)
Blessed Morning !
I had often heard it from other travelers. Decided to give it a try.....A 1600 kms long journey through the fertile coastal coconut land of Kerela deported me to the southern most tip of India - Kanyakumari !!
And this is what I caught !! There is something in the morning air that enlivens your soul & immerses you completely in itself !! The sunrise experience - that is too personal to put in to words...So let my pictures speak to you !!
Kanyakumari is also synonymous to the great legend Vivekananda, in whose memory that Vivekananda rock has been erected. Let me quote a few lines from the legend who enlightened not only a nation but the world with his incomparable wisdom:
"All love is expansion, all selfishness is contraction.
Love is therefore the only law of life.
He who loves lives, he who is selfish is dying.
Therefore love for love's sake,
because it is law of life, just as you breathe to live.
- Swami Vivekananda
(ps: all pictures taken from sunrise point at Vivekanandapuram)
And this is what I caught !! There is something in the morning air that enlivens your soul & immerses you completely in itself !! The sunrise experience - that is too personal to put in to words...So let my pictures speak to you !!
Kanyakumari is also synonymous to the great legend Vivekananda, in whose memory that Vivekananda rock has been erected. Let me quote a few lines from the legend who enlightened not only a nation but the world with his incomparable wisdom:
"All love is expansion, all selfishness is contraction.
Love is therefore the only law of life.
He who loves lives, he who is selfish is dying.
Therefore love for love's sake,
because it is law of life, just as you breathe to live.
- Swami Vivekananda
(ps: all pictures taken from sunrise point at Vivekanandapuram)
Some places have the serenity and glamour to immediately register in your sub conscious mind. Like this one – German Bakery at Kovalam beach in Kerela. Hope will be able to go their again, sit before the vast canvass of calm sea and lie idle for hours. Till then the memories will suffice!
She was at an arm’s length from me, walking along the shore silently. My eyes followed her, wondering the calmness in her so alien to her age.
After walking a long way, she suddenly dropped herself down and with a free fall sat down splashing in the waves that kissed the shore.
Not to mention that it inspired me as well, to shed my things and splash with her. But only after I captured her unconditional joy in my lens!
Apun ka Bollywood...
Have I ever told you that I am complete movie maniac? Yup, I am hooked to this form of media and am committed to spend my weekends over it. I have written about it in my previous posts over here and here. Nothing can match the experience of watching a movie on the big screen…..But hey, do watch out for the times when the hall breaks out in to laughter and you are wondering on what’s so (twice so) funny??? Yes it happened with me in Dostana, Jaane tu ya jaane na, 1920 and many more movies…Or when you are not concentrating on the short skirt / bare chest on screen (John proves it again and again in Dostana) and want to delve in the seriousness of the situation, the whistling wont stop
Coming to the point, our favorite, Bollywood had a close to 125 releases this year and quite a few interesting subjects were touched upon by our directors. (I managed to see most of them) The trend was set perfectly by 2007’s (last) release “Taare Zameen Pe” that challenged the heights of socially relevant and insightful subjects being introduced by the sensitive film makers. My personal credits go to following four releases in 2008 that caught my attention due to one or the other reason:
- The last Lear
- Welcome to Sajjanpur
- Rock On
All the above four movies, reinstall the faith that Bollywood has still not lost its creativity or magic touch. Surprisingly, all of them have a common trait exhibited by the protagonist. It is easy to relate to him (yes it’s “him”…where are the feminists!) and somewhere draw a reference to your mundane (I mean not so filmy) life.
Whether it is Amar in Dasvidaniya or the friends group in Rock On, they rediscover the zeal to live their dreams and complete their wish list (before the movie ends)! It is difficult to believe that Davidaniya has been shot by a debutante director and it seems he has been successful in using Amar (Vinay Pathak) to recreate Amol Palekar on screen. The music is soothing and creative (check out lyrics by Kailash Kher). The actors (with almost no make up) and scenes shot to recreate mundane Mumbai life make it more realistic.
It is good to experience the youthful touch of rock on with some refreshing music and lyrics. The script is neat and engages with nicely woven intercepts of songs.
On the other hand, “The Last Lear” serves the appetite of drama watchers in Bollywood and AB leaves a dramatic impression of a theater geek in love with Shakespeare. The supporting cast Preity Zinta, Shefali and Arjun Rampal have delivered as expected in the given roles. The show stealer is beyond doubt AB. This movie might be a little off track for people who do not enjoy theatre, but for me it was an absolute delight!
I end my post with hearty congratulations to above teams, who have presented some incredible and creative work for ardent followers of Indian Cinema..
60 hours and still bleeding...
Shock, terror, anger, rage, despair, helplessness……. are a few terms that describe an urban Indian’s mindset since the terror struck Mumbai! There are several reasons to lash at media/news channels for their lust to compete for live footage or run after the hostages to capture live testimonies. But I also feel, they must be also applauded to deliver the magnitude of terror and loss caused by the strikes directly in to our living rooms. I am sure this helps to comprehend the violence and insecurity that has become an inseparable part of our lives. It is time for our kids to know that they have inherited a world out bursting with hatred, violence and vengeance. Things are not going to be fine anytime soon and they have struggle their way through this hazy maze!
No words are enough to depict the bloody battle faced by Mumbai in the last 60 hours. Several talk shows and interviews have talked about action. However disappointingly, the all party meet called by the PM immediately after the attacks throws up little hope in absence of a concrete work plan to implement it. Seems like another populist measure that the UPA intends to save its face till the next elections. Mr. Advani kept away from the all party meeting, a gesture that sends the message strongly, both Congress & BJP have little capacity and intentions to act on the recent crisis! It also seems leftists have disappeared completely from the scene. They are more comfortable sounding anti
I thank god for the morality shown by Mr. Shivraj Patil & R R Patil to acknowledge the failure and step down from their respective positions. It is too much to expect from Vilasrao Deshmukh, who did not restrain from inviting Ramgopal Verma for his visit to Taj to review the damages! Similarly for Milind Deora, the MP from
I don’t think there is a political solution to this problem. Terrorism in a issue beyond just security and has to address socio-economic concerns and political relations at global level. What is clear is that solution cannot be achieved by impotent rage of shouting at few politicians and calling for talk shows. This definitely calls on for a larger civil movement that can uproot the system that has been rotten by generations of lethargy, negligence and indifference. I hope we can gather this movement in our lifetime or at least we can hope to gather courage like the few men who fought it from front and left back stories of their valor and bravery!
I GOOGLED....
I was surprised at the efficiency of my colleague who quickly gathered the history of the “person in discussion”. I was baffled and asked him, how he managed to do that.
“I Googled”, he replied. And I was dumbfounded.
Googled – what on the earth does this mean? Simple – he used search engine “Google” and because he did it some time back, (past tense) and he proudly pronounced “ I GOOGLED “
On a more serious note, I am wondering if for a day all of us stopped “GOOGLING”, what would happen? Scary thought, isn’t it!
Simple, my boss would be furious over me for not producing even a single report and would GOGGLE at me for being useless….
Come on, now that’s what we researchers call it as “web research”. Welcome to the Information age, where a handful of repositories of knowledge control the world, your beliefs, profiles and your phone numbers…Truly global, isn’t it?
(PS: With no malice towards “Google” owners. This particular thought occurred to me while analyzing modern knowledge control systems as a part of my study on Participatory research)
Are we learning ?
(this post was written on 5th November, 2008)
Welcome to the global world! The essential nature of globalization is evident by the enthusiasm shown by Indian households to switch on their television sets at 5 am on 5th November and eagerly look at the
Having followed the process with enthusiasm for some time, there is a lot for
# The way both the candidates have designed their campaigns clearly shows an agenda to reach out to the common masses and sell their idea of change. Gone are the days when rallies used to be the only ways of addressing your vote bank. Both the candidates have tried to establish a more personal contact till the last day. Here is an excerpt:
Post from Amy Hamblin's Blog:
A Record Number of Calls Made: Calling Has Ended
| By Amy Hamblin - Nov 4th, 2008 at 10:41 pm EST |
We're still awaiting the final results tonight, but one thing is clear -- this grassroots movement can never be underestimated. Thank you to everyone who helped us make an astounding 1,053,791 calls today! I know it wasn't easy and many of you kept calling long after you were tired and your voice had grown hoarse, but your calls to get our supporters out the polls helped tip the scales in key battleground states like
We've shut down our calling campaigns for the night, incredibly proud of the record amount of calls made today. You gave it your all and we couldn't have asked for more.
Thank you again for everything you've done. You've been with Barack Obama every step of this journey. This is your night.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# In the presidential debates several socio-economic issues like health education, housing, employment, pension schemes, gay marriages etc figure as points of debate. It is interesting to see how Obama has used his community organization skills to reach out to American households and convert it in to votes.
# For me from distance, it seems the process has been designed as highly user friendly. Take a look at this link at Obama’s website that guides the voter to his/her voting location. Even the election commissioner
# The exit polls brought out have been fairly accurate. The types of variables analyzed by the current exit polls are impressive. I feel
# Finally Senator Obama’s victory speech at
With major state elections scheduled in
Wall Street Freefall
Last few weeks have been devoted extensively to Wall Street trauma. The much awaited $700-bn bailout out package was recently cleared by the
Undoubtedly, the current economic crisis has seen many trickle down effects. Downsizing, layoffs, hopelessness, suicides etc.are some of the aftermaths of the bloody battle at Wall Street. One of the news pieces that shocked me is here.
The recent G7 meeting has tried to send some positive signals to investors worldwide. However in spite of all this, it is clear that the system worldwide will need some time to stabilize. And while developing world has enjoyed the glamour of globalization, it is now the time to bear the brunt.
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3)
However some convincing optimistic articles are here:
1)
The Singur issue has been dominating media headlines for quite some time. While the debate and negotiations featured, I was convinced that it will set a trend for a healthy developmental debate and set path for several developmental projects to come...
However, I am dissapointed. Tata's finally decided to move out dream Nano project out of Singur. While this has sent out negative vibes to many industries waiting to set foot in Bengal, it is also a set back for the civil society groups that have failed to work out a middle path that can beenfit all. What is bothering me is following:
Is there a way to consider interests of all varied groups in developmental projects?
If not, I doubt if India can develop and propagate a common developmental agenda for its diverse groups. This essentially means that divide between rich and poor will continue to grow further in the coming years. Civil society groups will continue targeting capitalists for profiteering and capitalists will loose ground to cater to social objectives of equality, employment and rural development.
I wonder if it really makes sense for any of the groups. But yes, it definitely makes sense for Mamta Banerjee who's political career has managed some sensational vibes ! Thanks to Singur !
However, I am dissapointed. Tata's finally decided to move out dream Nano project out of Singur. While this has sent out negative vibes to many industries waiting to set foot in Bengal, it is also a set back for the civil society groups that have failed to work out a middle path that can beenfit all. What is bothering me is following:
Is there a way to consider interests of all varied groups in developmental projects?
If not, I doubt if India can develop and propagate a common developmental agenda for its diverse groups. This essentially means that divide between rich and poor will continue to grow further in the coming years. Civil society groups will continue targeting capitalists for profiteering and capitalists will loose ground to cater to social objectives of equality, employment and rural development.
I wonder if it really makes sense for any of the groups. But yes, it definitely makes sense for Mamta Banerjee who's political career has managed some sensational vibes ! Thanks to Singur !
Stone Language !
The subject, I hated most during my Architecture days was beyond doubt “History of Architecture”. Our smart teachers used to proudly announce before the lunch break that post lunch will comprise of “Sketching” session for the subject “History of Architecture”. That was enough for half of students to bunk the post lunch session. Rest of us filled ourselves with heavy meals just to be able to doze off in the sketching session and pretend sharpening our sets of HB, 2B pencils. A few of us blindly copied the motifs cramming the styles of Architecture and benevolent rulers who promoted the art. I managed to pass my subjects; declaring the motifs, art forms will never create any little interest in me.
Eight years down the line, I have proved myself wrong! (Life, I guess is always about challenging, changing and devastating your beliefs and replacing them by new ones!!!). It happened when I visited
The temple takes the form of the chariot of Surya (Arka), the sun god, and is heavily decorated with stone carving. The entire complex was designed in the form of a huge chariot drawn by seven spirited horses on twelve pairs of exquisitely decorated wheels. The entrance is guarded by two lions, which are each shown crushing a war elephant. Each elephant in turn lies on top of a human body. The temple symbolises the majestic stride of the Sun god. Its all in stone, live in front of your eyes…… Most of the architects today will find it difficult to even sketch it, forget build it!
Each motif has a story, an anecdote, a story related to it….With my jaws dropped, I listened carefully to each and every word coming out of my guide’s mouth….This fellow (a local guide) toured us for one hour narrating the history, background and the significance of motifs carved in stone…..He spoke broken English in between, a skill he might have developed to cater to foreign tourists…We gave him undivided attention listening to all his details….When we left it was a great feeling…to be lucky enough to see this magnificent piece of Architecture and proud to be able to appreciate the art…
As I got back in my car, a though crossed my mind… Only if he had coached me in the college days… I hope my history teachers are not reading this….
I take off from Hyderabad airport – spacious, lavish and flamboyant and land at Bhubaneswar – small confined and claustrophobic. Bhubaneswar streets are wide open, with slow moving traffic and almost no air movement. Humidity sticks you. The slow moving traffic, low pace and a few people on the roads hardly present any attractions on my drive to the hotel…With nothing to think or see, mind games vanish and doze off…Thanks to the recent developments, the roads are carpeted finely with tar and enable a smooth ride through the city…And from no where I arrive at this huge concrete 10 floor building that represents mundane neo architecture that almost tears through the traditions of the land….This is one face of Bhubaneswar – like any other small time urban towns…
The next day, I take out my map and draw a travel route through the city…As I drive, I discover a different face of the city – narrow streets….lush green….temple complexes sprung up every 200 mts....Shikhars reaching for the sky….
The next day, I take out my map and draw a travel route through the city…As I drive, I discover a different face of the city – narrow streets….lush green….temple complexes sprung up every 200 mts....Shikhars reaching for the sky….
I choose to share through my pictures…Fortunately the beauty does not require any description and talks for itself…Surprisingly it fails to inspire the modern architects / builders of the city… To a passer by the place and its ornate architecture is full of inspiration and joy!
Some colour for my lens!
Recently, I visited an arts village to capture some colour for my lens. Here is what I was able to lay my hands on ! Neatly coloured terracotta and ceramic objects neatly arranged to woo the customer. Name a colour, motif and form and you will find it there! Amazing maze of creative pursuits!
North and South brought together !
Sunday evening was special. Hyderabad experienced Jugalbandi of two singers, Hindustani musician Shubha Mudgal and Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri. The duo is lavishly applauded for the breath taking jugalbandi performance in various parts of India. Now it was turn of Hyderabad. The hall was jam packed with youngsters, old aunts and uncles and even children to catch coordination of power packed women! Shubha was accompanied by Anees Pradhan on the tabla and Sudhir Nayak on the harmonium, while Bombay Jayasri with Embar Kannan on the violin and Poongulum Subrahmaniam on the mridangam. Here is a detailed analysis of their duo performance (including their styles and ragas) for music critics, but for me it was an exhilarating performance.
I would like to specially mention Anees and Subrahmaniam’s coordination that left the audience mesmerized.
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