Kolkata Krayons 1

Kolkata Krayons

From the city of joy, known for its devotion to goddess Durga, the offerings of a flower are common customary. 

Holi at Jodhpur

                                                  

                                                       HOLI AT JODHPUR (THE BLUE CITY)

This year, I happened to celebrate my birthday as well Holi (the festival of colurs) at Jodhpur city India. Jodhpur is quite known as the blue city of India owing to the blue walls of its houses.

The fervor of festival can be seen in any given road of the city. Yet, the best amazement is seen at Clock tower of the city centre. 

one can also visit the Ghanshyam Temple at specific times. The temple is open to Holi revellers at specific times. we happened to missed out our first entry. Usually, it starts early at 630 am (Mangla Aarti) for an hour or so. We attended the next schedule which is 12:00 noon IST (Rajbhog Aarti)

The city is very much tourist friendly. One can see the international tourists jiving to the Indian beats on the roads.  

If you passing by the city during the festive hours, dont miss the chance to play with colors against a backdrop of blue wall.

The River Stories

I have equal fascination for rivers as I love the vast barren desserts of country.

Workplace and the Art- scape

                                                             
                                                               Workplace and the Art- scape


Recently some of my google create members were in the city when I took them out for a quick tour to my work place. they were surprised with the scope of photo-documentation that could possibly be done at the campus.

Himanshu Panchal, a dear friend and fine art curator (the best person I have met in fine art curation) insisted me to start documenting mundane textures of life.

At first, I was not sure of the idea of using my workplace for the discovery of art into the walls and people visiting the campus. But then I started exploring a bit of it and got fond of it.

After all, Its no bad to convert the workplace into an art-space. As art is ubiquitous. If my profession is a religion so is Art,

She and Camel Man

She and Camel Man

"My mom has always told me the stories of horse rider and her dream man. She lived in a small village of Khar Rajasthan", said Ranjeeta in her perplexed tone. 

Her dreams never got quenched, as the poor lady didn't realize that man in Rajasthan come on camel as opposed to the white horses of fairy tale. 

Nor that her dream of a horse rider got crashed, she became a household to the man who used to sell camel for his survival. During daytime he used to run a camel cart for the travelers coming to see the scenic beauty of  vast barren dessert but he himself failed to admire the beauty of her women.

The days went by; from dusk to dawn. She lived a life because she had to live one. 

Often I asked her if there is a purpose in your life. As in a reluctant dead tone, she always say, "I don't want you to be one of me". I never understood her till the day....

A camel man came to see me, with the loft of his camels riding a camel. 

Life-Scapes

Life-Scapes

As a traveler, the weekends come with an urge to move around in the empty wide spaces of nature. Often i join the troll of my friends to abandon my streets for the varied perspectives of empty lands.

The ample beauty of solitude and parched lands allows me to retrospect and introspect my head-space.  often I get the luxury to have a conversation with my self far away from the city shore.

Far away from the human grounds, lies a world of wilderness. where nature is wild, the hunter is a prey and the prey is the gladiator. 

There is a horizon, where the water meets the sky. the earth is serene and the air is pure and fresh. The life is still there. Perhaps that's what a heaven is.

Sometimes I feel like eloping into the vast sky, way above the mountains where the boundary walls are not made of brick and cement. There is enough food for everyone, greens for the eye and love for the hearts.

The ever lasting poem of Rabindranath Tagore plays in my mind: Where the mind is without fear ... into that heaven, my father

let me spread my wings and fly away

 ( a bit of my version)

Making of Buddha

Making of Buddha 

During my Bhutan trip, I got a chance to visit the design school of the capital city, where young students are taught the traditional art of embroidery, painting and sculpting.

Few shots I clicked, during my interaction with a student. 

Stories of solitude

STORIES OF SOLITUDE

We often travel alone but seldom we enjoy the luxury of solitude. We look for silence in the noise of city traffic yet we forget to reach out for a shout when we can fill the silence with our voice. Understanding the silence and speech is akin to solitude and companionship.  

Salt Pans of Kutch Gujarat

The Salt Plains Of Kutch, Gujarat

I started for the vast salt plains of Kutch in the early fall, when winter was settling in its blossoms. The journey started from Ahmedabad, we were scheduled to visit a small village near the Bhuj, a district of Gujarat, India.

These salt plains are created every year artificially to generate the salt which is then refined and transported to the homes of citizens.

The ground water here is ten times saltier than sea water, which is pumped out using bores and then filled into small fields of about 25 by 25 meters

“As the sun beats down on this water, it gradually turns into silvery salt,

When I was capturing the beautiful salt-scapes, I wondered, if it was the plain who was burning out or the skins of hard working laborers working in the heat.

It was just the time, when they had recently began to dug out water from the ground, and started making big pans. So unfortunately, I could not get the images of final process and product. 

I wish I had gone  at-least a fortnight later. Nevertheless I enjoyed some hours on the vast barren land. Even the saline tears can make someones meal palatable.

Riverfront Ahmedabad

RIVER FRONT- AHMEDABAD

The multi-crore and most ambitious project of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation was started way back in 1997. Today, it has become a landmark for the face of Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Plenty of projects, fairs, exhibitions are held every year on this stretch. the twenty kilometer stretch facing the Sabarmati river is quite seen flocked with joggers and lovers.

This Sunday I went for a walk. Few clicks enchanted my mind

Face of Storytellers

Face of Storytellers

People often call them tour guides, but what fascinates me is that they are more than tour guide who shows the track to the traveler. Few faces I met ever get embedded in my memory. They charmed me with their knowledge, skills and storytelling power.

Roshan: I met him during our nalsarovar tour (near Ahmedabad, Gujarat). Not only he rows the boat for constant 4 hours, but he has extreme knowledge of birds and bird species. 

Krishna: Half Indian from his father side, he met me in our Bhutan tour. He has awesome talent in telling stories, be it mythical, cultural or regional. He has strong interest in politics. He was aware of recent advances in politics. a well versed man, who charmed us with his knowledge and eco-friendly attitude towards his country.  

Rajesh: He took me through the maroon valleys of Munnar (kerala, India). He tricked me into the beauty of ruins. the loomed ruins of caves of Mahabharat era were never exciting, till he spoke of them. he has keen sense of flavors and fresh spices. He made me de-tour my track and took me to various spice garden as he came to know that I was dying to learn and try in my kitchen

The Umbrella Stories

The Umbrella Stories 

MUMBAI AWAKENING

MUMBAI  AWAKENING

The city which never goes into slumber, enchants me every-time I visit it.  From the crowded alleys of its local trains to the hush-hush speed of people, the city is always running in multi-direction. the people are emotionally detached to each other but often seen attached to the city. 

I spent few minutes at the platform waiting for my fast local, i figured that within a drag, whole of the frames swipes into the another entity. I made a self imposed task, missed my upcoming fast local and decided to click the portrait of the platform in next 7 minutes till the next train arrives. here is a glimpse

Faces of Bhutan

FACES OF BHUTAN

some faces are never forgettable, they tend to bring happiness in your life time and again.