Rose Festival

I took part in the photography competition organised by Chandigarh tourism on the occasion of the Rose festival. And well, I won a runners-up prize. A thousand bucks cant be all that bad!!!

The prize-winner.

“For an instant, love can transform the world.”

The ones that are on the exhibition.....

“He that gives good advice, builds with one hand; he that gives good counsel and example, builds with both; but he that gives good admonition and bad example, builds with one hand and pulls down with the other.”

“Life is a rose; beware of the thorns.”

“Vanity keeps persons in favor with themselves who are out of favor with all others”

The Price of Wisdom

Its been a long time, and I am back to blogging today after having lost the only lower right second molar I ever or ever will have.

But first things first, I have been having a mad, terrifying and torrid romance with my Nikon D200. Its quite a demanding mistress and has consumed a lot of me already, but the pleasure is well.....indescribable. And its a lot of fun shooting with my Sigma 10-20mm and 50mm 1.8 nikkor lenses. The results are quite crackling and please check my flickr page (link ) for some samples. I have been travelling somewhat recently too and I will be making some posts about that too. I also came across this page recently and I found that I am pretty high up on the coolness meter but then I found I was being vain about it and that isnt COOL, so I wont talk about it any longer.

Now, for the wisdom part, well I have little of it and I did not want to lose what little I have. Therefore, since the last 10 years or so, i have been able to live on with 2 occasionally very painful, but usually quiet lower impacted molars. A friend of mine, who now is no more told me once that I would have to get these removed, but being the mule I am, I waited and waited. Until I found that my second molars (the teeth in front of the culprits) started to break in parts, and on both sides too. And it was quite a coincidence that this was in direct temporal proximity to having chewed on some very tough popcorn. And that too an year apart. After initial alarm, I found that the breaking away of the tooth actually reduced the pain and was thus welcome. Until about a week ago when I suddenly found myself unable to eat or talk properly. I then found it quite impossible to sit through a round in the ward, and that was just not due to boredom. I popped some diclofenac only to find the toothache reduced but replaced by a heartburn that would light a bushfire. So, with a heavy heart i found myself at the doorstep of a dentist friend who could not control his glee when he announced triumphantly that i would have to be relieved of the broken teeth. "What of the wisdom?", I enquired anxiously, and he said that he would have to see. So after a course of antibiotics and analgesics, I made my way to the dental chair today. Called up all my near and dear ones, including a girl I was in love with when i was in school to tell her how much I loved her. I suppose it is a bit of an anticlimax that I am back with my broken tooth in my pocket and with plans to get the other one removed in a couple of weeks. And its not too bad to gorge on ice cream without guilt (doctor's orders!!) either. But then, I still have my wisdom with me. But those who protected that wisdom and fell in that effort are now gone. You cant win all the time.

DR. TERRY MAH

DR. TERRY MAH
Originally uploaded by KhalsaLionZ.

This is too funny.....

Worried Man

I took this picture the other day with my D200. I tried out a Nikkor 70-300mm, 4.5-5.6 G VR lens and I think it handles like a dream. Definitely a lustworthy object.
I wish I had deeper pockets.
I noticed later the expression on the face of this man, wonder what he was talking about and with whom. I hope he isnt as worried as he looks in the picture.

Freak weather and good times

Just when we all thought that winters are over, the rains are back. And with a bang too. Its deliciously cold again, I have been told that there is over 2 feet of snow in Simla and its a perfect time to snuggle into my quilt and let the world go to hell.
Unfortunately that is not always possible.

There are always small pleasures like a steaming cup of tea made for you. Its such a wonderful feeling to be spoilt silly and thats exactly what I am enjoying these days. Such wonderful times never last long so I am making the most of it while it does.

Yes, this is the season to sit in the car and make strange shapes on the misted windshield and take pictures of passing cars.

And life will always find a way, work will go on through soggy, wet underwear and mouldy bread. But life today feels good.
Let the good times roll some more.

Its a small world

The most amazing thing happened yesterday. Nic, from California left me a comment on my blog telling me that the picture of the guy surfing at Mahabalipuram on this post is of him.
It only goes on to show what a fantastic thing technology is. The world is becoming a small place and its getting smaller every day. Nice to meet you in the virtaul world, Nic. Here are a couple of pictures that I took, I cropped them a bit.
Here is a link to Nic's blog, Paneerbelly.

The Picture that got Published

Thanks to Mother Jones and Tataastha. Thanks for the kind words, and yes Tataastha..please do not get too excited. You know it doesnt agree with you. :-P

Noise-Perception Vs Apperception

Its 6.30am and I am blogging after many days. I may point out that 6.30am in Punjab in winters is still an unearthly hour for most people. I may also point out that I just drove 25 kms from home to get to PGI when my work wont start until 9 am.
It had been perfect until yesterday, there was the promise of good weather, good company and good food, all washed down with some good Himachali wine and to top it all up, a night of good sleep.
And so it was until 4.45 AM when I was awoken by a loudspeaker from somewhere close to my home which carried the sonorous voice of a preacher reciting the Guru granth Sahib. Now, being awoken on a winter morning at 4.45am, albeit by religious recitations absolutely does not fill my heart with piety and good feelings for the rest of mankind.
In earlier days, I might have gone over to wherever this din was playing and switched it off as the priests of the temple and gurudwara in my locality discovered, but this time it was raining and suddenly it seemed worthless to even try. A sense of despair filled me and I thought that I was doomed to take all this, all my life. I tried reading a book, trying hard not to curse they who were responsible, and finding it impossible took a bath. I put on a set of clean clothes and startde to make my way back home.
But before I did that, I went to this place where the loudspeaker was playing and saw an old man in a saffron turban standing outside, an old woman sweeping the courtyard and the sound of coughing was now audible in the background with the recitation still in full flow. So I went up and asked the old man how long he planned to play the loudspeaker, he was at a loss for words and pointed out to another man who came out and told me that there is an Akhand Path going on and the bhog or the completion would be tomorrow at 10 am. He invited me inside but I walked away.
Drove through the drizzle and muddy streets until I reached the streets of Chandigarh. The newspaper delivery boys are starting to make their rounds, and the milkmen are out on their huge motorcycles. Some old men in heavy woolens and umbrellas are making their daily walk, and soon the residents will return bleary eyed from their night duties.
And a new day will start.
Nature abhors vacuum, but silence is not that. Its full of so many possibilities. Isnt that the biggest gift?
On a brighter note, I am now a published photographer. A picture I took got printed in a travel magazine brought out by the India Today group. I took my D200 to Kasauli for a trip and took about 222 pictures and I must say it handles like a dream. The only problem is the money I will now have to shell out for the lenses. I will probably never be able to afford them so I might as well buy them before I have no money left!!!
The pictures above were taken with a D200 and a 28-70 nikon lens.

The Journey Back

I woke up at an unearthly hour of 3am because I had a flight at 6 am. Got driven down to the Chennai airport where I was greeted by lines at the check in counters that might have put those at the Ludhiana counter of the Chandigarh ISBT to shame. I always thought that air travel was slightly hassle-free. But now I have come to realise thats its only more so.
The flight took off o time, down below was a thick carpet of clouds that stretched away to eternity. Reaching Banagalore, the pilot decided to get back to Chennai because of fog!! First time I heard of fog in Bangalore when there was none in Delhi. The only good part was getting to see a most delightful sunrise over the clouds.


Some of the passengers decided to catch up on sleep.

Eventually reached Delhi at 2pm in stead of 10am. Hungry, and tired. And went away from the airport looking for old flames.

The Trip down the East Coast Road-2

If Mahabalipuram was fun because of the photography, Pondicherry promised to be better because of the photography and the booze. We goy out of Mahabalipuram and drove on to Pondicherry. Pondy was a french colony before the French gave it up and went back home. However as one enters Pondy, the only thing that probably strikes one as being out of the ordinary is some sort of a tax that has to be paid for driving within Pondy. Still the booze kept me going on. I also wanted to see what the french architecture is all about.Mr Shiva kept up his taciturn demeanour as he deposited us at a huge under-construction temple where photography is prohibited.

Pilgrims had written their prayers on strips of paper, hoping to be heard. The priests inside were all out in their traditional costumes, people standing in a queue for their sight of the idol. All very fine but I went out and ate Khichdi that an old man was distributing to the poorer pilgrims around. Was delicious. We went on to where the action lay. As we entered the city I sa my first policeman in the French kepi and was most excited, much to the amusement of Mr Shiva who asked if I wanted to take a picture. Of course I do, I replied and he just drove on, eventually stopping on the Rue de la Marine in front of a couple of push carts selling pirated pornographic DVD's.
The Rue de la Marine was probably the most important street earlier. Now it has the french consulate and the Aurobindo Ashram and has a couple of important landmarks nearby. Walking down the street one reaches the sea.

An old man on the RDL Marine opposite the Aurobindo Ashram. I looked on for my policeman in the Kepi, wouldnt go back without him.

The french connection.


The french consulate, has an old door with stained glass inside. Photography here is prohibited. I took this picture sitting at a cafe opposite the consulate, the sea breeze blew the paper plate away and stained my only clean shirt. The consulate has the flags of France and the european Union that are dutifully hoisted down at sunset.


As i chanced across this street, i remembered for some unknown reason these lines that I had read as a school boy in a musty english textbook. With compliments and apologies to O'Hara, from "The Last Leaf"

In a little district west of Washington Square the streets have run crazy and broken themselves into small strips called "places." These "places" make strange angles and curves. One Street crosses itself a time or two. An artist once discovered a valuable possibility in this street. Suppose a collector with a bill for paints, paper and canvas should, in traversing this route, suddenly meet himself coming back, without a cent having been paid on account!

This part of town is full of old-wordly charm , saw these two ladies catch up on old times at the aurobindo institute opposite the Ashram.
Contrasted merrily with this tropue of rather giggly and definitely pretty school girls who like all good school girls had made a line to get into the Aurobindo Ashram. They gave us magnificient company until the time that we were there. My friend gaurav was ready to leave psychiatry and spend the rest of his life here.




Photography inside the Aurobindo ashram is not allowed. It was beautiful inside. I know nothing about Aurobindo, but when I got back, I did some reading and found some interesting stuff here. The samadhi was covered with flowers with all manners of people sitting besides it, with their heads bowed, touching the marble and lost in meditation. Fair number of foreigners too, and people in wheelchairs. They are supposed to be espescially benifited by his presence. Such scenes, always fail to move me. Maybe I am a bit psychopathic.


Walked out to the Manakula Vinayakar temple which is just down the street. It too was full of pilgrims and flowers. An elephant guards the entrance, and who ever gives it an offering, gets a blessing in form of an elephant trunk banging down on the head. Almost got my turban knocked off. Maybe the elephant had not seen a Sikh before. Gave it a huge laddoo and this time, the elephant looked in better humor.

The mahout catches up on gossip from his perch as the elephant looks on hungrily at a stall of coconuts across the road. By this time, the memory card was getting used up too, and so picture taking became more focussed than before. I hate that.

A future forecaster, he must have predicted it because he was ssoon surrounded by a bunch of school girls. The parrot picks up a card at random, and that is the client's future. Any takers?

My luck soon changed as I saw this policeman in a Kepi as he drove down on his motorcycle. I stood in the middle of the street to stop him from getting by and when he stopped, i started my "Can I take your picture" routine in sign language, there was soon an interested and curious crowd around.

The beach at Pondy is rocky unlike Chennai and mahabalipuram, but is a favorite haunt of a lot of people.
A cotton candy seller at the beach. I was rather pleased at the result.

As we drove back, passed by the church of immaculate conception, beautiful. Wish I had an SLR at this place, the church itself has lost all definition, the highlights have blown out. Needed to take 3 bracketed exposures and then combine in ps.

Thereafter, we got to a shopping area where we all brought some cheap and non-pornographic pirated DVD's. Haggled and bargained in sign language and got one for Rs 20/- only.
Soon we reached an alcohol shop, as is common in the south, people drink standing at the counter of the shop. the helpful shopkeepers provide the glasses. We brought more than adequate quantities of beer and a bottle of brandy for Mr Shiva and drove back. Mr shiva helped out by being fantastic and producing out of the boot of the car some MP3's with punjabi songs. And we all sang along.
As the diuretic and the intoxicating action of the beer kicked in, we all raised our little fingers and asked Mr Shiva to stop where we could leave a mark in the Bay of Bengal. Mr Shiva thought for a long moment and said, "saar, there is Rs 50 fine for doing that". We took his warning and irrigated the coconuts instead.