I generally don't do book reviews so officially...I curl up with a book, enjoy it till the end, more often re-read the interesting ones and soak up as much as I can...
There are four books I just can't get enough off.
1. English August: By Upamanyu Chatterjee
2. The Inscrutable Americans: By Anurag Mathur
3. Confessions of an SOB: By Al Neuharth
4. The Fountainhead: By Ayn Rand.
I might have read, re-read these books so many times that they have been dog-eared by now.
There is a common pattern that emerges here. All these three books are so brutally honest and authentic that u almost warm up to them from the very first page.
Why do I love English August:
This is one thing I have been ruminating over for the past couple of days...Just imagine book starting with -
"I’ve a feeling, August, you’re going to get hazaar fuc-ked in Madna"
Amazing mix, the English we speak. Hazaar fucked. Urdu and American,Agastya laughed, 'a thousand fucked, really fucked. I’m sure nowhere else could languages be mixed and spoken with such ease.
English August starts like this...LoL. It takes me back to the days in BITS where 'Hazaar Fucked" is like slang used genarlly. 'In today's quiz, I got hazaar fucked, maan!!' 'If u don't answer the question, I am going to hazaar fuck u'.
English August immediately pulled me into my student days. And thats where life turns so bloody beautiful. The Central character, Agastya clears the IAS and joins for his training in 'some dot of the map called Madna'.
So many similarities. Madna was supposed to be the hottest place in India. But can it really beat Pilani. Imagine writing ur even-semester annual papers in Feb-March and u suddenly see a blood drop on ur answer paper. The blood vessels inside the nose have blasted out becuase of the heat.The aimlessness and the sub-counsious always poking one with the question-Why am I here...This is the same question that I kept feeling thru my Engineering days.
Mary Janes and Led Zeps came into the second stage of my Student life. While doing MBA, imagine the stress of completeing the projects and the presentations while being completely stoned.We had our special joints to procure them and guess what they were then called-'special tobacco'. Phohibition be damned.
The preparation of a joint is so involving that u almost get a kick even while rolling it up.And now imagine, being completely sloshed with Old Monk, then completely stoned with Mary Jane and then swaying to Dire straits and Pink Floyd...Thats almost meta-physical...Even the purple chaos of smoke that lay suspended in midair inside the hostel rooms was so bloody beautiful that u almost can feel the numbness of silence and thank god for the amazing pleasures that he has created and bestowed upon us.
...Call it the recency...But English August was the flavour of the book. I am now charged to re-read the other three and come back with some snippets of thoughts on them sooner.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
A recent trip to Kodai
Recently, we had the chance to visit Kodai...It was sooooo cold and windy there and to add to that it rained, OMG...but we all had great fun in the cold.
The flowers and the orchids were so lovely. I think I made some good shots of the flowers...hope u like them...
A captive Emu:
And most favourite flower:
hope u enjoyed them as much I loved making the set...
The flowers and the orchids were so lovely. I think I made some good shots of the flowers...hope u like them...
A captive Emu:
And most favourite flower:
hope u enjoyed them as much I loved making the set...
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
A Puri morning...
Sometime back, I had the chance to spend a beautiful morning at the Puri Beach. This beach is a beauty...
Some shots from that morning here:
Shot on the Puri beach. tried to get a painting effect with a little more exposure.
These are the boats on which the fishermen go into the high seas for fishing. They start around 0200 hours and return by 0500 hours to beat the heat. The fishermen form teams of 4 and lift these boats on their shoulders and take them to the sea...
I was of the assumption that these fishermen would be Oriyas (In Oriya, the local language, the fisherment are called Nolia). But, as in any job or business, the fishermen are from many different states of India like Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Bihar, West Bengal and some even from Maharashtra and Kerala.
More details in Puri here- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puri
Hope u liked the set...as much I loved making it...
Some shots from that morning here:
Shot on the Puri beach. tried to get a painting effect with a little more exposure.
These are the boats on which the fishermen go into the high seas for fishing. They start around 0200 hours and return by 0500 hours to beat the heat. The fishermen form teams of 4 and lift these boats on their shoulders and take them to the sea...
I was of the assumption that these fishermen would be Oriyas (In Oriya, the local language, the fisherment are called Nolia). But, as in any job or business, the fishermen are from many different states of India like Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Bihar, West Bengal and some even from Maharashtra and Kerala.
More details in Puri here- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puri
Hope u liked the set...as much I loved making it...
Why isn't my breakfast consistent ...
While I was going thru one of the blogs of a dear friend...I discovered a small part of myself...which I had never consistently realised...
I love the varied tastes of mangoes when they are in season…even my daily breakfast has a different taste everyday…And this change is refreshing…
let me think aloud:
I eat bread omelets on 95% of my days for breakfast.
1. Every day the eggs are different because they are from different chickens and are at various levels of decomposition…
2. The heat and the quantity of oil and other ingredients during preparation are different each day.
3. Even the breads are different depending on the availability in the bakery…
I ignore all these and still love the bread omelets…Probably it has got something to do with the Focal point of observation. if one focuses on the details, the big picture is blurry and if one focuses on the big picture, the details are blurry- so in, photographic parlance, one needs to get the right depth of field for the matters so that both the Big picture and the details are in the right mix and balance each other. here one does some compromises…
Link to my friend's blog here...
http://rsdheeraj.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/practice-makes-a-man-perfect-a-quick-slice-of-life-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comment-97
I love the varied tastes of mangoes when they are in season…even my daily breakfast has a different taste everyday…And this change is refreshing…
let me think aloud:
I eat bread omelets on 95% of my days for breakfast.
1. Every day the eggs are different because they are from different chickens and are at various levels of decomposition…
2. The heat and the quantity of oil and other ingredients during preparation are different each day.
3. Even the breads are different depending on the availability in the bakery…
I ignore all these and still love the bread omelets…Probably it has got something to do with the Focal point of observation. if one focuses on the details, the big picture is blurry and if one focuses on the big picture, the details are blurry- so in, photographic parlance, one needs to get the right depth of field for the matters so that both the Big picture and the details are in the right mix and balance each other. here one does some compromises…
Link to my friend's blog here...
http://rsdheeraj.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/practice-makes-a-man-perfect-a-quick-slice-of-life-%e2%80%93-part-3/#comment-97
Friday, March 20, 2009
Lingaraj Temple- A Challenge to photogs...
A brief introduction:
Lingaraaj means 'the king of Lingas', 'Linga' or 'Lingam' being the symbol of Lord Shiva worship. The temple is more than 1000 years old, dating back in its present form to the last decade of the eleventh century, though there is evidence that parts of the temple have been there since sixth century AD as the temple has been emphasized in some of the seventh century Sanskrit texts. This is testimony to its sanctity and importance as a Shiva shrine.[1] By the time the Lingaraj temple was constructed, the Jagannath (form of Vishnu) cult had been growing, which historians believe is evidenced by the co-existence of Vishnu and Shiva worship at the temple.
The temple is traditionally believed, though without historical authentication, to be built by the Somavanshi king Jajati Keshari, in 11th century AD. Jajati Keshari had shifted his capital from Jajpur to Bhubaneswar which was referred to as Ekamra Kshetra in the Brahma Purana, an ancient scripture.
The Lingaraj temple stands majestically as the largest temple in Bhubaneswar. At 55 metres high, it dominates the landscape with 150 smaller shrines in its spacious courtyard and is surrounded by massive walls lavishly decorated with beautiful sculptures.
And now the challenge:
I have been trying to capture the various hues of Lingaraj Temple for sometime now. There is a ban on photography inside Lingaraj Temple and no authority other than the temple trust is authorised to allow photography inside the temple premises. And when my request was declined, my resolve doubled. And the lame excuse that was given (that there are many nude 3-D portraits inside the temple, which people shoot and that creates a bad name for the temple...awwww!!! Come on, this is our culture and we have as much right to the culture as these fellows are), my resolve trebled.
What I tried to overcome the problem:
I did at least 10 rounds around the boundary walls of the temple complex and ear-marked places, from where I will get clean shots of the temple. Post that, I started talking to the locals to give me access to the terraces of their buildings so that I get a closer view of the temple. Loaded with a 70-200 and 18-55, I started with these locations one by one.
This shot was taken from the third floor terrace of the Municipal hospital terrace on the west side. I was chased by the hospital ward boys for having reached the terrace(all entry doors to terrace were locked) and how I reached the terrace, u don't want to know.This is the southern side of the temple premises. I think this is the only shot of Lingaraj Temple in the world from this angle :-) Do u see that telecom tower on the right side-To take a good shot, I was thinking of scaling the tower and taking an aerial view. Couldn't succeed because of police protection that day. Next time, will try again...
This was taken from the South-east terrace of a shopping complex building...
This shot was taken from the terrace of the Municipal hospital terrace on the west side.The whitish platform on the left side is the visitor's platform. This was built during Lord Curzon's time when he wanted to see whether the premises were used for mutiny!!! All the foreigners who want to see the temple use this place for viewing and photography.
One more from there..A tilt might be felt. The temple structure allowed this as the straightest frame
This was taken from the visitor's gallery during the sunrise:
And this was taken from far away on the opposite side of Bindusagar Lake...
I had a great time with the little escapades with the project. Hope u enjoyed it too.
Lingaraaj means 'the king of Lingas', 'Linga' or 'Lingam' being the symbol of Lord Shiva worship. The temple is more than 1000 years old, dating back in its present form to the last decade of the eleventh century, though there is evidence that parts of the temple have been there since sixth century AD as the temple has been emphasized in some of the seventh century Sanskrit texts. This is testimony to its sanctity and importance as a Shiva shrine.[1] By the time the Lingaraj temple was constructed, the Jagannath (form of Vishnu) cult had been growing, which historians believe is evidenced by the co-existence of Vishnu and Shiva worship at the temple.
The temple is traditionally believed, though without historical authentication, to be built by the Somavanshi king Jajati Keshari, in 11th century AD. Jajati Keshari had shifted his capital from Jajpur to Bhubaneswar which was referred to as Ekamra Kshetra in the Brahma Purana, an ancient scripture.
The Lingaraj temple stands majestically as the largest temple in Bhubaneswar. At 55 metres high, it dominates the landscape with 150 smaller shrines in its spacious courtyard and is surrounded by massive walls lavishly decorated with beautiful sculptures.
And now the challenge:
I have been trying to capture the various hues of Lingaraj Temple for sometime now. There is a ban on photography inside Lingaraj Temple and no authority other than the temple trust is authorised to allow photography inside the temple premises. And when my request was declined, my resolve doubled. And the lame excuse that was given (that there are many nude 3-D portraits inside the temple, which people shoot and that creates a bad name for the temple...awwww!!! Come on, this is our culture and we have as much right to the culture as these fellows are), my resolve trebled.
What I tried to overcome the problem:
I did at least 10 rounds around the boundary walls of the temple complex and ear-marked places, from where I will get clean shots of the temple. Post that, I started talking to the locals to give me access to the terraces of their buildings so that I get a closer view of the temple. Loaded with a 70-200 and 18-55, I started with these locations one by one.
This shot was taken from the third floor terrace of the Municipal hospital terrace on the west side. I was chased by the hospital ward boys for having reached the terrace(all entry doors to terrace were locked) and how I reached the terrace, u don't want to know.This is the southern side of the temple premises. I think this is the only shot of Lingaraj Temple in the world from this angle :-) Do u see that telecom tower on the right side-To take a good shot, I was thinking of scaling the tower and taking an aerial view. Couldn't succeed because of police protection that day. Next time, will try again...
This was taken from the South-east terrace of a shopping complex building...
This shot was taken from the terrace of the Municipal hospital terrace on the west side.The whitish platform on the left side is the visitor's platform. This was built during Lord Curzon's time when he wanted to see whether the premises were used for mutiny!!! All the foreigners who want to see the temple use this place for viewing and photography.
One more from there..A tilt might be felt. The temple structure allowed this as the straightest frame
This was taken from the visitor's gallery during the sunrise:
And this was taken from far away on the opposite side of Bindusagar Lake...
I had a great time with the little escapades with the project. Hope u enjoyed it too.
Nati Binodini- a photo journey
Sometime back, I had the opportunity to shoot the play Nat Binodini at Rangashankara, Bangalore, India. Synopsis of the play is at the end of the blog.
This is one of the best plays that I had seen in recent times. The scenographer, Mr Nissar Allana, the Diro, Mrs Amal Allana, the cast and the crew had done a great job. Even though, I was watching the play through my glass, I was getting goosebumps at the presentation.
Some shots from there in chronology of Play, backstage, stage preparation...
Backstage: This is the part that I love...
Sonam Kalra:
Salima Raza:
Jayanto Das:
Natasha Rastogi (I am not sure here...)
Sonam Kalra setting up Sanjay Gautam
Amal Allana setting up Salima Raza as Amita Ailawadi looks on
Stage preparation: This was the unique thing about the play. Upon discussions with Mr Nissar Allana on the stage lights, he mentioned that he normally uses in excess of 120 lights and Rangashankara had the provision of only around 80 lights...
And the essence of Nati Binodini:
I had a great time doing this. Hope u liked the set too.
NB: For ones who want more details on Nati Binodini...
Nati Binodini- A synopsis
Adapted from: Aamar Katha by Binodini
Performed by: Theatre and Television Associates, New Delhi
Produced by: Theatre and Television Associates, New Delhi
Director: Amal Allana
Hindi, 100 minutes
Synopsis
Binodini’s was a remarkable life. Born into a family of ‘kept’ women, she was, in fact, only the fifth woman in Bengal to take up acting as a profession in the mid-19th century. Under the tutelage of the famous manager Girish Ghosh of the Bengal Theatre, Binodini rose to be a star, widely acclaimed for the sheer range of characters she portrayed. Aamar Katha, Binodini’s autobiography, written long after she quit the stage, provides a riveting account of the personal turmoil and conflict the actress experienced in her encounters with Bhadralok society.
The play opens with the old Binodini questioning the meaning of her existence, as one who has been cast aside, not only by society, but by God Himself. She asks the older Girish Ghosh, seated in a wheelchair, to listen to the story of her life. Only then would he understand her loss of Faith.
In her production of Nati Binodini, Amal Allana pieces together a tale in a form and style that is liquid and sensory. Scenes move seamlessly from past to presently and vice versa, deriving a sequencing pattern that is based on ‘emotional memory’ – rather than hard fact or chronological order. The character of Binodini is played by, sometimes one, sometimes two and sometimes chorally by five women. The roles switch from actress to actress in the blink of an eye. The performance begins to either float above reality, or at times, becomes rooted in authentic fact. This connection between reality and illusion echoes the very character of Binodini.
The sets of the play lend themselves beautifully to such a presentation. The projection of locales from the period coupled with a shimmering floor and evocative lighting create a cinematic effect that transport the audience into the past in which Binodini re-lives her memory. The play’s music, drawn from authentic sources, includes original tunes and lyrics of theatre music of the times.
Cast: Salima Raza, Swaroopa Ghosh, Jayanto Das, Natasha Rastogi, Sonam Kalra, Amita Ailawadi and Sanjay Gautam
Crew: Nissar Allana, Amal Allana, Devajit Bandyopadhyay, Kabir Singh and Preeti Vasudevan
More details of review here: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2006/12/08/stories/2006120801500300.htm
This is one of the best plays that I had seen in recent times. The scenographer, Mr Nissar Allana, the Diro, Mrs Amal Allana, the cast and the crew had done a great job. Even though, I was watching the play through my glass, I was getting goosebumps at the presentation.
Some shots from there in chronology of Play, backstage, stage preparation...
Backstage: This is the part that I love...
Sonam Kalra:
Salima Raza:
Jayanto Das:
Natasha Rastogi (I am not sure here...)
Sonam Kalra setting up Sanjay Gautam
Amal Allana setting up Salima Raza as Amita Ailawadi looks on
Stage preparation: This was the unique thing about the play. Upon discussions with Mr Nissar Allana on the stage lights, he mentioned that he normally uses in excess of 120 lights and Rangashankara had the provision of only around 80 lights...
And the essence of Nati Binodini:
I had a great time doing this. Hope u liked the set too.
NB: For ones who want more details on Nati Binodini...
Nati Binodini- A synopsis
Adapted from: Aamar Katha by Binodini
Performed by: Theatre and Television Associates, New Delhi
Produced by: Theatre and Television Associates, New Delhi
Director: Amal Allana
Hindi, 100 minutes
Synopsis
Binodini’s was a remarkable life. Born into a family of ‘kept’ women, she was, in fact, only the fifth woman in Bengal to take up acting as a profession in the mid-19th century. Under the tutelage of the famous manager Girish Ghosh of the Bengal Theatre, Binodini rose to be a star, widely acclaimed for the sheer range of characters she portrayed. Aamar Katha, Binodini’s autobiography, written long after she quit the stage, provides a riveting account of the personal turmoil and conflict the actress experienced in her encounters with Bhadralok society.
The play opens with the old Binodini questioning the meaning of her existence, as one who has been cast aside, not only by society, but by God Himself. She asks the older Girish Ghosh, seated in a wheelchair, to listen to the story of her life. Only then would he understand her loss of Faith.
In her production of Nati Binodini, Amal Allana pieces together a tale in a form and style that is liquid and sensory. Scenes move seamlessly from past to presently and vice versa, deriving a sequencing pattern that is based on ‘emotional memory’ – rather than hard fact or chronological order. The character of Binodini is played by, sometimes one, sometimes two and sometimes chorally by five women. The roles switch from actress to actress in the blink of an eye. The performance begins to either float above reality, or at times, becomes rooted in authentic fact. This connection between reality and illusion echoes the very character of Binodini.
The sets of the play lend themselves beautifully to such a presentation. The projection of locales from the period coupled with a shimmering floor and evocative lighting create a cinematic effect that transport the audience into the past in which Binodini re-lives her memory. The play’s music, drawn from authentic sources, includes original tunes and lyrics of theatre music of the times.
Cast: Salima Raza, Swaroopa Ghosh, Jayanto Das, Natasha Rastogi, Sonam Kalra, Amita Ailawadi and Sanjay Gautam
Crew: Nissar Allana, Amal Allana, Devajit Bandyopadhyay, Kabir Singh and Preeti Vasudevan
More details of review here: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2006/12/08/stories/2006120801500300.htm
UB Towers, Bangalore- An evening
Sometime back, when I was browsing through the portals on photography in Bangalore, I came across a shot of the UB Towers, taken by Vinayak Das. He is a noted photog based in Bangalore and keeps travelling around.
In fact, the UB towers, built to match the Empire State Building, is a travesty. And, he had made a very ordinary looking building look great. Somewhere inside, I wanted to better that shot, why I don't know. My attempts started...I found out that the best time to make this building pretty would be an evening. And finally, I made this:
Let me tell u the trick and the process...use the advice at your own risk:
This place is the 4th floor of the UB towers. When u enter, the security would ask u abt where u want to go. Say- Rajdhani. This is the restaurant in the 4th floor of the to building near the UB main tower. Go up the MLCP to the second floor. Park. Climb up the stairs or the lift to go to the 4th floor. There u would see the fountains...Photography is not allowed since this is a private property...but wait for some one to click a few shots from their PnS.The purple lights in the top of the towers don't light up all the time. Wait for the same. Then, u discreetly set up the cam and the glasses. When the security comes in, say u want to shoot the children with the fountains...he would resist...say that u would like to request the supervisor. He would radio his supervisor. Supervisor takes around seven minutes to reach because he would have to come from the top floor of the UB city towers where they have the security NOC. Now shoot for seven minutes. Scoot before he reaches the scene, if u have a canon or switch the Card which shows only the fountains. If u have a Nikon, hide the UB towers photos. Only fountains are allowed. Have ur family along with u to build up a sympathy story Other methods from my side have failed. One more point: if u are Bong or Bihari, it may help because the guards are from Bengal or Bihar. Use a Wide angle because anything above 130 mm wouldn't be able to accomodate the building as a whole. u can also see the Vidhana Soudha from here...but be careful.
While attempting this strategy, I also made a set of the fountains...
An finally a Collage:
I had a great evening that day. Hope u too liked my escapade ;-)
In fact, the UB towers, built to match the Empire State Building, is a travesty. And, he had made a very ordinary looking building look great. Somewhere inside, I wanted to better that shot, why I don't know. My attempts started...I found out that the best time to make this building pretty would be an evening. And finally, I made this:
Let me tell u the trick and the process...use the advice at your own risk:
This place is the 4th floor of the UB towers. When u enter, the security would ask u abt where u want to go. Say- Rajdhani. This is the restaurant in the 4th floor of the to building near the UB main tower. Go up the MLCP to the second floor. Park. Climb up the stairs or the lift to go to the 4th floor. There u would see the fountains...Photography is not allowed since this is a private property...but wait for some one to click a few shots from their PnS.The purple lights in the top of the towers don't light up all the time. Wait for the same. Then, u discreetly set up the cam and the glasses. When the security comes in, say u want to shoot the children with the fountains...he would resist...say that u would like to request the supervisor. He would radio his supervisor. Supervisor takes around seven minutes to reach because he would have to come from the top floor of the UB city towers where they have the security NOC. Now shoot for seven minutes. Scoot before he reaches the scene, if u have a canon or switch the Card which shows only the fountains. If u have a Nikon, hide the UB towers photos. Only fountains are allowed. Have ur family along with u to build up a sympathy story Other methods from my side have failed. One more point: if u are Bong or Bihari, it may help because the guards are from Bengal or Bihar. Use a Wide angle because anything above 130 mm wouldn't be able to accomodate the building as a whole. u can also see the Vidhana Soudha from here...but be careful.
While attempting this strategy, I also made a set of the fountains...
An finally a Collage:
I had a great evening that day. Hope u too liked my escapade ;-)
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