hints, allegations and things left unsaid...
Monochrome
This was taken the same day as these shots. I like it in monochrome because it hides as much as it shows. You get to fill in the colors.
The beauty of decay
On this topic I have not much to say :-)
Kaushu
I visited Shivasamudram (writing as I see it spelled on the KSTDC map tacked on to my cubicle wall – feel free to correct me if I got it wrong) some two weeks ago. The drive, thanks to the monsoons and the resulting verdure, was one of the most beautiful drives I’ve had in recent times. Ok so I was being driven around in an old KSTDC bus - not quite most people’s idea of a “drive” - but still. The waterfalls; again thanks to the recent heavy rains, roared as water gushed down into the river (?) several feet below.
But a poetic (somewhat) description of the waterfall is not the point of this post. After all you don’t see a waterfall in the picture above. So I’ll stop beating around the bush and come to the real point. On a small hill facing the falls was a little viewing gallery that allowed us a closer look at the falls and a peek into the valley below. Just behind the gallery was a small shelter that for some reasons reminded me of a bus stop. The walls of the shelter were covered with graffiti; that on the face of a historical monument would be considered an act of vandalism; but which – given the monotonous, pale, brick wall background - I found, for want of a better word, exquisite. And there were several “layers” of it. Most of it was in English but a good deal in Kannada too. The content, as you would have probably guessed, was mostly predictable – a boy’s name followed by a girl’s name with a “heart” sign in between. At least one enterprising hotel owner had left his phone no. and address there for the weary traveler seeking shelter at the nth hour.
I was mesmerized with the bilingual graffiti alone and was quite content clicking it. But that was only till I saw “Kaushu” written on the wall in a rather prominent font. It then struck me that I was traveling with Kaushal. His pet name is not Kaushu – but surely it is the closest we could get to his name. So I requested him to stand next to the graffiti for a couple of shots. He consented. Of course given the lip-marks and hearts drawn around Kaushu, he would have had to do better than his usual genial smile.
The picture I’ve posted shows him posing in the meanest look that he could contrive for a few fleeting seconds. We shared a hearty laugh and moved on.
Mores and Superstitions
I often wonder how superstitions come into existence and then go on to take deep roots in our society. Case in point, the custom of hanging red-chillies and lemon strung together, outside shops. This is the first time I had seen addition of a piece of coal (?) to the conventional chilli-lemon bundle (not to mention the charred lemon). The unlit bulb in the background is meant to be an allusion to darkness; not the literal sort but the kind that arises out of ignorance.
Of Pecking Orders
Dog, Master
Since Sajith and smilebringer have been posting dog photos, I thought I would post one too. I even wrote my dog a little poem:
I come storm your room
we go for a walk
Who’s the dog, who the master
is all pointless talk
I’m the one in control
where’s the confusion
You are holding the leash
and thus the illusion
Photo Friday: Divine
In Hindu religious iconography, lotus holds a very special place. So prominent is its association with deities that I am tempted to call it Gods’ own flower. Brahma - the Creator in Hindu pantheon, is almost always depicted as seated inside a lotus. Many other Gods and Goddesses too (Lakshmi the goddess of wealth comes to mind) are often depicted as either standing inside a lotus or as holding one. Once you’ve seen a fully efflorescent lotus, its divine connection becomes obvious. Smell it and you realize that indeed it is a flower befitting the Gods.
This is therefore my entry to this week's Photo Friday theme: Divine.
p.s. Got a story to share about lotus and its mythological associations? I’d love to hear it!
A Fresh Start
This blog was started on a fine Sunday morning over three years ago with the intent of expressing myself. My intent hasn’t changed much, but over these few years (and over last few months) the medium of expression has morphed itself into a largely visual one (from being a purely verbal one). The new design that you see is an attempt to reflect this very change. The old template was coming in the way of allowing me to post large pictures. And yes, that sidebar – with its user stats, google ads and other equally other inane things - like what I was listening to, was cluttering the screen. The sidebar – as you would have probably noticed already - has been done away with. The space for posts has been “expanded” to fill in a good deal more area on your screen.
I hope to post more regularly than what my past record would suggest. A post every two days will be my attempt. But since I don’t blog for a living, there might be occasional breaks that are longer.
As the template would seem to suggest, the content will be largely pictorial. As far as photography is concerned, I am still what you would term - a dilettante. And I have no qualms about it. After all, as the old adage goes, professionals are amateurs who did not give up. This blog therefore is still not what you would consider a “portfolio” but is merely a record of my journey as a photographer.
Do I stop writing altogether? No. The rants, the book reviews, the travelogues, the essays on musicology, the poems (if they can be called that) will still keep coming but I’ll try and give them a visual context wherever possible.
p.s. The gentleman holding the camera, is once again, Kaushal. I am sure that by now, we all know who Mr. Karkhanis is.
Bougainvillaea etc.
Two of the "flower" pictures that I had taken when visiting Lal Bagh with my new camera for the first time.
I found that Bougainvillaea is as hard to click as it is to spell. Would love to find out what the second flower is called.
I found that Bougainvillaea is as hard to click as it is to spell. Would love to find out what the second flower is called.
Photo Friday: Massive
Since it's been raining
Dedicated to the rains’ obstinate refusal to go away.
Here is a cropped section from the same picture. You can see a tiny, inverted reflection of the lamppost inside the droplets. The droplets look to me like transparent eggs bearing seeds of some alien life-form.
Here is a cropped section from the same picture. You can see a tiny, inverted reflection of the lamppost inside the droplets. The droplets look to me like transparent eggs bearing seeds of some alien life-form.
Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!
When visiting Belur a few months ago, I had come across this small idol of lord Ganesha in a small niche at the Chennakeshava temple complex there. It was a little unusual in that it depicted Ganesha as having eight arms:
The norm I believe, even in those days (13th Century - Hoysala dynasty), was to sculpt Ganesha with four arms. A visit to the 13th century Keshava temple (at Somnathpur) today, allowed me an opportunity to click two Ganesha carvings there. Although both depict Ganesha as having four arms, interestingly, the first one shows Ganesha as having “human” feet, while the other depicts him in “elephant” feet.
Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!
p.s. During my visit to Belur and Somnathpur, the ambient lighting conditions, thanks to a rainy weather, were most inclement for photography of sculptures. Between not posting anything at all today and posting digitally salvaged (somewhat) versions, I chose the latter. Hope I'll be forgiven for unleashing these pictures on world at large!
The norm I believe, even in those days (13th Century - Hoysala dynasty), was to sculpt Ganesha with four arms. A visit to the 13th century Keshava temple (at Somnathpur) today, allowed me an opportunity to click two Ganesha carvings there. Although both depict Ganesha as having four arms, interestingly, the first one shows Ganesha as having “human” feet, while the other depicts him in “elephant” feet.
Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!
p.s. During my visit to Belur and Somnathpur, the ambient lighting conditions, thanks to a rainy weather, were most inclement for photography of sculptures. Between not posting anything at all today and posting digitally salvaged (somewhat) versions, I chose the latter. Hope I'll be forgiven for unleashing these pictures on world at large!
Cropped (for want of a better title)
These are two cut-outs from larger pictures. You have already seen the first one before. I hadn't noticed the delicate strands of cobweb in the second picture till I saw it in its full resolution on the computer screen. Both are touched-up versions of the original, because my intentions in posting them here are not entirely photographic.
Faux Tulips?
I had come across these flowers at Nandi Hills over a month ago. I don't know what they are called, but for some reasons, they reminded me of Tulips. I spotted them again at Lal Bagh the very next day, and they were definitely not being cultivated there on purpose. So I assume that they are some kind of a weed/wild flowers for sure. Waiting to be enlightened.
to sleep, perchance to dream
A picture is worth a thousand dreams. It is, as the common saying goes, worth a thousand words too and so I won't contriubte any more words to this post.
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