CITY LIGHTS

Winter evenings are perceptibly darker now. They fall early, and find human traffic in a business like rush. "Get home early, get the car windows up, walk faster, grab a warm bite, step inside the shop/ metro"... these common exhortations have a seasonal ring to them. There is a loneliness to these dusk hours as temperatures make a cruel drop every hour.

Hawkers have their merchandise laid out on these cold sidewalks. Smart shoppers on the lookout for a bargain on an ethnic, handcrafted wear, may find just that thing as an evening's reward. Brand names, meanwhile, look on trying to catch a tip or two about Trends.

WRITER'S FEST IN CITY

journalists - are they free to write as they please ? No ! quite emphatically stated. Media houses, Editor, circulation-marketing managers, those investors in the Media House... they all determine what is fit to print.

the media house that was the first to compromise with market forces was holding the event to celebrate writers and writing. Some irony was evident. 

OCCASIONS WHEN WE REGROUP

 Party ! a Birthday and an anniversary falling on the same date need a celebration. If the date records a milestone too, there's no getting out. If forgetful, you'll be reminded by all  those of a healthy appetite and yearning for some fun.

Forever shy of a public euphoria, Anupam gives in to societal pressure. Arch (the initiator) in top frame. There's a bunch of gift wrapped surprises too. Let's see, what could be inside this one ...

Light was low as you can tell, pretty low. But the principle guiding a photographer is to never let an occasion slip by. What is being lived at this moment, shall be a memory tomorrow.

Cushion ! And it has a couple of familiar faces on it. Animated chats, surprise topics, not so healthy but very palatable food, always a few unknown faces to make acquaintance, a bit of music if mood sets in, anecdotes, ....family gatherings are always an occasion to reset relationships.

GANESHA IS A BUSY GOD

Outside the metropolis, highways that run in all four directions showcase rows and rows of sparkling newly built or partly built apartment blocks. Some seem to have run into a business plan glitch, their industrial monster-tools, those countless scaffoldings, the dust-laden half-built megaliths stand as if frozen to a divine command (or court-order).

Elevators in place, fittings all done, coats of paint on every wall, and some landscaping with patches of green planted, it is time to invite candidate-residents to move in.                                                                                        

                                                                     Grih-Pravesh is a popular ceremony of anointment for the new dwelling. Bad Spirits and Ill Omens, the Evil Eye, all are warded off and the Deities of good fortune are welcomed to bless the new abode. A bit of singing may happen, also sharing of local sweets, and relations and friends all congregate to mark the event as one of joyful accomplishment. For the family it marks a new level of contentment.
                                                                   

THE POWER OF FAITH

Monks wear an easy restraint on emotions. Comes from years of training in Buddha's teachings, perhaps. The shrine's prayer/meditation room has this image of the venerated one. 
Every visitor huffing and puffing his way up the formidable staircase, becomes a party to the all pervading silence once he approaches the shrine.

IN COMPANY OF THE AWESOME

Indus / Sindhu is an endearing sight. Barren mineral hills make room to let it flow along. Not too rapid, not too gentle, and framed against imposing hills, she is transformed every few hours as daylight moves across the landscape. 

Having long moved away from heart of nature to evolve as a superior species located in cities, they keep returning to the spaces that preserve histories - Human and Planetary, perhaps to record that evolution.

On an impulse one dips a hand in primary waters to feel an awareness of one's origins and ultimate destiny.

NEW TRENDS IN CITY-LIFE

There is something changing in the marketplace of the city. The showrooms - grand, stocked and dandied, appear to have smaller clientele than before. Outside, on the walkways, the eateries, the public benches, the colonnaded stroll-through, you find busy and 'in some rush' people everywhere.  






                                                                                
                                                                                        





Apparently, folks are employing the market-place as a Rendezvous, to meet up and socialize, exchange and transact, to perform and be noticed, in general to be at leisure. The buying of merchandise appears to be an 'online' activity where merchandise lands up at one's doorstep. Our performer here did an admirable jig to a Sufi strain.      

SACRIFICIAL LAMBS OF REPUBLIC

1994. A large contingent of rural folks headed towards the seat of government at Nagpur. They had a list of deep grievances and sought to petition the govt in person. Police barricaded their access. Demonstrators were restless and insistent. Police warned them to retreat, then charged at them with batons. Some say they fired from the guns too, in the air, to intimidate. An enormous pandemonium broke out and then followed a heartless stampede.

114 tribal folks, Gowaris and others, met a cruel end in the street of their capital. Aadiwasi Smaarak is a poignant tribute to those lost lives. The centrepiece is artist's imagination of a bunch of batons or barrels of guns. Goats - tribal life's popular possession - seem to represent the simple tribal folk themselves. A lame dog runs alongside his keeper herdsman in another portrayal. Sadly, New Democracies have failed to comprehend the despair of their neediest yet most optimistic citizens.

RETURN OF A NATIVE KING

Gond king Buland Shah is recognized as the Founder of Nagpur - city and State. Long erased from historical accounts - popular and official - one of the many Gond kings' rehabilitation in sculpture at the city square makes for a redemption and an endearing view.

PLANET'S FIRST WITNESSES

as a sensory experience its dazzling. one gasps frequently as one should. this wonderland transforms one into a wonder-struck Alice. learn to feel like a midget, submit before the grandeur, breathe in deep for life-air. Ladakh utterly humbles the traveller. also, Buddha presides over it.

RIVER THAT NAMED A CIVILISATION

INDUS or SINDHU meanders through the valleys of Ladakh. the alluring strip of fast flowing water will in due course take in several feeder channels flowing from the mountains. it will then grow into a mighty river known to every land, conqueror, army, nation on earth as the Indus. young folks are happy to feature it as one element in their Selfies.

TRAVELLING BACK IN TIME

Some miles out and one is amidst a rocky wilderness. a sense of alarm and awareness hold one enthralled. the light sets up a game of now full, now behind a floating cloud. shadows lengthen, hills grow mightier... Its a compelling landscape that could turn atheist into believer, and he of belief into he of scientific realization. those plate tectonics, the throwing up of Earth's entrails onto her surface.. here's the proof, ain't so ?

LADAKH : RAW & DAUNTING

A late monsoon spent in the mountains. Ladakh, the northernmost region of our homeland, embraced us warmly on our very first visit. Brown and grey mountain ranges surround this plateau on every side, the first time visitors have to retrain their respiratory systems to the economical supply of oxygen in her atmosphere.

YEAR OF THE FROG

It rained the past few days. Spurts of shower, not enough to jeopardize movement across the city. This morning a blue sky opened up. Sunshine that was bright n' warm, enough to dry up washing on the line within two hours. Squirrels gathered for a mid-street conference on relative merits of nutty food on offer in adjoining gardens. The cranky sobered up, the sober had Tourette's.

SHOULDN'T A GLORIOUS SEASON DESERVE A GOD ?

Those cottony masses floating across blue skies, they've been generous this year. At the point on globe we inhabit, a possibility of getting drenched has hung everyday. Birds have been mirthful, nesting is more enthusiastic, mating-calls more frequent. Skylight has made dynamic mood-swings, grey to purple to yellow to red... Its a good time for Faith to be reborn. 

BIRD OF PREY

Some days one is fortunate, on others the challenges are just overwhelming. This knack of waiting for one's time comes with experience. Reflecting on misses and triumphs too helps.

DISCOURSE ON INEQUALITY

 "...from the moment one man needed help from another, and as soon as they found it useful for one man to have provisions enough for two, equality evaporated, property was introduced, and work became mandatory; vast forests were transformed into sunny open country that had to be watered with the sweat of man, and where slavery and adversity were soon to germinate and ripen with the crops."     - Rousseau.
   

FORTUNE IS A POINT OF VIEW

The true founder of Civil Society was the first man who, having enclosed a piece of land, thought of saying, "This is mine", and came across people simple enough to believe him.
                                                                                            -Rousseau.

GROW UP MAN, ITS JUST A SEASON.

A mix of dry heat and showers has turned weather humid. Not as bad as being roasted under sun n' heat of June but not perfect. A headcount of all species occupying God's only planet seems impossible this season. 

AFTER THE 'UNMERCIFUL' HAS EXTRACTED HIS DUES

Solar radiation that had mightily set about to scorch human habitats for a seemingly unending summer, has made way for streaming clouds across skies, cool winds and occasionally an ethereal light that would inspire European painters of yore to begin work on a new canvas.

                                        Every life that has survived the harsh season is seen gingerly stepping out of its nest before they ready themselves for the new haute couture season.

A DATE WITH ROYALS

Maharaja's residence in Mysore. Still lived in, hence, partly open to visitors. Its an impressive house. There's a princely collection of artifacts and trophies inside, and the mandatory protocol is to take off your footwear when you enter the guarded chambers. 

 The hall where Ruler met the nobility. Gifts, grants, petitions, adjudication, conspiracies, all happened in this space.

A bit of Europe in Mysore. Stained glass filtering tropical sun as it enters into royal home's lobby. A privileged lifestyle that, the once Royalty, presently share with commoners (even if for just a ticketed moment).