My Favorite Muse

Some people are either simply too photogenic or have the innate talent to make you want to dig out your camera from the depths of your bag and *click* store that particular memory forever. Hoping against hope that the camera captures what the eyes see.

For me, these moments present themselves in abundance. There are quite a lot of people around, who present themselves as prospective subjects from time to time. I try to capture that moment.

And sometimes I do get lucky.   

I miss this guy

Traditional colors bring out the fighter in him

This one was taken by the subject in the first two pictures. Him and his love for dogs.

Ekla Chalo Re

I haven't seen Kahaani yet. They say Vidya Balan's acting is impressive. I guess I am still recovering from the shock of her last movie. Especially, the dailogs. Anyway, I suspect Kahaani will be better. Ms. Balan got her share of talk for her second provocative role in a row. But enough of that. A friend of mine, who happens to be a Bengali saw Kahaani. And all she could talk about was Calcutta and the way it was depicted in the movie. And all I could truly understand, having never been to Calcutta myself, was the song composed by Rabindranath Tagore was the song titled 'Ekla Chalo Re'.
Here's the English version:

If they answer not to thy call walk alone,
If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,
O thou unlucky one,
open thy mind and speak out alone.


If they turn away, and desert you when crossing the wilderness,
O thou unlucky one,
trample the thorns under thy tread,
and along the blood-lined track travel alone.


If they do not hold up the light when  the night is troubled with storm,
O thou unlucky one,
with the thunder flame of pain ignite thy own heart
and let it burn alone.

Here's the earliest version I could find by Suchitra Mitra. It is diametrically different from the original sung by Gurudev.

Sickness, trips and whatnot

I feel sick. Not the soul wrenching sickness that plagues so many youngsters of today. Its the troublesome sickness generated due to one(or more) of the following -
1. Jumping in a waterfall (not from the ledge though) and staying put in the extremely cold water for close to an hour.
2. Celebrating a slightly wet Holi despite clear signs of common cold being just around the corner.
3. Being in close vicinity of a person already infected by common cold and what-not.
4. Clothing myself thinking its June when its closer to mid-February in the City.

Though no.1 may seem like the clear winner, the other three should be given certain amount of credit too. Its been nearly a week. The cold and deadlines have kept me from talking the hell out of the recent trip to Jim Corbett. From switches* to waterfalls and waiting in an open jeep for a tiger that wouldn't show up to being so desperate to see a tiger that a dozen kids almost believed that any random video of a tiger behind some bushes in a random cell was an authentic one and that "It all comes to those who wait"- this is what the Corbett trip was all about. And some other stuff squeezed in here and there in a 3 days and 4 nights trip(2 nights in the resort and 2 in the bus).

Lessons learnt-

When on a  trip with people from college, be sure to run low on sleep. Sleep deprivation is something you simply cannot avoid. Specially when a bunch of kids consider it their foremost duty to wake up anyone who chances to fall asleep. Almost as if it'll be bad for them to sleep on the trip. I count myself lucky to have been a part of this bunch at times. It prevented me from dozing off myself. Then there was this kid who dozed off on a bench(surrounded by black dogs) because his room had been converted into a card room. Or maybe simply because he found the bench cozier than his bed.

All Leaf colors, can they be found on a painter's pallet? I doubt it.
No camera can capture the feeling of seeing a forest view in person. Situations, yes. Certain landscapes, yes. Cameras do capture all that. But not this feeling. And I don't think this should be called seeing(or any of its synonyms). The sensation is not merely limited to being able to see/view/look at an object. Of course, all other senses supplement what the eyes see to generate that feeling. Bottom line- Cannot capture all the senses worth of feelings in a photograph.

Artificial Rappelling turned out to a shade tougher than the real deal. But its also less scary. Take your pick.

One should never underestimate the photographer's ability to capture one's most ridiculous expression. Just freeze whenever you try/try not to pose for a picture. Don't twitch or anything because that is the photographer's window of opportunity.

Lastly, nature hikes are the best. The BEST. Specially the ones that have a waterfall towards the end.

Also, Holi is a blur. Colors and balloons are all that I can recall. I do remember waking up that day to see a huge face looming large above me. My imp of a brother was trying to wake me up by asking for my permission to hit me with a pink water balloon.


*Not the regular kind. The special emotional switch.