On the Beach
Photography
Speaking Pictures – 1
Selling balloons
Children’s Day Special
Today is Children’s day – the birthday of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. The day is celebrated as children’s day because he used to love children’s very much and hence the children used to call him “Chacha” ( Uncle) . So he became popularly known as ” Chacha Nehru”. Though international children’s day is 20th Nov. but in India, as a mark of birthday of “Chacha Nehru” we do celebrate it on 14 Nov. each year. I would like to mention that “Chacha Nehru was born on 14th Nov. 1989 1889 and died on May 27, 1964.
The above picture may look like as another snap. But I wish to say something about it. Few months back, in front of my house, where lower middle class people stays, I saw the kids playing “Teacher – Student ” . Their parents may be working in some factories or as house maids but the kids are really smart. The time was around 10 am in morning. Like every weekend their play was again “teacher-student” that day too. I have seen that, coming back from school, they do their homeworks first !
No one forces them to do so with sticks. At the same time, no one is needed to keep them away from video-games or TV screens. They are playing and enjoying “teacher-student” game on weekends. At the left door one little girl is sketching and other kid is seeing them. The little girl knows the school saraswati vandana complete. “नमस्ते सरस्वती देवी….. ” She sings that while playing. On the right door, a girl is reading the lessons of some story book loudly and others are listening to her. The Teacher madam sometimes lovingly scolds the students too.
Now a days, one family is not there now, so the teacher madam is not there to lead the play. Though I couldn’t understand their Kannada, but I can understand the language of budding childhood, which show the infinite prospects in them. It was a visual treat to my eyes. Happy Children’s Day !!
For your eyes only – 7
Whenever I go to my small town, in everything I internally do comparison and contrast between the metro of Bangalooru and district town Kishanganj. Say, I do that for almost everything not for discussion but think a lot, what makes two places different.
On Puja occasions, we do see fair (mela) type scene, which meant a lot for us in childhood, but now a days from there not many things that we need to buy. In childhood, a small piggy-bank ‘gullak’ meant a lot, when purchased from the mela-vendor. On the edible side, still Puchkas and Jalebi’s I can’t resist to buy and now we do look for hygienic vendors. Pity, this time only 50 Puchka (Golgappas) I did gulped, because my brother-in-law did not give me company for long :p
Balooooooons 🙂 ( I still do buy some, just to hang on door 🙂
Churiyan (Bangles) – Oriental woman’s love…
Mina Bazaar – ( What a contrast to metro designer showrooms : no mannequins, neon lamps and brand names here and its the lifeline of Majority of Indian )
Wow so cheap ! Chat Rs. 5/- , Samosa 2/-
Mud pots and toys
A young man selling artificial flowers ( Now globally people can see his flowers 🙂 ) ( Look behind there is written on wall “Chhatra Sakti( Student Power) – What a contrast !!
For your eyes only – 6
On the Navami evening, I and my younger brother-in-law went out for the visiting the Puja pandals. My sister, Pinky decided not to go out because of the small kid, and so did Ma as she was not going. To us, walking hours, visiting the pandals through the crowd, meeting friends and relatives has been , great evening, once in the year. Though we could not spend time at any pandal much. Here are the more snaps of pandals, we visited.
Railway Colony Pandal (After seeing so many ballons, Still feeling kiddish 🙂
Railway Colony Deity (Dhupa Aarti is going on)
Deity made up of Glass @ Manoranjan Club ( that time under light show)
Durga Ma @ Lohar Patty Temple
Tribal Artwork @ Dompatty (See two sikhs praying at right side) Our town has the best example of communal harmony.
Ma Durga @ Subhash Pally Mandir ( Traditional way)
All Deity in one Singhashan @ Milan Pally Temple (All the deity is at one altar only- thats the traditional way )
For your eyes only – 5
The month of the October and excellent climate in our home town, with the festivity around. The air was full of zeal and new energy.
Puja means shopping. Our small town has only few shops of branded dresses. At those town shops, even not finding so many ranges of colors and fabrics, I prefer to buy one from those shops on Puja occasion. In those shops, with my Ma, there is nostalgic shopping experiences since last 30 years. Another fact is, I am not very good at choosing dresses for myself, whereas I can find good ones for others. Still today, from the exclusive showrooms in Bangalore, I myself, have not bought an exclusive shirt or pant. Or better say I am a bit careless towards my updated dressing sense. ( p.s. Myself kanjoos in fashion consciousness ! No. Have you bought the inaugural launch issue of Vogue in India- its really good one, worth buying 🙂 )
Anyway, next day of reaching home was Ashtami and the main puja started. Here are the snaps of Durga Puja, from my hometown Kishanganj located at the border of Bihar- Bengal. In the first snap is Pushpanjali at Durga bari, where you may find the purely traditional way of Puja. While uploading the photo – I was searching for the possible hand of my Ma, as she did Pushpanjali before me ! Wow I found her 🙂 The gold ring !
Puspanjali @ Durga Bari, Dey Market
Navami Sandhya Puja is going on @ Durga Bari, Dey Market
Durga Puja Pandal @ Manoranjan Club
A Closer Look @ Deity
या देवी सर्व भुतेषू शक्ति रुपेण संस्थिता…
For your eyes only – 3
As I reached Dumdum airport, at check out point, seeing the very long queue of prepaid taxi counter and the need to catch the connecting train, I preferred to take a shared taxi outside the airport. Though the taxi passed through the M.G. Road famous Saari shops, due to time constraint and shared passenger with me, I could not do shopping this time for family members.
Anyway I reached Howrah station well before time, that was decorated elaborately on occasion of Durga Puja, so looked great the adjoining Howrah bridge. Get the glimpse of the huge mural at Howrah station, which depicts the cultural and social scenario of West Bengal very well. Snapped at night, the mural photos are not so clear, but you can get the essence.
The current header image is of a labourer aged around 25, reading a religious book with apt attention in a train compartment. He is returning to his home.
Howrah Station
Howrah Bridge
Mural at Howrah Station (Left Part)
Mural at Howrah Station (Middle Part)
 Mural at Howrah Station (Right Part) |
| From Durga Puja 2007 |
For your eyes only – 2
When I checked in the airport, I was quite early but still relatively late. Reason was, I left for airport straight from office. I requested for the window side seat, but I got only the middle seat. Actually I wished to see sunset from window side. Anyway there was no choice left other than to sit in the middle of two persons.
Most of the time, I have found serious high flying co-travelers sitting nearby devoid of our common train and bus conversations. But this time there was a lady at window side, who was equally or more interested in the clouds than I was and on aisle side sitting a man, who was really friendly.
On the window side, when we did missed some of the bright white cotton clouds , I took out camera for the next possible shots. The lady helped to snap the pictures. I was on the right row. On the left row, some other ladies captured the colors of clouds during sunset . I do wish they too could see the pictures. Later on, when there was dark outside, to pass the time, the lady nearby was trying origami with tissue papers.
Life is a small journey with much smaller distances. These are the people, who know how to remain on ground, even while traveling high. In fact they make the journeys memorable. Here are some of the captured moments. (Click on the image for the bigger image)
Clouds at 35,000 feet
Colors of Clouds (Sunset) – 1
Colors of Clouds (Sunset) – 2
Origamy with tissue papers (Boat, Fan, Lotus, Aeroplane and one tissue left with no idea 🙂
For your eyes only – 1
This time my trip to home was all sudden but a good one. And I captured the moments. The shutter opened in Flight itself and I continued snapping across our lush green fields, for my eyes and yours. There are glimples of Durga Puja and Kids too. Hope to post them soon ( how soon? ).
The header image is of flower sewli, that blooms on the arrival of Puja season. The snap is taken around 4 am in morning outside our boundary wall. Below are the two kids of Didi. Lucky and Mridu looking at auto timed blinking of camera and waiting for snapped.
Wish to say, I had snapped such scenes on my last home trip too through my 35 mm film camera. After washing the negatives, I had planned to take all to home this time. But on the day of departure, somewhere I missed the packet, which contained all the negatives and positives of my last trip ! I felt SORRY as the photos captured some of the precious moments. But thanks God, I missed them here but they did not lost. Thanks to my hurried trip :).