sitting quietly and doing something
i wish i could stare into the music in
front me, isn't it where i have to go
violin in the distance seems to race
ahead of me and keep pace with the
changing clouds and the reflected
light, songs of strings tugging on
my heavy heart, i wish i was apart of
the canvas, to breathe in the air of
delight and watch the rhythms fly past
and never turn back...

sunrise at bababudan 2

sunrise at bababudan 1

bylakuppe, march 04.

sunset at gaalikere. we made this trek just for ravi's sake who had come down from england. he desperately wanted to catch a slice of our adventure before he realises he won't have the time to do so... kishore and i planned this to perfection... till the day one that is! we pitched our tent near gaalikere(the lake of winds), ran around madly in search of pictures and finally settled down at this point to talk... and as every minute inched closer to darkness the fiery streaks of light on the distant skies made us silent... for quite sometime.

we always seem to forget each others birthdays but when it comes to plotting yet another trek in the mountains we shamelessly seek each other. srini is impulsive, fast, terribly enthusiastic... so much not like me... but there are only few others whose company i would love to have on my treks... i hope srini's aspiration of high altitude trekking comes alive some day... i caught him on this photograph at the gopalswamy betta when we went assisting mr.perumal on his 'macro' shoot.

why should a flower growing through a rock be any less than the mighty elephants... why don't we see beauty in these little things.. aren't these the 'fine embroidery' of nature...

j, did the mountain pastures look anything like this in the daytime?

kanoor trek. a view from gowdru's home. beyond the fields was the dabbe waterfalls... we tried getting down the valley but soon realised it was almost suicidal in the rains... we just got a glimpse of it. few trekkers have reached the base of the waterfalls in summer.. they tell me.

kanoor trek. a typical entry into the dreaded sholas, i can hear the leeches get ready for meal!.. it was continuously drizzling but i knew i had to get some pictures here even if it meant getting my camera wet...

kanoor trek. plenty of such streams made our trek a very unforgettable experience... kishore and i had to wade through ankle deep water for kms together on our way...

ruins at maandu, madhya pradesh

money-plant at our old home, #1449 rajajinagar

but it rained...

Wrapped in a polythene, tucked away safe in my mind
a little goodbye, maybe, or just a passing smile


The birds fly away to the sky still searching for home
a bunch o' paper flowers, or a little child left all alone
Can somebody hear me, I'm screaming from so far away
morning who'll calm you, the evening's eclipsed again

*Well does life get any better
more yesterday than today
How I thought the sun would shine tommorow
But it rained...

They justified the cause for which Daddy might give up his life
,it's been so long, so long a time but still I miss Daddy at night
The ache is long gone but the never keeps staring at me
the waters in the seas are high, and all the sand castles have drowned

*Well does life get any better
more yesterday than today
How I thought the sun would shine tommorow
But it rained...

-parikrama.

last pictures with my sigma 3, drs, kolar

last pictures with my sigma 2, drs, kolar

last pictures with my sigma 1, drs, kolar

maarkandeshwara temple, vokkaleri, kolar. mandakini finally found the time to travel with us, something she always wanted to do she said, although this was a short trip. we packed some snacks and started out in binu's estate when it started to pour. i mean REALLY pour. it was so hard for him to drive... we went really slow.. enjoyed the rain and the by the time we reached vokkaleri it seemed to have completely stopped. and as we went up the winding road to the temple we were greeted by a beautiful peacock! it was wonderful.. the rain had just stopped... the sun was peeping out.. black coulds still hanging close... everything seemed fresh and green... and we were with people we really enjoyed being with! we missed kishore though. and another surprise was awaiting.. as you can see from the picture... a beautiful rainbow. i caught a candid picture as srini ecstatically pointed out to the rainbow. if any of my days came close to being perfect... maybe this was it!

'annange hill', NH 4, kolar
i remember very vividly this particular day spent in kolar... felix wanted to go on a ride and i promised him to take him near the 'table land'. but somehow we couldn't figure out an access... so we finally decided to visit some ruins towards huthnoor(or thamballi?) that i had noted on my earlier ride. we went there.. spent sometime and came back through a different route. on this route, very close to DRS we saw this hill and decided to go up. and it was pure bliss on top! puddles of water everywhere... DRS in the horizon.. it was amazing. i shot this with the last few frames of the colour film on my canon... i came back the very same day with srini, ravi, chav... i was so excited! i took a lot of pictures in black and white this time...

evening at tadiyendamol, coorg

kishore on the tadiyendamol, coorg

Raghu Rai...

I looked again and again at those ghastly images to understand what Raghu Rai had particularly seen and felt. And each time I stood in front of them I saw something new, interesting and painful. After an immediate appreciation of Raghu’s innate attraction to human life, we got down to discussing a handful of photographs that missed our ovation. But looking closer, giving time for the photographs to seep into us we embarrassed ourselves of our earlier thoughts.
The child with the flawless face being buried was a justified opener, the rubble and a hand over the child’s face made the mood perfect. This picture won the world press photograph of the year. The pictures got more intriguing and although the composition of the each of the photographs was extremely intelligent, the viewers’ mind was cleverly shifted to notice the graveness of the disaster.
I tried to put down some excerpts from an informal discussion that we had with Raghu Rai.
About the night of the disaster:
I was woken up by my editors on that night and by 8am the next day I was in Bhopal. There was death all around me, the roads strewn with dead animals with bloated bellies and stench… there were people dying, especially children. I was afraid about the effect of the poisonous gas on my own body but I had to go on shooting. That was my job. A lot of people ask me how I could be taking pictures when I am a witness to a tragedy unfolding in front me, shouldn’t I be helping them and put down my camera. If I do my job to my outmost satisfaction, giving one hundred percent, I know I have done my part. Everything else will take care of itself.
About using monochromes:
I used black and whites particularly in this situation since the medium diverts all the attention to the drama and the emotions in the picture which can otherwise be diluted by colours. For example if a subject in the picture is wearing a yellow shirt during a burial scene the mood tends to be contradictory…
About styles in photography:
Quite a few people come up to me and say sir, we idolize in you… I say that’s fine if you want to be like me then do so. But look inside you… there is a guru, learn from him. Style is special to each person, and photographers should try to explore and realize their own styles…
About press photography:
The human face is a mirror of the real person behind it… try to capture the seldom seen moods and emotions of politicians that is an indicator of his real character rather than capturing him cutting tapes and lighting lamps…
About digital photography:
We have to embrace new technology and it would be stupid if we stick to classical methods saying they are nostalgic. I am planning to go digital shortly with a Nikon D100.
About equipment:
All I carry is one camera, and one lens which would be either a 24-70 or a 28-70 lens.
His inspiration during his younger days:
Henri Cartier Bresson, who incidentally worked with Magnum too.

the glorious temple complex from arunachala hill, thiruvannamalai

the idol seller takes a nap, arunachala hill, thiruvannamalai

'wandering saint' of arunachala, thiruvannamalai

ramakrishna ashram, thiruvannamalai

path up the arunachala hill, thiruvannamalai.

dawn at bababudangiri

campsite at tadiyendamol

common langur, bandipur.

lines.

Lines interweave to baffle once more
Fighting for attention from the confused soul
Trying to reach the inner most circles
Trying to be the brightest one
To lead into the secrets hidden
And to do that in their style
Don’t let you in with ease
Demand your time, your purest senses
When eyes converse with the relaxed mind
When the thoughts whorl out
To acknowledge the otherside
When white is churned out
To yield the deepest hue
The lines rest then…
And let you become one amongst them.

sunflowers...

rumi... and love.

heres one of rumi's that i had put down on my hard disc quite sometime ago:

Now that your soul has entered my all-too-present flesh
And made with it a soul in kind,
Your each embarking thought,
The breathing swing and sway of your movement
Makes an impression on the wax of my surrendering will,
My mind is but a pillow
Indented by the flow of your passing thoughts.
My newly-moulded soul is alight with
Your pulsing grace, your secret deceptions
Have transformed dead stone to fire.
Each new day is a slow beginning
New lamentations rise
From the reed of my longing for your lip;
Your loving candour strokes the mouth of the reed
With a sweet languishing refrain.
My soul imitates and installs
Your moon’s soft milk-light in its chambers.
I mould myself to fit your form
Like a belt for the waist, even when
Your eye has tethered me with angry scowls
Turning me this way and that until
My distracted heart jumps out of itself.

-divan 2313.

spotted deers, bandipur.

leaf

lost among silence

silence preceeds the monotonous din
the rains falling endless in sheets
the path seems lit but i cannot see the
people with sharp shadows coming close
i ask the glistening eyes the way
and a soul points into the waiting fog
i take my track on the greasy grass
a slip and a shake and a heart beat fast
into the white i see some trunks of
long dead wood with mossy coat
i let myself into the descending road
but i stand in moment at a confused stop
i look back to my partner but seldom seen
a feeble light from the farther hill
i trace back to the original stand
and ponder once again at the way not mine.

stopping a awhile.

the long ride in a blind end
the wind in my ear
safe from the beautiful stream
the end on the other side
two steps from a pleasurable fall
a deep strum in my head
sustained long, eerie light
ghastly green as i turn around
thousand eyes watching me through
i run back to my place
as i leave them alone...