My very short trip to Boston

I am finally on my way to Bangalore, after a real short trip to Boston, MA for an official assignment.  With just a couple of weeks to go for my wedding, this trip came in as a good little break from the proceedings and running around for the wedding back home. 

Well you don't get much time for photography on short official trips so didn't have much time for photography or to go around in Boston.  However, the weekend turned out to be quite interesting I must say.

Boston - just one word... Beautiful.  From all the cities that I have travelled in the US, Boston was one of the cities that really impressed me.  A very vintage city with amazing architecture around you - Cathedrals, Churches, Government Buildings, all of them about 150 years old; vintage America.  Narrow roads covered with trees on both the sides.  Well the leaves had already withered away but I am sure, autumns would be extremely beautiful.

I was visiting a few to-be-in-laws in Boston where I passed Medford and Salem on the way.  One very interesting fact that I got to know about Medford was, it’s the birth place of the "Jingle Bells" jingle.  Medford and Salem both were important places in the American Revolution which again started in Boston.  A lot of American history awaits you in MA.

My sister visited me in the last few days to see me off... After a very long time almost 13 years, it was the first time we spent time together.  Day one it was Cuban food at Naked fish and the next two days we spent shopping and it really was the most wonderful time of the year.

I did learn the secret behind hunting down the sales hidden in the stores... Miss you a lot sis!

Boston Downtown on my final day gave the finishing touches to my trip.  Already impressed by the city, Boston Downtown was brilliant.  Beautiful Architecture all around you, the concrete jungle is difficult to leave behind.  Finally got my hands on some Orange chicken at Panda Express and once again some amazing discounts at Oakley!  Well the holiday season definitely got some amazing deals.

For some reason, I always make it to the US during the winter time.  The weather back in Boston was COLD, with a few rough days.  It’s pretty interesting to see the weather change in Boston, from crazy snow in the morning to maddening rain in the afternoon - Amazing.

All in all, I had a great time at Boston, some good work, some quality time with my sister, some amazing shopping and finally got my hands on White Chocolate Mocha at Logan International Airport.

Err... while ranting about Boston on my blog at Logan International Airport, a grocky voice announced Desai, Vandan in a heavy American accent.  Not sure what the announcement was for; I hurried my way to Gate 7A and viola... I got an upgrade to Business Class for some extremely strange reason which I have no clue and I didn't bother to ask for.  The icing on the cake was when I realized after boarding the flight that I was flying Business Class throughout the trip :)

Hello Bangalore, I'm back!!!

out of action

A month back I injured my knee and was diagnosed with an ACL tear in my left knee.  Photography has taken the back seat for a while, however just couldn't stop myself to go to Hebbal last week after I saw a few black and white birds flying over Hebbal lake.  Had a quick 30 minute shoot before my knee gave in.

So out of action for a few more weeks before I start traveling and photography soon :)

Frames of Mind 2009

Finally my frame made it to the Annual Photography Exhibition Frames of Mind held by Bangalore Photography Club this year.  It was a great feeling to see my frame up there this weekend - couldn't spend much time at the exhibition, but have been receiving loads of messages about the frame.  Thanks a lot everyone for your wishes.

Here's my exhibit displayed at Frames of Mind 2009

Nature Nirvana - A trip amidst clouds

The excitement was high and it was too late to take a nap. The clock stuck 4:30 AM and we were on our way to Chickmagalur. The journey was getting dull with nothing to see, no one to race with, no more choices of songs and no FM radio with completely confusing route markers. And suddenly you are traveling amidst clouds and the weather takes a 360 degree turn - chilly, misty and the clouds just embrace your face.

The energy is on an all time high and the excitement is building up. The journey amidst the clouds continue for a while on mud roads through coffee plantations and we reach Nature Nirvana.

Cricket, Volleyball, Basketball, Carrom, Scrabble, Hiking, Trekking, Sleeping, Eating, Dancing and loud Music hit Nature Nirvana for 23 hours.

Its been the most amazing two days this year for me. Not much of photography this time - thanks to the rain, however a portfolio shoot, new ways of taking pictures in absolute darkness and tons of fun.

Suraj, Madhu, Vishal, Sharath, Shashwath, Sudhi, Parari

Vandan, Manu, Amitha, Sharnitha, Christelle, Ruby, Nishchith, Krishna

read more on Christelle's blog

visiting the western ghats

Am off for the weekend to have a much needed break.

Have been down with a viral infection and fever for almost 5 days - sleeping and getting bored at home...

The moist air, the lush green paddy fields, NH 48, the curves at the ghats, the lovely evenings with mist and fog all around, the dark clouds and the occasional drizzle.... Just cant wait to be at the Western Ghats and the coffee plantations of Chickmagalur.

Hopefully, the rain gods will keep away for the weekend and the sun shines just at the right times to capture glimpses of my trip.

Quick short trip to Mysore!

Danny called me over on Saturday and asked, f*****, what you doing?
Nothing came the reply and so the story was set by danny for a quick short photography trip to Mysore.
Well, Mysore... I say! There is something fishy for sure! Well the trip was on Danny and so we left for Mysore at 4 PM from Bangalore.

Somnath called, was bugged with work and his cellphone and so we picked him up on the way. The confusion between Danny and Somnath was whether Deve Gowda petrol bunk near or his house :) We picked Somnath right in the middle.

Mysore it was, we stopped at Barista for a quick refill :) and headed towards Mysore... Stopped to capture the dimming light and reached Mysore at 7 PM.







I started searching for St. Philomena's church... couldn't make it on time. Probably next trip I will make it on time.

We then hit "The Road" pub. Amazing food, Thaiwa Shrimp (Tandoori Shrimp) was good. But Chicken breast stuffed with mutton keema and cashew paste... sounded weird, tasted out of this world.

Danny bid adios to his "special friend" and we headed for Bangalore at 10 PM. An interesting comment that danny passed on his way back; "I don't sleep in the night and specially while driving".

Well he snored away to glory and woke up when we reached Kengeri!
So...
Break at Barista: 540 INR
Chilling out at The Road Pub: 1700 INR
Fuel for the Trip: 1000 INR
Dinner at Barista: 300 INR
Watching Danny as a good boy: Priceless :)

Back to Mangalore

Yes, I was back to Mangalore once again in January, not to capture Buffalo races but to witnessYakshagana.

Yaksha-gana literally means the song (gana) of Yaksha. Yakshas were an exotic tribe mentioned in the Sanskrit literature of ancient India. Read More on Yakshagana on Wikipedia.

Sindhur not taking any risk after his experiences with Danny and myself, made sure the tickets were booked. Well Sindhur, we really did miss you when you had to drop off at the last moment...

So it sure was a bigger group this time - Ashit, Vinod C Gowda a.k.a. Danny, Vic, Sunil & Myself reached Mangalore in the cool and comfortable KSRTC Volvo bus.

Somnath and Pratheush (due to non availability of chuttis) decided to ride to Mangalore. Little did Pratheush know about the experience he is going to go through.

So Ashit was silent on his trip (traveling in a bus after a long time), Vic - the gadget man had Slumdog millionaire for entertainment with a 2.1 speaker system and Sunil after drinking some battery coolant (Aristocrat and Leher soda) that burned danny's throat slept like a baby till we reached Mangalore.

Sunil - thanks to stop the bus when we really needed. Peeing under the stars in open fields is really an experience

Somnath and Pratheush were already at the hotel and for Pratheush, he understood the importance of A** for the first time in his life.

We had to wait for the evening to have a go at Yakshagana, so it was Kambala once again in the morning, Chicken Gassi for lunch and a dizzy ride in an Innova all around Mangalore.

For entertainment, Vic suggested to replace “dil” with “a**” in whatever song that was playing in the car.

On the way back to the hotel, we captured moments at a Kushti competition. The boat ride to the place was good where danny nearly drowned himself in the small little boat that we shared. Danny, next time don’t yell, don’t move and if you feel the boat is going to trip, throw your gear in the water.

Dinner at Kudla made the day complete. Chicken Ghee Roast, Chickn Gassi, Fish Fry, Neer Dosas and a lot of food… Mangalorean food is something that all of us relished. Pratheush, how was the vegetarian food?

It took us about an hour to find a place where Yakshagana was going on. It was amazing to witness, very colorful, full of energy and absolute passion. The two hours that we spent clicking the artists, were one of the best moments of the day.

Festivals form an indelible part of the people of Mangalore that are celebrated with extreme enthusiasm. The festivals of Mangalore provide a deep insight into the socio-cultural pattern of Mangalore.

Aati, Dussehra, Sri Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh Puja, Tiger dance, Bhuta Kola, Fishing festival, Kambala and Yakshagana are some of the events that brings out the passion and enthusiasm that people of Mangalore celebrate. The culture and ritual for all these festivals are still alive and have been carried out from the past 500 years or more.

With so much to witness and with so little that I have experienced; it’s a long way to go to really feel the passion, fun, enthusiasm, entertainment the city of Mangalore has.

This is my culture, my religion, my ritual! And I love being part of it!

I experimented shooting with transparencies on my Film SLR for the first time on this trip. Will upload the photographs once I get them processed.

back to photography... hopefully!

Finally took some time off from work last Saturday. 

After about 8 long weeks, took my camera and just clicked around. 

On a mission to take some good model photographs, I noticed a few dancing men on the lamp shade and something just triggered in my mind. 

Low light, 50 mm at high ISO's and here it is...

Well, Thanks you for the lamp shade, next time I'm sure will get a good portfolio done for you!

Hope to get back to some serious photography soon!

Sankranthi

Sankranthi, is a festival that marks the beginning of the harvest season for the farmers of the Indian Sub-Continent. An interesting fact I came across while browsing the Internet was that this is the harvest festival celebrated not only in India but other South East Asian countries as well. This day also marks the beginning of the gradual increase of the duration of the day.

The beautiful part about India is that every festival is celebrated in its own way in different states.  Commonly knows as Pongal  down south; villages in Karnataka celebrate this day by making their bulls & cows jump over burning haystacks.

Kichchu Haisodu the name given to this sport, is a tradition that these farmers have followed for hundreds of years and their belief only gets stronger with each year.  About 100 miles from Bangalore in a small town near Hassan I was able to capture some moments, but some things are better experienced and its difficult to express this moment or the feelings of people celebrating this festival...

Of course you go there with your camera you get specially privileges and grants to stand anywhere, however at your own risk. People are high, screaming in joy, booing people whose cattle go around the fire, kids try to chase the bull to get their garlands, balloons or for the matter any thing that they can get their hands on.

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At the end of the sport it is not over yet; the most important thing begins after the fire is off and people collect the ash in huge quantities.  These are then sprayed around the house in the field for a better harvest next year and keep the evil spirits away from their house and make their children brave!

I am sure a lot of organizations have major concerns about the event, however its a ritual that has been followed for hundreds of years  and holds a lot of importance to the people who believe in this. It's difficult to replace such rituals specially when they happen at remote locations where people worship Rain (Jal), Fire (Agni), Air (Vaayu), Earth (Prithvi) and Sky (Aakash).

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