Rant 70: MONO with a DASH of colour

Been doing some reading up on post-production techniques...effects etc. Not that I wasn't doing any before but those were mostly related to basic ones like Brightness/Contrast, Shadow/highlights..
But ever since I acquired the Adobe CS5 Master Collection (a total of 17 applications), the post-production bug has well and truly bitten me...
plus I've also started adding my watermark to my pics, so all you leechers can stuff it from here on...
So here's the first few of many experiments to come...
This one was taken way back in 2008, when I was still in college (Manipal) and working for our student-run news website The Manipal Journal.
I was on the outskirts of Mangalore with one of our reporters, covering a very sad incident. A bus full of children going to school had drowned in the river seen here, with just a few survivors. After a whole morning spent among them, I was quite depressed by the whole thing. As we walked across a bridge, en route to the bus stop, I spotted this boat and (who I assume was) its owner. Completely represented what I was going through at that point, mainly, sad, but looking out for some hope.
This second one, was taken in my native state of Orissa, in a city called Cuttack. The person on the top left is my cousin, who is now a full-fledged under-19 Ranji player for the state. And I was lucky to catch him during his morning practice. The cricket ball in the foreground was nearly brand new at the start of the session, and its current state clearly shows the rigours with which he practices. And in what seems like a rare case among the Indian middle class, his parents have allowed him to study a non-sciencey field in senior school, so that his time can be best devoted to the game.
Since that day, he has already played several professional games for the state and it just goes to show how much practice can make perfect.
Next up we have the famous Kuwait Towers. As you can read from its history, this landmark of Kuwait was ravaged by forces during the invasion period 1990-1992. It has since been restored to its former glory and is now considered the pride of the nation. Not to sound like a tour guide, but it is definitely a wonderful visit to this place, and completely worth going up to the bottom dome seen in the picture. It contains a rotating platform, which gives you amazing views of the entire city. A must-see if you're ever down in this country.
Coming back to mera bharat mahan, the next one came in New Delhi, specifically in the forest area adjacent to the Qutab Minar.
I had been clicking away - trees etc - and in this huge natural expanse, it was easy to feel a little alone, especially as 99% of traffic noise is blocked out, and all you can hear are birds, crickets, an occasional peacock (they're really hard to photograph!). So when I was a bit overwhelmed by the nature-ness of it all, I sat down on a piece of concrete for a breather. Lo and behold, one of the first things I see is this dude walking away and, of course, once again captured what I was feeling, a huge sense of solitude...well almost I suppose (two is company isn't it?).
And finally, we take the holy route. This gargantuan statue of Hindu deity Shiva is located in Murudeswar (for an earlier post on this place, click here). And for the uninitiated ones, this deity's favourite animal is the snake. I'll try not to wet myself here, but snakes, for me, are QUITE scary. I try and conquer my fears, though, by watching discovery channel type shows about these creatures, and have been fortunate not to be confronted by live, uncaged one yet (not that dead ones are any prettier). Anyway, this one on the left was obviously quite daunting for me to see, but became another way to fight fear I think. The deity himself is largely characterised as the destroyer, and he too brings up childhood memories of bearded sadhus on TV who - in loud booming voices - proclaimed how Shiva could destroy the whole universe with his dancing.

And as a bonus for going through this whole post, I give you my thanks and a shot of a typical action performed by most tourists (Indian ones anyway), vandalism. This one's taken at Ullalla beach just a few kms outside of Mangalore.
It put me in a cheerier mood writing this post (after all that snake talk), and I hope it gives you a few laughs as well.
Cheers!

Rant 65: The musical spectrum

One of my most life-changing experiences till date has been a month-long internship at RAVE magazine's Delhi office in the summer of 2008. Most of the "change-ings" were work related, not least as this was my first fully legitimate Photojournalistic experience. Now RAVE is (or was) a music magazine, however, the Delhi office was quite far removed from its Bangalore counterpart in terms of the coverage, genre-wise. While Bangalore is obviously more inclined towards whatever the flavour of the month is, or plain old stuff like rock and roll / metal / lounge, Delhi focuses on the more traditional Indian music forms. Now, I would be the first to admit that classical type music is not my cup of tea, but I was able to glean much musically and explore myself photographically as well. From spiritual renditions on a sitar by someone who has a permanent spot on National radio to wild-clapping and high pitched qawallis by a group from Pakistan to probably the most down-to-earth percussionist you can hope to find.
So, to start off, Sudha Mathur,
and as you can probably guess from the pic, she is as much a rock and roll enthusiast as I am of spinach curry. The woman has more than 25 years of playing this instrument under her belt and (as mentioned earlier) a permanent spot on All India Radio. However, she admits she enjoys passing on the fruits of her knowledge more than giving shows. Regardless, judging by the reaction of the audience at the India Habitat Centre - with more than the occasional "waah waah" flying around as well as song suggestions - it's obvious which would pay her better.
Of course, I could hardly understand most of what she sang, but I was well entertained by her lovely accompaniment on the second Sitar...

On to some energetic fare...
Music being one of the few things these days that transcends borders, it's more than worth your time and money if you can catch an authentic Qawalli act. And this particular troupe comes from none other than Pakistan. A performance that is sure to leave you gasping for more each and every time..

Throwing caution to the winds and everyone has a role...some sing, some keep the beat

Now, for many, music is pretty much an inborn talent, you either have it or you don't. For others, it can come as a result of a good background or just plain old healthy patronage.
Meet Prateek Chaudhari,

born with virtually a Silver Sitar in his hands, into a very musically inclined family - his Father being an accomplished musician himself.

The guy is skilled, there's no doubt and has a look on his face that tells you he knows exactly what he wants out of his music. He gave us stories of his performances abroad in Europe and the US. Funnily, according to him, it seems more foreigners come to classical music concerts than do our own desi brethren.
He seemed quite experienced in the whole art of "posing" as well, giving us pointers on how we could enhance his image...guess humility was not part of the Sitar School curriculum.


Next we have Debojyoti Bose on the Sarod. Now this was truly a mesmerising performance - even for someone like me -

After all that spiritual looking strumming, the first thing the man searches for in the green room (prior to our interview session) is a cigarette...ahh Irony, thy name is Gold Flake.

And finally, the down-to-earth percussionist...
Shailendra Mishra, a tabla player and having been a tabla student myself in my teenage years, I guess his was the instrument I was most attracted to among all the musicians I met.
I reached his home at around 11 am, just as one of his students was finishing his lesson. Shailendra then proceeded to give me a near-virtuoso solo performance and I was torn between reaching for my camera and sitting there staring like a dork (read: in amazement).









I think about this guy and then I recall this other tabla player I saw recently at a concert called Fireflies in Bangalore - who refused to play the first two songs of his band's set due to a sound problem, which amazingly only he was able discern...not the myriad of sound techies standing around, not to mention his own bandmates.

Oh yeah, in case you were wondering, Delhi does have quite an active rock and roll scene but my work-related sessions prevented me from attending many such shows. Nevertheless, here are two pics from a certain fest called "Yamonatsav" again at the Indian Habitat centre, conducted on the 5th of June (Environment Day), in tribute to New Delhi's endless quest to "finally" clean up the Yamuna river.











Raghu Dixit, played despite an injured right hand

Dunno the guy on the left...guy on right is bassist from Indian Ocean

HAPPY LISTENING!

Rant 42: Indian v Sri Lanka 3-1

Just saw the game between India and Sri Lanka in the ONGC Nehru cup 2009, at the Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi. Must say, that the team looks pretty good in terms of passing the ball around, creating scoring opportunities and actually taking them when it counts.

Although, India lost their Nehru Cup 2009 opener to Lebanon, they came back strongly against Kyrghystan. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, had been reeling from a walloping they received two days ago at the hands of Syria. In the buildup to the India game Coach Perreira (Sri Lanka) had been critical of the fixtures, saying they favoured the hosts who had to play games at a lesser frequency than the visitors.

However, for India the match itself was a must-win, which would certainly have increased the pressure, as opposed to the Lankans who simply had to draw to remain in the tournament.
India took the lead mid-way through the first half through a header from golden-boy Baichung Bhutia. For the most part, the first half looked like India's for the taking as the Lankans remained content with their long, ambitious balls into the final third with only their two strikers chasing after the ball, looking like random farmers in a barren, untouched-by-rain Indian rice field.
Prior to the first goal, India almost got their rewards for dominating the first ten minutes via Sunil Chettri who got his head to a free kick from just outside the half-way line. However, the goal was ruled out for offside. The Indian fans were forced to wait for a superb in-swinging cross from Steven Dias, from the right side touchline, that Bhutia converted with a charging header. The Lankans looked unable to defend the aerial ball at all times and were largely uncomfortable with the constant pressure from their opponents right up to the half time whistle. There were several occasions when the Indian players struck the woodwork and one felt, the hosts deserved a better scoreline in their favour going into the break.
After the break, however, it was the islanders who started the more positive, as they managed a ten-minute period of pressure with shots ranging in from the midfielders (I'm not going to pretend I remember their names!!). India too looked like increasing their lead, with Bhutia striking the woodwork (again off a header).
The Sri Lankan efforts paid off eventually. The goal came off a relatively harmless looking free-kick, which was headed into goal off a defender's foot and was enough to set the scores level. Indian coach Bob Houghton was definitely not pleased with the defending but that didn't stop the Indian forwards from pressing on for the lead. Surprisingly, it was defender Gauramangi Singh who got the lead once again for the hosts, with a simple tap-in after the Lankan goalkeeper failed to parry the ball safely away from a near post cross.
Midfielder Steven Dias found the net around ten minutes later, with a cracking shot after being released on the right by NP Pradeep. 3-1 India!!!
The hosts were then content to make the odd foray down the centre, whilst keeping their opponents at bay. Although, Sri Lanka managed a few runs down the flanks in the final stages of the match, India were able to see the game through.

I must say...even though I haven't followed the Indian team before or since the coaching was taken over by Bob Houghton, it was a pleasure to watch them play. There was a definite attitude of "going forward" that we had.
In contrast, I remember a match we played in England against Wolverhampton Wolves (of the English Premier League) a few years back and I actually felt ashamed at the fact that we could not even provide decent enough competition against a bottom-table league side, let alone score a goal and even worse, play against full-strength national sides.
We seem to have come a long way from that and here's hoping our next game, against Syria, goes just as well!

and btw, the match description was my first attempt at something of a "Match review" perse, so feel free to post any comments, criticism of the same...Thanks!

Rant 40: Wheels of the Enfield

Seen at an Enfield garage in New Delhi

Rant 29: I travel till I'm dead

I was going through my Flickr photostream after a real long time and in homage to the spirit of travel...
enjoy the pics

"A Shattered View"

this shot was taken from the top most level of a "viewing tower" at the Hirakud Dam, Orissa (Asia's largest natural reservoir dam). Many thanks to the guy who vented his frustration!

"Succumbing to Pressure"

This sign, at the entrance of my Mausi's village is, I feel, representative of the way in which people in Orissa literally and metaphorically bend over (backwards or forwards, doesn't matter) in the face of any sort of injustice, oppression, persecution etc. Be it at the hands of Religious fundamentalists raping and burning (some of which also happened here btw), or at the doorsteps of greedy landlords and corrupt politicians
"I Stand Tall"

and finally, the India Gate. What better way to show that no matter how much of modern life zips past, the memory and sacrifices of those who lived and fought for our country, and indeed the very ideas of freedom, will stand tall.

Rant 22 : enlightening experiences

a very curious incident
The concept of Open Bars is not so Open in Delhi as someone from Manipal might expect. Still your's truly had been jonsing for a drink ever since the abstinence period began dated 25th May...
hence I stepped out for a beer today evening at the local wine and beer shop that seemingly only sells the liquor. Of course, being Indians and Delhiites that we currently are, the public casually enjoys their drinks just a few feet outside of the shop.
The most interesting aspect of this is...the waiter service...and no I'm not talking about the white coat clad clods who constantly enquire if you want anything else even though what you have on your plate is worth a grand or more...
I'm talking about the ragged bunch of juveniles who run around opening liquour bottles for customers having their drink then and there. These street urchins are there to collect empty bottles and sell them back for no more than Rs 3 per bottle. They help you out by opening your beer bottles (the liquour shop surprisingly doesn't own a bottle opener) and providing matchsticks for the smoking crowd.
I happened to catch some of these urchins as I chugged 0ff a bottle of KF in front of the very same shop.
The first of them was a tiny little mite. I asked him for his name and the meekest of voices replied "Sujeet". Aged just 8, as i found out, I barely had time for the latter question before he scampered off to collect the bottle of the latest customer to finish his chugging. The urchins are unique in that they have developed street skills that no self-proclaimed goonda-figure of colleges and schools can ever match up to. They sell the empty bottles back to two other boys who collect these bottles to sell back to waste godowns.
Imagine 7 year olds bargaining for a single friggin rupee and you might just get an idea of how pointless our own extravagnce is. Needless to say, my own light headed conscience was pricked at the very sight of that.
All of these urchins had to deposit their bottle collections for the evening to the two main (and older) boys at the location.
The first of THESE boys who actually collected the bottles from all the street urchins, was Gurucharan. "Solah-satarah saal" (16-17 years) was his reply when asked for his age. I couldn't help but probe on and he seemed quite at ease with telling me that his dream was to become an Inspector. He attends school in the morning and works at this bottle-collection in the evening. Quite remarkable!
His companion in this is Manju and his story is even more amazing.
I refuse to believe that a guy who alternates between attending school in the morning and collecting bottles in the evening has no dreams of his own.
When asked what his ambition was, Manju vehemently replies, "I want to join the Army."
To put it literally in his own words ..."Main desh ke liye jaan dey sakta hoon aur jaan ley bhi sakta hoon"
(For my country, I can give my life and take a life too)
Believe me when I say, I was full-power dumbstruck when I heard this. Pure testament to the patriotism that perhaps each and every Indian feels in his/her heart.
BTW...if you think that these older boys somehow cheat the younger urchins then consider that the former sell the overall bottle collections at no more than 3 Rs and 50 p per bottle (50 p profit i.e.)
The final weird incident came when I was just about to ask Manju what his father did for a living. Sadly, I don't know that, because at that very moment I felt my own shirt collar being violently lifted up and also saw Manju's in a similar position.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the THOLA, or Delhi Police had caught me in the "dreadful" act of consuming Beer. I'm still not sure what Manju's crime was, but nevertheless.
The really strange part is, I had been pulled up by a guy in Plainclothes.
Of course, since I am a journalist now, I had the full right to ask him who he was and what right a plainclothes guy had to pull me up like that, but seeing as he literally dragged me towards a full flegded Vardi (uniform) clad Cop, I had to assume otherwise.
Golden words from the cop when I tried asking him what my actual fault was : "Neta mat ban " Dont be a politician
(in Punjabi accent mind you!)

Of course, I am a hot headed guy at times, but seeing as some people think its wrong or maybe immoral to oppose immoral behaviour in the first place (talking to many of my family members here)...
I'll leave the decision making to you guys.
Personally, I wanted to sock the guy in plainclothes.....let the bloody courts decide who's guilty and who's not. This is not some CBI investigation that requires cops to be in plainclothes so they can outsmart the bad guys. If you want to catch criminals do it in the proper attire AT LEAST!.....
bloody corrupt cops....I learned later that this sort of "criminal catching" takes place only once ever week or so and only when there is an issue of lesser hafta (otherwise known as bribe).
Maa kassam...If only i had the resources of Naseeruddin Shah in the movie A Wednesday....
public officials probably dont realise that the public also can lose it one day........m waiting eagerly for such a day in my life!
Many thanks to the corrupt cops for finally bringing out the anarchist in me!
Cheerio!