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!
