...world through my lenses

life... till its next bend..

2012-02-09T21:26:00.002+05:30

some footsteps fall so lightly...

2012-01-10T21:03:00.001+05:30

some walk alone...

2011-12-29T08:44:00.001+05:30

इस जहाँ से आगे, इक जहाँ और भी है...

2011-12-26T20:51:00.001+05:30

इस जहाँ से आगे, इक जहाँ और भी है,
दिल मानता है, इक अस्मां और भी है..
http://abhijat-creation.blogspot.com/2011/09/is-jahan-se-aage-ek-jahaan-aur-bhi-hai.html

There's enough in the world for everyone's needs...

2011-12-26T20:21:00.000+05:30

I was a man recounting stories, living out "as ifs"....

2011-12-25T22:28:00.005+05:30

I was a man
recounting stories
living out 'as ifs'
...creating,
encountering
exploring, experimenting with...

the possibilities within
the options without...

Travelling through
the labyrinths of my own creation,
...somewhere on the way,
I stumbled across
this Truth within:
...that!

I do not find myself
in the stories I recount,
the options I create
the possibilities I perceive...

but
discovering myself
is an unending pilgrimage
of becoming aware
of the processes..
...which create my illusions,
my make-believe identities
- and my random stories...

-May 6th, '87

मेरी मिट्टी चुरा के ले गयी ये एक नदी...

2011-12-25T22:00:00.002+05:30

मेरी मिट्टी चुरा के ले गयी ये एक नदी
आसमां चुप रहा, कगार ढलती गयी...

बादल से फूलों तक, टहनी के झूलों तक...

2011-12-09T23:18:00.002+05:30

बादल से फूलों तक, टहनी के झूलों तक,
ठहर गयीं दो पल को, ढूंढती धरातल को,
भीगी कुछ पंखुड़ियाँ, सपनों की कुछ लड़ियाँ,
कुछ पल लहरायेंगी, कल तक गिर जायेंगी,
कुछ आधी, कुछ पूरी... पानी की बूँदें...

ढाबे की चाय...

2011-12-09T23:10:00.002+05:30

कारवां गुज़र गया... गुबार देखते रहे...

2011-12-05T21:09:00.001+05:30

पात-पात झर गयी, कि शाख-शाख जल गयी,
चाह तो निकल सकी ना!.. पर उमर निकल गयी...

Nightscapes - in Delhi

2011-12-04T23:48:00.003+05:30

Florence...

2011-11-20T21:03:00.001+05:30

पतझर की शाखों में जीवन पनपता है...

2011-11-20T00:53:00.001+05:30

बादल बिजली की बिटियाएँ, धरती खेलने को आईं...

2011-11-14T22:33:00.003+05:30

one step at a time... and such a long way to go

2011-11-13T21:25:00.001+05:30

of mom and dot... ऐसा भी तो हो सकता था...

2011-10-31T21:31:00.002+05:30

ढलते सूरज से फिर कुछ और फ़साने निकले...

2011-10-31T19:53:00.001+05:30

न होती शाख तो ये चांदनी वीरान सी होती...

2011-10-31T17:39:00.000+05:30

one more bend on the road...

2011-10-31T16:49:00.000+05:30

these, too, will evaporate...

2011-10-25T07:05:00.000+05:30

....stillness in transience

2011-10-25T06:21:00.003+05:30

revelation...

2011-10-24T21:41:00.002+05:30

Companions

2011-10-20T10:15:00.000+05:30

कभी तूफां किनारा था, कभी साहिल ही तूफां था...

2011-09-18T21:41:00.001+05:30

कभी तूफां किनारा था, कभी साहिल ही तूफां था,
किनारों औ' भंवर के बीच में हम ढूंढते सन्दर्भ अपना ..अर्थ अपना
जो कहीं पर खो गया था,
पनपता था सार्थ से
मासूम सा वो एक सपना...

intersecting, unfolding lives...

2011-07-17T14:04:00.003+05:30

..end of another day

2011-07-04T21:59:00.003+05:30

..blessed are those, who travel by flights...

2011-06-01T20:56:00.001+05:30

...and those on the ground, keep counting their "blessings"...

glimpse of a secular country..

2011-06-01T20:23:00.004+05:30

I had taken this photograph right outside the gate of the Maha Bodhi Temple, Bodh Gaya....

कुछ आधी, कुछ पूरी... पानी की बूँदें...

2011-05-27T21:46:00.005+05:30

टहनी पर लटकी सी,जीवन में भटकी सी,
बादल के आँचल से, गिरते से ठहर गयीं,
भूली कुछ यादों सी, छुपी हुई बातों सी,
टूटी आशाओं सी, जीवन की राहों सी,
कुछ आधी, कुछ पूरी... पानी की बूँदें...

अनलिखी कहानी सी, बचपन की नानी सी,
जीवन की झुरियों में खोयी जवानी सी,
ढूँढती धरातल को, एक नए आंचल को,
सहमी-सी, डरती-सी, मेरे जीवन जैसी..
कुछ आधी, कुछ पूरी... पानी की बूँदें...

धुंधली उन यादों सी, भूल गई बातों सी,
मुस्कुराते चहरे पर, थके हुए होठों सी,
हिचकते मुखोटों में, ढूंढ रही अपने को,
भटकी कुछ आशाएं... टूटी परिभाषाएं..
कुछ आधी, कुछ पूरी... पानी की बूँदें...

- May 27, 2011 (Jamshedpur)

Cyclonomics of Coal Transportation

2011-05-27T16:19:00.003+05:30

These are some images of the foot-soldiers of what is described as the "coal mafia" - very common on the Ramgarh-Hazaribagh-Ranchi highway. What they do is "illegal" (though I am not sure if they are aware of this), but this journey of some 50-100kms over the ghati serves a critical purpose in their lives.

As this study on Coal distribution network through bicycles in eastern India notes:

"From a financial point of view, a local, better-off villager finds the investment (~US$400) to cut the entrance-way down to the level of the coal seam. Then, contractors from the village cut the coal and carry it out to the surface. The bojharis buy coal from the cutter (who gets about ~US$3 per day) and then sells it to the cycle wallahs for about US$1 per 150–200 kg (a cycle load). They, in turn, retail their load for about ~US$3. The mine 'financier' receives about US$3 per day, which is a reasonably good return on his investment. The extra money that a family may get from 'coal' is about the same that they get from traditional agriculture but provides a critical extra amount of money that might, for example, enable them to send their children to school."

the enlightened one...

2011-05-27T15:13:00.002+05:30

I met him near Mahabodhi Temple in BodhGaya last week. He asked for alms, but was more happy to get his photo clicked, smiled with joy to see himself on the display screen, said goodbye, and walked away...

.. the way we were!

2011-05-05T23:29:00.002+05:30

... just a remembrance of an hectic day, 33-yrs back - life has moved on since then - with losses and gains - and yup! that's how it happens... - I suppose!

...defiant! - in a geometrical world

2011-05-05T20:32:00.003+05:30

...गंध दें हवाओं को, रंग दें दिशाओं को,
जीवन के शब्दों को जीने का अर्थ दें...
बाँहों के बंधन में आसमां समेट लें....
- दीप्ती खंडेलवाल

manicured landscape...

2011-05-01T20:23:00.002+05:30

the not-so-distant drum beats...

2011-05-01T19:47:00.001+05:30

Labour (n.): those who make where they will/can never live...

2011-05-01T19:44:00.002+05:30

..the comfort room!!

2011-04-30T21:24:00.004+05:30

This was an interesting "place" somewhere on the outskirts of Manila - the venture was into organic and herbal products - but never anticipated that my query for the "washroom" will lead me to this space...

...ooops!!

2011-04-30T00:18:00.000+05:30

the ancient & the innocent...

2011-04-30T00:07:00.003+05:30

of birth... and death, too!

2011-04-29T23:56:00.002+05:30

history.... etched in stones

2011-04-29T23:46:00.001+05:30

India on Postcards...

2011-04-29T23:39:00.002+05:30

...और जब ख़त्म हुई एक दास्ताँ अपनी

2011-04-29T21:46:00.002+05:30

...और जब ख़त्म हुई एक दास्ताँ अपनी,
वहीँ से राह कई निकली थीं,
भटकते से कहाँ पे आ पहुंचे,
जैसे मंजिल ने आ के थाम लिया |

...और फिर रात की सियाही से,

2011-04-28T21:19:00.002+05:30

...और फिर रात की सियाही से,
एक उचकी हुई सी चिंगारी,
फिर ठिठकती सी रुक जाती:
"मैं कहीं जुगनू ना बन जाऊं!"

बिखरी, उड़ती, बहती यादें...

2011-04-19T23:48:00.001+05:30

बहते पानी में चली गयीं,
धुंधली-धुंधली कितनी बातें,
पतझड़ के सूखे पत्तों सी,
बिखरी, उड़ती, बहती यादें...

Today being another April 19th...

that last threshold... to the other side

2011-04-04T21:31:00.001+05:30

...a universe in a raindrop

2011-03-27T02:26:00.003+05:30

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
- William Blake

The "Black Swan" event.... in Taipei Zoo

2011-03-24T19:42:00.004+05:30

Nissim Taleb had a whole theory about The Black Swan events...

...for me it happened in Taipei Zoo earlier this week.

From a distance it was a blur, in spite of the camera zoom.

..but then it turned, and floated like a poetry towards me...

..did the photo-ops...

...and left, as gracefully as it came...

अपने-अपने अजनबी...

2011-03-21T21:21:00.004+05:30

Signs of India

2011-02-25T19:24:00.008+05:30

None of these photos were taken by me - but I had been collecting these delightful glimpses of "We, the People" over time from various places, where some others had posted them.

So credit - and thanks - goes to all those unknown folks :0)

The boy with the puppies...

2011-02-22T10:12:00.001+05:30

The flow of Life...

2011-02-21T21:09:00.012+05:30

...as we quibble about living (inflation, increasing GDP, scams, poliics, corruption, revolutions, etc....)

Looking at these random photographs (which I had taken at different occasions), sometimes I am struck by the silent "life-force" - which continues on its own rhythme and pace - to keep the planet alive...

some snapshots...

पतझर की यादें...

2011-01-02T22:57:00.000+05:30

That intricate, delicate balance... in life

2011-01-02T21:14:00.006+05:30

To be in the world...

...but not of it!

...on the sands of time

2011-01-02T13:41:00.001+05:30

जहाँ पे सवेरा हो...

2010-12-28T16:31:00.001+05:30

बसेरा वही है...

once upon a time...the "twain" did meet!

2010-12-22T21:07:00.003+05:30

...what struck me, when I visited the Humayun's Tomb in Delhi some years back, was this Jewish "Star of David" on a Muslim tomb...

perhaps the social realities were different then, than now when the Israel-Palestine issue continues....

reminded me of our own सांझी विरासत....

....और उसके बाद, भारत का महासागर

2010-12-20T22:12:00.003+05:30

About a week back, I walked through - once again - the "भारत"...

... and recalled these opening line of "राग दरबारी":

"शहर का किनारा, और उसके बाद भारत का महासागर..."

राही के लिए लेकिन, ये ही मंज़िल होगी...

2010-12-17T21:53:00.004+05:30

वख्त का दायरा बिखर रहा हो,
एक ख्वाब मुरझाये
दूसरा खिलता-सा हो
सिमट-सिमट लहरों से,
सूरज बहने को हो...

दूर से आवाज़ एक,
मुझको बुला लेगी
शबनम की बूँदें फिर
बिखर, बिखर जायेंगी

हवा में उदासी भी
फूलों में किलकारी,
धुंधले से रस्ते पर
पैर के निशां होंगे

मौत-मौत!... गूँज उठेगा सारी बगिया में
राही के लिए लेकिन,
ये ही मंज़िल होगी...

- 15th Sept, 1972

Life unfolded...और कहानियां बनती गयीं

2010-12-17T21:17:00.002+05:30

सूखे से जीवन-उपवन में...

2010-12-01T22:19:00.000+05:30

सूखे से जीवन-उपवन में
किस कलिका की सुरभि बहेगी|
उलझ- उलझ ठूंठों से होगा
तार-तार आँचल कविता का...
- 23/1/'72 (Lucknow)

Scribblings on Bathroom Walls... Adios!

2010-11-28T21:25:00.008+05:30

Our house/flat got renovated during last one month.... new tiles on the floor, in the kitchen, in the bathroom...
... I am still reeling with this transformation in my abode, and hopefully, will come to terms with it.

What I would definitely miss are these scribblings on the bathroom walls (courtsey my progeny:), which too are now gone!!... replaced by neat tiled walls... :|

... so just to keep them somewhere....

... trying to figure this one out!

2010-11-14T23:15:00.003+05:30

In retrospect, this was an amazing photo for me... a meeting point of many realities - urban/back-of-beyond, contemporary/ancient, old/young
... meaningful and meaningless, at the same time!

14th Nov used to be "Children's Day" when I was growing up...

2010-11-13T22:01:00.014+05:30

vestiges of history...

2010-11-02T23:06:00.003+05:30

ऐसा भी हो सकता था...

2010-10-11T22:01:00.000+05:30

तारे ज़मीन पर...

2010-10-05T23:18:00.005+05:30

Trigger-happy with my digicam, as I go around clicking these growing crops, a thought comes to mind...
...that 20-30-40-50yrs hence (when we are gone) they will occupy the space which we leave behind...

it has been a long - and worthwhile - journey...

2010-09-10T21:27:00.003+05:30

This will remain one of those precious pics (and moment) for me... I mean, to gets this opportunity to photograph the Merlin/ Gandalf/ Dumbledore /Bramha... of XLRI (all rolled into one:) !!!

Wounds.. some heal, some don't!

2010-09-09T22:04:00.000+05:30

...till death do us part!

2010-09-07T20:21:00.001+05:30

मुझसे वादा है एक कविता का, मिलेगी मुझको..

2010-08-29T12:17:00.006+05:30

मुझसे वादा है एक कविता का,
मिलेगी मुझको..

डूबती नब्जों में जब
दर्द को नींद आने लगे,
ज़र्द सा चहरा लिए
चाँद उफ़क तक पहुंचे,

दिन अभी पानी में हो,
और रात किनारे के करीब,
ना अँधेरा, ना उजाला
ना आधी रात हो, न दिन

जिस्म जब ख़त्म हो,
रूह को सांस आये...

...मुझसे वादा है एक कविता का,
मिलेगी मुझको |
-गुलज़ार

...of fairytales, myths and archetypes

2010-08-10T23:19:00.000+05:30

Look! who came home today!...

2010-08-09T22:11:00.000+05:30

Intruder!!... in a world of reflections

2010-08-08T22:23:00.001+05:30

Travellers... to nowhere...

2010-07-31T22:00:00.002+05:30

a meeting in progress...

2010-07-30T21:04:00.002+05:30

..world through the rose-tinted glasses

2010-07-30T20:34:00.001+05:30

पथिक स्वयं हूँ, पथ भी हूँ मैं...

2010-07-27T21:59:00.004+05:30

पथिक स्वयं हूँ, पथ भी हूँ मैं..

...अपने पथ-चिन्हों के पीछे
खोज रहा हूँ अपना साया
शायद मिल पाऊँगा इक दिन...
'गर रहे सलामत ये पागलपन...

छोटी छोटी छितराई यादें, बिछी हुई हैं लम्हों की लॉन पर...

2010-07-24T20:41:00.003+05:30

"छोटी छोटी छितराई यादें, बिछी हुई हैं लम्हों की लॉन पर,
नंगे पैर उन पर चलते चलते, इतनी दूर आ गए हैं,
कि अब भूल गए हैं, जूते कहाँ उतारे थे...."

Somehow, in my mind, these verses by Amitabh Bhattacharya (Udaan) were just written for this photograph...

...travelling "Executive Class"

2010-07-24T20:17:00.003+05:30

passing by a porous border...

2010-07-20T22:35:00.005+05:30

it was an interesting feeling to be told by a roadside board that one was being "watched"!!

साथ, साथ...

2010-07-20T21:36:00.001+05:30

the divide...

2010-07-20T21:32:00.003+05:30

a fairy tale... just about to unfold

2010-07-18T00:38:00.004+05:30

er... what is this all about??!!

2010-07-05T22:42:00.000+05:30

through the looking glass... in a world below the surface

2010-07-05T22:18:00.000+05:30

oh... just a lamp in a street corner!

2010-07-05T21:24:00.002+05:30

this is how confusion begins... :0)

2010-06-20T21:31:00.000+05:30

मौसम-ए-गुल में अगर शाख़ से टूटे होते...

2010-06-17T20:48:00.001+05:30

the comfort of knowing "where you are" .. :)

2010-06-15T23:18:00.003+05:30

knowing "where you are" is such a comforting feeling... till you climb down four-stories (in the morning... where you had checked late last night) and see this on the notice-board :0)

oh!... just another Indian village

2010-06-10T20:26:00.005+05:30

though.. perhaps this was not "just another Indian village" - it was far more prosperous than many of the others which I had chance to visit in the past few years:

uncertain childhoods... a photo-essay

2010-06-06T21:00:00.014+05:30

Last month, I met some very delightfully chirpy kids in the most unanticipated of milieu...

They come to this "school" in the evening - when their mothers drop them there, and go to "work"

... as a part of the "Sonagachi Project" - run by Women's Interlink Foundation

Sonagachi, being one of the largest red-light districts in Asia, based in Kolkata...

Some of them - the girls - I found (with a sense of happiness/gratitude) are able to escape their destiny and make it to the "Homes" run by WIF.. and are able to find love of having a home and a family...

They get training in crafts, cooking, dance... (some get married, and some find jobs):

.. the "Homes" give a life not only to the Kids of Sonagachi - but also to those who get rescued from trafficking and domestic sexual violence... and make them 'individuals' to face the life with a confidence...

The day I visited one of the "Homes" was the Mothers' Day... it was a humbling experience for me witness these encounters of lost lives:

I came back happy that there was a hope for these lost childhoods... but with the memories of some faces/eyes, which will keep haunting me for ages to come...

...travels in the hinterlands

2010-05-30T22:39:00.001+05:30

नन्हे मुन्हे बच्चे, तेरी मुट्ठी में क्या है...?

2010-05-29T10:48:00.003+05:30

...the next line of the song says it all...

साथी ना कोई मंजिल...

2010-05-28T21:10:00.002+05:30

..चला मुझे ले के ऐ दिल,
अकेला कहाँ...

Wonderments of Divya Jindal, VI-B

2010-05-28T20:32:00.003+05:30

...this was a delightful poster made by a kid I will perhaps never meet,
...which I saw in a school in Delhi this Jan, which I will perhaps never visit again...

...but our lives crossed each other in an ephemeral moment... God bless her, and keep her sense of wonder alive!

a cry for freedom in a geometrical world...

2010-05-22T23:05:00.001+05:30

beautiful people...

2010-05-21T18:41:00.000+05:30

...homeward bound

2010-05-21T12:13:00.002+05:30

वो कागज़ की कश्ती, वो बारिश का पानी...

2010-05-21T05:30:00.002+05:30