An engineer turned journalist's story
Was whiling away my time at Banganga, one of the many places in Mumbai where time seems to stand still, when I really looked at the water and on them the reflections. It seemed much better than many modern art paintings I have seen in my time. The cacophony of the numerous ducks in the premises suddenly transforms into this elegant silence as they wade through. One of those moments where I lived in the now.
Take Care,
Ciao
Banganga is a time capsule. You get transported to this completely different era, once you enter the premise which is surrounded by temples. I keep going there again and again, if i just want to escape the maddening city that is Mumbai. It is an oasis in this concrete jungle. The levels of water of the pond keep going up and down hiding or revealing that water collection unit in one corner of the pond.
On this particular day, there were a lot of Hindu rituals going on at the place. The light was good, so decided to make some colour photographs except for the steps in the last image, which lend well to Black and White.
Attaching a poem which one of my friend wrote after she saw this place. It was love at first sight for her as far as Banganga was concerned
Banganga
The two walked down the road every day
And they saw the world whirr past –
Lost in urgent motion and constantly in a state of flux…
One morning, out of the blue,
He suggested that they change routes.
She walked with him to an unfamiliar place –
She had no idea where she was going.
Enthralled, she was, when she found –
He had brought her to an old, lost world,
Tucked in a small corner of the busy city.
They walked down a more secluded path…
He tugged at her hand
And led her down a sudden flight of steps…
They had reached –
She had finally discovered this hidden place!
They sat down on the steps,
And stared at the ducks swimming in the water…
Peals of laughter filled the air
As two little girls sprinted all over the place,
While a young lad entertained the spectators with his foolish antics.
They let the perpetual image of the salt-waters run into oblivion,
As they engaged in random banter amidst the freshness of the clear waters…
However, the evening beckoned that it was time to leave –
They got up and walked away,
And the old world dissolved into purity…
The hustle-bustle of the crowded city greeted them!
And in no time they were, once again, a part of the maddening swarm of people…
But the memories of the day were etched in their minds…
The freeze frame successfully preserved their wonderful moments;
These moments would not fade with time.
Courtesy: Divya
Take Care,
Ciao
As a kid, i used to see them everywhere. Now, i don’t see them much. So it was a pleasant surprise when i came across one whilst shooting the ducks around the Banganga tank. This one looked straight into the camera, before taking flight.
It is World Sparrow Day today. I am planning to get one of these nest boxes just to wake up to the sound of sparrows chirpring on my window sill.
Take Care,
Ciao
Clicking little kids is challenging, but it was only after shooting these kittens that i realized that babies are still better off. You need a completely different level of patience when dealing with kittens.
I came across this troika when i was walking back from one of Banganga photo-strolls to the bus stop. I saw these kittens playing by themselves. Not meaning to disturb them, I started capturing them.
Just when i was adjusting the setting on my camera, one of them noticed it. Now the centre of attention for these three idiots was my camera lens. By the time I placed one kitten away from my camera lens, the other one would be in the same position as the first one. It took some time getting those kittens at a respectable distance from my camera.
This was clicked when they were probably bored of each others company and no one had yet seen the camera.
Finally one among them spotted the black colored alien thing with a glass closing. The expectations in the kitty’s eyes were quite high:P
While the other two were still trying to interpret what instrument was being pointed at them, the third one was beside my face, trying to have a look at my composition through the view finder. Well almost 🙂
After constant back and forth movement of the cats, they finally took a breather and gave me a wonderful Attention pose. Just love their paws and the grey eyes and the angles formed by their perched ears.
Probably the kitty avataar of the trademark ‘3 Idiots’ look.
This was a heart breaking moment. I must have spent close to thirty minutes with them, and also did an individual portfolio of each kitty. Just felt like packing those kittens and taking them home. Obviously i could not. I bid goodbye. The leftmost kitten was also mewing something, probably she was trying to say, ”See you soon!”
Take Care
Ciao
Was hanging out around the Banganga premises in Girgaum area. Its a peaceful area, with the silence punctuated by the quack of the ducks and bells from the temples. The showstopper here is the network of stone steps which ultimately lead into the water body. The water body, according to Hindu Mythology came into existence after Lord Ram struck an arrow into the earth resulting in sprouting of water. The name Banganga separates into Ban = Arrow and Ganga – the name of India’s holiest river.
Here time seems to stop for reasons unknown. Surrounding the Banganga premise is a large number of temples dedicated to the numerous Hindu and Jain gods and godessess. A very religious feel this whole place has.
The guy in the photograph was the only human being i saw other than me in the entire complex. He was just walking from one end to the other, seemed to me that he was introspecting.
Take Care
Ciao
“Tanha Dil” is one of my all time favourite songs. Its so meaningful yet catchy at the same time. I particularly love those two lines in it,
“Aankhon me sapne liye, ghar se hum chal to diye,
Jaane ye raahein ab le jayengi kahaan..”
Life isnt always straight. Twists, turns, changes are a part and parcel of life. Lets face it, that adds a lot of salt, spice, chaat (take your pick) to our lives. I myself am at a similiar such turn in my life, careerwise. Lets see what happens:D
Photography has some rules for sure, but its fun bending those rules at times. Afterall, as the saying goes, rules are meant to be broken.
Whilst jaywalking around the Banganga district in Walkeshwar, i came across these stone stairs leading out of Banganga, and after having taken some standard shots of the stairs, i decided to click at an angle, thus making the composition asymmetrical. Luckily around the time i was composing the shot, a local seemed to be coming my way, i waited till he arrived at just the right spot and captured the moment. The idea behind keeping the man in the frame was to show some kinda action in the frame, which otherwise would have looked very static. I have observed that none of my photographs have the human element, and i am trying my best to work on it.
Take Care
Ciao
Shutterbugged 