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Intl Saturdays 18: Old Bangkok fish market
Tag: Daily Life
Intl Saturdays 16: Juxtaposition in Tokyo
Barring the Imperial Palace, there are very few places left in Tokyo which are reminiscent of an old era. (Let’s add the Yakotori alley to that list (will put up its picture some other day)). Most of old Tokyo was wiped out during the WWII. What you get to see in Tokyo now are structures which are not older than say 40-50 years (at least in the major part of Tokyo AFAIK).
Although Japan still has the King and the Queen, they are just that in name. They do not have any say in political matters as such. They still live in a palace, which is in the middle of Tokyo surrounded by lovely open spaces and greenery. I just loved the sound while walking on the pebbly, gravel-ly path that lead upto the Imperial palace gates.
This is the only frame where i could manage to capture the contrast of the old against the new (one of my favourite things whenever i am in any city. There is just something about the era gone past. The Golden Age syndrome some call it, of which i am a surefire victim).
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Intl Saturdays 15: Cuteness
Asakusa temple premise is buzzing with people. When i came out of the temple from the side and was going to capture it, i noticed this family exiting the temple as well. I really liked the expression on the lil one’s face and the insane detailing in her shoes and socks and the lovely hair. It was cuteness personified. And i really was lucky to have the baby stare right at me:)
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Portraits 7: The nameless baba
I was shooting along the banks of the Ganga at Rishikesh, when i heard someone calling me. I turned around to find this dreadlocks-sporting baba. He first made the sign of a chillum, asking if i had any. I smiled and said no. He smiled back.
I then went ahead and started talking to him. He seemed to be sober, for a change. We had a good 15-minute conversation and to date i can’t remember his name, but i still remember the conversation. This was probably my first ever attempt at a street portrait as i had just bought my Canon S5 IS back then.
He told me that he along with a group of other Shiv-bhakt babas stayed around the banks of the Ganga in Rishikesh and their main aim in life was to practise Shaivism, meditate and lead a nomadic life. He said he had lead this kind of lifestyle for close to 15 years.
“How do you manage your meals then?” i asked. He replied that they completely relied on bhiksha. In a tourist-friendly town such as Rishikesh, there is an abundance of bhiksha and food for people like him. They have very few belongings and would sleep, bathe and smoke chillum along the ghats of the Ganga. There are some sort of open quarters around the Ganga at Rishikesh where a lot of these godmen stay and sleep.
I asked him if he only stayed in Rishikesh or does he move around, to which he said, “Jab garmi badh jaati hai, to hum pahadon me jaate hai. Uttarakhand ya Himachal. Ek hi jagah nahi rehte.” (When the heat increases, we take off to the hills. We keep moving around in Uttarakhand or Himachal but do not stay fixed at any one place).
I did not have the heart to ask him anything about his past or his family. So i took my leave and requested if i could click his picture. He agreed.
Whenever i look at those peering eyes, i am instantly transferred back to Rishikesh. What a lovely place that is!
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A cabbie race
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Intl Saturdays 14: The Nut Seller
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Intl Saturdays 11: Shoegasm
Takeshita Dori opposite the Harajuku metro station has numerous such shops. This particular shop had laid out all their ladies’ shoes in this very unconventional manner which immediately grabbed my attention from afar. Thanks to the cooler climate of Tokyo, these shoes have optimum insulation for the ankles. While the tag says 50 per cent off, they were still quite expensive by Indian standards.
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Seriously! Do not disturb!
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Intl Saturdays 10: Attention!
While in Tokyo, i was really fascinated to see people standing ramrod straight while waiting.
Waiting at the signal to cross the road…
… or waiting for the cash to come out of this ATM…
… or just waiting to finish a call on the cellphone.
It was just so completely different from our natural tendency to lean on either leg. It is as if their brain is programmed to be in the ‘Attention’ pose. Maybe that is one of the reason they are so fit and so toned. I am not kidding when i say this: I could count the number of obese people i saw (in the week that i was in Tokyo) on one hand!
Here are some in colour.
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Portraits 6: The Arch
This is one of my personal favourites among all the portraits i have shot. This was taken on one of the roofs of Dhobi Ghat. I was actually shooting the workers using the clothesline as a sort of a framing tool. This elderly person was kind of confused with what i was doing and kept looking at me. When i pointed the camera in his direction, he did not budge, but his eyebrow arched a bit, making the wrinkles on his forehead more conspicuous. When i showed him the result, he did smile:P
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Shutterbugged 