Sea to Believe

Day 5 *** Location - Indian Ocean *** Cameraman - "Of course Me"

Being born and brought up in Northern India, growing up on the banks of Ganga and Gomti, I had never imagined the vastness and might of the sea till I put my foot down first time in Mumbai. Like for many, for me too, it was love at first sight.

The sea and its moods, a sight to watch anytime of the day, month or year. Yes, this lady like all others has a mind of her own. Yes I have always imagined the sea as a woman, beautiful and mysterious. So I was telling you that our lady has a mind of her own, nobody tells her what to do and when to do. She can be calm like a bride when she wants to, and ferocious like a lady in action when she needs to.

And we all know about her love story… her eyes are set up above the sky. They say there is a handsome looking someone called Mr Moon.  His love drives her … the swell of her emotions, her desires to meet him make her sometimes rough and other times rougher.

We all have shared a moment with the Sea. Who have not, please get going..this is one thing you must do before you die. SovLet me talk about my seven Sea moments which made me love it more  each time:

1. The first encounter … I still remember my first Mumbai trip, and the taxi took a left and we were on the marine drive road. The smell of the sea is still so fresh in my mind and I remember in our first meeting, she was calm and quite, as if introspecting.
2.  The first time I walked on the Juhu Beach barefooted … and the life on the beach made the sea look livelier.  So many kinds of people --- loving the sea and its sight in their own ways ---some jogging, some chatting, some shopping some eating and some just looking into the deep eyes of the sea.
3.  The first sunset I ran against time and across the sea to catch. …And we almost made it. Please notice the “We” part made it more memorable *Wink*Wink*
4. My first pat on the back by a high tide at Goa beach, when she and me were in a playful mood.
5. During all my official trips to Mumbai, and I was lucky to have many, after the dinner, I used to pick up a Naturals ice-cream (Mostly anjeer or cheeku) and sat on the marine drive. Relishing the ice-cream and talking to myself. The only company allowed was the soft sound on the shore.
6. The lighthouse moment at Vizag, when me and my bestie, Vidula, got so engrossed in our chit chat that we didn’t even realize when we got locked. And the only witness to our being locked was the unending and beautiful sea in front of us.
7.  The last moment has been freezed in time…This is the one in picture with my shoes and bag. It is beautiful and precious for me. This was the last time I was near a sea and was “myself”

Now I am in Indonesia, and I look forward to another soulful encounter with her. As I told you, you have to Sea to Believe.

Shiva

I am celebrating the Write Tribe Festival of Wordsand will be posting every day for seven days, starting 1st September. The theme for the Festival of Words is “seven“.  I have decided to post 7 photographs made by me which I hold very close to my heart. 

India Shining

  India          Shining

Day 4 *** Picture Location – Tata Motors Lucknow *** Occasion – Independence Day *** Cameraman – As Usual

My Country…My Pride … My land …. My Love

As you would have seen I have been talking about few of my favorite things in the write tribe festival, through my pictures.  My country is definitely one of those. The bond I share with my land, my people is special for me. I belong to this place. I don’t think I could have been anything but an Indian. When I say this, I am not at all undermining any country or place, it is just that I was destined to love my country more than another place and I respect all my friends who feel the same for the countries they were born in.

I feel blessed that God chose me for India and India for me. Because the more I know my county and the more I know myself, I feel we just belong to each other. I am a true Indian in all good , bad, colorful and grey ways there are.

Let me share the Top 7 things that make India the only place in the world of its kind

Food

Photo Courtesy Google Images

The food the aroma the diversity… From the richness of the north to the simplicity of South, Poha of the West to Rassogulla of the East, You can never have enough of Indian Food

People

Photo Courtesy Google Images

The happy go lucky, smiling warm people, who take it as their right to know everything about you. Yes there is no personal space, your problem is my problem, though I may not be able to help you much, but I can always give you my shoulder to cry on. Yes, India is a land of diversity, and really speaking, it is many countries in one country, but looking back at all the travelling I have done in India, I have concluded that the expressions may change depending on which region you are in, but in the heart of their hearts, they are genuinely concerned people, who do not want to hurt. But fickle minded ..yes they are..They get swayed. 

Places

Photo Courtesy Google Images

If you are a wanderer, if you want to explore beauty, if diversity and colours  attract you, if  routine and pattern is not your calling ..then my friend India is the place for you. Yes, I accept, we do not have the best roads, the comfort of resorts, easy to traverse distances..but to me that's the beauty. India has endless beauty, only the beholder has to be patient and strong.


MYTHOLOGY

Photo Courtesy Google Images

My childhood would have been incomplete if not filled with the intriguing and exciting mythological tales my grandmother filled me with. My lives philosophy to a large extent has been shaped by the "Mythological Mahanayaks" (Superheroes). I learnt sacrifice from Ram, and friendship from Krishna, Shiva is the epitome of courage and Brahma of Knowledge. Even in the mess of today's world, the country still stands, because it has roots in a rich culture.

Movies

Photo Courtesy Google Images

Drama is the soul of India. We all thrive on larger than life, melodramatic life ... that suits us. And Bollywood is the heart beat of the nation. We live to see movies and we see movies to live and this is no exaggeration. Our fashion statements, our social outlooks, our economic development everything is a mirror image of the bollywood showcase. In my opinion, the reason, Indians, and here would like to  remind you that the India, I am talking about "Stays in villages" and is below poverty line, so even in all the adversity, the reason Indians are still happy, is a lot because of Bollywood. It makes us forget where we are, what we are. Yes, you may call it "filmy", but I will call it "our style"

Music

Photo Courtesy Google Image

We are  happy we sing, we are sad we sing, we are in love we sing, we are heartbroken we still sing. The auto rickshwaw, to the barber shop music is everywhere. Instrumental, vocal, folk or fusion, you name it and it has already been mastered in India. No, please dont take me wrong, I am not saying genetically all Indians are singers. Truly speaking many of us suck at singing. But that does'nt lessen our love for music a wee bit.

Seasons

Photo Courtesy Google Images

For a nature lover, India is a paradise. Its vast and diverse landscape makes it the proud owner of all the seasons there are.The freshness of rains, the chill of winter, the happiness of sunshine and the green envy of spring, the smell of autumn..well India has it all. You need not travel across geographies to relish the variety, just stay at one place and stay long and you will see it all. 

So I told you all that is good and bad about India, from my eyes. Each Indian may have a different image of India, because that is how we are..we all are similar but at the same time unique, we may feel the same but react differently ...basically the sons of a soil as rich as India are not clones. All of us are our own self. 

What makes you proud of India???

Shiva

I am celebrating the the Write Tribe Festival of Words and will be posting every day for seven days, starting 1st September. The theme for the Festival of Words is “seven“.  I have decided to post 7 photographs made by me which I hold very close to my heart. 

God's Own Eyes

God's Own Eyes

Day 3 *** Artist - My Younger brother *** Cameraman- Yours truly 

This picture takes the coveted place in my top 7 favorite clicks.. .well , yes I agree it has many technical imperfections as far as the photograph goes, but still, it is special for me. Reason being that the artwork itself has been done by Rochit, the younger of my twin brothers. And of all his paintings, why this one??? Because, this was the first time he agreed to do something closely remote to a human figure. The restless and in-a-hurry painter in him always runs away from the detailing needed to make human figures, but he could not stop himself from making this one. These are the first eyes he painted – God’s Own Eyes. Would like to share with you this poem I had written inspired from his painting. 

There was love, there was laughter

There was sunshine in the pasture.

There were memories of spring and fall,

The Rear view mirror showed it all.

Reflections of all the happy times,

Escapades of mind and singing chimes.

All the moments when life was lived,

They’ll last forever one believed.

The first time someone held my hand,

To make me walk on the sand.

All the firsts and all the rest

Life in the rear mirror looked the best.

Some better ones won, some good ones lost,

The rush of life, came with some cost.

The bliss of ignorance was the hide out,

Blindfolded I marched till it was over and out.

Mother’s eyes begged me to stay,

Love of my life did nothing but pray.

They prayed for me and my long life

All they wished was togetherness to thrive.

The rear view mirror warned me enough,

That the ride was risky and the road was tough.

It did all it could to slow me down,

But a man in hurry never wears the crown.

It was all slipping away from me,

The love, the life, the happiness and glee.

They all stood there helpless and still,

Tears in eyes, which the rear mirror did fill.

All of a sudden I lost all control,

In seconds all would crash, body and soul.

All that was mine, beautiful and safe

Will change for worse and never be same.

Only

To the cautious advise if I had lend a good ear,

The dos and don’ts, which I never did fear.

The well wishers around were angels in disguise

The rear view mirror was God’s own eyes!!!

So all my friends who are busy running, rushing, toiling, overtaking and risking , I just have to say one thing. STOP!!! Stop and breathe, breathe and observe, Observe and be thankful, Thank and Live... Live this life for yourself, for the people who care about you. This is no race and you are no athlete. God sent us with a purpose, and that purpose is same for all..to make our life count.

The days are numbered by Him but you decide the worth of those days... 

Be aware ...Be thoughtful ..Be Grateful ...God's Own Eyes are looking after you ...But, in your rush, don's miss to look into them ... If you will you will get all your answers ...

Shiva

I am celebrating the Write Tribe Festival of Words and will be posting every day for seven days, starting 1st September. The theme for the Festival of Words is “seven“.  I have decided to post  my top 7 photographs which I hold very close to my heart. 

Birds of Feather

Birds of a Feather

Day 2*** Picture Location – Lodhi Garden New Delhi *** Cameraman – Yours Truly *** Muse – Birds in motion

Birds of feather …. Flying high … Free spirited … Always in motion …. Nimble and fast

Me as a kid would never miss my 5:30 pm routine. I would leave all that I was doing and rush to the balcony … It was time to wave goodbye to the chirpy beings … always in flocks …flying together …calling it a day. Every day I would imagine their lives, how all of them would go back home after a whole day of toil and enjoy a relaxing evening with their families. And then my mind would go to their kids at home. How happy they would get when they see their Mumma Papa come back at dusk. And I would always envy them, because their parents never got late, and my father would.

What serenity they left behind … Just a moment before that those synchronized voices would have filled up the skies, it seemed as if  they were calling all their friends who were still at work, asking them to shut down computers and go back home ...after all there is something called work life balance J. One by one all would fly and before you would know they would have all boarded a bus, and the bus would leave for its destination, precisely as the sun clock struck. And a deep, soulful silence would follow.

This was like a ritual for me … and it did fill me up with so much happiness. In my mind I had also made colonies for them, how birds of my area would be going somewhere far for work and would come back to the trees in front of my house, and how all those I saw going ,would actually be staying in a posh  location in the center of the city .. well those were the rambling imaginations of a little mind …but they actually gave an alternate reality to an otherwise mundane life.

I always wanted to be a bird … they used to intrigue me … How could they just fly so easily and I could not. They were so free, so limitless, so freewheeling, so liberated and so lucky!!!

But as I grew up I realized, who stops you from being one. Let your mind free … Unbuckle the tenterhooks.. Break the confines and just Fly !!!!  Be a bird, but never forget to flock together!!!

Shiva

I am celebrating the Write Tribe Festival of Words and will be posting every day for seven days, starting 1st September. The theme for the Festival of Words is “seven“.  I have decided to post 7 photographs made by me which I hold very close to my heart. 

First Love of my Life

The Divine Drops

It struck me today and it struck me hard ... It is blasphemy for me ... Nearly two months of blogging ... one shy of a dozen posts (Yes I know, for you all serious bloggers this is nothing, but to a toddler like me it means a milestone) touching 800 page views .. All this and I have yet not written a single word for something I love the most in my life. This can’t be …and so I write.

I write a tribute to the love of my life ...Raindrops!!! 

Those innocent little droplets that fall on you from up above and make everything around you so worth looking, living and admiring. Those clear crystals, through which when you see the world, it looks much more beautiful than it was a moment before. Those, “touch me not ephemerals” who define the timelessness of beauty, they may not live forever but stay they do … forever framed in moments, nostalgia and happy memories.

It is a shared love, I know. It’s not just me in this relationship …it is an infinitoangle love relationship. Because each one who has walked on the mother earth, has atleast once in his life, rejoiced looking at those tiny drops of divinity …it is a love at first sight each time and every time. Well that’s OK, I am not the possessive type, I have always believed that a thing of beauty or a masterpiece creation, is not to be owned but shared. It becomes more valuable that way.

If I had to write a book on the “photo” moments of my life,  it would be full of raindrops. As a kid I remember, how I used to cry “cat and dogs” when it was raining “Cat and dogs” outside and Rambishan Bhyya, my rickshaw puller, would come home to tell us that the school had declared a rainy day. I didn’t like it a bit ..my wonderful ride to school has just been snatched from me. My chance of passing through, all the beautiful rainy sites – a man on his cycle with a polythene bag on his head, or the lady selling flowers, running with her basket of flowers on her head, and the one site which made me envy’s child – seeing those kids at the construction site jumping and dancing in rain. Even today I want to be one of them.

My madness for rains goes to the eccentric limits… that’s what some of my friends tell me. But if you have ever been in love you will understand. Alrighty, let me put it simply to you… well if given a chance to be with the one you love the most, would you think of ways to avoid him or make sure that you two meet… The later right!! So that’s what I do…what’s the big deal about that??? I have never bought an umbrella or a rain coat …because when my God sends me my gift I want to be ready to receive it with open heart always. I feel it would be a bad omen if I carry an umbrella with me, He would get the wrong hint and not send rains my way.

The freshness, the softness, that aromatic romance…everything is just perfect about rains. The first drop that falls on you, delivering the missive of an impending downpour … the happiness emanating from the soil showing its excitement to meet her friend … the walk in the rain hand in hand with THE person…the indulgence in  pakodas and chai sitting at the balcony, overlooking lush green trees fresh after a bath… The list can go on...each of us have our own shares of rainy memories.

So this was my rendition towards the first love of my life … I can’t thank God enough for making something as beautiful as raindrops.. They inspire me to be like them…transparent, clean and clear at the core, adapting seamlessly to their surroundings. They just belong to wherever they are …and above everything else ..they make happiness.

Shiva

I am celebrating the Write Tribe Festival of Wordsand will be posting every day for seven days, starting today. The theme for the Festival of Words is “seven“.  I have decided to post 7 photographs made by me which I hold very close to my heart.