Photo Story As I perceive It – Part 3

Frame 1

Caption: Cozying up 

Storyline: Not many people venture out to Shivaji Park sea beach on a sunlit morning at 11 am. Even the lazy stray dogs have gone to sleep. With distant view of Mumbai sea-link and the solitude at the place is ideal for the couple of young ones to come closer and share their thoughts.  

Frame 2

Caption: That One Will Suit You

Storyline: Not very far from the seashore, at Shivaji Park Maidan, the Durga Puja Pandal and saree stall in the evening are sure shot attractions for the visitors. The hubby seems to have his choice made up even before the better half skims through a huge stock of sarees as is customary!  

Frame 3

Caption: The First Few Alphabets

Storyline: A few months after the Durga Puja, Saraswati - the Goddess of learning, once again makes her journey to the earth. In School celebrating Saraswati puja, it is most auspicious occasion for a child to begin the journey to literacy. The child is excited, the Panditji is enthusiastic and mother is proud.

Frame 4

Caption: Threshing Is No Easy Job

Storyline: With the advent of Spring, the weather getting hotter, the tourists head for hills of lower Himalayas. Urgam (6,000’) is a tiny village in Garhwal, Uttarakhand, consisting of a few hundred villagers whose occupation is mainly agriculture. The woman is on with her job of threshing wheat grass to remove the grains, watched on by the senior member of the household.

Frame 5

Caption: The Agony

Storyline: On the hill slopes at Birthi, Kumaon, Uttarakhand, the women work side by side along with their men folk, in shoveling the mountain loads of hay. The woman is in agony with shoulder pain and the hubby looks on with concern.

Frame 6

Caption: Melee at Gaurikund 

Storyline: In early summer with snow melting in Garhwal hills, the high altitude Himalayan shrine of Kedarnath reopening, the pilgrims throng the narrow street at Gaurikund in early morning, to begin their journey. The jostling and bickering of pilgrims with pony-wallas, pittoos (porters) and palki-wallas and high decibels is quite annoying for trekkers who are impatient and want to move out of human jam to reach the trek path.

Frame 7

Caption: A Welcome Breather 

Storyline: The 14 km Kedarnath trek is an arduous one and time taking, climbing nearly 6,000’on a constant gradient. One takes numerous breaks to get his breath back and then resume. The trekking father and daughter duo take a short break and make use of the time to watch couple of young local guys frolicking on snow mass on a distant hill slope.  

Frame 8

Caption: Father In Son’s Footsteps

Storyline: The Kedarnath is base for trek to Gandhi Sarovar at the snout of Chorabari glacier which is on foothill of Kedar Massif Himalayan peaks. The early summer snowfall in 2007 made the Sarovar area risky to approach, with possibility of sinking into the lake while walking around it over the snow mass. The young man goes nonchalantly ahead on his mission with a concerned father following and keeping vigilance.

Frame 9

Caption: Moon-struck in morning

Storyline:In early summer, getting rid of accumulated snow through melting, the Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh opens up to tourists. With the appearance of the deep blue sky on a sun lit morning, the moon does not go out of vision so easily. The swaying willow trees seem to make their intentions clear of reaching for the moon. 

Frame 10

Caption: In Search Of Himalayan Crow 

Storyline: There is nothing fancy about the Himalayan crow and hence nothing to crow about. Yellow beak differentiates it from the rest of the species we see every day. This not so rare bird is found in high altitudes of Himalayas. A few years back in May 2006, returning from Gaumukh, my friend spotted it hopping very close to us. I merely had a glance at it. Tired after twenty km of trek that day, I did not feel like lifting my camera! Subsequently I spotted it at Badrinath, and before I could point my camera, it was gone. The quest continued till I finally caught up with it at Rangdum, Ladakh in summer of 2012.

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Photo Story As I Perceive It – Part 2

Frame 1

Caption: Meditation in Himalayas

Storyline: At Tunganath (12,500’)in Garhwal Himalayas, the highest located Shiva temple in the world, on a cold and lazy afternoon, the Sadhubaba seated on wall of temple compound gives divine dimension to the place. He is totally focused on Lord Shiva through his inner vision.

Frame 2

Caption: Journey to Salvation 

Storyline: The Buddhist lama at Thiksey monastery walks up the stone steps with resolve and conviction, to go to the Monastery. The peace loving followers of Buddhism, stay round the year at the monastery hostel even in harsh cold winter at high altitudes.

Frame 3

Caption: Peeping Out Of Snow Cover

Storyline: The highest motorable pass in the world at 18,400’, Khardung La in Ladakh is no hospitable place to be in, even in early summer. The glimmer of hope is Rinchen Cafetaria, with its signage trying desperately to peep out of ten feet of snow. The tunnel through the snow leads one inside the cafeteria. It is  amazing to see icicles hanging from the ceiling. However, the hot Kashmiri tea and lukewarm samosas (heated by microwave oven powered by a diesel generator) are immensely palatable.

Frame 4

Caption: Multi-tasker 

Storyline: The young man is a qualified pharmacist having a medicine shop in an under-developed town of Garhwal hills, who doubles up as a doctor (the stethoscope is hanging on the wall) for poor needy villagers. In this frame he is tending to head injury of a patient. In my second visit I found this guy in his dentist avatar, preparing to extract teeth of a poor villager, who was waiting for the injection administered to have its effect. On both the occasions, I waited for at least ten minutes to get my medicines!

Frame 5

Caption: Pensive 

Storyline: In early morning, a pensive looking driver on a tourist car top, waiting patiently for late risers to deposit their luggage for onward travel. The bunch of bananas over his head signifies the responsibility he shoulders for carrying safely the tourists, driving over the difficult hilly terrains of Garhwal region in Uttarakhand. God fearing, honest and hardworking people of Gahwal endeared in our hearts for our trips in that region.

Frame 6

Caption: Instant Happiness

Storyline: The village belles who came to our help when we lost our way in the hills during our Deoria Tal trek in Garhwal Himlayas, enjoy a moment of happiness to see their photos in digicam LCD. For replay of this scenario one would like to get lost in the hills again and again!

Frame 7

Caption: Monsoon bounty 

Storyline: Monsoon time is no lazy time for Garhwali women, who travel long distances barefoot over stone mud track of the hills, with their sickles in hand. Soaking in the rain with the stack of green grass fodder on their back is good enough to bring that satisfying smile.

Frame 8

Caption: Block Printing On Roadside

Storyline: The cloths in various shade of colors and printed with Ladakhi script adorn the entire Ladakh, be it on house tops, at Monasteries and Chortens ( Buddha stupas ). The couple seated on roadside do the block printing on a white cloth and folding it methodically prior to shipment.

Frame 9

Caption: That eager wait 

Storyline: Early morning at Stok trekking point, Stok village, in Ladakh, the Ladakhi child has opened the garage dhaba ( eatery ) and waiting eagerly for her parents to arrive and serve the tourists (who have arrived by car), their morning cuppa.

Frame 10

Caption: School Beacons

Storyline: The villagers of religious places in Garhwal Himalayas, do not lag behind in education of girl children. The child after her puja is all geared up and walks towards school and is determined to achieve her goal. 

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Photo Story As I Perceive It – Part 1

As the saying goes, a photo says a thousand words. Not always the beholder can perceive those thousand words, as the photographer would like to convey. Ten images are presented with a few lines to tell the story. Author has no pretensions of presenting technically perfect photographs with respect to exposure timing, aperture setting, focusing and clarity.

Here it goes.

Frame 1

Caption: Religion is cricket 

Storyline: In Mumbai for most youngsters, the religion is cricket and the game is played round the year, in every available empty space. The huge Shivaji Park Maidan after heavy rains, leave a few inches of water on ground. This does not dissuade the local boys belting a few boundaries and sixers with the tennis ball bouncing awkwardly after pitching.

Frame 2

Caption: Cricket is religious  

Storyline: In religious place of Madmaheshwar in Uttarakhand, after a heavy down pour interspaced with snow-fall, the water percolating fast into the subsoil and with the appearance of bright sunshine, the local lads climb up the lower Bugyal (green meadows) to take to their favorite game of cricket.

Frame 3:

Caption: Icy and chill

Storyline: At Rangdum, high altitude destination on Kargil – Padum road, Ladakh, in early summer, early morning brings its own surprises. The ice blisters and grains on bonnet, wiper and windshield have its own chilling story to tell. The early part of night causes condensation of atmospheric moisture on cold metallic surface which gets frozen as temperature plummets below zero in late night.

Frame 4

Caption: Siblings 

Storyline: While her parents have left for work, a child is left alone to take care of her sibling, standing on a cottage door, in holy place of Madmaheshwar. She is trifle bored in not being able to be in company of her friends. Blown plastic bag on her lips bring in some solace.

Frame 5

Caption: Street Photography

Storyline: The picturesque Stok village some distance from Leh, gets some overseas visitors who came for trekking. Having had their morning breakfast in a garage dhaba, the photographer  invites the dhaba owner for a few shoots in his own inimitable style. The model is pleased no end seeing his photo in LCD screen of camera.

Frame 6

Caption: Tourists welcome

Storyline: Uttarakhand tourism never had it so good with its goodwill ambassadors perched up on top its vehicle. The Langoors with babies in their lap wait for a bite to eat from the tourists as they prepare to board the vehicle. Tourists in turn have a close view of wildlife which is not a part of the itinerary!

Frame 7

Caption: Homework Time

Storyline: Some distance from Munshiyari, Uttarakhand, the car going for servicing, roaming around I spotted the child, sitting on a bamboo ladder near a construction site, intently scribbling on the notebook, oblivious of what was going around. Education is slowly getting its priority in these poor hilly regions. 

Frame 8

Caption: In Solitude

Storyline: The lone leafless tree is a mute spectator to a young solitary soul sitting on a rock on top of a hillock at high altitude destination of Panar. He is surrounded by the nature’s bounty and the soothing environs. In the prevailing calmness he is intent in listening to his inner voice.  

Frame 9

Caption: Bleak Prospects

Storyline: In morning, couple of villagers owning dhabas or rest house cottages at a temple town in Madmaheshwar, are on an inspection walk on road, assessing the weather. The earlier heavy showers and snowfall, as evident in the fresh snow covered adjoining hill, not many pilgrims were expected to walk up to the holy place, keeping the villagers worried of their business prospects.  

Frame 10

Caption: Aquatic Monster 

Storyline: The abstract frame is shadow of mangrove tree growing on saline water of Sewri, Mumbai. The mangrove swamps, which are feeding and breeding ground of migratory birds are getting destroyed due to industrialization around the area resulting in lesser birds. The demon depicted in the frame with its raised head at the top indicating solid effluent and body of demon below mingling with water indicating liquid pollutant.

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