Always.....

Believe in something better.

Purple Patch ... over.

...end of party.
back to being a student for a year more now.
See you again soon Chicago!

Bloomington..... here I come :)

Rain Rain Go Away.

...never hated the rain so much as am doing now.
why can't it just stop and stop creating havoc in places around the world.

A photographer's dilemma

To shoot or not to Shoot.

Innumerable times
I have been in this situation.
Some shots are taken,
with some; I have to be content
by just viewing it with the eyes

...and i move on.
...with the hope in my heart,
that someday,
I will come back to that place
and capture on my camera as well.

Watching children play

...
....
.....
i could go on for hours. .
and smile all the time.

and still not get tired.

...and the flowers will bloom again.

There is never shortage of space for love as there is hope always!

:)

Inevitable

...there are somethings that are inevitable.

bad phases in life.
a relationship gone wrong.
change.
sunrise.
daybreak.
sunset.
growth.
the passage of time.

Death.

Hooked to..

Flickr
Photography
Travel
Adventure
Chai
India
Nature
Love
Beach
Mountains
IndianRailways
..
...
....
Life.

Talking to each other

... i have often felt that a key to the success of any relationship is the comfort level one shares in talking to each other.
And that many relationships fail because people do not speak out .. or talk to each other with comfort.

Measuring the depth..

Otften I been told and done this.
To know about a particular thing, one needs to experience it. It's like saying, the depth of the ocean cannot be measured if you are not willing to get your feet wet.

I have to live by this philosophy and the most recent example was the skydiving experience.
Wonder if all do the same? Or are just content by believing what others say or seeing what others have done.

Where will Life List take you?

..ok so now that you have escaped from the previous post, let me ask you this.

"Where will Life List take you?"

This reminds me of the movie Bucket List, which happens to be one of most inspiring movies to me. I often ask myself this question.
While I may not know where life will taketh me, I do believe that one can make their paths based on the things in the Bucket List. However, at the same time I would not like to remove the surprise element that Life offers and would love to take it as it comes along.

Escape

...
Have you ever been in a situation where you have felt the need to just leave everything and escape?
What do you do in such a situation?

PS: I am not talking about a situation where there is a threat to life. Obviously one would escape in that situation.

What would you do...

A person asked me this question yesterday.
"What would you do if your paycheck was taken care of?"

"I replied I would travel and click photos and show to the world.Show them the things that people generally do not get to see.

It was just another way of asking, whether I was doing what I was passionate about.

And then he asked me, "So do you see yourself retiring as a photographer".
To which I replied "Yes".

Children are cute

... the weekend had gone to a friend's place.
He has two kids. One 8 year old and one 6 months old.
And let me tell u ..

Kids are the cutest thing on this planet. :)

American Vision

I often wonder, how many people who come to the so called land of opportunities, whether they have a clear vision of what they want out of their stay here in the USA.
Some just see it as a means of earning more, some a way to get into a better lifestyle far away from the maddening crowds in their respective countries.

For some it is just being cool.

Waiting for the Fall

...wonder what i am going to shoot this time!

Independence

Independence signifies the start of a new era. Starting out fresh and venturing out into unknown territories at times.

Today I made a new dish.
It has the softness of a Gulab Jamun on the exteriors and the yumminess of a Ras Malai rosogolla in the interiors.

I call it the Gulabo-Ras-Jamun-Malai :)

Come to my house, I will treat you to some.

Happy Independence Day to all.

Chappal

I love these.
There is a whole lot of nostalgia associated with these.
I think they are really comfortable to.

I love the hawai chappals.

To Smile or not to Smile

I like to smile.
Its effortless. Its joyful. Its helps in leaving a good impression. It releases tension. It inspires to let go of the worries.

I love to smile at kids.
The quizzical look on their faces, wondering why I am smiling makes me smile more.

and then..
they smile too :)

I have enjoyed this smile conversation with innumerable people. I love it.

So, did you smile today?

Spending time with oneself

At times I like to get pensive.
I just sit alone with myself. This would often happen around railway tracks (back in India).... or at beaches, lake shores, in temple premises or in the arms of the mountains.

This shot was taken during one of those pensive sessions. Back home, I was siting at the railway tracks crossing, recollecting my childhood days, where i would run from the village home and stand there.. at the very faintest sound of a train. I would then watch the train till it had completely gone out of sight. My joy knew no bounds when i did that. And I remember doing it countless times everyday.

So this guy comes and sits in front of me and doing precisely what I was doing. I looked at him, smiled and continued to go down memory lane. However his expression caught my attention. As he was just thinking about something it seems. I do not know what, I did not ask either as I wanted to let him spend time with himself.

I realise, that in our busy life schedule, we often fail to do this simple thing. Spend time with oneself. I wish everyone did that regularly.

A friend....

The other day at a bus stop here, I saw a sign. It said, "Find your best friend. Adopt a pet. " That struck me.
I mean they are actually promoting that you cannot be best friends with a human being? I mean, how lame is that!
I have never had a pet in my life. I guess people who have had one will be able to understand it better.

In the early morning when I took this shot, this guy was playing with his dog, who seemed to be having a great time splashing in the water. I guess the man was the dog's best friend.. or was it the other way round?

Sunrise

Since the day I moved into this house, I have been wanting to click this shot.
Every day morning I would be woken by the sun's rays. And I would think, I missed clicking the shot again.
The good thing about the sun is that it comes everyday and gives you a entire new chance.
Finally i was able to take that chance today morning.
Woke up at 4:30 ran to the beach... felt cold.. loved the cold sand.. breathed the freshest air ever in Chicago so far, and then witnessed a beautiful sunrise.
I love spending time on the beach.
And when there is nothing but the expanse of water front of you, the naked sky above you, and the cold sand beneath you... its a feeling that is nothing short of bliss.

This photograph is from the start of the morning.

Uncomparable

Watching children play..
smiling at seeing them laugh..
Priceless.

Educate...

If there is one thing in the world that I care about the most, it is child education.

While on one hand I consider myself fortunate to get a good education, I feel deep pain on the other when I go out to shoot on the streets and see children wanting to study, but not fortunate enough.

Of late I have been thinking a lot about education. It sets me nostalgic and I was remembering how I started off with mine. A short description is on my blog.

Hopefully someday I too will be able to do something for the education of these kids.

This shot was taken in my India trip in May 2008.

Mountain Love...

It is said that if you fall in love with the mountains, it keeps calling you back again and again.

My love for the Himalayas, started way back in 1987, when I went to study in a boarding school in the hills of Darjeeling. The stupendous view of the Mountains was what we woke up with on any clear morning.

Everyday I would wish to reach there. Everyday I would wish to be on the top of it.

A couple of months ago my flight was going over the Himalayas. I was asleep until then, but somehow I woke up when the plane was above this.

It was as if the mountains had woken me up, to fulfill my childhood wish.
I perhaps would go again over this at sometime... but the first time is always special.

Fire in the Skies

..
I love it when there is drama like this in the sky.
The day I was shooting this... i literallr ran upstairs shouting drama drama :)

There is something about nature that is so mesmerizing that it is unexplainable.

With you around...

..
there is nothing i need to fear.
the warmth of your love is enough for me..
...
been listening to this song .. amazing lyrics and voice.
Bade Acche Lagte Hain

Lyrics:

बड़े  अच्छे  लगते  है
ये  धरती, ये  नदियाँ , ये  रैना  और  तुम

हम  तुम  कितने  पास  है , कितने  दूर  हैं  चाँद  सितारे
सच  पूछो  तो  मन  को  जूठे  लगते  हैं  ये  सारे
मगर  सच्चे  लगते  है , ये  धरती ...

तुम  इन  सब  को  छोड़  के  कैसे  कल  सुबह  जाओगी
मेरे  साथ   इन्हे  भी  तो  तुम   याद  बहुत   आओगी
बड़े  अच्छे  लगते  हैं  ...

Biking...

...i remember the first bicycle that I had was when I had passed the 10th grade. In fact I had just learnt to learn how to ride it in the 9th class.

i remember ... i remember..

Sit...

Come...
Sit with me..

Lets talk.

Love...

Starting a new month is always nice.
The bank balance is high.
The shopping and going out motivations are higher.
And the love should be the highest :)