Horizons

Location : Poovar Island, Kerala

 That inability to see beyond.

Black Hole

Location : Fort Cochin, Kerala

Like all the other things she used to spin into existence inside her mind in those dark days.

- Murakami.

Far Away

Poovar Island

Of course there is God.

Where?

Somewhere? Far away may be?

Happier Alone

Pics from Vembanad Lake, Alleppey.

"I can hardly see anything." "Its an illusion. This proximity." "I guess this is going to be a long journey. Im glad you are here with me." "I'm an illusion too. This journey, is yours. Your's alone. Never forget that." - (from A Conversation That Never Was)

Silence of a Valley

Maruthan, an Irula tribe lives in the forests of Attapady (Silent Valley National Park, Kerala)

"Aren't you scared of going to the jungles alone at your age?" "Who will feed us if I sit idle at home?" "Hmmm. Do you see wild animals when you go there?" "Yes. Pythons, cobras, bears, wild boars, leopards." "Wow! Which is the most vicious animal you have ever encountered in the jungle?" "Man."

In a Land (not so) Far Away

When the sky bleeds into the river

a sunset

And then there were none.

Location : Casa Maria, Mattanchery

About Once or More Than Twice

"Are you saying you don't remember me, or that you don't remember seeing me?"

- Orhan Pamuk (excerpt from Snow)

In pursuit of happiness...

Location : Fort Cochin

Sunshine

Location : The Old Harbour Hotel, Fort Cochin

Blinded. (Almost).

From another round of pyrotechnics at Trissur, Kerala during the Pooram festival.

The Temple

The Vadakkunnathan Temple, Trissur.

Note : This image has NOT been digitally manipulated. It so happened that the temple authorities had lit up the structure with blue light; thanks to the Pooram festival :)

Small Wonders

Blue

I was in Palakkad, Kerala , covering a temple festival when i noticed that the house (which the family was so kind to provide for my stay) was beautifully lit by natural light during the day. The maddam (as the house of a brahmin family is called) is atleast a 100 years old. I havent seen many modern houses with such ingenious architecture. It was cool inside despite the hot summer. I wish they still made houses like these... I cant really say that the house was well maintained. Perhaps the lady wih the Gucci bag living around the corner might disapprove the blue patches on the walls. To me, it looked beautiful (although i admit that my pictures did no justice to it!)

Glass pieces were strategically placed on the roof to light up various parts of the house during any time of the day.

Isn't it fun to have a spot light on you when you are asked to be seated??

This is one my favorite prints. The blue colour seen in the picture is due to the blue paint on the windows and the warm hue if from the light streaming past rusted iron bars on the windows.

A ventilation to the store room. Through a window. Every house had an exclusive water well to themselves. You could say the house was more or less built around it. You had access to the cool fresh water both from the kitchen AND from the bathroom. It is quite a bit of an exercise to draw water from these wells though.

As i mentioned before, i was visiting during the summer. When the temperature was 37 degrees or above. Surprisingly,the water level was still very high in the well.

The brahmin community in Palakkad is a very well educated lot. If you were looking for means to pass time on a hot afternoon, you will find ample amount of books stacked away in a shelf or two which can keep you occupied for the rest of your stay.

I hardly saw any bulbs lit during the day.

The oldest member of the family (he is about 80 yrs old). Do not be carried away by the expression on his face. He loved being photographed. Only, he did not understand my interests on electric bulbs and plastic buckets! I always fancied the studio portraits of newly weds taken atleast a quarter of a century ago. My friend was showing me the image of his son and his daughter-in-law.

"What's a house without the grace of the lord almighty?" Always well-lit, always well adorned. the pooja room.

"When you have kids in the house, you have toys. When they leave, the toys become show pieces..."

Captive King

Does all animals have a character, a personality? I know they say that dogs almost have human-like feelings. But so detached I am from wildlife, that little do i know about the lives of the majestic creatures that inhabit our forests. The veterinarian at the zoo had told me that the lion was becoming weaker by the day. He hardly ate all the meat that was provided for him and the 1000 sq ft (or less) space provided by the authorities was not enough for the king who would otherwise have been roaming freely in his kingdom. In the first few hair raising roars, he made it clear that prisoner he might be, but he still detested my presence. A few rude, inconsiderate tourists and 45 minutes later, I think he decided that I'm not as bad as he thought i was. An hour later, he didn't mind the bony creature with the shiny single eye stuck through the bars. Another good half hour later, he completely ignored my existence. Perhaps he thought that i was the rat in his trap. It was fascinating to watch the noble creature in a state which was at once alert and resigned. As if he knew that the iron bars were too strong for him. As if he would be ready when the opportunity came. As if, he would rather die than surrender...

Fireworks

Enroute to Kerala

The Indian Railways, with all its shortcomings has never really ceased to fascinate me. I'm slowly forming a (good/bad) habit of sneaking around with my camera as soon as the Ticket Collector vanishes into the next compartment (check out some of my 'train' shots here). I just wish they would stop bothering so much about photography and would let people take pictures at the railway stations as well. (Here is Slogan Murugan's blog dedicated to the Railways. ' Clicketey Clicks - Indian Railway Picures' check it out.. its got some beautiful pics) Once you are inside the train, there isn't much you could do apart from reading, listening to your i pod and of course doze off after a nice little dinner provided by the railway authorities. I was honestly surprised to find people actually using laptops in the train. India is definitely running on the fast track.

Dusk

Pulikali - The Story of the Dancing Tigers

'Pulikali' or 'Tiger dance' is a prominent folk art of Trissur, Kerala. Celebrated during the 'Onam' festival (harvest season), hundreds of men from various regional teams dances to the rhytm of the percussionists. These teams accompanied by 2-4 tableaus goes around the city in a procession dancing all their way, entertaining thousands of people gathered to watch them. The art of body painting is intricate in itself and one artist paints on 3-4 men on an average for the occassion. The origin of 'Pulikali' or Tiger Dance has been traced to that of a Muslim folk art called 'Pancha'. It is believed that the tiger dance was first conducted during the reign of the Kochi Maharaja centuries ago by the Muslim officials at the 'Nair Brigade' (army cantonment) in Trissur in 'Moharam' season, which later evolved to its present form. Connection have also been made to a legend in an Indian Epic called Vishnudharmotharam. According to the legend, when the demon king, 'Mahabali' was send to hell ( granting a wish to come back yearly to visit his people in Kerala during the Onam season) by the incarnation of 'Lord Vishnu' called ' Vaamana', an infuriated demon Guru, 'Shukra Muni' sought revenge by unleashing wild animals unto the kingdom of heaven. To resolve the chaotic situation in heaven Lord Vishnu meets Shukra Muni and says that they (the wild animals) can accompany 'Mahabali' during his yearly visit to Kerala and the people will welcome these guests as heartly as they welcome their once supreme ruler. (as told to Jyothy Karat by C Krishnakutty Menon, retired principal of Fine Art College, Trissur) For more details view - http://www.puzha.com/puzha/magazine/html/essay3_sept12_05.html http://www.pulikkali.com/shorthistory.asp http://mutiny.in/category/regional/kerala/