The Woman I Never Saw

About a year (and a half ) ago, i was at the Tibetan market in Ooty shooting for an assignment when i chanced upon this woman. She didn't speak English and i don't understand a word of Tibetan (but u would be surprised to see how fluent most of them are in Tamil). Nevertheless, i sat with her and she went on with her stories (of what, i honestly had no idea!). I have this habit of giving 6X4 prints of my images to the subjects. Its gives me a pretext to visit them again. Thus i set off, back on the track that led to the Tibetan market. Only, to find the place thronging with tourists. She was here, there, all around me. Well, honestly, i just couldnt find her again. They all looked sooo similar!! I hung around for some time. Asked around if someone knew her, and finally left the copy with the fellow who claimed to have known her. Ive made several visits to the market since. And i ve met several old Tibetan women there. They all had the same kind smile, the same sad eyes and the same amiable aura about them..but none who quite photographed like her and none who told me stories like her. What had happened to her? I dont know. I never saw her again...

Botanical Garden, Ooty

To wake up in the morning realizing that you have already missed the first ten hours of the day, is (in my opinion) one of the most horrible feelings. Especially when you are in a place like Ooty.

From My Travel Diary : Srirangapattanam 2009

Our guide had eerie stories to tell about Tippu's torture chambers @ Tippu Sultan's Fort, Srirangapattanam

If only walls could talk... (inside Tippu's Fort) We were on our way to the fort when we inadvertently landed in front of this beautiful mosque. Our all-knowing guide didn't wait for too long before he dished out his tall tales of how Tippu Sultan used to come to this Mosque for solitude. Whether his story was authentic or not, i couldn't help thinking that there is indeed something serene about the mosque which could capture anybody's imagination.

My first vision of the Gumbaz. Where lies the tombs of Hyder Ali and Tippu Sultan. The crowd outside the Gumbaz.

From My Travel Diary : Ranganthittu 2009

I'm not someone you would exactly describe as a nature enthusiast. But visiting a wildlife sanctuary is not a punishment to me either. These are some of my pictures from the Ranganthittu Wildlife & Bird Sanctuary (20km away from Mysore). I did end up having a lot of fun that day.

I do not quite know the name of this bird. But he sure was quite a funny fellow. He had made it his business to scratch his neck sitting right there for a good 5 mnts!!

The crocs in the sanctuary were sun bathing when we visited them. This particular one seemed to have chosen the Stork's backside to rest his massive head though. Not even the (toy) gun wielding unruly bunch of kids on the other boat could provoke him enough to move an eyelid.

This lovey-dovey couple was on honeymoon on top of that tree.

I know quite a lot of trees can look menacing. But this one looked like Einstein's-hairdo-gone-worse to me!!

A family that prays together stays together. Nope, I'm not exaggerating. I could swear by the Gods of the Great Storks, that this family was deep in meditation, dwelling in a feeling of oneness!! ;)

From My Travel Diary : Mysore 2009

Dwaraiswami, Aarumugam and Maaddamma , the house keeping staff of the Dasprakash Hotel, Mysore strike a pose for me.

"The smoke will look good when lit by the sunlight," Dwaraiswami observes.

His shop is right outside the famous Dasprakash hotel in Mysore. He is so much a part of his little shop that its difficult to imagine the space without him in it or to imagine him outside it. K. Hariprasad Rao has been living in Mysore for about 50 years now. He is 72yrs old. His son is in Kothamangalam (Kerala) and his daughter is a teacher in Bangalore. K. Kariprasad Rao on being alone - "Health is important not age. "