Different Childhoods

“Be careful! Where are you going?”
Well-dressed, sheltered kids curbed their naughtiness as they heeded the warnings let out by the elders. The polythene, trash strewn water could be deep. They wanted to have fun but not at the cost of their clothes or the anxious commands of their elders. As they climbed up and down the steps cheerfully and carefully under the watchful eyes of their parents, two other kids jumped down from the platform in the middle of the pond.

The new entrants playfully jumped through the shallow, dirty water towards the side of the pond. The sheltered kids watched spellbound with wonder and amazement at these kids gamboling through these dirty waters. Do not know what was going through their minds as they looked at the kids who freely frolicked in the waters. Different childhoods – sheltered versus unshackled!

As parents or elders, do we sometimes shelter our kids too much? Should we let them enjoy the simple things in life? Do we curb their natural, curious instinct, exploratory spirit in the process of sheltering them? I remember we used to sometimes float paper boats in the roadside puddles. Do not see that happening very often now a days. Are the kids today more mature, more worldly-wise albeit minus the playful, exploratory spirit?

Having tried three different approaches to the tower, feet starting to hurt and the time for fireworks drawing near, we decided to go towards Passy bridge for the next vantage point. Once there, we found there was hardly any place to even think of setting my tripod without obstructing somebody else’s view.   For that matter, there were people six to eight lines deep and I did not want to shoot without my tripod.   My friend and I parted ways here – he stayed on the bridge not wanting to miss the fireworks and I moved further down the Seine with Passy bridge in the foreground as one looked towards the Eiffel tower.

I was able to set up my tripod farther along the river.   I tried calling him but could not get through.  Even though it was not the best vantage point but I had no choice.  We should have come much earlier to scout a better location.

After the fireworks were over, a hazy smoke loitered in the air around Eiffel tower providing an orange glow as if the structure was on fire.

Larger versions in the form of a slideshow of these pics and some more may be seen in my archive.

On the occasion of Bastille day, I remembered the time and thought of putting these pics for my friends.
To my friends in France, wish you a happy Bastille day!

It was raining when I got to my hotel, five minutes from Piazza San Marco, behind Teatro La Fenici.  Having parked my belongings, I came to the piazza just as it drizzled slow and steady.  As I walked, shielding my camera, the sky started to open up and smile.  I would actually get to see the sunset this evening.  The light was  breathtaking and for a change, I forgot to click, telling myself that I will have a couple more days.  Little did I know that this would be the best light I will see on this trip.

The next day, I walked around photographing architecture, people and the colorful window displays in the galleries and shops. Narrow streets connected by bridges over a network of canals, it was easy to lose oneself, literally. The museums and palazzos in Venice close early. In between visiting the beautiful churches, palazzos, I could not indulge myself with a Gondola ride. But indulge I did, in other ways, with scoops of delicious gelato and omnipresent pizza. I was in heaven!

I had bought a pass for the water taxi.  This way, I could get around without too much hassle.  This turned out to be a good decision.   The sun and the rain gods were being mischievous, playing hide-and-seek, determined to make this trip more memorable.

When it rains, it pours and by god, it poured hard. People huddled under umbrellas as they tried to enjoy a soggy gondola ride. Even, some of the gondoliers brought out umbrellas as they went about earning their livelihood.

I was happy as adversity brings different, maybe better, opportunities. And, the rains brought me some different pictures…something different…

After a good downpour, the sun decided to trade places, making the dream, even more beautiful.

I did not shoot too many night photos in Venice. By the time, I got back to hotel, I felt too tired to lug my tripod around especially in the rains. No pain, no gain. Maybe, Venice will call me again. I will wait. It is just the beginning….my Venetian dream.

Walking along, I came upon a nook in the wall celebrating “the end” with graffiti. An immaculately dressed gentleman sat there playing the violin. At ease with himself and his surroundings, he continued playing as we exchanged smiles. As the music played, I asked for his permission and photographed him at peace surrounded by the chaotic graffiti.

Violinist in Florence

I had seen street signs pointing to this church before; there are so many beautiful churches in Paris that I never thought about going there. Last year, as I sat chatting with a friend over dinner, he casually mentioned Sainte-Chapelle and its beautiful stained glass windows. I have been able to visit it a couple of times since then.

A little history here: Sainte-Chapelle was built between 1242 and 1248 to house the relics of Passion of Christ by the king, Louis IX (later beatified as Saint Louis). Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie, are the only visible remains of the oldest palace of kings of France.

The building houses two sanctuaries – the lower chapel, for the palace staff and the upper chapel, for the king and his close friends and family. The upper chapel is airy, monumental and exquisitely decorated with sculptures and thin lattice framework supporting the stained glass till the ceiling. In every home, there is usually a personal place of worship and/or meditation; Sainte-Chapelle was the royal palatine chapel for Louis IX.

I have tried to record the architecture details, the XIIIth century stained glass, and the beauty that I see in Sainte-Chapelle. Photos are slowly being added to be viewed as a slide show in my Sainte-Chapelle gallery. But, photographs do not always do justice.

Hopefully, when you visit Paris, you will able to experience Sainte-Chapelle for yourself. Happy travels!

I found this lamp post in the center of Paris on a misty night. A young romantic had painted the heartfelt emotions to be lit up every night. J’adore Paris!

Last night, I photographed these as I walked home. The photograph of the commuter in a hat and overcoat looked like a painting to me – not perfect but has a mood to it.

Where do I go?

A couple hundred meters further down the street, I photographed another cyclist :

Paris commuter at night

To see these in bigger size as a slide show, please check this link: Paris commuters at night

Now, my questions to you: Which one appeals to you more? Why?
Do you care to share your views or any thoughts on the perceived third dimension in a photograph?

I met Tony Riga on the banks of the Seine in Paris, France.

"My identity"

It was a beautiful evening in Paris and I was out walking along Seine with my camera when I saw a man with a fantastic painted mask posing for pictures with two friends. Introducing myself, I offered to take their picture. I spoke little french and they spoke little English.  After taking a couple of pictures, the friends of Tony left.

Language aside, we were able to communicate.  Here are a couple of portraits from the photo session with Tony who it later turned out is a multi-talented person with many interests.  Tony self-painted this beautiful Guyanese face mask as well.

"Holding my thoughts"

"Within reach"

I have many wonderful pictures from the session with Tony that I hope to share at a later time.

Thank you Tony for being there for my camera!

The ride on the motorcycle, a converted Yamaha RX100, was a great feeling, as usual, a slow ride with no helmet.  With the warm dusty breeze on my face as I rode along, I reached the rocky terrain at the slopes of Gwalior Fort.

The local Jain community has worked wonders around the monument, having cleaned and landscaped the whole area.  Gardens have sprung up around the base of the Fort, with walls built to harvest rainwater, to irrigate the trees that have been planted.  The area is very clean, quite a contrast to what I had seen before.   I also had to take off my shoes as the community deems it to be a religious holy place.  So, I walked up the small but arduous climb barefoot on the path, landscaped with rough cut stones and cement.  My feet were burning as I stepped on the stones but happily, I climbed to the monument, in anticipation of photographing the beautiful sculptures.

As I reached the monument, I was impressed.  The statues have been cleaned and well-maintained.  There are twenty six statues of Jain Tirthankars in various upright and seated positions.  There is a mention of the monuments being built around 1424 a.d. under the reign of Tomar King Dungar Singh in an inscription in one of the caves.  Built between 1398-1536 by kings of Tomar dynasty, these are quite a spectacle to behold.

Ek Patthar ki baori is in the first cave, a water reservoir carved out of a single stone.  Honey bees swarmed around as I peeked into the locked baori.  As I photographed the details of the statues, a group of pilgrims came up to pray.  I quickly took a couple of photos to show the scale of the statues.

The largest idol of Bhagwan Parshwanath seated on a Lotus is the largest single stone carved statue in the world.  It is 47 feet high and 30 feet wide and extremely difficult to photograph in its entirety.  More on this later…

Here is a photograph of the row of statues as seen from an opening in the rock…

]]> http://www.naharas.com/blog/2009/03/gopachal-parvat-gwalior-fort-ek-patthar-ki-baori/feed/ 2 http://www.naharas.com/blog/2008/11/south-beach-miami-1/ http://www.naharas.com/blog/2008/11/south-beach-miami-1/#comments Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:45:44 +0000 Nitish http://www.naharas.com/blog/?p=77 I had heard so much about South Beach in Miami, Florida.  While working on an assignment in South Florida, I decided to visit the South Beach in Miami on a weekend.  I took the scenic coastal route and it was late afternoon when I reached South beach.  I was mesmerized by beautiful clouds, clear inviting waters and people out to enjoy the beach, the sun.  This was one of the first pictures as I stepped on the sand.

As I photographed this colorful beach scene, Sebastian approached me and smilingly asked who I was shooting for.  Always nice when somebody is interested in your work and your equipment.  It turns out he is an actor in Chile and on being asked if he would like a picture, agreed to pose for me.  I had him jump next to one of the numerous colorful umbrellas along the beach.

Walking along the beach, I met Latrisha with a dazzling smile.  Her bikini matched the clear green waters nearer to the beach and I wanted to take a portrait of her.

While photographing her, my cell phone rang and after answering my phone, I put it away in the side pocket of my long shorts.  Little did I realize as the waves came onto the shore that my phone was getting drenched in sea water as I sat along the beach to get a better angle.  My moto Q died a watery death that evening.

There are very colorful life-guard stations along the south beach.  Each life-guard station is painted different.  While photographing one of these stations, I saw Kiwi with a cute smile, big innocent eyes and dreadlocks with silvery beads.  As I approached her dad for a photo, she became shy and would not smile at all.  She had just come out of the water and water dripped out of the beads onto her face.  All I wanted was a smile from this cute lil’ kid.

Somehow, she took a liking to the flash on my camera with its’ big diffuser and looked at it with curiosity and dead serious eyes.  So, I showed her how one could trigger the flash by pressing the test button.  From then on, it was a child’s play for her and she took an immense delight in pressing the test button, time and again.  I like this portrait that shows her delight in having fired the flash by pressing the button yet again.

It was a good day for people-watching and meeting beautiful strangers on the Miami beach.  I vowed to return earlier in the day another time…