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 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!

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…

Man Mandir has undergone a fantastic cleanup. The blackened walls in the inside chambers have been cleaned and very few bats remain. The dark stairways leading to even darker circular dungeons now have lights as well to guide the tourists. This is where the Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb had imprisoned his brother Murad and had him executed. I took some long exposures of the dungeons and Jauhar kund.

After photographing the colorful tiles of Man Mandir Palace and visiting the chambers in Man Singh Palace, we went to see some older monuments in the Fort.

Some things never change: the desire of us mortals to leave our name etched in stone for generations to see. I have been to so many beautiful monuments and places that have inspired misguided lovers and mortals to etch their names on the walls thereby disfiguring those for others. Sometimes, all this reminds me of ‘Ozymandias’ by PB Shelley or even of that beautiful song by Kansas – ‘Dust in the wind’ (esp the lines – “all we are is dust in the wind”).

This particular graffiti looked fresh and brought to mind my surprise at seeing graffiti on Eiffel Tower in Paris. Now I really digress but I must tell you this; still cracks me up on my stupidity. Having heard so much about the graffiti and the messages for Jim Morrison on his grave, I had gone to Cimetiere du Pere-Lachaise in Paris. It started raining and finally I saw a mausoleum with people around and graffiti on the walls proclaiming how Jim is loved and lives on etc. It easily seemed the most popular tomb around and I photographed it and the music lovers from all angles. I am about to head out when I see an American tourist taking a picture of his boys in front of a comparatively small grave behind the tomb. Wondering whose grave it was, I check out the tombstone. Lo and behold! It was Jim Morrison’s! Having gone all the way to the cemetery, I had almost missed out the grave that I wanted to see. You can imagine how foolish I must have felt.

Anyways, back to Gwalior Fort: I sought out some of my favorite views of Vikram Mandir, ShahJahan Mahal and Karan Mahal.

I keep returning, hoping to find better, more dramatic light. Still have not found what I am looking for but hope remains. I am sure I will be back again, to relive the moments I have spent with near and dear ones while walking, playing around the monuments in the Fort. The clock keeps ticking as this very moment passes us by. ‘Dust in the wind’, indeed!

It reminded of the countless hours spent swimming in the Beldih club pool in Jamshedpur, India. When it rained, other folks would go inside the club building. Most of the times, I would be the solitary swimmer in the pool.

Have you ever had a swim when it is raining? Imagine yourself in a pool as raindrops fall, one after the other, on your face, as the body floats in the blue waters. I always felt a strange exhilaration, calm, at peace with myself.

We visited Astachal with the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, the young eucalyptus tree and remembered looking at the old ramparts of the fort in the background as the sun went down over the hills beyond the fort walls. I remembered Mr Chatterjee with reverberations of his voice as he sang – “surya ast ho gaya..gagan mast ho gaya…pag pag hum gaate chalein…aha gaate…aha gaate” (The sun has gone down…the sky is rosy and ecstastic..we are singing with every step…”). It looked just the same but there were no boys, no roll-call and no school astachal this evening.

Also, I finally got to see the light and sound show in the vicinity of the beautiful Man-mandir built by Raja Man Singh. As the deep voice of Amitabh Bachchan started the narration of the chequered history of this famous fortress at Gwalior, multicolored lights spot-lighted the historical buildings around the area one by one as the sound-bytes changed.
A mild winter breeze blew as I sat on the edge of the wall, trying to keep my camera steady and wishing I had brought my tripod with me. I was under the impression that photography with-or-without flash was not allowed. The lights of the Gwalior city below, twinkling like stars, winked telling me that I will be back again.

I had a long day walking and shooting pictures as usual and since all the beautiful temples closed around 4:30 pm, I decided to see if I would be lucky to see a Geisha or an apprentice-Geisha. I had heard of the famous Geisha district of Gion and about how one might see a Geisha rushing to an engagement in Gion. When I reached this street called Hanami-koji, I felt as if I had been transported to another world altogether, devoid of flashy neon signs with beautiful traditional Japanese architecture of teahouses with paper screens and wood. I walked up and down carrying my heavy camera bag but it didn’t seem that I would be lucky to see a Geisha that night.

About Hanami-koji…Shimogama-san told me – “koji means street,hana is flower,mi is seeing”. Among the interesting people I met in Hanami-koji were Shimogama-san and his steady, Sukada-san who were visiting from Kobe. They were taking pictures of each other using a cell phone and seeing them in traditional yukata, I wanted to photograph them too. Both of them loved the pictures I sent them. In the picture, Sukada-san looks lovely in the light of a paper lamp hanging outside a teahouse.

I also met Yurika-san and Yuka-san who I photographed with their camera. Then, I asked if I could also take their photograph. It turned out that they were friends of Sukada-san. As I was changing to a wide-angle lens to take a picture of them, suddenly the screen-door to the teahouse opened and there stood a lovely Geisha, looking flustered to find me sitting on the door, changing a lens. I was stunned too and by the time I recovered to ask her permission to take a picture, she was gone. Uhhh….I missed it!

Anyways, I walked quite a bit more and then, I saw a Geisha and a Maiko (apprentice-Geisha) walking with a patron of theirs. Lot of young girls were excitedly trying to take a picture of them with small cell-phones and ofcourse, they missed it. The patron saw those girls and asked the Geishas to stop for a picture for them. They stopped since the patron had asked them but now, their beautiful smiles were not visible for the camera. I also took a couple of pictures of them before they walked away. As they walked, their smiles were back. One day, I’ll get to photograph a smiling Geisha too.

If you have a chance, read – “Memoirs of a Geisha” – you might like it. And, if reading does not interest you, see the movie based on the novel which is out in the theaters.

Talking of theaters, let’s see when I get to post the pics of the dance troupe from Osaka that I took at National Theater of Japan in Tokyo.

I love experiencing different cultures and must say, I loved Japan!