Sunday 5 am?? Thats not me.!!

Hi,

Seriously, Mr. P has gone nuts... he has gone completely mad and in the process of this highly unwanted task... he is making me like him too.!!!

After a few calculations... Mr. P could infer that its gonna be next year March if not now.! This was the last weekend before the Pujas.. during Puja and the week after that I will be busy at my office... after which I will be out on a 15 days trip to Kerala..

When I will be back it will be almost November... winter... which means waking up at 5 am will be even tougher. To let the winter go by.. it will be almost next year March... so Mr. P set an alarm (and two wake up remainders) at 4:45 am (and 4:50 and 5:00 am) to get up and get the fresh picture of the fiilthy Ganga (many call it Ganges.!) in the morning.!

Frankly speaking, Mr. P was not very happy with any of the pictures taken... but these are some of the better ones.

Believe me, these are the cleanest steps at Babughat. The ones which go into the Ganga have an inch of the polimaati on them throughout the year. I almost slipped on them today. Mr. P calls this picture with a very obvious name STEPS OF THE BABU.

Thats all he could get at Babughat worth posting. Mr. P moved out

of there.. while I was having some biscuits, he asked a person selling neem sticks, natural toothbrushes, about any other nearby ghaat.

"Outram Ghat"... Mr. P went there but photography was not allowed...

Then me and Mr. P were on our own.! Mr. P could find some of the unnamed ghaats... Here is what we got from there:

This old man in the picture was holding up arms in the same way since I discovered that he is there in the Ghat... I took few pictures of him ... he was there in the same position... and before I finally turned away from him... I saw him staying in the same position... chanting something...

Mr. P calls this picture FAITH.

The next picture is from the same unnamed Ghaat.

After Mr. P had taken the pictures.. I was standing at the same place thinking... They have been tied to the same stock for hundreds of years... neither the boat design nor the majhi uniform has changed in so many years.! Only the crossing fare might have gone up.! Thanks to the "developement" we are a part of.

Mr. P calls this picture OLD FERRY.

And what is Ganga to a bengali without the Howrah Bridge.! I had tried many times to see it in a single shot... but I always had to turn my head to cover the complete view. But hey.! Look what Mr. P has done.! He just did it...

From another unnamed Ghaat near the first one... Mr. P just clicked the view.. and I called it, much to the disagreement of the highly philosophical Mr. P, THE WHOLE PACKAGE.

But the problem started to show up.! I was at the place from where this 'whole package' picture was taken and Mr. P wanted to go to the foot of the Howrah Bridge... the one which is on the left side of the picture above.

"Koi Gal Nahi, Sir jee"... I told Mr. P... I had a fresh morning tea from a stall... plugged my earplugs with a song in it... and simply started walking towards it. On the way I got this picture of the road...

Mr. P and I call this picture with the very same name as the girl from

a nearby car would have called it (after she was done with her amazement of seeing a short guy taking the picture of an empty street at 6:00 am for no appearent reason... I wish she could see Mr. P.. but she couldnt as he was inside me..)... A TAKE FROM A WALK.

And finally when me and Mr. P reached that 'left sided foot' (hey... m good at keeping names.!!! Mr. P... left sided foot.!)of Howrah Bridge after walking a little more and finally taking a bus... Mr. P discovered another ghaat there... it had a name starting with 'Chan...' but I dont remember the name rigt now.!! (sorry..! next time pakka.!)... Mr. P descended on it...

After taking a few snaps... Mr. P (and I) found only this picture 'bloggable'... It was more than 6:30am and this is exactly what I call as my dawn. And this is what I call this DAWN OF DAWN.

Then it was just a return bus with music plugged in my ear... and a Kolkata waking up....

I seriously have loads of doubt that you would like these picture on which Mr. P made me invest my half of sleep... but some kind of satisfaction would come to Mr. P after I have posted them here...

Do post your comments if you feel like.!

Cheers.! :)

Aadi Kolkata

Hi,

This time Mr. P was stuck with the idea "why always grandure... why not the little things.!!??" and as usual, Mr. P ruined a saturday afternoon of mine.! We went out with my camera, this time to the Northern part of Kolkata, the old and the real Kolkata. I being a South Kolkata lad also believe so.!

There we have Kumartuli, the hub of Durga idol makers in Kolkata, in India or rather in the whole world.! The month was August and it was about to end.. Puja was at the end of September only.. No time could be better than this to go and see the artists at Kumartuli in full swing.!

I managed to get the help of my friend Soumalya to reach there. Thanks dude.! You and your bike made it possible.!

Here is what me and Mr. P got.!

The face has got an extra clarity over the rest of teh picture... the light is there the most and it looks brilliant. Mr. P called it THE ONLY LIGHT.

Not very convincing name... but he just couldn't exercise his poor vocab for a name for this divine one.!

His next one was through a narrow door. He almost would have missed it had he been a little bit more absent minded.!

Anyway, Mr. P managed again to get and capture the glimpse he had got. He calls it ENLIGHTENED DARK ONE.

Me, Mr. P and of course Soumalya came out of Kumartuli after a few more snaps. Then Mr. P was in the hunt of his "little things" (I told him... Sir, you have a camera which is not even one year old.. you dont even know what is its aperture opening... (whatever it is) ... you just are excited about taking pictures. So, Please sir, stop being so philosophical.!)

But I kind of have a funny belief in him and I followed him... after he completely ignored my short speech.

The boy in this picture made three jumps for Mr. P. No...No... dont take me wrong...!! Neither me, nor Mr. P and not even Soumalya told him to do so...!!! He was just having fun... jumping and getting photographed at the same time.!!!!

Mr. P calls this picture LIFE.

The next picture is something I could feel like is of type which goes to photo exibitions and places like that.! I dont know why.!

But after Mr. P took the picture, he didnt feel like complaining, but apperantly didnt find any reason also for these pictures to go to the photo exhibitions... for some reason, they just go.! Anyway, looking at it Mr. P could find no other feeling than sympathy and called it TENSE PAST.

When I was coming back, Mr. P just happened to turn back from the bikes rear seat and saw something. He told Soumalya to stop.

When Mr. P came back with a picture no name could suit this very narrow old Kolkata lane other than ALLEY SEPIA. These empty alleyways take you back to the Kolkata of the 70's, the bloody decade of Bengals political turn... or may be even in the 40's when these gullies had witnessed the freedom fighters taking bullets on their chests.! (this is not Mr. P writing... its me. I am feeling the same shiver in me which I always feel when I think of the old Kolkata even in this very second when I am writing about it.!)

I and Mr. P thanked Soumalya for his such a help... He went back home and so did I with Mr. P to post these pictures here.!

Hope you have liked them... Please do post your comments... to keep more of Mr. P coming.!!!

Cheers.! :)

Mr. P is out again.!

HE LIIIIVES.!!!! More like a Frankenstienish pleasure came out of me when I felt the same Mr. P in me while going out on little weekend out with my family. We went to Digha.!

I preferred listening to Enya in my ipod while roaming in the beach but that Mr. P in my told me "dude.! pull up your sleeves.. get that damn clicking device out and let me work.!"

I asked him (with big watery): "Enya??"

He said, checking the battery charge level in the camera (and not sparing a look at my big watery eyes), "Take it... it will add to the mood.!"

Well... so there were we, out again, alone, again in a sunset. Here are a few results on which Mr. P was happier than the rest:

Mr. P had two very different colours of light in front of him and behind him... This golden one was in teh West side of the beach.! He called it, out of shear reflex, ABSOLUTE GOLD, PERIOD.

The next one was a few moment before the above one was taken ... on the same side of the beach... (Mr. P and me realised that its really strange how the rays of the sun changes its colors in such beautiful places.. it hardly happens in the cities.!!!)

Anyway here is the next one. he calles it THE SANGAM. Quite sarcastic if you see... the sky seems to meet with the land and the water, the water meets with the sun, the sand seems to hold the sun and waves think they have reached the shore but nothing is actually there.!

Enough talk, next one was very tough to get. Mr. P had to use a full 10x Op-Zoom and a steady hand to get just the correct image. It was on the east side of the beach.

Mr. P, after he took this picture, examined it, and made sure that the faces are out of bounds of recognition. This was Mr. P's first (copyrights protected) snap which had so much emptyness yet was flooded with so much of emotion. He smiled a little after this click and called it ONLY.!

Me and Mr. P came back from the beach for the day. Next day, me, mom and dad went out for a little sightseeing. (I had Mr. P inside my jacket.!). While our car was crusing on the beach of Mandarmoni, I got this:

Mr. P took this picture from a running (and vibrating) vehicle, from behind the windsheild. This added to the effect... a blurry look came in the picture which gave it a fine glow. Mr. P calls this picture SOLITUDE

Mr. P had a few more pictures of the beaches that he liked but for some reason I am not posting them now.

One more thing I learnt, Enya sounds absolutely mind blowing, even to a highly-non-classical person like me, when you are roaming in a beach, capturing the world around you, with Mr. P!

Cheers.! :)

Bitten by the ClickBug

Hello...

Last year I got this new digital camera... and very much not to my surprize, the photographer in me realized that its IN me...

Well... after this divine realisation, it woke up one evening (brushed its teeth) and went out to explore.!

Here is what he got when he went out:

This picture here is of one of the most significant landmarks in Kolkata... a symbol of its gloriuos past... a woman can be seen here standing in front of it.. a woman whose economic condition doesn't seem to be very good... this is what it is... my true Kolkata.. has everything... My camera calls it REFLECTION OF TRUTH.

Next, the photographer in me (lets call him aaa.... Mr. P ( P for photographer)) tried to get some more like these... and here is what he could grab.

The light was very weak... Mr. P could just hold what he could before he left.. He calls this picture of the St. Pauls Cathedral ST. PAULS CATHEDRAL only.!

Next, Mr. P was wondering what to shoot next... when his gaze ran into a pair of women, staring... Mr. P had no idea to what.!

He went closer... and followed the gaze of one of them... when he went even closer... one of them turned towards him.. Mr. P knew.. he will not a get a second chance... Click.! he got THE STARE.

Mr. P had some more time and wanted to use the in built flash in my camera. Why??? I dunno.!! but that arbitrary click wasnt that bad... as Mr. P told me. Take a look. He called it what it was:THE GUARD.

The light was getting feabler but Mr. P wanted some more... he didn't know what but he just wanted that... something to complete the day... he had no idea that only a 180 degree turn would do it.

But when he did... he had this... a VICTORIOUS reason to click.!

Mr. P had his day. He told me: lets go back.! The day was great.! That day I had went out alone but came back with a knowledge that a Mr. P lives in me.!

Lets see for how many days it does.!

cheers.! :)