Footwa

Mae De Deus Church, Saligao

27 Sep 2009 | no comments » Add a comment

Mae De Deus Church is an beautiful example of Gothic Architecture, located at Saligaon (Sal meaning wooded, Gaon meaning village, so translates to “village in forest”), some 14 kms away from Panjim, the capital of Goa.

I consider it as one of the most beautiful churches I have seen in Goa. Build in 1873, the shrine of the Nossa Senhora Mai de deus was brought over  from the ruins of the convent of Mae de Deus at Old  Goa. Saligaon has one of Goa’s first English language schools, Mater Dei.

[googlemap lat="15.546944881057145" lng="73.78533840179443" width="300px" height="200px" zoom="15" type="G_HYBRID_MAP"]Mae de Deus Church, Saligao, Goa[/googlemap]

I trust in Thee

22 Sep 2009 | 1 comment » Add a comment

Chintu was trying his best not to give me a smile, was deep asleep, and even as the mother held his hands and shook it, he was least interested to pose for the snap I was trying to click. But without his smile itself he looks very sweet, and his small hands holding his moms thumb shows the bonding and unconditional trust right from the start.

I remember a nice mothers day card I once read.

“A mother holds her childrens hands for a while… their hearts forever”

Monochrome – Neha Bhagra

18 Sep 2009 | no comments » Add a comment

Black and white photographs are classic. They have a way of expression and they sometimes look much better then thier colored version. The same is true for this snap.
Robert Frank (American photographer) once said.
“Black and white are the colors of photography

Lost in a gazal

18 Sep 2009 | no comments » Add a comment

We were at Moti Mahal, with live gazal. Saket and I were enjoying this, when I got an urge to listen to my favorite number. Called the waiter and tried to write in hindi, but gave up soon (have not written for 12 years in hindi). Saket laughed and wrote down the Gazal name. Soon they were singing “Aaj jane ki zid na karo” which was originally sung by none other then “Malika-e-Ghazal” i.e. Queen of Ghazal, Farida Khanum. Both of us were acting like real professional listeners, nodding our heads, waving our hands, “Wah, wah” on our lips. Saket seemed mesmerized in this snap, and its the same feeling I get when I listen to this number. A true master piece. Neha and Nanu thought we both had gone nuts.
“Aj Jane kii Zid na karo
Yuhi pahalu mein baite raho
Haye!! Mar jayenge Hum tho Laut jayenge
Aisi Baatein kiya na karo”

Silhouette

12 Sep 2009 | no comments » Add a comment

2 of my friends were deeply engrossed playing fifa on my system. I was trying to get this image right, and clicked around 30-35 shots when finally I got it. I wanted to keep the darkness of the room and its contents intact, while showing the colorfulness of the curtains with the sunlight behind, and the screen alive and rich. This is the only silhouette snap I have ever tried, need to try more when i get a chance.

Love is in the air.

07 Sep 2009 | 5 comments » Add a comment

3 hours before clicking this snap, I was trying to reason out with Neelam. It made no sense for me to be a ”kabab mein haddi”, but Neelam would not listen to my constant plea. Finally I gave up and agreed to go along with her. 3 hours later I am sitting here, with 2 people who dont know that a world exists outside this special zone they have created; and I am definately outside this, I was being ignored big time
I had never seen Neelam so happy, so excited, and so lost. She had not fallen in love, she had collapsed.

Dhanaulti – snow clad hill

07 Sep 2009 | 7 comments » Add a comment

I had seen this before! In paintings, on postcards, and always imagined it to be an artists imaginary world. Dhanaulti is a pulchritudinous hill station just 60 kilometers from Dehradun (the place we were staying). Walking was really tough on the road, my sneakers not used to the thin ice sheet which had formed. I was a bit worried clicking this shot as I was at the edge stepped in snow, a small push would have sent me …. But it was worth capturing this.

Himalayas

06 Sep 2009 | 1 comment » Add a comment

Is this Earth! We all seem to be asking. The first glimpse of the Himalayas at a curved road prompted all of us to step out of our vehicles to just enhale this sight. For some of us it was our first look at the “abode of snow” (Thats what it means). An almost similar sight being viewed by 6 countries (it spreads so far!) was an achievement of some kind by Nature.

House or a Lodge? Marshall House, Colaba

28 Apr 2009 | 6 comments » Add a comment

As I guided the taxi guy to this place with the phone held tight to my ear and my eyes searching for my friend waving out on the road, I came across this huge rock solid 100 year old building. I saw my friend tumble out

Umbrella Window – Cafe Mondegar (Mondy)

28 Apr 2009 | no comments » Add a comment

Cafe Mondegar (or Mondy as its more popularly known) is my favorite place in colaba to hang out with friends. It pumps energy in you right in the start as you have to yell to have a conversation with your friends, amidst the loud music being played by a jukebox (which is constantly used) and the halla bulla at all the other closely packed tables that somehow