Got the Bullet. And crashed it on my very first long ride. Many more to come (long rides that is)

Bought some more film cameras. Could not try all of them.

Shot less with the bigger cameras, more with the smaller ones – iPod and the Motorola Defy

Won a photography contest in real life.

Got kicked out of the corporate cricket team.

Bought my first phone (previous two that I lost in less than a year were borrowed).

Went on a rather long vacation, first of its kind for me (for various reasons).

Hit the gym. Lost a few kilos. Need to lose many more.

Thought of starting a new blog. But found the convenience Facebook (and later Twitter) too comforting.

Uploaded more film photographs to my flickr photostream than digital.

Got introduced to my second nephew.

Realised that live music is better appreciated in the open than in an enclosed space.

Found underarm cricket to be tougher than the regular version.

Bathed in the glory of India’s Cricket World Cup victory.

Previously: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007

In 2010, I…

Accomplished the feat of reading one book throughout the year and still not completing it

Played cricket, lots of it

Despite that, managed to go 10Kgs overweight…thanks to all the Haleem and other

Blogged only four times, including this post

Worked an early morning shift, but was never late for work

Got balder, but not as much as I thought I would

Got familiar with film cameras thanks to the good people surrounding me

Got lenses too, mostly screw mount primes

Shot more film than digital

Attended fewer photowalks, but took more satisfying pictures

Got done with the 20s

Changed employers, hope to stick around this time

Continued to resist the pressure to getting married

Got an iPod, again

Expanded my music collection

Bought more books despite the lack of shelf space

Did not get the Bullet.

Here’s wishing you a happy new year.

Previously: In 2009, I… | In 2008, I… | In 2007, I…

Kite Rescue

Sankranti is not a good time for the birds. And who but we humans are responsible as we invade their space with kites stringed to sharp threads? This year was no different. This Kite got itself tangled up in the threads on the peepul tree near where we fly kites every year. After about an hour of scratching our heads about what to do – the bird was too high for our bamboo sticks+knife combo – we figured that climbing the tree and cutting the threads with a knife tied to the bamboo was the best option. Now I grew up playing around this tree but had never climbed it, though I wanted to. This was my chance.

And so I climbed the tree and after 15 minutes or so managed to cut the threads. Unfortunately, the bird could not fly as its wings were messed up by the threads and it had grown weak after more than six hours of hanging by the wings. One of my friends got a pair of scissors and we somehow cut the threads. The bird tried to resist but was too weak. Meanwhile I called a friend of mine who knows a thing or two about birds and he suggested we use a towel hold it in case we took it to the blue cross. But that did not happen.

We placed a bowl of water in front of it, but it could drink. So a friend put a towel around his palm and poured water on the kite’s mouth. Surprise surprise, it drank the water! Then we fed it some chicken, which it tried to eat. And then, all of a sudden, it flew away. We were happy; thanked each other and left. And I was glad I climbed the tree.

Evening Glow, originally uploaded by Lazybug.

So much of photography is just a combination of various elements coming together. Sometimes you miss the shot because you were a little late; on other occasions you happen to be at the right place at the right time. This was one such occasion.

Ruby and Raju do their bit

Of course, they are not the only ones. There’s Anu and Raj and millions of other couples who have done their bit to ruin monuments in India. In this the Golconda fort. Well done people. Keep’em coming.

…

Did not blog as much as I wanted to.

Changed jobs for the first time in 3 years.

Got a new camera. Turns out it was the best thing to happen to me this year.

That’s because a few other things did not quite work out.

Hardly made any additions to my wardrobe.

Got on to facebook reluctantly and now cannot get off it.

Went through a financial crisis for the first time.

Took more photos than ever before. Many of them are now stuck in a dysfunctional hard drive. Hope to retrieve them.

Got published!

Did not get the Bullet.

Ate a lot of haleem, but did not review it unlike previous two years.

Got one year closer to the thirties.

Hardly watched any movies at the cinemas. Ghajini being the last.

Expanded my music collection. Thanks mostly to benevolent friends.

Found that it’s sentiments that run Indian politics and not reason.

Became increasingly sceptical about the importance of religion.

Lost weight. Lost scalp hair and sported a moustache for the first time.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all!

Previously: In 2008, I… | In 2007, I…

Diwali 2, originally uploaded by Lazybug.

Here’s wishing you all a Very Happy Diwali. May there be light. But kindly try to keep down the noise and the smoke.

The shine in the eyes, originally uploaded by Lazybug.

I find kids hard to photograph as they rarely stay still.The task is made tougher when the light is low.

This little fellow walked into Deli9 in the afternoon today and I found it rather difficult not to click him. He was with his dad and it looked like he was expecting something that he was not quite getting. He kept looking expectantly at his dad. His face reflected the state of his mind. Innocence was personified.

RIP, originally uploaded by Lazybug.

Though there is not much I liked about his policies and governance, I think his death is very untimely. At a time when the country itself is struggling to find headstrong leaders, his loss means a lot to the state. I hope sanity prevails.