Through My Viewfinder

The state of education: Rural Karnataka

2011-11-19T19:13:00.001+05:30

There are 2 Indias from what I now know, one that you see in the papers, in the international section where we are now taking stands on global issues, in the business section where India leads from the front on policies, trade and brands, the other that lives in the villages, in the slums of the cities, from Orissa to Maharashtra to UP to Karnataka, where there are few who can even read these glittery headlines.

I saw this India on a slightly warm Saturday in September, at Bengarpet in the Kolar district, right next to the thriving city of Bangalore, the IT capital of this country. Bengarpet is a small town near the once prosperous Kolar Gold Fields. Gold fields that are now shut are remembered less for the gold and more for the contamination of water and infant deaths.

I work with CRY as one among many CRY volunteers who work in and around the city of Bangalore to improve conditions of state run schools and anganwadis through various means such as photography, community work etc. I am privileged to be part of a group of volunteers representing CRY that visited TREES, an organization started in 1995, which is working for the upliftment of Dalits and raising awareness on child rights in these backward areas. It employs people from the grassroots level and trains them to help others rise out of the darkness that these areas seem to be bound in.

Just as a brief, the right to education guarantees free and compulsory education for all children between the ages of 6-14.The Supreme court also mandates that schools and anganvadis(pre-nursery day cares) provide cooked mid day meals for all the children.

The plan was to visit the various schools and anganvadis that TREES has worked with. The major problems in these villages are as follows: The schools are in a bad shape, they are very far apart, there is no running water, no electricity in the anganvadis , mid day meals consist of packaged junk food, and the worst, untouchability is still practiced against children. These result in kids dropping out of their schools and their parents being reluctant in sending the children back.

TREES works to raise awareness about child rights and to try and convince children to go to school, and parents to send their kids to school. This is a challenge. We travelled with TREES team members through pristine south Indian countryside, lined with fields and palm trees. These villages were on an average at a distance of at least 2 km from a primary school and 6-7 km from a high school. We noticed that anganvadis in particular were dingy; one being a house lent out by the teacher who teaches in the anganvadi, it is darker than the Ajanta caves and during the rains fills up with water. Sometimes snakes make their dwellings inside these anganvadis and must be thrown out before a class can start .Imagine, 3 and 4 year olds starting their lessons in education in such abysmal conditions.

Water in the villages is only available for an hour a day, though there is D2h here for televisions. Most schools lack proper toilets and running water. None of the anganvadis have water or electricity, Kids drop out of schools for several reasons, distance being a major one, practice of untouchability is another, taking care of younger siblings if both the parents work is also another reason.

Despite all this, TREES has done a brilliant job, they have been able to enroll and re-enroll several kids by convincing them how important education is. They have worked with heads of government bodies to be able to gather support on major issues. What started with 20 villages now covers 350. TREEs have shown that a group of people who believe that change is necessary can get things done. During one of our many interactions with the children, the smiles on the children’s faces while they narrated to us their aspirations highlighted the success that TREES has achieved in the 15 years of its existence. We took back lessons, memories and much more as we left Bengarpet. Hopefully one day, through the combined efforts of organizations such as TREES and CRY, even this India will shine.

You too can be a CRY volunteer and ensure lasting change in the lives of children' For more information contact CRY Volunteer Action team at vol.blr@crymail.org or visit http://www.cry.org/volunteer/index.html

Treatize on the steppenwolf

2011-01-22T22:31:00.001+05:30

Bhoganandiswara: An ancient temple near Nandi Hills, Bengaluru

2010-11-21T18:35:00.008+05:30

Bhoganandiswara is a 1200 year old Siva temple complex in the village of Nandi.Yeah you heard that right 1200. Its one of the most beautiful temples I have seen.It lies very close to the base of the hills.
The drive to the place was brilliant with the Sun God out to bless us along our way.We stopped at a dhaba first for breakfast and then drove to the temple.

The Intricate carvings and the design of the temple are brilliant. The most eye catching feature is a square pond in the temple complex which is considered holy.The square patterns make for a brilliant picture. just before the Hills. The great part is that the traditions are still followed in similar manner to how the used to be in in 800 odd AD.

The quitness and the feel of walking on ancient stone brings an ethereal sort of calm to you. That is one thing thats great about South India, it is full of these old and pretty temples all over.

Hope to keep exploring.God bless us all.

Dilli Haat:More brilliant than ever.

2010-11-14T20:55:00.015+05:30

What a random stroke of luck.I went to Dilli Haat to buy a couple of Kurtas(Well for those who dont know, Dilli Haat is near AIIMS in Delhi and biggest place to buy handicrafts in India) an there was a special fest on, organised by the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare.

They had these painting competitions for Kids and tonnes of Handicrafts from all parts of the country for women shop.
A photographers paradise you could say.
There was also a cultural fest organised for the people.It had street plays and Various dance forms as well.
The food stalls were as good as ever.And I had my share of chaat before leaving.

Now about the pictures:

The above picture was near the entrance, The boys were to play this gigantic drum for the finance minister who would inaugrate the festival.F/5.6, 1/100s ,72mm,ISO 100 .

The toy below is usually seen in the rural areas of the country.Kids get to see pictures of movie stars an stuff.1/60s f/5.6 55mm.

Sarangis on sale.This one was a popular guy.A lot of foreigners would 1/60s f5.6 ISO 100.

The caricatures wala stall was one of the most popular.The guy would draw your portraits in no time at all.The first picture details:1/100s f/5.6 ISO 100.

The second picture above is at ISO400 f/5.6 1/40s.

The kids were busy taking part in painting and craft competitions.1/80s f/5.6.But again there were kids who were selling the handicrafts which undermines the fundamentals of the fest.

Now below are a few of the stalls that I saw.I would advise for those who are in Delhi to definitely go check this stuff out.

Then there were these wonderful cultural programs that were held in the evening.
This is where I was able to use the new telephoto to get decent shots.

The first was a dance program where the kids did a balet inspired by nature:

The next was a street play that was organised by kids. The children in the audience were absolutely enthralled such good acting and use of props.They could be seen repeating dialogues and laughing at every joke.The message at the end of the day was to make all kids aware about their rights in India.I would say the best theatre groups of the country would be proud of the work these kids had put up.

Two folk dance forms were also on display.It just breaks my heart to know that with the growth of urbanisation these are becoming just a mode of entertainment of tourists and urban citizens.I wish that are continued to be practiced in rural areas thoughout this growth of our country.I cannot but let go of the socialistic ideals of our country that were set forth at its birth.
One of from Rajasthan and one from UP(Picture on Top).Guess which is which.The message from both was to portray the strength of women:

Another pointer, the lens that is 55-300 mm VR from Nikon works like a charm in decent light conditions.Pictures and travel details of my road trip to Harmandir Sahib will be up next.Till then have a good time, and for those in Delhi please do have a look at the festival at Dilli Haat which is open till saturday.God bless us all.

The city where everyone is a saint:Haridvar

2010-05-24T00:13:00.023+05:30

"Devbhoomi Uttarakhand mein apka swagat hai"
Is what the poster says when you enter uttarakhand.one of the newest states of India but one with the oldest pasts.
A roadtrip through the roughest parts of UP landed me in Hardvar only for a day though.A 220 k drive from delhi on a decent highway(until you reach the single roads)is where Hardvar is.
The most popular of pilgrimage centers in Hinduism is one of the most wonderful to take pictures of as well.Unfortunately I was on a family outing and really didn't get the time to wander around.Anyways I go there every year since last 6th grade thats about 12 odd years ago so I know pretty much every luxury traveller does,but I would love to what a lonely planet type guy wants to.

So lets start off.

As you go on the highway there are a couple of really nice non urbanised villages that come across.From that I mean is that they still farm and havent sold off their lands to malls and hotels and its clean and not dirty at all.So this door was from a a house with this big courtyard and i had to take it from a moving car though.

So we landed in the afternoon and stepped out for the most amazing puja ceremony that you really must see once in your life no matter what religion you hail from and even if you're an atheist.

A couple of pictures from before the puja starts.You really wanna get there before 5:30 if you wanna sit right the river which is the ideal spot.

People are into a lot of professions along the river.Especially kids, they sell a whole lot of stuff and some of them have throw magnets into the water and take out coins.

Now for the Puja which is most amazing.Its held at the har ki pairi, which is a place with a lot of ghaats and ancient temples.The pujaris start the Aarti and its just most very pretty.I hope the picture explains why there are so many of people here.

The picture below is probably the best of the lot,for me that is.The one on the left.

The picture above was taken on the banks where there was no electricity.

A few scenes from the market.

The market starts right from har ki pairi and the city is basically all that there is along the market.Everyone tells you that they are some pandit or the other and that they can help you with your stars and your horoscopes.

There are a lot more pictures and a lot more to see.But it so much of an effort putting stuff up when u dont have your own photoblog.But such is life.Do visit Haridvar if you can,and have a good week ahead.God bless.

Photography Naturalis

2010-04-04T17:57:00.011+05:30

This one dedicated to my mum.Who is a botanist and loves takling about plants and stuff.
A trrip to bannerghatta national park which in my perspective is a glorified zoo.But the conservatory in the butterfly park is just marvelous.This national park is at the end of bannerghatta road and there's a volvo that takes you there.Imagine going to a national park in a volvo.

So here goes:
There is definitely no point in carrying a DSLR into the reserve cos they make you sit in these cramped busses where you have to take pictures through a hole in your own cage.And the stoppage time is so less that in case you're carrying multiple lenses(which I wasn't)you wouldn't be able to get jack unless you're some big ass photojournalist.And at this time of the year the tigers are mostly sleeping(cos the park is open from 9 to 5 only when its searing hot).The most activity they show is a shake of their beautiful heads.Beautiful is precisely the word to describe these creatures.Would love to see them in the wild.

This tiny little bird was the only one sitting outside a cage so I took its picture.

Lets just get straight to the butterfly park.This beautiful beautiful conservatory has a lot of flowering plants preserved inside a greenhouse where there are little artificial streams and all,which make you feel like you're in some tropical forest.At three in the afternoon it is actually that hot inside the fiber glass dome.But I was lost in taking pictures to the extent that I could feel none of it.

The pic of the trip was these two butterflies in flight.Initially I was making a mistake of using slow shutterspeeds for the macro feel so they were coming out blurred whenever they moved(which the usually keep doing).But when I increased the shutter speed to 1/4000 I was able to get the butterflies in flight.

Some more pics of random plants and butterflies.Do have a look.My suggestions dont carry a DSLR unless you're going to visit the butterfly park which they show you at the end of the safari.And make sure you go in the latter half of the day so you can get to see some movement from the animals.

God bless.Have a great week ahead.

Street Photography:Bengaluru

2010-04-02T21:12:00.010+05:30

Out on the roads in central bangalore.I believe the best big city in India, once the roads get wider.Provided for dome nice shots.Deleted the raw ones by mistake so had to use the jpeg versions.Here goes:

Directions:This old compass of my housemate makes for such a great picture.Old objects are always great to take pictures of.

Holy Cow:

A man gives water to a cow as a kid looks on on a busy street.India in all its tech glory with huge banners selling techie stuff still holds its past sacred.Which is what makes my country better than the rest of the world.

Crowded lot:
Just loved the angle had to take it.

Blown up:

This man had this really cool toy that went so far when blown into.With the street in the background.It was just the coolest thing.Had to sit down and take it.sometimes having a small lens makes you do things that bring out the most in pictures

Wired Angel:

Wires ruin this wonderful sculpture work on a temple in the middle of a crowded street.The detail in the statues is just tremendous.

Busy sunsets?

A man looks out onto the bus stand as the day ends.Not caring for the world it seems.With all the people in a hurry around him i just had to take this.

Underground:

Slow shutter speeds in a subway just kicked some butt once again.Thats atleast what I think.Gosh there are so many people.

Hope to carry on.God bless.

Random Photography

2010-04-01T22:55:00.008+05:30

Won't be travelling for a pretty long time from now so will be putting pictures up of random photography.Stuff that i keep taking on the road and at the house.

So here goes:

The perfect Balance:

Taken at domlur where we went to eat and I was randomly carrying my camera.This girl was walking a tight rope to her fathers drum beats.Best of the lot perhaps.
The wait:
This one taken of a guy waiting for a bus at trinity circle.Was on the way back from the Gurdawara and wanted to take some pictures.so this was the only one i could get.the 18-55 has a lot of limitations in terms of range.:(.The presence pf traffic lights in the background depicts a contrast in attitudes when compared to that of the man.he stood there for ages for a bus to come.Actually so did i.

Reflections:
Taken at around 7 in the morning. was getting ready for work when I saw this ray of light coming through the balcony right on the mirror.couldn't wait to take a shot.Did miss my bus.But got this.

Fruity Afternoon:
taken near diamond district Bangalore in a hurry when I was travelling in a auto.Couldnt miss out on the colours that the fuits brought out.

A similar image: Taken at Rustum Bagh Bangalore of a Juice wala prepearing fresh mousambi juice for us

.

Will repair all:

Taken at domlur as well.The sheer variety of equipment made me take this shot.they were arranged in such a perfect manner.

Hope to keep bringing out stuff.and get to travel at the same time.

Sivanasamudram: A waterfall from afar

2010-03-13T18:29:00.007+05:30

Sivanasamudram, about a 130 kms off bangalore on the mysore highway.A left turn and about 30 kms off it actually.A decent enough drive though but Bangalore seems t be getting hotter along the way.Got better pictures on the way and back than at the waterfall as we were not permitted to go down to the water fall.

The area just seems to turn greener as you get close to the Kaveri. These waterfalls are from the hydel power station built somewhere in the 1900s upon the Kaveri. The first picture that I took and love is of the milestone that said New York in the middle of rural Karnataka. Globalization at its best.

There is a sort of old township as you near the hydel power station which has old churches and really old houses.Managed to get a shot of this church.The roads were lined with trees.It was both pretty and spooky at the same time.

Some more shots of this lady on the Highway at a place called Kamath Upahar turned out nice.The food brought my spirit up cos I was pretty dissapointed of not being allowed to go down to the falls.A tradional karnataka thali on banana leaf with butter milk.

Don't really have a lot of shots to put up.Couldn't get close to the water which was a let down.Hoping to buy a decent telephoto lens.Short on cash though.Lets see how that turns out.Tata.God bless.

Abu

2010-01-29T19:32:00.007+05:30

Mount Abu

About a hundred and fifty km from Udaipur on a very nice highway (which is actually useless because there is no traffic on it and its consturction has ruined the aravilis) lies Mt Abu.Mixed emotions spring up when you visit this place.What hill station? you may ask yourself and then suddenly say wow! to the temples when you see them.Seems on a weekend that the entire alcohol sapped Gujarat has landed up here for boozing.A pretty place none the less and a lot of fun if you intend to submerge yourself into village and temple photography.

The markets are pretty nice as well.With all sorts of handicrafts and stuff for the ethnic loving .Food too is pretty nice,which is why I took a snap of the traditional rajasthani thali with baati ki kadhi and chole etc.

The nakki lake isn't much of a lake thats left.Pretty dried up but does add to the view from the top none the less.

The sunset point reminds one of Qayamat se Qayamat tak where Amir Khan and Juhi Chawla meet up on dates.Funny how that worked cos there are about a million people who come to see the sunset.But helps me though, to get good pictures.

The best part was to visit the Achal temple where a toe of Sivji is kept and which balances the entire mountain,as per the pujari there.Pretty carvings on the walls and wonderful sculptures all around ,enchant and add to the charm that is usually taken up by the Dilwara temples where photography isn't allowed.

We did trek to the top of the hill of the Achal temple and took a couple of shots there.

Othervise a pretty relaxed town with ample space for you to stretch yourself.

One more thing is these couple of kids we met up with on our way down.With the cutest of faces full of innocence, I couldnt stop myself from taking their pictures.

Udaipur..A city of heroes and romance

2010-01-28T14:17:00.016+05:30

The Great MahaRana Pratap

First of all a moments silence to the sad demise of my ipod............................................

A family holiday then, landed me up at Udaipur,another first of all...not the best place for a family holiday..a place though for couples to go gaga..but not so much to see as a family unless you are permitted to photograph the City palace..which is absolutely fantastic.

Well the whole story is pretty screwed up..flight got cancelled due to delhi fog..took an innova for 700 kms and landed up at Udaipur.We headed off to Mt Abu but more about that later.

We moved into the Ram Pratap palace once we came back to Udaipur.

Hotel Ram Pratap Palace

A pretty heritage hotel with a really pretty restaurant right beside the FatehSagar Lake.
The next morning we went straight to the City Palace

City Palace Udaipur
A location for numerous film shoots and the visits of several high profile guests,this palace is the biggest in Rajasthan.No more facts and figures,you can look those up at wiki.

What I loved about this palace were the amazing windows and murals that were spread across the length and breadth of the walls.The shots that I got in just about an hour that I had( because our guide was giving us disgusting looks when we stopped to take pictures),do not seem to do justice to the beauty of all that there was to see.

The doli above and the angan were too picturous to be left.The angan has been put in monochrome to do justice to its eleganance that unknowingly was beeing spoilt by colour,atleast to my eye.

Perhaps one of the most photographed doors or window if you may,at the palace with its reds so very obvious that even I with my colour impairment could not miss out.The seating place of the maharaja for the diwan e aam if I remember correctly

Below: Shots of the resting rooms of the Maharaja.

Below:Views of the entire Udaipur can be seen from here,and also of the famed Lake Palace.Incidentally Udaipur is called the white city,Jaipur the pink,Jodhpur the blue and Jaisalmer the golden.

Above: A few of the murals I wrote about earlier.

Below:Pictures of the famed Sheesh Mahal with almost everything made of glass.Makes for a great picture for appreciators of colour.

Below: Some images of different parts of the palace.

After that we visited a couple of gardens like sahelion ki barhi with pretty fountains but thats about it.

Thats more or less that you can see when you have to travel in a car all over .But perhaps when you're on your own it might turn out better,but none the less, the City palace is definitely worth paying attention to and can be a masterpiece in a photographers work if he/she has the time to spend.Stuff about Mt Abu will be next up.

Chunchi Falls:But where's the water?

2010-01-14T20:26:00.014+05:30

This ideally should've been the first blog entry because this is the first time I ever took the DSLR for a trip,but better late than never.We headed out on little known Kanakpura highway from Bangalore in December last year.As far as a I remember on a Saturday morning because my photography class got canceled.

Please do not mind the crappy work on this cos at this time I was still trying to comprehend what the difference between a DSLR and point and shoot is.(Still not understood though) and that most of these pictures have been taken from a moving car.

A pretty highway through the rural parts near Bangalore.Bumpy in some places but pretty none the less.Once you're out of the vicinity of Bangalore and traveled for about a hundred kms,you hit empty roads with hills and fields all around.A wonderful sight to see when you've been working your ass off in a concrete jungle.

I love driving but then someone had to take pictures so couldn't do much of that.

Had something made of rice though I don't really remember what it was called ,but was damn hungry so it seemed to be pretty nice.

We took a left off the main highway and drove for about 6 kms uphill to reach chunchi falls with a couple of other parties of enthusiastic idiots hoping to find water in a jungle in a season after India has had about 20 odd percent lesser rainfall than last year.Well we were one of them but to save some grace we were more concerned about the pictures than any waterfall.Well as I said trying to save some grace there.I'm not even sure I can use the phrase in the manner that I did.I suck at grammar.

Well after trekking for a bit we sat down took a few snaps and headed back.On the way back we did get some good pics of rural Karnataka.

And I would like to mention that I love the state.Want to do a feature on Dakshin Karnataka which is one of the most beautiful parts of the country.Especially Manipal.Hope to do it soon.Planning for a trip to Udaipur hope to get some good snaps there as well.

The Foggy Hills of Nandi

2010-01-09T19:57:00.013+05:30

A late night karaoke and a decision taken at three in the morning landed us up at Nandi Hills.The weekend getaway for most techies in the city of Bangalore.
Drove along the highway that leads to the airport and then took a left for about twenty kms drove through fog to reach the top of Nandi Hill.
We reached an hour before sunrise and slept off in the car.
Had hoped to see the sunrise there of which I have heard a lot about,but as fate would have it it was too cloudy and foggy.My friends were ready to kill me for having brought them here.
So with all hope lost we started driving back when the fog started clearing up and we reached a curve on the road with spectacular views of the valley and the clouds.

Driving down we had some tea at a Dhaba on the highway where I was able to get a really nice snap of the Tandoor there.And then reluctantly we headed back to the grind of Bengaluru.

Maximum Mumbai

2009-12-24T21:39:00.000+05:30

A day is all I usually get to see the city which is one the most dynamic places on earth. Not because of the climate, not because of the geography, but because of its people, people that define the human spirit in a way that can only be found here.

The first thing that hits you in Mumbai is that there is no makeup. No effort of trying to project something that isn’t there. One of my favourite objects of this city is the Taxi, colourful as ever and a cheap mode of travel,the taxi has always been a part and parcel of Mumbai's life.

My day long escape from work and the quest for images that I needed to bring out the

spirit of the city, took me to the Gateway of India.

Having witnessed a bloodbath last year it was still teeming with tourists from all parts of the country and abroad. And even the armored police vehicles and barricades put up by the police could not deter the spirit of the people.

The fact that it is a very intricately designed monument is known to a few. I gave it a second visit in the evening om am attempt to justify that.

The Taj Palace was undergoing finishing touches on the repairs. I have tried to capture some snaps of the Taj as well.

I did manage to get a snap of the Taj Palace from the another angle,the back of the hotel.An angle that a lot of us fail to notice but provides for a pretty sight.

Another one from a long range with a street in colaba in the foreground

The next move was to Chaopati, the hang out of the middle class of this city. With little kids being driven around in toy cars and hindi songs blaring loudly through a radio, little phirkis(don't know what they are called in english) being sold in colours as vibrant as the spirit

of this city and kites flying in the afternoon sun, I had much to take in.

A chanawallah explicitly asked me that I should not print his picture in the paper for it might make him lose his job but I must say he makes for a great picture.

Haj i Ali is one of my favorite spots in the city. A walk so long with so many people to the Dargah where wishes of one and all are granted is something that I love to take every time I travel to the city.

This is where you get to see the spirit of not just the city but the whole of the country, the rich, the poor ,Hindus ,Muslims, Sikhs and Christians walking together to visit the holy shrine.

Thousands of people walking in a disciplined manner on such a narrow strip of land jutting out is an amazing sight to see. The image with the crowd has been retouched to bring out the colours of the scene.

Every time I go there ,I seem to miss out on the Sufi prayers being sung in the praise of the Lord but this time I managed to hear them and did get a couple of decent snaps.

A visit to the gateway at night was a necessity. I had always wished to see the lights of the Taj Palace and the rest of Colaba at night.

Dinner at Leopold’s turned out to be pretty ordinary except for this snap of the gunshot of the terrorist attack that I managed to capture.

Rest assured Mumbai did provide me with a great time and some really amazing pictures.One of my favourites that got left out:Two kids from the slums hoping to buy kababs with 20 bucks in hand.Eventually got sent out of the shop.Well thats how life is,and no better place to find out than Mumbai.