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| Sunday, 12-Dec-2004 00:00 |
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Faces Through The Ages - 3. Harbin
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I'm sitting at Pudong airport in Shanghai, right now. And, I am about to take a plane to Kota Kinabalu, in Malaysia. I am going to be there for two days and then, I will be in Hong Kong for two days. Going to the warm lands. And, I have a cold!!
This is the last set from Harbin and, I thought that it is ironic that I, on the way to warmer climes, am putting up a set of pictures about people in the cold. Truth be told, I prefer the cold, despite the Indian blood running in my veins.
I feel sorry for the poor folk who have to shovel away. This is not a job I would want. I like Paul Wang's face. Extremely expressive. I caught him, as he was about to pose for a pic. He is the doorman at the Shangri-La Hotel. The little blobs that you see on the pic, is snow.
There was a pic taken of me and, I was tempted to put it up but, what the hell?? I am one of those shy types, you know  .
Shooting people in Harbin was particularly difficult. Because of the cold, they were in constant motion. Still, a new experience in street photography.
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| Friday, 10-Dec-2004 00:00 |
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Harbin - Statues on the cross roads of Zhong Yang Street
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Zhong Yang Street is a charming street. Apart from the main road, which is populated with all these wonderful buildings with a Russian influence, it has lots of cross roads, with these nice statues, and benches. Great places to sit and, chat with your gal. Frozen or not  .
Of course, currently, the benches look nice but, I am not too sure if they are a great place to sit. I have repeated the pic of the bench, just to give you a feel of the side street. And, there was this statuette of this charming Russian couple, welcoming all visitors into what is now, a Chinese restaurant. There is charm in this.
Personally, I believe that the modern sky scrapers and towers that are sprouting like Jack's beanstalk are a bit of an eyesore and, are incongrous with the feel of the street. It robs it of its old world charm.But, I believe that modernity must blend well with tradition in many ways . Harmony is important. Or, maybe I am becoming an anachronism in a modern world.... 0) . Am I, I wonder? .
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| Thursday, 9-Dec-2004 00:00 |
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Harbin - Zhong Yang Street
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Today, I am too tired to write too much. Long negotiations are a pain!! Anyway, Harbin. All the shots, bar one,were shot on one day. Sunday. Beautiful blue sky. You'd never believe that it was minus 8 or 10 degrees Centigrade.
The pic called "Gold And Grey" was shot on Monday, when it was cloudy. So, you see how different the building looks in the sun and, in the grey light of a cloudy day.
Zhong Yang Street is the walking street. You can see the Russian influence in some of the buildings. Would be a great place in summer.
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| Tuesday, 7-Dec-2004 00:00 |
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On the Art and Method of freezing Mark Jones
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In Mark's recent postings, I noticed with some degree of envy, that he was busy cavorting on the sunny beaches of Australia. When, the rest of us are moving slowly and steadily moving toward winter  . I too, went out of Shanghai for the weekend, to Harbin, which is in the North East or, DongBei Region of China. Dong is East and Bei means North.
Harbin is fairly close to Siberia. Quite close by, in fact. You'll see the Russian influence in some of the buildings. Not in this post but, in the next that will follow.
How hot was it? During the day, it was minus 8 or 10 degrees Centigrade. And, at night, 15 degrees below zero.  And, winter has just begun!
You'll see, from the view outside my room, that there was snow all around. 
The airport?? 
The highway??? So wild, so empty.
And, my poor, poor girlfriend. Chatting on the phone, so engrossed in the conversation that she forgot to wear something warm and, froze. And, she's still in Harbin, in that frozen position. I had to leave her behind. 
Think of my plight. And, Mark Jones cavorting away on the beaches of Australia without a care in the world.  
Someone, thaw me out, so that I can put up some more pics in the coming days!! 
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| Tuesday, 30-Nov-2004 00:00 |
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Faces Through The Ages - 2. XiaMen
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It's late at night. 1am. And, too much wine and, campari with orange and, grappa has gone into me. And, I have to catch a flight back to Shanghai in the morning. God knows why I said that!!
This is the last set from XiaMen. People. Ordinary folk. Pushing carts, sitting in a temple, praying at the Nanputuo. The poor guy? I am not sure what the poverty in his life is. Apart from money. I really don't know.
I chose these pics, from a bunch of street pics that I took in XiaMen. I like street photography.
And, right now, I am too high to write too much. Apologies. Apologies.
Also, I have hit a busy week so, I may not be able to surf your pages till next Tuesday. I'll try, though. But, apologies for the gap. A week away from fotopages is like a week away from friends. As Arnie said, "I'll be back"... 
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| Wednesday, 24-Nov-2004 00:00 |
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XiaMen - in Black and White.
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These black and white pics were taken the same day. It was pretty much of a shoot and run job. Run from the drizzle and, shoot. But, by the afternoon, it had stopped raining so, I could shoot a little more continuously. But, the sky was somewhat grey.
The Temple on the Hill, is the temple on top of the hill in Gulangu Island, off the mainland, from Xiamen. It has a more international / Victorian (?) influence. I know that Mark will say, no way but, it's close. Evidence of this is seen in the underwear flapping in the breeze. So, it's not only Shanghai, where they flap in the breeze!!
The Nanputuo Temple is in the main town. It was earlier called the Puzhao Temple and, was built during the Tang Dynasty. Destroyed by war during the Ming Dynasty, it was rebuilt and, renamed the Nanputuo. It's a pretty famous temple. It would appear that Buddhism is still alive, under a microscope, in China. I'm not religious but, I believe that this would be good for the country.
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| Friday, 19-Nov-2004 00:00 |
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XiaMen - In Colour
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This was a series of pictures, that I was avoiding putting up. I went to Xiamen in July this year. And, it started raining. So, I bought a Kodak disposable camera and, used this during the day. This was also not a great photography day, since I was with a group that was constantly on the move.
Anyhow, here they are. Gives you an idea of the backlog that I have built up! Xiamen, by the way is a coastal town, in Fujian province, I think. I always get confused with the provinces! It was built during the Song Dynasty and, the city walls were build during the Ming Dynasty. The city was started as a seaport and, a commercial centre. One of the main attractions is the Gulangu Island, which is nice. It seems to have been pretty much influenced by the West, as the architecture of the building shows. Also, the people on the island apparantly, are great piano players. There are over 500 piano players there, I've been told. Only on the island. It shows in the pavement stones. The great thing about the island is - no motorized transport is allowed.
Xiamen the city, however, is just a normal city. It has a great temple. The Nanputuo. More on that next time around.
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| Sunday, 14-Nov-2004 00:00 |
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Diwali
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Ganesh at Diwali
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Diwali is short for Deepavali or, the Festival of Lights. Among all the festivals we have in India, especially North India, this is The One for us.
A bit about the history. In India, we have two big epics, the Mahabharata and, the Ramayana. The Ramayana is the story of Ram, a king of a town called Ayodhya. Ram was one of the incarnations of Vishnu, one of the three main Gods of India. Vishnu is the preserver, the preserver of the order in the world. He has 10 incarnations. The last, Kalki is yet to appear on earth. Kalki will appear in the future.
Anyway, Ram was banished into the forests for 14 years and, his brother ruled the kindgom in his name for these 14 years. After 14 years, when Ram returned to Ayodhya, the townspeople lit up their homes to welcome him back. So, in a sense, we welcome God back into our homes on this day. Diwali also signifies the coming of winter, in a different sense.
The God, Ganesh you see in this picture is Ganesh, the son of the third of the Holy Trinity -Shiv. Shiv's myhthology is very complex so, I won't get into this now. Anyway, suffice it to say that Ganesh is a benevolent God, the remover of obstacles. This pic of Ganesh was taken at home on Diwali, which was on the 12th November.
Around the 1800's, a dispute started, between the Hindus and Muslims in Ayodhya, where the Hindus claimed that the Muslims had built a mosque over the very birthplace of Ram. This is a matter of faith, not fact, in my opinion.
Anyway, nothing really happened until about the late 1980's when one of the political parties of India, made this a big issue, to gather mass support so that they could come to power. This came to a head in 1992, when the mosque was broken down. That was scary. I know because the state in which Ayodhya is, was my territory. Anyway, in December of 1992, India burned. Literally. It burned with literally and, also with the fire of religious hate.
People died, so that some old men could come to power. And, this is not religion.
I believe that the people of Ayodhya lit up their homes and, lit up their hearts and, this is what religion really should be about. The light in your heart and, not about whether your God is better than yours or mine.
Two days ago, in Shanghai, the Muslime came for the Diwali celebrations and today, we went for the Eid celebrations. This is more true than any crap dished out by people who claim to know religion but, do not.
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| Friday, 12-Nov-2004 00:00 |
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Faces Through The Ages -1. The Man With No Face
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The Man With No Face
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Today is Diwali. For most Hindus, this is the most important festival of the year, where we light up our homes and welcome God back into our midst, as it were. The festival of lights.
This festival transcends wealth and caste. It's supposed to be one of joy and happiness.
In India, we have lots of poverty and, lots of beggars. Some of these beggars go out onto the street because they prefer this as a way of life. Some, get to the streets, because they have been put there by gangs or, their parents. And, despite the promises of so many politicians through the ages, they have not become any wealthier. By and large, their lives are pretty miserable. And, they are a cynical lot, as well. Politicians are crap, anyway.
But, there are so many of them, that even when we give them money, as did this anonymous gent in the car, we do not see them as people. They have no face.
When I was younger, I used to agonise over this fact. But, as I grew older, the number of beggars seems to have increased and, I too like the rest of my fellow country men, find it easier to reduce them to anonymity. But then, that's what we do to so many people.
So actually both, the beggar and the giver, are 'men without a face'. At some point, none of us have a face. Except to the ones we are close to.
Depressing thoughts on Diwali. But, I'm pretty sure that both these two men are having a good time today. Each in his own way.
As a footnote, I am going to weave in and out of this series of street photography. Stuff that I have done over the years.
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| Monday, 8-Nov-2004 00:00 |
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Another day. And, the Sun goes down again......
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Back home in India, we have many hill stations in the North. The term "hill station" was, I think, coined by the British and, were used as summer resorts to escape from the blistering heat in the plains. A hill station is normally about 2,000 metres above sea level. My school was in one such hill station. Anyway, two of these, are called Simla and Mussoorie.
This entry is reminiscent of a honeymooning couple I was watching one evening, in Simla. Watching the sun go down. The bride, all bashful and romantic, sighed, "Darling (or, some such thing), what a beautiful and romantic sunset". The hubby, in the time honoured tradition of the world weary and cynical, sneered back, "What this? We get this sort of sunset in Mussoorie as well. What's so special about this one?" Talk about a dampener!! .
I took these shots, from my rooftop again. On Halloween day. I noticed the sky and the colours through the tree in front of my house and, scrambled up again to take these pics. Without my wife. No romantic stuff happened on the rooftop
To the cynical gent from wherever, I only have to say - each day, each sunset is different. Each has a beauty that is unique to itself.
Who sang that song - "Don't let the sun go down on me"? Was it The Band? Let the sun go down everyday. 
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