creativity

This was amazing! Today morning, I realized that everyday in the morning, a bunch of kids gather at one of the ends/beginnings of the city, Marine Drive, and learn skating on the wheels for about an hour or two. There is a young trainer who trains them and these kids simply learn!

What amazed me is the range of ages among the kids. There were teens to kids reaching their teens to absolute youngsters like this young cute fellow! He was taking his own time to finish the rounds, I guess as he was wondering what he was doing downstairs so early in the morning!

It is important, I feel, for kids to learn such stuff...to learn things that they would love...that they would enjoy! I love what Sir Ken Robinson said once - "don't kill the creativity in children. As, if you kill it now, it might just get killed forever!"

For the creativity within all kids...

diwali

...and yes, wishing you a very Happy Diwali!!

I LOVE this festival! Having lights all over, having the entire city glow up...its surely something one would always love to see.

What I particularly love about this day is this diya being lit religiously outside every household by the lady of the house, followed by the smiles on every member of the family. I took this shot outside my house when my Mom lit the diya of our house. This festival is celebrated on account of the homecoming of Lord Ram of Ayodhya after 14 years of exile in the forest, after he defeated the evil demon, Ravana. The people of Ayodhya welcomed Ram by lighting rows (avali) of lamps (deepa / diya), thus its name: Deepavali. This word, in due course, became Diwali in Hindi.

Imagine a world so lit with these lamps all throughout and smiles on faces that would need no words to express...imagine a world, where love remains just as it does on this day...

For Diwali...

festival

Just about a day left for Diwali! However, everybody has started wishing each other from today itself!

Many of the houses will have these lanterns hanging outside their windows. The whole symbolism of the lanterns is to have light glowing in your house which would show joy towards the return of Lord Rama from his vanvaas. One really feels lovely to see various colourful lights and lanterns of differnet shapes and sizes hanging outside windows of different houses.

Hope the sparks on people's faces also keeps glowing like these lanterns. Happy Choti Diwali, till then...

For the festivals...

time

I took this shot outside the Churchgate Station. This is the very famous clock outside the Churchgate station which gives the exact IST and has been doing so since years that everybody has lost count of, now.

This particular 4:30am that is being shown right now has a lot of significance, now! We'll (Akash, Vishal, and me) never really forget this time and day! Why, where, when, how - let me keep the answers waiting for a while.

Let the suspense build up...its just a small little thing that we did this morning!! Don't worry - I'll share it here very soon!!

For the time and people of this city...

preparations

Yes, it is here again - the time of the year which I really love!

India's favorite festival - Diwali, is around the corner and everybody is getting ready to light up their spaces! What I simply love is the way the entire city gets lit up and in the process helps everybody's faces spark too...forgetting for that moment, the race, cast, colour, religion, hatred...and all kind of self-made boundaries. How I wish this spark could remain throughout...

For the preparations...

traffic

"...in a street so busy and filled,
I walk ahead seeing the people killed,
I am here now, I will be I hope,
My moments stand on the wall, all drilled..."

I took this shot as I was coming to office. This man on the wheelchair, at the Andheri flyover fascinated me. All of us who were in the cars were frustrated standing at the traffic waiting to move ahead, while this young man was merrily moving ahead finding his way...or rather, making his way!

When you get to see and observe such people at the traffic, you really wouldn't mind it...

For the traffic...

canvas

After a tough day, this was the perfect shot to be posted today!
Meghna took this shot as she was going back home today. This is the 4bungalows area near Mhada, where our office resides.

The sky to me seemed like a canvas painting its strokes firmly and yet pleasantly! I love this shot taken by her. Paint strokes really look beautiful, don't they, when you move your brushes with love...for yourself, for your imaginations, and for your picture...

For the canvas...

peace

After a horrible disgraceful day that the city has seen today, I really wonder what all is to be written and what all is to be omitted!

This city is good, I know it. The people are gems, we all have realized it. But, why does every story need to have conflicts, is what every writer fails to answer! The city saw today some really cowardice acts by a few wanna-be "leaders" but I was really happy at the end of it all to see the common man out on the street continuing with their lives! I won't write about what all happened today but you can read it up in the link.

I took this shot in th evening, today, after seeing and reading about all that has been happening since morning. This is a statue of Gandhiji, which is located outside one of the government buildings in the southern part of the city. I really wonder many a times as to what the father of the nation must be thinking about the current time...ss this what they fought for?

Let us all please think over the meaning of peace. Let us all please realize the meaning of peace.

For peace...

hypercity

Our Disneyland - Hypercity, Malad!
This is the city's biggest supermarket located at Malad. Discovered by our favorites, Meghna and Madhu, this supermarket has slowly kidnapped all our interests! Every time, somebody initiates the idea of going here, all of us are filled with smiles and ready to leave for the place!

This shot was taken by Meghna today as she went for her Diwali shopping! Imagine the crowd on a Sunday at this place...and imagine how spacious it still looks! We totally love this place!

For Hypercity...

vast

This somehow reminds me of Amsterdam and a few other places in the Netherlands! But, what makes me happy is that it is very much our own city!

This is the sight behind the Gateway, where ferries and other boats are parked! Today, there weren't many as compared to the ones that are there on the weekdays! However, I love seeing these water vehicles parked on the sea like this. It somehow takes me in a soothing and poetic mood.

"when I step ahead and walk again
I realize with every moment and breath taken -
the stage is set and it is time for the show,
we, the actors, must be ready to go..."

For all the vastness, that we like to conquer...

purity

...this HAD to be from Kumar!
After several requests, pestering, and threats, Kumar, I hope, is finally taking shots on a more regular basis! I've always been a fan of his captured frames and this one is surely one of the top ones in the list, now!

It is really rare to find a flower so rich, so pure, and so lively in a busy crowded city like this. But, I'm thankful he found it and captured its beauty! Really lovely to see how in a collage of fast paced lives, a small life finds its own little space to attract smiles, souls, and much more.

For the purity...

a few steps

This is no miniature model but is actually a mosque located at Byculla.
As one drives through the eastern express highway towards Colaba, one has to pass through the Mohd. Ali Road near Byculla. Once you take the flyover, you get to see this mosque (which is one of the many in the city) which stands at this point welcoming you with all smiles and purity!

I love to hear the namaaz (prayers) that get recited at the mosques everyday. It has the same purity, dedication and calling as the choirs of the churches and the bhajans of the temples!

Whatever be the language of calling, language of praying, isn't it true that all the words that get transmitted, are received by one? I like to believe that the hearer is one and is hearing the millions. But yes, I do wish that someday it will so happen that all the billions of millions of people realize this simple fact...that yes, for all the words, there is just one up there receiving all the calling...

For a few steps, from which we are still away...

home

I took this shot as I was returning back home.
This is one of my favorite spots to click shots...the reason being the people! These people stay here on the divider...imagine their shelter being such a vast sky!

The fact that amazes me the most is that despite being neighbored by terrible traffic and honking of vehicles throughout, the smiles on their faces seem to be still intact...always! Now, I surely believe that this is something that we need to learn, realize, and follow from them! I envy their smiles as much as they envy ours...

For their home...

cafe

Yes, we're back to restaurants!

Kumar took this shot at "the Mumbai Times Cafe" located at the Linking Road are in Bandra. Located at the terrace of a building, the cafe can't really see the entire city but surely it has a great ambiance to be in! . You feel quite at home- the crowd is young, hip and not bothered by your presence, nor do they bother you with theirs. The best part that I liked about the place was the menu that gets presented to you in the form of a newspaper!

Although it has received a mixed reaction about it from people, I personally love this place and I'm sure so does Kumar! All I wish was that places like these become open for people throughout the 24hours...about time we had such cafes! Ummm...about the name of this cafe, I wouldn't really want to comment. I'm sure you guys would figure out what I would've loved to name it...

For the cafe...

newspapers - shot of the week

It really couldn't become a bigger will of an unknown spectator to have this get printed in the DNA newspaper, one of the daily newspapers of India, today!

Last week, we sent out the "shot of the week" theme as "Newspapers" and here we are with the winner! Yes, our dear readers and contributers - we're on the front page of the DNA After Hrs - Sunday, 12th October, 2008 edition! In case you guys can't read the entire article through this shot, you could check it up online out here.

I told Maithili today, as we were reading this article - we need to get up to the cover story of the newspapers...soon. And, it should happen all by itself...not by any force, not by any compulsion...it should simply happen because it is meant to happen!

So, Alexa, Rose, Eric, Guille, Meghna, Madhu, Vishal, Kumar and all the rest of the gang, let's make this place a rocking hub!

For the newspapers...

think

I took this shot while we were shooting a quick film for an organization that works on improving the environment conditions.

Honestly, I don't know whether to call it a sewage or a nala or a garbage lake or simply a question to the people and the authorities. This place is situated at Worli, very close to the Atria Mall.

At such an elite location of the city, where most of the people would love to stay, imagine the starting point of the sea view that we crave to see. The water here is filled with waste materials floating on it...with garbage traveling through the waters. And the worst part that shocked me the most were a few kids who were swimming in the pool of water and when we asked them where they live, they pointed out to the small houses located by this water body.

Are we waiting for somebody to come and take action? Or, do we just want this to happen?

For the thought that needs action...

view

All thanks to the lens's eye - Meghna!
She took this shot as she was coming to Hiranandani today.

This is the powai lake, which used to be quite famous earlier. It still is, but is dying out. Hiranandani boasts of having this view from its buildings, which surely seems nice...but only for a few years. Before you can enjoy the view for a long time, he'd come up with a few more buildings surrounding your pillar, cutting you out from the view...

I wonder how many of us will stand up and cover the sight that we want to watch. But then I do think about this fact - would we, in that case, give up and just be...or would we be happy knowing that we do have a sight behind this face that is covering us...or would we simply walk ahead in search of a new view...

For the view...

tomorrow

I took this shot at Andheri as I saw this cute kid near a footpath.

When I look at this kid, I somehow do not want to see what state this kid is in now...but want to hope in what state this kid can get tomorrow...I do not want to know what this kid is going through right now but want to wish that this kid will make thousands and many more go through better moments...I do not want to know how this kid will become someone tomorrow but want to pray that he does become someone...

Let's just be very selfish and realize that our tomorrow would depend on tomorrow's today! Let's be selfish and work towards making it better...

For this kid, who I want to believe will become something tomorrow...

return

Surprised? Well, yes, after a long pause, it rained again today!
Although, not everybody was happy about the fact that it was a sudden knock at the door, and in large proportions! I took this shot as I was traveling to office today. I got stuck up in bad traffic for almost 2.5hours!

It was crazy to see how things can go out of control when you have such unexpected visitors coming your way. Now, when I think of it, I realize...aren't we humans like this too? We do have our set of restrictions when someone suddenly turns up, and we least expect them...least want them...but, the question that really gets me to think is - why?

For the return...

gateway

Somehow wanted today's 151th shot to be what our logo is inspired from - the Gateway of India!

Located on the waterfront in South of the city, the Gateway is a basalt arch 26 metres high. In earlier times, the Gateway was the monument that visitors arriving by boat would have first seen in the city!

The Gateway of India was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay, prior to the Durbar in Delhi in December 1911. The foundation stone was laid on March 31, 1911 by the Governer, Sir George Sydenham Clarke, with George Wittet's final design sanctioned in August 1914. The construction was finished in 1924. The Gateway was opened on December 4, 1924 by the Viceroy. The last British troops to leave India, the First battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, passed through the Gateway in a ceremony on February 28, 1948!

With so much history and beauty attached to it, do you think I should have any more reasons to have the Gateway as one of my all time favorites spots of the city?

For the Gateway...

all

This is an ideal evening at the Priyadarshini area near Chembur on the eastern express highway. Vehicles of all kinds crowding the entire space...people from all parts of the city waiting to get back home...to meet the rest waiting for them.

Apologies for not posting over the weekend. My grandfather passed away on Saturday afternoon. I had to rush to Hyderabad to catch a final glimpse of him. It all started when I reached his house and was just about to enter it. The house which used to be filled with his loud voice and screams was all silent. The night was quiet. And, then my aunts took us to the room...where he lay quietly, calmly with his eyes shut. As soon as I entered my room, my grandmother started crying. Her tears and emotions increased when my Dad, her eldest son, entered the room. Dad was quiet. All he said was, "Look how handsome he is looking..." and sat next to my grandmother.

I can never forget these 18hours which I spent in my grandfather's house. He was asleep, it seemed all throughout...until, they finally lifted his body and took him downstairs for the final rituals for which my Dad was waiting. As my Dad cleaned his body with water, he looked up and saw me. What I was going through, I don't know. What he was going through, I don't know. I do know that I will never be able to forget those 18hours right from the time we entered the house to the time when Dad finally led the body to the ambulance, which took away my grandfather to the cemetery ground. I will remember those cries of my aunts, my grandmother's final walk around her husband's body despite her not being able to walk. I will remember my tears which finally couldn't stop the moment the chants began as they picked his body up. I will remember seeing my grandfather laying there in his final sleep. I will remember my Dad's thousand unsaid words to himself and me. I will remember these 18hours all throughout...

On the night when we arrived, Dad said, "We keep traveling in all kinds of vehicles but finally leave in one vehicle..."...strange isn't it? Why do we form these crowds on the streets? Is it the anxiousness to reach home early or simply the fear to let our loved ones see us again?

My grandfather, I'm sure, is happy and content with each and every moment that he lived. As Dad says, "the Tiger has lived a king-sized life!"...for all my readers and all who would read this years later, please LIVE your moments to the fullest! Let life not regret having faced even a second that you have lived...let you be remembered just as he was remembered by all who knew him...

For all who were, are, and would be...

empty

I took this shot today at Sion.
The main road at Sion, which also forms a part of the eastern express highway has this big board which "ideally" should have the pollution chart readings. The chart should have the readings of how much of smoke is currently in the atmosphere, how much we should control and so on...

But, why do I not feel surprised to see this chart empty for so many months now?

It is not that we, as individuals and citizens, are not responsible. It is just that either we are apathetic towards certain responsibilities as citizens or we just wait for the others to make an impact on our lives. But, we fail to realize that the biggest impact that one can have on you is nobody but yourself!

For the emptiness, which we must fill...

sleep

I took this shot outside a management school. This young man was sleeping next to this small dump of garbage. He seemed pretty undisturbed by it, as perhaps he didn't realize it.

Today is Gandhiji's birthday. There was a time when he was here when every individual would at least make an attempt to recognize each other as humans and help them out. There is a time today, when people hardly realize that they are with their fellow citizens. I wonder at times, how would people like Gandhi and others feel had they seen the state of this space now! Would they feel good that they left or would they feel helpless or simply walk ahead and keep helping? If we know the answer to that...which is pretty simple, then why can't we, who are living now stand up and act?

For the sleep from which we don't intend to wake up...

break

...and finally after a really hectic week, the RangDe.Org film is complete!
Ram & Smita, the two rockstars from RangDe.Org have loved the film and I love that!
I will showcase the film here too...but after a while once it has been polished completely at the post-productions.

I took this shot today as I dropped by a coconut water vendor at Andheri. He seemed to be a pretty well educated man although I didn't ask him much about him. All he told me was that the city has changed a lot since the time he shifted here. The number of vehicles have increased, the population has increased...and everybody is in a hurry! Sometimes maybe, they might miss themselves in the crowd!

We all seek to get that break in life when we can rest but realize it is hard to get it...really?

For the break that just seems unachievable...