Plea to the hairdressers of the world

When a person walks into your salon to get a hair-cut done, please please try not to assume anything about the individual’s likes or dislikes, will ya ? Can you please not assume that everyone wants their hair stylish ? Did it ever occur to you that some people come for their hair-cut only because they want their hair-short – to save on the washing and drying time. To save on the combing and styling time. Yes, I want my hair short. No, I do not want step, high-step, low-step, super-low step. No, I dont want it styled and set nicely either after the job is done. Yes, despite the fact that you think it does’nt look great , I still will tie it up. No, I dont think hair falling on the face is stylish ! It obstructs my vision.

Can you please listen to me when I tell, re-tell how my hair needs to be cut ?  I usually also confirm, re-confirm, re-re-confirm that you’ve understood. Because once the damage is done, I can do nothing but wait for a coupla months until it grows back.

The traveller and the cot

At any point in time in life, one needs to be able to pack all that one owns in a tiny backpack and continue on the journey. Such has been my view on personal possessions. Stay light.  It is also one of those views that I’ve always held onto but have never complied to entirely.

Even when I had accumulated some 200-odd books, plethora of movie cds, photography paraphernalia, (and some non-photography paraphernalia),a bicycle and had taken on a bean bag-fabindia life, the strong resistance to household stuff, consumer goods and all EMI-based acquisitions remained. These – I equated with constraint, constancy and monotony. Somehow it seemed as if merely acquiring these would tie me down to a place or to a life longer that I’d want. It took a super lousy maid, some self-realization on my part as to how lazy I’ll always be, a dusty house and severe dust allergy to finally convince myself to get myself a COT.  So, after 8 years of living in Bangalore  – and in the same rented house (constancy talk, huh :) )- finally a cot happens in life. Queen size.

Week One: Apartheid gets practiced at home. Soon, Envy takes over. This new thingy that has invaded territory and has occupied most of my room! Second week, I begin to use it.  Discomfort. Night feels like Indian Railways Sleeper class – middle berth. But, like how one gets used to most things in life, this one slowly creeps up on me and takes over. Today on my ‘empty’ bed, there is hardly any room. The camera, the books that I currently read, recent movies I’ve borrowed or bought, pens that don’t write, a mobile phone, last month’s airtel bill, the citibank envelopes I never open, laptop bag, eye-glasses, half-used clothes (The ones you’ve worn just for a movie or a short visit to a bookstore. So you neither want to put it back in the wardrobe, nor into the laundry bag that has assumed the proportions of the drawing room. But most of all, you don’t have anything else washed for the Monday).

And now, I realize a COT IS A SHELF TOO - a double rack at that ! It creates so much space storage space over and UNDER it. I stoved my old mattress, backpack, old tech books under and there is still room.

Today I tell myself, if I can let go of the comfort of the lucrative job and take off, can a cot hold me behind ? :) 8 years for this sagacity to come :D

The Habba times..

It is the festive season and it is idol-making all over the town.. Ganeshas idols of all shapes and sizes have invaded the streets – South Indian Ganesha, Mumbai Ganesha, Bengali Ganesha, modern Ganesha (The one posing with Dravid :) ) .

Had been to check out (and shoot) idol-making at the Bengali association. Much to my chagrin, all the clay idols were almost done and were getting their final touches – painted in all PRIMARY colours !! :(  Anyway, the shoot did’nt last very long, since the VHP guys apparently had this beeeg problem and did’nt want idols without the clothes on it to be shot !! I mean, c’mon..

Would’nt call it a very successful shoot save the few images you saw on the last couple of posts (Let there be light & Queen of hearts).

Here are a few ganesh avatars I managed to shoot-

BRTFF3 post due.. Probably tommorrow..

Let there be light !

 and there was light.. Shot of Vishwakarma at the Bengali association. (where the Ganesha, durga and Vishwakarma idols were being made for the  festive season).

Have a nice week !

Queen of hearts !

I ,  with a few shutterbugs, had been to cover the Ganesha idol making at Bengali association and Pottery town. This is a little girl that Danny & I saw in one of Pottery town galis. Quite a heart stealer she was ! Beauty in the most unpredictable and unassuming of places..

Ganesha idol pictures in next post ;)

Gear Up !!

I had been to a paper conversion unit this weekend – Don’t even ask how I ended up there :)  I could’nt shoot much because the machine was ‘running-in’. Add to it a dash of poor light and lack of tripod (Not that I like using one).. Anyway, got about 3-4 frames. Here is one of them.