Discovering the art of the possible

When was the last time you felt like there was absolutely nothing in this world that you cannot achieve? Or rather to put more perspective into that line – When was the last time you felt that there was absolutely nothing in the world that you cannot achieve once you set your mind to it?

 And I mean Reeeaaaaallly “Set your mind to it”!!! No wishful thinking, no illusionary craziness or the “if only” I had that “then only” I could have done that internal speech, that sometimes makes you do nothing but just procrastinate on what you ought to have been doing all along! Can something be that simple? Just setting your mind to it and then simply going out and doing that?

Looking back I wonder how different are people, who have planned their whole life and then made steady progress to fulfil it and those so called ‘lucky ones’ who never had ‘any’ plan of ‘any’ sort and had no idea what journey their first step towards that one big idea would lead to…but simply had the courage to take it!!! Were they really that lucky? Or was their so called success just a string of mere perfect coincidences?

An ode to an Editorial…

One of the very few times I have made a conscious effort to read the editorial in a Photography Magazine being more of the “Flip through…Look through…Read some” sort of a person. But this was one piece that seemed to resonate with me as it stung like a bee yet the essence of it seemed  to stay glued like a rock in my heart. Almost every word in every line seemed to be calling out for something in me that I have never been able to put into words so far…

Made me want to share it! Hope it touches some soul within you too….:)

An early morning at Lalbagh...

A slightly chilly, cloudy, Bangalore monsoon morning...a feeling of having been oxygenated by the crisp air around, interspersed with a slight drizzle giving that wet earthy smell to a long since anticipated morning at Lalbagh Botanical Gardens...

Makes you ponder over the fact that the best moments won't come to you! Spent an entire morning with less clicking but more learning and left with a silent promise to myself that I'll be back soon...

Our first subject...

A final rendezvous...

Nearing the fag end of my walk through the path enveloping the caged realm, that seemed to be receding slowly as imprinted memories in my mind, I tried to get a few last compelling shots of the wildlife around me.  

So if I had to take 'An invisible you' along with me this is how I would relive that memory:

On a mental note, you start with the Giraffes strolling calmly on your right as you enter. 

Moving on you take a curved bend to your left that leads to the birds sanctuary.  Also on your way here, don’t miss looking up at the trees that border the walkway – you might just be lucky enough to spot a few surprises up there! After having graced the Hornbills, Sparrows, Cranes, Stork, Budgerigars, Pheasants, Parakeets, Owls, Eagles, Vulture, Lorikeets, Macaws, Cockatoos, Conures  and Flamingos you move on to meet a couple of Capuchins.

A little straight ahead takes you to the Tiger clearing.  I think there were 3-4 tigers in all, but just the sight and noise of the crowd in front of the ‘somewhat-just-big -enough’ cage making the striped King pace around restlessly, was much too gut wrenching for me to want to be a part of that crowd.  I just stood behind the now half mocking impenetrable crowd, looked on for a few seconds at the one animal I was so looking forward to see and just managed to get a fleeting glimpse of!  I just took a couple of half-hearted clicks for the record and decided to move on with my folks, casting a dreary look behind me. It all just felt out of place and nothing else could have made me more reminiscent of the fact that, they so did not belong in there!  But, well that is just my honest opinion.  I just simply convinced myself that they were rescued animals that couldn’t have made it otherwise on their own in the wild and were well taken care of here- something I did at almost every other clearing! On the flip side, it did give me an unasked for excuse to be at close quarters with some of the animals that I may never otherwise have had a chance to see, like the Lemurs, Marmosets, Kangaroos and Blackbucks up ahead.

A visit to the zoo (Birds)...Part 3!

Towards the end of your walk in the zoo, you come to a clearing, a beautiful artificial water body providing a sanctuary for water birds. Just standing in there in silence and watching the birds go about their way, indifferent to our presence, could make you feel like you could be meditating with your eyes open! Ever had that feeling when you entered a sacred space, all the noise on the outside and inside your head suddenly seemed to evaporate, leaving you  peaceful and calm? Well that is exactly what it felt like to me!! Once inside, I simply didn't want to leave. But - "When a whiff of beauty enters your heart, it takes more than just the eyes to preserve it!"....

It was like a treat to my camera after it had strained to shoot my pictures through iron bars and flocking noisy crowds. What more could it ask for when you could stand as close as 2 feet and shoot? Well, except for a few ducks that would just keep wading too fast meaning you would need patience + a good shutter speed to get a decent shot!!!

 One of the prettiest geese - Still haven't figured out it's actual name!

Couldn't resist..it was too close and too surreal with the sun shining perfectly on it....:) 

A visit to the zoo...Part 2!

In the words of Nobuyoshi Araki - "Photography is about a single point of a moment. It's like stopping time as everything happens in that forced instant. But if you keep creating these points, they form a line which reflects your life."Just the simplicity of his words and the powerful meaning behind it, makes me surmise if anyone could have ever put that feeling into better words but him! A true photographer's lifeline can be perfectly summarised in those 3 sentences. 


We all know they are TALL, but you only realise it for REAL when you get to meet one! In this pic it feels like the Giraffe actually bent it's neck a l'il bit to fit into my frame...:)

At this point in time, I have no idea how much of an impact the "Art of a perfect click" would have on my life leave alone the breathful significance it has already imprinted within me. Why? Where? When? Because of whom? How much more longer? I have no answer to any of these questions - Not Yet! Time will tell.....

But till then, I try and make the most of this gift with whatever little I have, wherever I happen to go or be! So here's to continuing with my journey on one such rare opportunities I had when I visited the Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens in Mysore. 

A visit to the Zoo...

David Alan Harvey said that "Don't shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like."

I've tried to do justice, the best that I could, to those remarkable words on my last visit to the Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens in Mysore.

Although it can never beat the experience of witnessing these beauties in their natural habitat, a  visit to the zoo goes a long way in adding to a keen sense of dreamy imagination of what it might feel like to see them in the wild. Let's say, more like trying to put that experience on a fast forward mode!

All you need to do is just keep moving and admiring like a child (although the legs refuse to move when you see one of it's kind for the first time!) and gawk once in awhile with big wide eyes while trying to shoot through the bars. In most cases, I'd say just pray that the bars become invisible for that 1/8th fraction of a second or figure out how to work your way through various modes while inadvertently praying you somehow get the settings right!!

Well apart from waging war with my camera, not wanting to look like a freak photographer to bystanders and casting back guilty looks at my folks who literally gave up (or rather their feet gave up..) on trying to figure out why I had to spend close to 10 minutes in front of every clearing, staring at the same spot or shooting in the same angle - I have tried to make it look as natural as  I could, although in some cases the steel bars in the background are unavoidable...

So here's to my tryst with the captive world.....

Her highness...

A homage to my first wilderness getaway..Part 2..

I know it’s been a while since I’ve written anything at all but I guess it’s never too late. So finally back to the continuation of my second part of ‘ A homage to my first wilderness getaway’. We reached Jungle Retreat at midday with plans on staying put up for a couple of days. It was a long drive from Bangalore and on reaching Bokkapuram the area where this paradise nestles, the road leading upto the place was lined with jungle resorts, Jungle retreat being the farthest into the wild. At one point where the road took a turn it became muddy, crooked and old world like making me wonder if any human had walked this path in recent years, let alone the fact that there could be scope for any sort of human inhabitation! But that’s where Jungle retreat lived up to it’s name. As the winding road led us to the entrance and we drove in I realised it truly was a ‘JUNGLE’ retreat. The parking lot looked more like a clearing in the middle of a forest with an archway in the middle and  stone steps lined with wild flowering bushes leading to what looked like a huge open hut with wooden tables and chairs, old world stone walls and a bar in the middle. It was perfect!

Entrance from parking