tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131327652024-03-18T14:53:56.139+05:30Windy SkiesThere are no two ways about anything. There is no one way about anything either.Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.comBlogger309125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-85377757099117970232023-08-11T01:30:00.030+05:302023-08-11T01:46:54.033+05:30The Radius Of LifeThree Kings Chapel, Cuelim (2009)It was evening when we took the
narrow road up the slope before passing steps that zig zag up the laterite hill
to the Three Kings Chapel perched on top.
View of Paddy fields from Three Kings ChapelThe chapel looks south over the
vast paddy fields of Velsao and Cansaulim that stretch past Arrosim, narrowing
in Utorda and gradually petering out near Majorda beforeAnil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-10615874039862235992023-08-10T02:31:00.002+05:302023-08-10T14:23:07.397+05:30Probus Club, Up A Step, Down A Peg A club is no ordinary matter in India. Starting
one is matter of pride to individuals called upon to join it, a stamp of
approval bestowed upon the individual, signifying his/her worth to the
collective that has decided to be clubbed together, a coming of age event no
less.
At least it used be not too long ago when
people would meet other people in person.
Other times a club merely Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-90422953028723703842023-05-26T15:31:00.003+05:302023-05-26T15:33:54.404+05:30Toothless Lions Goa.The lions
had lost their teeth.
The old
house had lost much else!Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-89332654468412510682022-10-20T14:49:00.002+05:302022-10-20T15:30:57.791+05:30Leheriya In The Light Jaipur,
Rajasthan
The Sun
slanted through an opening between buildings perched on a narrow lane, lighting
up leheriyas on sale in a shop manned by an elderly Muslim man whose years
showed in his eyes, sunk between high, bony cheeks.
It’s in the
texture sunshine acquires from illuminating spaces that lends light a
character, and verve, triggering memories and reminiscences. And lanes Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-76717966616641220762022-10-17T22:45:00.002+05:302022-10-20T16:01:40.466+05:30Horses Under Window Amer,
Rajasthan
The horses
are long gone
And so are
the Royals.
There’s
finery no more,
Nor pomp
and splendour.
The Window
survives
In the
echoes of hoofs
Memories
drudge up,
Nudging
silences to life
And, life
into silences.Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-22602548066710347822022-06-20T18:04:00.001+05:302022-09-22T23:42:42.206+05:30DadTime elapsed. Memories did not. Presence is absent. Absence is present.Not a day goes by when I'm not reminded of you. You'll live as long as I do. And beyond.I wonder which star in the sky is you. Maybe the brightest one there is.To return is to never have gone away, well almost.Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-1612904144469971622018-08-20T14:47:00.003+05:302018-08-20T14:49:37.834+05:30Bakra Eid And Kota Goat
No
sooner the bespectacled Muslim man, accompanied by two others, took his place
on the platform with a large goat by the luggage compartment he quickly drew a
small Sunday crowd of fellow passengers waiting for the same local train toward
V.T.
With
Bakra Eid (Eid al-Adha) around the corner it’s common to see goats appear on
the streets of Mumbai and adjoining suburbs, munching on feed in Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-34131039381030566602018-08-09T01:00:00.000+05:302018-08-11T23:21:36.175+05:30Sidewalk Scribbler
Crawford Market Building (on the right)
We
emerged from the subway on D. N. Road and walked past the majestic Times of
India building toward Crawford Market.
Victoria Terminus (renamed CST)
If
it weren’t for the crowds on the footpath, I’d look for reasons to take this
route on leisurely walks about town at every opportunity, for, the old Raj era
buildings that rise roadside Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-70798875084387046952018-08-08T00:41:00.001+05:302018-08-08T19:58:10.111+05:30Prakash – Light, And Enlightenment
If
there’s a definition for a hole-in-the-wall business then you need look no
further than Mumbai footpaths.
While it’s not exactly a hole in the wall where a hand reaches out through an opening in the wall fronting a room at the back, Prakash Light House
comes pretty close to it, in more ways than one.
Prakash
Light House functions from a footpath some way off Mohammed Ali Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-215033710195598672018-08-01T00:58:00.000+05:302018-08-01T02:34:07.168+05:30A Double Act At The Airport
Sometime
back I travelled to the Santacruz Airport before A caught his flight out of Mumbai for
home after landing the US Visa for his upcoming US trip at the time.
He
spoke of the travails of getting the visa and was enthusiastic about his role
supporting his team on the US
expedition.
We
didn’t have much time to catch up before his boarding call. It was good to see
him after long.
TheAnil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-34256219416326936592018-02-18T12:08:00.001+05:302018-02-18T12:15:09.997+05:30You Came, (Am) Happy
The
first contact with a rickshaw on a crowded and noisy Mumbai road, from the time
you hail it as it rolls along the road and you get a look at the rickshaw
driver trying to catch his eye as he slows down to acknowledge you, sometimes
barely appearing to do so as he sizes up your fare worth, lasts little more
than a second or two.
But
to a commuter seasoned from travelling in and Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-78022572150818689912018-02-17T22:38:00.002+05:302018-02-17T22:43:30.974+05:30Hamara Bajaj In Bora Bazaar
Of
late it no longer feels like a long walk from Kala Ghoda to V.T since the time
we took to winding our way through Bora Bazaar, dodging people and vehicles
without taking our eyes off the myriad stationery and other shops and happenings
along and on the narrow road that runs straight before exiting a short way off
the iconic railway station.
We both revel in the old world charm of Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-80893903623373812052017-12-08T10:52:00.002+05:302017-12-10T15:21:35.660+05:30Transition: Moments in Crossing, An Exhibition Of My Street Photographs
Click to enlarge
My street
photography exhibition – Transitions: Moments in Crossing – opens
at the Jehangir Art Gallery,
Kala Ghoda, Mumbai, next week from Dec 13 to Dec 19 (all days), 11 am – 7 pm.
The
50+ photographs going on display were made over the years of commuting to work
and travelling around the city on weekends, and on travels beyond the city,
each instance providing a Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-87371360518869396472017-04-09T03:56:00.002+05:302017-04-09T04:04:14.165+05:30Of Nameplates and Neighbourhoods
Dr. M. A. Misquita’s
Family’
The nameplate bearing the name of
the doctor is set in the wall, held firm by four iron clamps that betray their
age, that of the nameplate, and of the house.
The neighbourhood is even older,
among the oldest in the city.
The use of ‘family’ leaves no
doubt that Dr. Misquita intended for succeeding generations to share the same
roof, through thick and Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-62283567151359442662016-02-15T23:07:00.000+05:302016-02-15T23:25:54.396+05:30Smartphone Immersion
Packed with commuters heading
home, surviving the squeeze in the compartment of a rush hour local from V.T. is
less about withstanding the crush with your might than it is about being
oblivious to it.
While there's no
"physical" escape from the crowded confines of train cars bearing
Mumbai's burdened, there's however an escape for the mind.
Here, in an area where two
commuters Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-56129381715495765932016-02-08T02:05:00.000+05:302016-02-09T23:11:01.906+05:30Goa’s Roadside Crosses, Marigolds, And Fish Baskets
It was a grey August morning when
I stepped out and made for the bus-stand for a bus to Margao. Clouds had opened
up from before dawn and the light had taken on a desultory tone.
I had woken up to rain
drops hammering corrugated sheets instead of the customary bird songs in the trees. If it wasn’t
for an appointment to keep at the Three
Kings Church
in Cuelim I’d have returned indoors and Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-16079614289708881702016-01-17T22:31:00.001+05:302016-01-17T23:10:04.258+05:30Bimal Roy Retrospective At Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan
It’s been a busy winter for film
retrospectives of Indian Film Directors of yore.
Not long after Liberty screened a week long retrospective of
Shyam Benegal’s classics in December 2015, Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan followed up with
a retrospective of Bimal Roy’s films that ran between Jan 11-16, 2016.
Organised by Bimal Roy MemorialCommittee (BRMC) in collaboration with Cine Society, the Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-62019423257198514872016-01-16T23:29:00.002+05:302016-01-17T12:50:20.862+05:30Day Out At Khidkiyaan Theatre Festival
We reached Sathaye College
in Vile Parle just as the Open Mic session
of Day 2 of the theatre festival, Khidkiyaan,
kicked off on a small elevated stage overlooking the short passageway leading
from the entrance gate to the small auditorium built by the college.
The proceedings on Day 2 of Khidkiyaan Theatre Festival were
scheduled to begin with an Open Mic
session with Piyush Mishra and Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-35487914595587098152016-01-05T00:43:00.001+05:302016-01-05T00:52:26.873+05:30Wall of Death at Mahim Fair
I heard the first roar around
five in the evening as I walked in from a small stretch of polluted beach
toward the Wall of Death rising among stalls and amusement rides in the
fairground across the street from St. Michael’s Church and a short distance
from the Dargah in Mahim.
The Sun settled on my back, warm
and comforting. Walking through a short lane channeling visitors to the Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-41229264650618126212015-12-24T01:50:00.001+05:302015-12-24T02:10:37.516+05:30In Khotachiwadi, Looking For Willy
I don’t visit Khotachiwadi often
so I use the two bulls flanking the entrance to Gaiwadi to alert me to
Khotachiwadi’s proximity on the drive from V.T.
Past Gaiwadi, just short of St.
Theresa Church, I look for a narrow lane on the right that leads past a small
chapel across the lane from the Catholic Gymkhana before disappearing into the
heart of the old settlement in Girgaon settled in Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-27090857786491576632015-06-07T00:36:00.000+05:302015-06-07T01:03:35.519+05:30A Name, A Tattoo, Some Colourful Balloons
Not too many clicks into the past
when it was likely of those you met for the first time to introduce themselves
as Lakshmi, Gita, Ram, Hanuman, Lakshman, Purshottam, Rajiv, Jyoti, Gautam, Ramnath,
Priyadarshini, Raghu, Anand, Mohan, Rajesh, Manoj, Dilip, Sanjeev, Vinod, Hema,
Mala, Indira and the like, there was little chance you’d get the name wrong the
first time you heard them utter it.
Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-31754679718070618902015-05-31T23:44:00.004+05:302015-05-31T23:45:44.779+05:30On A String
At the three-day Sindhi festival, the puppeteer grabs a quick bite
while the puppets look on.
Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-53410641060133113882015-01-31T22:46:00.001+05:302015-01-31T22:57:10.421+05:30Faith Floats
Udaipur, Navratri Time, 2014
Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-43194804434688963552014-12-14T04:48:00.001+05:302014-12-14T12:36:12.725+05:30A Saying On A Ride
At the traffic signal I rest my
eyes on the lines in red sticker above the windshield, barely clearing the
bobbing skull cap of the impatient rickshaw driver as he waits for the signal
to turn green.
The saying by Nirankari Baba goes ….
मानवता की
क़द्र करे दिल से
मानवता खिल
उठे फिर
से
<!--[if !supportLists]--> - Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13132765.post-38723562131138608882014-11-22T14:58:00.001+05:302014-11-24T07:54:23.481+05:30Crossings: Moments in Passing, An Exhibition Of My Photographs
Click images to
enlarge
My photography exhibition – Crossings: Moments in Passing – opens
at the Jehangir Art Gallery,
Kala Ghoda, Mumbai, next week from Nov 25 to Dec 1 (all days).
The 50+ photographs going on
display were made over my years of meandering around India, seeking moments that place
the everyday in historical, cultural and traditional contexts. And where Anil Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02422187314611747278noreply@blogger.com9