via INSTAGRAM : Mother & Daughter have fun together feeding pigeons

via INSTAGRAM : Grape Farmer

'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'

Children run at full pace to keep up with a fast moving truck to steal Coal from a Government truck transporting Coal  from a  mine at Dhanbad, 2010 -     Photo Subhash Sharma.

Soon to be released Bollywood movie 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' -  is reportedly based on legendary 'Flying Sikh' - Indian Olympian and super sprinter 'Milkha Singh' who could run as if there was no tomorrow.


I encountered sprinters of a different kind who too would run for  sheer life to steal coal or go hungry...literally as their daily existence depended on that....Guess if these children were instead put in a athletic school will they not make super runners ? In an irony of sorts, India's sport's  talent, be it in running, hockey or archery comes from the hinterland  where sheer hardships and often times desperation trains and hardens  them.

....On my asking  how they could run so fast  one of these boys remarked  : 'Jab G... pe  Polisiya Daanda  padne kar darr lagta hai... toh apne aap aag ki tarah bhagna aa jaata hai ' as they burst out laughing..

Says  Rakeysh Omprakash  Mehra , the director of the movie Bhaag Milkha Bhaag , “The 1^st race Milkha Singh ran was for a glass of milk! His first race was cross-country; he didn't even know what a cross country race was. But they said the first ten are going to get a glass of milk as their diet and will be selected for the army training team, and he ran for that.”  Strange similarities here.

Walk The World !

 

Early Monday morning, came across this small group of Jain Sadhavis walking. I just stood there & watched them walk. Peacefully,steadily,definitely. Minimum baggage....no mobile, no tablet, no wallet, no ego. 

The Jain holy-men and women are known to walk from one place to another,they never take a bus or a car but walk.walk.walk.Many times barefoot. They prefer to be constantly on the move and don't settle in one place. Aka home. Who needs a home when the entire world is yours or some might philosophize that  even if you can own everything nothing will belong  to you...you just have the journey....

The best way to experience the world, to assimilate,  is to Walk; All the Greats of the world have walked endlessly from the Buddha to the Mahatma. 

When was the last time you WALKED , not to your office , or to the store or for some work but to NOWHERE...aimlessly...not wanting to reach anywhere but enjoying the 'now'. 

Go take a walk... you'll discover the world....maybe 'yourself' too....

 

Tranquil ISTANBUL :

Some pictures from a  Trip to Istanbul.

Indian Photojournalism loses its Heavy Weight

Homai Vyarawalla, widely acknowledged as India’s first woman photojournalist passed away at Vadodara on Sunday 15 Jan, 2012 she was 98.

Homai Vyarawalla at Work (Creative Commons via Flickr)


I particularly enjoy this above photograph of her,
as seen clearly she was ‘the man amongst the boys’ an irritated Homai is directing other chaotic male photojournalists into some order & semblance during a photo shoot with Indian Prime minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi.(& also kudos to the photographer who made the picture for capturing the candid moment.inspiring.)

In this interesting Documentary about her , she lovingly talks about her versatile Rolliflex and numerous angles you can work with it , a detailed demo on how to use a Speed Graphic, her f1.5 contax lens ! and numerous super interesting anecdotes on being a female photojournalist ……..

http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/719/Homai-Vyarawalla

Notice her love for all things Photography, seen just behind her in the interview, what looks like a Berlebach wooden tripod which she uses as a flower pot stand!

Her funny side;
‘…in those days girls were not supposed to even carry a handbag…if noticed people would ask “Are you going out to give someone a haircut!! And I was carrying a camera and all accessories around my neck……as opposed to girls of other religions I could even walk the streets at night….. Being a Parsi helped, people thought Parsis could do anything (….read crazy)!’

& it’s heartening to know that
as Homai recounts…”In those days painting was not as viable as photography…I could earn more as a photographer than being a painter..” (oh...the Times they are a changin' now)

Those were the times of camaraderie…….”It was freezing cold..in the middle of the night I heard a colleague photojournalist whose was not having space to sleep ……I called Mastram are you there…..you can come over here, there is lots of space here,……you sleep under the bed and I will sleep on it. (laughs)

& some wisdom....“I can only tell you that….. we had control of our Manual cameras….and these modern automatic cameras....they have control over you.”

……many wise words. A MUST watch. Highly recommended

Some of her images & interview can be seen here:

http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-second-part-of-the-interview-with-homai-vyrawalla/20110303.htm

Having met her,I can feel the loss.She was a superwoman & a true Photojournalist. An inspiration.

May her soul rest in peace.

Oh! Kolkata !!

Oh! Kolkata!! , The City of Joy – The City of Poets, Artists and Philosophers - is a city of many moods and Avatars and colored in as many hues. The erstwhile capital of British India, Kolkata, is a beautiful collage of the English imperial culture and the traditional Bengali way of life, interspersed with all the elements of a modern metropolis.

Kolkata formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal & located on the east bank of the Hooghly River. The city has a population of about 14.2 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India and the 13th-most populous urban area in the world.

The name ‘Kolkata’ has its roots in Kalikata , the name of one of the three villages (Kalikata, Sutanuti, Govindapur) in the area before the arrival of the British. ’Kalikata’ , in turn, is believed to be a version of Kalikshetra (Bengali Kalikkhetro - Land of the goddess Kali ). Thus, while the city's name has always been pronounced ‘Kolkata’ in the local language, its official English name was changed from ‘Calcutta’ to ‘Kolkata’ in 2001, in order to reflect the original pronunciation. In part, this was a move to erase the negative legacy of British rule.

Kolkata is a city to be felt, heard and smelled, as much as it is to be seen . If you delve deeper, bereft of pre-conceived judgments your experience is sure to be one that will leave a deep impact on you. Especially during the ‘Durga Puja’ in october every year, when every true Kolkatan worth his salt and Shondesh wants to be in the city, Kolkata is not to be missed for it’s visual, artistic, gastronomic & celebratory splendor paralleled by few other in the world.

‘Oh! Kolkata ‘ is my ode to the city and it’s people.

http://subhashsharma.photoshelter.com/

AWARD: 2nd Prize MFI photo Contest 2011

Holi celebrations in the Braj region of India


I am very happy to inform that my above moody single "Braj Ki Holi" has just won the 2nd prize in the Arts and Culture category at the Media Foundation of India Photo Contest 2011 .
The award ceremony will be held in May, also a book of all the prize wining images is in the works.

...........With the Holi approaching this weekend .....I guess I 'll just relax this time ........maybe stroll down Juhu beach .....no pics.........just want to be on the other side of the lens.......color in hand........and have loads of fun.

Good time at CHIPP,Shanghai 2010

I had a great time at the CHIPP 2010 award function at Shanghai where all the Gold award winners were invited.

We had a great time interacting with hundreds of local photojournalists and the exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum followed by a grand Gala Banquet which was attended by the local photojournalists and also the top officials from the administration.

All in all had a great time.


(R to L) The gold award winners Daniel , Iain, Lilac, Me & Alex (flying)


Me and Iain went some camera shopping in Shanghai. Trying a remote trigger



Outside a Mosque in Shanghai




A cook in Shanghai trying very hard to make a 'vegetarian meal' for me.



The Hong Kong skyline

AWARD : CHINA international Press photo Award 2010

I am very happy to inform that my work "The Coal thieves Of Jharia" has won two awards at the presitigious China International Press Photo Award 2010.

1. GOLD PRIZE : Economy Science & Technology News Singles.
2. SILVER PRIZE : People in the News & Portrait Stories.

The wining images can be seen here:
http://www.chipp.cn/content/node_536.htm

Coffee Table Book:"Braj Ki Holi:The Divine Colours of Lord Krishna" available for pre-order

Finally, after almost 3 years of hard work,photography, design and redesign my Coffee table book, "Braj Ki Holi: The Divine Colours of Lord Krishna" is available for pre-order.
To pre-order pl send details to indiansoulbooks@gmail.com, you'll get a 10% off on the MRP of Rs.1500.

Its a lavish production with lots of colour and mood with an emphasis on the images,meant to bring out a smile on your face.The book will be launched in the last week of February and will be available from all the major retail book stores starting March.
Here are some sample pages from the book:

Mumbai at the London School of Economics

The Territory of Joy - Poor Mumbaiker's on their day Off.

These are some of the images from a recently concluded group photography exhibition at the London School of Economics,UK.

The photo essay is about the Poor of Mumbai on their day off and documents the activities they pursue in order to recharge themselves to face their harsh realities.

More images from the exhibition can be seen here:

http://www.photoshelter.com/usr-show/U0000mCG87xLc654

Haji Ali in the rains.....

Haji Ali in the rains..........its mesmerizing........for some photos and for some prayers........

The BRIDGE

the Bandra-Worli sealink

The 'much anticipated' Bandra-Worli Sealink Bridge has been declared to be opened shortly to Mumbai's traffic within a month's time.

The positive effect this BRIDGE will have on the city's life is for time to tell , but the ill effects are already being felt by these fishermen of Mahim.

It has been reported that there has been a huge decrease in the fish catch not only near the city but also as far as Vasai and Uttan in the neighbourhood of Mumbai which has prompted the fishing community to stay out of the seas much earlier than the usual 15th June deadline each year till the end of the monsoons. This is to ensure that more time is available for the breeding of fish to take place and they get a good catch post-monsoon.

At present, most of the catch is young fish, which has to be discarded. The fishermen have been asked to stop fishing till end of the monsoon and allow the young fish to mature. They have also been instructed to use nets with the mesh size not less than eight inches, as anything less makes it difficult for young fish to escape.

Environmental degradation as a result of huge construction activities near the shoreline coupled with indiscriminate fishing have been attributed as the root cause of this problem.

'SLUMDOG' Mumbai

The street dogs are an essential part of the Mumbai landscape,

infact they have melted so seemlessly in the citscape that it is difficult to imagine the streets of Mumbai without them.

Here's a  look at some of the  SlumDOG landscape  in  Mumbai .

Some street DOG debates:

“All stray dogs should be killed as a long-term solution…..” ,

says Brihan Mumbai Corporation chief Jayraj Pathak.The BMC in fact plans to put forth a proposal to the High Court and then the Supreme Court on the issue.

Most free-roaming dogs in Mumbai belong to an ancient canine race known as the Pariah Dog, which has existed all over Asia and Africa ever since human beings started living in settlements. They are, and have always been, scavengers–that is, they live on garbage created by humans. In addition to scavenging, they are widely kept as pets by rural and urban slum households

The size of stray dog populations always corresponds to the size and character of the human population of the area. Urban India has two features which create and sustain stray dog populations:

1) Large amounts of exposed garbage, which provide an abundant source of food

2) A huge population of slum and street-dwellers, who often keep the dogs as free-roaming pets

Mumbai has over 12 million human residents, of whom over half are slum-dwellers. At least 500 tonnes of garbage remain uncollected daily. Therefore conditions are perfect for supporting a particularly large population of stray dogs. According to unofficial figures Mumbai has around 2 lakh stray dogs.

But animal lovers have a point here when they answer this question……

If stray dog population control is the issue, wouldn’t it make more sense to kill the dogs or take them away? 
Removal or killing of stray dogs seems to be the most obvious method of controlling the population, but it has actually proved to be completely useless. This is because even when large numbers of dogs are killed, the conditions that sustain dog populations remain unchanged. Dogs are territorial and each one lives in its own specific area. When they are removed, the following things happen:

·         The food source – garbage – is still available in abundance, so dogs from neighbouring areas enter the vacant territories.

·         Pups born and growing up in the surrounding areas also move in to occupy these vacant niches.

·         The few dogs who escape capture and remain behind attack these newcomers, leading to frequent and prolonged dog-fights.

·         Since they are not sterilised, all the dogs who escape capture continue to mate, leading to more fighting.

·         In the course of fights, dogs often accidentally redirect their aggression towards people passing by, so many humans get bitten.

·         Females with pups become aggressive and often attack pedestrians who come too close to their litter.

·         They breed at a very high rate (two litters of pups a year). It has been estimated that two dogs can multiply to over 300 in three years.

Since dogs who are removed are quickly replaced, the population does not decrease at all.
Since removal of dogs actually increases dog-related problems, the effective solution is to sterilise the dogs, vaccinate them against rabies and put them back in their own areas.