Tag: travel

Focussed on one, un-focussing all else

This week’s photo challenge is interesting for two reasons. One, David Watkis posted a bokeh, almost out-of-focus, photo of the New York skyline, asking for something that represents focus to us. I never keep the remains of my disastrous, no-focus photographs. And so my initial reaction was to hold my head in my hands and wonder what to do.

Later, though, I looked at my archives and I realised that I indeed have a bunch of then-embarrassing photos. That’s the second reason this challenge is interesting. When I looked at that photograph, I relived the moment: It was couple of years ago in Pondicherry, a city I’d love to  return to any weekend of the year. It’s close by and offers a lot more than affordable alcohol and glorious gelato.

It was around five o’clock in the morning when I looked through our hotel window. The street was deserted except for a few early-morning health walkers and yoga enthusiasts. I was so focussed on capturing the emptiness in the street that only later did I realise  how the objects in the photo came out un-focssed. For some weird reason I hadn’t deleted the photo, and I’m glad I didn’t.

Focus

Just a moment

Some moments in life, though fleeting, last a lifetime as memories. The first ray of light that breaks through the darkness, walking out like her majesty from behind a veil, to cast her arms of sunshine on the world anticipating her gaze; the fleeting, half-hidden moment before she reveals herself to us—that’s a memory that would sit forever in my mind. Like a longer-lasting flash, the sun rose from the depths of the night to the heights of the day—all in a matter of minutes. On the Kangchenjunga mountain, we waited from 4 am for the sun to show up. Because no two sunrises are the same and no two seconds during the rise are alike. If that’s not evanescent, what else is?

Sunrise in Kanchenjunga

A moment

For a few years now, I, along with family, travel at least twice a year. And more than once, we’ve hit exotic locations, just the same time the monsoons hit. So my photo library is full of water reflections and swaying trees. Despite all that, however, there’s one photo that’s closer to my heart than any other. It still amazes me how I managed to capture that moment the trees over our heads reflected in the tea I was about to cherish. Oh, and it was December, the coldest season of the year, in Kodiakkanal, one of the coldest cities of Tamilnadu.

tea

Date with danger

We were in Thekkady, enjoying the monsoon showers and the chilly breeze that came with it. Wondering what to do for thrill, we wandered through the shopping street when we noticed a poster from the Kadathanadan Kalari Centre for a show of traditional Kerala fighting techniques. It was rather a pricey ticket, which is understandable since they target rich tourists, but I had my doubts, too, about how much I’d enjoy it.

After about a half hour of sword and stick fighting, the team moved on to fire. I sat up excited. What spells dare and danger better than fire? And boy, what an act that was.

Danger

I wandered

Sometimes in life you don’t realise how much you love doing something unless you’ve stopped doing it altogether. For instance, I didn’t know how much I enjoyed travelling until I found myself sitting alone in a large room sorrounded by too much space yet too little fresh air, reminiscing the good old days. This particular photo happened in Thekkady, Kerala.

wander