my life

the day is mine, though the chores are theirs
the wish is mine, though the order are theirs
so the wind is taking me, to a far away land
this is the story of my life

tales of tail

i have been a great fan of kapish, the wonder monkey of comic world. most of the non-school days and vacations were spent in close company with kapish and similar other characters. hope you remember the ‘the tales of tail’. people love monkeys, some worship them and few also consider them as nuisance. whatever you think, monkeys have a long historical significance in the indian epics.

in a common man/woman’s parlance, being called a “monkey’’ is not respectful as it is regarded as being less beautiful with not much grey cells. however, we have enough many stories to prove that wrong. the most stunning characteristic of a monkey is the way it cares for its younger brood. these images are just an example of its love for its children.

learning from the mother

giving love and courage to the younger one

giving that confident look

in others skin: a behrupiya

the search for amusement and entertainment leads us to many art forms. Behrupiya is one such form of traditional art, wherein the person adorns someone else’s personality and changes the look through different costumes, make up and other paraphernalia, obviously to amuse people and earn a living. Behrupiya (in Hindi) means an impressionist, often seen at any celebrations in India. Be at weddings, temples, on street, busy market areas and so on. Though, with the passing time, the sight is becoming rare. Like many artists, they too struggle to make ends meet. With the passing years, it is quite possible that this art form would live only in pictures. Next time you meet one such artist, make sure to help.

the walk

there she was, all of two years, a robust female, walking graciously towards me. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Am I dreaming or is it for real. Though just a while ago I had seen a pride, this sight was unbelievable. With each step, my excitement turned into an unknown fear, with a look from her, straight into my eyes. Suddenly the distance grew less and then lesser. What a beauty she was, a lioness all of just two years (which I could only know later from the driver of safari jeep). The experience of seeing a lioness so close and so near was surreal. I closed my eyes and devoured the beauty of her in my mind. Suddenly, taking photographs of her was not the priority.

magic of setting sun

junagadh is one of my favourite places to visit. My first trip to junagadh was in 2003 and the romance with the district has only grown deeper. Left, right and centre of junagadh is blessed with natural and historical wonders. This photo was taken at Uparkot in the month of February, when the weather was just perfect. If you are coming to Gujarat, a visit to junagadh should be planned for sure.

Uparkot is a magnificent fort believed to be built around 319 BC during the mauryan dynasty. Setting sun made the view from the top of fort a magical experience and gives an aura to the modern city.

dancing in white dress

that day the morning was born
with her desire to get dressed in a white dress
and why not, she was to dance that evening
she ran around to put together matching accessories in white
carefully searched for those white hair clips in her little vanity box
happiness knew no bound, when she found a glowing white necklace of rounded beads
with bangles and diamond like earrings adorning her tiny ear lobes
she looked like a little princess in her perfectly white and flowing dress made with net
with her tiny feet balancing on the wooden platform
that evening she danced like never before

diya, beautiful daughter of my friend

camel ride

a camel is often pictured against the setting sun as a perfect silhouette on the unending golden sand dunes of thar desert. but more than all of this camels are used as a transport system. camels were the chosen transport option for mughals, princely states, during world wars, for british corps and of course for the innumerable herds of nomadic tribes.