Gaayey holood ceremony during Upanayan...

Aunts applied Haldi...

There was love and cheer...

Hands stretched,smearing yellow.

Couple Laughs...

Karan and Smita recently moved to Bby.He is with Asian Paints.

He is 6'3'' & has a voice,which is knocking on Jagjit Singh's.

When he sang, we all clapped.

When he laughed, I clicked.

Born again...

Ready to take on life... and all its challenges.

Best wishes to you Joy !
Keep the smile and remain Joyous !

The Shloke whisperer...

Bannujo,as I call Sushovan was a year senior to me at The Hindu College.He is presently a D.I.G.

A cricketer then,a man of many roles now.

As part of this initition ritual,he whispered the gayatri mantra into Joy's ears...

Through the crook of the purohit's arm I saw the child,as the father of man !

MOVIENG IT...

Joy's Cousin

Nirvana...Bliss...

Bliss...Nirvana...

Wash the turmeric...

Thanks to the videographer's light...I got the KICK for this pic !

Joy's Upanayan

Sharmila and I have been class mates since standard 6th.

It was her son's Poitay(janeu/sacred thread ceremony).

I was the (self nominated) unofficial(sic )photographer...

The women applied Haldi(turmeric),laughed,joked and poked fun...Joy got embarassed.

Made my pic !

Cameraman shot...

Many years back I worked with Arun,who then was an assistant with the noted cameraman/director Teja.
Now he has turned independant.He shot this film I was working in Hyderabad over the past three days.

He listened intently to the actor/producer over lunch.
With the steel utensils in the foreground...I shot him.

Eyes of the Dev...

I first met Rahul years back in Utah U.S.A. while shooting the original DUS,which was being made by the late Mukul Anand(It still lies incomplete).He was then a topnotch model being launched as an actor.
On this flight,we caught up after ages.
Pulling each others leg over my intake of tomato juices (thanks to Anjali mukherjee )and his frequent strolls to the wash room .
He like me,for the past few years has been busy doing a lot of work down south.
Catching the eye of many a Telegu director.
I caught his,
thanks again to the New reading lights of Jet!

The tee totaller with the Beer man story...

I typically prefer taking the 1st flights out,while going for a shoot.
Saves the producer one night's hotel stay & I get to spent an extra evening at home.

The first of the 3 alarms goes off at 4am. By 5.45am am at the airport,then its snooze time on the flight.
Not this time.
This morning I had good friend Rahul Dev as the guy"next seat".
I used the new Jet Business class reading lights,to light my model...

The injured starlet...

While rehearsing a zigzag series of dance movements for Vinayan's film in Kerala, a co actor accidently stepped on her tiny toes.

She was in pain,he was in guilt,her assistant put an ice pack and I clicked.

The Dance master and her two assistants.

Last week I was working at the exquisite Lulu Centre in pristine Trishur,which is 80 kms from bustling Cohin in Kerala.

This was the final schedule of this film directed by Vinayan.
For a change I was involved in a song and dance sequence...

Caught the Choreographer and her team,but the twirling dancers eluded capture !

And Justice for all-- At the filming of an AIDS awareness spot.

My friend gajju,came from Delhi a few years back.
By his sheer grit and determination he has carved a niche for him self.

Enroute to my shoot,I dropped by on his set at Aarey Milk colony Mumbai..

He looked back, just for this pic !

A Growing tree, in a Shantiniketan canteen.

He painted amidst the hullabaloo of Nimbu chaai(lemon tea) and ghugni(Boiled white gram sprinkled with shredded onions,and two toasts at Rs3 per plate !) being served to customers at this canteen at the Kala bhavan (The Fine arts faculty) VishwaBharati..

What caught my eye was the silence this artist had managed to create around him.

Two customers stepped out to wash hands, the boy serving went into the store room to get...maybe more onions.

I got my opportunity.

The tree kept growing in solitude...

Mothers feed.

Not much of a composition,but this juxtaposition had a tale to tell.

Jethu and his family,Bolpur

I loved this moment.
The patriarch stood tall,his family behind him.
His eyes spoke to me.
There was benovelence and acceptance.
He had seen a lot,he will see more...

Jethu Jethi ma in Bolpur.

My friend Bapi's,uncle and Aunt..

Aging but standing tall.

The Actor Awaits

He remained still,mouth agape.

Watching the other actors,clap and sing.

He was still awaiting his cue,when we walked on.

The Teacher's seat.

This young lad watched the rehearsing kids.

Mouth agape,very still.

Was he accompanying an actor?

Or was he an actor,waiting for his cue while sitting on the teacher's seat?

Children rehearse under the very trees,where classes are held.

Rabindranath set up this educational institution for students to be a celebration of the Indian ethos of shiksha.

Where the mind was unfettered,free and naturaly vibrant.

A tradition still proudly maintained here in Shantiniketan.

Rabindranath Thakur's creation,Vishvabharati.

As we walked into the Vishvabharati complex,the feeling was one of an era gone past, meeting today.

This was a window for me into the mind of a person who long ago, dared to be different.

Here was a writer,poet,painter,and a thinker.

He did what many would have thought of,but dared not do.

He walked his thought.

Salutations to you Thakur.