Lazy Photos

This is another handicrafts stall. It is very difficult to resist shopping.....in the end I got a Tussar silk sari with Kantha work on it...from the SHG federation....thats as close to the producer I can could get.

This is a small handicrafts stall along the road in Shantiniketan. Picture not taken by me but using my camera

West Bengal is an amazing place. You go to Kolkatta and everything looks run down. Then you go to the villages and you see lush green paddy fields and curving lanes lined with ponds...and the village looks so different from what one is used to. Many of the photos on this trip were not taken by me for the simple reason that my colleague's camera went kaput and she wanted to take pictures so I allowed her to use mine. A very rare gesture I must say as I am not a person who will lend my camera in general.

Therefore unfortunately I do not have the picture I would have loved to have but I know I will have more opportunities to go to West Bengal and will take pictures to my heart's content. Of Kolkatta I have very few pictures and none of them great.

We went to Bolpur which has the famous Shantiniketan there (the arts university set up by Rabindranath Tagore). They have fantastic handicrafts there...the leather bags, batik work and kantha embroidery.....

For some strange reason I cannot upload my photos...so photos will come when I figure out what is wrong.

The last of my Germany photos and my favourite...I was just lazing in bed when I looked up and saw this shadow the window was creating on the wall....then suddenly I noticed that there was also a tree....which I had never seen outside the window.... 

Now this reminded me more of Obelix that Italy! 

It was Italian market day and wandering around the stalls I came across this roasted boar (pig?) head....with wine 

This is a jazz band playing in an open square in Mannheim. They were absolutely fantastic! In fact we sat their listening to them even though it was cold and rainy. I don't generally listen to jazz but I could have sat there listening to them as long as they were playing... 

This is some water area where the kids can play...though it was hot the water was icy cold but there were kids running around naked playing in the water. There was one little girl who had a small container. She would take some water and then neatly clean the square stones one by one in a row. There was also some mechanism on top which the kids could turn and water would be pumped and flow down through small sluice gates and then ultimately into the river. Though many of the kids were only interested in the water, there were kids who were facinated by the contraptions (for a lack of a better word) and tried them all out. It was fun....and educative...if you wanted it to be! 

And this is what it looks like on a sunny day......it was even more crowded behind me....The afternoon this picture was taken it touched 30 Degrees C. 

A closer view of the grassy bank....quite empty as it was a cloudy day... 

This is the Neckar...the river on the banks of which lie the city of Heidelberg. On the right in the far distance the castle is just about visible. Between this bridge and the next (in the background) on the right hand side is a grassy bank, which gets very crowded once the sun shines. 

I normally do not like steel and glass buildings but this one always facinates me. This is the Print Media Academy opposite the main railway station in Heidelberg. I have walked many times passed this building trying to figure out where the rooms are inside! The creature in front too facinates me. Its legs keep moving. I think the neck and head move too. 

In the background one can see the castle of Heidelberg, the place I stayed. I know it is a little far off to see clearly but it gives an idea of where the castle is situated, the new bridge, the river and the bank of the river where everyone comes to sun bathe (when the sun actually shines that is). Well, it was one of those rare sunny days when everyone was out...more of those later.... 

I spent three weeks in Germany and I cannot begin to share pictures of Germany without first talking about football. Everything is about football! The coffee has a round football chocolate on it...the cakes have football on it...everywhere you look it is about football. We had gone to an electronics store and there they had washing machines stacked up. The door to one machine in the second row was open and we were given a soft football to kick. If you manage to get the ball into the washing machnie then you get that machine. When it came to my turn the guy there opened all the doors after my first try becasue he was so sure I would not be able to get the ball in...and yes he was right! 

Now, this is my favourite photo! There I was wandering around the harbour trying to figure out the fish chain (there are an amazing number of middlemen between the ish in the sea and the fish on your table) and not throw up with the stink when I see this woman who had made herself so comfortable...this best part was the wicked look in her eyes! She knew she had done something cute! the bustling habour is the perfect backdrop...with man with the mobile phone in the front.... 

A pile of waste fish..topped by a bottle! luckily these creatures did not die without a purpose...the waste fish is pounded into feed for poultry. So the next time you eat a chicken...you have probably also eaten one of these.... 

This was the first time I have seen a shell with the animal still in it! I was also fasinated by the way the animal seemed to follow the curve of the shell and it seemed to match the colours of its shell! 

If you would like to...there is a provision to leave comments [only good ones :-) ].....or if you prefer to send me emails than that is fine to!

Hey...I know there are a lot of work related photos here but it wont always be work related....my favourite topic is nature...and specifically trees! So, it will be a misture of everything that catches my eye!

ok..will be a little more clear about my cameras. All the photos you have seen below were taken on my digital. It is a casio 4 megapixel. Of course, the credit has to go to my sister whose camera it was and she gave it to me on my last birthday! So I have been very trigger happy after that!

My photos taken on the SLR are all prints and I have to scan them in before I can upload them.

As for the roliflex...my father let me take it only once! My most favourite and precious photo was taken on that camera.....will scan it in and share it only when I am ready...:-) I had once blown up that picture to about 3x3 feet. It was mela (fair) time in school and we had used 9 10x12 sheets....placed the enlarger in such a way that we could blow it up in the small confines of the darkroom..neatly arranged the sheets...then had to develop each one of them....and then stick them all together. It was displyed during the mela and then I gave it to my Japanese classmate who was leaving school...I hope she still has it.

Another view of the harbour...... 

The photo below was a village landing site. This is of the Nagapattinam harbour. How many times we were told in school that the class was making too much noise and we sounded like a fish market? Now I know what a fish market sounds like! I also know what a fish market smells like.... 

Two middlemen checking out the catch for the day! The men bring in the fish and the women auction it. 

Here...(between the trawlers and the people sorting waste fish) is the traditional boat...the kattamaran.....or popularly known as the catamaran. Two members of a family take one of these and venture out in the sea.....but here we have a crow trying to figure out how to get it out to the sea. 

This is what the average fisherman would have...a fiber reinforced boat. These are the type of boats that where given after the tsunami. 

A closer view of one trawler 

When you think of fishermen...you also think boats. These are the trawlers...the big guys!