Finally back from " the wild" where after a long time I was cut from the " real" world, no blackberry no laptops, internet, just me and my camera. Pretty awesome to say the least.
Did quite a bit, drove into nepal through the thick forests of champaran, went tiger spotting at night, managed to see a panther and a herd of deer.
Also got some decent shots I hope.. Though I regret not getting any shots of the panther or the deer, thanks to the driver, who had me fallen over after the spotter asked him to stop! Even managed to cut my chin. Fun fun fun
More later

Anyways heading into the deep forests of west Champaner,not sure if the blackberry will work there, let's hope it does

It had to happen while I was away, at last zara gave birth to supposedly 3 beautiful zuppies. I am rather sad that I wasn't there with her, but then again this trip could not be delayed.

Little dots that jot the sky, cool mist that sweeps through your hair, the coal burning at your feet, the huge red haveli with its few inhabitants, the only sound you hear is of the distant rumbling of the train finding it meandering way to the city.
All Bliss

Do you know what the hobbits said when they set out to destroy the ring? " I have never been this far away from home".
Being here so far away from what they call our urban mundane existence I can literally say the same.

Entering west champaran, after almost being run over by a train, wohoo!!

Seven hours, two hunderd kms and am in the heart of rural india. Its surreal and devooid of the urban reality we are used to.

Seven hours, two hunderd kms and am in the heart of rural india. Its surreal and devooid of the urban reality we are used to.

So driving through the anals of bihar with a driver who can't stop honking and who is rather nervous about the fact that I am a serial clicker and has warned me to abstain from takiing pictures of the police and police check posts. What a bummer I say !!

Sitting so far away from reality I can't help but think of dr sen, someone who I had reprented in court, who was convicted of treason and awarded a life sentence, all while fuickers who are raping our country walk free.

Being here is like living the 80's all over again

Its going to be long week without the laptop and the internet. Guess shall have to make do with the blackberry

Finally out of delhi, crazy fog slowly spread its tentacles while I caught the only flight out. So here I am in the distant east and soon to be heading into the villages and the mountains

31 and how...

There is nothing more shocking than seeing your Bahadur dry you socks on your brand new imac!!!!
Cannot get over it.

A new way of getting high - chewing on Sichuan Peppers-
 Sichuan pepper has a unique aroma and flavour that is not hot or pungent like black or white pepper, or chili peppers. Instead, it has slight lemony overtones and creates a tingly numbness in the mouth (caused by its 3% of hydroxy-alpha-sanshool) that sets the stage for hot spices. According to Harold McGee in On Food and Cooking, second edition, p429 they are not simply pungent; "they produce a strange tingling, buzzing, numbing sensation that is something like the effect of carbonated drinks or of a mild electrical current (touching the terminals of a nine-volt battery to the tongue). Sanshools appear to act on several different kinds of nerve endings at once to induce sensitivity to touch and cold in nerves that are ordinarily nonsensitive. So theoretically may cause a kind of general neurological confusion."

Do Onions have the power to bring this overtly corrupt, totally defunct, and utterly useless government Down? Onion Power Go Get IT!!

Have been hooked onto the OST of 127 hours since yesterday, especially the track titled 'the funeral' by band of horses, cannot wait to watch this movie.

Just occurred to me, that the countdown for the 'end of world' entered its last two years yesterday. Not sure if i need to start building my bunker just yet? Tick tock.. tick tock tic..

 A Night out in Delhi

Poof!!!

 Morning green straight from the hills!

 Wings that take you higher!

‘Grass’ that seems greener!

An azure sky awaiting your grasp..

You fly into the fall..

Awaiting the abyss to kiss your touch

Spent another weekend, shooting another conference, also kinda feeling bad that i couldnt make it to my 'mega' school reunion.
To be honest, i am not even sure if i wanted to make it to the reunion, its something about reunions and me, they just dont seem to go down too well with my constitution.

Strange as this may sound, every December i slip into a state of misery, no matter how hard i try to stay clear of such feelings, i just cant help it. With Christmas and my birthday round the corner i am sure i have a lot to celebrate but leading up to D day, i slowly start wallowing in self pity and anguish.

Just last night the news had me depressed as hell, honestly i love winters, and it just dawned on me that i do so because, i am amongst the lucky few who can brave a winter from the warmth of my home.

The warm blankets, the cups of coffee and cognac, but what about those millions out there, who brave the cold under fly overs all while the government demolishes their shelters in the name of a cleansing drive!!

Its extremely painful to hear and watch such stories unfold, a government so inherently corrupt that it doesn't care a rat's arse about its citizens, all while filling its own coffers!!

Thankfully the Supreme Court came down harshly on the MCD and other authorities and have warned them from demolishing these shelters this winter.

I often muse, if the government has so much money to spend on sidewalks which are constructed and reconstructed every other day and all the money that is swindled in the name of development and projects, can it not then atleast provide a blanket and a shelter all those homeless out there.

I personally cant do much, but i promise to go out and distribute atleast 10 blankets this weekend.Thats the least i can do, and if everyone i knew did the same or even went out and gave one blanket to the poor, wont that be a good way of bringing on Christmas.

I just hope, things will get better for all soon.
Otherwise its just too depressing watching all those poor die coz they couldn't afford a blanket!!

Thankfully have moved on to U2 from Metallica after two long and angry days, all credit to Tenzing Choesang, who put on some pics of the streets i prowled and lived on when i was in glasgow- "where the streets have no name" Thanks T

I guess it takes a bit of boredom,  a lot of idiots that you constantly need to deal with and loads of metallica to  reduce you to a bubbling over zealous volcano all set to explode at every given opportunity. Arghhh !!! haven’t been this angry  in a long long time.

Another petrol price hike? Well after all the money this government has swindled, i am sure they need to hike the price!!!

Funny how an sms can pretty much change things, here i was, just winding up my work out for the evening, when i got this sms, about someone wanting to learn photography ( again something i dont think you can learn, its just something that you got to acquire).
So here i am all set to start classes next week for a couple of grown ups. Decent money as well!!!

Sometimes you just need good old Classic Rock to deal with things
In light of the same the playlist for the afternoon


For Whom the Bell Tolls
Fade to Black
Ride the Lightning
Mama Said
Hero of the Day
Fuel
Master of Puppets
No Leaf Clover
Turn the Page

There is anger, there is resounding grief, all thrown into boiling cauldron of feelings, overbearing and dizzy, it takes over my life.

Its been 5 years since he kicked the bucket, the man who brought me into this world, gave up his battle with life.

I have been trying to tackle it since yesterday, but at various levels it just makes me really angry albeit peppered with grief.

Every year i go through the same process, the healing, the anger, the pain, the grief,  every year i cant help but feel that he gave up too easy. There was so much more to look forward to, there was so much more that needed to be done, there was so much more ..Period!!

Spent the entire weekend shooting a conference, pretty boring and mind numbing shoot, especially when the light in the conference hall was as bad as it could get.
Made life much tougher, especially when i didnt want to shoot the typical conference pictures, white and lifeless.
But glad to get some decent shots.

My sleep pattern is screwed and how, its how it used to be back in 2005-06 when i was languishing in Glasgow, slept around 4 am again, and its not like i sleep through the day, i am up by 8 and carrying on with life, but sleep is a proposition that just aint mine!!

Nothing better than spending your Wednesday afternoon, blasting Metallica on your Harmon Kardon's, so loud that the neighbors had to intervene, all while you edited some pictures and wrote a boring (yet paying) report.
James Hedfield you lill beauty!!

My Life on Facebook this year!!.

Finally got the new lens, the canon 24-70mm f/s 2.8.
Excellent, have been sitting here and taking random test shots the last 30 minutes.
Fantastic!!!!!
Should be fantastic for the weekend shoot.
On a different note, i am broke again.
The Elinchrom will have to wait.

5 am and am up watching the Ashes. Nothing better than an early morning dose of the Australian Cricket Season.
Brings back a lot of memories dating back to the mid 80's when i would find dad  up early and perched in front of the big black & white Tv, smoking his pipe and watching cricket.
And over the years i have followed him in his footsteps. Even though i cant seem to do it on a regular basis, but when afforded an opportunity like this (when i haven't slept a wink the entire night) you just cant let it pass.

As this winter rolls on, the infamous fog sweeps in, like a blaze of soft silk it envelops all in its path.

Sick of being at home all day with nothing better to do I decided to step out for some ice cream (coffee mocha) and drive through the fog.

Two hours later I am regretting it, a coffee and sugar buzz and yet again I cant sleep.

Strangely it struck me today that its been over 2 months since i last cooked a meal, for someone who enjoys  cooking, i think its rather shameful.
But with the advent of winter and the BBQ season, i think the BBQ shall be pulled down from the attic and put to great use.

Spent a rather uneventful Sunday at home, vegetating, slept for 6 hours straight in the afternoon, not like i needed the extra sleep, but just felt like it which is sometimes as important if not more.
On a different note, finally got the balls to take Zara for her blood test, and yes its confirmed she is pregnant.
So as things stand there will be wee zuppies running around the house come January.

And as this night rolls on i still lie awake watching "Into the Wild" after nearly two years and I wonder when will I ever grow the balls to just leave this urban life and step into the wild far away from this nauseous existence.

Far Away from this society!!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv_XpqZ9RX4)

As I lie here in bed awake yet again at this rather ungodly hour, I cant think of the many thoughts that crossed my mind all day.

Thoughts I try and stay away from, thoughts, which at some level remind me of the man I used to be.

The fight, the battle I fought with the system, the battle I believed in despite my knowledge that it wont be me winning those battles.

I kept at it, fought it till one day my will just gave up on me.

So I woke up this morning and the first thing I read was that Mr Modi was given a clean chit by the SIT.

The big fish, swimming (read walk) FREE.

All those years of struggle, for what?

Then as the day rolled on I realized it was 26 years since Bhopal choked on a millionaire’s toxic fart.

It’s a joke, and all I realize is that those victims out there, the same victims I stood in court and fought for nearly two years ago are going to get nothing more than those peanuts that were thrown at them in the 90’s.

Genocide alright (c) Mehak Sethi

You cannot do justice if the very judicial system and the government that pledges to uphold your rights believes in screwing you over!!

Last night was pretty crazy, guess i was so tired, that i just couldnt sleep.

Was up till 4 am, watching movies and reading. Finally downloaded Jarhead, and wasnt disappointed, also watched Udaan again, and as usual shed a few tears.

Also plan to go on a pure protein diet from Monday, its going to be crazy but am looking forward to it!! Whey protein shakes for breakfast (YUCK!!!) chicken for lunch and fish for dinner, for 3 weeks.
Goodbye Carbs, Hello Proteins!!!

Long long day, quite pleased though that i still had the energy to come home at 9 pm and work out for an hour.
Feeling fit, but the pain in the shoulder is as constant as ever, at some level i do know that i would need another surgery next summer, just hoping i can lose another 25 pounds till then.

Anyways have a shoot at noon tomorrow, shooting a yoga guru, who has finally decided to go hip and have his own website with a photo feature.
Baba Ramdev the inspiration!!!!???!!!

There is nothing more annoying than having a humongously fat upstairs neighbor with fatter kids who decide to run like their  arse is on fire and shift the furniture around their house especially when its nearing my bed time.