So i finally managed to book tickets for the upcoming Metallica Concert,  which led to rather strange discussion on Fb, thought it was worth putting it here.

Metallica Concert Tickets Booked!!!!

11 hours ago · Privacy: ·  · 

• Mridula Dewan, Kavitha Babu-Kashyap, Shruti Meher and 7 otherslike this.
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    Michael Thompson where?

    11 hours ago · 
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    Mehak Sethi Delhi, 28th Oct

    11 hours ago · 
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    Michael Thompson omfg

    11 hours ago · 
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    Mehak Sethi YEs Mr Thompson, OMFG.....

    11 hours ago · 
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    Michael Thompson I can't be there. So I hope the power goes out. I hope mosquitoes make it impossible for them to play. I hope they accidentally end up in Bangladesh having gotten mixed up and landing there. I hope the humidity ruins their instruments. Maybe I will come for this.

    11 hours ago ·  ·  1 person
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    Karin Bruinenberg exit lights, enter night

    11 hours ago · 
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    Mehak Sethi 

    No no, let me tell what will eventually happen, Metallica shall land in Delhi, all set to perform, Some minister somewhere will think its against the indian ethics and protest, The cops in order to make a quick buck will approach the organizers, who will direct them in the direction of one Mr Hetfield, who will be approached in order to procure a hefty bribe. In the negotiations that shall ensue, the aforementioned Mr Hetfield will kill the cop with his guitar. Post which, there will be a shoot out, in which Hetfield and Lars Ulrich will be shot dead and the others deported. To add to the drama, no one in the public shall be informed of this and come 28th Oct, while the crowds are lining up at the venue, the organizers will announce at 7 : 20 pm that the concert has been cancelled. All hell shall break lose, there will be mass rioting, tear gas and lathicharge will be the call of the hour, 18 people shall die in the following stampede, including but not limited to one Brian Citro.
    I wish it would end there but .....
    thats just the beginning, The Supreme Court shall appoint a committee to look into the matter which will be headed by a retd judge. Who will evntually be bribed by the cops, and the report shall absolve the police of all charges if any.
    In the interim the public will line up to claim a refund, the portal www. ticketgenie.com ( the authorised online sellers) will crash never to be resurrected and their office at CP will be burnt down. However in the end " Nothing Else Matters"!!!

    11 hours ago ·  ·  3 people
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    Michael Thompson 

    In that case, I will read about it in Outlook. Brian Citro cannot die. But I can imagine several white people may have to perish in this incident. I also think you will find Hammett in Pahar Ganj three weeks after the date of the never held first show. He will appear emaciated, but that's just how he looks. Im going to sue the whole country if any of this happens. I don't know in what court, but in a big one, Im going to sue. For PAISA.

    11 hours ago ·  ·  2 people
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    Karin Bruinenberg ‎... and justice for all :)

    11 hours ago · 
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    Mehak Sethi 

    You can knock on the doors of the supreme court, maybe hire Indira to fight for your cause, and while she is doing that she will make it a feminist issue as to why Metallica did not have a single female band member, such an act was a violation of Article 21 and 14 of our overtly preposterous Constitution and thereby declare all male band members as unconstitutional. The Supreme Court shall immediately enforce the said rule which would be reviewed 3 weeks later before a constitutional bench comprising of 5 judges. Mr Salve will be representing Hammett, who by now would be living in the slums of Nizammudin, playing leads at the Nizammudin Dargah every thursday evening.
    The matter would be listed for final arguments 4 months post admission. The final arguments would continue for 5 months, and thereby reserved for judgment.
    In the interim, Hammett would be killed for playing the wrong chord, during one of the prayer sessions and Mr Salve would be rendered clientless.

    11 hours ago ·  ·  3 people
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    Mehak Sethi Also... the night before the final verdict, all news channels would go mad, Barkha Dutt will have a crazy orgasm on live television, much to the displeasure of Arnob Goswami, who would try and replicate such an act, but would fail miserably.
    However on the day of the judgement there would a terror strike in the SC and that would be the end of it all

    11 hours ago ·  ·  3 people
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    Fiona Lander This concert is 2 days before my visa expires. I feel that may be a sign.

    11 hours ago · 
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    Shruti Meher Envy!!Jealousy!!turning Grrrrreeeen!!hmmmm....ok fine have a blast!!

    4 hours ago · 
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    Sanjib Deka Mehak , u shud be a script writer.... :)

    4 hours ago ·  ·  1 person
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    Vinod Chandramouli We should somehow let Metallica know about this discussion. This is classic!

    2 hours ago · 
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    Debashish Goswami think this whole farce requires a blog !!! ;-)

The more i try not thinking about it, the more i am inclined otherwise.
We are ruled and governed by a bunch of wankers, rampant corruption, ever increasing inflation, screwed up ministries et al.
Now when i look back and review my decision of moving away from litigating for the government i feel glad i am no longer a part of this overtly fucked system.
However i do feel bad that i aint no longer a part of the system that stands up against these fuckers, but then again i aint superman.
Arghh i want to kill all these fuckers.

Sad freaking day for music
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14097468
Rest in peace Manuel Galban.

So finally a really big shoot, will be traveling end of next week, shooting stills for ESPN. Yipee, no greater joy than shooting cricketers...

Finally an act of self grooming, a hair cut and shave, the first in almost 4 months, couldnt recognize me self in the mirror post the act.
Even bought meself a pair of new glasses.

Its been a strangish Sunday, if i may call it so, a trip to Old Delhi railway station first thing this morning, regret not taking the camera, but also glad i didnt have to trudge it along.
A mild head ache all afternoon and evening. A great Goan lunch...(vindaloo at its best)
And a decent work out in the evening.
And now watching the final day of the India -windies test match, and scared that India might lose this...

Finally the studio/study is ready. A new chestnut wood table, pristine white walls, the new imac, a neat bookshelf, a nice persian rug ( bought in Kabul) and a new bottle of Ardbeg.
Bloody brilliant.
Will be buying the remaining lights early next month.
Also spent the evening cleaning my Grand-dad's underwood typewriter from 1932. It shall don my desk from now on.

A glass of single malt, a smoke, the dog by me feet, some soft crazy music playing repeat, i find my self spending yet another sleepless night in me study. The smell of a fresh coat of paint, rather heady!

All those law books, once my bread and hardly any butter  don the shelves, instead strewn around are now some lenses, some diffusers, and loads of prints. 

I might spend a lot more time here.

Post midnight scotch cravings... Heading to the study with a glass of Ardbeg and a smoke.

It was a rather manic Monday, the shoot was good, the heat though was sapping. Rather unbearable.

Spent the evening watching Delhi Belly, loved it.

Just another face amongst the many i shot this afternoon

The joys of having an almost ready study/ studio are rather unparalleled. I have been working on the same for a few days, and finally instead of resembling a dump, it actually looks something inhabitable.
Having the painters coming in tomorrow to paint it pure white. Looking forward to that.
Anyways got another shoot for Monday, its a rally again, fun but the heat and the humidity could play havoc with my well being.

At a lot of levels i do believe commercialization of one's interests and passions tends to kill the creativity.
I guess i just need to step out and take some random pictures. That should appease the soul.
Anyways heading for the shoot....

And the greasy insomnia returns, despite the work out sessions i still cant sleep AGAIN!!!.
Anyways have a dead boring shoot tomorrow, mind numbing and totally uneventful shoot at the Press Club... sighhh

Finally the monsoons are here, i woke up the past Sunday morning to the much awaited rain, though it hasnt been brilliant so far, but its still pretty decent. How i just love the rains ....

Anyways have been rather caught up the past week, working on the studio, painted the walls, now building the arch domes and the kino flows.

Also got an i-7 imac just for working on my photographs, gave away the old imac and upgraded to this bulldozer of a machine, 8gb ram and a 2 Tb HD bloody brilliant.
Even managed to wirelessly hook it up to the camera.
Getting there slow...

Btw where are the rains?

Battle against the bulge has entered its 3rd day, decent work out sessions ( still stiff and scared about the neck) are followed by a pure Cabbage and tomato diet (GROSS!!) I feel like a freaking cow!!.
Hopefully can move to a pure protein diet by next week

A great photoessay
http://www.robinhammond.co.uk/features/the-price-of-gold/

Shot this last week in Goa, just when we got to see the darker side of the moon

Spent last evening with an old friend from law school, a local, bearded and pot bellied. Drank copious amounts of port and fenny at this really authentic goan eatery called florentine. The chicken kafriyal was to kill for. Florentine is a must visit for any one looking for authentic goan food.
Quite a lot was discussed over dinner, right from corruption in the legal system to the history of goan culture and the eventual yet inevitable accession ( read invasion) of goa by the Russians.

So all while I passed my check-in baggage through security I was yet again asked to unpack me bags for inspection and I was questioned if I wanted to open a goan shack in delhi. Don't really blame them. With all those packs of authentic goan spices in my bag any one would have been astounded. Spent a mini fortune yesterday at newtons super Market ( you have to just love the names here). But I guess my favourite is lobo's. I'm quite a sucker when it comes to a Lobo's, be it a bar by the road, Or a shack by the bay, I have to always visit a Lobo's.
But a Gupta's tattoo bar or a pandeys prawn grill are a dead no!!
Dead funny

As I mentioned it's rather important to get away from the mundane at times to seek clarity. But strange things are known to happen to men who walk away to seek the much sought after clarity. The same can be said about me at a lot of levels.
I came here to find answers but I walk away still unsure and burdened with more questions, answers to which only time shall tell.
Yes I am in a lot of ways in a better state of mind, a lot better than what I have been in a long time, and that might help me going for a bit. But eventually those all important answers need to be sought. Time shall come to me rescue.

Goa airport is nostalgia in overdrive. It brings back memories of the 80's where airports resembled train stations but just a wee but cleaner, however dambolin somehow managed to even destroy that notion, just had a big arse bandicoot scurry past me legs.
Such a far cry from what we are used to seeing these days.
This is bloody brilliant

The sad truth, only fuckers fly Air India and bigger fuckers like me fly with them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra5nTlty6CM

Bloody Fucking Beautiful...

Finally rode to a beach this evening, the choppy sea, the shades of grey, the sparse tourists (albeit all gujjus), me and my ipod.
Smoked a few cigs and maybe even a joint. Drank some fenny, just cos i had to do it!!!

And od'ed on Aik Alif- the song from West is West, with pretty strong lyrics-

"jo na jane hak ke takat, rabb na dewae usko himmat"

A five hour lesson in commercial photography, it's 2 am and we are sitting here drinking baileys by the bottle and discussing composition and lighting. Rather educative to say the least.
Have a long long way to go, poor Bahadur will have to be a patient subject for days once I get back

Pork vindaloo at britto's , the choppy sea and an education on kino flo's . Couldn't ask for a better evening.
So yea life will revolve around building a kino flo lighting system when I get back to delhi.

I am officially leading a retired life in Goa and loving it. Havent even been to the beach once, bloody brilliant, just the coconut trees, me and the overlooking church.

Sitting by Salegaon church, sipping ons some scotch, watching the moon play hide and seek with the clouds, i seem to have left behind all the pain and the agony which have been an integral part of me for such a long time.
If this is a dream no one dare wake me.

Spoke with my doctor this morning and discussed my travel issues, and convinced him that i really needed to get out of Delhi. So here i am taking the first flight out tomorrow morning to Goa, the beaches and the monsoon awaits my arrival

Goa here i come!!! 

Music is sometimes essential to cleanse the mind, the soul and the overtly cluttered thought process. Pearl Jam comes to the rescue.

Playlist for the afternoon

1. Release me

2. Lowlight

3. Garden

4. Longing to Belong

5. Elderly Woman behind a counter in a small town ( on repeat for 30 mins)

6. Immortality

7. Nothingman - Live on two legs version

8. Hunger strike

9. Light years
10 Sleight of hand
11. Unthought known
12. Amongst the waves

June has been quite a mixed bag so far, had a couple of great shoots, why cant all clients be like them. Thankfully paid for a lot of bills.

Anyways life still rambles along, at some levels slowly this thought is settling in that my back and neck will never really be pain free. I am hoping otherwise but i dont see how thats going to happen. Its been more than tough, its been distressing to say the least. Yes you can learn to live with pain, but its always at the back of your mind.

Also at a lot of levels i do realize that i need a holiday, but i cant travel. I am not allowed to take a flight, be on a train or drive for long distances, so here i am stuck in delhi, which is at a lot of levels driving me mad.

I am not but a sleepless malice....

June o' June.. 

Just a lill something i had done for a friend, before the surgery

Finally a shoot tomorrow, been months...

Dreaming of UBE- Utopian, Bohemian Existence!!!

Elderly woman behind a counter in a small town breaches the 800 mark on my playlist

"yeh baangur jaisi duniya re duniya re duniya"

Arghhh, I cant believe my luck, not like the neck and shoulder have healed totally, the stiffness still remains and prevents me from sleeping sound. And the scar, o lord the scar, its scary, its like someone slit my neck end to end, just the other day I was in Khan Market buying some coffee at a shop and this wee girl accompanied by her mum looked at me and screamed!!! Well at a lot of levels I cant blame her, the beard, the disheveled hair and that in your face scar, is a brilliant recipe to scare even the mighty hearted.

And now I have been laid low by the infamous Delhi bug, its been a week, and I cant really take this no more…

Fuck, I find my self in a tunnel and cant see the light!!!

“True perfection has to be imperfect”

Gary Fong Powersnoot at work

Gary Fong Arrives....

Finally got off my arse and drove to CP and procured the Canon 580 Ex II Speedlite.
Now just waiting for the Gary Fong, lightsphere, powergrid, powersnoot and the amberdome.

I am still struggling with the neck, tried working out for two days but the stiffness refuses to abate. As for the camera, atleast i pulled it out of its semi retirement and charged it.
Things need to start looking up soon...

So, the Gary Fong products have been ordered, and should be with me on the 26th of this month. But before that i have to get off my arse and drive to CP and buy the 580 Ex Mk II, whats the point of having all those light diffusers with no flash? Would be rather shyte!!!

So, six weeks have past since the surgery, pain, stiffness, insomnia amongst other things have plagued my existence, its been torrid to say the least. Add to that, all those internal demons which have tormented the already tormented soul, i have fought albeit unsuccessfully, but come this evening, i can finally start my much awaited exercise regime.
Just being on the treadmill for those 45 mins can give me much needed impetus to start living again...

And it dawned on me, that music could help, forgotten the joys of music, i somehow managed to find the healing powers of music last evening. At my ex boss's place for some wine and live music, i realised that music could actually heal my jangled nerves.
Yea it did help, albeit a wee bit, but it did.

I officially hate the summers. 

Just this moment, this very moment, when the clock is on the Verge of letting me know it's almost two am, I lie here in bed wondering why?
Beads of sweat slowly crawl down my forehead, the dogs by my side miserable in their existence, mosquitoes aplenty feast on my blood.
The laptop is dead, the power backup just ran out, it's just me and my iPad, delhi summer at it's worse and the government decides to fuck us all with a six hour power outage.
Third night in a row, and I can't understand as to why the freaking sadistic power company and government would indulge in act of power outage in the middle of the night? Why? What perverse pleasures can one derive out of this act of sheer insanity?
Give me a gun and I am all good to go and shoot every fucker complicit in such an act!!
For a man who hasn't really slept in a month, to be standing face to face with the delhi heat in the middle of the night with no sign of electricity is as maddening a scenario as one can fathom.

Anyways, so i couldn't travel the past weekend, thanks to the post op stiffness which is taking forever to abate.
And despite the many setbacks of the past month, including but not limited to the mother, objecting to the fact that i didnt want to be a lawyer no more, i have decided to invest some non existent money into more camera equipment. Firstly getting an external flash(finally), the top of the line canon 580 Ex Mk II, and then having a friend ship me Gary Fong's products from Canada.
The lightsphere, the powergrid, the powersnoot and the amberdome.

I dont know where ill get the money for this, but the power of the credit card shall help me through this.

Its hard to believe that Osama bin Laden is dead, its harder to believe that the world is shocked that he was found and then eventually albeit allegedly killed in Pakistan!!

What was the world expecting?  to find him in the White House while he was going down on Obama in the Oval office or maybe find him at Bush’s ranch in Texas?

1.3 trillion dollars were spent, imagine if only that money was spent on eradicating hunger in Africa and India, or maybe someone even buying me a few more lenses and a EOS 1DS Mk IV?

So does this change anything? I doubt. Its strange that the around the time Osama was killed( 1.30 am IST)  I was reading a book titled The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright, which discussed at length the events leading upto 9/11 including but not limited to the Egyptian upheaval through the 70’s and the 80’s and the role and development of Zawahiri ( who as we speak finds himself the leader of Al Qaeda).

The author went a long way discussing and debating the role of the Egyptian rulers and the crushing of the Islamic Brotherhood towards the eventual creation of the Al Qaeda, it also dwelled into the fact that Zawahiri was not a natural leader and would find it tough leading any organization leave alone the Al Qaeda.

At the end of it all what shocks me the most is the attitude of the world media and the world leaders especially the Pakistani government which claims to the biggest victim of terrorism.

I am sorry but I have read enough over the years, to believe that Pakistan has been and shall continue to be the biggest sympathizers of terrorism and an excellent haven for terrorists including one Mr. Bin Laden.

The realpolitik of this event will either snow ball into a clear division of the forces at play or will soon be brushed under the carpet, time will only tell where this ball rolls now.

Fine... henceforth i relinquish my double masters in law, i am done !!! Family and bosses do you read - I AM DONE- i will gladly burn all my degrees and wipe my arse with the ashes!!

 Ok sudden random urge to own and wear a kilt now!!!

Why does it always rain on me?

I dont know what this is, am i slowly self destructing, or are the forces of universe conniving to screw me? Answers are a luxury i dont have, everything around, seems bleak and screwed.
The way i look at it, you replace one pain with another, you replace one disaster with another, you keep screwing your mind till it finally wakes up and tells you to end it all.
Scary but true i am getting there

I want someone to walk upto me and tell me its not a crime to follow one's dream..

Overtly introspected.....

ITs a Phil Collins Afternoon and THIS gave me the goosebumps...

Seems like if all goes well, i might be heading to the mountains end of the month.  My cousin who too is a photographer is coming down to delhi for 2 weeks and the two of us are planning a wee trip to Dhanolti and beyond.
A tent, 2 canon EOS 7D's, one Canon EOS 5d Mk II, three tripods, two ipads, one macbook pro, one 2 terabyte hard drive, a lifetime supply of wai wai noodles and i think we will manage to get atleast 5 mins of  time lapse photography.

So Zulu tried and thankfully failed at his first Kamakazie mission last evening, as things stand was almost run over by a car, just managed to break his right paw. It was too close to call, Bahadur even though saved his life should be bitch slapped for being a wee bit careless while taking him for his evening stroll.
And now i am glad i didnt get his tail docked, coz had it not been for his tail ( which was used to swiftly pull him away from his sure peril) things would be a lot different this morning.