Few Favorites from captured!

Hard days’ work on return home

When you are staying away from home, you think about it at times. When you get back, there’s work waiting for you – specially, if it’s a festive day.

I do have the liberty of waking at my time but this is gravely marred by the ‘to-do’ list for the day, reminded by mum the previous night before retiring to the cozy bed that ensures a prefect sleep.

The ‘to-do’ list for the next day:

1. The red chillies need a hair cut: Not exactly. The stem, I suppose, is the word I’m looking for. The stem needs to be cut off using the scissors. You sit in the chair in the hall staring at the chillies on the table, picking up one-by-one and cut the stem off and drop them into the container. The population of the chillie species, in particular the red type, is so good that you don't want to delve into counting. Completion of the work assigned is the call and a good and clean work ensures accolades from the commanding officer of the kitchen.

2. Shop for groceries and vegetables: “Take the scooter and get the list of items written in the list and listen be careful when you are riding!” List..List...List. One list for vegetables, one list for groceries and another list in the mind - of the things i wanted to do that day but inevitably has to be delayed (which includes watching movies gulping down alco from the bottle). When you get to the destination, you have to wait in a queue to get all the 'listed' items and you hear yourself say "What the f**k?. This is taking so much time." and get back home after 2 hours of standing, like a street lamp pole.

3. Talk to relatives. Go. Visit them: This was in the ‘to-do list. "Aunt and uncle will be disappointed if you don’t talk to them. These kids of modern days. They don’t know how to maintain family relations. God take care of these fools". Yup.Yup. god shall direct me to the path of the wise and i shall enlighten my brain with all the wisdom from the journey and 'grow up'. Its more an obligation shoved than the need or the desire to speak. The tormenting question of 'How would you maintain relations with people?" - related people in particular and the inevitable conclusion drawn from the present behavior of mine - my refusal to speak to relatives and the griping that goes after the talk, makes my brain go berserk.

Work awaits you everywhere. So does the fun that follows it.

Oh no...Fred-e AGAIN!

Fred–e has taken the bus, Scheduled Departure Time – 12 : 30. He keeps shifting between reading his book and listening his music (the charge level indicator shows one-stick which is to say its gonna last for approx an hour...naheeein. What is Fred-e to do when its dead!!!! Fred-e kya hoga? The hour hand is 'in-between' 3 and 4 while the minute hand points to 6. 15: 30 is the time it said). Fred-e decides to sleep after pouring out water from his eyes. The journey is on.

Fred-e wakes up and checks for the place first and then the time. He looks out and says to himself, “I'm crossing western ghats”. He looked for the time. It was 18:40. I'm traveling through the twilight hour.

The hills far-off look worn out. The gray clouds descend from the sky and blanket the mountains – partially. The rain drops keep hitting the glass window, not in a continuous fashion though. The dark lord casts his shadow over the place pushing the light away but not before passing a message “Light Light! Come another day”. The time moves on. Fred-e looks at the place and sees a house, lit by bulb. The bulb might be of 40W. He wonders if there are people living in there and if there are any??? How on earth do they live with a single lit bulb (If the reader is saying that it might be a fodder or cattle house, Fred -e would say, I SAW IT CORRECTLY. IT WASN'T THAT). The bus moves on and Fred-e catches a glimpse of another 'human' house but this time there was no bulb. There was no light source. That definitely must be a ghost house! The place which the bus passed through had few shops around and few houses. Life must be very hard here.

Fred-e wonders as to why everytime he has to go thro' this route always? What Fred-e didn't realise is that this is the ONLY route that could connect by road to his place. Fred-e was blank...like always.

A Walk on the Beach sand

The day was Wednesday, 03^rd of September, the day Indians across the land celebrated lord ganesha’s birthday, I decided to take a walk in the beach.

The time between 6 and 7 in the eve is what I prefer. My dad dropped me off the highway – he had a program to attend somewhere close. One has to walk the tar road covered with iron ore on either side, on foot or – if lucky enough for the day – by an auto rickshaw. Lucks' never on my side. So, my walk begins.

The road is dusty. Heavy vehicles rest on sides of the choking road. Few vehicles pass through the road, raising the settled particles in the air and atmospheric pressure difference causes the particles to exhibit ‘tyndall effect’ and find a passage into the lungs. It was fine with the auto rickshaws going by (lesser ore members in the air) but it got to my nerve when it was a heavy vehicle that went past. I cursed the guy sitting behind the steering wheel. Five minutes after the cursing, I was there. It took around 15 minutes to reach a point from where one could see the horizon.

The clouds gathered at a region in the sky, the sun hiding behind them, ships on the horizon and a lone man stepping onto the white sand. The images were stunning. I hate when there are too many people around. Amidst the population which indulged in water activities, beach side sport, talking and other things which I couldn’t see (they were sitting far off), I found a place for myself. I pulled out my digital image capturer and focused the lens on the picturesque view in the sky, though it had changed slightly. I took a few of them, having anchored liner and the sun behind the clouds(which you can see here), a brilliant amalgamation of colors in the sky with a line of water embedded in the image.

I decided to take a walk and take more pictures as and when the scene in the sky develops. I walked past writings on the sand, sand castles destroyed by raucous waves, people capturing picturesque view in their phones, group of shells on the shore – broken. After covering a distance, I take ‘the capturer’ and click the way to hold the image. Clicking, viewing and deleting ones that were not ‘imprinted’ well. I had walked enough. It was around 6:45 and I thought its better I move the other direction and get onto the ‘short road’ made of huge stone blocks. The road that directs to the sea! And there I go. The twilight shade was getting darker every minute but I decided to stay longer.

I embarked the journey to the other side. This time it took me around 20 minutes to reach to the start of the road. It was dark already, the sun was going to bed quite early(which I got to know from my aunt later when she said ‘its getting dark early these days’). I step onto the road to walk into the sea and I see people walking the other direction (its known around that staying beyond 7 in that area is not a good idea. Sirjee!). As I walk into the dark sea, I see two men fishing, standing on piled stones. I captured it and got a blurred image. It seems I hadn’t chosen the right option for the night picture, plus the one which does not emit the powerful light, keeping the natural essence intact. I did not remember the mode and the way to set it and was in no mood to test the option as well. Had to be content with what ever I could capture. For the next image, keeping the option which got me the blurred image, active, I tried to compensate the blur by avoiding the ‘hand trembles’. Failed miserably in that and had to suffice with what I had got. It was close to 7:30 and I was still making my way into the sea. Amidst the craze of capturing scenic beauty, it never crossed my mind to stop and take a look around at the dark night in the sea with the glittering stars on top. I stopped three-fourth of the way and stood on one of the stones that formed the pavement and stared at the ocean. The ships had lit up at this time, strong breeze flew past me, waves hit each other and eventually hit the stone surfaces, the night had occupied the place and I had occupied a tiny space to watch this. The mind was void, void of any activity (as is the case always). It was only viewing. Do nothing else. I turned to look the extreme where the ‘road’ ends (a little light was available) and realized I’m alone. There is no one around. That was it. I was alone staring the dark, feeling it all. The silence I guess was what made me stand there for another 10 minutes. I started walking back – jumping on the stones – turned each time to see. Fatigue had set in. My skin pores were making way for the water from the body. I think this diminished my experience with the night – alone. Nonetheless, the surrounding was something to embrace.