August 30th, 2010

An August Bank Holiday means one thing – Notting Hill Carnival, Europe’s larget street party, where the posh streets of London are transformed into one big rubbish tip.

Then again, the rubbish is totally worth the atmosphere and music – by far the best street party of the year.

There were around 40 separate soundsystems playing all kinds of music from Ska to Dubstep to Reggae.  This was Channel One’s soundsystem:

It was one of the best without a doubt.  I took these pictures when it was less crowded.  After a few hours it was impossible to get into this area so going before 3pm is key to enjoying the carnival! Too many people = less fun.

A short video I took – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTTCRRwyQfs

£1.50 to take a piss? Isn’t THAT taking the piss?

Vuvuzelas might have been banned by UEFA but were out in force here:

I can’t remember the name of this soundsystem but it was pretty funky:

Letting your arse hang out is not cool, even if you are wearing Ed Hardy boxers:

Very cool burger man who persuaded us that his £3 hotdog was far more superior to the guy next to him selling an icecream for the same amount.

Had this instead:

Jerk chicken, rice and peas  – it had to be done.

Toilet queues:

The BBC 1 Xtra soundsystem was the busiest – and most overrated:

Somehow we managed to walk through the crowds to leave it, and police had blocked off the exit so no one could enter it from here.  This was the only place we encountered some trouble, when someone threw some glass bottles.  Unfortunately this kind of trouble has deterred a lot of people from going to the Carnival, which is a shame really.

It was in that crowd I dropped my watch for about the 6th time. I’ve dropped it down a drain in India, as well as lost it in crowds numerous times here and abroad, yet someone still ends up finding it for me! In this case, a guy tapped me on the shoulder and asked if it was mine. Very lucky watch. Kind of pointless story I suppose.

This man stood outside his house with his own ‘mini’ soundsystem:

The best soundsystem was Sir Lloyd which mostly played Dubstep and surprisingly wasn’t crowded at all.

There were lots of very good random acts performing on street corners.

The carnival must have the most Ed Hardy gear in one place at one time.

Most of the houses and shops were boarded up – no doubt in case riots took place like last year.

This man was walking around the streets with his “pet snake” as he put it. I thought it was a fake until it almost licked my face.   I have to say, it was a great way for him to get people out of the way!

It just occurred to me that I took no pictures of any floats or performers – for a change ; )

Sadly, the Notting Hill Carnival also marks the end of summer.  I’m positive we have a few more days of hot weather left though..! Summer can’t be over yet.. it’s gone far too quickly.

Thanks for looking, as always!

Summer has finally arrived,  and with it – Gay Pride.

It’s a colourful, lively, good-natured event with great vibes and friendly people.  I went along when people were congregating in Baker Street, in preparation for the parade.

All pics – Canon 350D, 50mm f1.8

Only when I was looking back at my pics did I realise that he resembles Nigel (or “Angel Nigel” as he once told me) – a man who often turns up at events dressed in England colours.

One year at Wimbledon he was outside the grounds demonstrating how to serve:

Another time I came across him in the street randomly:

He demonstrated how to play football:

At a Tibet Protest:

I’d forgotten about him actually – once I bumped into him on the Tube and we had a conversation about rings.. I don’t recall exactly what was said but I vaguely remember him telling me about why he wears certain rings.  Very random.

Anyway, back to Pride!

My personal favourite:

In the spirit of the World Cup, vuvuzelas were for sale:

Great atmosphere as always.  I didn’t stay for the actual parade but apparently around 1m people were expected to turn up

London has some fab public events including various carnivals over the next couple of months.  Looking forward to those!

———————————

Pride 2007 – http://www.tanya-n.com/?p=79

Pride 2008 – http://www.tanya-n.com/?p=124

Pride 2009 – http://www.tanya-n.com/?p=332

So the World Cup is upon us (in case you hadn’t noticed) which means flags on cars, people bunking off work, and unrealistic hopes and expectations that England might actually win this year (not that I’m being negative – of course I want us to win!).

Came across this fan:

He was reliving his memories of ’66 when England won the World Cup, and explaining the significance of his T-Shirt, which has a print of the front of a magazine from the 70s.

He, like many others, was in Trafalgar Square to watch England’s first match against the USA.  However, there was a slight problem. The big screen that was up the day before, had gone.

Whilst the Mayor of London – Boris Johnson (who I did not vote for I’d like to point out) had a ceremony in Trafalgar Square the day before, to celebrate the opening of the games with a large screen, this was taken down the following day.  Why? Well, apparently it was only up for  South Africa’s first game against Mexico, yet for England’s matches, Boris didn’t give a toss, to put it mildly, and thought it’d attract too many people.

So,  Boris flew to South Africa to experience the World Cup first hand, leaving Londoners without a single outdoor screen in central London.  Whilst other cities in the country and around the world have public screenings, London has nothing – not in any of the large parks, not in Trafalgar Square – nada.  Thanks Boris – what a wonderful Mayor you are.  “3rd world” cities have more provisions for their citizens than we do.  Let’s hope he fixes up for the Olympic Games, although hopefully by then he won’t be Mayor.

I’m not bitter, honest.

England vs Slovenia in the office:

I’m sure many offices around the country looked like that at 3pm on Wednesday, when England had to win to go through to the second round.

Across the road in Broadgate Circle:

(Broadgate Circle is in the City of London – not in central London, and the only open-air public screen in London which is not maintained by the council. I’m sure Boris would have had this taken down if he had the power to!)

The crowd was mainly full of office workers in suits since the area is in the heart of corporate London.

The only vuvuzela in sight!

We did it!  Germany up next..

Shoreditch is an ever evolving hub of street art.

This is by PEN1:

I eventually finished the roll of Ilford Pan 400 that I bought in India but shot in the UK.

A protest opposite Downing Street:

They asked me to take their picture:

The protest was about 17 Sikh men sentenced to death in the UAE.  Pamphlets were being handed out they didn’t explain why they were on death row.

Parliament Square:

I went to Blackpool for work.  The view from the hotel:

The famous Blackpool tower:

Earlier that evening Blackpool Football Club had paraded through the town in celebration of being promoted to the English Premiership.

Some fans saw my camera and one of the girls got excited and wanted a picture, so I asked her friend if she also wanted to be in it.  A guy with them then got aggressive and said to me ‘What the fuck do you want a picture for?  You could be a pervert for all we know!”.  I said ‘Yeah, I could be – do I look like a pervert?  Anyway, no worries.”  I then walked off not wanting to provoke him since he was drunk.

I could hear one of the girls telling him not to be so mean and that she wanted a picture.  I had a feeling he would call me back, and he did.  He said he wanted to be in the picture too.  I joked and said ‘are you suuure?’ and he insisted he really wanted a picture:

At that point I couldn’t care less about the image but just thought it was funny how he switched so dramatically.

This girl wanted a picture too:

The perfect city for me would always be by the sea.

Back in London, I shot Matisyahu at The Borderline:

The venue was pretty small, and shooting was quite awkward since there was no designated photo pit.  The music was brilliant – it was an acoustic set and included beatboxing, which I didn’t know Matisyahu did until then!

From feel-good reggae in a cosy bar to heavy metal at the Forum:

The Haunted and Slayer.

I love the guitar:

His guitar rocks too

Some other random images from gigs I shot months ago.

John Butler Trio at HMV Apollo:

Florence & The Machine at Brixton Academy:

I might do a concert-related blog soon.  How I wish I as at Glastonbury this weekend.. next year I have to go!

A couple of pictures from Royal Ascot, taken with my compact digital:

As always, thanks for looking

This stunning theatre production is back in London after 4 years of a world tour, and it’s no surprise it’s been such a success. The show is fantastic – colourful, lively, and with some great performers.

Carol Furtado – the leading lady:

The costume room:

I’ll have to ask how many costumes are used in the show, but from the above picture it’s fair to say quite a lot!  They were all designed by the wonderful Bipin Tanna.  As well as being an incredibly talented designer, he’s also one of the greatest people I know, and that’s an understatement.

Denzil Smith:

If you want an uplifting, dazzling show with great choreography (kudos to Vaibhavi Merchant), sparkling costumes and talented performers, make sure you check it out.  It’s showing in London until June 5th (only a few more days to go!) before starting a US tour in a few months’ time.

Official website: http://www.merchantsofbollywood.com.au

I kind of wish I’d used some Neopan 1600 black and white film for some of these shots.  Speaking of film, I’m highly unimpressed after opening up a box of Kodak Ultramax 400 that I bought in India, only to find Kodak Gold 200 inside!

Next.. a bit of UK street.  It’s been a while.

Breakfast:

Quite possibly the best Uttapam I have ever eaten.  I must have mentioned this before, but India really does have some of the best food there is around, and it’s cheap!  When you compare the prices and quality to that in London, it really does make you wonder..

Of course it’s more or less customary to drink tea in India:

Nashik is a few hours away from Mumbai and is known as one of the world’s holiest Hindu cities – the others being Haridwar, Rishikesh and Allahabad.

Like with all of these four places, Nashik is located on the river, and the Hindu tradition is for people to bathe in the water, as they believe their sins will be washed away.

In the nearby market:

Papri Chaat:

It’s one of my favourite Indian snacks made up of potatoes, chick peas, tamarind chutney, yoghurt, and crispy fried wafer-type things. Yum.

Switching to film:

Kodak Gold 100, Nikon F3 50mm f1.8

I bought this film in Mumbai and also got the below images, as well as those from my last blog, developed in Mumbai.  Interestingly enough, I couldn’t find any photo shops willing to develop the rolls within the hour or even after a few hours.  I went to a couple of places and both said that they only turn the machine on once a day and that hardly anyone brings in rolls of film any more.  To get 2 rolls of film developed/processed,  printed, and scanned onto CD, cost around £6 – around half of what it would in the UK.  I also bought some black and white Ilford PAN 400 which I have never seen in the UK, despite it being ‘Made In England’!  It’s what’s currently in my camera.. curious to see the results when I’m done with that roll.

Bad focusing = ruined shot:

I’m not sure how I managed to focus precisely on her earring.

This boy kept asking me to take his picture and started to invade all the shots:

A ceremony for the dead:

I had asked if I could take that picture.

She asked me for a picture:

It takes 2 people to use a custom-made manually run machine to squeeze sugar cane juice:

Perfect for a baking hot day, trust me.

Another shot ruined by dodgy focusing:

People immerse all kinds of things into the river but mostly flowers and coconuts:

Speaking of coconuts, in Mumbai a coconut fell from a tree about 5 ft from where I was standing.  That surely would have resulted in severe head injuries had it fallen on my head :| My friend then accidentally hit me in the face with the same coconut after picking it up.  Had I not been wearing sunglasses that probably would have taken my eye out.  Coconuts definitely are not lucky for me! The result of that episode – I will always avoid walking under coconut trees.

Interesting sign outside a temple:

After seeing it I decided I didn’t want to go inside.  There’s a lot of discrimination and racism in India.  To buy a flat in Mumbai (I’m not sure about the rest of the India), there’s a list of criteria you have to match.  Most apartments will specify that you have to be of a particular religion to live there, for example you’ll get all-Hindu flats where Muslims cannot possibly live, and vice versa, as well as all-Christian areas, and even only-Vegetarian apartments.  Many places also disprove of single/divorced residents.  A friend of mine had to pretend she was still married otherwise being a single divorced mother she would not have been allowed to live where she does.

Of course, if you’re rich and famous, then none of the above applies and you’re free to live wherever you want! Welcome to India : )

Kodak ColorPlus 200 – Nikon F3 50mm f1.8

A waterfall in Nashik:

Back in Mumbai.

I see this woman and her child every single time – well, they always come up to the car window:

Previous pictures:

I asked her why she still doesn’t have a job and she laughed. It kind of makes you realise these people will simply live their lives asking for money, and I’m pretty sure the next time I’m in Mumbai I’ll see her again in the same place, with her son getting older, until one day he’s walking around doing the same thing.

I love rickshaws.  They’re so old-school:

India is the only country I have been to where faith is visible virtually everywhere.  In Mumbai you can’t walk down the street without seeing signs of religion – mainly Hindu, Muslim and Christian.  I find it quite fascinating and impressive just how much religion plays a part in the lives of people here.  There are countless festivals and religious days, and random processions during the day and night.  India is truly a country of faith.  Faith and Bollywood.

I really liked the results from Kodak Gold 100 – definitely a film I’d use again although I’d probably never get a chance to use it in the UK since the sun barely shines! :P ColorPlus 200 was OK although a little too grainy for my liking.

Back to digital now. So I went on a bike ride with my friend Priyanshu which was CRAZY to say the least.  Seriously mad.

Somehow I managed to take self-portraits while on the bike.. probably a death wish but ah well.  It was fun!

Also took a video:

I love how almost everyone is looking at us in this pic:

Sunday Brunch at Olive:

Yum.

I tend not to eat ‘western’ food in India. I mean, why eat stuff I can easily get in the UK when I could be eating this – a typical Gujarati meal in a thali:

From left to right – paneer, peas, potato, dal, mango pulp (keri no ras), soup.

Having said that, there’s no shortage of Indian food in the UK, what with the national dish being curry!

I took loads of videos driving through the streets of Mumbai with the windows rolled down (not the wisest idea in that heat but had to be done) blasting Punjabi tracks :P I’ll have to upload them sometime.

These kids were enjoying the music:

REALLY good pizza:

Fantastic view of the Sea Link from the Cliff Tower apartment block in Mount Mary:

Another view – this time from the 28th floor on the outskirts of Mumbai:

Not a slum in sight.. contrast that with this – http://www.tanya-n.com/India10/Blog4/IMG_5018.jpg in an area of Juhu – almost looks like a completely different city.

Too bad I didn’t have a tripod on me to get a good night shot:

A slightly more abstract cityscape:

Another view – this time from the lovely Sunayna‘s and Ganesh (Hegde’s) apartment:

It just occurred to me that I was too busy enjoying the views that I barely took any pictures of the insides of any of these buildings.  The interior design is definitely something to marvel at.  Something for next time : )

I have a few more pics but decided against posting them right now – I might save them for another time.

So, that’s all from India for the time being.  Back to the streets of London next!

Shukriya.

This being my 6th or 7th visit to India, I had virtually no desire to take pictures of people in such situations. In fact, I found myself walking past them, barely noticing them. I guess I’m no longer an ‘outsider’ or foreigner with a fascination for these people, although their tenacity and smiles still amaze me. So, instead of lots of cliché’d images depicting poverty, here is a selection of images instead depicting the beauty of Mumbai, because there’s a lot of it : )

40 Degrees: Mumbai, India
April 2010

It’s hot – around 40C, and humid. Seriously hot. So hot, that walking around during the day with a camera is draining. I used my film camera a fair bit – mainly because it’s so much lighter to carry around.

Nikon F3 50mm f1.8 – Kodak Colour 200 (purchased in India!)

Driving a taxi around all day in this heat cannot be fun, especially if you know anything about Mumbai traffic.

This road, near the Haji Ali Durgah, is a nightmare to cross.  It took about 10 minutes to cross half of it, by which time this policeman pointed out there was a subway.  Having been here about 6 times, I felt a bit stupid.

Flowers being sold just outside the Haji Ali:

If you follow my blog, this place will be really familiar to you.  I visit it every time I’m in Mumbai – it’s definitely one of my favourite areas.  It’s on an island of its own, surrounded by sea, which makes it a really peaceful and serene place. Of course, it has religious significance to Muslims, although people of all faiths visit it.

The tide eventually rises and cuts off the path to the area, so it’s only accessible at certain times of the day.

This lady helped me when I slipped on some rocks:

I was attempting to converse in Hindi with her when she answered me in perfect English.

Some digital pics:

I put my iPod on shuffle prior to taking the above, and John Butler Trio’s “Under a Indian Sky” came on.  Perfect.

As the sun was setting on one side, the moon was rising on the other.

He was singing traditional Qawwali (or Sufi) music:

I don’t remember the last time I saw a sky like this in the UK.  I wonder if Indians take this sunset for granted..

I guess not otherwise they wouldn’t be taking pictures of it like me to look back at ; )

It does make me wonder though.  Here in the UK, such a sight is quite novel as you’d need a cloudless sky at sunset, and even in summer that isn’t as common as you’d think.  Yet in India, every evening around 6:30pm, this sight is basically guaranteed (with the exception of the monsoon season I guess).

Indian pizza!

The Haji Ali Juice centre has the best Indian pizza, hands down. Note the dollop of ketchup.. I never usually have ketchup with pizza but was told it has to be done!

No tripod means blurry night shots.

Li:

Me:

The Hare Krishna Temple in Juhu:

Not the best picture – photos weren’t allowed so that’s all I managed to get.  We were stopped by a Hare Krishna guy called Darko, wanting us to fill out a questionnaire to determine our ‘Spiritual IQ’.  There were questions like:

Why do you think people are suffering in the world today?

1) It’s down to luck/chance

2) Because of what they did in their past life

I don’t remember the other options but you get the idea.  I believe in karma, but that relates to what you do in THIS life, not a ‘past life’.  I knew the ‘correct’ answer would be 2) and when we went through the answers, we had a pretty heated discussion about why we disagreed with this.

I told Darko that it’s ridiculous to say someone is suffering today because they did something ‘bad’ in a previous life.  People like him are trying to justify why there’s so much suffering in the world, and it makes them feel less guilty to attribute it to something terrible they did in a past life.  That way they can make themselves feel better by thinking those people deserve the state they live in.  It’s a load of BS, to put it mildly. He also claimed planes existed 5000 years ago.

The whole debate was quite amusing, and Darko tried hard to justify the Hare Krishna mentality, but ultimately, he didn’t get very far!  He said he didn’t expect us to debate so much with him.  That’s what you get for picking on the wrong people, mate! We don’t all follow faiths blindly and believing any drivel that’s preached to us.  Friendly guy, but on a slightly different planet as far as I’m concerned.

Costa Coffee in Mumbai is apparently where the ‘high society’ hangs out.  It’s funny because here in the UK it’s just a regular coffee shop for the general public, not ‘posh’ people.  When you walk into Costa in Mumbai, everyone turns and stares to see who has walked in, and with who.  Amusing stuff.  This picture, taken in Costa, won’t make much sense to anyone, but I wanted to post it anyway:

Priyanshu:

Ashish, or Asheesh(a) should I say – my attempt at being funny:

Awesome t-shirt:

Watching the final of the IPL:

It was a massive deal – Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Kings. Mumbai lost :|

A packed Juhu Beach:

Next blog – more from Mumbai, and Nashik..

I think my love for colour film photography has returned.

Cheers for looking : )

January 2010

I’ve photographed around Mumbai so many times, and yet there’s always something new to see or experience.  It’s basically impossible to get bored of this city – it continues to amaze and inspire, and every time I return there it seems to have progressed or changed in some way or another.

In India, it’s common for the dead to be paraded/carried through the streets to reach the destination of the funeral.  I’ve seen this once before at night, but this was the first time I’d seen it in daylight.  The procession passed the car I was in, and I discretely took this shot:

The picture has been the subject of much debate amongst friends.  Is it disrespectful to take such an image? Interestingly enough, all the photographers I have asked have said no, it’s fine to take such an image, and all non-photographers have been strictly against it.  For me, I was careful to be discrete and as far as I could see, no one noticed me.  I wouldn’t take a picture knowing I might deeply offend someone.

While it takes London Underground 6 months to fix one escalator (no joke), in Mumbai during this time a skyscraper has been built.  Like a friend of mine said though, as quick as the buildings go up, they also come down!

This sums up the obvious contrasts within Mumbai; poverty and affluence living side by side.

The same view, by night:

Smoking goat?! Looks like it.

A man asked me to take a picture of his kid:

That is one angry baby. I don’t think I’ve ever taken a picture of an angry baby.

Stumbled across these puppies.  As soon as you give them a little bit of attention they start following you around, so I bought them some biscuits.

That made them follow me around even more!

They reminded me of the time I went to Juhu Beach for Holi, and a dog there literally followed me for over an hour.

Kids playing on the streets love to be photographed.  It’s impossible to walk past with a camera without them asking to be snapped, and of course I do.

Look at their enthusiasm – how could I not! I suppose these kind of images are becoming a bit of a cliche but it’s impossible to ignore them and why would I?

I didn’t notice when I took the pic, but they almost knocked that poor man over!

I have never seen a single KitKat piece like this before, and quite frankly, I wouldn’t recommend it.  While India has some of the best food I have ever had, their chocolate isn’t quite so great. You’d think KitKat would taste the same everywhere.

Buying matching bangles for some saris:

Shopping in India is great, although after a while it gets tiresome.  For those who have ever shopping in Mumbai, you’ll know what I mean.  If you think Oxford Street is busy, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

The most bizarre kid’s ride, yet impressive:

Uttapam:

One word – yummy.  It’s a South Indian dish and like a savoury pancake.  I’m drooling thinking about it!

One for the ‘Shooting From The Inside’ series:

I can’t really illustrate the traffic situation in Mumbai through images, but this shows the rickshaw I was in trying to make some kind of ridiculous u-turn against the direction of traffic.  In London, if you tried doing that there’d be road rage but over in Mumbai no one reacts badly.  It really is amazing to see the difference in drivers in these two places.

A crowd gathered outside a celebrity’s house, hoping to catch a glimpse of them:

My favourite place in Mumbai – the Haji Ali, or “floating mosque“.

I’ve written about this place every time I have been to Mumbai I think.  In fact, my first ever blog about India was on the Haji Ali in 2006 – http://www.tanya-n.com/?p=17 – as I said then “These pictures probably don’t fully represent the serenity surrounding the Haji Ali, but it’s one of those places I’d return to whenever I go to Mumbai.”

This time I went on a Sunday, which is the busiest day and very crowded.

This man insisted I get a picture taken by him and thinking about it, I should have just for the fun of it:

I think he had a film camera on him.

Arguably the best place for fresh juice in Mumbai:

These guys dropped their ball outside the gate and asked if I could get it. I picked it up and said ‘nope!’ which they found funny. So they pleaded with me and I took a picture of them.

More street kids loving the camera.

Marine Drive:

The new Bandra Worli Sea Link:

In Mumbai, a sign like the above is needed as there is basically no concept of lanes.

This is a fairly new bridge linking Bandra to Worli and central Mumbai which costs 50 rupees one way (around 70p). It takes around 7 minutes to cross an area that would otherwise take 45/50 minutes, so it’s definitely worth it!

Some funky meaningful graffiti in the Mahim area:

This says “Roti, kapda, makaan aur condom”..

.. meaning “roti, clothes, shelter and condoms”.  I didn’t know what Amitabh’s face had to do with that but was just informed that he has a film called “Roti kapda aur Makaan”!

There’s more of this in on my Flickr page >here<.

Leg wax – Indian style:

Basically that involves rolling up your trousers,  standing up and being watched over by two policewomen. That’s right – they came in and watched, while they waited to get their eyebrows threaded, still on the job  I can’t say I’ve ever experienced that before – a picture had to be taken! The girls in the salon will probably never read this since they don’t know my site or full name, but they were so, so friendly.  I’ll make a point of saying hi when I’m next around.

I’m reading a great book right now – Shantaram, by Gregory D Roberts.  It’s an incredible true story and it describes Mumbai perfectly.  Everyone with even a vague interest in India needs to read it

I took these images the start of my most recent trip to India.  For the last couple of entries I reduced all pictures to 600 pixels (length), but this bothered me as I could really notice a difference in resolution and general quality.. so they’re all back to 800 pixels now.  I’d rather have better quality images that take a fraction longer to load..

The waiting game at Heathrow:

Onboard! More waiting – this time for the queue of planes before us to take off:

I have a preference (by preference, I mean slight obsession) for sitting by the window when flying, so I went onto the Air India website to ensure I could get a window seat.  The seat planner wasn’t very useful so I did some research and managed to find a detailed map of the plane, showing such information as seat sizes and aisle widths (see what I mean by obsession?).  The one thing it didn’t have is where the wings of the plane would be in relation to the seats, so I applied some logic and assumed the worst view would be near the middle where the wing would start.  I therefore selected a seat I thought would provide me with the best view possible!

Well, that worked.

That morning was absolutely freezing.. and I’ve never seen a snowy UK from the skies.  It was a lot prettier in reality than what that picture depicts.

Far far away from London.. landed in Mumbai :D Finally, some sunshine!

I was only there for a short time though before taking to the skies again.. this time headed to Delhi.  Not the best image but I like the contrast of slums next to modern day skyscrapers – just one of the many, many conflicting and diverse aspects of India.  Oh,and at least the wing didn’t invade half the shot:

Gujarati or Janpat market in Delhi:

I wrote about this place two years ago in quite some detail:

We headed off to Haridwar by road for the Kumbh Mela, and on the way noticed some soldiers near India Gate:

I stopped to take some pictures of them.  They were practicing for Republic Day (January 26th – a very significant day in India).

Some of them were visibly distracted by my presence and the guy ordering them around had to tell them in Hindi to pay attention, which was quite funny.

He asked me to take his picture before I hopped back into the car:

The following images were all taken from inside the car (another ‘Shooting From the Inside’ series coming up soon methinks).

Sad sight..

A eunuch, or Hijra:

These ladyboys or whatever you want to call them make money by just being.. themselves.  It’s meant to be bad luck to NOT give them money (apparently they will put a curse on you) so you will see people literally hand over money to avoid their bad vibes.  It sounds ridiculous but this is common practice in India.

I think some of the best food in India can be found in these small, quirky (and often dirty-looking) restaurants, known as dhabas.

Don’t be deceived by the shabbiness of these places – the food is delicious and incredibly cheap (you can get enough for 2 people for as little as £1 – that wouldn’t even buy you one paratha in the UK!).

This boy was literally just walking around with a snake in the hope of making a bit of a money.

Full-view:

Salad – Indian stylee:

Cows in an ashram near Haridwar.  This one was SO cute:

She was only a few days old but already knew her owner’s voice and would go to him when he called her:

Had an interesting conversation with these religious men in the temple:

As is customary in India, they offered some tea which I have to say I really miss.  The tea is simply the best in India! PG tips has got nothing on Indian Chai!

Cows and monkeys are everywhere

If I were doing this blog chronologically, this is where the Kumbh Mela pictures would be.  See previous entry for those – here.

The North was cold.. not as cold as what London was at the time, but still, cold.  It was strange watching the news, though.  While Europe and North America were suffering with sub-zero conditions, 9C seemed like s fairly decent temperature:

Leaving Haridwar.. the fog was ridiculous.  The worst fog I have ever seen.

Visibility was barely a few metres..

I took this video which illustrates just how crazy the roads of India can be, especially in this kind of fog:

Thanks for looking, as always!
Next blog.. Mumbai.. and some much needed sunshine.

January 2010

Starting on January 14th 2010 and lasting until April 28th 2010, the Maha Kumbh Mela is taking place.  This Hindu festival is held every 12 years in one of four holy cities in India (the others being Allahabad, Ujain and Nashik), and also every 6 years (Ardh or ‘half’ Kumbh Mela). It’s the largest gathering of humans on the planet with around 60 million people attending the last Mela.

I’ve always wanted to experience it and I travelled to Haridwar, located in the foothills of the Himalayas where I spent four days soaking in the atmosphere.

Haridwar isn’t a big town, and there have been stampedes as well as bomb threats in past, so security was stepped up and was visible everywhere I went. For starters, all hotels in the area were taking peoples’ fingerprints when checking in. A first for me!

While the festival began on January 14th, I got there on 12th so these first images are from the days just prior to the Mela.

There were security checks at every entry point into the area.

The River Ganges flows through Haridwar which is revered and seen as incredibly holy; taking a dip in these waters is said to cleanse one of all sins.

The area is full of these fun yet very crafty animals who WILL snatch your bag or anything they set their eyes on.

Talk about greedy:

I can’t help but find them cute, though.

I fed them some bananas : )

Although the Ganges is said to be highly polluted, because of its significance in Hinduism, the water is commonly drunk.  I had some, and I’m alive! It didn’t taste bad either.

The Kumbh Mela attracts Sadhus (holy Hindu men – mostly dressed in orange) and they could be seen all around.  Unfortunately, the naga (naked) sadhus who live in the Himalayas and only come out amongst common people during the Mela, were nowhere to be seen. Apparently the only day they’ll attend is February 12th, known as Maha Shivratri.  I’m slightly gutted I didn’t know this before the trip!  You see, throughout the months of the festival, there are several important bathing dates which are determined by the constellations, and the 12th is seen as one the holiest days.

There were a few boys like this one who would throw a rope with an attached magnet into the river, in the hope of picking up coins that pilgrims have thrown in – very cheeky:

I saw this dog every day, and at one point it seemed to be following me around after I made a kissing noise at it (you know, when you call a dog..):

Every evening of every day of the year, an aarti (Hindu prayer) takes place in Haridwar where people place a lit candle with flowers (see above) into the river.

That evening I was watching Zee News.  Can you spot me? :P

January 14th – Makar Sankrati Snan – First Holy Bath

The next morning I went to the banks of the river at 5am.  Throughout the festival, there are several important bathing dates, and these included January 14th and 15th.  Some believe the water of the Ganges is the ‘holiest’ at 5am, and so I went along in the hope of catching the naga sadhus who I assumed might come out for the first day.

The place was notably crowded and I couldn’t believe the amount of people bathing in the freezing water.. it was around 3C and I was shivering despite being all wrapped up! It’s crazy what faith will make you do.

This dog was running around barking at everyone and jumping into the river and trying to disrupt peoples’ prayers:

It was quite funny until he jumped up at me and almost clawed my face!

It was lovely seeing the sun rise over the river.

Zee News presenter:

Both the young and old continued to bathe as the sun came up.

I had assumed the atmosphere would be quite chaotic but by contrast it was incredibly peaceful and everyone was so friendly.

Indian men love to pose : )

Girls are more shy to pose and usually need a bit of encouragement from someone else to smile for the camera.

Brrrr:

Since I’d arrived at 5am, I left a few hours later and queues had formed to get into the area.

There were a number of people selling cartons such as these as it’s common for Hindus to take back some water from the Ganges for friends and family:

I decided to step into the river as I was far too cold to immerse myself completely, and when I got out I was met with a group of men filming me on their mobile phones.

I told them they can stop treating me like a Bollywood actress but it only made them film me more!

More monkey action.  I could never get bored of photographing monkeys.

This policeman was an absolute character:

While people took their places for the Aarti, he was trying to get everyone to sit down and his comments were really funny – I don’t remember exactly what he said but I just remember laughing a lot at what he was saying.  He was quite religious and kept mentioning god.

January 15th – Mauni Amavasya and Surya Grahan (Solar Eclipse) – Second Holy Bath

The second day of the festival was a very important day in the Kumbh Mela’s calendar as it coincided with a solar eclipse.

The police made him move..

Mr. Funny Policeman was being interviewed, and he was loving the attention:

People were praying in the direction of the sun.. but no one seemed to know when the eclipse was taking place!

In Haridwar it was just a partial eclipse and I asked a camera man whether it had started.  He let me look through his camera to see it, and I tried to take a picture of it, quite unsuccessfully!

I was surprised that the protective glasses weren’t anywhere to be found, but then again, Haridwar is fairly remote and sometimes I forget that this is India!

A big thank you to Shonal Ganguly, the lovely AP cameraman who very kindly cut some of his paper off for me, so that I could view the eclipse myself : )

Not the best image as I didn’t have a telephoto lens:

I was then mobbed by some others who wanted to see the eclipse too. I had to ask them to get into a line as they were all grabbing the paper!

So that’s it.. a bit of a mammoth blog for a mammoth festival.  I didn’t feel like leaving it and I wish I could have stayed for the entire duration.  There was something very serene and tranquil about seeing people praying in the river, and if you get the chance to visit Haridwar before May, I’d highly recommend it.  Of course, you can always wait another 12 years for the next one.

Mumbai

January 17th, 2010

It’s been over a week that I’ve been in India. I spent the first week in Haridwar at the Kumbh Mela (the world’s largest festival) which was immense, to say the least. More on that later though – I have too many images to edit! For now I will say that I could probably have stayed there for the entire duration of the festival which is 3 months, if I didn’t have a job to worry about! Expect a big blog on that later : )

Now I’m in Mumbai and yesterday I went to the Stardust Awards Ceremony which is one of the highlights of the year in the Bollywood world. If you’re familiar with Bollywood, you’ll know most of the below people, some of whom have acted in countless movies throughout their careers.

Some preparations before the show:

Saif Ali Khan rehearsing. The brilliant Ganesh Hegde choreographed performances for him, Katrina Kaif, and Kareena Kapoor.

The guy below in the foreground was nominated for a music award. I did ask what his name is but can’t place it. His dad is beside him – a music director.

A nominated singer:

If anyone happens to know the names of these people please let me know!

Dia Mirza preparing to host:

The awards started, and what I found quite bizarre was the chaotic nature of the ceremony. While awards were being handed out, actors were arriving mid-way through and being mobbed by an army of photographers. There was no real discipline or formal nature of the event. This was in stark contrast to the Zee Awards (another Bollywood awards event) held in London last year.

Prem Chopra:

Preity Zinta was the first actress to be mobbed. As she sat watching (or trying to watch!) the show, a swarm of photographers snapped away for around 10 minutes.

I waited until they all moved away

I have to say, she was so down to earth and seemed the most genuine of actresses (compared to many who can be quite arrogant). Great to photograph as well.

There was some kind of technical issue so Vivek Oberoi who was co-hosting with Dia Mirza came into the audience to buy some time:

He did a pretty good job considering the crowd were not very responsive at first!

Sharman Joshi and Rishi Kapoor:

Aditya Pancholi (with Harman Baweja and Ajay Devgan in the foreground):

Ajay Devgan:

Gulshan Grover:

Vatsal Seth:

Urvashi Sharma:

Kirron Kher:

Divya Dutta:

Manyata Dutt:

A nominated singer:

Jackie Shroff:

Katrina Kaif performing:

The costumes were made by my good friend Bipin Tanna.

Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna:

The legendary Amitabh Bachchan and Karan Johar:

Amitabh ‘Big B’ Bachchan is incredibly famous (even outside of Bollywood – I believe he was voted most famous actor in the world in a recent BBC poll) and so naturally was mobbed the most, and eventually photographers were asked to move away from him. That’s when I took my pics, and no one told me to move. I’m not sure what the proportion of male to female photographers is in India, but I was the only female compared to over 20 male photographers. Come on girls – get out and represent!

Abhishek Bachchan (Amitabh’s son – also married to Aishwarya Rai, quite possibly the most famous and world-renowned Bollywood actress. She didn’t turn up):

Sri Devi:

The talented Ganesh Hegde who choreographed the performances:

Kareena Kapoor:

Saif Ali Khan came on stage:

Rekha, who seemed to be trying to avoid the cameras:

Riteish Deshmukh:

Curious to know who this is:

He looks so familiar but I can’t place a name..

[Edit - I was just informed he is Sammir Dattani.]

Amitabh and Farah Khan:

Kunal Kapoor, Ritesh Deshmukh and Abhishek:

Shahid Kapoor:

If you want to know who won what, you’ll have to Google it, or wait until it’s aired on TV ; ) Rekha won an award which was presented by Nari Hira (MD of Stardust Magazine) and Karan Johar:

Shatrughan Sinha:

I took so many more pictures of actors and directors but I don’t actually know who they are (this isn‘t really my scene as you might have gathered!), so I haven’t posted them. This blog actually turned out a lot bigger than I thought!

It was a fun experience and a big hello to Sunena, Ganesh and Bipin – 3 very lovely and talented people.

(All images taken with 24-70mm f2.8 without flash, hence somewhat yellow tinge!)