Dhamrai, Dhaka, Bangladesh
I first used flashes on location during a visit to a jute mill about a year ago.... it surely was a big change for me.... from then on, I don't travel anywhere without a flash.... and when I have a flash always available with me, the definiton of available light changes.... I again used such "available" lights during a recent visit to Dhamrai during Durga Puja....
last couple of years I had the privilege to be outside Dhaka during Durga Puja.... I say privilege because its the uniqueness of the experience that we miss if we stay at Dhaka.... celebrations in Dhaka now have a modern touch; utilising all the latest technology and gadgets.... traditional items are there, but in some cases they get overpowered by the conveniences offered by latest inventions..... in 2010 I had been to Rajshahi... and though I found that to be different from that of Dhaka, it still had the urban flavour in it.... the best experience I had was at Chandpur, in 2009, where I actually had a rural feel.... I still have that in my memory as the best experience I had during Durga Puja....
I like Hindu festivals for their colourful nature.... and Durga Puja has its own version of colourfulness.... I also like the celebrations as they show us the devotion of human souls.... I was lucky to experience some of that this year at Dhamrai.... I went there on the 8th day (Ashtami) of Durga Puja celebrations.... it was on an invitation from one of our long-time family friends.... I had been to such a Puja Mandap way back, when I hardly did any photography.... so, the return visit there was a really refreshing experience.... although the overall visit was short and I was able to watch only a small portion of the celebrations, the experience I received from there is definitely long-lasting.....
the most vibrant part of the day's celebration was Arti.... thats when the dances take place with the playing of drums.... a young Purohit started the proceedings with a very energetic dance in front of Durga.... the weather was sultry, and his performance in that weather amazed me....
the drama started when the next session started.... a couple of old fellas took the "dhuup" and went in a frenzy!..... it was a dance to watch really.... and the ambience resulting from the smoke from dhuup created a surreal environment.... I also went crazy with the camera.... I was literally under them when they were circling and dancing.... the couple of guys who performed showed us what energy means.... and one individual, in particualar, showed us what devotion means..... Mongol Das went on an on when others decided to give it a rest.... he was hardly standing and everyone wanted him to rest... he wouldn't..... he fell down.... yet, he wouldn't listen... he still wanted to go on..... he got bathed in sand....
I was totally unprepared for Mongol Das.... I've not seen anyone doing that before.... his colleagues mentioned that Durga had taken over his soul, which is why he wanted to go on....
our amazing experience had to come to an abrupt close... there were more celebration coming up and more people were preparing for the Arti... lots of dhuup were being prepared.... and to add salt, the people who were preparing to dance were the elderly guys.... the advent of such an unusual group of people performing got me excited.... we went there with our family, so, had to make the hard decision.... it was getting late; so, we moved on.....
I decided to use some strobist stuff (my available lights!!) to spice things up.... I knew how amazing Arti looks when the dhuup is in full power.... set up a couple of lights in the arena.... there were a lotta spectators in the place; so, had to be careful with the set-up.... used two YN-560 flashes on light Phottix stands with Elinchrom Skyport radio triggers.... one light was for fill from the left, behind the camera and the other was the backlight, which was more-or-less against of the lens depending on my camera angle.... there were some misfires from one of the triggers.... I'm assuming that it had something to do with the corrugated iron room of a nearby house, under which I setup my flash....
a lot more to come in a hurry....
