Delhi diary: part 1.....

08 June 2011
New Delhi, India

well, a first time is always a first time.... you can never claim that you know this and that.... and when its only my second visit to India, its gotta be a learning process all the way... my first impression was something that dictated me so far... big city.... mega city, in fact.... but pretty organised.... only if the authorities could change the weather.... summer temperature of Delhi is something that people experience in their nightmares....

the bad part of Delhi and of any other place in India for foreigners is access to communication.... its almost a rule here that foreigners are not going to be allowed to be tension-free while in India.... perhaps its been planned in a way that somebody on holidays don't get phone calls or e-mail from client.... perfact get-away place, eh?.... anyway, its a great place to visit for a short while.... many places to see and many things to experience.... gold-mine for photographers... but as this is mainly an official visit for me, my turist ventures have been limited to evenings only... looking forward to this weekend...




yet, evenings are not completely without possibilities either.... not being a party guy, had to limit myself to other entertainment possibilities.... movies are one of the most important things among those... two movies in last two nights.... Saket is a cozy place with a lotta possibilities.... huge malls with all the brands that you can muster from around the world.... several of the developer giants have invested here to make it one of the coolest hangout places of New Delhi.....

DLF Place had been our target during the last couple of days.... some window-shopping didn't hurt.... it was also an observation of the buzzing progressive middle class of India... their activities spoke a thousand words about India.... their outlook, eating habits, brand choice show a lot about the direction India is heading... but its also showed how one part of India was marching without even thinking about the other parts.... but those contrasts are not visible there at Saket...

got a bit of a surprise when I was asked last night not to do photography inside the DLF Place.... I actually did photography just the day before in another part of the same building.... even the security people were in my frame.... now this complaint.... argued with them about so many others using cameras.... in fact, others were using cameras right on the opposite side of the atrium.... apparently my arguments didn't stand against that brick wall.... gotta be careful from next time onwards... perhaps the LX-5 would be better choice for such places.... it seems harmless enough.... have used it sporadically, but may be thats the key to some difficult lockers....













our staying place is at Kailash Colony, a nice residential place.... quiet and peaceful... seems quite safe too.... was really surprised to see all cars parked outside the houses all night.... something that I haven't experienced a lot.... the main road also contained the age-old proven ways of life.... rickshaws... they were plying right under the cutting edge of Indian transportation, the New Delhi Metro... all that glitz of technology comes to a halt in those three wheels...

some landmarks are visible during my everyday travel.... hope to touch upon those sometime..... have also seen some places where old and new faces of Delhi meet.... lets see whether I get the chance to get some snaps.... have some possibility of travelling outside New Delhi on official field visits.... so, that may open up some more possibilities, perhaps....

more to come....

midnight madness!!

18-19 March 2011
Dhanmondi, Dhaka, Bangladesh

we did this for the third time in three years now..... we call it the TTL Posterwalk..... its more like experiencing it, rather than just overseeing postering...... BIF-III is (March 25-29) very near now..... so, publicity is now a top priority..... this year, the Posterwalk had been the biggest in three years, with more and more dedicated members willing to experience the extreme.... you gotta call this extreme.... going out, camera in hand, with a bunch of crazy folks, right in the middle of the night isn't something called normal behaviour..... and that too, to watch posters being pasted!!

From TTL Posterwalk, March 2011

From TTL Posterwalk, March 2011

well, whats in this world without a bit of madness??..... this event had been one of our unique calls ever since we devised the idea.... there's no way of hating this, once someone puts his/her name in there..... some say, photographers are crazy..... and its difficult to go against that statement after someone witnesses this craziness.....

experiencing Dhaka at the dead of night is something unique..... we are used to seeing the same places busy like hell.... all day long.... an empty place is gives a unique view and sort of an eerie feel.... but an experience that stays in memory for long.....

I was presented with the opportunity to do something that I had been trying to accomplish for some time..... that is to do some portraiture of some interesting people that I know.... and I got really lucky to a bit of that..... this goes along my new year's resolution on making 2011 a year of people photography....

From TTL Posterwalk, March 2011

this shot of Hameem was in available light; high ISO..... I just grabbed my camera finding him in the most unusual of poses.... he's one of the most important members of TTL, with great knowledge in photography, especially in his own area of slow-shutter...... thats now my area of expertise, which is why I went the easy way......

From TTL Posterwalk, March 2011

From TTL Posterwalk, March 2011

Avik Bhai (AKA) has always been one of most interesting subjects to shoot for any photographer...... not that I've not shot him before, but this is probably the first time I've done a portrait of him with at least some set menu...... one of the most creative guys I've known, he's a great friend and an important member of TTL......
D700 + 20mm f2.8 + Elinchrom Skyport
f2.8, 1/30sec. ISO 1600
Strobist info: one SB-900, camera right, shooting through a white umbrella, triggered by Elinchrom Skyport; held up by Kamal (Shadow of Dark)

From TTL Posterwalk, March 2011

then it was time for a smallish group shot with Vashkar Bhai, Avik Bhai and Kamal.....
same setup..... assisted by Rezwan (I believe)

From TTL Posterwalk, March 2011

then I switched my eyes to Tinku Bhai.... what a great subject he is..... his physical stature alone makes him a unique subject..... a very creative guy and it can be seen while trying to shoot him... he comes up with his own ideas and the photographer has to to just click..... well, clicking wasn't so easy though, as finding the focus in that tricky light was no small problem.... even a torch wasn't enough when there were car headlights as backlight.....
the setup was the same as above..... then I switched lenses and tried to get at least a different perspective....

From TTL Posterwalk, March 2011

From TTL Posterwalk, March 2011

From TTL Posterwalk, March 2011

we had our group photo session some time around 1:00AM...... its a pity that with some things to catch up in the morning, I had to avoid the night-long event..... I knew I was gonna miss some rare moments along that time..... but I didn't have that luxury for some reason..... just a participation in an event like this is a privilege.... such a walk in the street doesn't happen that often..... lucky to be a part of such a crazy bunch!! :)

we like it WILD!!

11 March 2011
Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

I had never been so tense watching a cricket match..... for the greater part of the second inning, I was unable to sit in front of the TV..... but I also couldn't stay away from the game.... something told me to wait..... it was a shock to me when the 6th wicket fell..... I didn't even watch the 7th and 8th wicket fall.... still, that shock couldn't get me to close down the Cricinfo web-page.... I simply couldn't close it..... and when it came down to the last 24 balls, I had enough of it....

I had never shed such sweet tears of joy!!....... it was a joy thats pretty difficult to explain..... I couldn't stop my tears of emotion!!....... a memorable day..... not just for me; it was for my whole family too..... my daughter was half-way to her sleep; but we decided to take a tour of the streets, where we know are people as least as crazy as us..... it was 11:00PM....

From We like it wild, Dhaka, 11 March 2011

From We like it wild, Dhaka, 11 March 2011

From We like it wild, Dhaka, 11 March 2011

as predicted, we had a hard time getting to our very close destination; to Tabassums'..... we decided to celebrate this night together..... going through that wild crowd was tough..... they really went wild..... we've seen that after the Ireland match as well..... some people might say whether we need such emotional outbursts every time we win..... but I say...... do you really want to see our sad faces??..... do you want us to count our failures??...... come on!!..... whats a game without emotion??.... what a win without celebrations??..... and whats fun without being wild??...... yes, we are wild........ and we like being WILD!!!

From We like it wild, Dhaka, 11 March 2011

when you celebrate something wild, don't deprive your family...... :)

Dhaka dressed-up for ICC World Cup 2011

Night of 16 February 2011
Dhaka City has never dressed like this before. The ICC Cricket World Cup has arrived and it is time to welcome the world! This is just a short documentation of the drive that would take everyone from the airport to the stadium.

The video was done on a Nokia C6 mobile phone; and audio was omitted. I opted not to use any pirated audio to make this better.

A morning stroll....... after a while......

its been a while since I last went out in the coolish morning hours..... its no longer that cool though.... 6:30 means quite a bit of sunlight.... yet, the urge to go out with the camera no matter what, was too much for me.... after all, it was weekend..... mostly lost the weekday effort and this weekend outing is all that is left now..... hardly managed a partner when Tahsin Bhai called late and got tagged the night before..... but at 6:30AM, I was the only one walking with my camera in hand.... Tahsin Bhai was only on his way, having missed the flight due to some important late-night friendly debate!!....... I walked with the camera in hand...... took the Ring Road of Mohammadpur.... the slanted morning warmth was still hitting me when Tahsin Bhai at last arrived.... it was barely half-an-hour's walk.... though short-lived, I enjoyed this coming back to life.... and the subsequent adda with Tahsin Bhai was a delight..... it was a really enjoyable morning, truly different from a typical morning with eyes closed.....

From Mohammadpur, 07 May 2010

king of his empty world.......

From Mohammadpur, 07 May 2010

wheels........

From Mohammadpur, 07 May 2010

securely unsecured!!

From Mohammadpur, 07 May 2010

future tycoon!!

From Mohammadpur, 07 May 2010

just for a piece of smile......

Indian Embassy Visa line....... a photostory missed!!

had a really weird experience at the door of the Indian Embassy today...... I heard about all these peculiarities before.... but this was my first experience with it..... first things first..... I would never have gone through these kinds of painful experience for my own benefits..... only a serious emergency could make me do this..... and it was something like that......

around 300 people were already in line when we reached there by around 6:00AM...... and many were sleeping on the road.... it was a Sunday, first day of the week...... and Sundays are usually more busy...... the crowd eases as the week progresses..... this is daylight saving time and the month of October is here...... so, 6:00AM is complete darkness..... these people had been in line for the most of the last evening and night..... but we had a deal with a "professional queue guy"...... he manages several people who stand in line for all night..... and others pay out to take their positions...... these are called "dalal" or brokers by most..... and although none can prove that they are in violation of any rules, they are looked at as part of an illegal gang...... whatever the case, this is an easier method for those not willing to spend their bed-time on the streets and having the ability and willingness to spend for that instead.....

these brokers were working in collusion with the police very openly.... the duty police officer knew every single broker and he seemed to have trusted the brokers more than the others not using a broker....... it was quite obvious that all the people there spending the night there had some interest...... and most of that interest came from the smell of money...... there were people selling the services of filling-up the forms, photocopying, pen and stapler, tea and snacks, and even a place to store your bag, as the Embassy didn't allow bags inside..... small children had their pockets filled with cash just by selling pen and stapler services.... an old woman was keeping the bags saying that she couldn't run away with those..... I also kept my bag there......

the other thing that had a profound influence on me, was power..... these people held some power here that was hard to break by most... and that powerful position allowed them to behave as they wished with whoever they wished to...... they were ready manhandle anyone who didn't follow their rules there..... and the police worked hand-in-hand with these people...... it was almost as if these brokers were part of the system in place!!

we used a couple of brokers who somehow managed to squeeze the two of us into line...... but not without some hassle..... we had to pay Tk 1,200 to the guy for managing the two positions..... we had serials of 23 and 24...... the next phase came when the clock ticked 7:00...... a huge clamour started....... the duty police official went crazy and began to shout, "stand in line!!"...... we quickly realised that it was time for a higher police authority to came up and screen out the people who couldn't show any document to prove that they were the actual applicants....... and even though there were some screening-outs, somehow our serial numbers went back to 35 and 36...... this higher official went through the visa application forms of everyone and gave serial numbers to everyone....... proxy people were all kicked out..... this was the moment our broker was worried about most... if his people were kicked out of line without a client, we wouldn't get anything.... the guy next to us wasn't ready with his forms..... so, the official actually gave the number and signed on his palm!.... and also warned him that he had to get everything completed and got signed on the papers......

emotions were running high from the start..... there were lots of loud voices and pushing and pulling..... the brokers played their due part until the higher police official came up..... it was 'police time' from 7:00 onwards..... the officials looked at us and asked if we were using any brokers to get our positions..... because, according to him, we didn't look like people who stood in line for long..... this was the same question asked by an Embassy official at the entrance..... I was struggling to find out the motive behind such a question....... it was almost as if an Indian visa was something to be achieved..... and visa without an overnight toil would be something illegal...... this question irritated me most......

anyway, the line began to move from 8:30AM onwards...... our turn came quite quickly...... 20 people were taken in at a time...... and we had to stand in line several times inside the embassy...... the visa processing officials tried to present themselves as the most powerful people on earth...... and they used all their power to prove that they were gods there...... we had little problem overcoming this, but some others had some really hard times without any reason..... the officials wanted to make sure that getting Indian visa stayed in their (applicants) head as one of the toughest things they've ever achieved!!

I was thinking what an opportunity this was to do a photostory...... but it was one of the most difficult..... those people, all were pouncing on sort of revenue and none would want to feature in front of a camera.... and judging by the emotions of the place, I could imagine what sort of a trouble one would face with a camera in hand...... and in any way, I couldn't carry my camera inside the Embassy... so, I left the camera back home..... keeping the camera inside the bag and keeping the bag with that woman didn't look like the most prospective thought.....

it seemed ridiculous to me people had to go through this kind of trouble to get an approval to travel to India..... I would never have gone through such a process unless it was mandatory for me...... the human lines outside Indian Embassy in Dhaka epitomized the one-sided relationship existing between the two countries......