Spectral Spaces

I’m not usually a fan of noir because I feel they alter reality and reality is what I usually want to portray through my images. But this particular one is an exception; because this time my imagination took over reality and I chose to keep it that way. So this is the story of a ‘haunted’ place called Amboli.

Amboli is a beautiful hill station in Maharashtra state of India. It is at the peak of its beauty during the monsoon season, draped by lush green stretch of vegetation and bejewelled by the sparkling and ethereal waterfalls. Even in summer, the cold and soothing air of Amboli spells serenity for the visitors. My family and I travel to Goa often and many times we happen to choose the road which passes through Amboli. I have always loved this place. The last time I was there, it was monsoon, and I had the privilege of experiencing Amboli in its full glory.

Tranquility, serenity are rather distant dreams for a city boy like me. 11pm at my house when I would hear only a few dogs barking or only the constant squeaking of the ceiling fan, were my definitions of serenity. But what I experienced at Amboli was something new. I felt, may be this is what serenity feels like after all. It was serenity to the point of haunting. The air was cold, not biting, but just the right amount. There was no direct sunlight as the sky was crowded with clouds and the visibility was rather low because of the passing clouds. Yes we were right in between the clouds. It was an experience of a life time. I had never breathed air so pure and so clean. It was uplifting and I think even my soul felt a bit cleansed. It was a brief tryst with pure happiness.

Amidst all this a tale was brewing in my mind. As we moved up the ghat of Amboli, we started entering the monsoon clouds which clad the mountain. Suddenly all I could see around me was the colour white. The huge lush green valley that I could see next to me was suddenly history. Everything changed in minutes. What was soothing and beautiful a while ago was now scary. Fellow travelers were a rare. The simple road signs now seemed like invitations from hell. We had a few sightings of human like figures as we crossed the small village Amboli. This was the first time I experienced the thin line between Beauty and Haunting. Through the essay I try to exemplify my thoughts and portray my imagination.

All the pictures are taken in a span of 20 minutes as the passing clouds and the effect lasted only for that much of time. The signage played an important role to thicken the plot of the mysterious tale. By clicking on the pictures you should be able to view it in large format.

Camera: Nikon D7000 with Nikorr 35mm

Köln Karneval

­How important is Culture? I would say, very. It defines civilizations, nations, creeds and also individuals. Culture is a crucial entity that defines a person. It shapes one’s habits and carves one’s liking. Culture might be handed through lineage or might be just a choice. But it exists; through actions, food, clothes etc.

I have moved to Germany just 8 months back, and my stay so far has just strengthened this philosophy for me. Most of the German cultural events are usually celebrated in private for example Christmas or Easter. Though the Christmas markets are pretty beautiful, the 2 prominent days of Christmas are celebrated indoors when rest of Germany is a colder version of the Thar Desert.

I was proven wrong by the onset of spring. Spring and summer brings the sunny side out of these people. That brings me to the main topic of this blog post. The Karneval or the Carnival. It is primarily a community celebration popular in the Nordrhein Westphalia state of Germany. The significance and details of the Karneval are positively available on Google so if you feel too interested, look it up. I never have. So if you do look it up, do share it with me.

In a nutshell, the Karneval is a street parade, party and beer time for the natives of the state. What impressed me is the temporary and sudden change in the attitude of the people. The otherwise private Germans who would trash my camera if I point it at them, were extremely camera friendly and jovial.

I had an important exam to write in 3 days but I was not going to miss the Karneval. I went to Cologne on the Karneval Sunday and attended Rose Monday in Aachen itself. Just to be clear, I did clear my exam, though barely. Anyway to describe my experience in brief - Lots of bright coloured costumes were well complimented by the sunlight, which we were lucky to have. People were happy and merry with bottles, at times crates of beer roaming the streets of the city. Kids, which includes me, were excited to collect biscuits and chocolates that are distributed by the parade. The entire city was in a state of Chaos, of course a controlled chaos. They just don’t let anything out of control. It was first time in months I got close to feeling like in India. It was absolute fun.

The parade goes on for quite a while. It is full of horses, clowns, costumed groups etc. Lots of cameras were pointing at the parade as expected. So those pictures you could check on Google. I chose to differ and tried to look away from the parade and at the crowd. And trust me, the crowd never lets you down. So here are some off beat Karneval images which I hope you like and which help you get an idea of the things that go on around the parade and not just in the parade.

Some other pictures on my flickr page - www.flickr.com/abhishekdani

Camera: Nikon D7000 with Nikorr 18-55

Manoranjan Nagari

The experience of an Amusement Park is easy to explain. It’s just like Diwali! Lots of brightly lit structures, joyous cheers of children and parents, tired of running behind their joyous children. It’s just like Diwali! Everything that seems fun is dangerous, everything that tastes delicious will end up giving you diarrhea and every little thing is suddenly expensive. It’s just like Diwali!

There is this travelling amusement park called ‘Manoranjan Nagari’ that travels through India and halts at various cities for 5-6 weeks. One of their destinations happens to be Pune. I had been desperately waiting for them when one fine day I saw their advertisement in the local paper and decided to grab the opportunity. So there I was, one Sunday evening, with a borrowed camera and no intention of going on any ride, standing in middle of jam packed park with no idea of where to start.

It does take a few minutes, couple of smiles and a lot of fake answers to the question, ‘For which newspaper do you work?’, before you really blend in and get a couple of pictures. But once you get started, the possibilities are unlimited. You see a lot of children having the time of their lives, and lot of parents enjoying along or annoyed with their kids and of course a lot of tired grandparents. Young couples have started to flood these Parks too since sitting on the Z-Bridge has become too mainstream!

But my attention was caught by the most neglected and ironically, most detached breed of humans – The Amusement Park workers. Working in the very epicenter of Mirth, they had not a smile on their weary faces. These people come from various parts of India, travel along with the group, stay in small shanties and get unimaginably low pay. My heart goes out to them. But I’m proud of such people who hard work over beggary. It’s a bold choice and I respect them for that.

Moving back to the happy things - the Manoranjan Nagari is a ‘Color and Light’ bonanza. Brightly lit rides yielding colorful patterns are a treat to the eyes and the thrilling swivelling motion patterns, a treat for the brave hearted. It is great place where the Grown-ups can rekindle with their childhood and the girls can fulfill their secret desire – to yell on top of their voices! It is a place where time will fly by and the kids will never have had enough.

Yet people resent from going there because they think it’s too cheap. It is a place we deserve, but not the one we need right now. So we’ll criticize it because it can take it. Because it’s just not an amusement park. It is a silent guardian of childhood, a watchful protector of emotions. A Dark Knight!!!

Camera: Nikon D5100 with Nikorr 18-105

Goa (Part II: The Undiscovered)

Undoubtedly one of my favourite pictures

     Of course riding through narrow streets and pleasing my gustatory senses were not the only things I did in Goa. I also did some traditional tourist activity of sightseeing but at non traditional tourist places. During my trip I visited several famous and infamous churches, temples and saw lots of wonderful buildings. Within the small state of Goa you’ll see an array of structures with varied influences and the best part is that they preserve these influences. Not that I’m an expert on architecture, but Portuguese influences are very evident through the bright colours, windows with characteristic grills and arched doors. Even some of the new buildings I saw, displayed strong Portuguese influences. While on our way I couldn't help but notice the magnificent new South Goa Collectorate building . Painted in loud yellow the building stood like a big chunk of well guarded gold and the lights just embellished the sight. The beautiful painted glasses and the perfectly mowed lawn just added to its beauty and made the building nothing short of a monument.

Chunk of Gold!
The new South Goa Collectorate building.

Buildings are red, skies are blue
cities like you are very very few!

Classic Portuguese color combination with arches and painted windows.
Could it get any more Portuguese!

Loved the symmetry and the color.

To talk about the old churches in Goa, well there are many. The popular ones like the ‘Basilica of Bom Jesus’ and ‘Church of St.Francis of Assisi’ located in Old Goa are always on tourists’ checklists and of course they are worth the visit, but there are several more amazing churches which tourists don’t really know of. In fact the non popular churches are more of an experience than just sightseeing. I call them experience because they are not just a treat to the eye but also for the soul. Some of these churches like ‘Monte Carlo Church, Old Goa’ and the supposedly haunted ‘3 Kings Church, Velsao’ are usually closed round the year and are so deserted that the peace and serenity of the place haunts you even during the day. There was this incident at the Monte Carlo church when I felt the urge to peep through a hole in the closed door of the church. As I approached to do so I felt someone was peeping back from inside! A shiver ran down my spine and I ran off. Of course there wasn't any one. It was just my imagination and the memories of Hollywood horror flicks at play. Most of the big churches were built during the Portuguese era which is vividly evident through the architecture.

"Feel like taking a peep?"
Monte Carlo Church, Old goa

'The Scream'
Locals say this '3 Kings Church, Velsao' is really haunted and inflicts bad luck upon visitors. 

Random church and definitely has a haunted tale associated with it.

'Basilica of Bom Jesus'
The extremely beautiful and one of my favorite churches

'Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church', Panaji
or simple the church from Josh Movie.

The inner cities of Goa are very rarely visited because they do not have beaches. But what they do have are beautiful green fields, coconut and areca nut trees and beautiful temples. Huge temples are a major part of Goa and the premise is spread over a small to large area. The ones with large area are called ‘sausthan’ like Mangueshi, Mahalaxmi, Shantadurga or Kavale, Ramnathi etc. Most temples throughout Goa show Nagari, Islamic and Portuguese influences in architecture and are usually built of red sedimentary stones. Beautiful design, big halls and deepmala (tower of lights) are some other characteristics of these temples. Most houses and buildings here are still made out of red sedimentary stone.

This one's a newly made temple in Ponda

Mahalaxmi Mandir, Sri Mahalaxmi Sausthan, Bandora, Goa

Shantadurga Temple, Kavale Sausthan, Ponda, Goa
My first handheld panorama and i just loved it.

 Another beautiful place I just have to mention is the Safa Masjid, Ponda. Built in 1560 by Bijapuri ruler Ibrahim Adil Shah, this masjid has stood the test of time and the Portuguese. It is amongst the very few masjid that the Portuguese were not able to destroy. One the day I reached Goa, I spotted this masjid from a distance on my way from the bus stand to my aunt’s house. That’s when I decided that I just had to visit this place before I left Goa. I couldn't find time during the first 5 days of my stay but on the last day I just took out the bike and went looking for the place. I had a fair idea of its location. Yet it took me a while to find it because trust me, the streets in Goa can be very confusing.

Safa Masjid, Ponda.
One of my favourite shots of this trip. Loved the simplicity and symmetry of the picture.

I guess this post has turned out to be more like a boring afternoon theoretical lecture but I wrote what I saw. Next time any of you are in Goa do reserve a day for visiting such places and do your homework on Goa rather than just relying on your guide.

Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC H50 prosumer camera.