Karnataka Vintage & Classic car rally
Last Sunday the Karnataka Vintage & Classic Car club organized a vintage car rally in Bangalore. Luckily I was there with my camera. I must admit that I am not a big car buff but couldn’t afford to miss an opportunity to click some pictures. So here is my collection, for all the car lovers out there.
The car which attracted the most eyeballs from the crowd was a 1909 Wolseley belonging to the Maharaja of Cooch Behar. As you can see, it is an absolute beauty.
Jaguar however is always my favourite.
This one is a Chevrolet
Honestly, before Sunday I never knew this car brand existed.
For bike lovers there was quite a few vintage bikes on display as well. Here is one of them.
Like the machines, the men behind them were equally fascinating. They belong to the Who’s Who list of India for I guess only they could afford to buy Jaguars was back in 1900′s. Here are some of those proud owners.
Finally a big thank you to the club for organizing such a lovely event.
Butterfly Park @ Bannerghatta Zoo
If you are heading for Bannerghatta Zoo in Bangalore, do make your way to the Butterfly Park. Its located near to spot from where you take the safari ride. Tickets costs 25 rupees per adult and is not part of the zoo ticket.
If you love clicking pictures of flowers, this is the place to be. One small advice, keep at least 45 minutes for your shoot and don’t leave this one till the end. Enter the park while the sun is still up in the sky. The park has a lovely glass dome roof ensuring there is enough light inside.
Talking for flowers, here are a few.
The next one is my favorite and I have no idea what it’s called.
And now my favorite butterfly shot.
Last but not the least … the doorway to the butterfly house is as beautiful as the exhibits inside. Hope you liked this virtual tour, an experience worth remembering.
Wildlife @ Bannerghatta Zoo, Bangaluru
Finally we went for our first family outing on the 9th of April; our destination was Bannerghatta Zoo on the outskirts of Bangalore. We hired a car for the day and left Whitefield at 10 in the morning only to reach Bannerghatta at 12 noon, thanks to the monday morning traffic on the outer ring road.
My son got so engrossed watching the animals that I had pleanty of time to hone my photographic skills on the wildlife around. Bannerghatta is one of the best zoos I have visited so far in India and its grand safari is worth the money. I would strongly recomend the nature treks in Bannerghatta which one can easily take if he does not have a 4-year-old tagging along 
April however is not the best time to visit, as most of the animals will be tired due to the heat. Thankfully there was plenty of animals around to keep me busy clicking for the rest of the day.
The above shot of a peacock is by far my best work so far.
I name the following series of pictures ” The Wild Eye”.. do let me know the one you like most. It would be interesting to know your feedback.
Finally I managed to find some monkeys roaming free with no fence to restrict their movement.
And the next snap is that of another cheeky monkey of our house who incidentally is also outside his cage
If you are heading for Bannerghatta and love to take pictures do visit the Butterfly park too. With some patience you will be able to come back with some lovely shots. I did, and the shots will be the contents of my next post.
HOME @ Bangalore
Its been three months now that we have moved to Bangalore and it has been hectic so far to say the least. This is our fifth home in the last ten years of my professional life and I am already looking forward to it. For a start, the sporting scene here looks promising.
Amidst all the chaos, last week arrived sans french-fries, burgers, malls and shopping and I grabbed it with both hands. Finally I got the opportunity to document our new abode, for how long this will remain with us only time will tell.
This apartment block is at minutes walk from my workplace, a luxury which few people can enjoy in Bangalore and I am one of them. Lucky me!
The gate in the above picture is one of the eight gates that surround the apartment block which pedestrians like myself use. The big ones are usually for cars. Talking of cars, I am happy to see lots of Nanos moving in the roads of Bangalore. It makes my dream of owning a car one day seem achievable.
Apart from a small swimming pool, the apartment also boasts of a small kids play area. The favourite pastime for kids however is to run or cycle around the complex and this pool every evening, with eager parents keeping a watchful eye in case their kids lose balance.
It’s always a welcome sight to see some space left for nature too. Thankfully still there are some trees left.
Bangalore celebrated UGADI recently when the ladies of the apartment made some lovely decorations. Luckily some of them survived the onslaught from the kids army for me to capture.
Next time around I do plan to venture outside the four walls and try to capture some of the beautiful architecture that lines this part of Bangalore for my next post.
Inauguration from 1976 India.
During my last trip to Kolkata I flipped through our old family albums, all judiciously created by my maternal grandfather who at that time had the luxury of owning his own box-camera. He was a keen photographer and in one of his albums I came across this series of pictures taken by him in 1976 during an inauguration event organized by the railway club in a small town called Shalimar where he was posted as an officer.
The audience was surely captivated with what unfolded in front of their eyes.
The chief guest arrived at the event and cut the red-ribbon too.It was only after I turned the page did I realize what the event was all about.
Life back in those days was so uncomplicated. People got together to share happiness even at the slightest of excuses, a television set was after all a big thing and called for a bigger celebration. Technology in those days also got people together. I realized it is not something which the Internet introduced and is certainly not what facebook invented.
Lalbagh Flower Show – Bangalore
The Glass House decoration
The crowd in Lalbagh.
Orange rose.
A cactus.
Stevenage through my lens
The lonely mobile tower
My days in Stevenage is drawing to an end but before I pack my bags I wanted to go around capturing it in my camera. Fortunately my chance came last weekend. This post is my desperate attempt to carry Stevenage back home with me.
The wine society building on Six Hills Way. I cross this building almost every day but never had the pleasure of tasting its wine.
The Stevenage Police Station.
A landmark building is Stevenage is its police station, one of the few well designed buildings one gets to see in Stevenage.
The town center bus stand.
I wonder when such signs (photographed above) will start appearing in my country.
A very curious sign post which I found in front of the council office. I frequently cross this junction but never spotted this before. True, viewfinder does offer a different perspective. A good example of this are the next three shots. I never almost overlooked what they had to offer till I looked at them through my viewfinder.
A deserted worn out football.
I left the town center and ventured next to Fairlands Valley Park, the largest stretch of green in Stevenage. It was very cold that day and part of its lake started freezing. The landscape here changed dramatically, the concrete giving way to greenery or whatever is left of it after fall.
The frozen lake
Sometimes I wonder how the ducks managed to swim around in these near freezing waters.
The duck pool
Finally it was time for me to return home. I had been walking for almost three hours now and my wife had already called me twice.
Aware that this would probable be my last opportunity to photograph Stevenage I kept clicking almost anything that caught my eyes on my way back home.
Jeep
My home for the last one year.
The door to my apartment.
Finally as I steeped inside that day, the door closed behind me, bringing to an end an amazing journey. A journey which I shall not forget in a hurry.
The great British steam engines.
This post was long due, finally got around posting it. During our visit to this Hatfield house country show this summer I found these beauties on display in one section of the field. All of them were in perfect running condition.
The moment I saw them I knew I had a another blog post coming. Witness of a glorious past, steam engines I believed were the perfect symbol of the “Industrial Revolution”.
Let me know what you think of my catch.
A Weekend Photoshoot.
Father and son.
My friend Prasad came over with his family last weekend for lunch. I cleared one small corner of my room and asked them to pose for me which they readily did. This was my favorite snap of the day which I could not resist but upload. Certainly one my favorite portraits so far.
This is one thing I love about portrait photography, it gives me the power to touch people’s lives. If my friend decides to frame even one of my images, I will be part of their lives forever. Whenever they will look at the picture, they will remember me.
In fact this is one part of every art form, your work out lives you. I think one can gain satisfaction by turning their work , no matter what, into an art form. As for me, my quest is still on.
