About Me
- Lotus Reads
- Book fiend,culture-vulture, world traveller, daughter of the tropics now living in the Great White North.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Faces of India..Part 1
My father has a new pastime, he takes his camera with him on his evening walk through the market and captures the local people as they eat, work and play. Thought you might like to see some of his pictures. Feel free to click on the picture for better clarity.
Bhelpuri Vendor with a happy customer!
An equally happy cement store worker
Shy coconut-seller
Casket makers...I kinda fancy the mustard-yellow one! ;)
A dirt poor cobbler or Mochi as they are known as in India
A Mango and Banana seller. Can anyone identify those mangoes?
Who will buy these wonderful shirts and trousers?
An urban beggar man
I have no idea what these lads are smiling about. I'd be so glum if the ice cream store was closed as it seems to be.
Clusters of bananas, not my favorite fruit!
Bhelpuri Vendor with a happy customer!
An equally happy cement store worker
Shy coconut-seller
Casket makers...I kinda fancy the mustard-yellow one! ;)
A dirt poor cobbler or Mochi as they are known as in India
A Mango and Banana seller. Can anyone identify those mangoes?
Who will buy these wonderful shirts and trousers?
An urban beggar man
I have no idea what these lads are smiling about. I'd be so glum if the ice cream store was closed as it seems to be.
Clusters of bananas, not my favorite fruit!
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28 comments:
Hey, this is terrific. I actually have searched Flickr for photographs of Mumbai, and Andheri in particular to get a glimpse of the country. Do share more when you get them.
Lotus, I loved the pictures!! Please pass on my compliments to your dad, this is one excellent pastime, I have to say.
As is often true about India, one of the first things that jumps out are the rich vibrant colors that he has captured so very well.
The bhelpuri picture made my mouth water :)
The mangoes could be what are called Totapuris(?), but I could be so wrong.
The one other thing that pictures from India often capture are the human faces, they each tell a different story. I have to say these pictures do that very well.
I loved some of the captions too.
Like you I loved the mustard yellow coffin. :-)
And it brought on memories of a rather recent tradition in parts of Ghana, that I read about on BBC. People like be buried in elaborate coffins designed as hammers, fish, cars, mobile phones, hens and more. There is a link here with pictures if you want to take a look.
I also have a few pictures from Bombay, that I took from my past visits, but they are sort of taken half heartedly and in a rush, but these I have to say are just lovely.
Thank you for posting them!
hi, Parth!
Thank you! All these pictures have been taken very close to dad's place in the cantonment area of Bangalore. He loves capturing the sights and sounds of the local make-shift markets..they are not vibrant or colourful as the big, permenant markets, but you do get a feel for the area.
There will be more so stay tuned!
Hi, Sanjay!
Thank you for your generous praise! Dad knows how much I love people-watching so he takes these pictures for me! :)
I thought the bhelpuri stall was a little bare, but these pictures are from the market frequented mostly by the people from the slums, as a result you will find they are not as colourful or as rich as some of the other Indian markets featured on postcards and such.
You're so right about the faces...each one does tell a story...I see a lot of suffering in their eyes, but I hope I am wrong.
Oh, yes, I have read about the coffins from Ghana...in many parts of the world, funerals are celebrations...I think I'd like mine to be mustard-coloured and designed as a book. Morbid enough? :)
Hey Lotus, thank you for your response.
I see your point about the Bhelpuri stand looking bare, but then real life is hardly ever picture postcard perfect no? Which is why I loved these pictures for they represent daily life in all its simple joys, pleasures, the sadness and the daily grind of eking out an existence.
No, you are not wrong about what you see in their eyes I think. In some faces you can easily see it especially in the eyes, people do get worn down by their daily battles of survival.
Ofcourse you would know about those coffins from Ghana, I should have known. :-).
I thoroughly enjoyed your father's photos. He certainly seems to have an eye for photography! So, this is Bangalore then? I would love to go back to India again. I think I will take Zoe and D. with me the next time though. :)
Thank you for the pictures! Gives me a better idea of what I will see when I eventually go to visit India. I've been waiting. I don't know how much longer but I'll keep waiting....i surely would like to find my John Abraham replica.. :)
WOW he has a photographer's eye. and the mangoes! i'm craving mangoes nonstop lately.
thanks to your dad, lotus.
so did u get the copyrights from ur dad? (just kidding)
awesome pics , now why don;t i do that this saturday?
btw,which city was this?
These are fabulous photos! I'm so glad you've labelled it Part 1! I'm looking forward to more of them. :)
Is this really bangalore?
@Sanjay ~
YOu said:
Which is why I loved these pictures for they represent daily life in all its simple joys, pleasures, the sadness and the daily grind of eking out an existence.
You said that so well, Sanjay, this is precisely why I chose this particular set of photographs to showcase and not others. Thanks for recognizing that.
@Beenzzz ~ Yes, this is Bangalore but one of the poorer areas of the city. Like with most big cities in India, slums abound on the outskirts of affluent neighborhoods. These pictures have been taken in an area just outside the neighborhood my parents live in. The people featured here are usually migrants that have made Bangalore their temporary home. Most of them live from hand to mouth. There is a glitzy and rich side to Bangalore too, but I'll save that for another time.
@Aviana ~ When you go you'll see lots of poverty but lots of embarrassing wealth too...get ready for India for it's a land of contradictions!
@Melissa ~ Hi! The mango season is over in India...but I think the food markets are stacked with mangoes from Mexico, Brazil etc. The Ataulfo mangoes from Mexico are quite tasty.
@Chimera ~ lol, now don't you give my dad any ideas! ;) Yes, do take a stroll around your city and post us some pictures, I would love to view them. Yes, this is Bangalore, if you look at my response to beenzz's comment, you will get a better explanation of where these pics were taken.
@Nat ~ Thank you! Yes, there is a part 2...just waiting for dad to send me more pictures. I am also planning a post (with pictures) on the glamorous side of Bangalore, but that will have to wait. Dad doesn't get around as much as he used to.
@Radha ~ This is not the Bangalore most of us see on publicity brochures etc, but it is a glimpse into how the "other half" live.
Thanks Lotus for giving Dad this platform. It's so true -- he has captured life around us that we barely stop to notice!!
You know something? I particularly like the casket guys -- so dead pan, don't you say? Hee Hee.
LOtus, thank you for your response, you are very kind.
this is precisely why I chose this particular set of photographs to showcase and not others. Thanks for recognizing that.
I think both you and dad did a great job here, both of you have an eye for the the human aspect of pictures, which is also so vital in documenting what one sees no?
I saw over on Angela in Europe's blog that you're headed to Poland. I was just in Krakow in April, if you'd like any ideas.
Beautiful pictures!!
I love looking at mundane details of daily life :) Your dad needs to join flickr :)
Bhelpuri looks droolicious.
Mangoes are my fav :)
Pls do share more shots if you have any :)
Stay Beautiful..!!
Hey Lotus...lovely pictures! I must post some that I take whenever I go to India.
By the way that mango if I am not mistaken is called "totapuri"
Ooh, I love bhelpuri and well, many of the other chaat snacks that you can slather in tamarind and mint and yoghurt. *drooooooool*
Dallas has a large Indian community with some pretty good grocery stores, and in one of them is a most exciting chaat stand!!! I ordered a most savoury lunchtime snack there one day.
Here in London's Indian shopping area tehre is a fine chain of Indian cafes that also have branches in Dubai, called Sakonis. That is where we learned to eat chaat and they still do the best locally. We usually forego the buffet just so we can enjoy a plate of chaat, a bowl of crispy aloo, a bit of gulab jamun, finished with a cup of hot chai.
And guess what, I have found there is another Sakonis not far from my new apartment!
I sometimes visit the flicks and other sites just to see the faces, and I'd seen one collection from africa; it was just so different and what we're used to with bizzarre customs.
Hmm took me back to India... Very nice writeup explaing the name of the blog.
@Geggie ~ Thank you for your help!
@Sugarlips ~ Flickr is a great idea...I will ask dad to sign up!
@Sai ~ Yes, it must be totapuri, both you and Sanjay identified it as such, thanks! When will you be in India next, Sai? Yes, it's a terrific idea to take pictures...they say more than words can sometimes.
@Olivia ~ I googled "Sakonis" and it really does seem like a terrific place to eat Indian food. I gather it's very popular at lunch time and sometimes you literally have to elbow yourself a place there!
@Anitya ~ Welcome! I'm like you, I love looking at pictures of people over scenery, landscapes etc. Thank you for visiting!
@cm-chap ~ Welcome to you, too and thank you! Will visit you soon.
Really great pictures!
First time on your blog. Great pictures of Bengaluru. I am from the city myself, and those are 'totapuri' or 'giNi mooti' mangoes - the name refers to the shape of the mangoes that looks like the face of a parrot with its bent beak.
-VK
Hey, this is terrific. I actually have searched Flickr for photographs of Mumbai, and Andheri in particular to get a glimpse of the country. Do share more when you get them.
http://www.priyaconstruction.net
Hey
The poor cobbler photo by your father is floating all over the facebook in the name of Rajendra mochi and her dauther meera mochi
some idiot has picked this photo and manipulated a story and this is allover the facebook with in 24 hours
its a rage now
BTW these pics are really very great
Regards
Ramesh
LOVELY SHOTS