My Mumbai, My Perspective.

Mumbai has as special place and importance in me as much as the Indian cricket team has for Sachin Tendulkar. These pics were taken in an unusual winter in Mumbai, December 2010. I set out at 6 am and the first one taken at 6:30 am.

This pic gives me the impression of looking ahead of time, literally. It traces the movement of the train in the next few microseconds. Though I sometimes crib that I cannot change the shutter-speed in my Sony Cybershot W180, the feature rocks in a few instances.

Much has been heard and said about the Mumbai local trains. For me, it is Mumbaikar's best friend. It wears the never-stop spirit of Mumbai on its shoulders. The crowd actually makes it a lot safer, especially at night.   

'Not the look, its job is way more important.' That was the idea behind this pic. I knew the result of clicking it, beforehand. But that it shows motion and that too a continuous one, attracts me towards the local trains. They are the silent (they actually have become a bit noisy now because they were not designed to carry 5000 heads per train) carriers of an entire civilisation commuting daily.

On Monday mornings, there is the weekend's hangover...that lingering effect. I connect that to this pic as the early part of the day has those symbol of night- THE yellow light! 

The faceless newspaper delivery machinery. Like one pic in the 'Chennai through my lens' post, this person too was not bothered at all that I am clicking him. He knew his deadlines are tight and stakes are high. Equally telling is his apathy towards the news in those pieces of paper. After all, he sells newspapers outside the CST subway (must be one of the largest newspaper selling vendor in Mumbai). 

In photography, you can always put in the background, the object you want. I mean you can put it out of focus. But in Mumbai's case, one can never underestimate Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST). It actually meets a million faces and over a hundred trains everyday. I keep admiring the planning done by the British in the late 1840s. They had then realised that this station shall increase in its significance in the years to come. It has served a century and a half since then.

The dog was walking with the duo for quite a distance. When I looked carefully, I realised he was actually a part of the family. When the duo stopped at their...what should I say...ok, settlement on the footpath, he went ahead and got a 'pav'. Was nice to shoot the first and third generation, with a different breed altogether with them.

Interestingly, this is bang opposite the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation head office. 

Rivals in the market...friends when together. Just ti try out the habit of some journalists to read too mjuch into a picture, I can see the invisible bonding between the newspapers as they are so lovingly sitting on the top of each other, waiting to go their way in a few minutes...Oh! This reading too much habit is so lethal!

'Deadlines are sacred in journalism', say many a journalist. They are sacred in delivering journalism - daily. I wonder how these people for years together keep on delivering (quite literally). 

In Mumbai, people bother you the least. When I was clicking this picture, there was a group of nearly 30 people who were all busy in putting supplements and putting the 'line' in order. A quick conversation aabout my name and that's it. Next moment they were happy that I am clicking it. They just wanted to know whether I am from the police department or from a company ( I too didn't get the company part). 

You have to be there to see some moments. To see such a scene in Mumbai, you just don't have to be there in Mumbai, but you have to be there at the right time of the year. This wave-shaped layer of the smoke made a beautiful frame but I wasn't sure whether the lens would capture the smoke. this was because the layer wasn't thick enough - or so I thought. 

Funny experience. This gentledog was sleeping on the road. I framed a pic taking him in focus and putting the background in out-focus. He suddenly woke up and after realising that I was clicking him, started walking towards me in a graceful manner. Stood next to me, completed the sniffing formalities and quietly went away. 

I like shooting the objects which do and shall always remain static among lakhs of time-scarced people and vehicles. Now, this footpath, the lamp-posts, the bus stop...they are like the film studio floors; Sets get built, shooting is completed and the set is dismantled. The floors remain, they remain to be used again by another film, another actor, director and the crew. 

This pic was taken on the return journey to home. There is light at the end of the station. I love this peculiarity of CST. It is so designed that you need not switch on lights during the day. Even though there are thousands of people at the same time, one does not suffocate. In spite of increase in local train services, the station serves the demand. This again makes me wonder about the vision of the British.

You may ask what's there to photograph in this pic. Sometimes, the frame itself makes a nice picture even though there is no concrete subject. The whole composition of and shades of black and white compelled me to click it. 

Travelling on the foot board is punishable under the Indian Railways Act. But, foot board travelling is a phenomenon in Mumbai. The rush and humidity inside the compartment makes it very luring to travel on the foot board. But, it is very dangerous and has proved fatal to several hundreds. Many have died by falling off the train because in extreme rush conditions, it sometimes becomes impossible to withstand the push and pressure.

Optics. Or Optical deformities. They can manipulate beautiful structures! As a photographer, it is obvious to imagine how would the Bandra Worli Sea Link look if it was a tad twisted. 

The sea link is a huge boost to the traffic management initiatives of Maharashtra government. The big hurdle is the narrow road to which this sea link joins in Worli. 

No exaggerations. The cosmopolitan culture of Mumbai has trickled into religion too. Be it Haji Ali or the above photographed Mt. Mary Church at Bandra Bandstand, people from all religions bow their heads here.  

It has been so ingrained in the local culture that there is no complaint or boasting from individuals from any religious community. But it is disturbing to see nowadays religious institutions have to warn couples to behave themselves. The space crunch in Mumbai does make privacy difficult, but according to me, some places are and should be kept sacrosanct. 

Faces. There are millions in Mumbai. the question is how many do we remember? For me, its a big irony - millions of Mumbaikars daily stare at the interiors of the local. But, its all the same. on the other hand, they see so many new faces everyday. How much do WE care to remember even one? This pic symbolises all this. For me.

I was walking one afternoon in my area when I looked at this tree bark. The flowers made a nice frame.

ACJ Library

Reflections are sometimes so tempting to shoot...what I inferred from this frame when I saw it in my electronic viewfinder is, journalists' mind has to be half outside the library, no matter what he is reading there. 

Budding journalists come, read, gain, get enlightened...But, there are always some things in life which are meant to act as facilitators and catalysts. the tables and chairs shall always be here, those who use them shall not. 

As i clicked this pic immediately after the previous one posted, I got the feeling of a video camera being panned. Actually, I was trying out a different angle. For me, it means there is lot to be read even if we get the typical temporary complacence about a topic after reading a book on it. 

The shelves in libraries are very passive. When I look around for pics, I always sub-consciously search for objects which escape our hasty and roving eye. This pattern, according to me is beautiful. But I hadn't noticed it before. 

Patterns in photography always attract me. Here too, made it a point to keep the nuts in focus. It took time for me to ensure the frame is perfectly horizontal and that it shouldn't be a Dutch angle. This special care has to be taken when you are clicking your subject close-up and especially when the geometrics matter.

I see this pic as the post-cursor to the earlier one. it reminds me the TV grammar of going for a close-up after a long shot. The colour contrast just grabbed my eye. Though I like clarity in thought, I love particular things in out-focus in my pics. The out-focus simply editorialises. It directs the viewer to the subject. But sometimes it also points out to him the way the world looks at an important object which is out-focussed. 

This is the best one in this post, for me. Don't know why but cannot really describe this one.

The colour combination and the placement of the books are the highlights of this pic, according to me. I was waiting for someone to pass through the gap between the first book from the right and the one besides it. Nobody did. I smiled and clicked the picture. 

The uniformity in the book covers points out to me the difference in their content in spite of all looking the same from the exterior. Same with the cute to-be-adults in school.

For me, the stamp impression symbolises the journalistic apathy which is so evident in some instances. for example, when Pramod Mahajan's son was coming out of the Dadar crematorium, the TV journalists asked him, "How are you feeling?" He fainted.

Reflections can be beautiful on a polished wood, was a revelation for me. I like the partial reflection here. The one which we get on glass is mundane; a mirror image. Here, i find the reflection to be more beautiful than its source. Wow!

Chennai through my lens.

The variety of things people are engaged at a beach is fascinating. Some child is looking at a balloon and the next moment he's crying for it. A few lazy feet away, two human beings are attempting to express their feelings to each other but the gang of boys around are in no mood to let that happen. In Chennai, more often than not, the boys are successful in it. It is more of a cultural shock for them. so in their eyes, the girl is guilty but at the same time- vulnerable. Traditional and patriarchal mindset is the cause. 

A passive creature. Though he barks loudly, in human dominated world, the Audi or a BMW owner makes a louder statement. Interesting. it is more fun to shoot if you have all these thoughts coming in your mind while you are composing the frame. There is no scientific formula for the frame, but you somehow weigh various options, contemplate for a short time and then finally go for the kill...oh, I mean the shoot!

                                           

Evening cricket is fun. The race the kids have against the sun was and is amazing. Its nostalgic too hear, "Abe 2 over ka khelte hain match...3 ka khelenge to tere ko batting nahi milega saale. Phir rona mat." The Besant Nagar beach (where this pic is taken) is a very lively place in Chennai. Its liveliness is conspicuous because of the near absence of the same in other parts of the Detroit of Asia. 

                                        

Upper the class of people, higher is their objection to be photographed. (Some even do not like their cars being clicked.) The person in the picture absolutely didn't care about a camera making him as its subject. Engrossment in work is not the only and the primary reason. That it makes no difference in his life and he knowing this, is the real reason. Thanks 'dude'!

One of the most popular symbols of the British in Chennai, the Central rly. station. It is the gateway to Chennai for the most. It lacks the aesthetics of and the way people look at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), Mumbai. This must be the area in which there are maximun Hindi speaking (no, Hindi-knowing) lesser mortals. It is also one of the few sign of a metro.

The idea behind this pic was to click the stn. from an angle which shall not be the typical tourist's PoV. What better than the backseat of Chennai's lifeline, the MTC bus. Its fare is unbelievable, Rs. 3 minimum.. So is the auto fare: Rs. 40 for 1 km.

The above mentioned bus in a close-up. The curiosity in the boy's eyes caught my attention. Also, he did not typically go for a pose with a stupid grin. I think he was curious to know what I am exactly clicking and why. I think he is sitting in the front row out of the typical but beautiful urge in early youth to have a window seat and that too, possibly near the driver.

the sheer placement of routine things catches the attention of a photographer. This pic is taken from a moving bus. I write this not to boast of my photography skills, but that it caught my attention in such a short time. our eyes (and mind too) are used to see some things below a particular thing, always. If it is the opposite, it becomes a pic. 

The short wall in the lower left of the pic multitasks. It is a bed to a few homeless and sometimes drunkards too. In Chennai, drinking is comparatively very high. At night, a sight of a man lying (actually sleeping 'tight') on a road is very common. Back to where we were, the wall is also the boundary for newspaper arrangers in early morning, two-wheeler parking and a shadow place for the policemen.

The Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) train. It is a success for me considering the auto fares here. but to see a larger picture, it is a failure. One simple statistic: Daily operating cost- Rs. 16 lakh; daily earning: Rs. 3 lakh. It is not well-connected to the residential areas and also to the commercial ones. the frequency has been one in 20 minutes from day one. Security too, is a problem, especially for the fairer sex after late evening.

I like to click trains from this angle because it gives a sense of continuity and the apparent shape of the train goes on tapering. I got an idea of this angle by standing at the foot board of 'local' trains in Mumbai.