THE GOLDEN PERIOD 2006-2009, FEB-2012

(A peep into the past and a tribute to Sony DSC-H2, my first camera, which instilled in me the zeal Iam moving forward with, forever)

Pictures posted are in reminiscence of 2006-2009 and captured with my now extinct camera, the Sony DSC-H2.

There’s a golden period to everyone’s life and to every aspect of life, be it your personal agenda, music, films, politics or anything you may name. Those are the “heydays” which redefined the way you live or the way you look at life and when thought about, makes you feel proud for what you are. There are significant illustrations - The period between 1945-1991 was the golden period of “strategic politics” when western world “faced-off” with Communist world producing “World Order” changing changes, the period between 1930-1950’s is considered a golden period for mankind as it witnessed changes which changed the way we live today through scientific advancements and incredible medical breakthroughs, the period between 3rd and 6th century CE was the golden period in Indian History when Gupta’s facilitated marvelous advancements in the field of science, astronomy, philosophy and mathematics, the years 1998 and 1999 are considered “golden” by racing enthusiasts from my generation for its when, Mika Pauli Hakkinen thrashed Michael Schumacher for two consecutive world championships producing the most aggressive and competitive racing of modern era, the decade between 1980- 1990 was a golden period in Tamil film industry for it was the era when Mr. Ilaiyaraaja belted out eye watering eternal tunes and in my life, 2006-2009 were the years which inscribed permanent, inerasable and hurting memories which would continue to make me wonder, smile, shed tears, crave, sit in darkness and feel proud of when thought about. Those were the years which fortified my creativity when a significant portion of the time was spent in out of the world imagination, sitting and staring into the vast invisible emptiness surrounding me. I remained confined to my upstairs room, which has now been rented out after my movement to a newly bought apartment, and it was the focal point of my then bustling life as friends used to gather there for a moment of relaxation, a booze, a night of laughter or to vent out their emotions. Those three years toiled me as I learnt various aspects of life – patience, commitment, friendship, value of money, love, ego, time, health, imagination, who are parents, faith, evil and photography. When the amateur interest in photography was budding, I was shaken to tears on a cold morning, in 2006, when mother handed over INR 21,000 to buy my first camera. At that point of time, I neither had a job nor was the money and mind set-up to explore for opportunities as most of the time was spent sitting/sleeping idle, thinking what am I goanna do with that big digital camera?? It was then my old home, No 70/2, came to rescue with its interesting location as I fine tuned my photographic indulgence in its back-yard, shooting at what ever made its presence felt. The old home was a repository of learning and now I miss her terribly after we moved to No 17, on my mother’s retirement, which is located strategically but without the ambience I had lived with for the past 2 decades. The fact that 14/50 shots presented above where shot in and around 70/2 while the remaining 36 were shot over 12 locations across three states only signify the opportunities it abounded with. As time rolls by, I visit her once a while to rekindle the thoughts and have a quiet “sit-down” in the backyard which contributed the most in killing the loneliness I was living with through those 3 years. Those were the years which wrote on my memory the things, as hard hitting as a meteorite strike. I - lost friends, made my parents lose patience, spoilt my health, plagued with ego, misunderstood and hurt the most important person of my life, lost that person to my “from birth” arrogance, learnt perseverance, fell in indestructible love with western Ghats, began the massive addiction to the effects of magnificent SW Monsoon, got a job, got back few of my best friends, lost both my hands, for a month, to a venomous bite during a rain forest trek, spent that month in absolute loneliness and burning pain in my upstairs room recovering and regretting as time pushed me ahead and, the pains and losses behind. Now as I move forward with confidence, hope and time induced happiness, a sudden peep into the past and the moments I had captured during my heydays just blew away me into ashes. Every single photograph attached above has a romantic, painful and a hilarious story behind it and, when I spend a minute over each of them it’s an unbelievable and eye moistening transformation to the “Golden Period” of my life. Who where ever part of my life, whatever made my life meaningful are separated/shattered beyond reach/recognition and my only resort for getting in touch with them are these photographs – priceless and beyond the comprehension of an average “motive” oriented life. If you do have such a “Period” in your life try peeping into it and tell me, if you didn’t shed few tears…

THE GATHERING, JAN-2012

What a gathering could do to four lonely souls was the unexpected outcome of this one day jaunt to my favorite hang out, just a stone’s throw from my home. A, B, C and D are at various stages of life and when they came together to munch a national holiday, it was a serious manifestation of the power of gathering. Gathering is a moment when people come together to, may be, discuss for a result, make a strategic decision, celebrate, drink, travel or mourn. Our agenda was to travel for a stimulant and the 63rd Republic Day of India came as welcome relief to implement our plan. Mr. A, the oldest member to attend this gathering, was accompanied by Mr. B who hails from God’s own country and both work with Mr. D in the same multi national corporation. Mr. C gets his monthly pay from Bosch and spends a good amount of it sponsoring Mr. D on his photographic assignments, while enhancing himself in the process. Each one made an insignificant sacrifice and uttered a white lie to their caring ones to accompany me for this hike through the rocky terrain of southern Andhra Pradesh. It was my 7th visit to this rugged beauty but the first for remaining three, and it was already a “not so” fair battle as the views exchanged on the way were “Three vs One” or “Assumptions vs Experience”. Each of their apprehensions had to be silenced with facts, sometimes, and with “appealing” fictions, sometimes. The 90 Km Journey was disposed like brushing the teeth and the rocky landscape reminded me of the “addictive pain” I would be enjoying late that evening, while I was thinking what the effects would be on A, B and C?? We ventured into the trek path at 11:15 AM, the earliest ever I had managed, while I was busy keeping A, B and C away from trivial attractions on the way, like small pools/ gushing streams etc (Photos 1,3 and 6). Thankfully, sun wasn’t let to show his ugly hot face (Photo 7) as massive chunks of clouds blanketed us from the heat like a temporary roof and there wasn’t a need to worry about the “tan”. My goal was to show, somehow, the final fall, lying few Kms up ahead in the gorge, to A, B and C for which they had to traverse through an unknown terrain which I knew like the back of my palm. Playing navigator was fun and in the same time, that required certain levels of “common sense” as I had to predict the results before their next step. Reached stage 1 where A, B and C turned reluctant to proceed further on coming face to face with a ten feet vertical, smooth boulder with water trickling over its face constantly. I had climbed this boulder twice in the past and it was time to demonstrate the power of mind to A, B and C but alas, I had a minor fall on the first attempt as I failed to recognize the “Grip slots” available above this massive natural obstruction. After few minutes of letting my fingers “play piano” over the rocky buddy, I identified the consecutive grip slots available and in matter of seconds, I was above them and few other unknown hikers. I pulled a couple of strangers up the boulder and helped A, B and C reach where I stood to proceed towards the primary target we had chalked out. From here onwards the hike is not “risky” but, exhaustive on energy levels and extremely slippery as we had to walk against gravity to reach the massive gorge Ubbalamadugu had carved over millions of years through its relentless existence. To me it was like visiting my native but for A, B and C, it was “a moment in their life” as they were struck with awe by the shear beauty of the Gorge, the fall and the ambience prevailing up there. As they were exploring the beauty I checked out the time at 3:00 PM and my instinct prompted to attempt the next major task, reach the “out of the world” pool (Photos 24,25,26 and 27) lying at the base of the “major fall” some 150 meters above us. In the past I never bothered to attempt this hike and now, it was time to demonstrate to myself what I demonstrated to A, B and C few minutes back. Climbing rocks is considered the biggest exercise of enhancing concentration as it’s a sport of “Mind vs Fear” every second, every step and every decision, and the first time is always a trembling iteration than the repetitive attempts. A, B and C stayed back as I crossed the aggressively flowing water, on its way to the pool some 70 meters below, on a 40’ slope and inserted my fingers on the first grip slot available. After few minutes of climbing I came across one particular section where I had a look back and there was instant loss of concentration as legs began to tremble. When you climb up alone there comes that “soft excuse”, “I could have stayed back like others below” and the same feel made me weak on legs. The rocks above were as smooth as well polished granites and I took an unusually long time to make the next move and reach a “moderately safe” position, as I hug to the rock like a lizard. Upon reaching the next level, all it required was a cautious “semi bent” walk to reach the base of the main fall. On reaching there the ambience changed instantly from a moderately sunny day to cold and windy as the massive walls of the Gorge stood 100’s of meters above on either sides and the main fall was made to dance like an “Arabian Belly Dancer” by the strong gust. More than photography it’s all about sitting on a well sorted out rock and keep looking at this shear beauty, as you lose yourself. I only could imagine what on earth this place could feel like when NE Monsoon ravages the east coast and the plan for 8th and 9th attempts were already finalized as I clicked away few shots to show this place to my friends below. While I was climbing down, it was surprising to see A and C climbing their way up, towards the pool, and it was yet another demonstration of “Mind vs Fear” as they gained altitude rapidly, not to forget the backpacks and the tripod they were carrying with them. I collected the bags and the tripod and asked them to complete their task, as I kept waiting for them on a “reasonably level” rock (Photo 28) looking at the distant clouds (Photos 11 and 13) and the far away lands of southern Andhra Pradesh. Once they were back, it was a casual hike down the cliff and we completed the task with no major incident as stains of blood all over the rocks manifested the serious consequences of not respecting the terrain. Yet again mind won over my fear, nevertheless; I consider fear a powerful agent in fortifying your capabilities for without it, there would be no planning and thinking incurred for a task of this magnitude. On reaching the base a good 2 hours later sun was “imperceptibly” going down in the distant west (Photo 30) as we looked into each other and wondered what this Gathering had done to us – For A, it was yet another fulfillment of his adulthood dream as he completed one more soul satisfying jaunt; for B, it was a valuable learning of overcoming fear, fatigue and fortifying stamina; for C, it was an another usual body tiring hike to enhance capabilities with his DSLR; and for D, it was another experience enhancing gamble which laid that “something” to keep him going through the 11 months ahead before 2012 becomes a history. As I stood in the tea shop in a nearby village, with my favorite local snack and tea for company, I was wondering if 2012 would end with an optimistic note as 2011 did and it remains to be seen through the coming months…...