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| Geishas-IMG_1532.jpg |
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Howrah Bridge..
...christened anew Rabindra Setu is a cantilever and suspension bridge spanning a distributary of Ganges, Hooghly. It connects town and Railway station of Howrah with Calcutta, now renamed Kolkata. Construction of the bridge began in 1936 and completed in 1942 under the British rule of India, Raj. It was built without nuts and bolts but with rivets only. It is a pride and joy for me, an ex-Calcutta-ite... I still know the city as Calcutta, once my home, and perhaps always will know it as such.
charu
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| Howrah Bridge-IMG_1530.jpg |
Thursday, November 1, 2018
Panihari--Water Girl
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| Panihari-IMG_6479.jpg पनिहारी चलि राधा किशन अभिसारे निकली पनिया भरन बहाने। जरा संभलके चलिओ राधे, काहनो कंही कंकरी ना मारे। --चारू गांधी Water Girl To a rendezvous with Krishna, she left, as if to fetch water. Tread carefully Radha, Krishna may sling a pebble! Poem and Translation by --charu gandhi |
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Take me there again....
....the street where I first lost my balance
the world, the world of my love,
from where I brought back my restlessness
......take me
where I left my life unaware
where I left my youth
where on a square you will find
fresh signs of my devotion to my love
....take me
that world where she left her footprints
there lies my happiness and sadness
I will bring back ashes of that trail
of which every speck is my beloved
......take me
there behind one colorful veil
you will find her shining face
I will capture that light in my eyes
perhaps it will cure my sick heart
....take me there again
--translation by
charu
Movie-- Sharabi
Singer--- Mohammed Rafi
Lyrics--- Rajendar Krishan
Stars---Dev Aanand and Madhubala
Music Director...Madan Mohan
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Friday, October 12, 2018
Futuristic
Reminiscent of last bedroom scenes of the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick
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| Futuristic-IMG_6411.jpg |
Jarokha....Balcony
Scene II. Capulet's Garden.
[Juliet appears above at a window.]
"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east and Juliet is the sun!
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief..... "
from Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare
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| Jarokha-IMG_1498.jpg |
Sunday, October 7, 2018
Friday, October 5, 2018
Angkor Wat - Seemingly
This photograph of a Hotel in Udaipur, India where we stayed, is altered. It looks more like temples of Angkor Wat, Cambodia before their restoration. I can only imagine.
charu
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| AngkorWat-IMG_6412.jpg |
Goddess Lady
I do not recall where I took this photograph on our trip to India earlier this year. But it has to be in one of the palaces we toured in Rajasthan. The photo has been enhanced with a software.
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| Goddess Lady-IMG_6414.jpg |
Monday, October 1, 2018
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Lace Doily
Two versions of a tattered fine lace doily made to look Belgian and also antiquated. First one gives the impression of being able to be peeled off its plate.
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| Lace1-IMG_6379_jpg |
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| Lace-IMG_6378.jpg |
Royal Kitchenware
Dusty, unused for perhaps more than a century the royal kitchenware were stowed away in a Palace storage room. I took double take seeing two hand flour mills that I grew up using. The effect of mild double take I added makes the photograph more charming, I think.
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| Royal Kitchenware-IMG_6368.jpg |
Jag Mandir, India
Altered photograph of a section of Jag Mandir in Udaipur, India
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| Jag Mandir-IMG_6376.jpg |
Friday, September 7, 2018
Holi...
...festival of colors
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| Holi-IMG_1463.jpg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSr5RMQ1Fmw A Holi folk song from film Padmavat. |
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Monday, September 3, 2018
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Friday, August 17, 2018
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Indian Summer
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| Indian Summer-IMG_5960.jpg
On the eve and the day of India's and Pakistan's seventy first independence anniversary I thought I will reflect on the book I recently read on the history of this event.
Here are my random thoughts, not particularly on the politics but the logistics of gaining independence.
The book is written well by Alex Von Tunzelmann a youngish female British writer. I really enjoyed the thoroughness with which the history is documented and memorialized.
As a sidebar, before I read this book I was not aware how much Winston Churchill, the then Prime Minister of England hated India and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He had some choice words for both of them. And, what soft corners did Lord and Lady Mountbatten harbored for India and its population. Before I read this book I did not know that there was a secret but an intense romance blossoming between Lady Mountbatten, Edwina, and India's freedom fighter and the contributor to architecture of new India, as well as the first Prime Minister of independent India; Jawaharlal Nehru. It was refreshing to learn Lord Louis Mountbatten was inexhaustibly devoted to his wife in spite of the fact that she loved another.
World has seen the Berlin being split into two, East and West Berlin in 1961. The Russians erected wire fence dividing the city into two overnight. Within couple of weeks concrete blocks replaced the wires. One city was split up into two within a month. Families were broken up, lives were ruined. Many lost their lives trying to cross over to West Berlin. The split was harsh but simple.
In 2011 Sudan in Africa split into two, Sudan and South Sudan. The divide was drawn along the religion and oil income lines. South is mostly Christian and North is mostly Arab Muslim. Division was not entirely painless, but relatively less painful.
In both of above cases, and many more such in past world history when countries have been plundered, decimated, conquered and then left to survive at their own devices. That is what conquerers did. Division as well as the absorption of nations were uncomplicated.
In case of pre-partition India division into two nations was not at all simple. It must have been rather excruciatingly difficult. British germinated and supported the idea of a majority Muslim state and a majority Hindu state. Muslim state became Pakistan and Hindu state remained India.
Before partition there were between 400 and 500 sovereign Rajas and Maharajas with both, Hindu and Muslim subject coexisting within their state boundaries. Each sovereign was asked to make a choice, without coercion, which state they wanted to be part of. An idea was floated that the parts of India where there was majority of Muslim population will be part of a new country, Pakistan, the name chosen by Dr. Muhammad Ali Jinnah. In many instances, the Raja was Muslim but the subject was primarily Hindu and vice versa. How does one partition such sovereignties? What about the cases where the population was evenly split but centrally situated? How do you demarcate the boundaries? It must have been the cartographers' nightmare. Western part of India was majority muslim which obviously became Pakistan. Now how does one combine it with another majority muslim part at opposite end of the land? This logistic nightmare relates to religion only. There are others. The issues related to the country's wealth and debt obligation. How does one divide that? How does the defense get split? How do you spilt Army, Navy and Air Force? How do you handle laws, natural resources, currency, citizenship and trade? Whatever pain Britishers and Indian freedom fighters went through, not to mention the millions who lost their lives, India and Pakistan earned and were granted their respective Independence in 1947. May we have good sense to know its worth and preserve it. charu 08142018 |
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Monday, July 30, 2018
Phantom Thread
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Phantom Thread, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, (
The story is set in mid 20th century London. 1954, to be exact. Reynold Woodcock, couturier, played by Daniel Day-Lewis, designs, tailors and sells dresses to high society females. They include royalties. The establishment, House of Woodcock, is owned and run by him and his sister Cyril, played by Lesley Manville. The seamstresses who sew the dresses work under grueling schedules.
Reynold is rich; lives in palatial home and drives Bristol 404 sedan. Anyone's envy. He suffers from mother complex and has uncompromising idiosyncrasies. He has rigid work ethic and will not be distracted by anything and anybody. He will not allow it! The first live-in model is trying to have a conversation with him at breakfast table when he is engrossed in his design work. A taboo!
She has to go. Go she did.
He has now replaced the old model with a new, quietly beautiful, inexperienced and unassuming waitress, Alma Elson, acted by Vicky Krieps. She has a perfect body for modeling. Alma wants to be happy and live a normal life. She also knows he is a kind and respectful man yet a very difficult one. Despite, she falls in love. Eventually, so does he, with her. The story is about punishing relationship.
Alma finds out Reynold's Achille's heel.
She has a plan, a toxic plan.
Can toxins become antidotes?
I am highly disappointed Daniel Day-Lewis did not get his well deserved and earned Oscar. Damn!
charu
07302018
Picture above from 'Eats' site.
Thursday, July 26, 2018
Art Institute of Chicago-(2)
We moved on to the next hall where the Islamic articrafts was on display--Ornaments, Temple Hangings, Rosewater Sprinkler, Embroidered Fabrics, Hand Mirror and Tiles. Most of the items were from Iran, Kazakhastan, Turkey and some from Mughal India too. Of all beautiful items the one which impressed me the most was the dress fabric embroidered with silk and cotton threads. The work is so fine and detailed that I wonder if women who did this work lost their eyesight in the process.
charu
07262018
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Art Institue of Chicago
There is special happening at this venue. They have Asia and Southeast Asia sculptures from India, Cambodia and Thailand on display.
Most of the sculptures from India, of course are religious figurines. The most of ancient India statues on display are made of sandstones and they are from Rajasthan; one of the provinces of Indian subcontinent. But the majority of figures are of Buddha; they are from Thailand and Cambodia.
The beautiful Art Institute of Chicago is the perfect spot to get 'Cultured'. My Sunday was well spent.
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