50 Years of Togetherness

On 28th November, my parents celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary. I wish you all to reach this milestone someday.

For those who don't know, the cake says "Dada and dadi ji" which means grand dad and grand mom

21st November 2010

Knotty

Mira bought a Kashmiri dress fabric from the stall of Andhra Pradesh which was also selling khakra and other Gujrati snacks. Earlier you would get the flavor of a state when you enter its stall, a flavor that was unique. Now all the stalls are beginning to look similar. The flavor of the state is still there but it's not as strong as it used to be, now it overpowered by the generic stalls who are selling common things across the pavilions.

One thing that almost all the states were talking about was wind power. I didn't go to Maharashtra pavilion but I am sure they would have been talking about this wind power project in Nasik as well.

20th November 2010

IITF 2010 - What a letdown it is

Trade Fair (officially known as India International Trade Fair or IITF) was an event we used to look forward to every year. I missed it for seven years when I was in Bombay and finally got a chance to be there this time and I must admit it was a disappointing experience. Earlier it actually used to be a trade fair, this time it looked nothing more like a Consumer Expo. The people targeted were shoppers, not business partners, vendors or collaborators.

18th November 2010

It's a Pizza... no it's a potato chip

The shot I posted yesterday was a cloe up of this potato chip. Before the thin wafer like potato chips took invaded Indian market, we used to thinly slice potatoes at hope, dry them and store them. Then we used to fry them. Those were the only potato chips we had; they were quite thick and tasted a lot like an actual potato chip, unlike the ones we get in the market now. These original, thick, “home made” chips are still available and this is a close up of one of those.

17th November 2010

Is it really what it seems?

Looks like melted cheese with chili flakes and other spices. But then I posted another image some time ago that also looked something like this. Can you guess what it is? I can assure you it is not something as wild as the wild mushroom.

16th November 2010

Are you sure these don't belong to Pamela Anderson?

Holy Crap!! Who is this? Hunchfront of Notre Dame. Looks like he picked up the implants Pamela Anderson threw out after she decided she want to go back to her original size. I guess you must be aware that she is coming to India and is going to be a guest on Bigg Boss 4. While she is there, I am sure the media will keep us abreast of all developments.

15th November 2010

How dare you make fun of my costume?

I got a visit from Spiderman and he was pretty upset that I made fun of him and his lack of underwear and cape. After hearing him crib so much over nothing, I didn't have the heart to ask him the cup size of his bra.

14th November 2010

Teri photo kyon ni Bhagat Singh lagdi nootan te...

Today is the birthday of the first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawarlal Nehru and it is celebrated as Children's Day since he was very fond of kids. Birthday of Gandhi is a national holiday; birthday of Dr. Radhakrishnana is celebrated as Teacher's Day. It's odd that I can't recall the birthday of any non Congress leader being celebrated as something in India.

This is also a source of frustration for the singer whose song I have used as the title of this post. It means “Why is your picture not used on currency notes, Bhagat Singh”. It indeed is odd as I have written about it earlier.

Every one has heard about Nehru's affair with Edwina Mountbatten - the wife of Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy and first Governor General of India, there are a lot of other stories about Nehru, including conspiracy theories and gossip which you can check out if interested.

13th November 2010

Oh no! visible panty lines!

If you understand Hindi or Punjabi, it is likely that you have already seen the Punjabi Spiderman. If not, find it on YouTube, it is hilarious, it is Pakistan's contribution to the superhero. India's contribution to it is more original and it is called “desi isspiderman”, check it out, it is awesome.

Spiderman is the only superhero who doesn't have a cape or an underwear to put on his costume and honestly speaking, he seems naked in the absence of these two things. Jokes apart, why do you think the superheroes wear underwear over their costmes, I strongly suspect it is to avoid visible panty lines.

12th November 2010

Ground Chakkar

There is no license required for fireworks in India, you can buy as much as you like and blow it up yourself. Now tell me which country offers more freedom to its citizens, US or India?

11th November 2010

A phuljari, or a tadtadi

There are certain shots that every photographer takes. A shot of light streaks at slow shutter speed is one of those and here is my version of it. Now that I have ticked this on my list, it is time to move on... maybe to the next clichéd shot :)

10th November 2010

Sparks

This is an accidental shot. I was taking pictures of firework without much success when I took a shot and my camera failed to focus properly and I got this image. It definitely has come up better than the one that were in focus. I have some more shots of Diwali that I will be posting in coming days so visit often.