Picturejockey

Got 2 fivers?

2010-08-26T19:34:00+05:30

When the new 10 rupee coin was launched, a friend of mine said, won't it be cool if core and the outer ring of the coin were detachable, then you could use it as 10 rupee coin or two coins of 5 bucks each. Now that would have been cool indeed. Wonder what would be the implications of doing that. What comes to my mind are the smaller packs of chocolates and biscuits that are part of larger party pack "Not to be sold loose/individually" and what a shopkeeper would say "Sahab, the we take the core only for 4 bucks the ring is bigger and goes for 6 bucks.

Money | Coin | counterfeit

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Greed will get you in trouble

2010-08-25T19:53:00+05:30

So we have learned that making fake currencies is not always profitable especially if you are making coins. Making fake notes of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 is lucrative since the margin is quite large. However everyone, even your vegetable vendor checks those notes to see if they are real or fake. If I was making fake currency, I would avoid the coins for obvious reasons and also avoid the bigger notes to stay away from suspicion. If I was making notes, I'd go with the medium denomination and most frequently used notes, 50 or 100 buck would be my ideal choice.

Speaking about checking the notes, do you really think everyone who checks the 500 or a 1000 note can tell a good fake from an original? I guess not. I strongly suspect that they do it in an attempt to come across as a careful and sharp person so a person would think twice before handing him a fake not.

You tell me if you were faking notes, what denomination would you prefer.

Money | Coin | counterfeit

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Minting money is not so easy afterall

2010-08-23T11:38:00+05:30

Making counterfeit currency is not easy. It requires a fair amount of brain. Someone in Nepal is making fake Rs10 coins. The cost of metal and minting it is most likely going to exceed the value of the coin itself. Don't you think a "brain" has no part to play in this operation?

Money | Coin | counterfeit

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Happy Friendship Day

2010-08-01T21:52:00+05:30

Manu's friend Nayan called up on Friendship Day. Apparently he felt very sad while watching the reports on the TV "I had only one friend, he also has gone" he said with tears in his eyes so his mother called us. While Manu doesn't speak to anyone else on the phone, he snatched the phone from me and had a long discussion with his friend.

In the evening Mira's sister was visiting us and Manu told her about Manu "You know Nayan should go to the play ground and he should make more fiends"

Friendship Day

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The CWG committee may not like it, but I certainly do

2010-07-31T22:49:00+05:30

While the rain is exposing the (lack of) preparation of Commonwealth Games, Manu seems to enjoy it.

Talking about Commonwealth Games, they are becoming quite a circus. The rains have screwed up the preparations, there is a money trail to UK and the Organizing Committee and its chairman is claiming everything is world class on time, and fair. If that was not all, you have people like Mani Shankar Aiyar making a statement like "I am delighted in a way because rains are causing difficulties for the Commonwealth Games. Basically, I will be very unhappy, if the Games are successful"

Your city hosting a sporting event like this is a once in a lifetime event, it's a bloody shame to feel happy if it fails.

Manu | Umbrella | Rain | Commonwealth Games 2010 |

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Not just beauty, everything lies in the eyes of beholder

2010-07-29T12:29:00+05:30

You think Rajnikant splitting a bullet in two using a blade or running faster than a bullet to stop it before it reaches its victim is extreme? Then I must tell you this trend of unbelievable stuff is not started by Ranji. I remember watching a movie where a woman was photographed while she was being murdered. Unfortunately the murderer had his back towards the camera but I guess this problem is way to small for the law to lay its long hands on the criminal (kanoon ke haath bahut lambe hote hain) and the murderer was finally identified by zooming into the eyes of the victim. Her eyes had a reflection on the murderer. Beat that Rajni.

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Kingfisher - The Maruti of Indian Beer

2010-07-28T16:47:00+05:30

A friend of mine who is not very fond of Kingfisher Beer made an interesting observation. He said that it is like Maruti 800. Back in the 1980s when Maruti was launched in India there were only two cars available in India - Ambassador and Premier Padmini. Both the cars were unchanged, externally as well as internally, since their launch. Since then so many cars have been launched a lot of them much better than Maruti 800 but if you say the word car, the image that comes to the mind of most Indians is a Maruti 800. Similarly at a time when only smaller, local breweries existed Kingfisher was launched and since then so many beers, a lot of them much better than Kingfisher has been launched but Kingfisher enjoys the same recall among beers as the Maruti 800 in cars.

Maruti 800 | Maruti Suzuki | Kingfisher | Kingfisher Strong | Beer

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Spreading with the wind

2010-06-08T15:57:00+05:30

I am in the vicinity of a black hole that devours the time. I find that I am busy throughout the week but I still don't get enough done. what other explanation can be there?

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Don't believe what you see

2010-05-27T17:22:00+05:30

The phrase "Take a closer look" is very popular. I guess we make equal number of mistakes because we are take a "too close a look". I guess I just invented "Take a distant look". What you see here is a closeup of an ice-cube.

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A wait that was too long

2010-05-26T18:25:00+05:30

Has it ever happened to you that you ended a day that promised to be too busy in the morning with a feeling that perhaps you should have stayed home, slept in late, taken your kid to watch a movie and had a leisurely day and still would have achieved more than going to work?

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Look pa, no teeth

2010-05-20T12:25:00+05:30

A few days ago Manu complained of pain in his tooth and blamed the papad he just ate for it. Later we realized that tooth is getting loose and is coming out. It stayed there for a few days and one day when we came back home from market, Manu felt the tooth with his tongue and found it missing. He confirmed it by looking in the mirror. He was disappointed because he lost his tooth, literally. Most likely he ate it with something at the market but we assured him that it must have fallen off on the grass when he was in the park and tooth fairy will find it and will leave a gold coin under his pillow. The next morning he was very happy to see the gold coin. Now he shows me his missing tooth and tells me "Do you see that small hole, the new tooth will come out of there and will grow this much" indicating the height of his other teeth.

tooth | teeth | tooth fairy | gold coin |

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Move on along

2010-05-14T12:47:00+05:30

Last visit to Aksa beach. Taken at the same time as this one. It is unusual for footprints to be so deep especially for a 5 year old. You can see from his foot prints that he was initially hopping before he started walking. Yesterday Manu asked if he could go to the beach and Mira told him there is no beach in Delhi, to which he responded "I knew you were going to say something like this."

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So long Mumbai...

2010-05-13T12:47:00+05:30

Our belongings fit in a Fiat Taxi when we moved to Bombay more than 6 years ago. For a very long time Mira and I used to look at a Ford Endeavour parked in our building and used to think why can't we just pack our stuff in this SUV and just get the hell out of here. Little later Mira made an observation "Now our stuff won't fit in an SUV, we will need a one tonner". Eventually we moved out of Bombay with our luggage not in an SUV, not in a one tonner but in a truck. Strangely leaving Bombay didn't make me feel like I am getting out of a confinement as I always thought. On the contrary I felt sad. Here is Manu looking at the only city he knows one last time.

He has been incredibly brave and open to change. While leaving behind everything he knows, he appeared incredible well composed... A lot more mature than me.

This is the first time I have not made a single post in a calendar month. I have just moved to Delhi, have been insanely busy at work, had no internet connection at home. I'm back, lets see how frequently I can post.

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Making a splash

2010-03-26T17:47:00+05:30

The last ticket

2010-03-21T16:08:00+05:30

In september 2008, roughly an year after I started travelling by train, I posted an image of train tickets and wondered how long will be travelling by train. This is the last monthly pass I have bought. Early next month I am relocating to Delhi. The 6 and a half years we have spent in Bombay have a lot of memories-pleasent and well as unpleasents. You can read more about my experiences on Mental Floss.

Depending on the success or failure of my plans, I may end up travelling by metro once again and in conditions worse than Bombay. Agreed, the Delhi Metro is air conditioned but that doesn't compensate for a trip that will be almost twice as time consuming than the one in Bombay AND I will have to stand

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Ford Mustang

2010-03-05T23:12:00+05:30

For some it is a toy, for some it is a collectable and it is hard for each of them to understand the viewpoint of the other.

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Living the moment

2010-02-23T22:48:00+05:30

When you pour chilled beer, you get bubbles like this in the bottle. They are beautiful but last only for a few seconds. The moment is there, you can either enjoy it or you can crib about how short it is.

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The Graduate

2010-02-22T01:12:00+05:30

Here is our graduate after the graduation ceremony with glitter on his cheeks and cake in his mouth. I didin't notice it then but looking at his lips, they seem to be cloured.

On Mental Floss

Don't foregt to check out his video on Mental Floss if you have not already. My son has graduated and he is only 5

Ryan International School | Graduation Day | Graduate |

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Manuraj and other Graduates of Montessori

2010-02-21T21:34:00+05:30

This is Manuraj on his Graduation day. He has graduated from Montessori to Primary School. John Abraham was among the guests and here you can see Manu looking at him. Manu's expression could be because John had just pulled both his cheeks just a minute ago. The video of the same and some other pictures can be seen on Mental Floss

On Mental Floss

My son has graduated and he is only 5

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Ryan International School Graduation Day 2010

2010-02-20T22:38:00+05:30

For those who don't know Manuraj, The face in the center of the picture belongs to him. The woman in white is Kalpana Lajmi and the woman next to her is Manu's teacher Rajshree. Not in frame is John Abraham who can be seen in tommorow's picture.

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Glowing Elephant

2010-02-19T22:58:00+05:30

At Ajanta Caves in Aurangabad we bought a lamp. It is carved out of a stone and has a pattern of these elephants. The globe is separate from the base and you can put a candle in it.

If you try to comment on this post, you may not be able to do so. This blog is not running on a CMS like wordpress or pixel post. For comments I was using Haloscan but that has now been shut and my account has been transferred to something called Echo. I guess I should make a database and put a PHP script on my pages so I have more control of comments. Till that happens, please bear with me.

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Happy Valentine's Day from Shiv Sena and MNS

2010-02-14T16:29:00+05:30

The Valentine's day was bad in itself and it has coincided with the movie My name is Khan. People from Shiv Sena and MNS now have to vandalize theaters screening My name is Khan before they have to go out and beat up couples. Anyone walking holding hands is a target. I am thankful that I am safe because of Manu, I won't have dared to step out of home just with Mira.

Valentine's Day | Roses | Flowers

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Crisscross

2010-02-13T22:33:00+05:30

What do you do when you see something you like? I say you buy it. I saw a pair of red shoes by Reebok but at that time I felt red was a little too funky. By the time I made up my mind to buy red shoes, Reebok had discontinued them. Some years later I went to buy running shoes and once agin saw red shoes but this time in canvas. I didn't want to buy two pairs of shoes and I needed a running shoes. About an year later I decided to by those red canvas shoes. By this time both Adidas and Reebok had discontinued them. I don't know how many stores I visited before I finally found these.

Adidas | Reebok | Canvas shoes

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...and we lost our hands for nothing!

2010-02-08T22:58:00+05:30

A lot of It companies don't allow you to take digital media like USB drives, CDs, outside computers, mobile phone with a camera in the office to prevent data theft. If you think it is a new practice, consider the steps taken by Shahjehan when he made the Taj Mahal. It is said, whether true or false that he cut off the hands of all the workers who made the Taj Mahal so they won't be able to make something like Taj Mahal again.

Little did he knew that his own grandson will make a replica of the Taj Mahal in less than 50 years.

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The cold marble floor feels nice

2010-02-07T14:16:00+05:30

Two photographer not just meant pictures of me; it also meant a lot more photographs. Since my brother was there, Manu was busy with him so I got more time to take pictures. Every time I think about making a gallery of pictures from the trip, I am discouraged by the sheer number of pictures I took.

The work is getting hectic which makes the gallery seem a little more out of reach. Let's see when I am able to upload it.

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An artist at Ellora Caves

2010-02-05T18:38:00+05:30

I saw him sketching and I asked if it's okay to take his picture and he agreed. After taking some shots I showed them to him and asked if he would like me to send him the picture. "No" he said. The No changed to a Yes when I told him that I am not a commercial photographer who is expecting money in return of the pictures.

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A touristy shot

2010-01-28T22:34:00+05:30

As more and more people of my family move to Maharashtra, we went to Aurangabad this Republic Day weekend to meet my brother. After a very long time we went somewhere where we didn't have to think about visiting anyone so the three days spent there were spent well. We saw a few amazing things including the Ajant and Ellora caves and the Bibi ka makbara where this picture was shot. More shots of the trip are coming here.

Since we were visiting this place with my brother, there were two photographers (actually three if we include Manu as well) which explains the rare occurance of shots featuring all three of us.

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Chand Bibi ka Maqbara - Aurangabad

2010-01-31T22:09:00+05:30

We know Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid as good batsmen. Imagine how we would have known them if Sachin Tendulkar had never played for India. Both Saurav and Rahul would have deserve to be called the best batsmen ever - the title that has been given to Sachin but it was not meant to be because they were always overshadowed by someone even better - Sachin Tendulkar.

Bibi ka markabara, a tomb made by Prince Azam Shah (son of Mughal empror Aurangzeb) for his mother Rabia Durrani is an amazing building and tourists would have come to India just to see it, but it was not meant to be because there is something even better in our country - Taj Mahal. This building is known as the Taj of Deccan. This makes me think about the treasure of historical monuments that are neglected in India. We have more things than the entire world combined and if we had taken care of everything that is here, we would have one land mark or the other after every 10 kilometers.

On 2010.picturejockey.com read about one of its kind in whole world Sanjay Gandhi National Park and the challenges it is facing.

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Rose petals

2010-01-21T22:11:00+05:30

A very average shot and an average post processing but I somegow still like this shot.

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Sunny or cloudy

2010-01-19T22:31:00+05:30

In my last post I was telling you why I have not been blogging and why I have not been visiting your sites. I have been busy with a few things. Once was the calendar I told you about and the other was insane work pressure. There has been a lot of things going on at the office, the most notable being the website for Mercedes-Benz which also I mentioned in a previous post. I am hoping to be more regular...let's see how things work out.

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Save this planet. Not for me, for yourself

2010-01-17T22:46:00+05:30

Looking around me, I often feel frustrated and angry by the way we are treating our planets. I have been in Bombay for only six years and I have witnessed so many green places being replaced by buildings. It is only one of the issues, there are so many around us. Every time I felt I should do something about it, I felt powerless. What can I do on my own? It was like the Total Reality Perspective Vortex from The Hitch Hiker's Guide to Galaxy that tells you that you are infinitely small dot on an infinitely small dot on an infinitely big universe.

The chances of one person making any big difference are small, I am no Al Gore. So I decided to try making a small difference. After thinking a lot about it I felt the best I can do is to create awareness. The most appropriate thing to do was to make a calendar based on the issues troubling us.

I have made a 12 sheet desk calendar that is available for download free. I can send you a printed calendar as well if you like for Rs.400. Out of which I will send Rs.250 (approx) to Greenpeace and WWF.

I am an infinitely small dot. You can help me connect to more such dots by spreading this message. If you are a blogger, a mention of the calendar along with a link will be appreciated. You can help by mailing the link to your friends as well. There is a blog that I have made where I will post my thoughts on environment. The url is http://2010.picturejockey.com

Thank you all and in case you are wondering why I have not been of your site for a long time and why I am talking about a calendar when 18 days of January are already over, stay tuned, info on that will some soon.

Save the planet

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Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

2010-01-11T21:56:00+05:30

The start of the New Year has been good. Last weekend I was in Delhi for the Auto Expo. Mercedes-Benz is our client and we made a microsite for the AutoExpo. It was nice to see our work being visible to so many people, not only on the internet but in the stall as well. The intro of the website was being played on a large screen in the stall.

Overall it was a very nice setup with Mercedes-Benz having a complete stall to themselves, the biggest this year by any exhibitor. I'll stop before I start sounding like a spokesman for Mercedes. I will be creating an image gallery for the Auto Expo. In the mean time you can check the Microsite we created for some of the photos shot by yours truly.

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Where is Santa Claus?

2009-12-25T14:11:00+05:30

I guess a lot of kids are wondering where Santa Claus is right now. He made his stop in our home. It must have been a little difficult form him since I don't have a chimney. Santa Claus came and left a helicopter for Manu. From here he moved on and if you want to know where Santa is right now, you can see it through this tracker.

Merry Christmas to you all.

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Will smaller cars really save the environment?

2009-12-23T20:57:00+05:30

I don't think so. The ratio of petrol small cars saves keeps going down after a certain size. Take the example of the new Beetle. It runs 10KMs for 1 liter of petrol. The answer is not in reducing the size and engine capacity of your car every year. The answer is in finding an alternative to fuels based on hydrocarbons. The other alternative is to find a different mode of transport, using a bicycle for shorter distances or using public transport like I do (It's a different story that I hate Mumbai trains and use them because there is no alternative).

While talking about Mumbai trains, I strongly feel that a big chunk of the 100 billion US Dollars that is going to poor countries, as decided in Copenhagen for combating weather change should come to people traveling by trains in Bombay. Not only a large percentage of population uses public transport, it uses a fraction of public transport used by people in other countries. Not sure about what I mean. You have to see how a local train is packed during rush hour, every trains easily carries 5 to 6 times of its capacity.

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Birthday boy

2009-12-05T21:10:00+05:30

Along with some friends, a couple of cartoons were invited too

2009-12-04T21:10:00+05:30

Selecting a cake for the birthday can become difficult if the child keeps asking for impractical options.

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Hello! Why are you so interested in MY birthday cake

2009-12-03T21:10:00+05:30

This is the time when the excitement around the birthdays is at peak as the kids find out what the whole deal is about. For Manu the excitement started the moment he woke up. He got a digital camera he was promised. Ever since I bought a camera for my nephew, he has been asking me for the one as well. My old point and shoot didn�t work so I bought a new one for him and now I am eagerly looking forward to a photo shoot on the weekend when Manu can join me with his camera instead of my phone.

Going to school is another excitement as this gives him a chance to wear something other than a school uniform and sharing chocolates with his friends. Standing in front of the class and being the center of attention as the Birthday Boy is a rush not matched by anything else.

Back home, he was too excited to take his nap and could hardly wait for the evening so he could have his party.

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In memory of those died an year ago

2009-11-30T21:10:00+05:30

An year ago, the terrorists attacked Mumbai and killed countless innocent people. The media has exploited the event to boost its TRP and to increase the sales, the wannabe celebrities have used it in an attempt to boost their careers by joining peace marches, the politicians have used it to criticize others, the cynics have used it to show how bad our security arrangements are and how nothing ever changes.

This event has been turned into a whore everyone has raped. In all this, let's not forget the people who have died, either as victims or as brave soldiers and cops who died to save others. Those are the people who really matter.

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Two doctors in the making

2009-11-24T22:43:00+05:30

Why is it that the images with the best expressions never have a perfect exposure? I would have loved if this image was better focused.

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Sone ke sikke

2009-11-23T22:29:00+05:30

These are the new coins issued by the reserve bank of India for 5 rupees and 10 rupees...or is it Governent of India that issued them. Actually it is a bit confusing because I remember while all other notes Reserve Bank of India, the One rupee note had Government of India.

I am not sure if you have noticed, I have made some small changes to the site. Instead of using a JavaScript for image rollovers, I have changed them to CSS based lists. Since there was a rollover already there, I have added small animations that you can check by rolling over the next back, RSS and share buttons and also on the top navigation.

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Like an empty bottle

2009-11-22T23:26:00+05:30

Almost two weeks without a post. Earlier I used to feel very restless when there was a gap this long between the posts. This time around, I am a little numb. There has been so much happening at work that I am getting very little time to think. In most other places this is usually the quieter time of the year with most of the client going on holiday. In our case, this seems like just the opposite. The year end, it seems, is going to be quite hectic. If I could make a Christmas wish in advance, I wish to do meaningful and great work during the holiday season, not something senseless.

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Getting hotter and hotter

2009-11-11T11:45:00+05:30

The theme I have decided for the Picturejockey calendar this year is environment. This picture may end up in that calendar. While reading to get some better understanding of the environmental issues, I read quite a few things like the changes we have at 10,000 years, the 100,000-year problem which state all sort of things that causes extinction of various species. While the modern way of life is damaging our planet, sometimes I feel an extinction of human race would be inevitable by other means if not manmade.

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Red Canvas

2009-11-10T15:45:00+05:30

When you like something, but it. I went to Reebok showroom and saw red canvas shoes. I had to buy running shoes and I had already bought two more pair of shoes in the recent past so I decided to not buy those. Some time ago I felt it would be nice to have these shoes and I started looking and looking in all Reebok and Adidas showrooms without finding these. Some told me these were out of stock and some told me these have been doscontinued. When I almost gave up, I saw these in one showroom. The only pair in the shop.

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The great Indian queue trick

2009-11-04T15:45:00+05:30

A queue in India is no one is willing to stand it. In Bombay you will see people queuing up for buses, at ticket counters and some unlikely places like ATM machines. They will stand in a queue but will look for a reason to jump the queue. Then you have people not in the queue but just hanging there that causes even more confusion and creating more split ends, just like you have in hair which makes people argue over which is the original queue.

One place people never queue up is to board a train. There is mayhem when a train arrives. To get a seat you have to do something called "udi maar ke chadna" which means jumping in the train before it comes to a halt and yes, if you are wondering, you can do that in Bombay because the doors of our trains are always open.

One place where people queue up unnecessarily is the airport. People queue up at the airport gates even before it is open and after landing they start queuing up at doors of the plane even before the plane comes to a halt.

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All ready for the next flight...or may be not

2009-11-03T16:56:00+05:30

Starting last week, the Mumbai airport will be closed for 6 hours each Tuesday because of repairs, and it is not for a week or two, this will continue till April next year. I felt that the work on roads is the only cause of inconvenience but now I have realised that the work on the runway is even bigger cause of inconvenience. Like a good Mumbaikar you are supposed to take it in your stride. "Gairsoi Babat Dilagir Aahot". Being a Dilliwala, I find it impossible to ignore such things and I feel it is the failure on the part of everyone involved, right from the Airport Authority to the state government. I mean I am the person who has taken a day off an about half a dozen occasions because I couldn't find a rickshaw to take me to the railway station.

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Sun and shade

2009-11-02T02:20:00+05:30

Soft lights are good. I feel harsh lights can be even better as in this shot. I like this shot because of the afternoon sun above Manu's head.

The posts are a little random and the descriptions are also short because at work there is a very big project that needs to be done by the end of this week. I find it amazing how often me and my team is chasing insane deadlines. There are late nights and high stress levels but what makes the problem worse is an unhappy client and bosses. But I guess that can't be changed, you all must have heard the story of the dog who gets beaten up by the owner for forgetting his keys.

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