sitting in the porch of his house, with his family in the background. in one of the winding lanes of the versova gaothan / (fishing) village. the family is of the koli community.
"my photo? sure"
of another time and another world
bombay gothic in the mumbai university's fort campus. see an interior shot of the library here.
hanging in there
had a sudden urge to photograph something, first thing in the morning. so here we go, the clothes hanger propped up at my window.
shantilal gandhi, CA
a metal plate with specks of paint and a worn out piece of wood holding it up - apt for khotachi wadi. for more photos from this neighbourhood, hit up 'khotachi wadi' in the search box on the right.
26 jul 2005
five years ago, on the 26th of july 2005, torrential rain, a cloud burst and governance apathy caused unprecedented floods in mumbai. my grandfather's house was under five feet of water for over 10 hours, and this is how one of the rooms looked after 2 days. endless muck, ruined furniture and belongings, an icky smell and a high chance of every object being contaminated. all this however pales in comparison to the hundreds who died or the thousands who lost their homes. have the powers-that-be learnt their lesson? not quite.
windows
looking up a narrow lane in khotachi wadi. for more photos of this neighbourhood, hit up 'khotachi wadi' in the search box on the right.
ghostly beings
slow shutter speed. night lights. golden leaves. and a cyclist. shot a long time ago - in nov 2006, with a nikon point and shoot - when i was just beginning to explore photography.
sunday mornings
on a sunday morning, the usually bustling streets around the bombay stock exchange don a more relaxed look. the half-down shutters let in just the right amount of light needed to read the newspaper while signalling that the shop could be opened up if a potential customer comes by.
it's been a lazy day for me today. not that i don't have much to do, i just haven't been doing what i should have been doing.
to see the other photos from this morning: on flickr or on facebook.
a symbol for the rupee
we have a symbol for the indian national rupee from today on. selected after a design competition, the symbol has been designed by udaya kumar, a Ph.D student from the industrial design centre at IIT mumbai, with a background in architecture and visual communication. it also so happens that four of the five finalists were from mumbai.
the new symbol would take anywhere from 12-18 months to become present on keyboards and in character maps. meanwhile, this being india and since 'we-are-like-this-only' a controversy about the final selection has already popped up.
the ghajini look
requisites for the ghajini look: work outs and bananas? spotted in a lane that leads to the local gym in versova village.
rickshaw signs #4
sign inside an auto-rickshaw:
प्यास लगी है, कुछ तो पिला दो,
या खुदा हमें भी ऐश्वर्या से मिला दो
pyaas lagi hai, kuchh toh pila do,
ya khuda humein bhi aishwarya se mila do
translating this to english would loose its essence. the truly curious can attempt so at google translate.
other posts about rickshaw signs: 1, 2, 3
love and longing
the juxtaposition of meanings - of time and space - in this photograph is quite interesting. there's the young couple facing the sea, in a world of their own, dwelling in love. and then there's the widowed-lady, perhaps yearning for a love gone by. alone, she sits facing the city and watches the passer-bys.
shot at marine drive. another photo from the same evening here: love and the city.
the protector
entrance to a housing block in versova village. the sea and all its myths and creatures are popular motifs and appear in varied forms throughout the neighbourhood.
the red window
colours of khotachi wadi. other photos from this neighbourhood: rear view, now what and mumbai 400004
update: there are some more photos of khotachi wadi. to view them, just type in 'khotachi wadi' in the search box on the right.
the rear view
looking back at one of the few remaining houses at khotachiwadi, a 19th century settlement of the east-indian community in south mumbai.
update: to email/ tweet/ share/ like posts on mindless mumbai, use the little buttons at the end of the post. and, for more photos from this neighbourhood, hit up 'khotachi wadi' in the search box on the right.
reflections - july theme at city daily photo. to view other photos from around the world, go here
