Thursday, March 31, 2016

Crescent


opposite my window 
resides a seductive crescent of a moon

(Photographer unknown, and therefore uncredited. A picture posted on facebook by  Sanju Barman )

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Day's Beginning


or the end of it
just before maybe
the beginning of the night

day or night
fluctuating
pulsating
unceasing variant activity
depending upon one's perception
destructive
or productive
beneficial to some
tragic and tearful to others

in its incomprehensibility
affirming to most of mankind
the existence and purpose
of divinity

--------------------------
Bhashwati wrote:

i am trying to understand what the image is but it goes really well with the text and in the text the most telling lines are:
...
in its incomprehensibility
affirming to most of mankind
the existence and purpose
of divinity

what heights and depths of absurdity that the entire edifice of institutionalised faith and all other forms of organised religion is enforced and sustained by virtue of incomprehensibility.

LOL mankind that prides itself on having caused civilisation by dint of its intelligence and reason is willing to be unreasonable in fundamental matters.
It is willing to accept the existence of divinity precisely because it is non existent.
What kamaaliyat.

i still cant imagine how you managed to get this combo image of 

aaj main oopar aasmaan neeche plus is jeevan ka ... yehi hai chhaaon dhoop.

Wherever whenever it was taken, this is a unique composition in every sense.

Very reassuring too under the current circumstances that the vast expanse allows tenacious life to survive probably without human intervention.. 

Thursday, March 24, 2016

The Chair



restful
not restive

vacant
but not for long

available 
for new occupant

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Whither Divinity


one with tranquil visage
astride any one of your creatures
extolled for your virtue and beauty
how do you manage
to remain unavailable

------------------
Bhashwati Sengupta wrote:

The departing divinity in your photo is planning to jump off the edge on the other end of that cold stony expanse saying, tumharai hai tumi sambhaalo ye duniya.

The image is all of a piece.
The angular curves and the curving angles (including the angle of the lifted knee), hemmed in by a cluster of bushes on one end and a clutch of flowers in a bun.
The erect form of the woman is like a personification of the resolute strength of the rock under her feet. It would be safe to assume from the glare of light that her unshod feet could be burning. Instead of rokto maakha choron eyi mohila ogni pothe ekla cholechhe.

Apropos the text, the stony jagged expanse looks to me like an amphitheatre designed by nature for non human deliberations and divinity being a concoction of human consciousness will 'naturally' have no place here. Being available here is not even an option for gods, their spouses, their messengers or their semi divine and semi human agents. 
Thank you for the expanse.

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Golden Cage



Dinguli Mor Sonar Khanchai

those
many-hued days of mine
did not remain 
in the golden cage 
I made for them
they could not bear 
the bonds of laughter and tears

I had hoped 
that they would learn 
the language of the song of my heart
but they flew away
without baring their hearts

as in a dream 
I see those days
some forms that hover 
around that golden cage
now lying shattered

can so much pain be imaginary
or are they only shadow birds
that they said nothing 
even to the skies
---------------------------

din guli more shonaar khaanchaaye
royilo na, royilo na
shei jey aamaar nana rongeir din guli
kaanna haashir baadhon
taara shoilo na, shoilo na
shei jey aamaar
nana rongeir din guli

aamaar praaneir gaaneir bhaasha
shikhbey taara chhilo asha
udey gailo 
udey gailo
shokole kotha boilo na 
koilo na
shei jey aamaar 
nana rongeir din guli

shopone dekhi jaino tara kara 
shey ferey aamaar
bhaanga khaanchaar
chaaro pashey

aito bedon hoye ki faaki
ora ki shobe
chhayyar paakhi 
aakaash paarey 
kichhui ki go koilo na, koilo na
shei jey aamaar 
nana rongeir din guli



Thursday, March 10, 2016

Adrift



-----------------------
Bhashwati commented:
There are two things that strike me in the composition, "Adrift".
One is that there is greater splendour in the ordinary than we care to see. The pride with which the pods raise a salute demands as much attention as the muted beauty of the backdrop does.

Two, that adrift need not necessarily indicate the lack of aim or stability. It could equally well describe a noun which takes a direction, not generally recognised as leading towards stability.
Huckleberry Finn was not adrift on his raft. i believe that phase in his young life facilitated all manner of thoughts and insights in him.

Monday, March 07, 2016

Shiva


We are used to seeing static, head-on images of Shiva Nataraja, the cosmic dancer. When I was asked to take pictures of a Nataraja idol and some others by the Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Department in 1986, it was delivered to my house, and was standing six-eight feet tall, with a price tag of probably 80 lakhs to one crore. I stared and stared, wondering how to bring motion, dynamism, and, if possible, some rage and action to the picture.  In my view, I succeeded, by taking the picture from the side instead of straight on. (You can see some of the other pictures that I took on my website: )

This picture shows Shiva in motion, whirling, his hair flying, as if he has already taken a step forward, is astride, is just about to stamp once more, definitively, on the demon under his feet.

The Tamil saint Thirumalar's poem, from the 6th C. AD, complements my depiction:

When Siva dances his cosmic dance of knowledgebliss,
The Vedas dance, the Agamas dance, music and dance dance.
The lustrous universe dances, all the living beings dance, the entire world dances,
The primordial sound in which began all life, dances.

The Tamil text of the poem:


As a post-script, I would like to add, for whatever it is worth, that wherever Tamil Nadu had a pavilion in national exhibitions across the country (and some abroad), this picture, together with some others which I had taken, was invariably on display. In the year that I took it, it was first shown in Delhi, where then-President Zail Singh, and the Vice President, Mr. Venkataraman, requested a copy from the Tamil Nadu Government. At least in the case of Mr. Venkataraman, upon his retirement, when he chose to stay on Greenways Road in Chennai, very close to my house, he proudly brought this picture with him from Delhi, and prominently displayed it at home.

Thursday, March 03, 2016

Motherhood


freedom
or
fulfillment
or 
abject enslavement

half-part of man
or
his victim