Path

is there a path to eternity

can there be a path to eternity

or should eternity be left alone

Vagabond Season

Remembering past Decembers at Taj West End, Bangalore, with its lovely gardens; and sitting on our veranda after breakfast, resting our eyes on the greenery, our ears filled with birdsong. Also, newspapers, and a glass of wine. Nothing missing but a loaf of bread, and thou.

Darjeeling, early 1980s

I love this rickety building, painted a jaunty pink— or faded to it.

Nobody who has not gone through old film negatives knows the despair of color film which has faded and shifted to a sad maroon-gray. With noise. Generally,  black and white film has fared better. Some brands of color film have lasted, others not. In India we had to take what we could get, and not many people care about what will happen to their pictures in the future, anyway.

So I struggled with this, and it’s not too bad. Rant over. Thank you for your patience.

Tundra on the Dunes

Life, One Way or Another

(Adyar Bakery (?) Road, Madras, 1967)

Scouts, Mettupalayam, c. 1970

Portrait of a Young Dog

Sheru took his job of watching at the gate very seriously. You can see that any burglar would be terrified.

Sheru

Sheru, a German shepherd, was officially named Rolf Regent, but I quickly re-named him Sher Khan, which was just as quickly shortened to Sheru.

He was the best dog ever. He was alert, ready for fun, friendly with everyone -- even with those he was not supposed to befriend. We used to joke that if a burglar came to the gate, Sheru would run up and bark, "Welcome! Come on in!"  As it happened, he grew up to be so large that he sometimes frightened people, much to his confusion.

Sheru died in 1992.  We still miss him, and tell each other stories about his goofy ways. This picture of him when he was just getting to know us, and the world, seems to exemplify him somehow.

(This was a colour film negative, but the colours had shifted and faded, so I converted it to black and white. Sheru was just a puppy, with big paws and ears, and an enormous nose, which I emphasized by bringing the camera right up to it.)