Off The Beaten Path

Temple of Zeus. Athens

I am going to ask myself, what I hope, is a dumb question. Are there two temples dedicated to Zeus? One at Athens and one at Olympia? I assume, of course, that Athens and Olympia are two different places.  I think that they are.

The Temple of Zeus at Athens is the one that I visited, after our visit to the Acropolis at Athens. It was a hot afternoon. Beautiful, blue skies. And, the ruins of the temple, with the hills and the city in the background represented a melancholy sight. The temple had a long and sorry history. It was started in the 6th Century BC, and completed in the 2nd Century AD, during the reign of the Roman Emperor, Hadrian. It was then duly pillaged in the 3rd Century AD, and fell into disuse.

15 of the original 105 columns remain standing, and the 16th lies collapsed on the ground. Designed to be a tribute to the most supreme of the Greek Gods, it never really lived up to the promise. Maybe, the God himself was not satisfied, which is why it took so long to build, and why it was pillaged so soon afterwards.

It reminds me of the current day Birla business empire. Birla is the name of the family. As per the story, the Birla family has to be working on the construction of a temple, any temple, every day. Failing which, the business empire will collapse.

Well, as George Harrison sang, "All Things Must Pass". As did the days of the people who constructed the Temple of Zeus. As will the Birla Empire. Transcience is the name of the game.

Hard disks are notoriously unreliable, which is why even these photos will not last centuries.

Taking photos in the afternoon is not a great thing to do, unless it is late afternoon, and the rays of slight slant with a warm light. Yet, the light was perfect for the aura of melancholy that I felt that afternoon, as I brooded over the forgotten emperors and people who laboured over the Temple of Zeus.

At The Acropolis of Athens

The Acropolis at Athens is fantastic. I am not going to give a tour guide of the Acropolis. There are millions of these around, and much better than anything I can ever write.

The shot above was that, of some of the statues at the Erecthion. Apparently, this was the site where Poseidon and Athena had a spot of rivalry to decide who would be the patron of the city. Poseidon's  trident caused a spurt of water to spurt. And, when Athena's spear touched the ground, an olive tree sprung up. She won, and Athens is named after her! So now I know the origins of one of the truly fantastic cities in the world.

June is the wrong month to climb up to the Acropolis, unless you are climbing up early in the morning or, late in the evening. I was a puddle of sweat by the time I reached the top. Yet the place was teeming with tourists, all sweating like me. I am Indian, and people normally assume that I would be used to the heat. Yet, I don't like hot weather. I can't stand hot weather and, Athens can get really hot in the summer months.

When I look back on the pictures that I took that day, I realize that they were not such great shots. Which, is a tragedy. A lesson. Photography can never be a rush job. It can never be an activity undertaken when you are cribbing about the heat.

Like all things, mystical or otherwise, greatest achievement is possible only when you are immersed in the act that you forget everything else.

For me, I am pretty sure that the people who built the Acropolis were so totally immersed in their art that they forgot everything else. The result is a monument of lasting beauty.

A Marathon At Athens

It was a hot day in Athens, when we went up to the Acropolis. It was bloody, steaming hot. I felt as if I would become a puddle of sweat in the few minutes that I got out of that wonderful air-conditioned van.

Climbing up to the top of the hill was not something that I was looking forward to, and it it was not for the camera in my hand, I am sure I would never have made it up there.

Yet at the bottom, there were these citizens of Athens doing a half marathon, for some cause that I do not remember. However, for me it was a photo opportunity, especially since I had never photographed running people before. I can't say that I did the best job of photography that day. On the other hand, it was not too bad.

Old people, young people, very young people, fit people, unfit people. All running in streams of sweat. I had to stand there and admire them for their spirit. For me, a marathon is a run from the bed to the bathroom in the morning, and I do manage to complete my marathon in a sprint.

Run on, run on. At some point in the future, I should take up running.

Garbage On The Streets!!

Athens is really a fantastic city in many ways. It's very relaxed, has a fantastic harbour/bay and, the people in Athens really know how to enjoy themselves.

Dinner starts late, and continues till the early hours of the morning. On a Saturday night, you feel like saying, "Let the revels begin!!" In a way, very Indian. In a way, not.

The similarity lies in that the people from both cultures are expressive, warm, love music and a good time. But, at the same time, we are very different from the Greeks.  Who we are today is a function of our history. Ours is, of course, quite different from that of the Greeks. I think that the similarity comes from the single drop of Greek blood many of us from North India, a legacy from Alexander's conquest of parts of India many centuries ago.

I won't go into a big analysis of how we are different from the Greeks. However, there is one similarity, apart from the occasional fellow who pees on the walls, and that is the garbage that you sometimes find on the streets. The picture above is an extreme example, and was a result of a three day strike by the municipal authorities in Athens.

In India we have taken garbage dumping to a fine art. As a result of this, our cities look like over sized garbage dumps. It is a pity, because the physical shit that you encounter in India scares a lot of people away, and deprives them of seeing the glory of the country.

One day, hopefully, we'll realise that cities that look nice improve the general mood of people, and raise the level of pride we have in our cities. Glory be.

In Athens. A Little Bit Of India!!!

Oh!! The last stop after Gaillard, was Greece. Oh well, no matter. Athens, at least, was the first stop in Greece.

We stayed in a pretty crappy hotel. I honestly don't even remember the location or the name of the hotel. It was in this middle class kind of neighbourhood. The surroundings were a bit mucky, but reasonably leafy and shaded. That, at least, was the saving grace of the neighbourhood.

And, the wonderful street shots that I could take. That was another saving grace.

We woke up comfortably in the morning, had a horrible breakfast, and went into the van to wait for the guide. The driver had arrived but, the guide, a Chinese fellow, was late. There was a pretty large crowd of people hanging around, dressed in their Sunday finery, generally standing around, eating and gossiping.

I think it was a party or wedding of some sort.

But then, this old gentleman who evidently had a bit too much fluid to drink, suddenly went to the wall, unzipped his pants, whipped out his thing and let loose with a huge stream of pee!!

"Wow!", I thought. "A Little bit of India, here in Europe!" And, my day was made!! Oh joy!

A Short Walk In Gaillard, France

Gaillard is in France, just across the Swiss border, from Geneva. It is about an hour's drive from Geneva and, in it's own way, is a picturesque place. I am not too sure that I would choose to live there, but then I am Indian. We like crowded places, even though some Indian cities are getting more and more crowded by the day. An occasional escape to places like Gaillard are nice, and allow us to recover some measure of sanity.

But, they can be silent. Silence can be frightening. Yet, Gaillard is not silent. It is a place where you can hear the sounds of nature. The breeze blowing, the water flowing, the birds chirping. It is a place where you can discover the true nature of God in nature. Quite unlike the sterile God who lives in our places of worship.

That summer afternoon in Gaillard four years ago was a perfect afternoon. Bright blue skies, cool breeze, the brook bubbling and the mountain glowing in the distance. What more could I ask for, as I set off for an afternoon walk, while I awaited the gentlemen with whom I would be travelling for the next two weeks.

In some ways Gaillard will be etched in my memory for a long, long time. I saw one of my companions once after that. I have not seen the rest again. One, was subsequently executed.

None of these eventualities were in my thoughts, and neither could I have presaged them as I set off for my three hour walk that afternoon.

We live, we die. The world continues.

A Lack Of Inspiration

I have not written a blog for a very long time. And, I have been wondering why.

So, I have put this down to a lack of inspiration. And, the need to focus on a sort of theme for the blogs.

I like to photograph, and I like to travel. I like to photograph street life and, I like to write about it. On top of all this, I like to write about any old crap that comes into my head.

However, I think it is time to focus. And, maybe that is exactly what I should do. Focus on travel/place photography & writing. Plus, maybe I should focus on writing about my views on daily life on the street with street photography.

The only question is, can I manage to run two themes simultaneously? I have to assume that I can do this, and that I can do this intelligently. This would make me an intelligent person, something that I like to believe. Even if others do not always share my view of my own level of intelligence. Both, of the "I" kind, as well as the "E" kind!!

Let me see. Maybe, this is something I can do.

Daybreak 2. Sydney

It's been some time since I updated this blog. Quite some time. I think I have been a bit lazy. But, I am allowed my laziness once in a while.

This shot was taken in Sydney, from my hotel window. I could not help but notice the shape of the clouds. Beautiful clouds. Clouds and beautiful blue skies can really bring magic to a picture. And, of course, completely screw it up.

In this case, I think that the clouds brought magic to the shot. Some real magic. To me, the clouds brought some sense of infinity to the city. Huge clouds, beautiful colours. And, the city is dwarfed beneath them.

Not that we should feel sad and small. Yet, it does bring to mind one simple fact. If we don't look after our environment, we won't get to see beautiful clouds and beautiful skies. They will be hidden by dirt, smoke and smog. And then, to get a glimpse of the beauty of nature, we will have to climb mountains, or go up in a rocket. Neither of which is easy. I guess we will have to take some more care of our environment than we do.

Before Dawn -1. Sydney

I took this shot early one morning, from my hotel room in Sydney. The great thing about the hotels in Sydney is that they are situated around the harbour. This is one of the great places to have a hotel.

Looking out of the hotel window at daybreak brings mixed thoughts about the day. What will it be like, and what fresh challenges will it bring? And, this is something that is true about life in general.

Life for a busy corporate traveller is a collection of hotel rooms. While advertisements routinely portray the powerful executive looking out of his hotel window, pondering great corporate strategy, I strongly suspect that the truth is somewhat different.

Most executives, I am sure, don't get around to seeing the sun come up. I am sure most of them wake up grumpily,and read the paper while drinking a cup of tea. Or, they reach for the Blackberry, praying that the corporate e-mail brings some cheer, and not some new disaster.

Then, on to the breakfast buffet, chomping heavily, while shoving down any feeling of guilt at missing the morning exercise and eating too many eggs. Life goes on.

But, the sunrise is beautiful. The colour of the sky before the sun comes up, is mystical. The night gives up her mysteries, and the day brings new surprises. Apollo rises again.

In China

I can honestly say that I love China, and I always will. It is an absolutely beautiful country. 

There has been a lot of stuff that has been written about China, the government, it's history. A lot of it is true. And, a lot of it is not true. However, to me a lot of this is not so important. 

The country in itself has some of the most stunning landscapes that I have ever seen. It has some of the best cities, and some of the worst. 

Yet, for me, what was the most important was the fact that the Chinese people are absolutely lovely people. They are warm and friendly. I have made many, many friends in the country, and the almost five years that I lived there were some of the best that I have experienced. I found myself, as a leader and, as a person. 

One of the things that I will always be grateful to China for, is that I re-discovered photography here. It will always be a great tragedy of my life that my external hard drive crashed, and with it I lost two years worth of pictures that I took in the country. Pictures in Beijing, JiuZhaiGou, Zhang Jia Jie, Shanghai, Nei Menggu, all gone. This is one of the curses of digital photography, I think.

I hope that I get the chance to travel again in China, to photograph the country, and to carry on my friendship with the people of the country. Maybe, I shall. 

I resumed photography in LiJiang, a stunningly beautiful town in Yunnan province. The new town, pictured above, is faceless like many new towns. Square and without character. The old town, now that is something else altogether. 

When I left China, I was given a plaque. A map of the country, with soil collected from several parts of the country,inside the map. It was a beautiful gesture. 

Since I intend to keep this memento with me, I guess I will always have a little bit of China with me for the rest of my days!