Chitradurga ~ Part -2 : The Essence

In my previous post I had mentioned about some experiments I did on my visit to Chitradurga fort. The first experiment was explained in that post. Second one is here.

While the first experiment was about feeling and making images of the moments that are frozen in time and space, the second one was about trying to capture the essence of the place through a finite set of images. When I say 'essence' that means the definitive quality that defines the place / structure.

Chitradurga fort is popularly known as "Elu Suttina Kote" in Kannada. This means a fort with seven circular walls. This fort is built in such a way that to completely enter inside one has to come through these massive circular (well, not exactly circular but a kind of maze shaped) entrances. The aim was to hold the enemy in this area as much as possible and prevent them entering inside the fort.

So when you are walking inside you constantly come across these huge walls all along. Once you cross the seventh entrance and walk few steps then the whole area opens up like a huge stadium. You will find tons of photographs on internet about how the whole area looks. I dont have any intentions to share the 'me too' kind of images here.

What I was trying to create was a set of images that could explain or make the viewer feel why the fort was called so.

Since the subject and the focus was minimal (just walls, entrances and nothing else), I tried to portray them in the minimal way wherever possible and some may be little complex. Nothing much to be said. Have a look.

Do you feel the same way I felt?
Or
Why do you really need to?

Do I care about it?
Or
Why do I care about it?


Cheers,
Ash

Chitradurga ~ Part -1 : Through the moments

Chitradurga fort is a treasure trove for anyone who wants to do some serious photography. The amount of opportunity that it provides in terms of making several types of images is simply mind boggling. This place was in my wish list to visit since long. Finally it happened few months back. It was a short visit. We were there for about an hour or two. For the scale of that place two hours is nothing. What you see in those two hours is just like a trailer! To see the movie in its entirety one has to spend at least couple of days. A week is even better!

During that quick visit I tried to make few images. I was not interested in making conventional images of that place. I had seen them in plenty. I was in a mood to do couple of experiments. First -  I was thinking if I can show that place through a set of moments, perhaps a set of fleeting moments, moments frozen into frames in space and time.  Second - in my next post! :)

During many discussions with various eminent and contemporary photographers there was always this question as to - What is it that defines photography in its uniqueness? What is it which is unique to photography but not to other form of visual art? 

It is the ability to arrest a fleeting moment that has no past and future but still exists in space and time. Making a pre-visualised photographs is a different story and that in the distant horizon comes close to the process of painting but still maintaining a thin boundary between the two. But in my view this is not the uniqueness of the medium of photography.. Uniqueness is defined by the  former argument. Latter is just another way of expression.

Here is a small write-up by Nirlep Singh written in CNP forum where he has beautifully explained this process in detail. To this day I keep visiting this article over and over again.

"An absurdity called a photograph"

Off late I have been trying to push myself into this realm. Throwing myself into the situation where I forcefully forget that I have a camera in my hand and try to flow through the experience of the place and in the flow make some images whenever I 'feel' like making one, not deliberately, with no urgency, with no pre-visualisation. I am just being in the moment and let my instinct do the photography. I am enjoying it. I am enjoying the way mind gets opened up with no constraints of any sorts. Earlier I was hesitant to take out my camera in public and point the lens towards strangers around me. It was probably because of the thought that 'What would they think about me? - Will it cause discomfort to them? - Am I breaching their privacy? -  Do they think that I am showing off? - and all other absurd questions'. I was rarely shooting street or urban photographs when there is crowd around and I attribute these questions to the lack of such experience. But off late I am not surrendering myself to that feeling and trying to break away from it. Hence you can see some of my urban and street photography posts in the recent past and that will continue.

Second experiment in the next post!

Cheers,
Ash

The Gujri

It has been more than 10 years since I had visited that place and that was the first time. Vaguely I was remembering the gullies and the arrangements of the items that were placed then. Some weeks back suddenly decided to pay my second visit. This time with my camera!

***

I was making an image of a teenage boy from the window of his shop. His back was facing the window and he was oblivious to my presence. As I clicked few images a person passes by in front of the shop and tells to the boy -

" Abe, peeche mudke pose to de... tera photu aane wala hai!"

Boy:  "Abe! Kaun hai tu? Photu kyon kheech raha hai?"
me:   " Mein koi reporter nahin hun. Showk ke liye photo kheechta hun. Dont worry!"
Boy: " Deekha sare photo"

I showed.

Boy: " Delete kar usey"
me:   "Saare? Kuch to rakhun?"
Boy: "Han. Saare."

and he went off, not even bothering to see if I have deleted all or only few!

***

"Bhai sahab. Aapka ek photo le sakta hun? Ussi pose mein"
"han han. Le lo"
"!!"

I made some images.

"Reporter ho?"
"Nahin. Sirf photographer hun. Showk ka. Yaane ki Hobby photographer."
"Achcha achcha. Mera naam hain Hazi Jamsheed aur mein pehelwaan hun"
"Wah! kya bath hai!"
"Han. Pehelwaan jamsheed kehke bhi bulate hain. Aur mein National level ha kushti player raha tha. Mere videos YouTube mein hai. Dekh lena."
"Zaroor. Aap kitne saal se yahan pe hein?"
"Hum to 1958 mein paida hue the aur tab se yahin pe hai!"
"Tab se yahi karte aa rahe hai?"
"Han. Yahan pe ye business to 1940 se bhi pehle se hai! Bahut purana dhanda hai. Aap ka naam kya hai?"
"Ashwini Kumar"
"Achcha Ashwani aap kahin pe ye photo bhej rahe ho?"
"Mera ek blog hai. Wahan pe mein kuch likh ke photos daalta hun. Jo bhi cheez interesting lagey, woh blog karta hun"

"Achcha. Dekho Ashwani bahar ke log aur kuch media ke log iss jagah ko chor bazar wagaira wagaira kehke paper, TV mein daaley the. Lekin hakikat waisey nahin hai. Hum yeh cheezon ko neelami se leke aate hain. Auction karke. Yey insurance companies jo hoti hein aur ye banks aur police ye sabhi jo unke paas purane gaadi ya phir poori useless tareeke se tooti hui gaadi ko auction karte hain. Hum log uss auction mein jaake, bidding ke zariye unhe khareedke, un gaadiyon mein jo bhi usable parts hote hein unhe yahan pe bechte hain. Yahan ka koi bhi maal chori karke nahin aya hai. Mein sirf apne dukaan ki baat nahin kar raha. Iss poori area mein kahin bhi chori kia hua maal bechte nahin hai. Agar koi chori ka maal ata hai to hum turant police ko inform karte hain and jo banda ussey bech raha hai uski dukaan 3 mahine tak bandh kar diya jaata hai aur 5000 fine barvaya jaata hai, yahan ke association ke paas. Humara association bahut strong hai iss mamle mein."

"Achcha! Yeh jaanke khushi hui"
"Han Ashwani. Phir bhi log kabhi kabaar bahar jaake iss area ko badnaam kar dete hein. Hume bahut dard hota hai sunke."
"I can understand"
"Tum chai peeyoge? Oi munna do chai de. Mehmaan hai humaare!"
"Arrey arrey. iski kya jaroorat hai?"
"Arrey yar. Chai hi to pila raha hun. Ek din mere ghar ayitega, shaandaar khana khilaunga"
"hahaha. zaroor kisi din"

I drank tea. Made some more images.

"Achcha pehelwaanji. Mein thoda aage bhi jaata hun. Logon se milta hun. Aapse milke khushi hui."
"Achcha Ashwani. Chalo phir. Mera YouTube mein video dekhna mat bhoolna. Chalo. Phir se milte hain. Mere liye uss Eshwar se dua karna."
"Zaroor. Phir milenge."


***

I was making some wide angle images by standing along the main road.

Sound from some where. Not sure from where.
"Ooi...Kya photu nikaal raha hai?"
"Kuch nahin bhaai saab. Sirf eisey hi kheech raha tha"

I walked for few steps.
A man was sitting on his bullet, which was not having its rear wheel.
"What are you doing?"
"Just making some images of the place"
"Why?"
"Simply. I am a hobby photographer. I kind of liked the place. Become curious and hence made few images."
"Show them to me."

I showed.

"What would you do with these pictures?"
"I have a blog. I post them there."
"Are people here OK with you taking pictures?"
"That is the problem which I am facing now!"

Someone ushered from the background -
"Bhaai saab. Ye photographers humaari photu leke bahar foreign mein lakhon rupiyon ke liye beechte hein. Aur humein yahan kuch bhi nahin milta."

I smiled.

The man was standing for his rear tyre to arrive. It arrived and I was sure that he was a client at that place. His tone was very dominating and intimidating in the beginning. Later he was better.

"Why do you think these guys dont allow you to take the pictures?"
"I am trying to figure that out. Not very sure."
"Because all these are chori ka maal"
"Hmm!. I heard some other story few minutes back."
"Everyone has a story to tell!"
 I smiled.
"Need to see whom to believe."
"Carry on."

***

At a shop of shock absorbers. There was a young man selling.

"Bhai sahab. Aapka ek photo ley sakta hun?"
"Photo? Kitna rupay dega?"
"Hahaha. Chaliye ek dosa khilake ek chai pila doonga. Mujhe bhi bhook lag raha hai."
Smiles and says -
"Aajkal chai kaun peeta hai. Beer peete hein beer."
I smiled.

Two men from the shop in front -
"Kiske liye photu le rahe ho bhai saab?"
"Showk ka photographer hun ji. Hobby hai mera."

"Poor Indians kehke to nahin dalo ge na?"

I smiled.

*** 

Melukote - A timeless beauty!

If I need to pick a handful of places around Bangalore that I feel worth visiting then this place - Melukote would be among the top three!

It was indeed sheer pleasure that I experienced when I visited this place few months back for the first time! But I dont know why I felt very much connected to the place as I entered and walked into its old small path ways of the small town. The whole place - its temples, kalyani (pond), houses, shops and almost everything is old structured and at one point or the other you feel that you are walking around the place  which is still in 1960s or before! I was really amazed by the way the city was still having the traditional charm to it.

 

(Click on the image to view bigger)

I thoroughly enjoyed my time and here are few images that made from my short visit.

Hope you enjoy.

Cheers,
Ash

Timeless 'Shivagange'

Kanooru Kote was special to me for its mystic and haunted feel. I had tried to bring the same mood in my blog post: Timeless Kanooru Kote.

I set out with similar mission and this time it was Shivagange, a sacred hill near Tumkur. There are literature available on net for its historical and cultural importance. My purpose here is not to highlight that but to present the place visually in such a way that its timelessness is felt through the imagery. My decision to go monotone was driven by this fact.

So not much text in this post. Through these images I have tried to convey my feelings while I trekked through the place.

Click on the images to see them bigger.

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts / views ?


- Ash