Breathing Fire!

     What is your take on clicking pictures of people without their consent? Or randomly going up to people and asking them to pose for your camera? Especially when you are visiting some place as a tourist. and even more specially, when you decide to click photos of beggars, homeless kids, hawkers, etc? Is there any ethical issue that you face? Why am i asking this? Well, i will get to that but, before that, take a look at the picture.

     Do you see why i named the post, Breathing Fire? The mustache seems to be growing out of his nose and that reminds me of these dragons that breathe fire through their noses. Umm... i think there used to be a series called Janoo and Wolly Woo, in Tinkle. Remember?

     Oh, and when i went to click this man's picture, he was sleeping. When he saw me, he sat up and posed. This was in Jodhpur, btw. So, i am assuming that he must've been used to several tourists clicking his photographs. He was quite friendly and i enjoyed it. However, when i got the picture that i wanted, as i began to walk on, he began to ask me for some 'gift' in return. I said i did not have any and walked off. However, there were a few men standing on the rooftop of a nearby building. They too seemed to take offence and they blamed me for taking photographs without permission and not giving anything in return. I don't exactly remember how i got away, but i did.  

We'll meet. At infinity!

What makes this an interesting picture is that its not just the track that seems to be stretching into infinity. The railing and farther ahead, the hill, too, seems to just go on. Straight. But, they'll meet at infinity, right? Otherwise its gonna be a very boring journey! 

Cheer Up!

Have you had a bad day, today? Have you had a bad day, ever? What? Duh, you say? Okay, yeah, i know. We've all had our bad days. But, i think i have a little something for you the next time you are having a bad day. I had a bad day, just recently and it was pretty bad. But this song made me believe (or should i say hope?) that "everything is gonna be all right." (Afrojack, 2010)

Afrojack- The Spark (YouTube)

Afrojack- The Spark  (MP3)

So, go ahead! Let the bad day be overpowered by the goodness of the song (which talks about the goodness in you, btw). 

Culture on Demand

Hey, Aladdin, you forgot this...!

   

welcome, my child, welcome!

     Religion, they say, is the biggest lie in the world. To an extent, i agree (to a great extent, in fact). However, there is a reason why people don't go about shouting this in the erars of the devout. For one, they will either beat him/her up or will simply stop listening. Secondly, who will the poor devout turn to, when they need somebody to talk to?
   

     This is a temple in one of the tribal villages where i have, on many occasions, seeked refuge on that tiny stone projection. Its nothing religious, but the place has some element of peace to it. At the same time, the shiny ribbons and the colourful flags make it look extremely friendly and welcoming. Its almost like having a friend. And that is what the devout need, too, right? 

When life seems Beautiful

I will keep this short. Really short.

Please take a look at these pictures.

http://www.boredpanda.com/animal-children-photography-elena-shumilova/

Thanks. 

A Mad Mad Song!

     Stuff like this doesn't happen every now and then. Even if it does, it only happens in the lives of famous and important people. However, i think that shouldn't stop us from trying to do AWESOME STUFF!!! And that is why i got a guest to review/recommend a song!
     I will not say anything more, because this post is not mine. I have no authority over what goes online and what does not! (Sounds SO cool) So... here goes...

   "  Are you madly in love? Do you think that madness is the next sanity? Do you attempt to find reason in madness? Well you may or may not. But “Madness” by Muse definitely does.

The YouTube link

     When I listen to this song I can almost feel the madness around me, the madness of life. The madness which engulfs us everyday only to find sanity in exhaustion. In this mad world we all want to fall in love MADLY! With so much of madness around; sometimes we are left wondering if madness is what is controlling us. For me the essence of the song is captured in,

“All I need to know is this real love,

Or is it just madness keeping us afloat”

     Maybe we all need our dash of madness because sanity is too main stream. Maybe all we need is love, or so the song says. At the end when the voice goes high pitched, “I need to loooovvvveeee”...AWESOME! The lyrics is somewhat relatable because these are questions we have often asked ourselves, “Some kind of madness swallowing me”, “some kind of madness is taking control”.  When our life swirls out of control this is what we often say..right?

     This song is mad in a lot of ways as the madness is reflected in their official video. The video is an interesting watch. The idea of madness which is shown by a riot kind of a scene is juxtaposed by a sense of calm exuded by the male and the female characters.  When you are listening to Madness you cannot possibly stop humming ma ma ma ma ma mad mad mad..MADNESS!  "

Note: the guest author, Priyanka Chakraborthy, is a student of Christ University, Bangalore and is a blogger herself. She blogs on her blog Subjectivity Redefined. Her hobbies, apart from the several that i am not aware of, include being sarcastic and NOT working with stupid people. 

*puffing and panting* Happy New Year!

     I know i am a little late, but lemme take the opportunity to wish wish you a very Happy New Year. The new year concept, as such, hasn't had a lot of significance to me, really. This year's entry also reinforced that feeling of mine. But then, its a global phenomenon, the new year. So, i thought i'd rather not be uncouth.

As a new year's gift, i would like to present you this:

Today is your Lucky Day!

    I know i must not be recommending mainstream music on this blog. But:

a) I can make an exception for Maroon 5, coz they're awesome like that!
b) This song is not mainstream.

So, here goes:

Lucky Strike (YouTube)

What do you live for?

     Do you like rap? No?

I am not a big fan of it either. However, this one song is peculiarly captivating. Its got a dreamy feel to it, although the song says its a remix (i think its got to do with my notion that all remix must be fast). Its almost like as if the world is moving in slow motion.

PS- i so totally LOVE the chorus!

      Symphonies (ft. Kid Cudi) (YouTube)

Monkey Business

Wild Abandon

     This picture, somehow, reminds me of the World War days (not that i am claiming that i was around when the world was at war).

Lets Play a Game

Right!
So, i am in a mood to play a game. The rule of the game is simple. when i ask you to,
you will close your eyes and imagine Rajasthan.

The very first image that comes to your mind, okay?

And after you have locked on to to the image, you open your eyes and click to read further.

Ready?

Go!

Doors

     Needless to say, in the 10 days, i saw a hell lot of Havelis and Palaces (whats the difference?). They were grand. There was so much for the eyes to see. There was so much to be understood. But, amongst all the other things, one thing that constantly caught my attention was the doors of the palaces and/ the Havelis. They were so many different types of doors (duh), but at the same time there was something to all of them that fascinated me. Since i have no background in architecture, i will not be in a position to explain to you my previous statement. Maybe it was simply because there were so many different types of them. Perhaps, if i simply put up the pictures now, you'll understand.

Ahem, look who is back!

   Notice #1:  If you haven't heard already, i had gone on a trip to explore Rajasthan. And i clicked pictures. However, what made it worth making a special mention is the fact that this time, all the 500 odd pictures that i clicked (out of those, hardly 50 are ones that can go up on the blog. Sigh) were clicked using a phone. I must say that its beyond doubt now (to me) that good photos don't necessarily come out of a DSLR.

    Notice #2: A lot of my upcoming uploads will be based on the pictures that i managed to capture in these 10 days.

We Still Are Made Of Greed, Aren't We?

     Have you ever had such a song in your playlist that makes it impossible for you to not sing along, no matter where you are? Have you ever felt that there could be no better song that could describe your feelings? Well, i've had a couple of such songs (Jal by Aadat and Afterglow by INXS) and i seem to have found yet another one! (I still hope to find more such songs because no matter what we breed, we still are made of greed)
     When i decided to recommend songs on this blog, i had made thought of avoiding mainstream songs and talk about the artists who aren't well known. However, this is one mainstream band that i cannot but recommend (not like they need my recommendation, anyway).

     Without much ado, Ladies and Gentlemen, i present to you...

Demons- Imagine Dragons (YouTube Link)

     I hope you like it. There is one stanza that i absolutely love! If possible (and if you liked the song), lemme know which part of the song you liked.

Cheers!

Shades of Life

Sometimes, by stroke of luck, you find yourself in the right place at the right time. 

Mind Games, Anybody?

   This is one of the 5 schools that i have pledged to work with, for the next 2 years...

And we're back!

   Ever since i've come to Rajasthan, i've been going through series of 'deconditioning' processes. But, recently, one of the smaller deconditioning that i have experienced is the fact that the camera of my phone, although only 5MP tall, can pull off tall stuff. The consequences of my deconditioning are as follows:

   1. A lot more respect for 5MP phone cameras.
   2. Patience to save up for a better camera.
   3. A reason to update the blog.

AND

   4. A reason to Click.

So... for the time being i will be updating the blog with the clicks from my phone.

Woohoo! (Coz it feels good to be posting, again!)