Monday 8 October 2012

monday mojo ~



when i was little....my mother had passed instructions to everybody in our home...a tap on sonny's shoulder every time she starts talking and takes off as if somebody has pressed the fast fwd button on her precious red n black philips two -in -one . This was her effort at teaching me how to speak concisely without eating up half my words....slow me down a tad .
The philips two in one , which in those days meant that you had a tape recorder and an in built radio, went everywhere with me ....i saw , soaked , breathed life in technicolor ....and in my head...there was a song in the back ground of every scene life presented . Life it seemed was unfolding at such  humongous velocity , it felt almost natural to have a head brimming with words and speak at the same speed to keep pace .




It is now....a fortnight away from turning 35 , i realize....i am probably a late bloomer . Still the same somewhere inside....still brimming with words and thoughts...still overwhelmed with seemingly mundane things which come across as ordinary everyday life to most ....emotions like cumulus clouds ....
..................What HAS changed is my need to communicate or even attempt doing the weirdo act of speaking aloud about the frames as they filter through the sieve of my eyes, mind and heart...and get absorbed into the very marrow of me . You cannot . Its impossible . Needless to say, i make extremely bad company , i can walk quietly by your side endlessly without feeling the need to say a word , disconcerting to many... at the most i might look up at your eyes , it isn't that i am not paying attention to what others around me are saying , what you are saying , au contraire every syllable , every nuance of body language gets registered .....

The change is in the velocity i mentioned above . With each passing year....i have learned to slow down ....and set my own pace so to speak . On the graph of life...a longer arc ...all my own . 

Which is why i write and make pictures ......i set my own pace . I once heard Gulzar say that words are like solid rock formations....they always have shadows underneath , tilt one and see what crawls out...and sometimes the weight of them becomes too much to keep inside . There is that weight...and then , there is the literal weight every word carries which you share , communicate to anybody . Therefore i dole them out in precious miserly bits....because somewhere...someone is simple enough to hold them close to their heart .

My pictures , i am often told...reflect the same . Reflect what i was feeling when i took the shot...or rather when i saw the frame....hopefully , in time ...i will learn to detach myself from the subject and convey the subject matter in my pictures , in their own light , so to speak .


 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



I still view life , sometimes through technicolor glasses...sometimes in sepia or black and white... , still a song in the background ....chewing on thoughts and feelings ....catapulting them onto the paper my way...to see what crawls out . Concisely .

I guess ma's plan did work out .





~o0o~

17 comments:

  1. slowing down allows us to see the people as well..which you capture amazingly in your pics....love the faces...the feet on the bike....learning to set our pace and experience life in all its fullness is a wonderful thing...

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    1. thanks brian...smiling..
      i saw that guy in the i love new york t shirt and i immediately thought of you..:)

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  2. Such a world you live in ... so foreign and yet so familiar. We have a large Indian population in my community, and while the younger ones are very much Westernized, many of the elders maintain the traditional dress and ways of your country.

    Slowing down? Whatever for? OK, maybe to be heard, but your mind is like a steam engine, always puffing out images in photos or words that dumb my senses in the presence of poetic beauty.

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    1. steam engine...hmmm....thank lord its my mind you are talking about...:))

      thanks kennedy...

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  3. what a delicious first read of my morning..... you were only slightly tamed, and thankfully that is all.... these photos are fabulous ~ you have captured the emotion and light perfectly ~ and slowing down the talking frames in your runaway mind to put your words on paper.... well, mama did good!

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  4. happy anniversary mo !

    how come everybody refuses to believe i AM tamed...i am !
    i am rather pleased with myself this time you know...though this time we hardly shot for a couple of hours..i left feeling a bit ...ummm...dunno...dissatisfied...but before setting out in the morning i had set two goals...one...to try different perspectives apart from regular street stuff...and two--- that my focus isn't all wonky when i view them later...

    ya...like bosses...mama's are always right ..:)

    xxxxx

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    1. never totally tamed.... you still have spirit, words that burn to be penned and visions that need to be captured.... it's all good!

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  5. Chew away each and every day, a weirdo act can be grand, better than watching life just pass you by in your land.

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  6. slowing down is a good thing to be able to suck in all the different shades of life...i love your pics...the one with the feet on the bike made me smile..my friend told me after returning from india that one thing she found so amazing about the people there was that they were just able to sleep everywhere

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    1. lol..i saw a funny e mail yest. about all the apps the chinese are coming up with to aid people in sleeping while standing in trains n metros and bus stops...:))

      thanks claudia...and hey...i'd love to see some of yours too....you paint such brilliant visions in my head about your country...i want to see it all...the train ride to work each morning...the park...the shops...the cafe;s...everything...!

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  7. I think slowing down and finding a moderate pace has allowed you to see the nuances of life that many people miss as they hurry about their daily business. Your photos are fabulous, each one a short story in it's own right.

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    1. thanks mitch.....so so touched by what you have written...

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  8. I've never heard of Gulzar. I just looked him up and seen hes won many film awards. Fascinating pics an history. Gram used to say "stop an smell the roses" smiles

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    1. morning cinna...so sweet of you to stop by...i was remembering how long back we go....from the time 360 first started ....hope you're doing good....:)

      gulzar is DA man..lol

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  9. who want to slow down, darling, that is for us ole folkies *grins*.............your writing and your photographs never fail to amaze me , delight me and fill me up. The way you see your world and then are able to share it with us , so we can see it too. It is a rare gift you have and I love your posts. I always keep yours till I can sit still with a cup of tea, my breakfast or lunch, an excuse to take a break from the office hurlumhej ( a danish word for crazy busy ) and just savour the post, your painting in words what you see and feel and those amazing Sonny Sees with Lens, photographs. *sigh*............Thank you !!! Mwah !!!

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  10. There faces all have a story to tell and to be honest they all look tired, angry, or sad. I believe they have a hard life and not much in the way of thanks for what they do.

    You always do a lovely blog that I enjoy and see another little part of you.

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