Ek Nayi Subah

एक नयी सुबह हुई है और ऐसा प्रतीत होता है की जो इतने सालों से सोया हुआ ठा जाग उठा है . यह एक नयी बिहार की शुरुआत है . नए मंजिलें हैं और नए चुनौतियां. पर हम तैयार हैं . हमें यकीन है अपने आप पर. यकीन है उन लोगों का जिसने नितीश जी पर विश्वास किया और उनके काम की प्रशंशा की और चुनाव में स्पष्ट बहुमत दिलाया. हमें पूरा यकीन है की हम एक नया बिहार का निर्माण करेंगे और अपना खोया हुआ सुनहरे पल  वापिस लायेंगे.  

And as the whole world awaited with anticipation, Nitish the new Vikas Purush, has done what no one in their wildest dreams thought of. Winning 206 out of 243 seats up for grabs is no small feat.

Yes people did say that he would win, but the margin would be so great, no one thought so. Now that it is done, and Nitish is going to take the oath as the Chief Minister for another 5 years, we all wish him the best.With this win comes a lot of responsibility and the hope for millions in the state and as well outside the state.

May he succeed in his endeavors to see Bihar a developed state by 2015. The roads are definitely tough, but not impossible.

A wave of change

The more I travel around Bihar, and see the development around, the more I am hopeful and praying for Nitish to return for a second term. I have been interacting with people in different places and across locations. I visit schools to see the classrooms fill with children and the common complaint form teachers being that there is a need for more classrooms. (Many schools run 2 classes in one classroom, with children of different classes facing the other ends of the room). I witness the huge queues for voting during the recently concluded elections,  and at places the queue for women being more often. I see more and more girls on streets on bicycles, riding away confidently into their bright future.

Yesterday our vehicle was cruising at 110 kmph on the highway and we crossed around 5 districts. (Saharsa, Madhepura, Purnia, Katihar, and Bhagalpur). So one cannot say that the development is limited to only Patna. Natural speed breakers in the form of Buffaloes on the roads greeted us, but come-on give them that luxury of walking on well laid roads, without the fear of spraining their ankles. :) 

My driver was at his stunt best and we had a couple close saves. I had to actually tell him, bhaiya, Bihar ka road hai .. slow down! :) He replied by saying, bhaiya chinta mat karo. I know my roads and the vehicle well. I wonder what roads, the roads he used to travel on, was non existent. However I give in to his confidence, and reach my destination on time.

I take my camera out, an expensive one that one, without fear. Just an initial inhibition, but that is natural I guess.

I agree that the work needs to be done is a lot more. Whoever wins, let the development revolution begin and peace prevail in our state. Please. This is a request from a aam Bihari. 

What does being a Bihari mean?

Loved this series on what does being a Bihari mean, on IBN Live. Just sharing one of the video from the series here.
Interesting watch.



Jai Bihar :)

Begaani shaadi mei Abdulla Diwana.

I guess it is the season of weddings as this wedding season (Nov-Feb) many of my friends are getting married.  Friends from my school at Darjeeling to IIT to Indiana Univeristy to langotia yaar to Business friends to photography friends . Wishing them all the best for the coming years.

Heard this song a couple days ago and fell in love with it :) Raj Kapoor looks so innocent! Total lallu :) Also love the simplicity of the video. So pure.



Over the next couple of months I will be attending / shooting at different weddings all across India, North, South, West, East. I love the fact that I have friends from all parts of the country whose weddings I can attend.

It gives me a lot of material to work on for the book I have long planned for :) One day I will share that too! Till then, enjoy the song :)

Desiderata

Just recieved this poem in a mailing list. Liked it and hence sharing it here.

DESIDERATA - by Max Ehrmann (1927)
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Copyright Max Ehrmann

Desiderata (Latin: "desired things", plural of desideratum) is a prose
poem by Indiana, USA spiritual writer and attorney Max Ehrmann written in 1927.

And life drags on..

Do not go by the title of the post. Inspite of the drag, I think I have been having a rather interesting life of late I must say.

There are things that have happened knowingly, and some that happened unknowingly. 

Amongst the things that have happened in the recent past, some of the interesting things were that I got to exercise my voting rights and voted for the first time (the ink is still to go away from my fingers though! Wonder what it is made of!). 

One of the bad thing is that unknowingly, I had a big fight with my old landlord. I realize that the only way a landlord can harass is by blackmailing to cut from the advance amount that he has in store. I felt so helpless, to see the hard earned money being taken away in front of me, and I could not do anything. Never ever in my life have I wished so bad for a person as the old landlord. I also got to face racial discrimination for the first time in Bangalore; when I least expected it.

The good thing is that I shifted to a new house, that is bigger, better, airy, and the apartment complex comes with a gym and swimming pool. This new place is a bit far from the hustle bustle of the main city, but I guess it is just this kind of place that I need at this point of time in my life. It gives me more time to invest in productive things, without the distractions nearby.

The other bad (or good? as some friends say) thing is that I spent insane amounts for my wedding shopping. I am still to get out of the shock of it. The fact that I was doing it all through the heavy rainfall that had the entire Bangalore indoors and enjoying chill bhajji and chai, shows the extent to which I was shopping. Thanks to a dear friend and my sister for helping me out with spending so much and of course the selection of stuff. And yes .. I am still to plan for the honeymoon. Will do that when I get out of the shock of the wedding expenses I guess.

Work wise, been working on a couple interesting projects and a few more photo assignments promises to bring in the excitement further.  Amongst the wedding shoots that are planned, I have a Gujarati, Bengali, Maharashtrian, Kannadiga weddings to shoot. And then there is another Christian wedding to attend. (my friend strictly warned me NOT to shoot there as he wants me to enjoy the wedding)  I love these weddings and am always on the lookout to shoot different culture weddings. They provide such a nice opportunity to learn about the different cultures.

Travel cannot be ignored for long time in my case.. can it? So the coming few weeks require excessive travel around Bihar (yes yes there are decent roads there now, I have seen them myself, and the rallies around development are not unreal) and a trip to Mumbai around the end of this year.

Btw, I also got a verbal whacking from a client for a project we have been doing and they were not happy about it. I realized that there is absolutely NO compromise of quality that can happen if we are to survive. Really appreciate the client for the honest feedback.

Also a bit disappointed at most friends not being able to make it for the wedding, but I guess one has to get realistic. people are busy in their lives and to take out the time to attend a wedding in one remote part of the country it perhaps not a good idea for a lot :)

In the end its all about yourself. Nothing else matters.

Share the sweets, joy, and happiness...

Have a green Diwali.

Is Facebook taking control of your life?

Came across this advertisement in a store today and it caught my attention.

I was also laughing at the irony of things. The ad did set me thinking that there are so many of us whose life seems to be just taken over by Facebook. Many to the extent that the first thing that they do when they wake up is check their Facebook account.

Also the other day, an acquaintance on Facebook, who in Facebook's language would be a friend, pinged me, saying that we have not met, but have been Facebook friend for over a year now and that we should catch up in person, for real.

I have been making this conscious effort to avoid spending a lot of time on FB. I also detest it when people post a lot of their personal activity on FB. I mean why does the world need to know it?

I think the whole notion of friend has changed by the advent of Facebook. I seriously think that FB should have an option of acquaintance only. But perhaps people will take offense. :)