Its diwali today. Lights are all-over crafting our way to fantasy, to the world of open-eyed-dream. Those blue ones are my personal favourite. They take me to an other world, where one can draw their imaginations.

Life consists of reality and dreams. Both complete each other. One fine day, dream can help you get over reality and on the next, reality takes over dream.

This very picture shows a dream. Lights of joy, Taj of love. But its just that the next morning one can’t remember the dream properly. Just the theme stays. Like life, happiness stays. No matter what the reason is.

[PS - The picture is a product of imagination and Nikon D5100]

Sometimes we smile, sometimes cry. We love, we hate. We fight, we pray. Still , amongst these thousands expressions there are times when we don’t understand what expression to bring forth. That alien feel, that gives birth to innocence. Brings out a man’s best self.

Never let it die. For, the good will always remain. Either we want it to or not.

Did you ever feel the ecstasy of getting that special gift?

Droplets of thoughts, dedicated to you.

An unknown sweetheart!

Ain’t she moody?Rang barse!
Suddenly saw this woman with that expression! And my lens did the rest.

[N.B- Clicking on 'The day of colours' was the toughest work of mine till date. But at the end of the day, one could see the colourful smile on my face.]

Some days pass without the feel of them passing and some as a falling star. Sometimes, dilemma becomes your unwanted shadow and sometimes the path is clear as an autumn-sky! Some days luck calls you ‘best friend’ and some days you regret why gamble? Some moments worth cry for and some make you cry. Some days you are loved and some days cursed.

Memories, family, love, passion. What is worth living for?

They say happiness is what matters the most, but I say, at what cost? Your happiness, your truth can be brutal fact for someone, a moment to regret in his whole life. The way you are seeing it, you may feel it is a smile, but if you care to look from another angle, you may see a face hiding inside a wet pillow.

There is fan which is making us feel comfortable right now, then why is making that agonizing sound? We, the people are too busy in our own fantasies to think. Even me.

Are you old enough? If you, then are you content? How many days from you life you remember? Think.

Scattered thoughts. But aren’t they worth thinking for?

I may not remember tomorrow, but today is different. ‘Emotions’ they are, what made it memorable, not happiness alone, neither sadness.

“That’s Falcon!”

Visakhapatnam, a city in Andrapradesh, is no less than a painter’s imagination! The view of greeny hillocks, azure sky kissing the bottom of Bay-of-bengal, picturesque roads are just the beginning of what Vizag has to offer you. Though the 1st day for me started with a fight for getting a sea-side hotel which seemed quite an impossible task in the late December. Then, somehow, things got sorted out and I was free to explore a beautiful beach named Ramkrishna beach, the 1st one in the queue of five.

“RK beach”

2nd day, places like Rishikonda beach,Kailashgiri, Submarine museum, Palm beach were enough to keep me dow-eyed, specially Kailashgiri, the view-point
there, named titanic-point had a breath-taking view of the whole city including the sea! And the 3rd day started off with Araku Valley but Borra-cave was the star-attraction of the day.
The naked beauty of nature was mesmerizing. Eye-gasmic.

“Ain’t it beautiful?”

“Borra Cave!”

“A click”

Some beauties are subtle,elusive. Inexplicable. Words aren’t enough to describe them. You stare at it for hours, still its not enough. That is Vizag.

“A moment!”

[PS- To talk about the south-indians, they are gentle, have god-gifted tongue, but dear south-indian men, its not the moustache that makes you a 'man'!]

[PS- I thought of giving captions for the pictures, then I realized some things are best left unsaid! And my sincere thanks to Swastika Bose for her thoughtful contribution.]

“A simple click which can’t be described into words”
“My last auto-mode click”
“Shutter speed 1/350, aperture 5.6. 26 x optical + 10x digital. Unedited!”
“Rooftop click”

Description of my cam – I own a Nikon coolpix P100, which is not a DSLR but this specific SLR can be termed as photographers-delight! Some features as follows:

1. A 26× optical zoom NIKKOR lens that covers a broad focal range of wide-angle 26mm through super-telephoto 678mm (35mm format equivalent)

2. Technologies that enable excellent image quality: CMOS image sensor with backside illumination structure, Backlit Scene HDR (high dynamic range) mode, which makes the most of continuous shooting technologies, and an advanced Night Landscape scene mode

3. High-speed continuous shooting functions that enable continuous shooting of images at the maximum size (10 MP) at 10 fps and sport continuous mode, which allows for continuous shooting at up to approximately 120 fps

4. Full HD movie recording and playback functions

5. A 3-in., approximately 460k-dot vari-angle Clear Color Display simplifies shooting from a variety of angles

6. 5 features that effectively prevent or reduce blur caused by camera shake and subject movement

7. Smart portrait system for consistently beautiful portraits

8. HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging to create images with a range of tonal detail that could not be captured in a single photo.

[PS- I started off with a Sony cybershot dsc-910 belongs to Anirban Saha, my brother, and my inspiration for photography!]

“Yaa debi sarbabhuteshu,
shaktirupen sanhaswita..
Namastaswai, namastaswai ..namastaswai,
namoh namah”
[English- Goddess Durga , you are omnipresent, you are the ultimate power, I salute you.]

The nostalgia of his enchanting voice, the smell of those old radios which comes out only one day in the whole year, and late risers becoming 4 o’clockers , the win of good over evil – these define Mahalaya.

‘The man behind the unmatched voice’

The six day countdown to Mahasaptami starts from Mahalaya. Goddess Durga comes to earth for only four days but seven days prior to the Pujas, starts the Mahalaya. The enchanting voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra fill up the predawn hours of the day thus marking the beginning of ” devipaksha ” and the beginning of the count-down of Durga Puja.
The chirp of birds along with that unmatched voice presents us a holy environment. A dawn which comes only once a year. Some immortal tunes, some music and an evergreen voice. This is Mahalaya, for me, for us.

She is beautiful, she is lively, eternal, her some parts exhibits good curve, though some turned rotten. And unfortunately, now-a-days, the rotten parts are unveiling their existence. Every night and day her body undergoes many pains, some wanted, many unwanted. She is like a mother to her people, but they, a shame indeed, take her as a whore, and scratch her every night and day. We are acting bastards by not being concerned. Aren’t we? Can’t we change ourselves a little and give her some respect? Can’t we gift a cover of green to a naked woman who is taking care of us just like our mother does? You know her, she is Kolkata.

1 month, almost, I spent in the City of joy. I enjoyed, I loved, I smiled. Most of the days my work kept me busy. By work, I mean, my project on automation. That is actually the reason why I went there. I met good people, spent good time. @_anamus, @sahaanirban,@sayani_m, @avii13 , all were there. Sister, brother, friend. And a must mention, Dida (‘Grandmother’), an old lady. She was a little tea-shop owner. The place where I spent most of the rainy evenings of Kolkata with a cup of tea in my hand. A poor lady with a broad heart. Time passes by, memories stay.

The ‘City of Joy’ for me was a place where for one second extravagance of malls and luxury and money entices you, but on the next, the poor, the deprived half brings you back to senses. Beauty but not without a black-spot. The city of joy and some unnoticed pain.