Swimmer's high...

It was a month back that i used to wonder people who took swimming seriously. For me, swimming was simply lazing in water, relaxing and frolicking with friends and family. It was at that time that i was crazed about photography (I still am, quite seriously) and would go through every photography site and read interviews of photographers ranging from average to great. On one such site, i found an interview by Jim Sugar and browsed through his work. I wasn't completely floored by it buy what i stumbled upon was the documentary he made - Swimming in a dream... This was the note with the video, a small excerpt - "This film tells the story of how and why a group of otherwise perfectly normal people do a hard swim workout at 5.30 am five days a week." And it also said " Swimmers explain how they are addicted to, and changed by, the swimmer's high." Now I was curious and watched the documentary. And lo! that changed the way i looked at swimming. I mean it wasn't meant to inspire people and there were no speeches like that as well. But seeing them do it, just hit the spot. And that was the day, i started swimming, its been just 2 weeks and i already feel addicted. Breathing under water, water exercises, new styles of swimming and above all loving the water - all this forma a package that drives me everyday. And to top it, i am accompanied by a bunch of equally enthusiastic gals and making new swimmer friends (age no bar, coz the range is 26-70). And now my morning begins with the hurried packing of my swimming gear, a quick goodbye to the husband and big hello to my swimmer friends. And ya, here is the link to the documentary - just in case - http://www.vimeo.com/12799238...

Photography assignment and how it was a total downer...

I was pretty excited about the whole assignment in the morning... The assignment : to shoot kids for a dance academy... i was all happy and confident with no homework (that was my first negative point)... So there i went, a bunch of kids, their teacher and some music... and i shot them... I come back home and see the results... and believe me its a disaster... it doesnt even look like they have been clicked by some amateur photographer... its like someone looked around, saw me, gave me the camera and asked me to click... a total downer... the witness to these photographs was M... and he had a lot of feedback to give... And am taking it all... M started with suggestions and they kept flowing... and he is right... I've to buy them all and share them too... His suggestions -

1. Do your homework... Google dance photographs and pick what you like... Study them... Read the articles on how they did it...

2. Have visuals ready in your head and then convey it to people you want to photograph...

3. Based on your visual, get the place of the shoot ready, be it background, lights, etc...

4. Trial rounds of photographs and then adjusting your camera settings accordingly...

5. It is not a dance session, its a photography session... They move according to what the photographer wants and not the other way round... Take command of the situations and get what you want out of the subject...

6. And if you go wrong, do the whole process again and not give up...

So taking the suggestions to heart, here i walk... tomorrow is another day, with the whole night left for me to study... :)

Outburst...

i guess the vacation was too long... What was supposed to be few hectic days at work, turned out to be a big vacation and i ended up not writing... i generally describe myself as impulsive and quick... And suddenly i am right now all that i have hated being all my life - lethargic, procrastinator, indecisive, forgetful, unfriendly, sleepoholic... None of this has been me and in my memory the past-me i've been vehemently against all this... Yesterday has been a day of reviewing, along with working on my scripts ofcourse... And i feel i am living a trashy life - two days back a friend called up and i realised that she was low but my work wouldnt give me the time to accompany my friend, and i smartly avoided... i didnt think at that time but have been getting guilt pangs after that... i was never a superbitch... i would have all my friends around me, they could reach me anytime they want and we could have a talk ranging from gossiping to philosophy of life... i don't remember having conversations with my friends in the last 3-6 months.... and thats long, going by who i am... And yesterday i had questions - life-changing according to me - is my work larger than my life...? My life was supposed to be bigger and better - a very small part of it was supposed to be labelled 'work' - and now its the other way round... i have to actually sneak out sometimes to find time for things i love... i have an unopened book on my side table since almost a month... i desperately wanted that book as i really wanted to read it... i dont manage as much time as to open it, let alone read it... And there are many more such things... What triggered all this is the sudden feeling of being uneasy... which led to reviewing and which led to this outburst... in which i realise i have been in love with myself in the past and suddenly i dont like what i see of me now... and i gotta make a resolution now - i know its not a new-year and neither it is my birthday - which generally mark making resolutions - but thats what i used to be and i want to be...

He and She

So what exactly happens when two people fight...? two people in this post always means a he and a she... few minutes back i was in the situation (and thats how this post came about) and was paying attention to the exact verbal and non-verbal communication... and the realisation dawned... Neither he nor she understands what the other one was talking... And no, before we jump to a conclusion, its not because none were listening... Both were paying complete attention... Then whats the whole problem, we say... the problem is he and she are two different people... they stay together and share a life but, their thoughts are unique - i mean its difficult for another one to completely understand the germ of that thought, the way it develops and the exact other things that happened to that thought to shape it the way it has... And it is not this one thought that the brain produces... Now when the fight ensues he and she both try to explain their own situations... And not just that - also how ones own situation is graver than the other one... now tell me one thing - does a he/she really feel that their situation is more grave OR he/she are just doing so to make their side in the fight right...? And i had one answer, in case of GENUINE fights (where he and she, both are fair and logical at that time - i like the idea), the first condition is true... Both feel that they are right and their situation graver... and here there is no pretence... So, the next thing that happens (what i observed) is they come down from a fight to an argument, then to a discussion and then laugh over some silly joke that they crack on each other... And guess what, the fight ends... And for the irrational ones, you continue to fight till you graduate to the second category coz everyone has worked their way till here in the same manner...

State of 'wow'...

Place : Handloom expo, Bandra reclamation... Time : Around 3.30 pm... State of mind : Wow, what to buy, what to leave, eyeing beautiful handwoven fabrics, handpainted sarees and suits, wanting them all, state of complete confusion... When i decided to go there, i never thought that it would just captivate me... but there it was - all so beautiful and inviting... the colours, the threads, the designs, the mistakes in the fabrics thats the true identification of it being handwoven... Every pattern has a story to tell about its origin, the state to which it belongs... it has an identity... you look at the style of an ikkat and you can make out whether its a paithani from maharashtra or an ikkat from orissa... they were all there - the silks and tussers and chanderis and cottons whne you count the fabric; kanjeevarams, paithanis, calcuttis, baandhnis, kashmiri; some were handwoven and some handpainted with madhubani paintings... looking at them i felt that they all had complete right to be in my wardrobe and not lying here waiting for others to appreciate them and may be buy them... i just wanted to be amidst them- looking at every piece in detail, appreciating the weaver's job done in making them, and gaze them with a look of 'i want it all'... am gonna sleep with all of them in my head and may be even my dream will have a quality of a 'tohfa' song (jeetendra and jayaprada) and instead of the colourful matkas there will be sarees galore...

Daily drama...

Heya… a hectic day at work today… little time, too much to do… so much taam-jhaam, meetings, ten ppl with ten different ideas, chaos, confusion and a lot more… but I guess this is how we all survive… the whole television industry works this way… just like our episodes, our life too has lot of daily drama – work wise… arre aaj ka episode nahi bana… tension… brainstorm – ideation- chalo, line up ban gaya... kitne baje - raat ke 12 baje hai... ek kaam karo subah jab channel office pahuche uss se pehle yeh episode unnke mailbox mein hona chahiye... that means u work the whole night elaborating it and then the creative head goes through it like at 5 or 6 in the morning - sleepy eyed but the mind is racing... more drama added... and the mail it off to the channel... and this goes on... And the days we cant think, the brain-dead day as i call it, life goes for a toss... firstly, no thoughts are making their way to your mind... over and above that the pressure from the production house that no episode has gone till now... the stress... and amidst all this expect not just any idea- a brilliant idea, a never done before idea - should strike... phew... and it is more stressful and hectic than it sounds... but i guess we have gotten used to it - not in a good way, but atleast we manage to joke about it... and i managed to write about it at the end of this day... which is actually the next day now... off i go now... gotta finish 5 episodes in next 4 days... and the tension is already mounting....

127 hours...

My blog is on my mind the whole time... even when i am sleeping... there is so much to say and share but somehow everything is so disjointed that it feels weird to just put them together... well i saw 127 hours yesterday... and the after taste was not quite good... i was really excited before the film came on and was on my 'must watch' list... but what followed was more like an episode on Natgeo or discovery channel... not that i don't like them... i enjoy them... but what i expected in a film was much more... i mean it just left me too dry... i wanted to know more about that man - Aron Ralston (had to search imdb for his full name)... but it wasn't there anywhere... i couldn't just connect or relate to that man... somewhere i wanted to be an audience to his journey as well as wanted to be on the edge, bite my nails and feel at the end of it that this is how i want my life to be... but i dint see or feel any of it... in fact i remember me drifting to the thoughts of gorging on a sub sandwich at the end of the movie... i almost made the sub in my head and had a bite of it too... but the movie was fun because i absolutely like james franco (now his name i do remember, i loved pineapple express)... i completely love the bit where they free fall into the water and again and again... i was actually like why am i not there... and last : i was with friends... So far thats the story going on in my head...

Just had an idea!!!

Am super excited... i've just thought of covering a few events on my blog... one of them is a dear friend's wedding... rather they both are dear... and the journey would be a series of pictures... but thats in february... so will have to wait... till then the idea is to cover small things like tea-parties with friends, kitty-parties with family, outings with friends and if possible serious meetings... lets see how it all goes from here...

Some links...

i regularly keep checking some photo sites and i received this in my mail box today... went through them and found some beautiful pictures that i would have liked to click... check them out and do let me know your favourites too... mine are listed below...

http://www.photographyblogger.net/50-great-pictures-from-2010/

My favourites -

ahhh... o verão... by André di Lucca

loneliness of the photographer by Kim

The look of sheer determination by Frank Kovalchek

Stairs by Michael Cavén

Christmas tree lights by Shandi-lee Cox

Snow by Luis Hernandez

¿Por qué yo? by Fernando Valenzuela

fade out again by Martin Fisch

Taxi by Ben Fredericson

Mistaken identities...

To start with, it suddenly dawned on me that a blog was a great idea… i could just share all that i like on the blogs i read or see… and also in that way save it all on my blog for further reference… So i thought that if i dont start it today, i wont again till the same thought strikes me again… And then started by journey to search for the blog i made about two years ago… and after searching for it on all the possible sites and email ids, i realised that i dont have any traces left behind… nothing to worry about, i thought, as i have lost only the name of the blog, coz there to there was not a single word that i had written… and so then i started a fresh new blog – kickstart… because thats what it was meant to do…

and suddenly as i was going through someone else's blog, a funny feeling crept in... i just felt that i had seen this blog design somewhere... and suddenly i knew it was the same template i used on my old blog... the blog i had been searching for was not on blog.com but on blogspot.com... and when i hit the enter key to blogspot, there it was - my first blog - just as virgin as i had left it... and now i am confused - where do my loyalties stand...? The old long lost friend (read - blog) who waited for me all this while... or the new one - who was there just when i needed one...

The case of mistaken identities has left me now with two blogs... I've no idea whether i am gonna fill up both or none... Being a Gujju, i am happy that my wealth has increased... suddenly i am rich with two blogs and none of them are empty...