Water of Life

“It's in responsibility that most people find the meaning that sustains them through life.”
— Viktor Frankl

Last of the Mahabaleshwar MTDC

There is a quiet serinity to the whole place. The ancient building (some from 1890s) and the ancient forests took you back in time.

March 2025. This was our last trip to the Mahabaleshwar MTDC. Now it is gone. Sold to some private contractor.

Over the years we have come here often. Starting from 2007. In the early days it used to be boys trips to the dormitories on week days or in the off-season. We used to have all the space to ourselves. We have had many a great time. One such epic trip from 2009 is documented here

We used to roam the points. Talk nonsense. Come back to the market to eat - chinese from Bahadur's cart, makkai pattice, strawberry and cream at Bagicha. Then head back to the MTDC for long sessions of daaru and jua and warewolf.

Then family trips. Me and Jo once randomly came and stayed here while returning to Pune from the Konkan -- we took the scenic route. We will miss you MTDC. Truly so.

The cottages nestled amongst the trees. This gave a vibe found nowhere else on the hill-station.

The ancient trees, all garnled and twisted

Politics and purposeful neglect. That is the story here.

The Market

After day long trips to the surrounding countryside to visit the points, the tired junta gravitate towards the famaliar hustle and bustle of the market. Here we find food and above all - shopping!

Strawberry seller

The ubiqutious Vada Pav

One of the food carts.

Buddhi ke baal

A local woman selling combs.

Kid's footware

Big lady-kid's footware

Shopping is the passtime. There was a time when places like these offered unique wares and local art. Now everything is made in China and available everywhere.

All photos shot on the Sony A7RIII with the Voigtlander Nokton 50mm F1 lens

Serious Observations of a Funny World

Me the Photographer

A few days back I decided that in the coming year I will focus on monochrome photography. I will study value and tone. And I will document my journey.

Recent events have resurfaced the question of what one means by a fulfilling life. What is that one really wants to do? Are we doing it? Time suddenly seems precious.

For long I have stood on the sidelines of photography. I started the journey when I was in primary school when my father handed me his Zenith-E with the 58/2 Helios-44. I have had a black and white darkroom for a while and I printed photos on Illford paper. I have clicked portfolios. I have shot for film promotion. And so on.

But I always hesitated to call myself a photographer.

Let me now embrace this aspect of my life. I am a photographer.

Portrait: The Jo

The Jo.
The Better Half. The supporter of life.

Single directional light. Iphone 17 Pro Max.

Portrait: Siddhu

We used to trek together, long back. He was always the quiet reliable happy mate. Always ready to help.

He fought back to life after a devastating motorbike accident.

Siddhu is a fighter.

Camera: Sony A7R III
Lens: Voigtländer Nokton 50mm F 1
Light: a tall Ikea paper lamp


Portraits of the Soul

Bhuleshwar Temple (भुलेश्वर मंदिर)

After a lightening visit to Bhigwan at our friend Sandip Nagre's Agnipankh Flamingo Point we were heading back home. We decided to stop over at the Bhuleshwar temple. It was my first time. I had heard of this place a few times. Even Jo had visited it when she was staying at Urli.

It's a beautiful place. Perfectly period. These are strewn all over our land. They are testament of a time gone by. A time of much glory. It's peaceful. I just wish we would take better care of our history. The hill on which the temple resides is barren. It could be very beautifully wooded.

Light

“The most precious light is the one that visits you in your darkest hour!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan

The owlets of Pench

These owlets were screaming their guts out at sunset.

Sometimes you meet some new folks and are taken aback by their warmth. They easily welcome you into their fold and share their lives. The positive impact this leaves shows how intertwined we all are. The human experience is essential to happiness.

Shirish Katikar and family are such people. Last year in November I got a chance to head down to Nagpur to visit their small farmstead near the Pench forest. We stayed in a tent, cooked some food and took walks in the surrounding jungle.

The Masses

“The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduce them. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim. An individual in a crowd is a grain of sand amid other grains of sand, which the wind stirs up at will.”

— Gustave Le Bon

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The photo is of a small new plant which has taken root in te moss on an old tree. We were at the MTDC Mahabaleshwar and it is full of really old moss laden trees. Clicked with the Voigtlander Nokton 35/1.2 lens at F 1.2.

Gadda Jatra - Solapur's Annual Fair

Pointy nosed mice and the giant wheels

As far back as I remember I have heard about the annual 'Gadda Fair' (गड्ड्याची जत्रा). My mother comes from Solapur and she used to tell stories of her father buying her the biggest dolls in the entire fair. I have seen old family photographs with fancy backdrops taken by the travelling studios.

I never had the opportunity to visit as we had school in January. The fair still continues — albeit differently now, I suppose. It is hard to imagine a fair surviving the age of intagram and smart phones. But it does and I finally had the opportunity to visit it this Jan.

Geometric life

The man on the phone

Hot seeng and chana

MH13 coooog-gadi

A chat with the friendly dragon

Wheel of life

Life goes on. All around.

One man's enjoyment is another's food.

Trapped transporter

Lights and shadows

My partner in the explorations

Serious Observations of a Funny World

Oh melancholy!

“Melancholy is the happiness of being sad.”

— Victor Hugo

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The photo is of a old man who is watching the priest do his stuff in a small temple on the outskirts of Solapur. He is lost in thought. The wire mesh adds a whimsy of him being trapped in this life, perhaps.

Shot with the Voigtlander Nokton 50/1 at F1.