Sunday 11 May 2014

When the new editor cajoled me out of the comfort zone

Shades of summer


Abandoned asphalts with elongated mirages, veiled commuters, mud-pots with brimful water parked on roadside for people struggling with the gruelling heat, dusty lanes, air-coolers and air-conditioners adorning every home and shops unarguably conjure up an apt image of the atrocious attack of summer in Bhopal. While days break gray and dull with patchy clouds dangling in the thin morning air carrying pollens of a million blooming plants and trees, and coaxing enthusiastic morning-walkers throng parks and streets; the afternoons reflect a starkly different scenario with the overhead sun pouring fire all around, forcing Bhopalis to ditch the idea of moving out. Though awfully hot and humid, the season is not bereft of its share of virtues. Summer evenings give the perfect reason to dine alfresco, drink unlimited soda and lemonade and take set out on long drives. Travelling through the landscape of the 'City of lakes', the lens arrests some quintessential shades of a sultry day in Bhopal.


The Royal Cool Off

The old and unlucky Santiago was not the only one who had to battle hard to save his marlin from the brutal assault of the sharks in Hemmingway’s Old Man and the Sea. Fighting against the vagaries of nature is a daily business of the fishermen in the city who move out of their homes at the crack of dawn and labour had to make their ends meet. While the rest of the city lazes around in the comfort of their chilled offices and at noon, these anglers carry on their duty with undeterred dedication in the Upper Lake, shielding themselves from the heat lashes with an umbrella. 


An angler's diary

The old and unlucky Santiago was not the only one who had to battle hard to save his marlin from the brutal assault of the sharks in Hemmingway’s Old Man and the Sea. Fighting against the vagaries of nature is a daily business of the fishermen in the city who move out of their homes at the crack of dawn and labour had to make their ends meet. While the rest of the city lazes around in the comfort of their chilled offices and at noon, these anglers carry on their duty with undeterred dedication in the Upper Lake, shielding themselves from the heat lashes with an umbrella.

Lost in love



 Love knows no boundaries. Lost in love, when couples forget even two of the bare essentials of life, food and sleep, the excruciating heat is but only a freckle. Transcending all trials and tribulations of nature and outshining the unbearable heat, lovers do not shy away from canoodling at popular hangouts. Braving the noon heat a lovey-dovey couple share some light moments against the backdrop of the vast Upper Lake on a mid-May sunny day.



The street...that did not feel the heat

Abandoned asphalts with elongated mirages, veiled commuters, mud pots with brim-full water parked on roadside for people struggling with the gruelling heat, dusty lanes; unarguably conjure up an apt image of the atrocious attack of summer in Bhopal. The days break gray and dull with patchy clouds dangling in the thin morning air. The afternoons however, reflect a starkly different scene with the overhead sun pouring fire all around. Travelling across the landscape of the City of Lakes we tried capturing some such quintessential shades defining a sultry day in Bhopal.



Clocking the heat

The two binary digits blinking in red hardly crossed the number twenty even a couple of months back and the same digital clock audaciously flaunts forty-three degree, reflecting the transient nature of everything in life. Just like heydays even rainy days are a temporary state of affair and the busy traffic, indifferent to the changing phase of the gigantic clock befittingly pass on the message of how life always moves on, irrespective of its thick and thin. 

No comments:

Post a Comment