bangalore
City Market, Bangalore - A Mini Photo Shoot & A Morning, Worth an Early Wake-up
9/26/2011 04:30:00 PM
Locally known as City Market, KR Market, is a century old, and one of the oldest wholesale markets in Bangalore. Tightly packed with masses, selling and buying almost everything from flowers to vegetables, fruits/dry fruits and anything in the world you might need in your daily lives, This market in Chickpet area of Bangalore, wakes up as early as 5 to 6 AM, and soon while the dawn breaks, you can find the riots of colors scattered around all over the streets, and with that increases the hustle-bustle of the traffic, which would consist everyone from overwhelmed people, to peddlers, to rickshaws and thelas to our modern days vehicles fitted with heavy horse-engine-power.
From Koramangala in south bangalore, to City market, in North Bangalore, for me its like a time-travel to good old Bangalore. A city which is busted with Shopping malls, and other fancy food outlets, City Market reminds me of the same old Ghaziabad Ghantaghar market, which after 25 years still looks and feels very same.
Waking up early morning, is not my cup of tea, no matter how much I try to persuade myself, something or the other brings me back in the arms sleep and if I don't, the day gets full of not so charming aftermaths of lack of it. I have been trying to cover a few places, specially markets in bangalore, since last couple of weeks, and unfortunately, only good time to shoot these places is early mornings.
Another hinderance in shooting markets for me, is my shyness that I still abode, Well, I don't know, if folks around me would believe it, but thats so true, Its very difficult for me to be alone and shoot in the market like areas. so when Peevee planned for a morning shoot with Lakshmi, i hopped in, and as energetic as he' is, He woke me up in the morning, so however late for a half of an hour, but I and Sandesh, made it to City Market, by 7AM finding Raghu, Ranjit, Peevee and Lakshmi already busy shooting in, the flower Market.
We browsed through the flowers sellers street, an old multiple story building which looked like an old mall, a home to many shops selling steels, plastic home carrys', to vermilions of different colors and many women vendors making fresh flower garlands, which I believe, were ready to be exported to various parts and places in Bangalore.
Good fun this shoot ended on a good note. Peevee found his shoot@sight article published in the newspaper, while Raghu found his flower-lady on the streets whom he shot a year back and wanted to hand her over, that Black & White portrait print. he has to come again since his lower lady has demanded him a colored copy of her portrait.
PS. Well, this was just a quick tour to the place. I am yet to explore the corner areas of this Market, so hopefully few more visits and shoots and blog posts, in this series, and also on Tipu Palace and Bangalore fort, the two historical places nearby, which I visited 2 weeks back.
sharawati valley, western ghats, India
So its been close to 2 months since I have trekked
last. though not so much time, a self imposed ban makes me miss trekking
even more. I am not really a veteran trekker
and not a hardcore (if fast and furious are those who feature in this category) but I manage all the time, like a tortoise
, as mostly I reach the peak when rest of the group is done with their photo shoot from every nook and corner and every single angle possible. huh..
anyways, thats not the only memory, I think every trek has been a memorable one for some reason or the other but few I would remember as really high moments of my trekking life. here is a small recap post of ten experiences
, which I would like to read after 10 years as some of the best/worst ( I really can't define) memories
of treks.
10. Ombattu Gudda monkey
climbs
and walking
in an out of the river
for almost all night.
haha.. I have to mention this small incident in particular. at any point of time, I can go back all my emotions, of shock and surprise and anger and what all, when I was asked out for a small night trek. LOL. I have no idea how wild my imagination ran that time. I think my thoughts dint settle for few days. It was such a trauma but sadly I let the opportunity go, ah, how much I miss having a short night trek date.. lol
6. kodai-munnar bus rides
Well to all those who plan to do Kodai
-Munnar
trek, please check that one photo on my trek post of the guide whom we hired, remember his face, and don't you ever ever hir him. Oh God! the trouble you take today for n reasons, makes you laugh at your experiences in future like I am remembering what happened. Now I can't even say that he ruined our trek by taking us to a different path, delaying us for a day, and as such that we had to take 5 buses to reach back to bangalore. It was a crazy crazy night from Munnar to Bangalore, changing buses, waiting for buses, hanging in the buses, listening to disco rides and i dont know what all loud music and of course no one reached office that monday. last I remember we were discussing various excuses to give to our bosses while sitting in one of the restaurant in Salem 8 am on Monday morning.
5. getting drowned in meenmutty falls
Thats probably the only accident I had in my life ( Apart from meeting wrong people which are major accidents), A water accident, in a deep deep pool, with no swimming knowledge whatsoever, few people trying to be heroes and save the girl, few making fun enjoying standing outside, few cursing me for sitting on a slippery rock and few getting shocked of me coming out of water fully conscious with no litre of water in my belly. quite enchanting, and my basic motivation of learning to swim and keeping my life thread in my own hands. wow.
4. Rain in Chembra peak
This had to be the longest "lost" episode I have ever watched. Live.. Yes.. Well. no I am not talking about the HBO series ( its HBO right? ) I am talking about the episode which happened to be the most interesting part except leeches, of the Bramhargiri Trek last September. The veteran trekker and the leader of all who was in bramhagiri 2 times before, was lost in the jungle and had decided not to get out but scaring away the only deer and sambars out in that jungle on Kerala-Karnataka border. Most of the trekkers were ahead and its just 3-4 of us left behind with one lost inside the little forest (or was it big), and I was constantly shouting my lungs out thinking a high pitch voice travels more the distance, and he'd probably hear me. which he chose not to respond to. people so enjoy calling out their own and lovers names specially and I think it was self imposed punishment for me. Now i think why did I do that I should have left that ******* there, lost in that jungle only. would have been more a pleasure. :P
He would have anyways gotten out by himself. :-/
Umm I am just kidding..Sadly, I am too good a human being.
2. walking alone for hours from bhaguwasa to bedni bugyal
This is for people who think I love to walk alone. let me tell you folks, I do not. I do not enjoy being left alone, while everyone else just cruises away, I do not enjoy being the last one to reach the peak or the base and missing out on the group photos. But I do like taking my own sweet time enjoying the beauty
around me rather than rushing and trying to be first one to reach and later tell the story that Oh I was ahead of all. I guess I am fine with the speed I am capable of and stretching only up to the point that group is not delayed because of me. gladly it never happened. but again here is the truth.. I am dead scared of walking alone.
and I think it was a nightmare walking in hailstorm from kaluvinayak to Bedni Bugyal. its like your dying and your whole life is playing in pictures, in front your eyes. yup pretty much the 127hours
sort. I am just not in pain and stuck. I was rather moving slowly on a thin trail crossing one mountain after the other. from why to how I remember asking me every single question, Why am I doing it...what was the need, what I am getting out of it.. almost all I could think I remember asking me there. at one point of time. I do remember Deepak and Smita walking in yellow rainponchos
like 2km ahead of me, and me thinking and crying out. I remember the thunders and I remember looking back and front of me and finding no living being around.. Ah.. this can get to you.. it really can!! but I am me.. still have not learned my lessons :-/
1. sipping hot tea sitting on a rock at galikere
Wow. This is the end of the post and this is my most favorite one. guess what, this is something I had never seen before in my life and this is the only one in this whole entire list, which I would like to repeat LOL yes, sitting in Galikere overlooking the ocean
of clouds and sipping my favorite chai. this experience can only be bettered in one way and that is to carry a red-label tea
pack , a good-life 
Milk
pack and some ginger
, which is my ingredients of the best tea in the world. and I am happy sitting on the clouds feeling like a real miss world.. ;-)
last. though not so much time, a self imposed ban makes me miss trekking even more. I am not really a veteran trekker and not a hardcore (if fast and furious are those who feature in this category) but I manage all the time, like a tortoise, as mostly I reach the peak when rest of the group is done with their photo shoot from every nook and corner and every single angle possible. huh..anyways, thats not the only memory, I think every trek has been a memorable one for some reason or the other but few I would remember as really high moments of my trekking life. here is a small recap post of ten experiences
, which I would like to read after 10 years as some of the best/worst ( I really can't define) memories of treks.10. Ombattu Gudda monkey
climbs and walking in an out of the river for almost all night.
Ombattu Gudda, is probably the toughest trek
i have ever done. now ask me why! I havent' done any trek where I have to trek for 14 hours a day for two days, not even roopkund
himalaya
. now walking for 14 hours wouldn't have been that difficult but walking on rocks
in the river and than in the bamboo jungles on the streams side and jumping in the water again, climbing the rocks and then going back in to woods
, what was that ? crazy I guess. then I sleep in wet clothes in wet tarpaulin
sheets entire night. next morning I climb like a monkey holding small plant on a mountain
of 80 degree slope. this wasn't enough, my pants were all torn, there was no place to change, and I was literally hiding myself with my camera bags
and backpacks
.. most embarrassing situation ever. then the wounds i had got in ankles
from roopkund trek were open again, My feet and my legs were swollen I was not able to walk and I was made to run for my life. hadn't it been pavan around, I guess I were literally dead on one of those nine hills. It took me 10 days of bed rest to get back on my feet, and then learning about the silly thoughts of few silly CTC members who thought I was a queen
or acted like one ( how funny).. was a total turn off for me. Guess I really want to do venketeshwara
sometime in future, but I dont think I need to die to prove I can be a true CTCian :P Like Ombattu Gudda, I sure wouldn't.
P.S. I dint even carry my camera, even if I could have, you wouldn't have seen any picture and it would have been dead.. glad I dint.
i have ever done. now ask me why! I havent' done any trek where I have to trek for 14 hours a day for two days, not even roopkund himalaya. now walking for 14 hours wouldn't have been that difficult but walking on rocks in the river and than in the bamboo jungles on the streams side and jumping in the water again, climbing the rocks and then going back in to woods, what was that ? crazy I guess. then I sleep in wet clothes in wet tarpaulin sheets entire night. next morning I climb like a monkey holding small plant on a mountain of 80 degree slope. this wasn't enough, my pants were all torn, there was no place to change, and I was literally hiding myself with my camera bags and backpacks.. most embarrassing situation ever. then the wounds i had got in ankles from roopkund trek were open again, My feet and my legs were swollen I was not able to walk and I was made to run for my life. hadn't it been pavan around, I guess I were literally dead on one of those nine hills. It took me 10 days of bed rest to get back on my feet, and then learning about the silly thoughts of few silly CTC members who thought I was a queen or acted like one ( how funny).. was a total turn off for me. Guess I really want to do venketeshwara sometime in future, but I dont think I need to die to prove I can be a true CTCian :P Like Ombattu Gudda, I sure wouldn't.P.S. I dint even carry my camera, even if I could have, you wouldn't have seen any picture and it would have been dead.. glad I dint.
9. Narsimha Parvat Sunrise
After a bad experience, now lets remember a good one. its totally a matter of luck that you see a epic sunrise 
like this, and I sure was lucky. it was a chilly night, we hadn't had a "nice" sunset
either, so 5:30 in the morning when we woke up and ran to the edge of the hill, little that we expected a scene
like this. as I remember writing the slices of thin white clouds
were turning my imagination on..
like this, and I sure was lucky. it was a chilly night, we hadn't had a "nice" sunset either, so 5:30 in the morning when we woke up and ran to the edge of the hill, little that we expected a scene like this. as I remember writing the slices of thin white clouds were turning my imagination on..
and I dont remember what all I was imagining, several stegosaurus dinosaurs 
relaxing together, many small hills, some rivers flowing .. dont remember what all. All I remember I was hooked. I think none of us left the place until sun rose completly and clouds were all gone.
relaxing together, many small hills, some rivers flowing .. dont remember what all. All I remember I was hooked. I think none of us left the place until sun rose completly and clouds were all gone.
8. Tadiyandmole peak
Its simply impossible to forget how beautiful it was a 7:30 in the morning at the small peak of Tadiyanmole, The third highest peak of Karnataka. It was my first climb too. and I frankly had no Idea what to expect from Trekking. but this scene ( which captures just a fraction of the beauty of the mountains around and the valley
) which is shot by my Nokia
E71
mobile phone, answered all my question. I think this was very much what inspired me to trek and photograph
as well. and well I guess I am forever hooked.
Its simply impossible to forget how beautiful it was a 7:30 in the morning at the small peak of Tadiyanmole, The third highest peak of Karnataka. It was my first climb too. and I frankly had no Idea what to expect from Trekking. but this scene ( which captures just a fraction of the beauty of the mountains around and the valley
) which is shot by my Nokia E71 mobile phone, answered all my question. I think this was very much what inspired me to trek and photograph as well. and well I guess I am forever hooked.
haha.. I have to mention this small incident in particular. at any point of time, I can go back all my emotions, of shock and surprise and anger and what all, when I was asked out for a small night trek. LOL. I have no idea how wild my imagination ran that time. I think my thoughts dint settle for few days. It was such a trauma but sadly I let the opportunity go, ah, how much I miss having a short night trek date.. lol
6. kodai-munnar bus rides
Well to all those who plan to do Kodai
-Munnar trek, please check that one photo on my trek post of the guide whom we hired, remember his face, and don't you ever ever hir him. Oh God! the trouble you take today for n reasons, makes you laugh at your experiences in future like I am remembering what happened. Now I can't even say that he ruined our trek by taking us to a different path, delaying us for a day, and as such that we had to take 5 buses to reach back to bangalore. It was a crazy crazy night from Munnar to Bangalore, changing buses, waiting for buses, hanging in the buses, listening to disco rides and i dont know what all loud music and of course no one reached office that monday. last I remember we were discussing various excuses to give to our bosses while sitting in one of the restaurant in Salem 8 am on Monday morning.
5. getting drowned in meenmutty falls
Thats probably the only accident I had in my life ( Apart from meeting wrong people which are major accidents), A water accident, in a deep deep pool, with no swimming knowledge whatsoever, few people trying to be heroes and save the girl, few making fun enjoying standing outside, few cursing me for sitting on a slippery rock and few getting shocked of me coming out of water fully conscious with no litre of water in my belly. quite enchanting, and my basic motivation of learning to swim and keeping my life thread in my own hands. wow.
4. Rain in Chembra peak
This was the day before the above, and this isn't that extraordinarily special types like the above experiences have been. but unique in every way. It had already started raining when we were at the Chembra Peak Wayanad, and as we were getting down, it went stronger and stronger and simply dint stop till we reached at the so called guest house. I don't remember the count of how many times I slipped but how the raindrop pinched like thousands of needles piercing your body at the same time. I think drowning was the only thing left which apparently happened on the second day. but before that I need to mention the jeep ride back to the town, rainbows and white cotton clouds floating through the tea estate. I dont think I can ever forget.
3. Harsha getting lost in Bramhagiri Jungle.
This had to be the longest "lost" episode I have ever watched. Live.. Yes.. Well. no I am not talking about the HBO series ( its HBO right? ) I am talking about the episode which happened to be the most interesting part except leeches, of the Bramhargiri Trek last September. The veteran trekker and the leader of all who was in bramhagiri 2 times before, was lost in the jungle and had decided not to get out but scaring away the only deer and sambars out in that jungle on Kerala-Karnataka border. Most of the trekkers were ahead and its just 3-4 of us left behind with one lost inside the little forest (or was it big), and I was constantly shouting my lungs out thinking a high pitch voice travels more the distance, and he'd probably hear me. which he chose not to respond to. people so enjoy calling out their own and lovers names specially and I think it was self imposed punishment for me. Now i think why did I do that I should have left that ******* there, lost in that jungle only. would have been more a pleasure. :P
He would have anyways gotten out by himself. :-/
Umm I am just kidding..Sadly, I am too good a human being.
2. walking alone for hours from bhaguwasa to bedni bugyal
This is for people who think I love to walk alone. let me tell you folks, I do not. I do not enjoy being left alone, while everyone else just cruises away, I do not enjoy being the last one to reach the peak or the base and missing out on the group photos. But I do like taking my own sweet time enjoying the beauty
around me rather than rushing and trying to be first one to reach and later tell the story that Oh I was ahead of all. I guess I am fine with the speed I am capable of and stretching only up to the point that group is not delayed because of me. gladly it never happened. but again here is the truth.. I am dead scared of walking alone.and I think it was a nightmare walking in hailstorm from kaluvinayak to Bedni Bugyal. its like your dying and your whole life is playing in pictures, in front your eyes. yup pretty much the 127hours
sort. I am just not in pain and stuck. I was rather moving slowly on a thin trail crossing one mountain after the other. from why to how I remember asking me every single question, Why am I doing it...what was the need, what I am getting out of it.. almost all I could think I remember asking me there. at one point of time. I do remember Deepak and Smita walking in yellow rainponchos like 2km ahead of me, and me thinking and crying out. I remember the thunders and I remember looking back and front of me and finding no living being around.. Ah.. this can get to you.. it really can!! but I am me.. still have not learned my lessons :-/
1. sipping hot tea sitting on a rock at galikere
Wow. This is the end of the post and this is my most favorite one. guess what, this is something I had never seen before in my life and this is the only one in this whole entire list, which I would like to repeat LOL yes, sitting in Galikere overlooking the ocean
of clouds and sipping my favorite chai. this experience can only be bettered in one way and that is to carry a red-label tea pack , a good-life Milk pack and some ginger, which is my ingredients of the best tea in the world. and I am happy sitting on the clouds feeling like a real miss world.. ;-)
