Memory is unpredictable . One never really knows what we will remember and what we will forget. Which is why nostalgia arrives in unpredictable waves, highlighting something and skimming over others. Recently, I have found myself thinking of how memory works, as I was assailed by nostalgia over a trip to Varanasi, a city I prefer to think of, as Kashi. The nostalgia hit right as we landed at Varanasi airport. The last time I was here, it was 1988, I was 13 years old, the airport was brand new… regular flights hadn’t started yet (I think) … flights landed about once a week, and for the rest of the time, everything was open to those of us who lived in the airport quarters nearby. There were fields everywhere, vast expanses of green… I have vague memories of corn and sugarcane… and being overwhelmed by the vastness of the fields (this was the first time I was in such close proximity to them), and the warm hospitality of complete strangers who lived and worked amidst these fields. I h...
It was hardly meant to be a birdwatching trip, but we saw more birds than expected. Yes, many of them were common ones, but we saw them in uncommon positions, many of them either courting, or mating! These Eurasian Collared Doves at the Nehru Park on the Fateh Sagar Lake were oblivious to the tourists as they went about their business during their breeding season.
As I clicked these snaps, for a minute, I actually hesitated, extremely conscious of the fact that I was the intruder here!





I must say that you are not only lucky but you have a great photographer inside you.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Bhavesh!
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