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Kashi 3.0

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...
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Faces in the Crowd - Temple vendor at Nashik

One of my resolutions this year is to post as often as I can. And to make it a bit easier for myself, I have decided to use some of the photos I have clicked, but never used. And some of these photos are of complete strangers - people I saw and clicked on my travels, but people I know little about. Hence the title, Faces in the Crowd.... And here is the first one.....





We saw her outside the Kala Ram Temple at Nashik, selling offerings for the deity. There was a time when I used to love the sugar offerings she sells - we used to call them 'batasha', but try as I might, I was unable to find the English word for them.  Anyway, I clicked a quick photo of her wares, and she called out to me "Mazha photu nahi kaadnar kaa? " (Won't you click my photograph too?) and so I did... and she posed too, pursing up her lips in a smile which grew much wider when I showed her the photo on the camera screen. 
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Comments

  1. chitraJanuary 6, 2013 at 6:03 PM

    Happy New Year!!. I also wish to post as often as possible I am not sure so didn't make any resolution

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJanuary 7, 2013 at 8:30 AM

      Thanks Chitra. wish you too a wonderful year ahead! I dont usually make resolutions either, but I lagged behind so much on posting in 2012 that I felt drastic steps were needed to bring myself up to scratch!!! now lets see how long I manage to keep this up!

      Delete
  2. Vishal RathodJanuary 7, 2013 at 7:07 PM

    Great Resolution , nice start , click click click ....

    ReplyDelete

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