Professional Photography Articles and Blog

Notes From the Field : Chikungunya

Notes From the Field – Nishant Ratnakar Date: Monday, 11th May, 2009. Place: D J Halli near Bangalore. At a locality known as Moulana Compound: "Have any health officials visited your locality since the outbreak?" "No Sir. You are the first outsider to have stepped in here since we noticed the disease in our Compound"… Continue reading Notes From the Field : Chikungunya

Vatal Does another one

Everybody in Karnataka seems to be cashing in on Valentine’s day and moral policing issue. How can you leave Mr Vatal Nagaraj behind? The man who has ridden over a bull, a cycle, and even attempting to dirty governor house walls:D.Here he was with his latest antics. His act did surprise most of us today.… Continue reading Vatal Does another one

To Amma

A portrait of Amma, my grandmother. 2006. Pangala.

Taarammaiyya, Thandu Thorammaiyya Doorada Baanige yerida chandrana, Taarammaiyya, Thandu Thorammaiyya Nine of Amma’s (my maternal grandmother was fondly called as Amma by everyone who knew her) children and few of her fortunate grandchildren (including me) have spent their cradle years listening to this Kannada lullaby every night before being rocked into a sound sleep.

HERE IT’S 5 PUSH-UPS FOR EVERY 4

At an ongoing inter-school cricket tournament, the boys of Bishop Cotton School embarked on a novel method to juice themselves up when playing against weak teams: A self-inflicted penalty for every boundary conceded. Narcissistic and full of piss. That is what you normally associate cricketers with, even amateur or budding ones in this cricket-mad nation.… Continue reading HERE IT’S 5 PUSH-UPS FOR EVERY 4

Don’t want to fade away like the Red Indians

A Young Tibetan youth sporting a T-Shirt with picture of Ernesto Che Guevara and screaming Anti-China slogans. China, a communist country and Che, a legendary guerrilla hero whose beliefs lied in communism. A contradiction? Maybe not. Maybe it signifies the warning bells. A 49-year-old movement is at cross roads when the baton is handed down… Continue reading Don’t want to fade away like the Red Indians

HER LONG DRIVE TO JUSTICE

P A Venkata Lakshmi, a women auto driver in Bangalore city. Lakshmi is more than an auto driver. She is a law student. At the age of 33 years, this married woman and a mother of a 9 year old girl, has five semesters to complete before she can become a lawyer.

You never know what sexual harassment does to a woman, do you? It made Venkata Lakshmi turn to the law books, while driving an auto to feed her family. “She didn’t charge me a rupee more than the auto meter,” said an incredulous young girl who travelled in an auto in the city recently. She?… Continue reading HER LONG DRIVE TO JUSTICE

IN SEARCH OF AN ALMOST-MYTH

“We were told Ombattu Gudda didn’t exist. 28 kms and two days later, we live to tell the tale that it does.”   “A piece of advice to future visitors to Ombattu Gudda: Don’t go to this place without a map and a compass if you want to return to civilization on Monday. Get map#… Continue reading IN SEARCH OF AN ALMOST-MYTH

From Uzbekistan with love

All credits to the Bangalore’s infamous rush hour traffic jam, I reached Palace grounds an hour later than the scheduled time I was to meet the ‘Russian artists’, who are in the city as part of the travelling Jumbo Circus troupe. My worst fears were true; most of the artists who were initially waiting for… Continue reading From Uzbekistan with love

Saving (Finding actually) Private Bahadur

Circa July 2007 This is Men (Meen) Bahadur, a 10-year old Nepali kid at the Government Boys Home (Located close to both KIDWAI memorial hospital and NIMHANS) in Bangalore. Sitting behind him in the long corridor of the Boys home and crying, is a mentally disturbed inmate. I asked the officials why that kid was… Continue reading Saving (Finding actually) Private Bahadur