“Uncle uncle, please meri bhi ek photo.” “Nahi, ek hamari saath mein pahle.” “Uncle uncle, ek meri akele photo.” “…” “Uncle, ek aur. Nahin ek aur please.” “…” “Isko nahi pata. Main sunaati hoon. La-Ilaaha Illallah…” “…” “Accha uncle, please meri ek aur photo…” Children always make an amazing subject for photographs. Like these three…
Ramadan or not, teetotallers binge on chai. (Though, I’ve known some who practice ‘teetotalling’ during Lent; not so sure if they binge on chai too.) Chai right after you break your fast at Iftar. Chai right before you leave for Taraweeh prayers. Chai right after Taraweeh prayers. Chai between Taraweeh and Tahajjud. Chai before Fajr…
The hour before sunset (and after sunrise) is commonly referred to as the Golden Hour amongst photographers. There isn’t any of that popular lighting in these pictures. There isn’t much to do with Iftar in these pictures either. Just pictures made during the Golden Hour before Iftar. From the first trip to the lanes of…
Basements evoke a sense of refuge. Hidden. Away from the public eye. Deeper than the proverbial six feet. Places of worship give a sense of refuge as well, of a different kind though. What I’m certain about is that the notion of places of worship being a refuge takes a hit while becoming more of it…
“Roza rakhne ki himmat dene wala toh Allah hai.” (It’s Allah who gives us the courage to fast.) The auto driver didn’t see much reason for my fascination with his observance of fast. Not that I don’t know people who fast while maintaining their daily affairs and seeking of livelihood in the same matter-of-fact manner…
“I see that you’ve had something to eat now.” Quite an acute sense of observation, I thought to myself. As I photographed food all day at the fine dining restaurant which he was opening up in Delhi’s boho district, he may have had many thoughts running through his head when he learned that I was…
There just isn’t enough sleep to be had during Ramadan. Given a choice, the best time to simply crash would be right after Iftar. But there’s the question of Taraweeh prayers, and by the time you are done with them, the hour of Sehri starts looming. C’mon, if you’ve got just about 3 hours to…
It has been extremely heartwarming to see the kind of interest everybody has displayed in participating with their contributions to this blog. Ramadan is just a couple of days away, and I’m keenly looking forward to hearing from all of you. Like I had mentioned in a previous post, I’ll be trying to give some…
Well yes. Not exactly, but yes, in a way I was thrown out of a mosque today. If you’re wondering why you don’t see any pictures on this post, that was in fact the reason why I found myself in a situation which turned unsavory enough. For a really long time, I think it’s been…
Another evening, another exit from a mosque. And another pat on the shoulder. Rather an arm around the shoulder. I was too busy looking at the image preview on my camera, so I didn’t pay much attention thinking it was one of the friends who was following me down the stairs out of the mosque….