Bangalore !!!

A serene place with gallons of fresh clean air for the lungs amidst the ever growing, deterioating & polluted city .



Can you feel the breeze ?

Pleasant Weather

Bangalore weather is very pleasant since the last few days. I went out for a drive along the Hebbal Ring Road on my bike.

This is the KR Puram Flyover, which I think is built on the lines of the Howrah Bridge,Kolkotta. We can literally feel the flyover shake, when a heavy vehicle passes on it. This is beacuse of the suspension of the flyover by the Iron ropes


View of the flyover from the side.


I intentionally used the ropes to compose this picture.


I went to the Hillock in Hebbal on my way back. I was seeing this hillock since I was ten years old from the roads, but never got the opportunity to go there. Finally I made it. I was amazed to see this big rock. It looked as if it was about to roll down any time. The crevice and the plant on the top make this rock attractive.


The view of the hebbal flyover from the hillock. Bangalore truely deserves the name Garden City. Even though the city is deteriorating day by day in terms of the calmness, the greenery is still significant in the city. Is there this much greenery in your city???

The Mecca of South India

Time for another rendezvous with Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam. The differnce this time was that I was driving a four wheeler n three of my friends accompanied me. Left Bangalore at 7 AM and reached the hills at around 1 PM with just one stop for breakfast in Andhra Pradesh at 10 AM.

The trip was planned for getting the darshan and not for photography as the earlier one. As a result I clicked hardly a dozen photos. We waited in the queue to get the darshan tickets for 3 hours from 5 PM to 8 PM. The holy place is abuzz with devotees, who belong to all strata of society, 24x7, 365 days a year. We were lucky to get the darshan of Lord Venkateshwara on the very same day, infact 2 AM in the morning. We had dinner n then got tickets for Prasadam / Laddus. In between we took a small nap ( 45 mins ) sitting on the steps. At 2 AM after a dip in the holy water / Kalyani we went for darshan which took another 2 hours. So finally at 5-15 we came out of the main temple complex . I decided to start off to Bangalore immediately.


My friends were too sleepy n in a few minutes were napping. I was able to witness the break of dawn during the drive downhill. I stopped to capture some shots.











I refuelled the car and left Tirupathi to Bangalore at 6-30 . The drive was without any stops. Finally reached home at 11-30 AM .

On the way came across two fatal accidents. One was in Bangaruplayam, Andhra pradesh where a biker was run over by a truck. It was supposed to have happened just a few mins back. The sight of the guy lying dead on the ground with blood all around was ghastly. Another one was in Kolar, Karnataka.


I concluded on the following points after the turn of events over the last 24 hours.

1> Try as much as possible to use trains or buses for travelling long distance, rather than cars.

2> If it is inevitable, never ever drive in the night. Night driving is only for buses, trucks n very experienced professional drivers.

3> Never cross 80 KMPH on narrow two lane highways like most of NH4.

4> Never overtake on curved roads and in scenarios where the opposite side is not in full view to the eyes.

5> Do not exhibit road rage. Live and let live !!

Melancholia

Chaotic - A Pictorial Analysis

This is the West of Chord Road and the situation in almost all the roads of Bangalore today is exactly like this or worse. If action is not taken at this point of time which is already late, we are heading towards a catastrophe.

Observations to be made from the picture.

1> Too many autorickshaws

2> A bullock cart which is serving as a hindarance for the smooth flow of traffic.

3> Presence of HMV (Heavy Motor Vehicles) in city limits

4> Lane discipline ignored

5> Lack of discipline by Pedestrians - Observe the Lady (Bottom Right)

Rules to be Implemented to restore order

1> ELIMINATE all the Autorickshaws . Accomodate the Auto drivers into other suitable jobs.

2> ELIMINATE all the animal driven carts like horse carts, bullock carts.

3> BAN the HMV's from city roads, except the public transport vehicles. Allow the lorries and trucks to ply only on the ring roads. In extreme cases like transporting construction material to cities, allow the HMV's by levying a certain road usage fee.

4> INSTILL stirct lane discipline.Though this is impractical in todays Bangalore Roads with a turn every 100 meters, minimal discipline can be followed by grouping the two wheelers and four wheelers into roughly two lanes.

5> MAINTAIN usable pavements on all roads for pedestrains.

To implement all this is impossible if not for a Strict Extremist Government. We need a man like Hitler ( atleast we will be compelled to follow rules ) or our very own Bala Thackeray should be given the sole control of the whole country. If not on formaulation of every new rule there will be a hundred strikes/protests by the various groups and the rules will never be implemented.

The situation today almost everywhere is going Out of Control and its better late than never to implement STRICT EXTREMIST RULES.

Unedited Picture

Downpour

I took an off from work on friday for some important work. The work got over soon. In the evening while returning home there was a sudden heavy downpour. Luckily I had the Camera with me. This was during the drive through the Kanakapura Ring Road. Had to manage the wheel n the cam at the same time ;=)

After Showers

After crossing the ring road and entering Vijaynagar this tree caught my attention. The tree in different exposures.

Night Shot

Here are a few shots from the Archive. Now the blog contains the photos which I have been shooting over the last 8 months. My entry into this wonderful hobby.



This was shot from my terrace. Thats our water tank. Henceforth I will start noting down the statistics of the apperture, focus, shutter speed, ISO in different conditions. It helps in doing so . Photography is an ever learning process.

Evening Sky

This was on my way back from office. The sun setting over Sankey Tank.

Speed Lane

This one was shot from the top of the IISc (Indian Institute of Science) over bridge.

Flower Show

The flower show in the World Famous ( is it? ) Lal Bagh Gardens on the Republic Day. My first time in my 22 years.

Reflection

The reflection of ISCKON. This place where the temple is built was supposed to be a hill long time back.

Bangalore Revelry

December 31st 2004. New Year 2005 Eve . First New Year after I started working. I decided to spend the whole night on the streets of MG Road n Brigade Road.. My first time.I had only heard of the wild revelry which happens here. I wanted to be a part of it. It was a spontaneous decesion. It was kinda fun being all alone among crazy people. The whole place was noisy with loud music playing. Lotta booze, screaming, running, wishing each other.I was totally drunk. At the stroke of midnight the whole place shifted to top gear. The best part was the drive back home. My god it was too good. With almost everyone being drunk and on a high it was like I was floating in the air. Everyone was wishing everyone on the way. On the whole it is worth experiencing this atleast once, though its a bit risky.

Captured Smiles

I like this one a lot. Dunno why. Maybe because it captures the celebration mood of all the people there. The girl with the camera - All I can say is - The Hunter becomes the Hunted .

Time Pass

People hanging out on the different floors of the Forum Mall. Forum Mall

Xmas Time

Christmas festevities in the air - Forum Mall

Fun World

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Fun world inside the Bangalore Palace Grounds. On my way back home from office. The Fun World exists from 1994. Long time

Party Time - West End

A shot before the team party we had in West End.

Battle Ground

The Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. Though it looks good here and on TV , I feel the stands and the stadium are very badly maintained.

In Rememberance

I had been to the village to attend my Great Grand Fathers First Death Anniversary. I shot this from a distance.

The Village

I had been to my mother's village on Saturday. I used the pulley of the well to frame the picture.

Maternal Affection

Trademark of all Mammals. Motherly affection at the peak.