There's yet another novice webdesigner in town :-)

Complete, Contrasted, Colourblind

Neoflames

@vivocity

A walk in the park

I have been ogling this park between Woodleigh and PasirPasir MRT for so many days and finally found one fine morning to visit it.. my last photoshoot with my Canon EOS 300D, to be upgraded soon to 450D.

Photographer Vs Camera

Dec 2007
Photographer: I've told you many times before - Its not about the camera..
Skeptic: (interrupting) It is ! you cant expect great photos from a cheapo camera.
Pgr: Thats not true, you dont always need a full-frame dSLR to shoot interesting photos..
Sk: ok, do u think you can use you phone's 1-2 Mp camera to shoot some?
Pgr: Yes, why not? Errr...But it has no autofocus, no zoom, no shutter speed control, no ISO control, noisy sensor...
Sk: See, I told you ! Even you dont seem to believe cannot shoot cool pics with a simple camera.
Me: No.. ok gimme a few months..
Wife: I can wait..
--------------------------
Dec 2008-
Shot with Nokia E51 (no photoshopping in the pics below)

Sunsets and Sunrises

புதிய பாதை, புதுப்புது வண்ணங்கள், புதிய தீபம்

The Coimbatore Collection

Incredible India

The land of Chutnies, Pickles and Curries..!

Tip-toeing with half dozen legs

Im back !

Taken on 24 May 2008, near Clarke Quay. Wasnt too serious that day and just shot it handheld. It was a strange 'presentation' by A French group in association with Singapore Art Festival. None of us seemed to understand what was happening, but there was some interesting fireworks, drama and music, all hosted with the Singapore river as the stage. Posted on 27 Sept - its been a rather long absence from photography and blogging.

நட்புக்காக

சோனைமுத்து - Sonaimuthu

How did this man who walks so slowly on the street,

Occupy a friendly corner of my heart at a high speed?

True colours of India

Glimpses of Hyderabad

An Outsider's Perspective

India's greatest export to the Far east.

Its fully Automanic !

Coloured history and BnW reality

The god of small things

The Quattro

The Charminar monument of Hyderabad

Intricate Circuits Design Engineer

Monumental Photoframes

Residents of the Uninhabited

Getting upclose and intimate with most iconic structure in Hyderabad.

The Partnership

எந்தையும் தாயும்,
மகிழ்ந்து குலாவி,
எடுத்தது இப்படமே !

A memorable portrait of my parents in Chennai, India. Ever since they decided to shave the heads for a religious obligation in the temple of Tirumala, I wanted to capture the days when both are 'mottai'.
But it was nearly impossible to shoot this pic, because they could not stop laughing, as they were asked to pose standing very close and gazing into each other's eyes.

செஞ்சிக்கோட்டை - Gingee Fort

மறைந்திருந்து பார்க்கும், மண்டபம் என்ன ?

ராஜகிரி - Rajagiri

பாழடையா கோபுரம்

நண்பர்கள் கூட்டம்

கானவினோதனம்

"அதோ அந்த பறவை போல வாழ வேண்டும்.....! "

1) Kalyana mandapam (marriage hall) shot from just another corner.
2) The impressive Rajagiri fort atop the hill -"Troy of the East"
3) Gopuram of a ruined temple atop Ranimalai
4) View of lush green paddy fields from the hilltop.
5) Silhouette of my flute guru- Mr.Ghana, the reason why I was there in the first place.
6) A vociferous bunch of school kids who brought life to the ruins with their antics.

Senji koattai (Gingee Fort) is a historically important place in Tamil Nadu, which has seen numerous wars between the Indians(Jains, Pallavas, Chola kings, Pandya, Hoysalas, Vijayanagara kings, Muhammadans, Mughals) , British and French to capture it.

The Rajagiri (King's hill) is perched atop a intimidating rocky hill, and offers strategic advantage over other troops invading from the surrounding plains. There is Rani koattai(Queen's fort) on a nearby hill, which we climbed.

Gods of an Absolute Order

The Tale of 3 Towels in Regentville Tower 2 !

A Frosty Dilemma

...
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
...
Robert Frost

...Ehh, Im sorry Sir, but which one again ??

Some Impersonations at Langkawi

Bheemababa - The Saviour

Ravi- The Camera Tripod (or bipod??)

Raj - The Eclipse

Arun- With his Beloved

Wannabe model

Ornithological Artifacts !

Black clouds and the silver lining

All Natural ?


Avian Inspiration

Perfection ? Peaconfusion ?

Beyond

பூவுக்குள் பூ

Dreamy Realities

Sea of Tranquility

Escape Velocity

The Elements

---------------------
Thanks Raj, for shooting all the above pics in Langkawi amidst few adventures and more misadventures (and for being very patient with some eccentric proposals, poses and people! )

Locations: Pantai Cenang Beach, Rubber plantation, Waterfall, Cablecar station

Happyness

Do you feel flattered whn someone likes your photography so much, that they adorn their desktops or mobilephones with the image you captured ? So do I.

Then how does it feel when you walk into Canon showroom for service and repair of your camera, and while waiting for the billing, your eyes wander around the room, and moved over to the adjacent cubicle. There in a little desktop calender you see something familiar - a photo you had taken more than a year ago printed on the official Canon calender for its employees !

I was pleasantly surprised and requested for a copy and the staff gladly obliged. It was on the November page, and so if I had gone there one day earlier, or sat in some other queue, I would have missed it.

Its funny to see that while we tend to be busy in the pursuit of 'happyness', but happiness sometimes finds you instead!


The uploaded version of the picture is here under the title Power-Simply Red -
http://arun81.blogspot.com/2006/11/camerathons.html

என் இல்லத்திலே..

கலங்கரை விளக்கம்

தங்கைத்தாமரை

தாய்நாட்டின் வரைபடம் !

Sisterhood

Bougainvillea and the Bamboo

Could not explain why, but staring at these lovely flowers against the backdrop of the elegant bamboos, made me feel at peace.

Fuelled by Gasoline, Runs for Adrenaline

After 26 long years of being a kid, I finally became a grown-up on buying my first bike! Its certainly does n0t look like the ones below, but it sure make me feel the meaning of the word 'freedom', after years of crawling, walking, cycling, 'bus'sing, 'train'ing, sailing and flying!

These 'Wild Hogs' were spotted on a road-trip near Ipoh, Malaysia.

False violation

Dreamworks

தெய்வம் தந்த வீடு - வீதி இருக்கு !

An evening on the streets, around Chinatown and Clarkequay.

Designed for the first manned-expedition to Mars

All fans but no breeze

That fierce look

Ornaments on the Street

Iconic ?

பூலோகம்? பூவுலகம்?

In His Own Image -III

This is what friends are for..

When will she come ?

Golden temple monk

The next boat

Artistic Portrait ?

Generation gap

Age of Innocence

Digital dame

மஞ்சள் வெயில் மாலையிலே..

As the sun sets near the Shore Temple, Mahabalipuram - India. Still as mesmerising as the Pallavas would have enjoyed it 1300 years ago..

Behind the Academia, Venice - probably the most photographed sunset.

Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), Bangkok - at Dusk

Just after sunset, well above cloud level, and flying over the Tyrrhenian sea

Its time for the little suns to come- St.Agata fest , Catania,Italy.

Of Shadows and Silhouettes

The Tricolour of my heart

..உலக உருண்டையை
அனணத்துக் கொண்டாலும்,
இந்தியாவை மட்டும்
முத்தமிட்டவன்..

To the round earth
I gave a warm hug,
but my kisses
are only for India

"உயில்" - கவிஞர் வைரமுத்து ('Will' - Poet Vairamuthu)



Shot in Bangkok, this arrangement of flowers on the table at the reception of my hotel caught my eye.(I couldnt have missed it !)




The largely unknown spectacle of Venice - the island of Murano is home to an army of dedicated artisans who create magic in glass. Shape, colour, pattern become their 3 dimensions and what results is a universe of intricate glass artwork. And I found a home of sorts there!



A composite picture with the saffron-orange bark of a tree and the garden-shade amongst greenery were shot in Kent Ridge park, Singapore. The snowy region in the middle of the flag is Mt.Etna's volcanoes(Sicily, Italy) in winter.

In His Own Image -II

I havent grown much from my previous post on the same genre of photography - portraits. Its still people I know, I like, and connect with - that makes it a whole lot easier to capture their moments and expressions.

The dude of sandy Doha - Sandeep

Silent aspirations and Secret ambitions - Sadhana

Eyeball confrontations of a curious kind - Nithya

Arun, Praveen and Ravi - three friends at the crossroads of life

Dreams in a Desert

One of the most exciting days I have lived thru- a night's stay in a desert camp. Accompanied by my old schoolmate Ajay, we started from the skyscraping city of Dubai, we were taken farther and farther away from civilisation and closer into the desert. The first offer was some dune-bashing adventure on four-wheel drives which was one exhilarating ride - needs to be experienced to be understood.

Then in a desert camp we stayed in the evening, watched a belly-dancer perform, ate a sumptuous dinner and spent the night playing party games and going for long walks in the dead of the night, and even wrestling with our feet in desert soccer.. Fortunately for us there was a merry group of expatriate Indian families based in Dubai, who stayed overnight too, and offered great company.

After all the fun of the previous night, I got down to business, woke up at 5.45am and struggling against the chill and the wind shot a series of photographs covering the camp and the desert around it.


Sleeping Dune and Rising Sun




Subdued by Helios

Across the sea

Cornered !



Hook up on a Shisha
Lost in time, but found again




All hard work for a deserving breakfast



A solid friend in an unforgiving terrain and an unforgettable adventure

A dune-bashing experiment

Taste of adventure


The G-forces


No Traffic jams here !


A modern caravan on a frequented path



Who is the ship-of-the-desert actually ?

Costliest yacht ever anchored !

Unlike the patterns of desert sand..

Three Musketeers ? or மூவேந்தர் ?

சென்னையில் ஒர் மழைக்காலம்

சென்னையிலும் ஒரு மழைக்காலம் !!

Camerathons

This year has been a year of marathons for me-before you start to wonder what kind of devil has gotten into me, its not always the running type, but other types of marathons too. Surprised ?

Canon conducted what they call a photo marathon a while ago, which was well attended by a trigger happy battalion consisting of 600+ SLR-toting photographers with fancy L-series pro lens to serious amateurs with the newest prosumer cameras. The task was simple - one theme to shoot for every three hours, and four themes for the day. But the transport, locations, scope and means were left to the imagination of the photographers, and so were the ways to counter the pain in the limbs and lower back at the end of the day !

The first topic was the toughest one for me - 'Faces'
In a city of 4 million people, there were faces all around me. But somehow I'm yet to crack the code of successful portraits of complete strangers, especially the candid variety. So I resorted to my best resort - allegory and abstract.


Flight to the end of the tunnel



Unity


MAD about ONE



The second theme was outrageously simple ! 'Power - simply RED'.
For a moment, I considered buying some kinda cheap red filter and shoot the same things that I always shoot. But then I managed to put a special filter to my eye, which would only look at and respond only to red coloured subjects.

Fuzzy Red Holes


A little red corner


Melonious dunes


Strumming in Maroon


Simply Red




6 hours of photographing was already draining, especially on a warm, humid, hazy Singaporean day. The third topic demanded more of such outdoorsy photo-taking - 'A Slice of History'.
We started a trek along the oldest parts of Singapore's 200 or so years of history, shooting the last remnants of old preserved buildings, and the reminders of Singaporean history.


Suspended Animation

Eternal wait

A colourful lesson in history


Raffles Realms



The day was coming to a close, and so was my energy and enthusiasm to continue with the fourth topic which is quite an obvious one- 'Darkness'.
Fortunately I was shooting some extra unrelated shots throughout the day and picked up a few for this topic, and just spent a relaxed evening doing a peaceful activity - shopping :).

Can cause other darknesses


No Flash please

The Biography of a Flower

The beginnings as a bud



Time to blossom



In full bloom



Arranged in a Bouquet



-----------------------

The photos were taken in a dance programme called "People get connected" on 17 Sept 2006, at the colonial-age Victoria theatre in Singapore.

Being a part of the audience and shooting moving subjects at higher shutter speed, shot hand-held with a telephoto zoom without image stabilisation, in an ambience of choreographed indoor lighting simply meant one setting- exclusive use of ISO1600. The biggest surprise to me, was the low noise in the images than what was expected.

All the photos went thru Photoshop Elements, basic fixes lke crop, levels, contrast and saturation. But the 'Time to bloom' had a bit of shake due to the subjects' rythmic graceful motion(also called dance!), and I amplified it with use of radial blur in photoshop.

Monochromatic Dreams

I was talking to a friend recently about black-n-white photography, and started to give some examples on how they could be interesting. While searching for pics from my own collection, i took my older colour images and desaturated them to present them again. And voila ! I start to see a different world..













Thanks Ajay, I learnt to see my own photos in a new colour.. :)

The Sungei Buloh trail

"Why would I wake early on a Sunday morning, and trudge to Sungei Buloh wetland reserve, walking all alone with my camera and stuff ? What kinda adventure do I expect in a lazy mangrove forest anyway ??" - So I mused standing on the bridge at the parks entrance.



Watching a lazy winding river on a low tide, reflecting on the ways of life, isnt exactly the coolest thing to do on a hot & humid weekend morning.



A casual glance on the banks, and I see these weird footsteps of..of..of..what was that ? A slithery wicked reptile? A croc? A snake with legs ? Im was beginning to feel like the Crocodile hunter - Steve Irwin.




Back on the move, I was looking for tell-tale signs and directions from the other petrified creatures of the forest - crawling, webbing, hopping, fluttering, flying and tree-jumping - All their gazes transfixed towards the Master of the Mangrove.







Not one to leave any subtle clue undiscovered, I even found the dried flowers unambiguously pointing to 'its' direction. (Maybe I am imagining things here, but never mind the build-up)



There he was (or she?), the 2-metre long giant version of what we commonly call a lizard ! The Monitor Lizard is a passive reptile, but with sure and steady movements. It likes to stare intently at photographers, and when fully stretched can fully block the jungle track. For those who are not sure of reptilian behavior like me, it can cause litres of adrenalin tingling thru the arteries, with every move it makes. More so if you are mad enough to try taking close-ups of this jurassic dude !





-------------------------
Less than a week since I posted this one, one of inspiring lovers of nature, the exciting and adventurous God of Reptilian world- Steve Irwin died in a freak accident, attacked by a stingray, during an underwater shoot.
His death uniquely affects the likes of the animal world for his conservation efforts, and the human world for his efforts to educate his own species about the rest on earth.
Hindu belief says advancement in species in rebirth is a sign of good karma. But I imagine the Crocodile hunter would be happier to de-evolve into a majestic King Cobra- to be one with his understanding friends on the planet.

Static Dynamism

Is this what people might refer to as kick-ass photography ??
Having taken a lot of architecture, streets, buildings photos, it was just about time to have some fun.

Navarasa- the nine emotions

I had shared these images by email quite a while ago, but just forgot to put it online somewhere. So here it is! To whom so ever it may concern, I dont look like this anymore :) It all started as a home tutorial and experiments in portrait photography, and ended up as a trial to shoot some themed portraits for fun.

The images are the result of an attempt to bring out the Navarasas – the facial expressions of Nine different moods, emotions or sentiments. Learning to display these appropriately are important steps in learning the classical dance forms like Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, and acting in general.

Online references :
http://www.cyberkerala.com/kathakali/navarasam.htm
http://www.nilacharal.com/picture/navarasam/index.html

Cycling past history

I was waiting patiently at a street corner , camera in hand, for some attractive car to appear in front of the oldish orange buildings. But then, the unambitious person in me just settled for a bicycle :)

Staircase hues

  

Just a walk down Waterloo street ,and this building cannot be missed by anybody who is not fully colour-blind. There are some really colourful minds in Singapore !

Soft targets

 

Just a nice shop with cute things. It looked like 'girlie stuff' written all over it, but that doesnt prevent me from capturing it.

1906 @ 2006

  

A few streets in Bugis converted into a modern shopping mall. The best part was the old-fashioned buildings covered by a modern glass structure, and the whole street air-conditioned. I didnt purchase a thing there, but bought a lot of ideas.

Bleu Royale

  

A tinted glass painting inside the former church at Chijmes, City hall. The brilliant blue colour of the robes backlit by the evening sun , looked even better but the poor camera wasnt good enough to capture it well enough. (or maybe it was the photographer who botched up)

Will I ever get tired of capturing flowers.. ?

  

Island life.. Love it !

A time for reflection and self-discovery















Looking cool is the name of the game




















Even 1500mm above mean sea level
is a high peak to be conquered




















Better still, just laze around
in somebody else's boat !

Child's Play

Just how delightfully colourful a child's 'tools at work' are !

Scenes at Pulau Redang

Sunrise at Redang

I still believe its Geo-centric..



Two Blazing Eyes and a Deceptive Grin.



Its really worth waking up early, to witness some artwork thats created and erased everyday.

In His Own Image

Abstracts, flowers, landscapes, patterns, colours and shadows is what used to dominate my picture taking. I seemed to exist in an uninhabited part of the earth, or preferred to turn away from the subjects who invented the very medium I communicated with, and was never comfortable shooting homo sapiens. No more ! Just started to point the Canon towards people I like..



This is my friend Sujan's daughter, who has this strange shyness whenever she sees me. I somehow could not succeed in making her more comfortable, so just decided to shoot her expressions when confronted by me.



The Budding Philosopher Award goes to my cousin Nishanth. He is definitely the most gentlemanly boy in the world, and just sometimes decides to relax. This is one of those moments.



Is that a pensive pose patiently captured, or the mood on a lazy summer afternoon ? Or is it subdued frustration on being bored and bothered by a SLR-wielding enthusiast, who is on the lookout for a nice portrait? I can never be sure whats in the mind of this young lady Sangeetha, who happens to be my other cousin in B'lore.


A friend to share a joke.
A brain to discuss an idea.
A mind charged with passion
A groom in the making :)
A complete man - Manivel

Tall Stories

The skyline of Kuala Lumpur as seen by an ant, while walking along the rain-water drain near KL Towers. Sometimes its useful to see the viewpoint of your fellow creatures of the planet too !

A Prayer for Peace

வெள்ளை பூக்கள் உலகம் எங்கும் மலர்கவே
விடியும் பூமி அமைதிக்காக விடியவே

மண்மேல் மஞ்சள் வெளிச்சம் விழுகவே
மலரே சோம்பல் முறித்து எழுகவே...

- கவிஞர் வைரமுத்து (Poet Vairamuthu)


Let pure white flowers fill our world
And humanity wake up free of strife

Let the hues of dawn grace the land
And the blossoms spring to new life.

கலைமகள் மாலை.. அரங்கேற்ற வேளை..

The Naatya Arengetram of Ms.Jayanthi at Nafa, Singapore on 26 Mar 2006, which was rightly applauded as more of a full fledged performance than Arengetram.
The musicians performing that evening included my flute Guru Mr. Ghanavenothan Retnam, and some amazing performers from Nritralaya.

Relaxing for Eternity

Spy goggles

A Strange Loneliness

Each of us longing for a warm hug

Curves inspire

Writer's Missiles

Frozen Kiss

A tale from the life of Marudhu Pandiyar

I heard this touching story from my friendly Aasiriyar- David Ayya. I cannot help but recording it online and sharing it with all.
-------
The Maradhu Pandiyar brothers were the rulers of SivaGanga, who fought the British and declared independence long before Rest of India even planned the First war of Independence(1857) ! Click for a short history of Maruthu Pandiyar

The brothers didnt exactly hail from aristocratic family lines, but were normal people. By virtue of their bravery and skills, they rose among the ranks and occupied top ranks of Defence ministers, and Commanders of the armyin the court of the then Queen Velu Naachiyaar. After her period, they took over the reins of the kingdom, and were generally loved and accepted by their subjects as their legitimate rulers.

The story relates to an incident that happened under their reign. They built a temple to Siva (Kaalaiyar Koil)during that period and held the consecration ceremony. A huge chariot (ratham) was built to carry the Lord's idol in a procession, and all preparation were done to start the procession , in this brand new chariot, pulled by thousands of devotees.

But the twist in the story starts when, the chariot refused to budge an inch from its original position, despite the best efforts of young, strong devotees. That was a surprise since the chariot itself looked constructed correct to the specifications, and nobody could find the reason for the physical stubbornity of the chariot.

The embarassed Maruthu Pandiyar , were very keen to see the procession moving, and summoned the skilled constructor of the chariot(Achaari), to help them in this tight situation. The carpenter suggested that the chariots refuse to move, since its constructor has not been paid for his services. The ruler-brothers offered reasonable amounts or precious articles worthy of his work and actually apologised for their negligence in prompt payment.

But the adamant carpenter had other plans, and calmly refused all these costly gifts. He demanded to be the king of the country for just one day, and on the very same day. The crowd was certainly shocked at this request, and heaped curses on this man, for his opportunism and unreasonable greed for holding high position. But Marudhu Pandiyar were true devotees, and were only too ready to give up anything for the religious event to be successful. They accepted his demands and crowned him King for that day. This also meant that the carpenter occupied a seat near the God's statue on the chariot thats actually reserved for the King himself.

The rally continued, and while the Maruthu Pandiyars walked alongwith the crowd, the chariot and its occupants rode high above, passing over undulating terrain on the way to the temple. This required a large effort by the pulling crowd, when they had to pull it up the slope, and also when they had to control the pace when the chariot went down-hill too.

One particular downward slope was particularly demanding, and all of a sudden the harnesses gave way and the chariot raced downhill threatening to crush some devotees on its path. After a major struggle, the able men took control of the run-away chariot, after it had come to a stop due to a casuality that occured. A man was trapped in between the wheels, and that apparently stopped the chariot, but after inflicting mortal wounds to the poor devotee. And this was none other than the carpenter king who had lost his balance in the commotion and had fallen to the brink of death, bleeding profusely having been badly injured by his own work of craftmanship.

In his dying moments he held out a piece of papyrus manuscript, which appeared to be some kind of ancient poetry. It was deciphered , and the complete picture reached the people who had cursed the One-day king. He was found to be a firm believer of Naadi astrology and the manuscript had the predictions for the day. It contained the statement that the King of the country would have to die an unfortunate death, at the end of the chariot procession !

---------------------------------------------

I heard this story right after watching the movie Rang de Basanti which has the main characters killing the corrupt Defence Minister of their own country !

என் சுவாசக்காற்றே

கரங்கள் இரண்டில் மென்மையாய் பற்றி
என்னருகே உன்னை அணைத்து இருக்கி
என் சுவாசக்காற்றினை உன்னுள் ஊற்றி
மூங்கில் தோள்களை உடையவள் பெயர் சூட்டி
நித்தமும் உன்னையே முத்தமிட்டு இசைப்பேன்
மூங்கிலால் இறைவனே படைத்தறுளிய - என் குழலே !

Yesudas enthralls..

The man with a golden voice was here yesterday(21 Feb), in connection with the consecration ceremony of Arulmigu Velmurugan Gnanamuneeswar Temple in Sengkang, Singapore. I was a bit sad that I had to miss music class, to attend this one, but it was a pretty good lesson in music by itself.

Attended a whole lot of Indians and locals, more than half of them standing, the President of S'pore SR Nathan was one more fan of Yesudas' musical evening. He sang mostly devotional songs, but included wise quotes, tips and light humour to make it a pleasant combo.

Some memories :
Yesudas took efforts to explain the raaga, and the special significance of the song lyrics and ofcourse the actual rendering of the song. All this was appealing a lot to a beginner in classical music like me.

He explained a raga, whose name I forget, which differs from Hamsadhwani by only the rishabam, and clearly sang and highlighted the beauty of the jeevaswara of that raaga. I understood the true importance of jeevaswara only then.

He quotes while offering his gratitude to his Gurus, there are no separate Gurus in any field of study or art. Its the force of the supreme Guru - God himself, who manifests his power of knowledge in the form of the worldly teachers, gurus and masters who in turn impart the skill to us.

He also did a amazing demo, saying that he was trained by his father to be able to sing with or without the mic/amplifier. This was in contrast to, he said ,to the younger generation of singers who preferred to sing in husky voices hoping to sound sexy.
Then he slowly moved the mic away, switched it off, and sang a few verses. I was standing quite far away , and the crowd was probably more than a 1000 strong. As the the people were keen and silent, even the last person could hear him singing, even the gamaham were clearly audible to me. Wow !

After a few enjoyable songs, he was winding up with the Mangalam dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, stopped suddenly and said "Lord says, sing praises to my brother before you sing in praise of me". He had apparently forgotten to sing a beautiful song dedicated to Lord Murugan, which was written by a Muslim author, music composed by a Hindu, and ultimately sang by a Christian(himself)!

I have never heard any of the singers like SPB, KJY in person, and this experience was quite an unforgettable one for me.

A date with Bugs Bunny

Shot in Ooty, India in Nov 2005 near market at Ooty Lake
Speed: 1/80s,Focal length f/6.3, ISO 200

A kind of Chain Smoker

Shot in Clarke Quay,Singapore on 31st Dec 2005,
Shutter speed (1/250sec), Aperture f/13.0, Focal length=78mm equiv, ISO 1600

Meddling at Manukan Island

With one more day to kill after climbing down the stairs to heaven, our tired limbs allowed us to enjoy a trip to a tropical island near the city Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.



After a while I got just too tired for snapping any more pictures and decided to snorkell near the coral reefs. I shall delibrately avoid to qualitatively describe with formidable adjectives, on how incredibly fascinating it is, to swim with the brilliantly coloured fish, deceptively beautiful corals and slimy sea-cucumbers in their own naturally suited habitat !

The Descent of ulabaniK

I have always believed, that if the return journey is as exciting as the onward, only then a trip seems fulfilling. A strange rock which resembled a 'thumbs up' sign served to reinforce the point :)


In this case, it was actually better on the way down the mountain , since the sun was up, and we could see the impressive rock structures, going on and on for miles. The first shock came as we saw the steep climbs for the first time in daylight, and found it hard to believe that we actually climbed up the same way in complete darkness !




Here again its impossible to bring about the massiveness of the many peaks and my already wet camera system further gave poor results. Anyway most of it has been captured streaming video my own memory cells, and am waiting for somebody to develop an interface to download the stuff!

Sunrise at the Summit (4096m)

Easy Goal :
Wake up at 2am, and start climbing to reach the top of Mt.Kinabalu- Low's peak at 6am to view sunrise

Operating conditions :
Complete darkness except for star-studded sky(pretty obvious at 3am?),
Temperature 10 degree C, to a minimum of 5 degrees at peak,
Steep uphill climb over sheer rocky surface with just a rope for guidance
Rapid chilly winds, with light rain for some "cool effects"
Rarified air causing shortness of breath, demanding frequent stops

Physical conditions:
Headache (not a hangover:), body pain, and mild fever from prev night, dry cough from previous week, violent shivering due to rain,wind and insufficient warm clothing(insanity in hindsight!), Nausea and slight giddiness due to high-altitude.

Mental conditions :
"This is craziest thing you have ever done. Why the hell are you doing this ? What are you going to gain in 'real terms'? You dont want to fall dreadfully sick up there. Its better to stop now, that return in a stretcher. Its time to QUIT ! Now !"
the above running in an infinite loop in the head, on top of the headache.

Results:
Exhilaration on reaching the peak in good time, wait in biting cold conditions.
Realise at 6.30am, that its too cloudy to see any decent Sunrise :(
Climb down hastily, not because there is nothing to see, but it had started to rain, and rocks would soon be slippery.

The most difficult part was to capture the faint sunrise, and "We were here" pics, because a shivering hand , and some wet lens dont produce a razor-sharp image !




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Nothing , really nothing else could justify all the pain, than the unique feeling of achievement that grasps the sinews of your heart in such moments. All this also makes me realise the greatness of all the mountaineers, who have battled and some conquered mightier peaks, snow-clad peaks that are more than double the height of this one, belittling my ascent.. The difficulties in their efforts is presently unimaginable to me, but their joy certainly is.

I finally stop at this last thought : Nothing on earth except Mother Nature, is stronger than the power of the human will.

A Night at Laban Rata

At the end of this ascend was our over-night stopover at Laban rata, at a surprising well equipped dorm-style lodge. A few guys were playing a kindof leg-volleyball(i forget the name of the game), but most people were enjoying a well-deserved rest sipping hot chocolate or tea and viewing the sunset.

Apart from the rest, the stop was also to get used to the high-altitude sickness/effects which were beginning to show, in terms of thinning air, headaches, and feverishness.

The number of nationalities of men and women at this place was staggering, and it was nice to see all of them focussed on to one common goal. Labanrata is situated above the level of the low-clouds, and the view was very similar to being seated in an airplane.

Upto here it can be termed as a climb of moderate difficulty, but with some basic fitness and regular rests, most could make it to this level. But the attempt to the summit of Kinabalu - Low's Peak(4096m), making it the tallest peak in SE Asia, is better avoided by the faint at heart(and body), very young or very old people.

Middle Earth at Mt.Kinabalu (2500m-3200m)

The whole experience from here on was completely new to me - the vegetation, the landscapes, the very look of the place and ofcourse the feeling. I found myself taking more pictures here, but barely capture the desolate beauty of this place.

The dense forest thinned down, and so did the air. They were replaced by wind-battered trees and logs, shrubs and hardy flowers and the image of the clouds amidst the blue skies. As the mist started to descend on us, the cool moist air caused the full-shirts to be put on. Most people were awe-struck too, and the usable adjectives thinned down like the air.

I hope the photos give "a better picture", but if you want a better idea, go there yourself !

At lower altitudes of Mt Kinabalu(1500m - 2500m)

Its time to move on the experiences and visions we saw on the way to the top. The initial phase of the climb was in high spirits, as you can see in the pics where my friends Praveen and Ananth have all the energy to 'pose' for a shot(actually stealing some rest). The small, lithe man is Mollonius Tinggal, who was our mountain guide and impressed me with the effortless ease with with he seemed to conquer the mountain(thrice a week)- his simple method- "do it one careful step at a time" ;-)

The forests were dense, with vegetation everywhere and the temperature and humidity quite high. Most interesting were the smaller plants, wild orchids ,ferns and mosses which gave a impression of a green sari woven over the mountain (pachai pattaadai porthaal pola- Bharathidasan on seeing SriLankan Kandy mountains). The climb was well organised by the authorities, and there were small huts with basic amenities at every km of the 6km trek.

There were quite a few climbers that weekend due to Chinese New Year holidays in SE Asia. While the fittest were cruising up, most others were trudging along, taking ample rest wherever they felt like. Dont ask me how I fared, since I dont like to boast nor try to be modest, I prefer to be hopelessly uninformative on such personal matters :)

"A Lesson in Botany" by Alfred Hitchcock

One the way up the mountain, we trekked thru tropical lowland rainforests, and was packed with flora and invisible fauna. One particular species that caught our attention (with some help from the guide ofcourse) is the pitcher plant. And we also managed to catch the picture of one adventurous bug like us, who decided to checkout what it feels like being in the depths of hell. There were some specimens sized upto a 2Litre capacity, but none were (fortunately) six feet high..!

Waking up one morning

After a sound sound-less sleep at Rose Cabin, we woke up and peered outside the balcony door to get a first look at what we were supposed to confront in the following days- Mt.Kinabalu. The prev evening it was hiding behind clouds, and the first look was impressive, and we were a bit scared at the prospect of climbing outof bed, and having to climb it.

A Rose at the Rose Cabin

Probably the most photographed species in the world..! Okay..Okay..second only to the female version of Homo Sapiens.

Kinabalu Park Headquarters

Anybody attempting to climb Mount Kinabalu, cannot miss the Park Headquarters(Brown-red hut). They help organise the climbs, provide the useful facilities, arrange for the mountain guides, and even provide a summit completion certificate..in short make an inconvinience into a memorable adventure.

We were blessed to get acco in a place called Rose Cabin, (oft misspelt Heaven) and was one of the most scenic low-cost hotels I have lived in. Except for a small mishap where they added some curled-up prawns to a Vegetarian fried rice dish, our stay was very pleasant there !