Eternity and a Day...

There is a Vision which
Exists without an end, and
In one eye she has a huge sky
In the other she boasts a land.
Whatever is in that land
Is etched inside the eyeball
There's a river and a hill
Draped in green overalls.
There's dew upon the green
Fallen from the eye's sky
The Vision dreams it every day
On dew dwells her eye.
When from close or afar,
The eyes look on the dew
The dew drops, dream-drenched,
Become clouds and bid adieu.
The eye's sky to the eye's land
A team of cloud has sent
Clouds bring on rainy thoughts
The eye's tearful lament.
When the eye's tears will soften
The music of the eye's land
I'll call the land of the moist eye
By the name of Eye-land.

- Suman Chatterjee
(Translated from original Bengali by Sudipto Chatterjee)

And btw...the model is my 9 year old niece who can turn any photograph into a piece of art.

Life in the fast lane...

Zoar valley is a relatively unknown place in upstate NY. The entrance to the massive gorge is tucked away beside a small village and very few people actually go there. As a result this place is far more pristine and exciting than most other hiking trails scattered in the area. An hour and a half long hike leads to a waterfall which offers an ultra-soothing natural jacuzzi. More than that...the hike itself offers breathtaking views of the gorge and the river. This photo was taken near the falls (in fact its just around the corner). I thought good ol' B&W did more justice to this photo than its colored counterparts...

The memory remains...

This is an old photo from my archives. Took this quite some time back in in NYC. This cross is located at Ground Zero...at the location where the twin towers once stood. Made from the original steel beams of the WTC, this cross speaks of the terror of 9/11 in a graphical way. Some parts of the WTC facade show in the background. All the debris along with the parts of the broken facade have been cleared away now...but the cross and the memory still remain.

Euphoria...

As long as the seagulls do not create a ruckus, they are truly an embodiment of grace and beauty. This photogenic dude here provided me with an elegant pose so that I could get some good shots...
Taken at Niagara Falls, NY.

Writing on the wall...

Another one from the Central Terminal, Buffalo. While scouting around, I managed to find a stairwell with an "Off-limits and dangerous" sign guarding it. Venturing up the spooky tower of the building, I was greeted by this scene straight out of a horror flick! This is a glass door on the 4th floor with ancient papers strewn across the floor on the other side. Once important documents, these papers are all yesterday's news now. The "4" scrawled in red paint on the glass door is guaranteed to send a chill down your spine...especially in a desolate tower! Yet, the scene attracted me in an eerie way...I will never know what stories those documents had to tell...this is all that I could capture and bring back with me.

Wheels of time...

This shot was taken at the Central Terminal, Buffalo. Once a bustling and magnificient rail station that echoed the grandeur of the Grand Central Terminal, New York City, this sprawling piece of architecture has decayed to death. The Central Terminal was commissioned into service in 1929 ans served the Buffalo region for 50 years till the last train chugged out in October 1979. Since then, the wheel of time has come to a standstill. Sold to private owners, the grand station was gradually stripped of its ornate interiors. A few weeping windows, rusted wagons and the vast expanse of the main concourse remain to tell the story of its halcyon times.

This photograph epitomises the state of affairs at the Central Terminal. There will be more to follow in some later posts.

Good times...

My obsession with the glass continues...
To resolve the Coke-Pepsi issue, decided to go with club soda this time!
"Bujhaye bas pyaas....baki sab bakwaas!"
Well ok...it was Sprite!