# The One With All The Photography

It all started with the rain. Yesterday, all of a sudden we were engulfed in a stream of great winds, wonderful rains and the finest weather there could be.Since I had nothing more engrossing or demanding at hand(how could there be!), I decided to make the best of the day. I went outside my house and hardly had I set foot outside that a sudden thought flew straight up to me. I felt like it had always existed somewhere but had never bothered to present itself to me before. I wanted to photograph the rain.
Now, the thing with photography is that no one in my family is particularly enthusiastic about it. They believe that it is better to enjoy the moment right then, than lose the entire fun of it in trying to capture it. I beg to differ, I try to capture a moment forever so that just a look at the snap can take me back to whenever and wherever it was shot.I always try to shoot with a subject. I dont know why but people along with landscapes or in the middle of them appeal more to me than just plain landscapes.So I naturally asked my mother to pose for me along with the rain.She obviously refused.(" Let me enjoy the weather", She said in the manner in which she would ward off a fly).I started looking for other subjects.What happened next is for all of you to see.


1. I started with  a few school children who were crossing the park that lies right in front of my house. I knew one of them and called her out to stop.None of them did, saying they were already late and were also getting soaked( though I can bet the world they were loving it).

Walking away, or rather running away from me!

2. I then called out to a hard working gentleman who's working at some construction or renovation or repair or whatever it is, near my house. He gave me a look which told me he believed I was incapable of saying anything sane and kept walking.He too was loving the rain, I am telling you.

He thinks I am mad.

I was already two pics down and I couldn't see the rain in any of the shots, though it was raining considerably well at that time. I thought that taking a close up might do the job.And hence resorted to some self-photography.Please don't laugh.


3.This is me obviously, being clicked by my camera which at this point of time was sitting atop a tower of tables and stools.

Me.

4. I hadn't zoomed enough, tried again.

Zoomed Me.

Still no rain to be seen. Bad shot anyways.


5. I turned back to the park, where a few guys were macho-ing about on handle bars. I have to admit that by this time my interest had completely diverted from trying to capture the rain to just clicking about randomly.I tried to zoom enough to capture their faces. I was unsuccesful of course, actually my camera was.

Iron Men.

6. My lovely neighbour then came out to take in some drying clothes. I just love her smile.So naturally I had to click her. My snooty neighbour-next got caught in the frame too, talking on his phone.

My Sweetest Neighbour.

7. Focus shifted back to rain. More pics, of grilles and ground.

 

Here I guess I could see some rain.

Here, I guess, I could see the rain to some extent.


8. I took a break. Decided to go and buy some samosas.They had been finished. Headed back home. Thought of taking some final few shots.
I found a most interesting subject this time, a rain-frog. I call him a rain-frog and not just a frog is that 'coz the only time during the year that I get to see him is during the rains. Well this part was the most interesting as he wouldn't stand still and also 'coz my father was home by this time. He always enjoys watching me do silly stuff like this and this time around he himself turned into an accomplice and even held an umbrella over my head as I went on to photograph the ever hopping froggy! How I love my DAD!
Meet Mr. Frog.

Don't take this dude wrong. He's throwing no attitude, just a little camera shy ;)

Author's Note: Sorry all readers for boring you with this random, whimsical photosession of mine. It actualy had to be put up here 'coz of two reasons, firstly it marks a very memorable day in my life and secondly, the draft had been ready for over a month and only minor changes had to be made, so it would  have been unfair to now not put it up, when its been in the queue for so long. Saayonara.

# The One Where I Made Tea

In someone else's kitchen. Without any help from whom it belonged to. And if any of you have ever tried this or something similar, you might not exactly disagree with me if I say that a plumber in a cockpit might be much better off.

Lets start with the start.

I, with my mother, went to visit a very old friend of hers.Now this lady and her family are the earthiest people I know, straightforwardly simple. So I make it a point, or maybe I dont, 'coz it kind of works out subconsciously, that I leave all my baggage of formalities behind me when I am out visiting them.

Once there, it took no time for the two ladies to get busy with their gossip. Since aunty's children were not around, I was feeling a little left out, more so as they ventured onto topics and people(basically other aunties and their families) I had no idea about.

So I drifted towards an inner room to find something interesting. "Maybe I should fiddle with Smita's(her daughter's) stuff.", I thought( shameless I know, but cant help it when I am there!).Just then I heard aunty call out my name. "Go make some tea for us if you are getting bored!"." Tea, yeah that sounds nice.",I thought and went on to bellow an "Okay, I'll just get it for you." from the other end of the house.I didn't realise I was signing up for half an hour of total confusion and chaos.

I entered the kitchen and thought it would be wise to first get the things together, unlike in my own kitchen where my hands just move about mechanically and tea is ready before I know it! 
I looked first for mugs, there were almost half a dozen of those, some here some there. I didn't know if all of them were meant to serve tea.So I took two most likely candidates along with me to where the two ladies sat.They were so busy talking and looking at some new clothes of Anamika's{(aunty's elder daughter),fresh development in my absence} that they took no notice of me, and finding it impossible to break their conversation I headed back.I then went out to bring milk from the refrigerator, which ,to my horror, also contained 3 different containers, all carrying milk. After much thought I chose the one which contained the least amount of milk, considering it to be the one that was currently being used.Back to the kitchen, I looked for tea and sugar, which I luckily found soon enough.I didn't know which water to use, the one in the jug or in the RO.Played safe,decided on RO.Count find the pan in which to make the tea. After five minutes of searching to no avail, I settled for a pateela.
Lit the stove and put the tea up. It had come to full boil and it was time to take it down just when I realised that I had forgotten to find the sieve. Fearing that the tea might overboil if I kept the stove on or cool down before I sieved it if I shut the stove, I looked frantically in all directions without moving away from the pateela. My eys finally found the sieve, I took it and shut the stove.New horror: I didn't know how to get the pateela down from the stove, I did this with a chimta( it was very dangerous and stupid of me, now that  I think of it) and also managed to spill some tea in the process. Finally the tea was through. I served it nicely, I had managed to find a pack of biscuits!

I looked at the watch. I had been in there for nearly 40 minutes.Besides cleaning the kitchen slab with the kitchen floor mop(it was hung on the tap above the sink,and not  the one underneath it, how was I supposed to make out!) I managed to avoid any major disaster, which infact,is a rare feat for me.

I sighed with great relief.Almost all my mental capacities had been totally drained.

The two ladies just laughed.

#The One Where This Blog Comes To Be

"Tu abhi college nahi gayi na isliye tujhe pata nahi hai!"( You haven't been to college as yet, so you really don't know!)-Friend,

"Tujhe kya pata hai college ke baare mein,chup kar!"( You don't know anything about college,so shut up!)-Elder Sis,

"Tu college to jaa fir poochungi tujhse"(You go to college once, I'll ask you then)-Another Friend

"College alag hi hota hai yaar, school se bahot alag "( College is something different altogether, pretty different from school)-A lot of friends

"Itni badi nahi hui hai tu abhi, sirf admission hi hua hai, college jaana shuru nahi ho gayi hai"( You are not as grown up as you think you are, you have only been admitted yet,you have not even actually begun attending college)- MOM( who else!)

"What gibberish is this?", you might be thinking. Well,These are just snippets that have been jumping in quite regularly in any conversation I have been having with anyone for almost the entire past two months.

It was mildly interesting in the beginning but has become downright irritating these days. Okay,I am going to start with college this year,in a few days' time, and it feels great but guess what, everybody else is more excited than me! I mean, I know entering college marks the beginning of a different phase in one's life altogether, which is why,to mark the new beginning I am also setting up this dear blog of mine,  but I would really appreciate it if my loved ones could be a little downbeat about it, 'coz all this hype and hooplah is giving me more jitters than the entire thing is worth.

Anyways, A big Hello to everyone who happens to come across this blog.Thank You for stopping by. Please dont take me for a snooty teenager who's too arrogant to like her dear ones to be involved with the little joys in her life, 'coz saying the above doesnt mean I am any less excited about college and honestly, not just college but life in general, its just that I want it to be the most normal thing to do.

This blog is a tribute to the glorious years gone by and an attempt to capture the wonderful ones that are yet to come. It is my way of journalising all the strange,funny,crazy and unbelievable( I might be missing a lot of categories here) things,people,moments and incidents(here too) that I might encounter on this upcoming roller coaster ride.Please join in.

You might consider me to be sitting on the pole right now.