222 - 25th - Rusty

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 25th July'08

These 3 nails stuck into the wall just in front of my front door have been in my attention for a long time now. Today I decided to get something out of them. I was trying to get the focus on the head butts, but that was making the background to come in focus too. Its high time a buy a nice macro lens :)

While I was busy getting the right angle with my half my body kneeling against the wall my neighbors must be thinking - What the heck is this guy up to ?? !! But who cares as long as I am getting nice pictures :)

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218 - 21st - The flame inside me

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 21st July'08

I believe that each one of us has a flame inside us; the flame which drives us to do something special in life. The difference between those who are able to do that and those who can't is how long we can keep that flame burning inside. Because to keep burning it will require a constant source of fuel, which will be our efforts and hard work. Most of us kneel down in front of life's difficulties and extinguish the flame inside - only to realize later that we have actually lost the zest to accomplish something BIG.

As for the image, it is a result of an effort to kill the boredom which arises during the frequent power cuts in Chennai :)

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203 - 6th - Bless thy all

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 6th Jule'08

Each time I used to cross the bridge near Chennai central, this statue mounted on a tall minaret used to remind me of the famous statue of Jesus in Rio de Janeiro . Almost the same posture, but a bit smaller in size & darker in shade, Jesus in this stance seems to give a message of universal acceptance.

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202 - 5th - The final destination

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 5th July'08

We burn ourselves, wear ourselves out, forget the important things in life and just concentrate towards our ultimate ambition - earn more money. In the end all we get is a grave to rest in or a blazing fire to dissolve us in the elements of nature.

Go to a graveyard and you will realize the reality of death. A feeling suddenly sinks in that how artificial a life we are living, completely forgetful of the ultimate truth. Keep this truth in perspective and never will you end up in any sort of doubt.

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89 - 14th - Gigantic tollywood

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 14th Mar'08

This is something about Cinema which I have observed only in South India, specially Chennai; large, gigantic hoardings, advertising the upcoming movies. In most of the places like Delhi and other parts of India where I have spent most of my life, the filmy advertising is there & that too in fanatic proportions, but I dont know whether it is the local civic rules or a completely different style, such BIG hoardings are nowhere to be seen. Cinema definitely is an essential part of life of most of the Indians.

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75 - 29th - The dark lord

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 29th Feb'08

The age of darkness has finally arrived. The dark lord is all set to rule the world. The black shadow will cover the whole earth and finally the black forces will have their say. Welcome to the kingdom of the Dark Lord.

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74 - 28th - The lone surfer

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 28th Feb'08

Such small "dingy"s floating around deep into the sea waters is a common sight in this part of the world (Chennai to be specific). You go to any beach anywhere in Chennai & you can see numerous such boats venturing into deep sea hoping for a good catch. With no proper safety measures, even no proper boat to sail in, these fishermen spend their entire days searching for a bountiful of fish to earn their living.

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61 - 15th - Distant horizon

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 15th Feb'08

The sun was already gone, the sky was all grey, slowly covering itself up with the dark blanket of night. These trees, obidiently standing in a straight queue were giving a pictursque view at the horizon. Standing at a lonely place at such a time during late evening & admiring mother nature at its best was nothing less than a silent melody

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60 - 14th - Love is in the air

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 14th Feb'08

14th Feb - Valentines day - celebration of a magic called "Love". I found this couple all huddled up under a small umbrella, apparently seeking shade from the blazing sun as well the staring eyes of people around, on a dry afternoon at one of the Chennai's beaches. Most of the markets were drenched in "Red" and lover couples could be seen everywhere hounouring "their" day and celebrating their feelings for their loved ones. Love certainly is something which brings eternal happiness to those who can really feel it.

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59 - 13th - Right in the middle

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 13th Feb'08

I saw this man standing right in the middle of a quite a big lake on my way to Mahabalipuram the other day. He was standing there very calmly, totally oblivious of his surroundings, busy hoping for a nice catch with his small fishing net. He seemed to be fixing the net to make a good catch during the day. Whatever he was doing, it really was a nice sight.

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58 - 12th - The small crabs

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 12th Feb'08

When the beach is empty and not many people are around, which is usually during the day or early morning, you can see hundreds of small crabs playing hide and seek in the moist sand just bordering the sea-waves. They dig up small holes and are very quick to hide in them once they sense anything or anyone approaching them.

Luckily, I managed to get a shot of one of those "little crabs" when it was just going to enter its burrow.

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57 - 11th - The bridge

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 11th Feb'08

I went for a loooong drive on ECR (East coast road) when I crossed the boating club on the way to Mahabalipuram. The bridge running over the shallow lake was giving a spectacular view of the small but a beautiful place where people flock in the evening to enjoy boating.

Though the bridge was narrow (2 laned) I managed to park my bike and take some shots. This is the best one I got.

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56 - 10th - Lonely abode

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 10th Feb'08

I went to the "Elliot's beach" today just to click some photos for the day when I saw this man enjoying the loneliness of the place and the vast stretch of water spread in front of his eyes. The weather was not very hot and the cool breeze hitting your face was making it quite comfortable to sit and enjoy the scenery. This man seemed to enjoy all of it.

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55 - 9th - Political extravaganza

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 9th Feb'08

In a city with several thousand people struggling to manage a meal twice a day, such a political extravaganza demonstrates the indifference in the ruling minds towards the tax money paid by the ruled. Streets lit up with endless strings of small glowing lights, huge lit-up effigies of local political big-shots, entire area decorated like a wedding celebration, big projectors set up for people to see what useless crap the leaders are shouting and hundred other completely unnecessary arrangements; just for the sake of this political mess.

Here are some more shots of the same
Photo-1
Photo-2

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54 - 8th - Partial greenery

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 8th Feb'08

I took this photograph with a black and white focus effect. It was a long green sheet of leaves covering the boundary wall of a house. I took the photograph laterally to fill the entire frame with the leaves and nothing else. The B/W focus effect did wonders to the entire look of the picture.

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53 - 7th - Lonely stretch

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 7th Feb'08

I was walking along to a nearby mall when i crossed this street. In a bust city like Chennai, it was surprising to find such a quiet and lonely stretch of road. Amongst all the heat & humidity the place gave quite a soothing feel.

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52 - 6th - A beautiful illusion

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 6th Feb'08

The beautiful image which you can see above is not of a river or of some sundry water body which adds to the topographical beauty of the city. Rather, it is a stinking drain running right through the heart of the city. Totally uncovered on almost its entire stretch, it eventually drops all the filth in the bay of Bengal.

I can't explain how tough it was for me to stand there and take this photograph :)

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51 - 5th - The memorial

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 5th Feb'08

This photo is of a newly built memorial situated on the long stretch of Marina beach. During the day it looks like just another building painted in white, but the real beauty comes out after dark once all the lights go up.

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50 - 4th - The Mall culture

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 4th Feb'08

The metropolitan city of Chennai is fast catching up with the "Mall fever" now spreading in almost every corner of the country. One of the latest addition to the posh hangouts in the city is the "Chennai city center". Revamped to be given a complete makeover last year, the place hosts a multi-screen theater Inox & boasts for the outlets of all major brands. Though the overall ambiance of the place is quite amazing, the narrow roads in the front, traffic jams and inadequate parking arrangements are some black spots which need to be taken care of.

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49 - 3rd - The "light" fair

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 3rd Feb'08

During one of my late night drives on the long stretch of road bordering Marina beach in Chennai, I came across this splendid scenery; a lighted up waterline, probably of some local fair. The reflection of green, yellow & red lights on the adjacent water body was something to just stand and admire.

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