On the Ephemeral Bubble called Happiness
There is a young man this owl can listen to for hours; the world knows him for the way his fingers worked their magic and turned a guitar fretboard into a Purple Haze He once said “And so castles made of sand slips into the sea, eventually..” and no words this owl knows, better describe the transience of happiness. Below you will find framed some such fleeting moments:
Tinted Whims
http://www.anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Singles/Pages/Tinted-Whims
This is also the time of the year when people invite their beloved Ganapati Bappa to come and live in their house for a few days. Here are some stills from the Ganesh Visarjan in Hyderabad.
Of Immersions and Processions
http://www.anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Festivals/Pages/Of-Immersions-and-Processions
Until next time,
The Observant Owl.
P.S. if you want to talk to this owl you can write and email to talk2owl@gmail.comColorLandscapesNaturePanoramaVistaBeautyEphemeralCapriciousFleetingPeoplePortraitProcessionImmersionVisarjanGanpatiGaneshGaneshaGanesa VinayakVinayakaChaturthiAnant ChaturdashiNizamHyderabadAndhra Pradesh
From An Owl's Eye View
So far so good…
The journey so far is been rather eventful and circuitous. The owl relaunched the website in October and you have been flying to many different places with him. This would be a good time to review all the ground we’ve covered and set our sights far out on the horizon for the journeys yet to come.
We started the journey with one step in Calcutta and one step in Nepal - we witnessed the celebration of Devi Boron in a Rajbari in Calcutta:
The Vermillion Affair
http://www.anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Festivals/The-Vermilion-Affair
We also celebrated the Nepalese New Years on the streets of Nepal:
Paint the Streets Red
http://www.anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Festivals/Paint-the-streets-Red
Having scratched the surface, we plunged deeper into the sometimes messy, sometimes beautiful labyrinth of Calcutta with two galleries:
My City of Ruins
http://www.anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Kolkata-Calcutta-/Pages/My-City-of-Ruins
and Visual Diary of a Jay Walker
http://www.anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Kolkata-Calcutta-/Pages/Visual-Diary-of-Jay-Walker-
Some photographs from the Streets of Calcutta have been published in Yuva Magazine in its August 2011 issue. You can check out the details here:
http://www.anobservantowl.in/TearSheets/PUBLICATIONS/i-CWSzMZB
Also some photographs from the Old Mansions of Calcutta were published in Better Photography Magazine. You can check out the details here:
http://www.anobservantowl.in/TearSheets/PUBLICATIONS/i-Jwwj939
and here:
http://www.anobservantowl.in/TearSheets/PUBLICATIONS/i-bHwDR6F
After Calcutta we flew out in Bengal and witnessed the commemoration of the mythical churning of the milky ocean in the following gallery:
Men in Blue
http://anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Festivals/Pages/Men-in-Blue
Flying out of Bengal, we visited Bihar first and attended the Sonepur Cattle Fair. You can check out the gallery here:
Horse Trading
http://anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Festivals/Pages/Horse-Trading-Horses
Then the owl flew to Jaipur where holi was being celebrated with gulaal and flower petals in the Govind Devji Temple. You can check out the gallery here:
The Chaos of Colors http://www.anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Festivals/Pages/The-Chaos-of-Colors
A photograph from this gallery was featured in the Daily Dozen section of National Geographic’s website on 07.11.12. Here are the details:
http://www.anobservantowl.in/TearSheets/PUBLICATIONS/i-c43qq45
From Jaipur the owl flew further west to Gujarat to commemorate Draupadi’s Swayamvar at Tarnetar. You can check out the gallery here:
The Marriage Mela
http://www.anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Festivals/Pages/The-Marriage-Mela
After Tarnetar the owl flew further south to the Nizam’s city to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi. You can check out the gallery here:
Of Immersions and Processions
http://www.anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Festivals/Pages/Of-Immersions-and-Processions
In the final moments of the year, the owl visited many vistas - distant and near - from Ladakh to Singapore and many in between. You can check out the galleries here:
Tinted Whims
http://www.anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Singles/Pages/Tinted-Whims
Monochrome Moods
http://www.anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Singles/Pages/Monochrome-Moods
Distant Vistas
http://www.anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Landscapes/Pages/Durer-Poridrishho-Distant-Vist
A photo of Chhath Puja form the Tinted Whims gallery was published in the Postcards Section of the Lonely Planet Magazine’s UK edition in its Nov 2010 issue. Here are the details:
http://www.anobservantowl.in/TearSheets/PUBLICATIONS/i-rCddJkL
The owl welcomed the New Year with another new year celebration on the slopes of Nepal. You can check out the galleries here:
The Precarious Procession
http://rikh.smugmug.com/Portfolio/Festivals/Pages/The-Precarious-Procession-
In the New Year, the owl flew back a full circle to Bengal to Gangasagar Island for the Gangasagar Fair and explored its colorful as well as darker side. You can check out the galleries here:
The Sun, the Sea & a Holy Dip
http://www.anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Festivals/Pages/The-Sun-the-Sea-a-Holy-Dip
and here:
No Direction Home
http://rikh.smugmug.com/Portfolio/Photo-Essay/Pages/No-Direction-Home
A photograph from Gangasagar was featured in the Daily Dozen section of National Geographic’s website on 03.11.09. Here are the details:
http://www.anobservantowl.in/TearSheets/PUBLICATIONS/i-p2bvZPP
Some photos from Gangasagar were also published in the Picture Essay section of The Sunday Guardian Weekly in its 3rd Feb 2013 Issue. Here are the details:
http://www.anobservantowl.in/TearSheets/PUBLICATIONS/i-4D7cQx6
Also, the owl’s profile was published in Asian Photography Magazine in its Feb-Mar 2012 issue. Photographs from the following galleries are featured in the profile:
Men in Blue,
The Sun, the Sea & a Holy Dip,
My City of Ruins,
Tinted Whims
Here are the details:
http://www.anobservantowl.in/TearSheets/PUBLICATIONS/i-B2hm6tR
This journey has been amazing so far but it is far from over. Here’s to more wandering and more colorful experiences.
Until next time,
The Observant Owl.
P.S. if you want to talk to this owl you can write and email to talk2owl@gmail.comabandonedagedanant chaturdashiandhra pradeshanimal tradingarchitecturebanalbay of bengalbeadworkbeautybengalbharwadbiharbijoyabisket jatrablack and whiteblueboronbridebritish erabuffaloesbullscalcuttacapriciouscharanchaturthichurningmilky oceancolonialcolorcolorscolourfulconfluencedancedecrepitdeshrabaridevidiwalidogsdonkeysdraupadi swayamvardumpeddurgadurga pujadusheraekadashielderlyelephantelephant bathingembroideryephemeraleverydayexotic birdsfairfleetingfolkgaja grahgandakganesavinayakganeshganeshagangagangasagargangesganpatigoatsgovind devji mandirgroomgujarathalāhalaharihar nathharijanholiholy bathholy diphusbandhyderabadimmersionjaipurjatrakachchhkanbikapil munikarthik poornimakartik poonamkathiKathmandukhantkhelakolikolkataksheera sagara manthanamkutchlandscapesleft alonelostmakar sankrantiMelaMonochromeNaturenepalnew yearnizamPanoramaPeoplePortraitSagar IslandSaurashtraTarnetarUttarayanvinayakavisarjanVistaMarriageProspectiveSpouseUmbrellaVishnu AvatarSonepurSonepur Cattle FairPatnarajasthanponiespersian horsesshivashankarneelkanthasamudra man thanpoisonsindoorsindhoorvermilionredvillage
From An Owl's Eye View
The Captivating Caprices
First off a thousand and one apologies for no updates in the past two weeks. The owl has been quite busy with some curious goings on in the owl city. Infact this owl recently flashed on to many bengali television screens and was talked about a glorious rajbari.
Anyways enough gloating now, the owl is back at your service to tell you about all he has seen during his myriad flights. This owl once met a wise man who told him about another wise man called Confucius. He believed that ‘everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.’ and the owl couldn’t agree more. It isn’t enough to just see, one has to look and observe to see the beauty in things.
The moments of beauty you’re about to see are as captivating as they are capricious. Infact this owl humbly submits that these frames are beautiful precisely because they are fleeting and ephemeral. This owl hopes you agree with him after seeing these:
Tinted Whims
http://www.anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Singles/Pages/Tinted-Whims
Monochrome Moods
http://www.anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Singles/Pages/Monochrome-Moods
Distant Vistas
http://www.anobservantowl.in/Portfolio/Landscapes/Pages/Durer-Poridrishho-Distant-Vist
Until next time,
The Observant Owl.
P.S. if you want to talk to this owl you can write and email to talk2owl@gmail.comMonochromeBlack and WhiteColorLandscapesNaturePanoramaVistaBeautyEphemeralCapriciousFleetingPeoplePortrait
From An Owl's Eye View