Rajasthan - beginning of a memorable vaction

It all started with figuring out vacation ideas; considering that we would be travelling in December, colder climes were naturally ruled out.  M had been wanting to do Rajasthan for a while, so we decided that the land of golden sands it would be, since anytime after March and the place would be scorching.

Since the tourist season starts mid-December, we decided to plan our trip in the first week, before the hordes start pouring in.  The days would be pleasant, the nights chill but not freezing and the crowds, few.  We only had about a week on our hands, so the planning had to be meticulous - not crowd the itinerary with too many places to visit, yet not miss out on the must do spots.  The credit again goes to M for a perfectly planned holiday - right from what to see, where to stay, what to eat, which taxiwalla to call etc.,!

For starters, Rajasthan is a state that has endless possibilities: forts, deserts, wildlife parks, luxurious palaces, spread across many must visit places such as Jaipur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Ranthambore... Considering my shutter happy nature and the need for a relaxed holiday, we decided on Jaipur, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur.  No more.

For details on the planning bit, do's and don'ts, refer to M's blog.  My blog is not meant to be a travel-diary, but a collection of the impressions gathered during that fabulous one week.

As we landed at Jaipur Airport at 7.30 AM, the captain's welcome message shattered some typical 'tourist myths' about Rajasthan, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Jaipur; the temperature outside is a pleasant 17 degrees..."  Wow!  So Rajasthan, is not really the 'perpetual 50 degrees oven!'

Jaipur is a beautiful city, with broad straight streets, swept clean, shrouded in the morning chill - very welcoming.  It's a fairly green city too - disappointing tourists who assume that all of Rajasthan is only sand!  This is also the city of beautiful palaces - Jal Mahal and City Palace for instance, forts - Amer and Jaigarh, astronomical observatory - Jantar Mantar, lakes, markets.  The people are friendly and affable, willing to guide the lost tourist.

Hawa Mahal, in the soft golden light of the morning sun

Our first stop was the Hawa Mahal - most readily recognised icon of the Pink City - so called because the erstwhile Maharani Gayatri Devi ordered the denizens of the inner city to paint their building in pink, so as to lend the place an exclusivity!  We reached just in time to catch the golden rays of the early morning sun bathe this exquisite structure in an ethereal glow.  Shopkeepers across the street were very willing to let us take shots from their terraces for an access charge of '10 rupee per head only'.  "We charge phoren tourists 100 rupee saab..." the chowkidaar of one of these vantage viewpoints confided.  He was also more than happy to click our pictures.

One of the many exquisite jharokas...

Quick tip for photographers: reach the place before 9.00 AM and use a wide-angle for excellent shots of Hawa Mahal - the early morning rays provide excellent frontal lighting.  Get on the terrace of any of the shops for eye-level shots.  Telephoto zooms are pretty much useless unless you want to take shots of parts of the structure.

Is this the kind of view the veiled queens and princesses
would have had, of the street below?

We were blessed with a bright sun, no clouds and a clear day: really, excellent conditions for photography.  It was interesting to see busloads of foreign tourists - mostly European and Orient, go gaga over the place - surely, a structure so grand constructed just to let the purdah-bound queens and princesses watch royal processions in relative seclusion must be a rarity.

After spending more than an hour gawking at the place, we finally proceeded to breakfast, at the interestingly named Balaji Restaurant, for a snack of hot parathas, dahi and pickle.

 The entire city seemed attuned to tourists - the grandfatherly shopkeeper who starts twirling his generous moustache as soon as two Koreans with cameras slung around their necks approach; the otherwise bored snake charmer who plays his 'been' and wakes up an equally bored cobra to life the moment an excited European couple approach, cameras on the ready; traditionally decked up women who are willing to pose for photographs with you for a payment of '50 rupee only'... The welcome change ofcourse is that none of these tourist friendly people pester you with their wares...

Intricately designed Peacock Gate

The diwan-i-khas, straight out of a
period movie

The next stop was the nearby City Palace, the current residence of the erstwhile rulers, descendants of the Sun and heirs of the Kachawaha dynasty.  Part of the palace has been converted into a museum, with standard exhibits of royal furniture, apparel, weapons and utensils.  Of particular interest was the Peacock Gate, the northeast entrance to the inner courtyard.   Delicately adorned with peacock motifs, the entrance arch is a sight to behold.  The other three gates to the courtyard are stunning too, decorated with motifs of waves, lotus and roses.  The Palace also has on exhibit huge silver urns, 5.2 ft tall, 340 kgs heavy and with a capacity of 4000 litres, meant to carry Gangajal for the king, on his journeys!

Samrat Yantra - largest sundial in existence

Next came the Jantar Mantar, the place that we had been most looking forward to!  Constructed by Maharaja Jai Singh II, this is one of the five observatories that he built, and the best preserved.  We were lucky to get an excellent guide, and spent over an hour understanding the working and purpose of the various instruments here.  The precision with which these instruments have been calibrated is amazing.  The Samrat Yantra, the largest sun dial in the world, gives the local time to a precision of 2 seconds!  The experience of being able to actually see the shadow move across the marked marble counter is exhilarating!

Close up of the dial - the shadow on the white marble
is calibrated to a precision of 2 seconds!

 Our guide explained in great detail how each of these yantra's (instruments) worked.  He was equally thrilled to find tourists that are inquisitive and interested in finding out more about the place.  To his utter surprise, we refused to click any snaps while he was explaining, reserving that for later.  What was surprising though was that as we neared an hour and half of 'guide time', he was keen to leave us and look for fresh catch.  Apparently, most guides in Rajasthan limit time with each tourist batch to not more than 1.5 hours, something we would encounter at the Amer Fort as well!

Our next stop was the Amer Fort, the location from which Jodha Akbar was shot.  En-route, we made a quick stop at the Jal Mahal, now restored to its past glory but sadly, out of bound for tourists.  Managed to get a few shots of birds gliding over the surface of the lake, fishing for... what else.... fish!

Majestic Amer Fort, reflected in the moat below...

The Amer Fort is a magnificent structure, but before that, we made a stop at the Jaigarh Fort, the Amer Fort's twin and constructed to accomodate the growing needs of the main fort.  The primary attraction at Jaigarh was the Jaivan, the largest cannon ever made.  With a barrel 20 ft long and a bore 11 inches large, the cannon has a range of over 40 kms (the Bofors howitzer, by comparison has a 6 inch bore and 35 km range).  The cannon however, has not seen any action, having been fired only once, a test shot at that.  In that sense, I prefer the Mendha tope of Daulatabad Fort, the second largest cannon and the Kalal Bangdi of Murud Janjira.  These cannons are battle scarred, intimidating and have character.  They look you in the eye with a 'dare mess with me?' attitude.  The cannon of Jaigarh was a disappointment.

Lunch was at yet another franchise of the ubiquitous Balaji!  It appears that instead of water, Rajasthani's use ghee and butter to cook their food in.  Our waiter was severely disappointed that we did not consume more than 2 servings of the mildly sweet choorma, that goes with dal-baati-choorma, or multiple servings of the heavy gatte ki sabji.  "Saab, aapne to kuch bhi nahi khaya..." he complained after we had consumed what we thought were elephantine quantities of the 10 course (or was it 14?) meal.  This is a Rajasthan standard - these nice people are disappointed if you don't eat the equivalent of 4 people!

Restoration work in progress at the Sheesh Mahal

 The last stop was the majestic Amer Fort, standing sentinel, aloft on the vast desert plains.  Several popular Bollywood movies, the recent one being Jodha Akbar, were shot here.  Contrasted to our experience at the Jantar Mantar, the guide at Amer was a disappointment, pitching more about gems, astrology and the like that would no doubt draw the attention of the foreign tourist, but not fort-o-holics like us.  The Amer Fort has mostly seen peaceful times, as the rulers, the Kachwahas, were on friendly terms with the Mughals and then with the British.  The striking part of the fort though, is the Sheesh Mahal, the palace of mirrors, embellished with mirrors imported from Belgium, that still retain their sheen.

Tiny mirrors of all shapes and sizes, set in artistic patterns adorn the walls and ceiling, throwing off slivers of light in all directions.  One can only imagine the magic the place would have created, reflecting in thousands, the flame of a single lighted lamp...  This surely must have been the inspiration for the pyaar kiya to darna kya song in the epic Mughal-e-azam.  The ceiling and walls are covered in delicate marble carvings that are translucent to the touch, with elaborate paintings of creepers and flowers, and with tiny mirrors set in delicate patterns.  The courtyard has a beautiful garden, set in octagonal patterns interspersed with fountains.  Cool water was circulated through the walls and lattices, giving a respite from the desert heat.  One can only imagine the splendour of this place at the peak of its glory!

View of Ganesh Pol from the fourth courtyard...

The terrace of the fort has a huge courtyard, to one end of which the Ganesh Pol, leads to the Sheesh Mahal.  The entrance arch here is dedicated to Lord Ganesha, and is therefore adorned with motifs attributed to the Lord.  The courtyard itself is immense and we were lucky to be there at the close of tourist hours, when the place was near deserted and the place afforded terrific photographic opportunities.  Minarets and domes, arches and pillars, set against the backdrop of a clear blue sky, and a photographer had to get shutter happy!

Glimpses of Amer Fort...

Majesty of the Amer Fort by night...

It was now time to head to the sound and light show at the ramparts - an hour and half filled with retelling of fort lore.  Very well put together and excellently presented, the show is a must see for those interested.

Photographic tip: Make sure to visit the Amer Fort towards the end of the day, so that you get time at the Sheesh Mahal and Ganesh Pol courtyard devoid of tourists.  Also carry a tripod - the approach road to the fort with the moat and lake below have excellent photographic opportunities to capture the fort reflected in the water below.

Dining at the very exclusive 1135 AD

Apparently, the standard time to tour the fort is 45 minutes, with some curious tourists stretching it to over an hour.  When we met our driver after spending over 4 hours at the fort (not counting the sound and light show), he exclaimed that this has been his most boring outing to the fort!  Imagine his surprise then, when we declared that we wanted to go back into the fort!  Not for sightseeing, but to the restaurant 1135 AD.  The restaurant is inside the fort, at the second courtyard level, passing right in front of the Sila Devi temple.  Strongly recommended for the ambience, excellent food and exceptional service; it was an experience, sitting atop the fort at dusk, with only the sound of the wind blowing over the ramparts for company, enjoying a leisurely dinner.  We certainly felt like royals!  The credit for finding this gem of a place and arranging for us to have a private dinner goes to M!

After an eventful day, it was finally time to pack the cameras and bid goodbye to Jaipur, as we headed to the Golden City of Jaisalmer!  That's for another blog!  Watch this space...

Mumbai road trip

For a change, decided NOT to go on a long road trip on a long weekend. Instead, we decided to explore places in Mumbai. And so, on a wet saturday morning, M and I set off, to look up spots in South Mumbai. The first stop was the Church of St John the Evangelist, popularly known as Afghan Church.

Tucked away in a quiet corner of Colaba, close to Navy Nagar, Afghan Church is a Presbyterian Church built to commemorate the dead of the 1838 Afghan War. The imposing spire, rising to a height of 60 mts that was once visible to ships docking in the harbour, is now dwar

fed by high rises all round. Surprisingly, the church itself is in a derelict state, opening only for mass on sunday mornings. Since we went on a saturday, the church was sadly, closed to visitors. There wasn't even a caretaker to be found. The precincts were immacu

lately kept, and the facade was imposing. Since the main entrance was locked, we missed seeing the famed stained glass windows - apparently the largest in India. Will come back on a sunday morning post monsoon and post pics. Pic courtesy here: googlemaps/panoromio

From the Afghan Church, we proceeded to Kala Ghoda, to the Jehangir Art Gallery. There were several solo exhibitions on, mostly abstract paintings. Also on display were sculptures by an artist who works with mixed media: fibreglass, brass and metals, clay etc., I am sure there are people that appreciate modern art, but sadly we were not those. Hence a quick tour and exit, to Samovar Cafe.

Samovar is a quaint cafe attached to the Art Gallery, immortalised in the Basu Chatterjee movie Chhoti si baat, starring Amol Palekar, Vidya Sinha, Ashok Kumar (as the unforgettable Col. Julius Nagendranath Wilfred Singh) and Asrani. An open corridor running down an entire length of the gallery building is cloistered and converted into a narrow cafe, with rows of chairs on either side of the aisle. Since it was early noon, there wasnt much crowd save for a solitary foreign tourist. Sadly, the menu did not feature chicken-a-la-poos, though it did list kheema paratha and dahi vada. The menu had several delights for the maansaahaari, such as mutton samosa, chicken patty etc., We settled for the spicy cheese-veg roll, veg sandwich and the mango lassi. The staff were extremely courteous, efficient and quick, though on a lazy sunday morning, I'd rather they were slow! The ambience was enhanced by the background music - a collection of fusion music titled Chitra, by Venus. The staff even obliged us by getting us the CD cover when we enquired about the album!

From Cafe Samovar, we headed to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly The Prince of Wales Museum (strangely, an internet search turns up a large number of hits for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Sastu Sangrahalaya!) Surprisingly, the museum attracts a large number of visitors, from within and outside Mumbai. The visit began on a high note, munching on slices of kandmool - a juicy tuber supposed to be good for digestion.

The museum authorities permit use of a camera, without flash ofcourse, on payment of a small fee. Unfortunately, we had not carried the camera, hence, no interesting images from the visit. The museum building has an imposing facade: set in the Indo-Saracenic style, the structure draws from Islamic and Deccan styles.  The structure itself would be an object of study for architecture enthusiasts.

The teeming crowds actually surprised us - who would expect Mumbaites to turn up at a museum on a sunday, rather than some mall!  Anyways, it turned out that most of the visitors were tourists from other cities - Chennai, Kerala, AP, Rajasthan, UP etc., The excitement of the crowds was palpable!
Interestingly, a significant part of the collection is donated by Sir Ratan Tata (son of Jamsetji Tata), his wife Lady Navajbai Tata and brother Sir Dorab Tata.  Many artefacts donated by the family are priceless: jade artefacts, antique furniture, jewelry, sculptures - there's something from the family in every section of the museum.  In fact, it is surprising that the museum was originally called The Prince of Wales Museum and not The Sir Ratan Tata Museum!  Yet another example of the Tata family's selflessness in  service of the greater public good.

The audio guides available for Rs 100 give a pretty useful introduction, though we found the explanations for the sculpture section (dominated by mythological themes) fairly basic.  The central hall, formed by the cavernous dome, is awe inspiring.  The dome itself is inspired by the Gol Gumbaz of Bijapur - probably the largest free standing dome in the world.  The ground floor has an eclectic collection of jade figurines, ivory sculptures, jewelry and an entire section devoted to ancient sculptures, that easily took most of our attention and time.

The sculpture section
This houses sculptures from various Indian temple sites as ancient as  200 BC to as recent as 1600 AD.  For the mythologically and historically inclined, like us, this is a treasure trove.  What it lacks in quantity, it more than makes up in variety.  Spending more than an hour browsing the collection, we made a few startling observations.  For instance, most of the scupltures of the feminine, be it goddesses or dwarpalikas, upto almost the 15th century, are portrayed with a yagnopaveetam, the sacred thread.  Though it is a known fact that the scriptures nowhere prohibit women from chanting the Gayatri or undergoing the thread ceremony, the recentness of the depiction was surprising.  A couple of artefacts were wrongly labelled and we did have a good mind to speak to the curataor, but by the time were done with the exhibits, exhaustion overtook us and forgot about it.  One of the exhibits that caught our attention was a life size Durga made entirely of dried plantain bark.  The featuring and attention to detail was spell binding.
The central hall houses several smaller artefacts and trinkets, of which the jade collection was the best.  Carved jade cups so delicate that they are translucent, jade jewelry, carved jade boxes and keepsakes... one can spend the rest of the day gazing at these.  There are carvings of ivory and wood, mostly Goan, at this level too, but none can match the breathtaking beauty of the jade word.

The first floor several sections - an extensive collection of Indian miniature paintings, one of the largest collections of Indian coins, and an assortment of arms and armour, various wooden and ivory artefacts.
The collection of miniature paintings is very extensive and showcases the different styles prevalent in various regions of the country.  We quickly moved to the coins section.  The history of coinage is traced with specimen from each phase.  There are coins from the pre-Mauryan period, through the various dynasties across India and right up to the 'Company' issued coins of the 18th and 19th centuries.  We were already running short on time and hence couldn't spend enough time here - probably another visit dedicated just to this section.
Exquisitely carved wooden and ivory furniture are placed all over the first level.  Most of these feature delicate filigree work as well as inlay work in metal and semi-precious stones.  Most are donated by the Sir Ratan Tata family.
The section on European and contemporary art was closed for renovation and was sadly, out of bounds.
It was nearing closing time and we decided to make a dash of the natural history section.  Though it was saddening to see magnificent animals killed and stuffed for display, two specimen caught our attention.  The first was an Indian rhino, in all its magnificent hulk, standing five feet tall toe to shoulder: never imagined that a rhino could be this huge.  The second was a bison that M found immensely handsome and dashing - I had to agree.  Though only a display, the bison had the calm commanding look that women swoon for, helped in no small measure by the huge bulk of atleast six foot tall.
It was now officially closing time and the guards started herding the laggards out.  We made a quick stop at the museum bookstore and picked up a couple of books on the Indus Valley civilization and ancient Indian coinage.

It was almost six in the evening and we were ravenous, the small Samovar lunch long since digested.  Headed to Delhi Durbar for a hearty meal, which turned to be not a great experience.  Un-responsive staff, slow service, dysfunctional AC were only a few of the complaints.  A quick repast later, we headed back home.  Surely, there is more to Mumbai than just her malls and shopping high streets....

Places to eat

This one is not about fine dining - its about fantastic dining, about places that offer fabulous food in an all value no frills package, dug out from the memories of singleton days.

Crystal - Chowpatty
Topping the list is Crystal - an irani style vegetarian only punjabi restaurant on Chowpatty, on the corner after Wilson College, if you are driving towards Nariman Point. A typical blink-and-you-miss joint, the easiest way to find the place is to simply look for the hordes of office goers and college kids waiting their turn outside the door at lunchtime. Its not uncommon to find investment bankers rub shoulders with college students on adjacent tables. This place is for food and food alone - if you are looking for ambience, even traces of it, this place is not for you. The interiors of the place are dimly lit and a makeshift mezzanine floor gives the restaurant a claustrophobic feel. The chairs are tacky plastic and you will find a bottle of Kissan ketchup and mixed fruit jam in a cupboard above the cashier's desk. The waiters here are courteous and will help you with choosing the dishes if you are a newcomer.
Their aam ras - available during the mango season - is to die for. So is the kheer, which should be had chilled. For the main course, choose from the spread of rotis - they are all fabulous, but if you are particular, go for the aloo paratha and butter roti. Black dal and aloo gobi make for excellent accompaniments. Topping the list is rajma, which is a work of art. A courteous request and the waiter will fetch you a nariyal pani from the vendor next door. A sumptuous meal for two for about Rs 200 - it can't get better than that!

Stadium Restaurant

This is another true irani type restaurant near Churchgate, across the road from Gaylord, in the WIAA building, next to the Vodafone outlet. High ceilinged with irani style wooden chairs and tables, the place also boasts of an internet browsing centre, located above the kitchen! A dour faced cashier oversees several waiters scurrying around, taking orders and serving dishes. The place has some of the best biriyanis available - I will vouch for the vegetarian biriyani and the egg biriyani and my non-veg friends from as far away as Bangalore make it a point to visit this place for the mutton biriyani. The curries are finger lickin' good too - have the egg curry or mutton curry with chapatis. The chapatis are large and five should be good for someone with a voracious appetite. Top off the meal with chai - brewed in true Irani style. Be sure to ask for the regular chai, which is served in cracked porcelain cups and not the special chai, which is served in fancy glass cups, but not as good. A meal for two costs about Rs 150.  If you are in the mood, try their 'special dessert' - a serving of custard as well!

Deluxe
This for a change, is not an irani restaurant!  It is a malayali restaurant, tucked in a bylane off DN Road, behind the Citibank building.  A narrow staircase leads to the restaurant on the first floor, with an exclusive 'family' section with A/C as well!  Once you squeeze in behind the tables, the waiters, most of them malayali of course, will toss the menu on the table.  If you do not know what to order, you'd better head there for lunch and ask for the thali.  The thali is veg, but the restaurant serves delectable mallu non-veg dishes too.  The thali, our all time favourite, starts with the pineapple chutney, followed by kachumber, paruppu, vegetables in the south indian style, aviyal, poriyal, red rice (they serve white rice on request, but who'd miss a helping of red rice!), curries, sambhar, rasam, curd, chillies pickled in curd and fried, payasam etc.,  For a truly authentic mallu lunch experience, don't miss this.  And a word of advice - skip breakfast if you want to do justice to the lunch!

Valley of the Gods

Rightfully has Himachal been described as the Valley of the Gods. The clean air, the clear waters, the breathtaking views of snow capped peaks... Truly, this is paradise on earth. After spending a day in Chandigarh, we proceeded to our destination, Manali. Armed with bagfuls of warm clothing (compared with the 40 plus of Mumbai, anything southwards of 30 degrees warrants a sweater), we undertook the overnight trip to the place of Manu.

Manali in the morning was cold (10 degrees I suppose) though our driver complained that it hadn't snowed in town this year and the resort, which is a few kilometers away from town did not receive the usual three feet of snowfall! Three feet? Gosh! For someone who hasn't ever seen snow, even one inch will make my day! Set away from the bustle of Manali town (thankfully!), our resort, Sarthak Resorts, is perched IN the Beas valley. Though basic, the lodgings were cosy and comfortable. The best part was the view from the balcony... the private balcony opened up into the vally, with a commanding view of apple orchards (foreground, not yet in bloom), the Beas river and the Pir Panjal range. I could sit here watching the mountains all day!

Treated to hot and tasty aloo parathas, pooris and aloo bhaji by the very hospitable Narender, we headed to explore the countryside on foot. There is not really much in Manali for the sightseeing tourist: there is Jagatsukh - an ancient temple of Lord Shiva believed to be worshipped by the Pandavas, Arjun Gufa - where Arjun meditated upon Lord Shiva and obtained the Pashupatastra, though the place is now buried deep under a landslide, Nehru Kund - a natural spring from which Nehru drank water, though this place was destroyed by a landslide a few years ago. Then there is Vashisht Kund (not buried under any landslide) and Manu Temple (it is believed that at the end of Pralay, Manu first disembarked at this place, hence the name Manali). There is also the Manali market where traders will pester you with deals for Chingu and Chamanga. More about Chingu and Chamanga is a different post. The market is quaint, selling dry fruits, warm clothing, souvenirs, trinkets and other touristy stuff.

There is also the Hadimba Mandir, the place where Hadimba, Bhim's wife dwelled. The gargantuan deodhars led us to believe that giants did live here in the hazy past. At well nearly 150 feet, these conifers lorded over everything else. For the local outing, we tried all modes of transport: walking, local bus (that was swell, with one old gent remembering his son after looking at me!), hired motorcycle (believe me, all my biking skills were put to test), paddle boat, and even a yak!

We spent one day in the snow (though we had to drive for over an hour to reach the spot that had enough snow to frolic in), guided by the affable Pinkah and concerned Rudra. We spent so many hours in the snow that Pinkah, our driver, thought we had fallen off into a chasm and came looking for us! The sheer excitement of the place (and some well intentioned thermals) numbed us to the sub-zero temperatures. Our local guide Rudra turned out to be a brilliant photographer in his own right. A few masterpieces he clicked: M pasting me with a snowball and me ducking another...
We had a swell time, skiing (falling all over more than skiing), sliding in the snow, throwing snowballs at each other. In the process, we managed to get snow inside the gumboots and gloves and by mid afternoon, we were freezing. An enterprising local (god bless his soul), was selling hot Maggi noodles and tea. Though overpriced (Rs 40 for a pack), they were a life saver. It had started snowing and with snow in our boots, we were freezing. The temperature was cold enough to freeze water in a bowl and we had to drink tea straight off the kettle (no kidding!) to get the life back in our limbs!

That was one fun day! We also had days cooped up in the room, due to pouring rain and a day spent in the company of Parbati - M and I fell in love with her... More about that later!

Mumbai Photofair

Caught the Photofair 2008 on sunday, the last day of the exhibition. Never imagined that the people of the city had weekend interests other than hanging out at malls or going for the movies. Was I proved wrong... and how! The place was so packed, we had trouble finding parking slot in the Goregaon exhibition grounds. The organisers had thoughtfully, organised shuttles to and from the station.
The registration process was extremely slow and inefficient, the people manning the desk sloppy and indifferent. Once inside, it was different though. There were rows and rows of stalls displaying everything from camera spare parts to developing chemicals. The crowds seemed to prefer the stalls selling photo albums and photo frames. We were here for specific items:

• black and white film roll: yes, even in this digital day and age, not only will you find arcane people who shoot pictures on film, you will occasionally run into eccentric bums like me who want to shoot on vintage silver nitride film and have it developed on paper of the same family, in a traditional dark room (oh, the joy that hearing the clickety-clack of the shutter and the satisfaction derived from manually advancing the film after each shot on an SLR is undescribable. But thats another post in itself)


• carry case for my 24" tripod


• zoom and focus lenses for my SLR

Looking for these was easier said than done. There were very few stalls that stocked carry cases and none stocked a tripod carry case; some were even bewildered that such a thing existed. Hope came in the form of a Case Logic stall, but that was not to be. They did indeed have a range of tripod carry cases - of all sizes. However, these were not yet launched and were only on display. The kind hearted guy manning the stall let me inspect the case, which was as is the case with Case Logic products, quite good. The pricing was not steep either. The only hitch being that it would hit the stores a couple of months hence. He refused to be convinced with my arguments that since there was hardly an hour left for the exhibition to come to end, he could part with it. With a heavy heart,I handed the case back to him. On that front, we come away empty handed.

We were not very lucky in the analog lens department either. The shops that stocked lenses could be counted on the fingertips of one hand. Among these, all except one stocked only DSLR compatible lenses. Finally, we found the shop that stocked Tamaron lenses. Though they had a good range, the lenses were all both DSLR and SLR compatible. Not a bad bargain, but untile I graduate to a DSLR, thats of no value to me. And if I am going to pay through my nose, might as well go in for a Canon lens. I think I will hit Chor Bazaar for second hand lenses.

It was tougher going on the black and white film department. There were hardly any stalls that seemed to stock film at all. After much looking around, spotted a Kodak stall. Hope soared as I knew that Kodak still manufactured those vintage rolls, though only the high end range. On approaching the stall, it turned out that it belonged to a wholesaler who, fortunately, had what I wanted! Though from a local manufacturer, a name i had never heard before, I picked up a dozen of those - time will tell how good they are! The wholesaler also gave me several photo labs where I could get black and white film developed the traditional way! This was good!

Ha, now to the exhibition. The most crowded corner was the one where a fashion show was in progress. The next most crowded area was the snacks counter. There were hardly any takers for the photographs on exhibit - some of which were simply breathtaking. There was one picture of Ladakh and a few of the Taj that were astounding: brilliant shot composition, technically excellent and flawless execution. The camera manufacturers stalls were overly stocked with the regular point and shoots and were disappointing. Found a few interesting stalls though. There was one that displayed a digital camera that could shoot on film as well! Now that is interesting. However, it was quite steeply priced. Storage media was also available at throwaway prices: a couple of thousands for a 16 GB pen drive! Wow!

Came back wishing I had carried my trusty SLR - at least, could have checked out a few lenses. All in all, an evening well spent.