Satkhanda and Lucknow Street Photography BW ,,2014

British Residency 2014

Once Upon A Time I Tried To Kill Myself In Every Possible Way

i rushed towards
a running train
on the Bandra tracks
but the train shyly
backed away
disgusted
i tried to jump
from a tall building
but i was caught
by the watch man
half way
up the way
unnerved
i tried to drown
myself
near old
sea rock
but the tide
was low that day
i tried to drink
tik 20
but my wife
pulled
the bottle away
i thought
i would douse myself
with
kerosene
light my soul away
but due to the heavy rains
the match box got wet
my fucked up fate they say
as a last resort
i tried to cut my wrist
to emotionalize my pain
but the knife cut
the wrong artery
on earth i was
doomed to stay
without telling
anyone
i hid in a ladies
toilet and tried
to drown myself
in the toilet bowl
i almost succeeded
but the flush chain
gave away


from behind yama
manipulator of life and death
gave me a kick on my ass
saying
why the fuck you call me
you know i am busy
in india always
now go about
living
dont scare my wits away
your home loan
your credit card payment
your mobile phone bill
your shop rent
money that you took from
friends on a rainy day
your next of kin wont pay
so you have to stay
in transit
till i come again
this way
to those guys
who owe you money
in the industry
too bad
their pictures bomb
every Friday
your money
they will never pay
where there is will
the devil finds a way

once upon a time in Mumbai
when you were born was once
upon a time in Bombay
so try to
live for just another day
go on blogging
the soul of humanity
till your bad times
slog away
shooting pain
but hiding your
own pain
beneath
every word
you say

Verizon to Own Flickr via $4.8B Yahoo Acquisition

Courtesy Net


Verizon will be the new owner of Flickr. The telecom giant announced today that it will be acquiring Yahoo’s core Internet business — including Flickr and Tumblr — for $4.83 billion in cash.

Rumors of Yahoo planning a sale started circulating in late 2015, and the Internet pioneer put itself on the auction in early 2016, reportedly fielding offers from about 40 companies. It looks like Verizon’s $4.83 billion cash offer was the most attractive.

Verizon will pick up 1 billion monthly active users — including 600 million monthly mobile users — through this acquisition, making it a formidable player in the mobile media industry.

One of the notable properties in the deal is Flickr, which itself boasts over 112 million users. Flickr was originally acquired by Yahoo back in March 2005 for something in the region of $25 million, and it has had its ups and downs under Yahoo ownership.

While Flickr has seen major redesigns and a sleek mobile app, a common complaint has been the service’s lack of innovation to stay steps ahead of rising photo-sharing competitors such as 500px, Instagram, and Snapchat.

Marissa Mayer also generated controversy in 2013 for saying “there’s really no such thing as professional photographers anymore,” when explaining why Flickr was phasing out its Pro membership at the time. She quickly apologized for the statement.

Flickr drew more flack the following year by putting 50 million Creative Commons licensed photos by users up for sale through its new Wall Art service. Although it was within its rights to do based on the licensing, the move left a bad taste in photographers’ mouths, and Flickr pulled the plug on the arrangement the next month.

This Verizon acquisition also shows how far Yahoo has fallen since its glory days as one of the early gems of the Web. At its peak in January 2000, Yahoo was valued at $140 billion. In February 2008, the company rejected a $44.6 billion acquisition offer from Microsoft. Eight years later, Yahoo has now accepted an offer $39.77 billion less.

Flickr and Yahoo are set to officially become Verizon properties when the deal closes in early 2017.

Petra Pixel

The British Residency Lucknow 2014

Every time I came to Lucknow to shoot Moharam I would make it a point a photographic pilgrimage to meet the greatest historian literary authority of Lucknow late Mr PC Little ..I was introduced to him by his two sons Bhuphesh and Avinash Little .

Mr PC Little was a hobbyist camera repairer and like me a lover of Keats poetry ,, and as we framed our thoughts in poetry he became my teacher guide and Mentor ,,

It  was Mr PC Little who made me a hon member of his Horizon Camera Club Lucknow it was Mr PC Little who inspired me to shoot the nuances of light and shade within the British Residency complex ,,he told me you will never get tired shooting the British Residency ,,

And it was at the St Marys Cemetery I found solace peace and poetic serenity ,,

This slideshow that I will be presenting ,,today at You Tube is dedicated to Mr PC Littles Memory


The Residency, also called as the British Residency and Residency Complex, is a group of several building in a common precinct in the city of Lucknow, India. The Residency now exists in ruins and is located in the heart of the city, in vicinity of other monuments like Shaheed Smarak, Tehri Kothi and High Court Building. It was constructed during the rule of Nawab Saadat Ali Khan II,who was the fifth Nawab of the province of Awadh (British Spelling Oudh). The construction took place between 1780 to 1800 AD and served as the residence for the British Resident General who was a representative in the court of the Nawab. In 1857 the place witnessed a prolonged battle which is also known as Siege of Lucknow; this began on 1 July and continued until 17 November.

The Residency has been maintained as it was at the time of the final relief, and the shattered walls are still scarred by cannon shot. Even since Indian Independence, little has changed. The ruined building is surrounded by lawns and flowerbeds and is a tourist attraction nowadays. The cemetery at the nearby ruined church has the graves of 2000 men, women and children, including that of Sir Henry Lawrence who died during the siege. There is a weathered epitaph near the grave of Sir Henry that reads "Here lies the son of Empire who tried to do his duty" while another nearby grave reads "Do not weep my children, for I am not dead, but am sleeping here." A light and sound show to show display the history of the Residency is also played each evening.

Lucknow Street Photography 4 Makbara Chup Tazia House 2014

Lucknow Street Photography 3 Monuments 2014