A very happy new year to all my readers.
Today morning, I got up with a warm inner feeling. It is the first day of the new year after all. What exciting things to do? The best thing, I could think of, was to walk down to a neighborhood kiosk and have a cup of piping hot tea with milk (or better known as masala chai) and enjoy some early morning photography. Packed a camera with a normal lens and I was on the road, striding towards the tea-stall.
As chance would have it, I happened to witness a phenomenon that is changing the lives of people living on Majuli, the biggest river island in the world. Majuli is located in the state of Assam, surrounded by the mighty Brahamputra river. Famous for its masks and traditional dances, the island is a photographer’s paradise. I visited the island along with the team members of Operation Eyesight Universal and an eye hospital located in a nearby town.
On a visit to Kumaon hills, I came to know about Jageshwar, a group of old temples near the town of Almora. The temples are more than a thousand years old and surrounded by lush green forests of deodars and other coniferous trees. Away from the tourist map, the place is rarely visited by people. Only on some religious occasions do the locals gather up there. It sounded like a perfect destination for the photographer in me.
(Temple Walls at Jageshwar – Nikon D200)
I got another opportunity to enjoy driving in the Kumaon region of the lower Himalayas. The trip was mostly for some work at my cottages (Maini’s Hill Cottages), but as always I took my camera along. I had enough luggage space in my car so I carried three lenses and even a tripod hoping to click some good photographs. After a few hours of drive, I reached the base of the hills. The Himalayas rose majestically in front of me. Few more minutes and I would be driving there. So did this trip give me any photography opportunities?
Maini's Mind 