What Dreams May Come

Road to Nowhere

2008-08-15T14:05:00.009+05:30

had started this blog 2 years ago... voices in my head that needed to be heard... stories that needed to be told... visions that needed to be shown...

and then, there was silence in between. time spent coming to terms with new found joys in life, which no doubt, asked for a very high price. a price that was paid.

and now am on a road to nowhere. the best place to be.

and so, the scope of this blog expands once more... it all started with egypt. then flying. and now it includes everything. that comes within the scope of my madness.

The Nile Song

2006-09-12T19:00:00.003+05:30

the sweetest music in egypt. while you are floating on the nile, in a quaint little felluca, little kids in a boat even smaller than them, row up next to you, with little tin plates as instruments and entertain you with all the latest chartbusters, across countries. you name it, they have it...arabic, english, hindi and even russian !

and it takes just a moment to imagine that you are 3000 years back in time. words change, the music doesn't.

Awake

2006-09-11T00:40:00.001+05:30

Colors of Cairo

2006-09-10T00:30:00.002+05:30

One of the most exotic places, with a blend of so many different people (with one common thread though: baksheesh :) ) the khan market, straight out of an alladin movie. an intoxicating blend of so many flavours.

On top of the world

2006-09-10T00:23:00.003+05:30

all mine.. for as far as i can see

Black

2006-09-06T22:23:00.001+05:30

Someone's there

2006-08-25T14:11:00.003+05:30

Everything's in a blur. Except one ... its time to go back.

A walk in the clouds

2006-07-03T11:26:00.002+05:30

Once upon a time, they loved the stones that told their stories for thousands of years. Open books, for all those who cared to cross their way. Patience unlimited.

Now they stand at the other end of the spectrum, with clouds as their new medium. Showing signs that last for not more than a few moments. If you look up, its yours. If not, it never was.

And if you take a step forward, they embrace you with all the clouds that they can conjure up. Till there no more is a sign. Or space. Just a white blanket of nothingness. That show you the place, that all signs lead up to.

Surrounded in pure green. A magnificent waterfall. Dropping from the sky, with the force of heaven and hell put together. A roar so loud and yet if you step within, you can hear an absolute silence. Everything fades away. And you just are.

A walk in the clouds. Listening to voices that span distance and time. Voices that say nothing.

White. Empty. Perfect.

Life will never be the same again

2006-06-18T00:31:00.002+05:30

yes, that was the line on the flying brochure. and though it may sound quite fatalistic at the start, it's so very true. once your feet are off the ground, you never are the same again. you tend to look at the skies a lot more often. almost, all the time. and the shot above is the result of yet another evening of looking UP !

and so, this blog too will never be the same again too. the scope has 'officially' been expanded to include egypt, flying and the rest of my obsessions. cause there is no more a dividing line.

One with the sky

2006-06-04T23:22:00.002+05:30

I can't help but think, that all is connected. By a bond that I can feel but can't see. Just like the wind, which lifts you up in the air. You can't see it, and yet you trust it. More than anything else.

And what has flying got to do with Eygpt ? Since the time I flew, I tried so hard to write a new entry on my blog, but in my head its all mixed up. And I just cant seem to distinguish between my craze for Egypt and for flying. They go hand in hand. Here's a picture I took on my way to Egypt, trying to imagine a time, when I could be one with the wing. Didn't know then, it was gonna happen so soon.

The moment I stepped out of aircraft and landed on the Egyptian land. And the moment that my glider lifted my feet off the ground. Both are one.

[for flying crafts designed by ancient egyptians, do read this : http://www.crystalinks.com/ancientaircraft.html]

Karnak - The City of the Gods

2006-05-09T11:26:00.003+05:30

Arrived at Luxor by night. In the stillness of the dark, you could feel the spirit of the Pharaohs watching you, as you stepped on their sacred land. The east bank, representing life and its temples. The west, with the setting sun, was all about after life, and even today, guards the secrets of their tombs.

Visited the temple of Karnak and Luxor, both by night and day. Karnak, built over a period of 1500 years, Pharaoh after Pharaoh, and even Alexander has left his mark here.

The temples, the obelisks, the rows of sphinx, the quiet inner sanctuaries, the magnificent hypostyle halls with the countless columns that seem to rise and touch the sky. As someone said, "its a task here for your imagination to overtake your eyesight." For as far as you can see, there are complexes built of impossible scale, preserved over centuries, having stood the test of time, endangered, forgotten and buried under sand.

It was here that I achieved what seemed impossible at first. There were so many people, that I wished I could simply erase them from my landscape. And then it happened. I went early, and stayed back late. And in these twilight zones, I was alone.

The temple of Luxor was mine by day and Karnak by night.

Set the controls for the heart of the sun

2006-05-07T15:32:00.003+05:30

there are two sides of egypt. one that is filled with tourists to the brim. everything has an entrance ticket and a closing time. and then there is the other side, which is quiet, empty and yours for as long as you want to be. you just need to find it.

one such place is the pyramid area. there as tourists flowing in the by bus loads. on an average spending less than an hour to see it all. and by 4 pm, everyone is herded out the area like a flock of sheep. but there is small restaurant, located just in front of the pyramids and the sphinx. this the venue for the sound and light shows in the night. strangely, no one sits here too often during the day.

this is the best place you be, once the pyramids are 'officialy' closed. no one disturbs you, and you can sit for as long as you want. watch the sun set, and as the last of the tourists leave, followed by the security, there is nothing and no one for as far as you can see.

just me and the majestic pyramids, rising out of the desert.

Gold

2006-04-30T23:37:00.003+05:30

a speck of gold dust, will find its way back
when all are sent home, a few remain
shadows that enter in the quiet of the night
and bring to life, that which the stones protect
dressed in white, they retreat with the morning light
and wait, for another day's end

Christ Laughed & Tut Danced

2006-04-25T23:21:00.002+05:30

When did we start believing that our messiahs, cannot laugh. cannot be happy. cannot want to live life, to its fullest. in fact, maybe they smile and dance and tumble with joy much much more than we ever do. and when they are done, they just build a perfect sculpture, with the perfect smile.

A study in scale

2006-04-18T00:52:00.002+05:30

inside the cairo museum. the royal mummy room. where in an eerie silence, lie 13 mummies. ramses, seti, tuthmosis, they all are there. the texture of their skin is preseved, their facial features, nails, the very last strands of their hair...everything lies in a state of suspended timeline.

and then comes the moment of awe. standing in front of the very body of ramses the great, the one who built the temple of abu simble, who fought the battle of kadesh, who erected hundreds of pillars touching the skies at karnak, who built the most magnificent tomb ever, for his wife nefertari. who travelled up the nile, thousands of years ago, in a felucca, to pray in the temple of sekhmet. whose best friend was moses.

all comes in front of your eyes. and then you see again, the mummy of a frail man, hands crossed, in bandages that are half undone. wrapped in a thin white sheet. lying under a glass cover in a museum, situated at the busiest crossroad of a polluted city. with hundreds of heads peering over him each day. a lot mocking, many scared, but most, simply disinterested, giving just a curious glance.

all that i can offer, is silence.

Someday

2006-04-14T01:17:00.003+05:30

the tomb of nefertari, in the valley of queens. the MOST beautiful and well preserved tomb to be found. built by the most glorious pharaoh for the love of his life.

the entry here is restricted. when i went, it cost an unaffordable price of $5000 to enter for 10 minutes. and so, it will have to wait. like most of the best things in life, you can see it, and yet you cant. and so you dream....

In line of fire

2006-04-13T20:53:00.003+05:30

a scene from the battle of kadesh. as written by the greek poet homer.

shows ramses with two sets of hands. one his own. one of amun. in line of fire, you need to be the son of god. alexander, the son of zeus. also the son of amun. so was ramses.

zeus, amun, shiva. all one. all none. just your own alter ego. when you dont' have the strength to go on, the alter ego steps in. holds your hand and takes you where no man has been before.

the lunatic is in my head

2006-04-09T15:13:00.001+05:30

my last day in egypt. walked around the pyramids for hours. the security thought i'd lost my way and was going in circles. not many people spend the day walking there i guess. wanted to take in as much as i could before i left. was shooting the great pyramid in the middle of the day. saw some birds circling the top and thought it would be a nice picture. was framing it, and some clouds came in with the breeze. thought will wait a while till they pass by. and then just by instinct, tried to see through my cam. and in the moments that went by, the mass of clouds slowly transformed into a magnificent falcon, a symbol of the egyptian god, Horus, rising above the pyramid. that's the shot i took.

A Moment in Time

2006-04-05T20:12:00.002+05:30

the inner sanctuary in the temple of abu simble. like every tomb and temple sanctuary, no camera's allowed here. and the guards are patrolling the place constantly, and fellow tourists, ready to pounce on any one who dares to take a shot that everyone else was denied. and yet, no matter what, i just couldn't move from the spot. with the light beam playing hide and seek with the four statues, lighting them all together only twice a year, the day of his birth and the day he was coronated.

stood there for what seemed like hours, until there came a moment in time, when i was alone. a thousand tourists outside. but the sanctuary was mine. and the shot was mine. maybe, like all things in life you truly desire, they are yours, only if you wait just long enough. and believe.

The Road to Nowhere

2006-04-05T10:58:00.003+05:30

on top of the world. at mount moses, where he's supposed to have received the ten commandments. there are many versions to the story, but the one i like to believe, is that he was one of the closest friends of Ramses II. the queen mother had found him floating up the nile in a basket, and had adopted him in the palace. grew up as an egyptian, was a master mason, built the blue capital for ramses, pi-ramses.

but finally rebelled against the egyptian culture and religion. he heard the voice of ONE god. according to him the ONLY god. rebelled, fled, caught, imprisoned, released. ramses, trying to knock some sense into his head. there is no one religion. there is no one god. and yet all are one. all are none. the road goes nowhere, but here.

moses did not listen, and finally lead the exodus of the hebrews. what happened next with them, i don't know. what i do know is that this maybe laid the foundations for the death of the egyptian life, destined to happen centuries later. but happen.

or maybe, just pretend to happen. wipe clean the slate, but the dust remains. and someday it become bones of people like me. and maybe you.

2006-03-26T11:23:00.003+05:30

EGYPT. the place where i belong. its just incidental that i was born here, in India.

finally went there last november. after waiting for so long, worth every bit of it. will put up the pictures i took there. and the voices in my head, which talk of nothing else.