Sajith T S ([info]sajith) wrote,
2006-09-24 23:15:00

Kargil.

kargil

In the picture, a view of Kargil the town and the sorrounding arid, lunar landscape, from Hotel Caravan Sarai. Yonder right before the hills are the fences that separate Us from The Big Enemey, although they are not very much yonder in the picture. Also not yonder in the picture is a tall hill to the left atop which The Big Enemey has taken position to watch Us, I am told. While being driven down to the town, our driver had also pointed us towards the barren Tiger Hills, where the big artillery battle of 1999 had happened. All of a sudden the nothingness starts to remind of body bags being sent home and teary widows and mothers, of two nations destined to be at each others' neck ever since their very inception.

***

We walk around the town in the evening, munching the sweetest, fleshiest pears we've ever tasted. A dry wind keeps blowing dry sust onto your face and into your nostrils. Kargil is famous for its apricots, which are harvested in the end of August, at which time yellow-orange fruits richly decorate the orchards. That season is only beginning yet.

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Diesel generators start roaring in the evening. Kargil appears to be in one permanent blackout. There was no power throughout the day. Cell phones have died already. Land phones do not work more often that not.

People here are not prosperous by any definition of the term. Young Ahmed who enquired if we have a video camera with us wanted to make a documentary (!) on the plight of the region. He wants it to get as much attention as Leh gets from the authorities. (But then, people in Leh would want as much attention as Srinagar gets, and residents of Srinagar can never be happy as things stand for them...)

***

My current reading (The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini) and the movie I watched last evening (The Children of Heaven, Majid Majidi - Apu and Durga in Iran!) keeps reminding me of these children, for several reasons.

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(The last three are not from Kargil town, but beyond.)

***

Further:

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Shyam lost in Krishnamurthy.

kargil

Sunset in the LOC hills.
Tags: kargil, photo, travel

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  • 22 comments

[info]knutties

September 25 2006, 03:29:07 UTC 5 years ago

Super snaps. Your photos have an 'earthy' non-polished look which is very nice. Is it a post processing effect?

two nations destined to be at each others' neck ever since their very inception.
Breaking each other's neck is figuratively true too :(

[info]sajith

September 25 2006, 05:24:54 UTC 5 years ago

Thank you Natarajan. I have not done much by the way of post-processing to change the overall feel of the pictures. This is generally how the place is, or this is the way I looked at it. And this was the way these pictures turned out. The non-polished effect is all thanks to Prabhu Digitals' film scanner. ;)

[info]deepsan

September 25 2006, 05:16:34 UTC 5 years ago

beautiful, I love the people shots, my favorite is the family of three.

[info]sajith

September 25 2006, 05:27:01 UTC 5 years ago

Thank you Sandeep. I love too. :)

I am curious how you'd have done this with all these Bangalore Weekend Shots experience with you. You'd have done this much better, I guess.

[info]deepsan

September 25 2006, 09:29:30 UTC 5 years ago

I frankly look out for experiences, the Bangalore Weekend shoots usually becomes a intense session of photography resulting in a lot of photos but very little experiences, so I end up trying to shoot things usually not noticed; it also acts as a meetup occasion; one thing it has changed in me is to make me a little more bolder when shooting people when I want to. Photos recorded with experiences are usually more special for me, like the Aale Mane photos.

Why don't you join and try it out?

[info]sajith

September 25 2006, 10:51:46 UTC 5 years ago

Several reasons. I am too lazy to go out on a weekend. (Especially ever since getting a computer of my own. I like that stuff also, and it is only on weekends I get to spend time to play with these things.) I do not have a camera of my own, yet. The one I use is eternally borrowed. ;) The recurring expenses of shooting on film is another enthu dampener. So is the trepidation to move around with a large group of people with cameras. :)

One of these days...

I hope.

[info]deepsan

September 25 2006, 11:32:47 UTC 5 years ago

So is the trepidation to move around with a large group of people with cameras
Scratch that out, the group is free form and usually splits up, each searching for their own subjects.

[info]sajith

September 25 2006, 12:00:40 UTC 5 years ago

Cool. Scratching. :)

[info]maxaud

September 25 2006, 06:07:29 UTC 5 years ago

a very good collection of travel pics. great going dude. 10-20 yrs from now i can see something like this happening? :)

there are coming out with a movie of The Kite Runner. the book sends out strong visuals, the landscape, the faces, the people etc. Hope they do justice to the book.

[info]sajith

September 25 2006, 06:56:13 UTC 5 years ago

Now KK is one man I admire a lot. True, those pictures were taken over thirty years, but I do not see myself anywhere close no matter how much time I allow myself. Also remember that traveling and taking pictures is not the only thing he's done/doing with his life.

I just wish they leave the book alone and allow us to live with our mental pictures.

[info]simplyninz

September 26 2006, 03:00:11 UTC 5 years ago

are u actually staying in kargil...just wondering cause u hve had a lot of pics frm there and who knew there are beautiful places up there too :D

[info]sajith

September 26 2006, 06:28:53 UTC 5 years ago

Well, I am actually staying in Bangalore only...

[info]smilebringer

September 26 2006, 17:36:40 UTC 5 years ago

All the people-shots are lovely(Big AMEN to the family-of-three shot). And yeah, the scanned look is nice too.

[info]sajith

September 26 2006, 17:56:13 UTC 5 years ago

Thank you. :) I just wish I could get the metering right on that shot. The ground is too bright. Wonder what went wrong.

[info]smilebringer

September 26 2006, 20:30:26 UTC 5 years ago

Meter for the brightest thing in the frame? As in, go for highlight detail rather than shadow detail when you meter - you can reclaim shadow detail in software, but a blown pixel is a goner.
But then again, when on the street, you really can't be bothered, and the shot does hold its own. (Just shoot ;) )

[info]sajith

September 27 2006, 01:23:43 UTC 5 years ago

True. I did not expect such a difference, with my inexperiece with slides and all. But then you can't afford to bother when you're holding up someone to take their picture, like this. :)

[info]zeeshanmn

September 29 2006, 13:53:26 UTC 5 years ago

Great photographs Sajith!!! What I liked in all of them was the intense saturation and high contrast. I am slowly liking colour film. You will know why! I have been experimenting with it.

[info]sajith

September 29 2006, 17:07:07 UTC 5 years ago

Thank you Zeeshan. These are all on Kodak Ektachrome. Got 'em cheap from Jayesh Mehta.

Speaking of which, I've been wishing to experiment with B&W film, ever since attending a lecture by Bhairav Thakkar and getting to view your pictures. But procrastination always wins. :)

Eager to see what you've got in colour.

Anonymous

October 8 2006, 23:59:25 UTC 5 years ago

yo_id

deude ........... INCREDIBLE!!!!!!

[info]sajith

October 9 2006, 16:59:26 UTC 5 years ago

Re: yo_id

Thangyoo. :-)

(You forgot your livejournal password, didn't you, O Duderey?)

Anonymous

October 12 2006, 18:59:11 UTC 5 years ago

Super Snaps ~ Vyas

Hey Dude.. Really nice :-)

[info]sajith

October 12 2006, 19:10:32 UTC 5 years ago

Re: Super Snaps ~ Vyas

Oh my. How come you are reading this at this time?

But thanks of course. :)
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