Sorry for the long delay in posting. Without much ado, I will jump to the next travel post, which happens to be my last leg in the 1 week trip across Tamilnadu. And yay, this is my 500th post too!
This is a post about the sleepy little city (?town) of Tirunelveli, a place as sweet as the halwa they make there, synonymous with the city. (Actually , the city is not as sleepy as I describe. It is as crowded, polluted and busy as any other small city. “Sleepy” was just a lazy first impression.)
Here’s my friend, whose eyes are allergic to the camera shutter unlike the phantasm in the background.
Later, in a bus, I found a friend with curious eyes, wondering at the little things going past.
This was in the Nellaiappar temple, which charges an exorbitant hundred rupees for a camera. I was hoping I would get a few quality images from there (so as to make the most of the fees).
After a few ‘meh, keepable’ images, I was a wee bit disappointed at not getting a real keeper image. I kept trudging on, hoping lady luck will smile at me in the dark corridors somewhere in the temple complex.
I was walking and thinking , “What do I need to get a good photo now? Ah yes, one of the many faithful visitors to the temple. Dark dress . Check. An (almost) empty pillared hall. Check. Rule of thirds. Check. OK. Maybe I’ll walk a little more to explore.”
I went around the corner, the corridors were even darker and there was hardly anything there. But again I looked around in the darkness, there was a stone doorway leading to an adjoining smaller temple. I decided to try my luck there.
It was fiendishly dark in there and I had to use my camera flash at an arms distance from this lady in the midst of her prayers. This made me think for a moment about the audacity of us photographers, who would almost interfere in sacred moments like these.
There was a temple tank, as is wont to all the south Indian temples, incorporating the element of water in the structure.
The moment I saw this elderly couple, my mind was filled with joy and anticipation for this photograph above. Fraility, fidelity and faith along with a fillip of color from the kolam (design on the ground) made this image for me. My quest for a single keeper from the temple was finished.
There is yet another tale from the Tirunelveli trip which I want to narrate to you and it involves bumpy one lane roads, flamingoes and ladies. See you later in the next post.
ur photos are lovely images…….dr….
congrats for ur 500th post
- appaji, cud
Thanks a lot, appaji..