Guess what i saw in Zooooooooooooooo..................

Saturday i had been to Zoo and guess what i saw ......... I saw my Manager ;o) ...haaaaaa haaaaaaa ..Unfortunately he was out of the cage :o( !!!!!

And guess what ..he is been telling everyone that he saw Vidya in Zoo .. haaaa haaaa haaa !!

Time for a pic ...

Team Meeting :) !!

The Clicking story ...

Camera , film rolls , developing the role , putting them in albums ..all these had been there in our house from a long long time. Every time there was a special occasion or we went out, Dad would buy a new film roll . And then there would be all kinds poses given for photos ,some funny ,some silly, some stupid, some nice, some not so nice! Comments from mom to stand straight, not to show my 32 teeth, not to make monkey faces, Stand sideways, that and this !!

Out of the 36 shots most of the times half the roll would be over, sometimes even the full roll depending on the function and moments! And then depending on how busy dad would be the roll will either lie in his drawer/camera for months or would be developed the very next day. Meanwhile there will be frequent reminders from mom on how much money is being spent on photos ,printing ,film role etched. She would even mention that so much money is being spent and not all the photos come out good !!! Even after all this we have one box full of albums. There are times when myself and my sister would open the trunk and sit and see old photos ! Seeing old photos brings lot of sweet memories and lot of funny incidents !

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The craze of capturing the moments in the lens continued in me and my sister .I got a Kodak camera as a birthday gift from my dad when i joined my B.Sc. Every official or unofficial trips /picnics we went, i had the camera with me and i was very generous with clicking photos . It was a new roll in the camera always. If all the 36 shots came out good, i would be more than happy :) ! The complains regarding spending money on photos kept continuing from mom and but i didn't stop :) !!

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Most of my college events and college friends are captured by my Kodak camera. This craze continued all through my M.Sc and even when i joined work . And then when Digital cameras were in market i always felt i should have one but then i couldn't afford it. And like a good daughter i never asked my dad, but he always knew it !! So like a loving dad he gifted me a Sony Digital Camera on my 25th Birthday, what a gift to celebrate my quarter century !!

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Kodak camera became an forgotten entity ! And the Digital Camera always accompanied me in my bag. Now there were no more complaints from my mom because there was no buying the roll, developing, no complains that the photo didn't come out good !!! I made full use of my Digital camera, everything in the house was captured in the Digital Cam.. from the not-so-bad cooking of mine to new shoes, Anything and everything was a subject in my photography ( if i can call it so!! ). There used to be a time when 36 shots was more than enough but with Digital Camera in my hand 36 shots also was less for me, so i upgraded the camera memory right in time before i could go to London. The trip to London was clicking everything possible and upload it on the net so that mom-dad and my sis could see London through my photos !

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The photography continued in Singapore too , Meanwhile Dad continued his craze of clicking using the old Yashica film camera . He would takes the pictures ,get them developed ,scan them ,upload them so that i could see the pictures. I decided it was time i bought a Digital Camera for Dad ! A Camera for a Camera ! So i bought a Sony Digi Camera and sent it across through my friend who was going to India . My dad was thrilled !!

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And back in Singapore as my photography madness intensified i decided to buy a better camera with a good zoom and resolution . Panasonic FZ 5 fitted my budget and had all the things i wanted ,so in January 2006 Panasonic FZ 5 became my new companion. Since the new camera was bigger than my old Sony camera, Panasonic camera didn't accompany me always. Sony camera would still be there in my bag always. Photography became a passion, a hobby !!!

I started reading books on photography to gain some technical knowledge! A lot of experimentations! I started to take part in online contents too and i eventually won a photo contest . I even went for few photo shootouts with few of the photobloggers. My Panasonic FZ5 looked like a small kid in front of those DSLR cameras ..but still i continued capturing ever nook and corner of Singapore through my camera lens . I even opened a photoblog along with my friend Manju. Daily updating of the photo on flickr became a routine event apart from weekends bcos i don't have access to internet :( on weekends ! Clicking a photo then seeing the result was fun, sometimes the photo doesn't come as expected and sometimes the random clicks generated amazing results ! Candid shots are my favorites. Capturing people in their natural way is great ! Sometimes the picture speaks ..Many a times i see a picture I just imagine what the two people might be talking or what the lonely person must be worrying about ! clicking kids is always an delight ,their innocent actions, their cute smiles and their amazing expressions are a treasure !

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Photography is wonderful ! A wonderful hobby ! A photograph is like an visualization of the old memories in some corner of your mind and you feel nostalgic every time you see a picture !
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I write all this as i am arranging more than 14 GB of photos to be burnt in DVDs to be taken back to India or rather 14 GB of sweet memories !!

This post is incomplete without an picture ..so here goes the picture ..

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Freedom

Every year as Independence Day comes i feel happy and a sense of pride runs through me. My dad being in Army has indulged more patriotism not only in me but in my whole family. On the eve of Independence day, i make sure i have the Tri color with me , if at home then one tri color will be put near Grandfather's picture to salute the sacrifices he made as a freedom fighter. The love for one's own country is natural. Although there are many things in India which are not acceptable , but still i love my country. Its in our hands to make India a better country.

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I love my country for its varied culture .

I love my country for its unity .

I love my country for its diversity.

I love my country for the innocent people.

I love my country for its food.

I love my country for its smell of mud.

And last but not the least .

I love my country because i was born here

and the values it has given me !

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Talking of Independence and freedom , Today morning i realized that i don't even have the freedom to hoist the tri color in my cubicle on the eve of Independence Day.

Like every year this time also i had the tri color with me and i pasted it on my cubicle yesterday evening before leaving the office. As i entered the floor i was searching for any other tri color expect for mine but i couldn't find any other. Nevertheless i was happy to see the two tri colors flying on my desk. But the happiness didn't last for long . Once i met M (the same person who is suffering from FTMS), he asked me to remove the tri color from my desk. I defended saying i put it last year also ,but he was adamant on removing it ! I said i don't think it is a problem ,but he rudely said "Just removed it !". Its the position in which he is which makes him do things from me and i simply have to do it !! I removed the tri colors from my cubicle with tears rolling down ..It was an insult to my tri color !!!

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I don't think a small Indian flag will create any sorts of racial indifferences , that too in a country like Singapore which is much know for its Racial Harmony .Then where is the problem ? The problem is the insecurity in him ( M ) . God save our country from such people, no wonder he has been wandering outside India from so many years !!!

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Happy Independence Day

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