fables by an urban lad from bombay. » monsoons

Versova, Mumbai 400061

mach3 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:54:01 +0000

Versova is an upmarket neighbourhood in the Andheri area in northern Mumbai. It is located at 19°7’60N 72°47’60E and is known for its beach and the Versova Fort. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versova_(Mumbai)

Shot from the 6th floor of a residential building.

November in 2009 brought unseasonable thundershowers, pleasant weather and overcast but beautiful skies.

Canon AE-1P 50mm f/1.4 lens.

FIN

b &w

mach3 — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:53:45 +0000

In this day and age, I can recommend only the one professional film lab that processes black and white film in Bombay – Studio Mull Herr. It wasn’t the case five years ago. I had options. 4 or 5 of them. I’d use Mazda most oft.

A bunch of juveniles engage in outdoor sports whilst high tide during the monsoons at Juhu Beach in Bombay. 2009 brought the tallest tides in over one hundred years.

Contact prints are expensive &indecisive. I prefer low resolution scans instead. I can then check focus, composition etc. &get the better frames scanned at a high resolution thereafter.

Studio Mull Herr’s best deal is Rs. 400 for 36 exposures at a resolution of 4 x 6 inches at 300 dpi. Instead, I get this preliminary scan done from Mazda. Mazda charge Rs. 100 for the 36 exposures at 72 dpi.

I’d shot some film a month and a half ago &haven’t had the time to go to back to Mull Herr to do the high-resolution scans.

FIN

Monsoons and high tides. Bombay 2009.

mach3 — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 17:00:05 +0000

These were to be the tallest waves in over one hundred years.

“..stay indoors if you can. Stay back at the office, should things get out of control. Avoid outings during the 23rd, 24th and 25th, of July, 2009.”

“WOW! High tides! Waves! Let’s go!”

Crowds of people assembled, in anticipation, along Marine Drive. Numbers grew. Bombayites, old &young, fat &thin, healthy &unhealthy and uncle &aunty. Some 5,000 of them.

Close to 13:00 hours, the tides got taller and stronger. Strong winds blowing.

“Do not stand along the edges. Step down. Down, sir, not along the edge.. Yes, you.. you too.. and you.. don’t you understand Marathi?”, pleaded the cops via public announcement arrangements from their Toyota Qualis. Nobody bothered. Hooligans. Someone is going to die.

Soon, these waves – strong and over ten meters tall hit the coast hard and some distance into shore! Bombayites, old &young, fat &thin, healthy &unhealthy and uncle &aunty availed of the free entertainment that the polluted seas had to offer. Some 5,000 of them.

“HA HA HA HA HA HA AAAAAAAAAA HA HA HA”

Big smiles. It was an awesome feeling. Crowds of Bombayites along the western waterfront, drenched and smiling and having a great time. Some 5,000 of them.

It takes a tragedy to bring the people of this city together. This was different. Joyous festivities not affiliated to history or religion.

Also see the high-resolution scan.

FIN