Unforgettable Assignment

On the eve of my son's birth I was busy covering the wedding of Bollywood actor's Ashutosh Rana and Renuka Shahne at Damoh in Madhya Pradesh during my stint with the Hindustan Times in Bhopal. I was asked to go for the wedding as no reporter's were free. The RE me to file the story too. Since my wife was expecting our only child, and I was living as an temporary bachelor I agreed and left in an office car to Damoh. The next morning I attended the wedding from the room to the temple and back to the ashram of Ashutosh's religious guru. The third morning (26th May, 2001) when I reached Bhopal and called my in-laws, I was told my in-law that we were blessed with a boy.So the wedding of Ashutosh and Renuka will never be etched out of my memory.

Ashutosh, Reunka tie nuptial knot

Cine stars Ashutosh Rana and Renuka Shahne tied the nuptial knot on May 25th, 2001. at the famous Jageshwar Nath Shiva temple at Bandakpur in Damoh district. The marriage was solemnized by Ashutosh's religious guru Dev Prabakar Shastri in the presence of family members and close friends. Around 10,000 people had thronged the temple even before the bride and groom could reach there. Later, the couple went to the ashram of Dev Prabhkar Shastri to seek his blessings. The marriage ceremony was attended by State Minister Ratnesh Solomon, Raja Pateria, former MP Rameshwar Nikhra and Rajpal Yadav.
Stone -Throwing: Irate over the killing of a local youth in a road mishap involving a vehicle carrying people for Ashutosh Rana's marriage, some unidentified persons hurled stones at the motorcade of the film star. Prior to this, the mob also set ablaze a bus, which had struck the motorcycle –borne youth, killing him on the spot.

Ashutosh Rana and Renuka perform the puja during their wedding ceremony at Jageshwar Shiva Temple in Damoh on Friday.

'Marine Drive' of Bhopal

During the launch of the Hindustan Times - Bhopal Live pages in the month of May 2000. After making various trips to parts of the historical and heritage and cultural sites in Bhopal, I thought of this picture when my then Resident Editor Askari H Zaidi was staying at the Ashok Lake view hotel atop a hilltop right next to the Bhopal Upper Lake. This view from his room gave me a feeling of as though I was in Mumbai looking at the most famous 'marine drive'. So I asked the staff of the hotel to take me to their terrace to have a look at the view and I took some sample shots during the day and made prints of them along with other important places. We had an open discussion on the place we should settle for so that our readers will accept the ad on of the Bhopal Live pages with their main edition of the Hindustan Times which was launched in February 2000. After a lot of hard thought the Resident Editor and me took a call even as some people said that this pictures will not be able to gel with what we want to say to our readers 'HT has arrived - with a local touch'.
So with the place and the venue finally decided I set about looking at the place every one hour to see the change in the light and finally I took a call that we do a late evening or a morning shoot.
So HT designer Manish Choure and me went to the Lake view Ashok had a few drinks with our RE and then went above the hotel terrace and kept taking pictures of the Bhopal Upper Lake with the 8 kilometers lit up stretch of road adjoining to it . Finally it happened in the early morning and I got the perfect lighting where I wanted of the whole photo filled with blue tint. The picture was published in the front page of Bhopal Live. The Hindustan Times got more than 1000 letters and mails from all over the lake city telling us that they have given every Bhopal resident a proud moment to stand up for.
The objective of Askari H Zaidi and mine was achieved after a week long of planning.

The caption was 'GOOD MORNING, LAKE CITY'.

Little Luck is needed always

In the field of Photojournalism one needs a little luck to land up with good pictures for the benefit of the readers and the more so that the newsroom likes it. So when I came up with this picture on 23rd February, 1990, the then chief reporter of the Times of India had rejected them saying it was not good, but with a bit of luck and hard sell to the news desk it made it to the page 1 the next day. Soon after the picture was published on the front page the then BMP (now BBMP) sprang into action and repaired all the leaking pipe lines on that Hosur road Wilson Garden junction.

Luck and a little maneuvering of her tiny wrist fetch this young girl pots of water through a tiny gap between pavement slabs on the Hosur main road. But with summer here, her luck might not be so good a few weeks from now. Even the broken pipe down under might dry up like the taps in the city during summer.

This pictures was published on the February 24th, 1990 issue of the Times of India in Bangalore.

Shoe Shine Boy

After spending more than 8 hours hunting for an single image which conveys the pathetic conditions of our street children who make two ends meet on the eve of Pundit Jawarlal Nehru on 13th November 1990, I landed with this picture when a friend and me had gone from the Times of India office building on M G Road to the Coffee House. On my way back I noticed this small child busily polishing away sitting in place for his drunk father who was not around. This boy wanted to make some quick money so that he could take it home to his mother and they could buy some groceries for the night supper. When I interacted with he had already made 8 rupees and was sure enough that his father will not come to the shop for another one hour. He wanted to make another 7 rupees since he had promised his mother he would return home with 15 rupees. So my friend and I contributed the rest amount so that he could leave for home early to his mother. This gesture really moved him and he promised me that one day he will find me to repay back this amount.
The next day on Wednesday, November 14th 1990, The Times of India - Bangalore edition had this picture on the front page with just one line caption - 'It's Children's Day'.

Dusty Storm in Bangalore - 1992.

On April 9th 1992, at the Sullivan police grounds where the State as well as National league hockey and other main cups were played I was as usual covering a Hockey match an all of a sudden the place was hit by an dust storm with winds at high speed forcing the players, officials and the hockey lovers to jump for cover. I had the Canon FT QL 35mm SLR camera with a normal lens (50mm –f2.8) which I used most of the time, since I had no other option. So when the storm came over the ground which were of loose sand there was commotion every where and the main tent under which the officials were sitting nearly flew off. I got three frames before I could not see anything and soon after the dust storm settled down I was covered with sand all over and my camera was filled with it too. But what the heck I had a good image which was given an front page top display with an five columns space. In today's scenario one cannot and will not be able to see or witness such dust storms since the city have changed from an old colonial city into an Hi-tech modern one with high rise buildings blocking all the natures love and fury.

No respite from heat: Thursday evening ‘s dust storm in Bangalore raised hopes of a badly needed respite from the summer heat, but temperature is unlikely to dip in the next few days unless the April showers advance their arrival. According to weather forecasters, the city may get a brief respite from the summer only during the second half of this month when it is expected to receive early summer showers. Mr H D Thulasidas, director, meteorological center, said the city would receive about 46 mm of rainfall over three days. He said the moisture content in the atmosphere over the city was not enough for precipitation. Upper air circulation and upper air through, the two factors responsible for showers in April, are not very active over the city. However, temperature will not go down till the onset of monsoon, in the first week of June. The normal maximum temperature during April and May will be around 33.4 degree C with a slight variation.

This picture was used on the 10th April, Friday, 1992 edition of the Times of India, in Bangalore.

Multiple Exposures

After practicing for more than 6 months of creating multiple exposures with my F-100 Nikon camera body in Bhopal during my stint with the Hindustan Times, I was able to shoot these frames which were liked by all in the HT news room. All the images found themselves to the front page of the HT- Bhopal editions.
During my practice days I must have used more than 30 films of 35 mm. Once I had mastered the art, I went on to shoot all the three of my best multiple images in one week of time from the 9th to the 16th of September, 2000.

Double Exposure - Maria Kiran of France performing at the Bharathnatyam at Bharath Bhawan on the first day of the week long Music and dance festival on the 9th September, 2000.

Triple Move: Dipanivta Singh Rai of Kolkatta performs the Kathak on the closing day of the week long Music and dance festival at the Bharath Bhawan in Bhopal on 12th September, 2000.

Water,Water everywhere: An dried up tree shown in the water of the Lower lake of Bhopal on 15th September, 2000. Even as the city is proud owner to more than 40 lakes the taps have been running dry for the past several months causing great hardships for the residents.

Flying around the World on Microlight

This picture just happened on 1st February, 2004, when I was strolling the streets to get some stand alone or life pictures near the old area of Bhopal which is very close to the city's airport. I followed it to the end and somehow after speaking to various authorities of the Bhopal Airport managed to get in and speak to the fliers around the world. This turn out to be special to the Hindustan Times - Bhopal as most of the other newspapers could not get the whiff.


The Air Knights: Microlight adventure enthusiasts from South Africa - Ricky de Agrela and Alan Honeyborne - landing at the Bhopal airport on Sunday. The two are on a 'Freedom Flight' around the World to celebrate the 10 years of freedom of South Africa. They have traveled 13,000 kilometers and covered 15 nations so far. They have set an goal an goal of covering 87,000 kilometers across 53 countries in their 18 month long -trip.

Bhopal yet to Recover - Photo Story

On the eve of the First World Social Justice day I wanted to write about the biggest injustice made to the society, and request like minded people and also appeal to them to join in the fight to raise their voice to get justice to the Bhopal Gas disaster survivors.

An quarter century of years have passed passed since the world's worst man-made disaster - Bhopal gas tragedy - occurred. But despite the passage of time the trauma continues for the survivors of that fateful night of Dec 2-3, 1984, when over 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) spewed out of the now defunct Union Carbide's pesticide plant.
Having borne the brunt of neurological, hormonal and mental health problems - besides the economic hardships - the survivors are now faced with the problem of deformed children being born.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) initiated 18 studies in the aftermath of the Bhopal disaster. However, despite findings of long-term damage, these studies were all prematurely ended within 10 years, that too at a time when the evidence of damage on the offspring of survivors was beginning to show.
"Children suffering congenital deformities continue to be denied medical attention. Only 14 children received official assistance for heart surgery and 13 assistance in diagnosis for congenital brain anomalies between 1992 and 1997, under the program The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Even as years pass by many are wanting for treatment and many more are staring the face of death for no fault of theirs.

Only in Picture now: The thousands of portraits of victims who had fallen prey to the deadly gas on the 3rd December 1984 night being cleaned (left) as a pigeon makes an flight of innocent souls (right), at the Forensic Department terrace of the Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal.

The Killer Factory 1: 1984 pictures of the Union Carbide factory which had leaked the gas in Bhopal.


The Killer Factory 2: 2004 images of the Union Carbide with all the chemical waste strewn all over the place and emanating an killer air and damaging the ground water around the factory.





Ground Reality: An public tap earmarked by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation as - not potable water (top left), as a resident of the locality next to the Union Carbide factory catches water from an alternate public tap (above), even as the survivors have protested many a time, which have fell on deaf ears of the then Congress led and present BJP led Governments.





Mute witness of Victims and Survivors: Pictures provided by an NGO, Mahila Udyog Sangathan showing police and public carry bodies of victims for the mass funeral (top), as those who survived getting their illness treated by the Missionaries of Charity (left) as Mother Teresa cuddles an affected and orphaned child.

Eyewitness to the killer gas:




Champa Devi & Rashida Bi who run an woman's organizations against the Union Carbide and the Dow chemicals in front of the posters with their demands and the disaster the Bhopal Gas Tragedy has made over the past 25 years .








Bhopal Gas Orphans Shaid Noor along with his wife Ferdoz and their children Neeha Praveen and Aaman at their home near the Union Carbide Factory in Bhopal. Shaid says that he earns rupees 800 a month and his children have discontinued from school deu to nonpayment of the school fees.









Bhopal Gas Orphan 30 year old Suman Khuswa lost all her family members 25 years ago now cuddles her three month old daughter Parinita even as her 5 year old daughter Anushka looks on at their home in the Orphans colony.






Four Generation of Survivors: 90 Year old Naramadi Bi (Seated) seen with her Daughter In law 50 year old Rukhmani Bi (Standing Behind) and Grand Daughter 26 year old Maya Karan (seated below) and her son 1 year old Chooto at their home in the widows colony near the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal.











A Tale of a Survivor: 65 year old Noor Jahan the widow of Bhopal Gas Victim Aziz Khan narrets the loss of her Husband and children 25 years ago with tears in her eyes at her widows colony home in Bhopal.










Living and still Suffering:




34 year old Rehana Praveen an Bhopal Gas Victim explains her 15 year old daughter Nargis Jahan's plight of Physical disability after 25 years of the leak in Bhopal. Rehana claims that her daughter's plight is deu to the afterefects of the gas leak which she had inhaled 20 years ago.










Devika and her brother who were born with cleft lips and abnormal face structures play at their home in old Bhopal area close to the Union Carbide factory.








Sita Bi takes care of her hailing husband Sevaram who was an employee at the Union Carbide and now suffers from lung failure and has been facing a slow death at his home outside the main entrance of the factory premises.







54 year old Jamuna Devi waits for the free eye and other general medical check up at the Mahila Udyog Sanghtan premises. Jamuna has been losing her eyesight and now face another threat on her lungs.






36 year old Gazalla a Muslim girl who was blinded by the Bhopal gas tragedy shows an old photo of herself 20 years ago in this picture taken at her home on November 29th 2004. - Read more about her at http://shivselvan.blogspot.com/2009/02/survivors-tale.html




The Fight Continues:



Unborn foetuses which are on display at the museum of Forensic Department of Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal. These Unborn foetuses died in the womb due to their mother's exposure to the killer gas (MIC) from the Union Carbide factory on December 2003 in 1984.







10 year old Imran holds a board with DOW written in red and a skeletal face during the yearly protest on December 3rd in Bhopal.







An Greenpeace activist with an 'Clean Up Bhopal from the Toxic Waste', message watches the locals burn an effigy of Warren Anderson in an yearly protest on December 3rd. Anderson is the man who owned Union Carbide and wanted by the Indian courts on culpable homicide, is still at large in the USA where he resides.





The Clean Up in Government Style:


Daily wage workers hired by the State Government of Madhya Pradesh, work without any safety protectors and gas masks physically move the chemical waste (left) to construct an wall around the sheds with the large amount of sacks inside the Union Carbide factory. These pictures which were carried by the Hindustan Times caused a flutter and some of the top officials were either transferred or suspended.

The Missing Man:




A file picture of Warren Anderson who is the main accused in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy which claimed thousands of lives and thousands are dying due to the aftereffects. Though the Indian government has sought his extradition from the USA, he is yet to be found and brought to justice.






The Good Samaritans for Justice to Bhopal Survivors:

Noted Activist Abdul Jabbar in the fore ground of a collage of photographs of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy 20 years ago explains the events that happned and the cause for which he has been fighting. Jabbar says that the issue should be kept alive because ther are thousands who are still facing health problems deu to the contaminated ground water and the toxic waste lying within and arouns the Union Carbide factory.




Sathyanath Sarangi (sathyu) (right), of the Sambhavana Trust makes a point on the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and it's after effects even after 25 years of the leak at his Sambhavna Trust Clinic in Bhopal.









Rashida Bi (left) who runs an woman's organizations against the Union Carbide and the Dow chemicals along with Dominique Lapierre who has donated 65 percent royalty of his book titled 'It was five past midnight in Bhopal'. Lapierre has also atopted an school and old age home too.