Bhagoria - Festival of Hue and Color

This colorful festival of the Bhils and Bhilalas, particularly in the district of West Nimar and Jhabua, is actually in the nature of a mass svayamvara, a marriage market, held on the various market days falling before the Holi festival in month of March every year. As the name of the festival indicates, - bhag, to run, - after choosing their partners, the young people elope and are subsequently accepted as husband and wife by society through predetermined customs.

It is not always that boys and girls intending to marry each other meet in the festival for the first time. In a large number of cases the alliance is already made between the two, the festival providing the institutionalized framework for announcing the alliance publically. The tradition is that the boy applies gulal, red powder, on the face of the girl whom he selects as his wife. The girl, if willing, also applies gulal on the boy's face.
This may not happen immediately but the boy may pursue her and succeed eventually.

Earlier, the Bhagoria Haat also the place for settling old disputes; open invitations were sent to enemies for a fight in the HAAT. Bloody battles used to be quite common in the past but today police and administration do not allow people to go to the HAAT armed.

The Bhagoria haat also coincides with the completion of harvesting, adding to it the dimension of being an agricultural festival as well. If the crops have been good, the festival assumes an additional air of gaiety.

In the life of the Bhils and Bhilalas, Bhagoria is not merely one festival but in fact a series of fairs held one by one at various villages on their specific market days, commencing eight days before Holi.

A Rescue act at the Upper Lake in Four Frames

Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) employee jumps into Upper Lake to save woman

These pictures were taken just by an accident and a fate of virtual dame luck for me on September 6, 2002 in Bhopal as I was heading towards the airport to see off the former President A P J Abdul Kalam who was returning back to New Delhi after his one day visit to the city of lakes. As I passed about 5 meters from this lady standing on the edge of the barricade I heard a big splash and that made me to stop and look over. To my shock I saw the lady struggling to swim back and asked a BMC water tanker which was passing by in the opposite direction to stop and asked the driver and cleaner to rescue her as she was fighting for life in the water only to know later after her rescue that she was trying to commit suicide. This appeared in the Hindustan Times -Bhopal Live issue on September 7, 2002 issue.

A Twenty six year old married woman attempted to commit suicide by jumping in the Upper Lake today.Identified as Shaheen Bi of the Shahjahanabad area, she was rescued by Ghafoor Ali, a Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) who was passing from the spot in a BMC vehicle.
Our Deputy Chief Photographer S Shiv Kumar who was passing by stopped and got the BMC employees to rescue her. Even as the crowd started to gather at the spot Ghafoor jumped into the water. He was able to locate her but was himself getting dragged into the water as Shaheen latched on to him.
Seeing this the driver of the BMC tanker jumped into the water and tried to rescue the two.
Meanwhile, the people standing on the spot stopped a fire tender that was coming from the airport. The driver of the fire tender threw his hosepipe into the water and the two BMC employees held on to it with Shaheen in their arms. Later, the fire tender threw a ladder into the water and the two BMC employees took Shaheen out of the water.

Shaheen Bi, Intent on committing suicide, jumped into the Upper Lake on Friday. (1) Ghafoor Ali (in red shirt) dragging her towards the bank.

(2) The Driver of the BMC tanker who joined in to the rescue holds up Shaheen Bi as Ghafoor gets a grip on the hosepipe thrown down to them by a passing fire tender.

(3) Shaheen Bi sent up with the help of the hosepipe and ladder.

(4) A Dazed Shaheen Bi out of harm's way.

She was immediately rushed to the Hamidia Hospital where she recovered and was declared out of danger. Police said Shaheen's husband Ibrahim works as a labourer in the vegetable mandi and the couple has four children.
Shaheen in her statement to the police said she was ill and that she suffered fits and felt like killing herself. Police said Shaheen's husband was also questioned and found that there was no tension between the couple.

Lapping up Success

This story was my first step to start writing apart from taking pictures for the Times of India - Bangalore edition in 1991. Thanks to friends like Jayant Kodkani, Vinay Kamat and Sumeet Charavarthy who kept their pressure on me to start reporting too. They always insisted that if you need to be an photojournalist, one should get to reporting as well as taking their own images for the stories. It so happened that Ashwini Nachappa was in good form and she was also from Bangalore, and we had to launch the Times City pullout. The story appeared in the first weeks edition on September 14th, 1991.

Ashwini Nachappa pauses between workouts to let hair down. S Shiv Kumar captures the mood in words and pictures.

Lalbagh. 6.15a.m. The rising sun is trying to force its way through the foliage of tall trees to the call of bird song. A breeze wafts gently as the young and old are straining every muscle to keep fit. Suddenly, a winsome lass appears from behind a tree-trunk. She approaches you and then, just as quickly, is gone. The miss is as good as a mile. The next time you try to catch a glimpse of her fleet and fleeing from, someone blocks your view. She's off like a shot again. The third time it's worth your while; she smiles at you. Ashwini Nachappa, the dusky sprint queen, is toughening her tendons. An hour later, she push buttons he black Kinetic Honda and speeds away homewards to Banashankari.
The runner is not lonely. One her way, school –bound children wave at her. Old men out on their morning stroll smile admiringly. Starry-eyed, giggling college girls whisper to one another. The golden girl of athletics is also a sliver screen figure. Posters of the Telugu film Ashwini are all around the town. Film pundits say it’s the only Indian movie featuring a sportsperson that has clicked.
For Ashwinin, the celluloid presence was "a way of keeping in touch with the public". There are no two ways about her preference. "I don't plan to do any other film right now. Perhaps after I retire…. My director tells me movies are the best way to maintain tie with the public", Pragmatic thinking follows. Citing the case of P T Usha, she is stoical about the fact that someone else will take her place in the near future just as she took the mantle of fame from the Payyoli Express.

"I didn’t do much acting I this movie. It was mostly running. I'd like to prove that I can act", she adds with determination. But right now, it’s back to the starting block.
On he sport, she plans to retire while she’s on the perch. So, a lot would depend on her performance his year, based on which, she will have time to decide till the end of next year. Although she has been running for eleven odd – some of them very odd indeed – year, one can never say anything. Yet, confidence oozes. "I have everything. I am proud of what I am today. I have come up the hard way in life and I know that I will get better things in the years to come.
Flashback. She jogs he memory to 1974. Unable to commute to and from school in the hustle-bustle of Calcutta, she came to Bangalore with her mom and elder sister Pushpa. "Dad stayed back with job at Birla Rayons, where he still is." The mother and daughters lived bang I front of Kantreeva stadium, where she used to rush in the evenings after school. A coach, Mohinder Singh, who watched the sisters playing, egged them to run around the track, with the bribe of one sweet for every lap. In he annual school sports meets at the Good Shepherd's, where the sisters won track prizes – was a smooth transition. And a discovery of talent. The first national appearance came in 1980, bringing in its wake an award from the state government. From then on there’s been no looking back.

Tastes. Bangalore appeals. Paani puri and sea food as well, though she 'in' so far as dresses are concerned too: saree for special occasions and to the office (Vijay Bank main branch) when there's time to dress up, other wise jeans and Bermudas and khadi kurtas. Truly dietropoltian in her habits, she can converse in English, Hindi, Coorgi, Kannada "and a bit of Tamil and Telugu". Her love for the city shows when she declares: "I have no intention of moving out of this city, unless of course marriage takes me elsewhere".
Hold it . The big day is not round the corner. She chimes with a laughter describing the 'man' - "somebody who is rich enough to take care of me, a sports lover, not necessarily a sportsman." There's no one on her mind yet, and she tells the guys "Hard luck!" But no snobs for her, only simple, "down to earth" men with a sense of humour. Didn't you hear that one before?
She hopes dreams could come true. Visions of a big farmhouse with a pool, three or four of the latest cars, the works … Sigh, there go your dreams.
While driving her car named desire, she stops by at places of worship. "I am God-Fearing. I also go to the church, have prayed from outside a mosque." To a certain extent, she maintains faith in astrology: "I did go once she says."
Faith has got her many awards and this hope will run for a long time to come.

Fast Track President

The below pictures which were taken on the Former President A P J Abdul Kalam's visit to Bhopal and also the first outside New Delhi after taking over as the President of India. These pictures were shot keeping in mind the protocol the presidents had to follow which he did not like as he later told Hindustan Times - Bhopal Editor at a high tea party in the Governor's house. Kalam also praised the pictures himself which was told to me by the RE of HT -Bhopal.


A Man in Hurry: President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam sure lives life in the fast lane. Inspecting the guard of honour, he took off like a missile, leaving behind his guards several paces while ideally, he should have been walking in their midst. At the end of his canter, the escorting guards, marching at their meticulously measured pace, were yet to catch up with him by a good distance. These images were taken at the Bhopal airport on Thursday, September 5, 2002.

Down But not Out

This photo got me the Best picture of the year in the PJ section at the All India Press Photo competition. It also got the Blue Ribbon from the FIAP - Federation Internationale De L'Art Photographique of France.

Down but not Out: Medha Patkar clings on to a fellow protesters shirt after she was pushed down by the policemen during the Narmada Bachao Abndolan's march to the Chief Minister Digvijay Singh's official residence in Bhopal in 2000.

Sense of Sharing

The below picture which fetched me the Honorable Mention in the International Photography Awards for the year 2002 in the International submission section, held annually in the USA. This also got me the annual Photographic Society of India (Mumbai) and the India International Photography Council award.

Wetting their Throat … A cow and a girl quench themselves as the heat wave soared above the 43 Degree Celsius in Bhopal on 21st May 2000.

This picture happened when I was returning after covering a daily assignment for the Hindustan Times in Bhopal and I had lost my way since it was my fourth month in the lake city of India. I happened to land into the outer part of Bhopal city near the Kaliya Sot Dam, and this picture was taken even as I was riding my scooter.

Children of the Prison

Prisons are daunting places even for adult men; they are probably far worse for women prisoners. Manuals that govern the running of prisons do not contain any special provisions for children of women prisoners who constitute a particularly vulnerable category. The women are in prison either as under trials accused of an offence, or as convicts. Unlike other inmates, the children are in jail not for any delinquent behaviour but because their mothers are in jail. Either they are born in jail, or they are too young to stay away from their mothers, or there is no one to look after them in the absence of their mother.
Supreme court of India had reacted on an study done by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, which put forward five grounds as the basis for proper facilities for minors accompanying their mother in Prison.
And the below photo essay which you get to see was done during my visit to the women’s wing at the Parpana Agrahara Central jail in Bangalore in June and August 2007 for, Bangalore Mirror -Tabloid.

Veeraesh who was born inside the jail four years ago along with his friends inside the special Women cell at the Parappana Agrahara Jail.

Women inmates play with their under 6 year old children inside the special Women cell at the Parappana Agrahara Jail. Most of these children will leave their mother at the age of 6 if they have an guardian to take care of them.

Shiva a Child consoles his mother inside the Women cell at the Parappana Agrahara Jail. This image was taken in June 2007 and during my revisit in August 2007, Shiva had left for his home wher he was being taken care by his grandparents.

Illavarasan 2 and a half year old stands in queue to get his food along with other women inmates after he was taken in along with his grandmother inside the special Women cell at the Parappana Agrahara Jail In Bangalore. Illavarasan was beaten by his mother before she got married to another person in Salem. The boy is being taken care of her grandmother who has been arrested under alleged charges of saree theft in the city of Bangalore.

Women inmates play with their under 6 year old children inside the special Women cell at the Parappana Agrahara Jail.
What ever their crime the women committed but the motherly bonding with their children was evident through out my two visits to the women cell at the Parpana Agrahara Jails

Campus Mumbo-Jumbo

This below photo story was published in the Times of India on 16th December 1990. It just so happened that on this day there was no great assignments and I was passing through Hebbal road to find some stand alone or offbeat pictures. To my surprise I saw two tiny elephants inside the veterinary hospital and that let me to spending 5 hours with them and coming up with 8 of the images which was displayed to my luck as a full pager.

A fortnight ago, 6 year old tusker Mohan decided to come to Bangalore. Not to grace a temple festival or take part in a fair, but only to mind his health. He left his cosy home in the Akkayamma temple premises, Uthanahalli Beta (Devanahalli Taluk) with hope in his breast and a painful abscess in his neck. Tailing him was Lakshmi (five) his –she companion for two years. Leading, of course, were their friendly masters/mahouts Appaiah and Naryana.
When he reached the veterinary hospital, Hebbal, on December 3, 1990, apprehension gripped him. He for one was not use to the mumbo-jumbo of urban life. But that was a fleeting phase. Pachyderms, sure, are made of stemer stuff.

I will follow you where ever you go, Lakshmi tails the recovering Mohan.

This corridor belongs to us: Mohan and Lakshmi stroll like students on the veterinary hospital/college

Lakshmi pats Mohan on the head giving hr the reassurance that he will recover soon from the operation which he had gone through on his neck.


Lakshmi bathes Mohan under the mid day sun which give him a cool feeling from the extreme pain he will be going through.

Mohan has his tummy full of fresh green grass as his lunch even as Lakshmi retires for her afternoon siesta.

Mohan and Lakshmi go through their exercise ensuring that all their limbs are fit.

Mohan impresses Lakshmi on his recent knowledge he has gained during his three weeks of stay in the hospital premises.

End of the day Mohan and Lakshmi walk back to their cosy room with their trunks held together.

And he had his inseparable Lakshmi for comfort. She, though a year younger, is taller and big built.
In the hospital premises, he put his best foot forward, cocked his head a bit and trumpeted his relief. There was enough greenery around, though it was a bit sultrier as compared to Uthanahalli Beta.
Doctor B S Jayadeva has suggested that he stay under his observation till the New Year (1991). The devout jumbos, meanwhile, have learnt to relax. They took time off to attend a temple festival at Doddaballapur. A two-part hourly exercise routine is strictly followed. The hospital-campus, the find, is quite hospitable. Coping with students and other animal-patients is no mammoth shakes after all!

Dave the American Farmer

The work displayed below was part of my learning at the PJ (Photo Journalism) school of University of Missouri on the fine art of essay telling through images.
These images were taken over a period of one week at the 49th Missouri International Cliff Edom Photo Workshop which was held at Carthage an small town in the Mid-West of US in Missouri state in 1997.
This Photo Essay is of David E Howard a American farmer who runs his own workshop for spare parts apart from taking care of his 200 odd cows in a 25 acre farm land. Dave relishes on his food with a mouthful and enjoys coffee with a scramble board.
Dave relishes on his food with a mouthful and enjoys coffee with a scramble board, while his day starts very early at 4.00 am and goes to bed at 10.00 pm.

Dave and his wife Nadine during their early morning walk at 4-15 am.

Dave prepares breakfast and Nadine washes the previous night utensils.

Dave has his breakfast even as Nadine packs his lunch for her husband.

Dave after driving down to town relaxes with his school mates over a cup of coffee.
Dave says that the payment is rotated every day among them and adds that it just feels great to talk to old school chums and feel young.

Dave's office entrance with his children's photo and the 'Who's Who' honor plate.

Dave gets down to work by holding the customary meeting with his senior employees.

After the meet and planning for the day Dave checks on the newly build bike by one of his employee and suggest a few changes.

'Time to clear all my bills' Dave clears all the pending bills and says that he never trusts an accountant and the more so the Judicial guys.

This sign board is a proof of Dave's Hatred for them including a host of other professionals.

Dave play's a game of solitaire on his PC after having his lunch which wife Nadine had packed for him.

After a lose in the game it's time for Dave to put his fingers to work.

Dave loves his Land Rover and listens to light music while driving down to his parents house.

Dave on his way to his parent's checks the old 1915 Austin car which he has purchased and now sprucing it up at a friends car shop.

Dave and his father try to finish a scramble board which they left unfinished the previous weekend as Nadine chat’s up her mother-in-law.


Dave on his way home checks up on his friends who were preparing for the 'stake night party' at the all men club premises.

It's feeding time for his horses and cows at his farm house after he picked up all the corn leaves from the club premises.

Every weekend between 4 to 5.30 in the evening the Howard family has their regular guests. Dave relaxes in his drawing room with his guests and family friends the Wakefield.

After supper and seeing their guest's off the Howard couple take a long walk in their farm with the dusk setting in.

Dave takes a loud yawn showing how hectic his day was and then says that it's time to retire to bed.
Well for 56 year old David E Howard this is 'one normal day work' and Dave says that though he knows he is getting old he feels younger as day's go by.
This photo essay was one great experience for me during the 49th Missouri Photo-Workshop, at Carthage Town, with a population of 10,000 people.
Since me being an Indian this experience of working with an American Mid-West farmer gave me the immense knowledge on the differences between the farmers in the West and Asia, in particular the Indian farmers.
David E Howard and his wife Nadine were very nice to me during my one week of stay with them and looked after me like one of their own kids.
I also thank Mr Bill Kuykendall, Mr David Rees, Mrs. Julie Elman, Mr.Kim Komenich and Mr Lois Raymond, and a host of others who spend their valuable time with me , ensuring that I develop the art of story telling through images, during the 49th Missouri Photo Workshop.