Tuesday, July 12, 2005

Points to Ponder in Kolhapur

This weekend past I spent in Kolhapur, on the Shivaji University campus. Had gone to visit a friend's home, to take a break and ended up reinforcing/learning a lot of things.

1. Buying a Nikon F75 would not be a waste of money. (Sing "Hallelujah!")
2. Maharashtra is a great deal more awesome than I thought it was.
3. Beauty in Nature has a way of accentuating both yearning and fragmentation... in the soul.
4. It is possible for a person to go lower than your implausibly low expectations of them.
5. Selfishness and graceless-ness usually go together.
6. In the next one year, I want to go on a trek - don't know where yet but will figure it out!
7. In the next one year, I also want to go the North East of India and to Rajasthan.
8.
St Bernards are among the most affectionate creatures put on this Earth.
9. Contrary to my belief and continual surprise, honour, integrity and grace are not default human programming.
10. There is NO better "upper" than your soul sister smiling across a room at you, knowing exactly what has freewheeled through your mind.

This list is far from complete but contains the main part of what I experienced over these two days.

Douglas Adams loved to say, "You live and learn. At any rate, you live."
I believe this works for me too.

These are some of the images that I captured over two days in Kolhapur. They are of a river called Panchganga in Kolhapur and a submerged temple and other structures in the river.





19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nikon F75? Showoff! :D

I found out just the same about any state that I explored, outside the main city that is. There's something in every state.

Good pics. I especially liked the ones of the submerged temple.
-SB

Extempore said...

You disappoint me, Majesty. I was sure something on what I had learned would follow! :P!

Going by your response on the pics, I assume you don't think the N75 is a waste?

Anonymous said...

As far as learnings are concerned, well, they will differ from person - person. People may go on a trip for similar reasons, but with different mental "baggage". They may see or experience the same thing, but have different resulting thoughts. So the end "take away" is different, and there's really no right n wrong on those.

I was discussing this with P the other day. One of the best ways to travel, is to backpack.

Backpacking takes you as far away from your daily routine, and the comforts associated with it, as possible.

It's then that you notice changes in your thought patterns while on the trip. I tend to think about different things while walking, eating etc.

Sometimes you just stand n stare at the amazing sights around you, sometimes you use em as a background while reading or something. Even then, you know it's there and you're right there in the middle of it.

Roughing it out gives you a different feeling upon seeing the same sights than say, a guided tour. Almost like you've earned something. Infact, the magnitude of the experience dawns upon you when you return. The same could possibly be said about a regular holiday, but having bee on enough of both, I personally vouch for backpacking as the best "break".
-SB

NS said...

first time here... lovely pics.. i love the submerged temples and the brown waters... the whole pic has a brown tone to it, beautiful..

Anonymous said...

How could you ever think a camera would be a waste of time, extempore? You could have just asked me......

(err....how much does that thing cost anyway?)

Extempore said...

Lakesidey: It's not a digicam! Its a regular manual AF SLR and its going to put me back by about 15k! It's not going to be pretty!

Anonymous said...

*ye Gods*

15 K isn't all that much yaar :) Though the real advantage of a digicam is the low running cost, an SLR digi would put you back by at least 35 K I'd guess. So maybe this is best....

*I still love my A75* :D

Anonymous said...

In case this changes your mind, extempore, a good digicam (4 more mega pixels or more) can give you good quality pictures - more than 1024x768 pixels, good zoom, easy to store photos and make albums. What I like most about a digicam; you can move around easily with camera in your pocket and when something clicks your eyes, take it out and snap it. This is one problem with manual SLR cameras. To make it easily accessible you have to carry it around your neck. Now that may look good on a professional cameraman but then how much would you like to carry it around like that? Another good thing about digicams you can get the results immediately. If you didn’t take a right shot, delete it and take another shot. You know your mistakes on the spot and can fix them as well. Besides, no running cost.

I am not against manual cameras but if you are new to photography digicam can be a good start. Basically you can learn quickly. And once you know the game, go for a manual camera. The only problem I find with digicams is that the technology changes so fast that your camera can become obsolete in no time. But that shouldn’t hit you for a long time if you are interested in photography and not the gazette.

Anonymous said...

I more or less second that.

Manual SLRs are amazing. But to really get the most out of it, you need to learn the intricacies of photography and be very very good. And once you get there, you'll need other equipment, like different lenses for different kinds of pics. My advice, buy the manual/digital SLR once you've become really good at photography.

Else, it's like wanting a high-end race car to commute to work.

I would suggest you buy a digicam for now. And don't worry aboutthe megapixels. 3MP is good enough. The MP resolution is basically how big your pic can be for a certain level of clarity. Unless you're planning on some huge printouts, 3MP is good. That would cost you between 4.5 and 11k depending on brand and other features.

Another thing...don't get dazzled by high digital zoom claims. Digi-zoom is nothing but enlarging a pic. that doesn't happen without loosing quality. Check the optical zoom instead.
-SB

Extempore said...

Thanks SB and Anonymous. I know what you guys mean. Have thought long and hard about the manual SLR and whatever it entails - especially as far as future equipment is concerned. I am going to stick it out with a manual SLR anyway. Will take my chances with bad/mediocre images initially! :)

Anonymous said...

hmm, if you wanna learn it that well, go with the SLR now. Will save you the cash involved in buying a digi now and the SLR later.
-SB

Anonymous said...

hmm, if you wanna learn it that well, go with the SLR now. Will save you the cash involved in buying a digi now and the SLR later.
-SB

Srikar said...

nikon F75 aah!!! Wish I could afford one. But I'm saving up enough to buy a D-SLR. Jopefully another 6 months should get me one.

Anyways you seem to have prepared a nice wish list here. I hope that most (if not all) are fulfilled.

btw, what does this mean when you sas - "Srikar,as I have found out, generosity often has little to do with the truth. :)! " ???
I would really like to know...

Extempore said...

Simple really - generosity has nothing to do with the truth. My comment on your blog was not a generous one as much as it was plain, out-there truthful! :)

Anonymous said...

You have done a good job with this blog. However, you do not explain yourself in this post very well. Merely 10 vaguely epigrammatic sentences to sum up your experiences in Kolhapur? Can one look forward to hearing more about this trip?
Isis

Extempore said...

@Isis: Thanks very much! I am not sure if I will ever write about this further because that trip is in the past and these were my initial thoughts about it. Much has changed since then, esp about the people that took this trip to begin with - esp me.

I also wrote this post being deliberately vague because at the time, I did not want my friends (the ones on the trip) to know exactly what I was talking about.

I am glad I did not miss your comment and I may well have since it is on a post so long ago. Thank God for comment alerts! :-) It'd be very nice to see on my newer posts too!

Anonymous said...

Extempore, since I stumbled on E Vestigio exactly two days back, I have read it from end to end. It is one of the better written blogs that I have happened across, and you have to admit that there is a sea of talent out there. Besides, you have all my favorite authors and books on your list, so that should give us something to chew on.

This was a cryptic post for me, because most of my own trips have been life-changing, one way or another. You know they say that you can never go home, in any case, because things have changed while you were away... or that home will never be the same because you have changed along the way. July is not all that long ago, but the past is what you give up on.

As for travel companions, it's true that to really know a person, you must travel with them. Here in Canada, we have a saying, "trail dust is thicker than blood." So if you haven't managed to strangle your fellow-travellers on the way, then these friendships have probably thickened to glue.

Anywise, it seems that you have an interesting life.
Isis.

Extempore said...

@Isis: Thank you for the lovely compliment because I fully accept that there are much better blogs out there - which is also why I was contemplating shutting E Vestigio down because I don't think that I write as well as I'd like to. And yes, I know if don't practice, how can I seek something better. This could also be that I don't think that I have something profound or even interesting to say all time - as so many of my fellow bloggers do. :-)

This trip was life changing indeed - because it began to give me an idea about who my friends really are. The glue that you speak of, in the time since July, has evaporated faster than rain off burning hot marble. And yes, you are right - the past is indeed what I have given up on.

Thank you - for the both this discussion and for having thought enough of my writing to have read it so closely. I am looking forward to seeing you on my blog regularly now.:-). Do you have a blog I can come and visit you at? Should you like to get in touch with me, my mail id is evestigio@gmail.com. May I look forward to seeing you on my newer posts then?

Anonymous said...

I hope you didn't leave this small trip of yours incomplete by not visiting Panhala. Just 20 kms from Kolhapur, a brilliant place where I've spent almost all of my childhood weekends.

If you had left it, I urge you to revisit.

Nice photos of Panchaganga.. [unfortunately it happens to be one of the most polluted rivers in Asia :( ]

btw, believe it or not, you get excellent fish in Kolhapur as well :)