What are photographs other than memories immortalised. Even as we compose a picture on our viewfinder, or, more often, on the LCD screen of our camera or phone, we are already thinking of people we would love to share the moment with.
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The noted surgeon and scholar Dr Man Singh Nirankari was a many-faceted personality, equally at ease with his scalpel as well as directing the spiritual and religious issues with a sharp and incisive mind. A friend of my parents, I first met Dr Man Singh and his wife Phool ji in Amritsar in the 1970s where we were treated to a High Tea which I still recall. Our association continued after he shifted to Chandigarh and we became neighbours. We would all meet regularly, the extended families, and his wife were wonderful host, aided considerably, no doubt, by the affection and love of their daughter Neelam Mansingh and her husband Pushy, who looked after them with devotion and selflessness that is as rare as it is precious. Phool ji left us in 2006, and Doctor Sahib, as I called him, on Monday. We will all miss the wonderful man who left his mark on those who met him, and even those who heard about him from others.
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Dr. Man Singh Nirankari (1911 - 2010) passed away in Chandigarh in the early hours of the morning on May 11, 2010. He was a very dear friend of my parents, and an elder I greatly respected. We will all miss him. Dr Man Singh Nirankari was the father of Dr Verinder Singh Nirankari, an [...]
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When the story of the improper disposal of radioactive waste in New Delhi came out, we all thought it was a foreign source. The enemy, it turned out, was within, my Alma Mater, Delhi University. We need to be careful in handling such materials, I say.
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Did you know that Picasso’s full name was “Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso”? It took me a long time to figure out the artist whose painting of his mistress sold for a record $ 106.5 million in New York, yesterday. The news became an impetus to recollect my personal journey, including a physical one, of trying to understand this great artist.
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After a long hiatus, I am again writing on photography and computers. A new column, Bits about Bytes, will visit the world where increasingly, every thing has some or the other bit of silicon in it. Hope you enjoy reading the first offering, with was triggered by a Mamiya medium format camera and why it was chosen as against the digital cameras galore that were also at the event. What? The 90th birthday celebration of Mahijit Singh Sodhi, one of the grand old men of Chandigarh.
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Puneetinder Kaur Sidhu has an engaging personality and a zest for life. Both are reflected in her book, Adrift: A Junket Junkie in Europe, which I have just reviewed. I had fun going on this journey with this intrepid traveller who studied at Yadavindra Public School, Patiala, and has a Shimla connection. Talking of connections, everyone that I meet she seems to know her, and they came in handy during her European explorations….
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Isn’t it strange how the world latches on to every trend of the Americans, except those that really matter, like a strong work ethic, and their attitude that children must grow by learning on their own. American billionaires like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, and more recently Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, all have given most of their wealth to public-service foundations or charity. How many Indian billionaires have done that? Please click here to read my middle, which was triggered yesterday after hearing a comment by President Obama on the TV.
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Aditya Arya studied History but followed his passion of photography and made a career of it. A legacy bestowed upon him by his uncle, a Press photographer called Kulwant Roy, has given Aditya the opportunity to combine both in documenting the rare archival photographs that Roy had left with him.
It took long years, but the result is spectacular. An exhibition that has been well received at various international destinations…. A really exclusive book, a limited edition that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gifted to President Barak Obama…and this book, which I reviewed, that has the PM’s Foreword and significant photographs of India in its younger days.
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Amarinder Singh, is a complex man The prefix Maharaja or Captain precedes his name, as does his reputation. Many adjectives are used for him by different people at various times. Among them are: intelligent, articulate, cultured, epicure, leader, politician, author, foodie, and of course, controversial.
I was asked to work with my colleague Ajay Banerjee on a “Last Word” profile about him by my new boss, Raj Chengapa, who as taken over as Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune after a long stint at India Today, where he was Managing Editor.
It was fun working on the profile, and I hope that it reflects in the piece.
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