The himalaya is calling

15^th Mar am away to Kolkata, headed with mom, for a trip to where I will carry on to Lamahata for a photography trip and mom and sis will hang out in Kolkata

for a week or so.  

A trip to Kolkata starts with a train ride from 0600, which means one wakes up at 0430 hours, and one gets to sleep for a few hours on the train, Soon we are in Kolkata, and we cross the Howrah bridge to make it to Kolkata, now to rest this day and prepare for the journey ahead

Howrah Bridge

Day 2 will only see us  reach New Jalpaiguri, train tkt avability was a problem, n we lose a day as we travel all day in the train as opposed to taking a nigh train which would have helped us sleep at night and not have to spend the night in NJP in a Hotel ( I know it would have been a smarter decision) 

but this way we got to know each other better as we sat all day and chitchatted and time flew,

and We reached NewJalpaiguri station, at 2100 hours as opposed to 1855 hours, Indian railways still is bad, and will remain so in my life time it feels like, the train was late many a passenger suffered from anger and irritation as we covered the last 5 km in 95 min

Every one had a theory why it was late. N what railways should do for better efficiency, Finally our prayers were answered by the rail Gods and we reached NJP,

We put up at Hotel balajee 300meters from the station, Strongly advise against staying here, dirty, bathrooms small and even dirtier, sheets torn and soiled,  Would not recommend this hotel for stay , better to stay next door at Hotel Tirupathy,

 ( which we did on the way back ) I presume some hotel owners are driven by money to the highest level, and the famous India saying “ athiti devo Bhava” well that’s passé for them.

This night we had chow at a dhaba by the station Yummy all the way.

Tarka daal+ eggs + roti

Here we also met up with the last member of our team, Sanjukta who a photographer cum tour operator, was waiting for us and we called it a night early we were targeting to start at 0530 hours next day.

17th Morning : 

Up at dawn n by 545 we were on the way to lamahaTa, as we crossed Coronation bridge 

Coronation Bridge, built by the grist, Image by Subir

I was reminded of the lovely trip to arunachaL with Rik Bonny and Eda , only a few months back as we had ridden to NERM,  http://editorialohotographyindiarajat.blogspot.com/2018/11/it-is-day-of-solo-ride-beckons.html

We covered some  30km before  we stopped for a round of teA.  There was a train crossing n as  I sat low by the road a mountain  dog came over n made herself  comfortable  near my feet  a selfie n 15 min break over we hit the road once more

 

Rajat+New buddy

We stopped for breakfast 40 km into the drive our car guy,Mr Dhandup lama

A very agreeable and  good looking chap stopped at too commercial a stop for  breakfast,  but were itchy trigger finger lot, we needed nature around us, we need to make some Images  We refused to get off & drove around onwards past  another hill before we chose a dhaba to stop for breakfast. Everyone was eager to start clicking a few images we had been on the road too long, 

Dhandup Lama and me 

First view of Teesta river from Up close

view point of 2 rivers  along with Alo n Me 

Bfast was roti sabji.   But then i asked for chicken momo all quickly changed there order to the same n we were a merry bunch of well fed folks n were only 30 km from 

Lamahata, We should be there in 90 minutes max, in time for lunch and then a round of Photography in the evening post lunch

We reached lamahata an hour later n another 10 km drive awaited us to out homestay which needed another 20 minutes to

Upper lamaHata though we seemed to climb down for most part, we drove into a tea estate “ tagada Tea estate “ to reach  “ Nawang homestay”

Nawang home stay with Sanjukta

A delightful place with very friendly staff, homestay was more like a homely resort built for guests and at a location that is opposite Sikkim and Mt Kanchenjunga, 

Mr. lama who is the owner of the homestay owns 30 acres of the land he claimed n the land was given to his grandfather by the British

Lamahata is named after his family

Once we heard about Mt Kanchenjunga some of us started to see the mountain, even though there was a thick layer of mist, it was clouds that we were imagining as The Mountain,

Subir Photographing his bed

The rooms had a lovely view n accommodated 3 to a room

Subir n me were supratik was sharing a room

We got the violin out n made a few images by the bed n window

Talk about room with a view

Lunch at Nawang set the tone of food to come

Rice, daal cauliflower chicken cooked to perfection

Not too spicy

Served with a smile.

Post lunch we headed out to Mamata park, a pine covered forest that we were sure would lend itself to some interesting images, unfortunately we  found the prime location of pine trees swarming with a film crew; not wanting to be a pesky lot who would potentially cause uneasiness amongst the film crew with so many photographers, we took off for alternate locations

first stop was a windy location with a small monument and mandala

The shooters ( Dipankar, Rana, Supratik) arrive at location One

A few minutes soon turn to an hour as we experiment with various shots with the model Alo warming up to the demands of 6 Photographers vying for her attention

Alo in Flight

once done at this location we went seeking sunset, on the way  we met  an 

 amazing mom with kid with an angelic smile 

Mom and Kid


the day was well rounded off as we stood and watched the sun go down, 

#hotelbalajee #hotelTirupati #oyorooms #indianrailways #pabel #alo #rajatghoshphotography #rajatghosh #darjeelingdistrict #lamahata #cutlight #eden

day 3- 4 follows 

Male infanticide

The bacha in pain

Helping hand of a fellow biker

Have you ever wondered what happens to bachees, and bachas after they are born?

For the uneducated

Bachees are girl baby cows and bachas are male baby cows

With modernization on and tractors being used to till the land we barely use male cows to till the land anymore so what happens to the boys that are born now, they are no longer investments and if you live in India and know the mentality of the cow-owners you can be sure that they are kicking and turned out the male cows as soon as they are born, they are left to die on there own or killed and dumped on the roadside, by the folks you buy milk from,

So what can we do to protect these male baby cows, how can we get them a life that good for them? What are the schemes that exist so one can save these little boys?

Morning of 12^th Mar 2019, we found a little bacha on the streets of Jamshedpur and it was badly injured, many stood around and watched it suffer and bleat, before a few kind biker brothers, Sukhbir, Ravi,  Tushar Arora  the good samaratians that they are took a few hours off there day to look out of rthe bacha,  fed the bacha and sponged the little one and managed to take it to the health center that exist in parsudih, in Jamshedpur, the doctor there and the folks manning the center and in charge of the health center was not interested in the bacha well being and giving it 2 shots of injection, was insistent the those  who carried the bacha there take it back with them and leave it on the road or do what they will they did not want to be a part of the life of the bacha, it took a lot of persuasion to have them keep the bacha , with calls to the media and to the TV stations, Yes we did offer to pay for the wellbeing of the bacha, but the organization people were not interested in the money ( I am guessing they get paid from some sources) and the money is used for who knows what ,,,

Guess we will have to visit the bacha every now and then to make sure he is well taken care of.

#bacha
#cowlove #malecow #love #bikerbrothers

Dr C B Ghosh

I lost my dada in 2012, and an Facebook post from an School teacher ( mine) got me thinking about my dad, as did a chat with Dina

My Dad  Dr C B Ghosh , Jamshedpur, lived to be 83, was married for 51 years and practiced as a doctor in Jamshedpur for 52 years of his 56 years career

He n his smile – he had a wining smile a big smile for his patients

Was a people’s person, and would be able to get communicating with people of all ages in no time, was life of a party

Never saw him drink, but was a merry person except when he was dealing with me, where he was a serious person, I was a never a great student and he hid his disappointment well,

His zeal for life, - we would go one vacation once a year, and days he finished his chamber early, i.e. if patients were less we would go for a picnic me sis, mom n he, n would be to places along the highway where we would take cooked food, n pull over n put on a tarp on the ground and we would have food

Play badminton,

Or catch with a ball, n go for walks while he took siestas after lunch,

When we visited any place with others he mostly footed all expenses including those of others, and was always one to travel, and not sit at home, or in the hotel, but would want to go explore the place we were at, he liked to dress up in a suit in winter, n being a well built and tall person was often mistaken for a army personal, a senior officer and would be accorded similar respect in public, interestingly I too face the same, and may people think I am in the army (yes I do wear army fatigues trouser all the time, and am tall and mostly well built, except I have a belly that announces my arrival sooner then I would like it to;

His enthusiasm for life and dedication to his profession, being a doctor he was a very dedicated to his profession, never said no to a home visit and till his death he was charging Rs 50. Patient, usd $.75 cents, and if one could not afford the fees it was waived off, no matter what rain or shine,

He was at his camber from 0900 – 1230 hours and 1500 – 2100 hours 340 out of 635 days in a year for most part of his life, was revered for his skill as a doctor who could detect illness that other doctors often failed to, and was not one to suggest tests unless needed, he claimed as a patient walked into his chamber 99% of the time he knew what was wrong with the patient, but he still proceeded to do a full body check up before he passed his diagnosis.

He was famous for giving medicine, one – 2 shots of which usually saw a person getting cured.

He was a life at a party and loved to eat and feed people, we sue to have friends of his or family over all the time and he loved to feed them well, we were used to a 2 – 3 non veg dish in meals almost most days and sweets he loved, his grocery shopping was always huge and never compromised on getting the best food, best cut of meat, choicest of sweet sand always in huge numbers,

Whenever he bought sweets, there would be 20 – 40 of those for 4 of us, and as soon as it was over he would again get sweets again, an big meal (at a party was always followed by a fast, which was his secret to staying healthy all his life,

He ended his days in 2013  the last 20 days before his death he was catering to patients from 0900 hours till 1600 hours and 1700 hours to 2200 hours, NON stop, without break for water or coffee, or food or bathroom break.    Chicken Gunia was the epidemic that he was dealing with, , at the age of 83 he was working 7 hours straight without break  as patients were so many and he felt he had to help as many as he could , even if it effected his health.

Love you dad and thank you for giving us such an amazing life, providing for all to the best of your ability which we are grateful for,

A show is a show

And once the exhibitions days are over , it is back to square on,

It has traditionally been like this ,

Once a show is over the images go back to storage , BUT BUT these days thanks to the net, the exhibition could continue and Images can be still on display ,  these are the Images that were in the show   from 1^st to 4^th March 6, 19

Enjoy  people and yes if you would liel to own a image for your house and collection, do get in touch at

Rajat7549179539@gmail.com

98313 21541

why ZOO ZOO laughs

The new Vodaphone India scam. Worth Rs 7500 million

Every morning my data is not working and it takes me approx. 10 minutes of chat with the operator to understand that my data service is not working but phone service is, and 5 minutes later it works for a the day, to be switched off again by 10pm

That’s Rs 5 in calls, as it is an billable call at 50p/min minimum, some days it takes longer while the operator asks me for my address and finds it in her system, everyday, most days the complain no also does not reach me,

Thats Rs 150 every month extra I pay

What a brilliant business model.

50 million post paid subscribers, * Rs 150 i.e 750 million in extra cash earned just by a flick of a switch everyday well done vodaphone, What a IDEA sirji.

What a Master Scam company Vodaphone is,

Complain no - 517674096