Dood’s Photo of the Day

Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 31st Mar’08

El Ángel is one of the major attractions of Mexico City. Standing in the heart of the city, it is a symbol of faith for many and witnesses most of the important events of the country like the president’s speech on Independence day. According to an old custom of Mexico, all newly weds are supposed to come straight to the angel after pronouncing their marital vows.

This place is hardly at a 20 min walk from my hotel & often I come and sit here once its dark in the evening. Though it has a lot of traffic circling around it, it somehow gives you a sense of peace. The complete name of the place is El Ángel de la Independencia.

Here is the complete view of the place.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 30th Mar’08

There are two things I would like to mention about this photo. One is the peculiar style of shoe polish shops that I have seen in Mexico. They make you sit high on the trolley and then polish your shoes. It feels as if you are sitting on a throne You can see these shoe polish trolleys all over the city and you can see people sitting on them and reading newspapers while their shoes are getting polished.

Second point is about the man you can see in this picture. It was a Sunday and hence not many customers for him. I asked him for a photo and he posed nicely for one. Then I thanked him and shook hands with him. He was so humble that you could notice it in the first glance. He was very hesitant in giving his hand over to me, but at the same time had a genuine smile on his face, as if feeling that someone cared to say thanks and offer a hand. I was really touched that time, by his looks and by his behavior. I couldnt stop myself from thinking about him for the whole day.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 29th Mar’08

As the night prepared to take the city under its cover of darkness, these street lamps were ready to confront it. Glowing against a dim background, they announced their arrival after a day long nap.

As I have mentioned before, the capital city of Mexico is flooded with various expressions of art even in the simplest of objects. The design of these lamps is a standing evidence of the same.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 28th Mar’08

The other day when I went to my friend’s apartment for lunch, I saw these bright, fresh fruits very precariously arranged on a wooden platter-cum-basket like thing. Among all the other decorative items arranged in the room, I found this Apple basket the best candidate to be captured by my lens.

The shine and the freshness which was just radiating out of the fruits, made them so tempting that you just feel like to grab one and take a big juicy bite.

Here is the same image clicked with a different angle.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 27th Mar’08

Though you cant see anything special in this image at the first glance but there are two things worth to be noted.
1. If you see the full sized view, you will actually see me lost inside the reflections coming over the buttons, standing with my camera.
2. If you noticed, there are pattern of dots etched out besides all the buttons. These patterns are nothing but the braille alphabets for the numbers. This is the first time I have seen a lift having these signs. Certainly, very wisely thought.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 26th Mar’08

It was really a proud moment for me to see this memorial right in the heart of Mexico city. I had seen the name “Gandhi” at many places in the city before, like music stores and street signs, but an entire memorial dedicated to the great man was really a heart warming sight.

Far from his homeland, and the places where he was active, like South Africa & Britain, having a presence on the other side of the globe is truly a sign of true greatness.

Nonviolence has always reached among men and has become the announcer of peace to the world. Our struggle & purpose is harmony with the entire world – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
(Translation of text engraved at the back)

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Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 25th Mar’08

Today I am posting the 100th post of the blog. These hundred images wont have been possible without the most cherished of my possessions; my camera. I have basically used three different cameras for clicking images for the blog.

Images till post no 38 were clicked using my first camera Canon A630. I used the camera for over 6 months before exchanging it for another one.

Post no 38 onwards are clicked by the camera I am presently having, Sony DSC H2.

A couple of images, including the one posted today have been clicked using the camera of my cell phone – Nokia N95 8GB.

These babies have helped me live my passion. I value them more than any other of my material possessions. I dedicate this post to them.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 24th Mar’08

I tasted some sweet donuts at a friend’s place last weekend. That time I decided that during my shopping for the next week, I’m gonna buy some bakery items which will come handy for a light snack. The bakery section of the nearby supermarket “Superma” was really awesome. The look, the fragrance, the display, everything was completely fascinating. I bet you can’t come back empty handed once you enter the section. Everything seems to be so fresh as if it has just arrived from the oven.

I bought many different kinds of donuts and pies & that was when I took this image.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 23rd Mar’08

Usually its the European countries which are famous for their urban art. If you think about art forms on road sides and road intersections, you think of France, Italy and Holland. I haven’t seen other parts of Mexico, but being quite familiar with Mexico City, I can very well list it along with the European elites. You can find diverse expressions of art in every nook and corner of the city. The art forms vary from medieval impressions to some very versatile expressions of modern art. A lot of thought has been put even while designing the benches and seats on the side-walks.

If you go the old city, you will feel as if you are on a trip to the colonial past. The buildings, the architectural designs, subways, even the lamp posts have a typical Spanish art print on them.

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Originally clicked and uploaded by – Pratosh Dwivedi – 22nd Mar’08

I was having a casual evening walk when I saw this cute little girl running here and there around the side-walk. She was actually running to & fro between her parents, waving her hands in the air & shrieking every now and then. I silently took the nod of her mother to capture her into my camera and then took a couple of shots. But just as I took the second one, she noticed me and became conscious.

Kids do really take my heart away.

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