1, 2, & smile!

I am no street photographer. I am not very comfortable capturing people and their expressions with a camera, even though that is one of my favorite past times. But sometimes there happens to an occasion where even without my knowledge I end up capturing someone who thinks that I am focusing on them.
For instance, this photograph which I took in Chennai Besant Nagar beach wasn’t something I expected. We were there for sunset (even though Sunsets on the east side aren’t that momentous) and for the beach (which my niece and nephew refused to leave even after it got very dark). There is a line of people who sell roasted corn. My brother and I were trying for some good fire based shots and I was prepping for it when I took this photograph. When I came back home and started uploading photographs to share with my family members is when I saw this guy and I started wondering if I remember seeing him at all. It was pure coincidence that he ended up giving that perfect smile looking at my camera as if I was focusing on him when all my concentration was on the fire and the corn.

To the random guy, I don’t know who you are but thank you for posing for my photograph 🙂

Those few moments

Ger’s post on fleeting moments, reminded me of this recent incident. Let me tell you upfront that it isn’t a romantic or a very nice moment. But a moment nonetheless. One night after my yoga class, we three friends went to a dhaba close by for our dinner. It was quite late, say around 9.15 pm or so if I am not wrong. It was a small place with some chairs placed around the table facing the road. It was quiet outside with very few traffic in that side road. Opposite to this dhaba there was a clinic. While having our roti and sabzi we were talking about official stuff when my eyes fell on this woman sitting on the sidewalk. There was a guy, looked like a friend of hers, sitting next to her. She had her phone in one hand and was talking very animatedly. Nothing new there. Lot of people talk on the phone on the sidewalks at night when they find some peace and quiet. But something about the way she was waving her hand and then covering her face and then looking up told me that she was very agitated or upset over something. By then I had totally tuned out my friends and it was just me and her. Suddenly she started to cry. Not the wailing kind, just a sob which she tried to control but just couldn’t. Like she couldn’t hold her pain any longer and it just came out through her tears. She was still on the phone and sobbing uncontrollably. It felt like she had received a very bad news about someone, at least that is how it felt to me. Her friend who was giving her space, came close and gave her a one armed hug so as to convince her that there is someone to hold her so she can let go. I almost had tears in my eyes. I so wished that I could go and give her a hug, if only to share a small amount of pain that was there in her face. Suddenly I heard my name being called and realized that I was supposed to be having dinner with my friends. By the time I was about to turn back to my friends, she lifted her face and saw me for a second, eyes full of tears and bent down her head. I felt bad after that because it felt like I was part of a very private moment that was supposed to be hers only. I have thought of that woman every time I pass that place and wish that whatever it was that day, she found her peace.