Category: Travel Shot

Travel Shot: Regent’s Mosque

Posted on by sudhagee

One morning, on an exceptionally clear October day of 2008, I was walking in Regent’s Park in London. It was along a path that I had not taken before and I was busy taking in all the new sights. Suddenly, an intriguing glint of gold in the distance caught my eye, and I walked in that direction to further explore the source.

The Regent's Mosque, London
The glint had come the dome of the Regent’s Mosque, a dome that was not actually golden, but had coppery and bronze hues. The way the mosque dome sparkled in the morning sun was unbelievable, and with autumnal colours all around, it was a sight that I can never forget.

As I stood there clicking photographs, a family passed me by wishing me “Eid Mubarak”, and then another family and then some more. It was then that I realised that it was Eid-ul-Fitr or Ramadan Id that day.

Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated in the Indian sub-continent on August 31 (the rest of the world will celebrate it a day early), and I take this occasion to wish all my readers Eid Mubarak 🙂

Travel Shot: St. Mary’s Island

Posted on by sudhagee

Once upon a time, ok in November 1998, a friend and I decided to travel down the West coast of India. We started in Honnavar in Karnataka and travelled all the way down to Thiruvananthapuram, hopping in and out of trains and buses. It is a trip that makes me nostalgic even thinking about it. One the places we “discovered” was St. Mary’s Island, off Malpe Beach near Udipi.

St. Mary’s Island, also called Coconut Island by the locals, is an uninhabited island with a shelly beach and clear, cool waters. This is how the local operator who ran motor boat services to the island sold the beach to us. What he did not mention was that the island was made up of columnar basalts, and that it was a geological monument.

7 November 1998: St. Mary’s Island

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Travel Shot: Heritage Kennel

Posted on by sudhagee
27 June 2009: Dido's Kennel

It is no secret that the British are very particular and serious about their heritage structures, which are graded according to their importance. During my year-long stay in London and travels in England, I lost count of the number of heritage structures I saw and visited. In fact, I even lived in one !

But even this did not prepare me for seeing a kennel which has been accorded a heritage. Reportedly the only Grade 1 heritage structure of a kennel in the world, it used to house a St. Bernard, named Dido ! The kennel is taller than me (I’m 5’4″) and looked quite roomy, though I did not test it out. 🙂

The heritage kennel is on the grounds of Ightam Mote, another heritage structure, dating back to about 700 years, in the Kent region of England.

Travel Shot: The apology !

Posted on by sudhagee

It had been a hectic Friday at the University and I was glad when I boarded the tube that would take me to Baker’s Street station, which was closest tube stop to where I lived in London. It was a cold January day and all I wanted to do was to get into the warmth of my room. As I hurried towards the exit, I saw a notice on one side and idly glanced at it as I passed it.

What I saw stopped me in my tracks as I had seen nothing like it before. I mean, nothing like it before in India.

I was amazed to not only see an apology over a delay in the services of the Bakerloo Line (of the London Underground) that day, but also the reasons for that delay. And to top it all off, the apology was sincere and a personal one from the General Manager of the Bakerloo Line himself !

Anybody who has travelled by any system of transport in India, would understand why I was so astonished to see the apology. The only thing we get to hear are the “we regret…” or the “hamein khed hai ki…” — a line which is used for delivering a condolence message or delivering automated messages!

Can you imagine seeing such a poster or apology put out by the Indian Railways, or local transport services in the various cities of India?

Travel Shot: An unusual parking space

Posted on by sudhagee

We have all seen parking lots and spaces for cars, bikes, cycles, trucks, buses, dumpsters, etc. But have you ever seen a space exclusively reserved for prams, pushchairs and strollers?

May 31, 2009: Parking space for prams, pushchairs and strollers at Leeds Castle

I came across this rather unusual parking space for prams, pushchairs and strollers at Leeds Castle in England. Isn’t it cute? 🙂

Travel Shot: Graduation day

Posted on by sudhagee

I love seeing students in their graduation/convocation gowns, robes, cloaks, shawls, what-have-yous that makes me go all part-sentimental, part envious. That’s because I never got to attend either of my two post-graduate convocation ceremonies—the first because the University only invited the prize winners and I wasn’t one; and the second was a degree awarded by a London-based university, and I had already returned to India by then.

So it’s no wonder then, that 3 of my favourite photographs from my collection are around the theme of graduation day in Cambridge, when I visited this University town in April 2009. Cambridge was buzzing with excited and serious students, proud and happy parents, beaming teachers, and in the midst of all this bewildered tourists arriving by the busload every minute.

I was all set to hit the “sights” of Cambridge when I came across the graduates, dressed in their robes. And I slowed down immediately just to watch them. And yes, photograph them, too, from the ground and from the air. 😀

Graduating students in different coloured robes. Wonder what level of qualification each colour represents

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