Thoughts on friendship

“Anyone can stand by you when you’re right, but a real friend will stand by you even when you’re wrong.”

<<<<>>>>

Rare historical photographs

Mahatma Gandhi and Jinnah in heated conversation. A well-known photograph recently attributed to Kulwant Roy.

The iconic historical photographs of a photo-journalist , anonymous until now,  is finally acknowledged. Kulwant Roy (Born 1914, Lahore, then in India) was an Indian photographer. As the head of an agency named “Associated Press Photographs”, he was personally responsible for several iconic images of the Indian independence movement and the early years of the Republic of India.

Jawaharlal Nehru addresses the press in Delhi in 1947, shortly before Independence

Twice, over 24 years, Aditya Arya tried to open the boxes that photojournalist Kulwant Roy delivered to him, bit by bit, on his Lambretta scooter before he died, anonymous and impoverished, in 1984. But each time, he gave up. There was just too much in those boxes, explains Arya, an advertising photographer with a busy schedule.

Sardar Patel and the Maharaja of Patiala confer during a meeting of the Phulkian Union, an umbrella body of princely states, in Patiala, shortly after Independence

Roy’s iconic images were reprinted many times, but credited to nameless stringers. But the 7,000-odd that Arya has digitally scanned since December 2007 when he finally began to unpack the legacy that Roy, a family friend, had bequeathed him, are glimpses of a historical treasure house.

Nehru with his grandson, Rajiv Gandhi, and his daughter, Indira Gandhi, in an undated photo from the Kulwant Roy Collection. (Aditya Arya Archives)

One part of the unfolding story is that several striking images, capturing scenes from the last years of British rule and the early decades after Independence, have turned out to be Roy’s work. : Gandhi and Jinnah arguing in 1939, Nehru and Ghaffar Khan strolling in Simla while Sardar Patel goes past in a palki, Nehru’s hand curled tenderly around grandson Rajiv’s neck and many more. The photographs have been reprinted over the decades but credited to nameless stringers. Only now are these omissions beginning to be repaired. Some of his treasures are reproduced here to make sure people know his name and his pictures.

Kulwant Roy is no longer with us but his historical works will remain and will be remembered as long as his photographed characters are remembered .

Kulwant Roy

Acknowledgements : Herald Tribune, Yahoo group circulation, Aditya Arya.

Competitor of Nano ?

Nano seems to have a competitor before it is lauched. It is the low priced Oreva E of a Gujarat based company, small electric car of Nano’s price. Ajanta Manufacturing Ltd, which makes electric bikes, said its Oreva e-car was specially designed to compete with the Nano. The company plans to launch its product around the same time as Nanos would roll out of the factory.

Lets wait and see who would be whose competitor ?

Goddess Durga

Wish you a happy Durga Puja

Goddess Durga or Maa Durga is worshiped in many forms. (Read my blog on Durga puja for details). Sometimes idols are made based on  the theme. In fact the Durga puja in Kolkata has gradually shifted towards competitions of artistic creativity and every puja committee tries to exhibit their  creativity on Goddess Durga as well as on the Pandals (It is the place,where the idol is placed). So alongwith the puja, we just experience different kinds of beautiful creativities, arts and art forms during 4 days of Durga puja. The  beautiful pandal below, is made of wood, bamboo,straw and cloths. It has successfully depicted  a temple with wonderful lightings to create a true ambiance of a temple or a place of worship. There are arts works on the walls and pillers which are not visible in the photograph. This type of creative works with so much perfection are not seen in any part of India.

.

Since time immemorial Goddess Durga  has been worshipped as the supreme power. The word “Durga” in Sanskrit means a fort, or a place which is difficult to overrun. Another meaning of “Durga” is “Durgatinashini,” which literally translates into “the one who eliminates sufferings.” Thus, as per Hindu believe goddess Durga protects her devotees from the evils of the world and at the same time removes their miseries.

There are many incarnations of Durga, some of them are – Kali,  Bhavani, Ambika, Gauri, Rajeswari, etc.. Durga incarnated as the united power of all divine beings, who offered her the required physical attributes and weapons to kill the demon “Mahishasur”. She killed the demon Mahishasur and thats why she is also known as Mahishasurmardini.

Mamata is responsible for Nano pull out- Tata

Tata management finally announced today evening about their decision to pull out of Nano from Singur. It is a painful news for me but I am helpless like  all other citizens of this state. Today will be marked as a black day in the history of West Bengal. In my previous blog I already wrote about the decision of pulling out of nano from Singur. No miracle happened. So it was inevitable. In his press conference, today evening at Kolkata, Tata Group head Mr. Ratan Tata  squarely blamed TMC leader Mamata Bannerjee for the pull-out of the Nano project from Singur. Following is the extract of his press conference :

Mr Tata said that they have to take the unfortunate decision of shifting of the project out of West Bengal in the interest of its employees, its contractors and also its vendors. The decision, he said, was taken with a pain and sadness.

When asked why he couldn’t wait a little longer, he said that though this is not the best day to make the announcement considering the Durga Puja festival, he couldn’t wait any longer since no solution was visible on the horizon.

He re-iterated during the press meet that he was pulling out of the state primarily because of the agitation of the TMC.

Though it is painful, but not surprising. We the citizen of this state are responsible as a whole because we only elect such leaders to represent us. But she never bothered to honour our majority opinions in favour of the Nano project in Singur.

Ms. Mamata Banerjee, hitting the last nail in the coffin of nano project, came to inaugurate a Durga Puja at Park Circus where she was asked about the pull out of the Nano project from singur, she commented that “It’s a joint game plan of Mr. Ratan Tata and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, just before Puja.” (source : Star ananda). What a ridiculous statement.

Lesson : Without biasing to any political party, we must be careful, cautious while selecting and electing our leaders in future.