Day 173 | June 22 2007 | Bulldozer - Demolition Machine

There is a lot of construction activity going on everywhere. Not just in Bangalore, but all over India. Its Infrastructure time.. time to build and develop. India Shining!

Taken on Hosur road, where old structures are being taken down to give way for new roads and construct new housing projects. The machine is every boys favorite demolition machine, called as a bulldozer or even a JCB.

Day 162 | June 11 2007 | Elevated highway construction

I pass the Hosur road every day to and from home and office. The elevated highway, a parallel highway, 20 feet about the ground is being constructed to connect Electronic City and Bangalore.A 12Km stretch of road.

The work is in full swing, so I decided to visit the site and get a few snaps. Taken through a long pipe, you can see workers with orange high visibility jackets on the far side, working hard.

Infractucture development is hot in India.. a sign of India Shining!

Day 155 | June 4 2007 | Electronics City Over-Bridge

Lush green lawns welcoming visitors to the Electronic city. Taken from the bridge connecting Bannergattha and Hosur bridge.

Day 153 | June 2 2007 | Golden Lining

Who says every cloud has a silver lining. Some clouds have a golden lining!

Taken with my 3Mp Kodak, from the Silk board flyover.

Day 151 | May 31 2007 | Over the Fly Over

The new flyovers coming all over Hosur road are a good spot for traffic photography. Unfortunately today the traffic was pretty much less, motivating me to instead quickly reach home before the traffic jams started.

Day 144 | May 24 2007 | 2.7

The new highway from Hosur road, joining Electronic City, to Bannergatha was completed recently. Its just near my office, and the urge to ride on the brand new tarmac was just too much. While riding I came across this marker announcing 2.7. Strangely there was no 2.6 before nor a 2.8 ahead.

Day 139 | May 19 2007 | Stop!!

While waiting at a signal, I saw this graffiti on a wall near by. I went closer and examined it and was surprised to see this strong statement .. "Stop!! U.S. interference in Indian Nuclear Program". I like the photograph because of the details of the mud and even the green stuff growing up on the wall. BTW, can the US stop India Shining, and the future Smiling Buddhas?

Day 138 | May 18 2007 | 24 'HORS' tyre works

I see this sign every day while commuting to office via the Hosur highway. Its an advert for a tyre puncture/flat repair shop. The yellow tyre says 24 HORS, obviously a spelling mistake, but who cares? If you got a flat, this shop will come to your rescue.

Day 127 | May 07 2007 | Hang on brother!

A common scene, in most Indian cities. Early morning commuters have to hang on for dear life while commuting in these over crowded city busses.

I took this using my point and shoot camera (Kodak), while I was riding my bike to work on the infamous Hosur Road, Bangalore. The bus and I were going at almost 50Kmph. I guess this was the most craziest way I have ever taken candid shot.

Day 47 | Feb 16 2007 | Children of a lesser god - Nomads

Children of a lesser god - Nomads.

As planned earlier, Sandip (my co-photographer) and I went on a photo shoot off the Hosur Road. Our intension was to shoot urban life. But we were surprised and shifted our focus to a rather small make-shift hamlet setup by a large family of Nomads.

It was not surprising to see that the family owned a Tempo Traveler and a well fed, ferocious German Shepherd dog. The men of the hamlet were initially afraid to speak to us, but finally they let us into their tents. The settlement was not looking very old, maybe two or three days. It was dusk, and the women were cooking, preparing dough, baking rotis (Indian bread) for the family. There were these shy children of all ages, and a couple of babies being cared by the older ones. I guess that was a live example of family planning gone for a toss - India Shining - One billion Indians !

They said they were from Maharashtra. Observing their dressing style, mannerisms and language they seem to be from Rajasthan. One fact I noticed was that both the registration plates of their mini-bus were hidden by cloth. My impression of them after we left was that would be involved in some funny business. Sandeep feels otherwise, his post is here.

Day 35 | Feb 04 2007 | Coconut Sellers

Hard days work - Coconut Sellers.
There is a place called as Bomanhalli off Hosur Road, Bangalore, where coconut distribution takes place. Early morning, trucks loaded with these young/ripe coconuts come here and offload in a nearby storehouse. There is a contractor who deals with these single buyers seen in the picture. These buyers load the coconuts on their bicycles, and go off to the deepest parts of the city to do business. Selling price per coconut is Rs.10. Bargaining may only help if you are a regular customer.

The coconuts come is 2 variety's. One with water, and the other with 'malai' and water. The malai as it is called in Hindi, is the milky white soft kernel/endosperm of the coconut. The water is sweet and the malai is yummy !

Did you know that there is a Coconut Development Board under the Indian Ministry of Agriculture.

Another good picture by co photo buddy Sandip Debnath here.

Day 33 | Feb 02 2007 | Hi Way !

Hi Way.. The infamous Housur road at night. Its NH-7 (National Highway 7). The heavy traffic going into Bangalore city makes the road a good sight. As the city nears the speed reduces steadily.

This pic was a medium speed exposure with high aperture.

Day 28 | Jan 28 2007 | Only in India - Holy Cow!

Holy Cow! Another common sight on Indian roads. Not even state capitals like Bangalore are spared of such a sight. Perhaps India is the only place in the world where you can see beauties like BMW's, Merc's and Audi's along side these sleepy cows.

Actually we have learned to share space on the roads and co-exist with these meek species. I'm sure no one minds their presence. And ya, they are holy (its no joke); anything associated with a cow is supposed to be holy... Only in India.

This one was taken again on the infamous Hosur road.

Day 24 | Jan 24 2007 | Village Festival - Nada Habba

This photo was taken on Hosur road (infamous for its great trafic jams) in Adugodi, of the preparations going on for the village festival the next day. My friends who are localities of Bangalore tell me that the city is a concoction of smaller villages joined to form this IT capital of India. So it was a surprise for me to see the decorations going on only in this part of the city. The same place was so crowded the next day, it was difficult to move around. The festival went on the whole night, with lots of holy stuff happening around.

Later on I have come to know the name of the festival was "Nada Habba", and the goddess in question was "Devi Annamma" - source SK Velu.