A Trip to Srisailam

Had been to Srisailam last month, on the eve of Shivaratri (18-19 February). Here are some glimpses from the trip:

For my friends outside of India, here are some video notes:

• 0:23: Roadside Mirchi Bajji, a popular snack in Andhra Pradesh made out of chillies and gram/rice flour.
• 0:59: Lakhs of devotees come to this small town for Shivaratri (we were there on the eve of Shivaratri). There aren't enough hotels to accomodate them all, so they just sleep on the roads with their bags.
• 1:22: Devotees dressed in traditional brown/orange attire.
• 1:29: People who worship Lord Shiva usually have 3 horizontal stripes of vibhuti (ash) on their forehead, like the old woman here. Worshipers of Lord Vishnu wear 3 vertical stripes.
• 1:50: People trying to balance coins on their sides. It is believed that if the coins stand erect without falling, your wish will be granted.
• 2:14: There was something (not sure what) far away that people were trying to see from this spot. It is believed that people who are able to see it attain Moksha.
• 2:42: At the right-most corner, a part of the Srisailam dam is visible.
• 3:15: Local buses! Traveling in one of these in India is an experience in itself.

Our budget for this 'really local' trip was Rs. 1000/- per person, inclusive of travel, food, stay and sight-seeing for 2 days.

Oh and the background track in the video is Bent - Invisible Pedestrian. Heard it a long time ago in one of the CSI: Miami episodes; I think it fits quite nicely here.

Photos Exhibited at Darpan 2012

Infosys Hyderabad organised a photography exhibition, Darpan 2012, on March 6 and 7 at the Gachibowli campus. Entries were invited from all the 20,000+ employees based out of Hyderabad and the best 100 entries were selected for display.

The work of 30 photographers made the final cut, and I'm happy to announce that I was one of them! My selected entries are listed below:

1. City by the Lake
2. Jog Falls
3. Steps
4. War Times

The photos were also put up for sale, and the proceeds were donated to charity. Twenty two prints (12"x18") of mine were sold over the two days, including six framed prints and sixteen non-framed ones. The large format prints looked so beautiful that I couldn't help ordering 2 framed prints for myself too. Can't wait for them to arrive!