Bio-note: Madan Mohan Chakraborty, Mechanical Engineer, Managing Director and CEO ISKRAEMECO India Pvt. Ltd. Specializes in Industrial Machines, Electronics design and manufacturing, Steel, Automotive and Utility domain and has worked with teams ranging from New Zealand to Canada. Now channelizing his diverse experience for robust design and manufacturing of Embedded Electronics and associated solutions, operating in the field of smart city, artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, smart grid, IoT, and connected intelligence. A passionate photographer, he has been honoured with many international and national awards and his exhibitions have enthralled many around the world. He unwinds with squash, music, cooking, travelling, learning history & culture and sustainable farming.
Berlin: Melody floats in the air and casts a magical spell amidst a race against time. Breakneck speed and dreamy magical melody blend in perfectly to give Berlin its unique identity.
Stockholm: Days are short in Stockholm and nights long. In the small circle of light during a frosty afternoon, an old lady sells flowers for a living. A passer-by is interested. Amidst the gloom, frost and the lengthening shadows, the magical circle of light and the commodity sold create a moment miracle. Neither grocery nor daily necessities, but flowers being sold and bought in the frosty short day, resonate with hope, in consonance with the patch of light against the dark shadowy frame.
Singapore: Contrast again. Singapore is known for its speed and a walk along the pavements on any normal day would reveal people rushing in great speed. Fast is the key word for this shinning city. And yet in a corner of the fast and business-oriented city, a group of natives sit for hours contemplating a chess move in absolute denial of the city’s race against time. Some spectators too stand resolute against the mad rush and watch the fate of kings and queens being sealed on the chess board.
Ljubljana, Slovenia: Flash dance in the streets of Ljubljana, Slovenia where totally unfamiliar partners pair up and dance in joy. Joy floats free in the air despite urban complexities, manipulations and competition for survival.
Berlin: Berlin streets again, where art meets life. Interesting juxtaposition that blurs the thin line between the creator and the created.
London: A historical modernised city of bustling culture, trade and commerce. Provides a frame where imagination and art becomes the background to a busy frowning citizen, engrossed in business talk. An interesting juxtaposition again where the thin border between art and life wavers intriguingly.
London: Street dance in London with busy passers by on their way to work while the jolly dancers in traditional costumes and stilts proceed with unparallel grace. Stilts were traditionally put on by messengers for fast communication and in today’s world of internet and speed, the procession appears to be a fragment of pure nostalgia.
Japan: Busy streets of Japan, a land of advanced technology and inventions. People do not stop to stare at educated modern citizens crawling to a monastery as an act of penance. Buddhism too seems to have a similar concept of self-inflicted torment as in Islam and Hinduism.
Kolkata: Goddess Durga, the slayer of demons, is worshipped as a symbol of supreme power and is treated as a daughter by Bengalis. The daughter is believed to visit her parental abode annually and returns to her husband Lord Shiva’s heavenly abode in Kailash, in the Himalayas and her idol is immersed in the holy water of Ganga as a symbol of her journey back home. Kolkata, the old yet progressive city of dreams, aspirations and scientific temper provides a frame where women smeared in traditional vermillion pray in deepest sincerity to the Goddess for strength as the idol is immersed.
Zurich: Wall art and silhouette of two passers-by in a lane of Zurich. Art and life blends in a perplexing yet intriguing manner. Had to wait for two hours to capture the passers-by in order to create this frame.
Kolkata: A candid shot from Hastings area of Kolkata – the City of Joy, where material possessions do not determine the heights of pure joy. Silver raindrop can bring about such heavenly and pure smiles.
Kolkata: Jobless day labourer in central Kolkata – the City of Joy, staying fit as a fiddle with unparallel optimism. When the covid days are over, said the poor fellow, he must be robust enough to undertake strenuous manual labour. Such optimism and brightness amidst gloom.
Kolkata: Chequered life full of songs of experience and some football too. Hilarious and impressive wall art and a senile football-enthusiast whose country has never succeeded in joining the World Cup or any international football tournament. City of Joy bubbles with enthusiasm and positivity in the shabbiest and poorest of corners, especially when it comes to the ball game!
Kolkata: Band party – a dying art in the modern days of digital music. The toothless smile and joy of the artists of the fast-declining band party with the twinkle in the eyes of an old gentleman, cherishing the pure nostalgia of days gone by, provides a frame that brings a lump in the throat. City of Joy again. Declining art, low income and yet the nostalgia is enough to bring a smile to the lips of the impoverished artists and old enthusiasts.
Kolkata: Central Kolkata “dum biryani” preparation for Eid celebration with charcoal on huge pots. The biryani would be enjoyed by cosmopolitan citizens of the old city – a perfect huge cauldron of multiple cultures, religions and languages.
Just awesome....and Kolkata ❤❤❤
ReplyDeleteSuperb photography. Yo have captured the moments so lively! Loveit.
ReplyDeleteincredible snaps. just the booming nostalgia at its best!
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