A couple of Updates

Sorry folks, for the break in regular programming, but a Spanish getaway beckons me, I have a flight to catch in eight hours and I still haven't packed!

But! But, a Spanish holiday means four days of Spanish Flânerie, and consequently a huge stash-load of street photography and stories from Espana!

So,
1. Please do bear with me while I traipse up and down Andalucia..

2. Check out the Another London - Bricklane Moments parts one and two, and please leave me lots of feedback!

3. And if you're in the mood for a bit of reading, I've reopened my old blog at http://www.thenewshimmeringmercury.blogspot.com...it's a bit of writing done since 2005 and I want to find out if I should let that blog remain open or close it yet again! Please leave me comments or email me so I know!

Well, that's quite a lot for you to do in five days, isn't it?

I'll be back before you know it with part 3 of "Another London" and hopefully, a lot of Spanish delight. See you in June!

Another London: Brick Lane Moments 2

continued from here.

But hey! This is the East End! How could you possibly escape the graffiti and the street art? As much as Brick Lane is a visual, ethnic and cultural entity in its own right, the thread of street art that runs through it ties it with the rest of the East End. Here's what I spotted:

Jeff Soto









Nathan Bowen















An evil Ronald McDonald

And other unidentified ones. (Help appreciated)













Someone does not like New Media:

Brick Lane gives stiff competition to Rivington Street in the graffiti department! If you can identify these works, please do let me know!

...to be continued

Another London: Brick Lane Moments 1

The problem with clicking in East London is that there is just way too much to capture. The signs of decay, the thin, broken layers of regeneration and gentrification, the ethnic veneer, the street art, the life of the people - there is a whole lot to East London and it is a whole lot different from the rest of the city.

It is Another London, an alternate London. And there is no another in the East End like Brick Lane.

Brick Lane is London's Bangla Town - the first home of early 20th Century Bangladeshi refugees in the UK. It is also the erstwhile home of Jack The Ripper, which should tell you about the area's horrific and less than glorious history. It has been the home of wave after wave of immigrants since the 17th Century - the Huguenots, the Jews and the most recent - Bangladeshis. It is after the arrival of the Bangladeshis that there was a revival of Anglo-Indian cuisine in this part of London, a revival that lives on in the several cheap curry houses that the street is now famous for.


And there's more apart from the curry. Some immigrants have launched other businesses and these tend to be clustered on certain patches of the street or on other streets that shoot off the main artery. It is also the setting for Monica Ali's Brick Lane, for Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses (in part), On Brick Lane by Rachel Lichtenstein, Salaam Brick Lane by Tarquin Hall, among others.

And it is not surprising to see why there' s so much contemporary literary interest in this place. For, it is all a little bit surreal: You see Bangladeshi people all around you. The road signs are in English and Bangla. Skull caps, sarees, hijabs, sherwanis and salwar kameez make up the predominant dress code. You stand out in your jeans and bare arms, because you have a south asian face. Shops sell Indian wedding paraphernalia and metres of embroidered cloth. Curry houses blare loud bangladeshi or hindi film music. You can smell curry and spices and marinating meat. As a lone south asian woman with a camera, you attract a lot of male attention - but the camera instils some sort of automatic respect for you in the men. The women cover their faces as they pass by you - they do not want to be clicked. Some older men look disapprovingly at you, but besides themselves with curiousity, keep watching from a distance.

This gentleman stood around giving me a disapproving look but the moment he realised my camera was on him, he walked away!

Some younger ones deliberately saunter into your frame. And a few even oblige you with poses - poses you didn't ask for.

Except for this gentleman who politely asked if I would click a picture of him. When I agreed, he happily struck this pose in front of his shop. Then he gushingly told me no one had clicked a picture of him in a very long time. I offered to email him his picture. Besides himself with happiness, he scrawled out his email id on a piece of paper and asked me about five times "Really? You're serious? You will really email my photo to me?!" (I just emailed it to him, if you're wondering).

And then you see a couple of fashion students walk past and you remember you're still in London.

But that is not all there is to Brick Lane. Watch out for more in the next...

Of Bubble-Princesses and Cycle Rickshaws... On Regent Street

Continued from here and here.

Shoppers, tourists, office workers, weaving their way through cabs, cars, buses and bikes - the typical Regent Street scene. Who would imagine that bubble princesses, half out of a fairy tale and cycle-rickshaws, half out of South East Asia also ply their trade here?

The cabs and the bubbles on Regent Street are courtesy Hamley's - the largest toy store in the world and a popularity, arguably rivaling the Buckingham Palace in touristy circles. The cycle rickshaws or pedicabs, as they're also called, run in a few select tourist hot-spots around Soho in Central London. Mostly driven by out of work punters or students trying to make an extra buck, they're known to be pretty safe and fun. There are generally no background checks on the drivers, but I suppose you could calmly jump off if the driver tries to er...speed away with you. I personally haven't been on one in London - but have had lots of 'authentic' rickshaw experiences in India, so this is not very new to me. In comparison to India's rickshaws in fact, these ones seem ultra-safe and boring. The safety takes the edge out of a rickshaw ride - imagine one in the middle of mad traffic zipping about you, with your heart in your throat and your hair on edge, as you desperately cling to the seat, trying not to fall off the thing. Haha! There there, I assure you, the London 'pedicab' ride is nothing like that.

The bubble girl, also courtesy Hamley's, was drawing a lot of attention (and customers to Hamley's), but she seemed to have her own concerns on her mind. And then she noticed me clicking and struck a pose.

She was certainly bringing some cheer about her. :)

And that sums up my Regent Street experience in black and white. Would love to hear how you liked it, and especially feedback on my black and white pictures.

I've noticed quite a few new subscribers and followers of this blog - a big thank you to all of you! Please introduce yourselves and let me know what you think of my work. If you prefer to stay in the background, that's alright too - I still really appreciate your support and interest. Will be back soon with more. Until then, let's collectively hope for the return of good summery weather to London!

Scenes from Regent Street in black and white - 2

Continued from here.

Regent Street was designed in the early 1800's by the great British architect John Nash, as a compliment to the Prince Regent. It has since, for the most part, been identified as the physical and metaphorical heart of London's social scene. Over time it has evolved into one of the most iconic shopping streets in Europe - more so, under the control of the Crown Estate, who took over Regent Street in 2001 and converted it into a brand.

Three years in London, and I've yet to catch this street deserted. It's always bustling.

And occasionally you'll come across scenes that seem like they do not belong, but are yet very much part of the fabric of Regent Street. But that's another post. Watch this space and keep the feedback coming!