The India Chronicles | The Drum Sellers of MG Road

There is quite a difference in how a photographer is perceived and received on the streets in London and in India. In London, there is a simultaneous sense of respect and distrust - people move out of your frame, wait to pass until you've finished clicking, turn their faces, some surreptitiously try to find out what you're clicking and why. Rarely will a Londoner come up to you and ask, and even more rarely will a stranger in London pose for you. If you're around a policeman, you're likely to be questioned, or worse, under the new strange laws against street photography that are aimed at preventing terrorism, but promote suspicion instead.

In India, however, the story turns on its head. If you carry a camera in public, you yourself become the object of curiosity. You click on the street and a crowd will gather behind your back. If people think your viewfinder is trained at them, a few will move out of the frame and a majority will start hamming it up - putting on a happy display for your benefit. Most people in India love getting their pictures taken, even if they personally won't ever have a chance of having those pictures! I personally suspect the degree of curiosity and hamming goes up if the photographer is female. Of course, not everyone will do this - but this is largely what I've experienced while clicking here.

And so it was on a Sunday afternoon at MG Road. Exhausted by shopping, I was sipping at a disgusting concoction disguised as cold coffee at the Cafe Coffee Day on MG Road, watching life on the busy street whizz past, when I noticed these drum sellers. These young men move around in groups on MG Road trying to sell crudely made drums of all sizes to people. They were evidently not having too much luck this afternoon.

Since I was safely hidden under a large garden umbrella and some plants, I took several shots of these guys knowing that they are unaware of my presence and my viewfinder. Or so I thought. One of them noticed me, much to his apparent glee, and this is what ensued.

Ham it up, Mister





The one on the right knows his picture is being taken. This is an attempt to look 'cool'.

I spent the rest of the evening fending off these two guys as they tried to sell me a drum. Every time I stepped out of a store, they would be there:

"Maddum, lowest price for you... you clicked my photo, Maddum"
"Only 250 Rupees for you, Maddum, special price"
"We entertained you Maddum, please buy" (I'd laughed out loud when these guys struck that pose for me).
And even:
"What Maddum, I make so much effort, you still don't buy"
!!

I have to admit I was tickled, even if a bit annoyed by their unceasing sales pitch. Although, I suspect that I provided them with more entertainment in their boring afternoon than the other way round. I did not buy a drum, although I wanted to. I just don't have space in my luggage for one!

Postcards from Spain | The Street Artists and Buskers of Granada

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'd know that I have a particular affinity for informal forms and purveyors of art, or in other words street art and artists - be it visual of performance based. I therefore had to document the street artists and performers of Granada for you, and today's set of postcards does just that.

In particular, I was struck by the number of musicians performing in Granada's streets and plazas, which, on second thought is no surprise given Spain's long and rich musical tradition. It shows... and buzzes and mesmerises you as you walk around town - and how!

This gentleman is usually found around the Plaza de la Romilla of Granada, busking his music to people sitting along the promenade with cafes on one side and the spactacular Alhambra on top of the hill on the other. He entertained us for two breakfasts and one glass of evening wine.










I have never heard or seen someone playing the didgeridoo before this (at least that is what I think that is) and this gentleman was doing an absolutely fantastic job of it! He was keeping rhythm with those two wooden pellets in his right hand and the combined effect made you want to tap your feet and sway your hips! He was busking his unique music outside the main Cathedral in Granada.
It was around the Cathedral area that most other buskers and artists would tend to ply their art as well.

















This gentleman is painting scrolls of Arabic poetry - something that the walls of the Alhambra are covered in. A common art in these parts, it seems, but incredibly beautiful. I only wish I knew how to read Arabic so that I could make an informed comment on what I was looking at!

I hope you liked this set of postcards as much I personally like it! This series of postcards is about to draw to a close soon, but beyond that I have some street photography related writing, and some London-based stories coming up... and also an important, very important announcement! Keep watching, and I hope you will not be disappointed with what comes up. :)

Covent Garden Market: Of street performers, antiques and touristy hordes

One wouldn't normally associate Monday evenings with fun. But if you are in London and not inclined to giving into typical Monday blues (and are not too bothered by throngs of tourists), you could wander over to the Covent Garden Market, the colourful piazza where a market has existed since the 1600's.

click on pictures to enlarge

Since its history is so interesting, I'll touch upon it briefly here. If history is not your thing, you could skip straight to the pictures below. The Covent Garden Piazza hosted one of the most famous fruit and vegetable markets for over 300 years - from the 1660's (post the Great Fire) through to the 1970's - by which time, the market had grown into a shabby, congested nightmare. The greengrocers were moved to Nine Elms in Battersea (south London) and the market was closed down for a few years but reopened with great celebrations in the late 1970's. Over the years it has regained its original glamour and colour, although now it is known for its street performances, its central courtyard, its dedicated vendor markets (Apple and Jubilee) and the high profile lifestyle stores and pubs that outline the Piazza.

A large part of the architecture is still original, restored and added to at various times, in its long history. The central Piazza itself is the largely-original structure constructed in the 1630's by Inigo Jones.

When I walked in yesterday, I was struck by the sheer number of people there on a late Monday afternoon. There were lots of tourists, no doubt, but there were also a suprising number of Londoners around. (Recession?) Hordes were glued to street performances. On James Street, the main street that links the market to the Covent Garden Station was this Indian 'magician', whose glib humour was keeping everyone more entertained than his trickery. While I clicked away, he suddenly noticed me, stopped mid-sentence and gave me a 'pose', which shook the whole crowd with laughter (including me, which explains the camera shake).

There were other performances going on in the main square and in the central courtyard (which is reserved for classical music performances). I've heard that Covent Garden is the only licensed street performance area in London, but I'm not sure this is true, because I've seen street performances at the South Bank at other times.

And then there was the Antiques market, held every Monday in the Apple Market in the main hall. I'm not sure how many of these are real antiques but you could find a bargain here if you looked hard enough. It was so crowded that most of the time, tiny me and my big camera were jostled around and I could only manage a few un-blurred pictures.

Not everyone who was there was part of the shopping, eating, selling, performing frenzy though. I spotted some souls who had managed to create their own isolated islands in the middle of all the bustle about them.

By the time I got to Jubilee Market though, it was nearing 6PM and most of the stalls had wrapped up their wares. So now you know - if it's the antiques you're interested in, take the whole day off. No more bluesy Mondays, either way!