Livelihood -- Joy

Please click on each photo for larger view. (ছবিগুলো বড় করে দেখতে চাইলে ওপরে ক্লিক করুন।)

The Cobbler : This photo was taken at Esplanade Bus Depot, Kolkata. I was searching for
some interesting street shots when I found this person. He was very busy with his work (which is reflected in his face also) that he didn’t even notice that I was taking this picture. Most important thing I loved about this environment is the complete organized but make-shift setup of this person. And my favorite part is the two images of gods, which are nothing but broken tiles, placed on a slightly high position as we normally get to see in shops and at home. I don’t know why but I simple loved
the environment.

The FlowerSeller : This photo was taken at Mullick Ghat flower market, Kolkata. Mullick Ghat flower market is considered as one of the largest open retail flower market in India. Everyday tons of flowers are transported to this market from outskirts of Kolkata and other nearby places and are sold from this market. Flowers are even packed and exported from this place to different places of India. Not everyone have a shop and those who do not have shops sell flowers in this way. This person and many others like him carry 10-20kgs of flowers in this way, every day and sell those to the retailers or even stray customers. Most interesting thing is the way they arrange the flowers on their shoulders. They first strung around 20-50 flowers on a jute thread and hang those on both their shoulders in such a way that it simply looks like a fluffy poncho made of colourful flowers!!!

The toy maker and his wife : He is above 80 and he still makes toys. This photo was taken at Putulpara, Agradeep (a place close to Nabadwip). All the residents of this village are artisans and they make wooden toys. They sell these toys in different handicraft fairs throughout West Bengal and also in different parts of India. The most famous and popular wooden toys they make are that of “owl” and “king-queen” and these are available in different fairs and varies in price based on the size. While talking to this person, I came to know that all three generations (he himself, his three sons and two grandsons) are involved in toy making. Most memorable part is that he and his wife offered us water and muri (puffed rice) and told me to sit and rest in their small hut for a while as I was sweating a lot. Nice people they are and not to mention also a master craftsman.

Granny's Kitchen : 

This photo was taken at Agradeep (a place close to Nabadwip). While we were walking through the village we found this granny making Muri (puffed rice). We asked whether we can take photo and they very lovingly obliged. I simple loved the super clean environment of granny’s kitchen, her precision, synchronization and the amazing rhythm with which she was preparing the Muri.

Muri :  Muri is the Bengali term for puffed grain made from rice. Muri is to rice as popcorn is to corn. Traditional puffed rice called muri  is made by heating rice in a sand-filled oven. Muri is to rice as popcorn is to corn. The processing involved makes rice less perishable. Muri is a staple food in many parts of Rayalaseema, North Karnataka, Bengal and Bangladesh. Jhalmuri or Masalamuri or Bhelpuri is a very popular preparation made from muri.  

Ref : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puffed_rice

About Joy: A software developer by profession and working for IBM India, photography to me is my passion, way to relax and a kind of creative release. I like to capture day-to-day human activities, their emotions and hence my favourite genres are street photography and candid portraits.

[Flickr URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/acharyyajoy

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