Friday, August 04, 2006

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Bombay Train Blast


Bombay Train Blast
Originally uploaded by vis-a-vis.
This is what the train looked like after the July 11, 2006 blasts in Bombay. Read my report here

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Kala Ghoda Arts Festival Pictures

standing aurogita akshaya peter arjun geeta pawan pallvi john, sitting neel yati manish sonia

The Caferati gang after the Kala Ghoda event. We had performance poetry, violin and piano performances, a painting all under the influence of dangerously addictive poetry and fiction.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Shreeji, Jugal and Hemant


DSCN0183
Originally uploaded by johnpmathew.
The caferatii at Horniman Circle listening avidly to someone read. From left are Shreeji Doshi, Jugal Mody, and Hemant Suthar.

Arnica, the compulsive blogger!

This Arrnica who is a compulsive blogger and my colleague at Lester. I clicked this photograph in the office on my Nikon Coolpix.

Monday, January 30, 2006

John


John
Originally uploaded by soney.
Shooting the shooter! Suniti and I engaged in a photographic duel at the Horniman Circle readmeet of Caferati. Guess I lost the duel as she shot me first! (Photo courtesy: Suniti Joshi)

ammachi last journey


amma last journey
Originally uploaded by johnpmathew.
An impromptu poem I composed for her:

Decked in flowers,
Swaddled in gold filigreed shrouds,
Smeared with perfume,
She travels to the world beyond,
A life of love lived,
A life of more giving than taking,
Living a life of choices,
Turnings, and crossing she had missed.
She lies besides father,
In a grave prearranged for her,
Knowing she would accompany him,
In this last stage of creation,
When we all must self destruct.

ammachi with thoshapa


ammachi with thoshapa
Originally uploaded by johnpmathew.
End of the journey! She was a teacher who sacrificed her career to look after her five children. In the process she became old, wrinkled, and lost her teeth and her eye sight. Her regret was that she didn't pursue her career as a teacher. If she had she would have been drawing a good pension, a fact she regretted all her life! Each time I used to phone her she would ask, "When are you coming?"

When she was grieveously ill and bed ridden she actually told me, "Why don't you lie down somewhere, you look tired." Guess mothers are always like that, sacrificing, giving up, letting go, releasing, and still willing to give unconditional love in spite of all the cruel neglect they receive from their children.

ammachi decked in a thoshapa and the coffin that I bought!


ammachi with thoshapa
Originally uploaded by johnpmathew.
Ammachi's last journey to the world beyond. She died on 06/01/2006 and I was with her when she died. She was eighty-eight. A priest said during the funeral, "You are only prepared to live, if you are prepared to accept death." How true.

If this is the end - for which we all have to prepare - then we better start living, loving, celebrating, creating, sharing, revelling in this journey called life.

Are you prepared to die? Only then can you prepare to live, as our priest said.