A habit like reading

For those who like to read, it turns out to be a habit that sticks on. For many, the morning newspaper is a must. A way to keep yourself connected with the outside world. This is a picture clicked in Dhobi Khanna (Cochin) by Adrian Whittle a few years ago.

The rising sun gives enough light for these flower market workers to read the regional newspaper. This was shot in 2007 by Akshathkumar Shetty at the City Market in Bangalore, India.

The story can be the same in any part of the world, like for instance like inside an Osteria (Tavern) in Italy. (Photo credit Giulio)

Sometimes it could be just a novel, like this horse cart driver in Salzburg catching up on his reading while waiting for his next customer. Maybe he is taking night classes and is going through his text book. (Photo credit Bill Smith)

Sometimes you don't want the story to be interrupted and are willing to continue reading in the tight confines of a Metro in Washington DC (Pic credit:Dale Scherfling)

Libraries are a totally different world for book lovers.You can just sit and browse through a vast variety of books (provided you have the time) (Pic credit: bawtrees)

I like the design of this public library in Seattle. Nothing like allowing the natural light to come in. (Photo credit:Doc SaintX)

A book in hand is always good while travelling, especially when it is long distance. You will never feel "distressed" (Pic Credit: Siakou

Like this village scene. Kids enjoying by the riverside. The common factor? Reading. This is somewhere in Ayodhya (India) (photo credit: Eli)

Here is an interesting picture and this is what the photographer Ameer Hamza has to say: Wife cooked excellent tikka with some gravy, imli ki chutney which was just well made, additional support was provided by hari chutney, piyaz, mirch and kheera. Beautiful. My kids also enjoy this dish so I decided to have my Guria hold this wonderful book. I could not find a better way to photograph the entire spectrum including home made parathas with my early favourite book by master Islamic scholar, A J Arberry. This book must be considered as a classic among studies of Islamic Civilization, a vast, difficult, fascinating subject. So vast and so intricate that few Muslims would know or be able to accurately describe the term 'Islamic Civilization'. Example: A Christian translator working for a Muslim Abbasid King on a Greek manuscript to be translated and annotated in Arabic should be considered as 'Islamic' ? Questions like these are played well. In Pakistan Suhail Academy is at the forefront in publishing such wonderful books. This edition is 2001 printed in Lahore.

I never knew about this bookstall "Shakespeare and Company" till I saw the photograph. What the photographer Craobh Nua has to say :This is quite possibly the most famous bookshop in the world. It was responsible for giving "Ulysses", by James Joyce, its first print run - some were autographed, and these are now reckoned to be the most expensive books of the 20th Century. It was also closed down during the Second World War, when the owner refused to sell a book - Finnegan's Wake, according to legend - to a Nazi Officer. The books are pretty much all in English, and if you buy one you can get it stamped.

I added this photograph for the wonderful picture that it is. A good example of a candid picture and the contrast is very sharp. This was clicked at the Abbey of St Pierre in France. (Photo credit: Dprezat)

"Immersed in the book" so to say but not a very safe place to sit and read from the safety point of view. (Photo Credit Francesco Mariano)

This is a photograph of a painting kept in the State Russian Museum at Saint Petersburg.Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanov-Belsky (Shitiki, December 6, 1868 - Berlin, February 19, 1945) was a Russian painter. He painted mostly genre paintings, especially of the education of peasant children, portraits, and impressionistic landscapes studies.     This picture reminds me of Tom Hanks movie "News of the world" where he is a news reader in the 1870s (a masterpiece of a movie) (Pic credit: Gandalf)

Catching up on that reading while the child plays. Like the colours and the composition of the picture. (Pic credit: James Beard)

Everyone is interested in the news. A picture from 1934. Berlin photos from 1920 to 1950. (Pic credit: Janwillemsen)

When it comes to children's books, the illustrations matter. The imagination of a child gets fired by the drawings in a story book and the impression lasts. (Photo credit: Jean)

The photographer from Spain has compiled this and written: (roughly translated from Spanish)  "Today I intend to honor my parents who taught me to read and learn from reading. My father's first love was reading. With Don Quixote I started reading at school. However, at home after doing the usual homework, he always had to read a few pages aloud with them. And I am grateful for that." Reminds me of the Don Quixote stories I learned in school. (Pic credit)

Can imagine the days when people had to read a book to operate the camera. A picture of the fifth edition of the book (June  1956) (Pic credit:John)

Is the girl enacting what she is reading? Does the dog see something? Is he going to jump out? There is a story developing here I suppose. (pic credit:Jon)

The sticker says it all, and the book lovers will agree with this. (pic credit)

Would like to know what happened here. Or is it just strewn around for sale? This is somewhere in Brussels (pic credit Koen Jacobs)

It has been a long time since I have seen a proper globe, and a huge one like this. By looking at the shape of Asia, one can guess how old this is. The magnificent monastery library was built between 1680 and 1689, by Carlo Antonio Carlone. It is one of the great libraries of Austria and contains about 160,000 volumes, besides 1,700 manuscripts and nearly 2,000 incunabula. (Pic credit:LitterArt)

The photographer made an observation that three people are reading at the same time. He says that this is extraordinary and is practically a disappearing image in the metros and trains. This is in Catalonia in northeastern Spain. (Pic credit: Miquel)

In my lifetime I had met only one cricket commentator and his name was Mamma. When I met him in his house at Panchgani (near Pune) what struck me was his collection of books (mostly about cricket) Here is a picture of Henry Blofeld, a retired cricket commentator at Barton's Bookshop in Leatherhead. A proud moment for him with his picture on the cover page. (Pic credit: Monica Weller FRPS)

 Designing a book cover is an art. Trying to catch the eyeballs with minimal art on the cover is the trick. Incidentally this novel by Jenny Erpenbeck is supposed to be an excellent novel on refugees in Germany. (Pic credit : Vivien)

    There is no age bar when it comes to reading. "Retired and loving it " is the title of this picture. (Pic: pensioner Percy)

Young lady trying to figure out a hand written manuscript (Pic credit: Natalia Yankelevich)

And this was clicked in Brussels street (pic credit :Natali Antonovich)

  This picture by Lou reminds me of my school days when I used to pick up the comic paper first and finish all the comic strips. In the words of the photographer : A very rare scene...two young boys sitting in the coffee shop reading the Mercury News. Kids this age normally have their noses buried in an electronic devise.There is nothing like seeing a child engrossed in a story book. Pic credit Lou Alexander

Here maybe the child is trying to explain the story to her grandfather who clicked her in action. (Pic credit: Philip Van Ootegem)

This is something all booklovers don't like to see in a book. Dogears. And it happens when readers fold the page as a bookmark. (Pic credit Yvonne Kluin)

There are so many bookmarks you can select from. As long as they are flat and do not damage the book. (Pic credit:Anna Kristenson)

Some can be funny (Pic credit: Marian Kloon)

It can be the squished rat or the giraffe or the moo moo cow.

I like this huge mural in Germany. There is also a video on how the mural was made. Pic credit: Mhobl

 So let us get to know the world by reading more books. (Pic credit: Carlo)

On the way - Part 3

Continuing with our journey. . . . . . . Crossing the Holkar bridge was a real pain as it was very narrow and the traffic moved real slow, till they came up with an alternate wide bridge. I must say that the construction of the new bridge was pretty fast.

For those who want to know the past of this bridge, it was built by Madhu Rao Peshwa and named after Malhar Rao Holkar who was accustomed to pitching his tent in the vicinity. (the Holkars were the Maratha rulers of the Malwa region)

There is a water colour painting by Lester John Fredrick dated as back as 1870 showing how the bridge looked during a flood that happened in July 1870.

Picture source

I came across an old B&W photograph too, clicked maybe a century ago.

Picture source:

I tried to click a recent picture of the bridge from the same location.

One can visualize the passage of time by comparing the painting and the two photographs above. 

And to have a look at the new bridge that was built just an year ago, here is a view from the river bed. You can see the old bridge on the extreme left.

   

The city fathers planned well in advance and made this new bridge real wide with a bifurcation going to the highway via the Kirkee War Cemetery.  On some days we do take a detour from that side. (but we will explore that side later under the title Detour)

I appreciate the fact that very few trees were sacrificed to build this new bridge.

If you are lucky you will get to see some scullers rowing in the river

There are some washer men who wash their load of clothes, the traditional Indian way

And if you are really really lucky you may get to see these small birds moving around in hordes. It’s a wonderful sight to see a wave of yellow suddenly moving from one tree to another.

It is a lovely sight to see the new bridge disappearing into the jungle of trees.

And that takes us to one of my favourite roads of Pune. This road is lined with huge trees on either side giving ample shade.

Recently when I was clicking some pictures on this road, this vehicle overtook me and made the road all the more colourful.

At the end of this road there is this small quaint little Methodist church.

There is a dilapidated house that I see daily. I can’t help imagine how this house would have been a century ago. Could have been occupied by some British Military officer with his family, and an array of servants.

May be that tree could tell us some stories.  

Right next to this tree is an open playground. The best time to play football is on a rainy day and even if it is not pouring it is a lovely sight to see those youngsters engaged in a game of football.

But our love for cricket does not take a back seat. If you look closely you can see a game of cricket in progress in the midst the football players. (the guy in black stripes is bowling)

What do we call this?  Peaceful co-existence? 

To be continued in part 4.
For those who have missed out on Part-1 and Part-2.