FLIGHT FEST: My Photo Series, Vol. 3

An Interpretation of the World Around: By VARUN



Cool Blue




Spoke speak




On the golden trail




Glory on the ground... but not trampled upon 




Senescent presence



Up... right up to the sky

Lonely leaves

Monkeys busy on tracks

deep in conversation

Illuminated silhouette

Fluffed up, golden joy

Stairway to heaven

Can you hear the message?

FLIGHT FEST: My Photo Series, Vol-1

Behind the lens PRIYA PODDAR

1.       "Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music. "

-Angela Monet.

"Main Roshni Hoon, Kaaf-e-Dast se rukungi kahaan..

 Ziada der teri shaakh par khilungii kahaan."

“Not all those who wander are lost.”

J R R Tolkien

"Something's wrong, shut the light

Heavy thoughts tonight

And they aren't of snow white"

-'Enter Sadman', Metallica.

"Within the folds of angel wings

Are the keys to my heart

And the echoes of their sweet, stinging voices

Are exhausted screams in flight"

-'Within the Folds of Angel Wings', The New York Room.

Descriptive Writing : A Guide

“You can’t miss it. It’s the big yellow house on the corner.”

“Officer, he was bald with a tattoo of a turtle on the top of his head.”

“I just asked to borrow a pen, and she gave me a look that would freeze hot coffee on a July day.”

"The classroom was uncomfortably warm"

"The car was a joy to drive"

"The instructor looked more like a homeless person than a college professor."

"The office was obviously a place where serious work was done."

 

Where would we be without description? It is used every day to communicate the essentials of life and to add the embellishments that keep listeners hanging on every word. In writing, too, description helps readers understand your point and keeps them waiting for the next detail.

1. ELEMENTS OF DESCRIPTIVE WRITING

Sense Impressions

Every scrap of information we collect about the world around us comes through our five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. It is logical, then, that descriptions painted using sense impressions present a more vivid picture to your reader.

Sight

In writing, descriptive imagery is most often visual. Visual impressions are strong and lasting. Psychological studies confirm that people are more likely to rely on what they see than on what they hear. For example, you would not be fooled by a clerk’s “Thank you” if his facial expression said, “I hate my job.” If it is true that seeing is believing, then creating a visual picture for the reader is particularly important in descriptive writing.

Hearing

Our sense of hearing also gives us information about the world around us. We are warned by the blast of a horn, energized by the driving beat of rock music, or soothed by the thunder of the ocean. Imagery that appeals to a reader’s sense of hearing is an essential dimension of descriptive writing.

Smell
The sense of smell has a powerful connection to memory. The smell of freshly popped popcorn may summon the claustrophobic feel of a dark, crowded movie theater. Awhiff of furniture polish can bring back an aunt’s
stately dining room. Using imagery related to smell can help to complete the picture you create for your reader.

 Touch

The sense of touch is a backdrop for all experience. As you sit reading this, you may feel beneath you the hard surface of a wooden chair or the softness of sofa cushions. You may be aware of the chill of air conditioning or the warmth of sunlight, the scratch of a wool sweater or the cottony feel of
an old pair of jeans. Imagery that brings out textures and temperatures adds a special touch to the picture you draw for your reader.

Taste

Taste imagery may play a smaller role in your writing unless you are writing about food. However, used sparingly, references to taste add spice to your descriptive writing.


2. SPATIAL ORDER

Spatial order helps you to write about anything that takes up space. Use spatial order to present physical objects in a way that makes sense: bottom to top, left to right, background to foreground, or outside to inside. A partial list of words commonly used when referring to space follows.

above         beyond           near            right            ahead           by            next to               south
around        down             north          toward         behind          east           on                     under
beside           in                 over          underfoot      between        left           overhead            west



Look at the following short paragraphs. In which paragraph is spatial order used in a more organized way?
Paragraph 1

The singer looked as if he had just stepped out of the 1960s. His hair, twisted into thick dreadlocks, fell almost to his shoulders. On his feet were chunky leather sandals. A small golden ring pierced his left nostril. His hands, clasped around the microphone in front of his chest, were ringed in silver and turquoise. He wore a faded pair of jeans that flared into a wide bell over his ankles. Over his shirt, he wore a soft leather vest that ended at his waist in a beaded fringe. His shirt, open at the neck, revealed a silver and turquoise necklace. He wore a small golden earring on one ear. He looked as though he belonged on a Woodstock poster.

Paragraph 2

The model walking down the runway looked like a movie actress from the 1940s. Her hair curved under just above her shoulders and dipped across one eye as she turned her head. Her eyebrows were arched and penciled, and her lipstick was a deep red. The jacket of her gray pinstriped suit was padded at the shoulders and nipped in at the waist. Her skirt hugged her hips and legs tightly and flared below the knee. She wore dark stockings with seams up the back, and stiletto heels that looked impossible to walk in. She looked as though she had stepped out of an old black-and-white movie.

The Preliminary Fun begins at the The Voiceworks Great Balloon Debate

Click on the picture to enlarge.

A pettiness ( Verse by Priya Poddar)

After a long period (constituting of almost a quarter of an year) I found my inspiration. This is based on a real event that occurred during one of my mindless balcony visits. A little help was also given by Yiruma's 'When the love falls' (Epic music which is). And the reason, still is unknown. 

A Pettiness 

As strange an encounter as it couldn't be.

For this was just a small kid from the neighbourhood.

And this was but only another noon. 


As his father, on went with his work,

drawing pictures in his mind,

his restless actions gave away the peace-less. 


As in none my interests I observed him

Following a deer would have been less ardous

And this was but only another noon. 


As his shadow followed him through the reality

He stomped his foot on the marble

On nothing appearing apparent. 


As the clomp increased the pace and sound

the peace-less creeped in me

And this was only but another noon. 


As the unnoticed reason was noticed for its absence

strict restlessness now settled in my being

which on a pursuit, was left miserable. 


Why was he doing this? Where was the reason?

The miserablity was only aggravated.

And this was but only another noon. 


Inflamed by the nothingness of the hap

on this another noon, I realised

There was a part of my own tender age

Which was lost somewhere.

UNCUT! (Priya Poddar shraes the unabridged version of her interview at The United World College, Pune)

The interview comprised of a whole day at United World Colleges, so that they would know us better. The campus was gorgeously beautiful ;  it was like a paradise. About 30% of the current students were Indian, the rest came from various parts of the world. 

We started off with a few games and activities. They divided us into various groups. Then we were taken for a  tour by the students. Most of the work was handled by the students, in fact all, apart from the formal interview. We played some real nice activity-games, I would definitely like to share them with you in school. : D

After that, we were taken indoors, fabulous classrooms there were! We had been asked to bring an object of 'personal significance' for ourselves, to deliver a 5 minute presentation in front of the current students and alumni. They also had to throw at us some questions when they felt like. 

So, I took my Bharatnatyam trinklets, which I have been using for the past 5 years, that's about the time I have been learning the dance. I told them how it was important for me to learn the dance in all its discipline, to not take it as a hobby class, , told them how I had mingled so much with the culture, customs, history of South India, so much so, that sometimes I wished I was born a Tamil. : D Then, they asked me dance a little for them, so i did. I believe they were impressed. : )

Then, it was the formal interview, where i believe I messed up, actually. There were three teachers, one Indian, the other two foreigners, one of them a woman. After the greetings, they asked me to describe Delhi, where I came from. So, I, practically a passionate lover of this city, praised it a lot, saying that it was like a mini India. 

 At then end, i concluded by saying that if one has lived in delhi, it is difficult to think of living somewhere else. The they were surprised, they asked me if I was selected, wouldI be able to put up in pune? So, I said that it would be a different way in which I'd be living here, which would be more like a hostel in Pune, where I would have things at my dispense, though in delhi, I am sort of catering to my own needs. I guess they were satisfied. 

Then, they asked to tell me about my current school, I praised it a lot too, because I am a fan of G. D. Goenka, where I have practically come out from an opaque bubble i was living in. Then they posed the same question again, why  I wanted to leave it.

I said it was about exposure, which would be much more in UWC. I don't remember then, but in between they asked me what I wake up to everyday. I said it was about a job, that I've been given, by God, and that I have to fulfill it. 

At the basic level, it is 'living life', but for different people, living is different, for someone, it might be writing, for the other singing. I said that i believed that there was a  vast, unlimited world of knowledge out there, and extracting that part, from wherever I can, really interested me. They asked me why, I said I had no reason for it, it just made me feel happy, just like thinking about helping people, doing that for Pakistanis someday, feeding dogs, etc. 

Then, i don't know how, but the talks shifted to dogs, and as I said I loved dogs, one of them said, "that would be good, if you get selected, it would really help the huge lot of dogs we have here" I was like "Yeah, I would love to feed them day and night".

Then he said "Priya, here you'd be staying for 8 months of the year, the other 4 months you'll be spending at your home, as a part of the vacations, etc. Don't you think it would be a kind of betrayal from your side, when you''re away for a quarter and they don't have anyone to feed them?" "I would make sure make the arrangements for their food, somehow"?

 "What if you can't find anything?

 Would you be willing to stay back?"

 " I will, if I can't find anything"

 "What! You're not going to bother about your parents?"

 "See,I do love them, but I am not so attached to them, I realize their importance, they've given me everything I have, made me everything I am, but, if i have to stay away from them, I can do that." 

"You're saying you love your dog much more than your mother. I am gonna call up your mother and tell her that you said this."

 "Sir, the fact is, she won't be surprised, she knows too very well" 

And then, somehow they started talking about my dead dog, and I broke down! I have never been embarrassed about anything as much as that. It screwed up all my interview. And then they passed a joke, brought things back to normal. then they asked me a questin, "Priya, what if after a few weeks, you realize that you havent been selected, what would have been your flaw, you think?"

 "I think my carelessness would be it, I mean it's like, sometimes rather than preparing for a test, I would be interested in reading a book"

 "You think  you've learned a lesson from it?"

 "Sir, it's like, about people's perceptions.

 For my mother, teacher, it would be a waste of time, I guess, but it is a blessing for me to have another day witha novel!" 

"If you have to choose between a project work at campus, where You have to help people and a very lucrative book, what would you choose?" I was tongue tied, I said both were equally interesting for me, which was actually the truth. But they did not seem to believe me. They asked "If I gave you a piece of food, there's your dying mother and a dying dog, who would you feed it to?" I did not answer it. : )

They asked me if i wanted to ask something, i made a fool of myself by asking "what exactly is the relationship between students and teachers here?", when I had wanted too ask, what exactly is this place where I only see the students doing all the work, and teachers nowehere!

That's when i ended it. Then, it was meals,a lot of dancing, a lot of chatting with seniors, alumni, etc, hot chocolate. : ) Then, I slept, and the next day, we had a discussion over China-tibet issue. We also had an aptitude test, pretty easy one. 

That's how it was. I wrote so much, I am sleepy. : )

Just pray for me , now that I have had a sight of the tinsel town, i don't want to lose it. : )