Colourful, Complex, Chaotic: A dress for Frida

This particular shoot that I did on the streets of the gorgeous French quarter of Pondicherry was filled with some fabulous moments! It must have been my supremely snazzy and sparkly outfit that made the laid-back folks of Pondicherry want to hang with me. Two cops on their bikes kept a watch on me irrespective of where I went. A cycle rickshaw guy decided to strike up a conversation about life (to walk around looking so shiny you must be on to something), a school teacher who saw me pose and returned 15 minutes later with a bunch of young school girls, who gathered around and exclaimed and applauded. An old gentleman who walked over to let me know that he likes Japanese people and that my traditional Japanese dress was gorgeous (obviously, the familiar collars from the Far East!)

The Punk Princess: lace, leather, buckles & spikes

For the Punk Princess story that I had in mind, I got lucky with this beautiful, dilapidated, and ostensibly uninhabited fort that I found on the outskirts of Bangalore. I happily spent an hour posing, all the while not realizing that the ruins houses a tiny, fully functional temple. All the while, the temple’s priest had been observing my shenanigans! When I was done, he came over and summoned me to pay my respects to the Gods. I must admit, I initially felt a tiny bit awkward. I wasn’t sure if I had offended any sentiments but to my delight, while placing the crimson tikka on my forehead, he remarked that it would match my jacket with a smile on his face!

Brass, Baja & Bijli

Hanging out with the brass band boys was a blast! They were fantastically enthusiastic at 8 AM on a Sunday morning. Within just a few minutes, they completely got into the spirit of the shoot. They played, marched, strutted, suggested poses, struck poses, cracked jokes and were bent on making me laugh! As you would imagine, the noise and drama drew quite an audience. While one would assume that the band would be comfortable with all the unwanted attention, at one point when there were dozens of phone cameras focusing on us and lots of tiny flashes going off. One of the band members finally ended up asking the crowd if they had nothing better to do. The collective ‘No!’ from the crowd just cracked everyone up! That was definitely one of the most fun-filled Sunday morning that I have had in a while.

Floppy hats, flowing maxis, and a dazzling Maharaja

Have you noticed the gigantic murals that adorn the walls of Bangalore? They’re super-epic and made for the perfect backdrop for my very first street shoot for the blog. I love the fact that these murals are so varied-some truly artistic, some humorous, and then some that are quite terrifying (like a hyena that is chewing what appears to be a severed bloody ear, a gigantic sparrow with a homicidal gleam in its eye!). For that shoot, I posed with my favourites the podgy maharaja with gold spectacles, the pot-bellied puli-aattam dancers, and the great royal entourage. All that posing resulted in quite a spectacle, with motorists and auto guys happily parking themselves by the kerb to watch the show. I am pretty sure they thought I was insane! Anyway, if you want to be creative with your selfies, a session with this funky street art is highly recommended.

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