Across That Crowded Room

Interest..

…meets modesty
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Pictures taken at Sri Krishna Cafe, Cochin.

Listening For Silent Melodies

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To and fro,
He struggled with burdens.

All the while listening
To a silent melody
Which sang in his heart.
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An Die Musik

O fairest art how oft in troubled hours blighted,
When I am trapped and lost on life’s wild race,
Hast thou with love on this poor heart alighted
And flown it gently to a better place.

From thy sweet heart a sigh so often drifted,
A chord of blessed harmony and bliss.
Thou show’dst me heaven’s holy light uplifted.
O fairest art I thank thee so for this.

Franz von Schober  (1796 – 1882)

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Pictures taken in Cochin 

The Time Of Their Lives

An ever-dwindling asset.

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Pictures taken in Cochin.

A Long Wait: 3

And a final reckoning.

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A Long Wait: 2

A transient distraction.
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A Long Wait

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Still he waits,
Impassive.
The future shuttered,
Empty.
All doors are locked,
Each window bolted.

Again I pass.
And still he sits:
A tableau.
The street his home,
The film-set of a silent role:
His vigil barren,
And purpose spent.

Still he waits,
For what?
A piece of paper, signed and sealed,
The chance that someone hears.
Blind justice,
Just,
In case.

 The script is blank,
His part unspoken:
A life deformed,
Bleak Housed,
Deferred.

His curse slow-fused,
His hope unfounded,
Sitting,
Still,
He waits.
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Official figures show that more than 30 million cases are pending in Indian courts – some since 1950.

Picture taken In Palace Road, Cochin.

Three Characters In Search Of An Author

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Three strangers across a crowded room:
Each is alone.

One stands in silent thought;
One eats but, as if shamed, never raises his eyes from the table;
One, like myself, absorbed by those around him.

I capture their image then go on my way,
No wiser of their world or worries.
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“Whatever is a reality today, whatever you touch and believe in and that seems real for you today, is going to be
- like the reality of yesterday –
an illusion tomorrow.”

Luigi Pirandello
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Pictures taken in the Sri Krishna Cafe, Cochin.

The Use Of Hand Signals

Picture taken in Gujarati School Road, Cochin.

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Something To Celebrate

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Shaji, with Dalila his wife, and Anu the houseboy, take good care of my home,
And of me.

Yesterday, Shaji’s birthday provided an opportunity for us all to celebrate,
And for me to express my gratitude. 

Shaji and Dalila have kept me in comfort, and my home in good order, since I bought the house, two and a half years ago.

They respond to my idiosyncrasies, bizarre European ways, and occasional health glitch, with patient kindness.

Happy Birthday Shaji!

And a heart-felt
Thank You.

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Final picture shows Shaji, with his wife Dalila, and youngest son Stefan, in their home.

In The Pink

Whether it’s women’s saris, men’s shirts, or house exteriors,
In India there’s an exuberant tendency to think pink!
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Picture taken in Fort Cochin.