The drops make random
mirrors on dark lanes,
reflecting pretty n bare faces
I took detours to meet.
Some from college,
many from that school
locked behind an iron curtain;
deliberate, by the bay very much.
Ageing, ancient lights,
shivering with the monsoon winds,
led me through empty paths
long after sun and power grids
ignored this shore for yonder.
Like those prodigal sons,
who fight battles, to find their feet on
shifting dunes and waters.
Some beacons remain,
those old boys selling pot,
kids pimping art and bowls of
hot soup of marinated fish;
some stale, a few fresh;
guarded by tired men,
who are born naturals
in front of the lens.
So are these Chinese nets
and the yellow fever
across the channel,
the new order, from a newer world;
rude and shouting lights,
louder than the collective groans
of dead sailors and dying evangelist teens
in and around the Dutch Cemetery.
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| MODERN GHOSTS: Lights from the LNG Terminal at Puthuvypu across the channel captured from Fort Kochi Beach |
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| GREEN AT HEART: A restaurant winding up the day's business near the Park at Fort Kochi |
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| OPEN DINNER: Chariot restaurant at Princess Street |
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| OLD WINE IN NEW BOTTLE: The bunglow of Koder Family, the most prominent business family in Kochi. It has now been converted into a heritage hotel. My grandparents used to work for the Koders and I have run around this bunglow, playing and studying during my school days |
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| PARK n DINE: The Koder House entrance bang opposite the Park in Fort Kochi |
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| Bung-love: One just can't help but fall in love with the Koder Bunglow. |
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| OPEN HOUSE: The doors of Koder Bunglow, a welcome sign |
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| RED SIGNAL: The night lights give a reddish hue to the house at the start of Princess Street, even as the whittish glow from the Delta Study school is visible in the bottom left corner |
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| NIGHT WATCHMEN: It was 10 in the night and the duo here had their fish shack open. Perhaps waiting for some late-night customers preferring fresh catch for dinner |
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| HANDLE WITH CARE: Some of the evening's catch goes into the freezer |
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| MUTE WITNESS: More snaps from the fish stall |
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| NET PROGRESS: The Chinese fishing nets clicked with lights from the new Container Terminal at Vallarpadom across the channel as the backdrop |
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| OLD WORLD, NEW CHARM: Chinese fishing nets revel in the modern industrial light from the Container Terminal |
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| FUELLING A DESIRE: The petrol bunk at Fort Kochi right next to the channel. This is where fishing boats as well as vehicles fill fuel here. The channel and the container terminal is visible in the background. Was tempted to jump in for a late-night swim. |
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| STREET FOOD: The 'Thattu Kada' opposite Fort Kochi boat Jetty |
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| LONE RANGER: My brother Leo on his cycle heading home after our little night photography experiment using his new SLR camera |
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| EYE OF THE TIGER: The resident alpha cat of the fish shacks near Fort Kochi beach |
