Next

..from Calcutta.

Exit

It's raining here in Assam. Leaving northeast after a long stint. With or without an assignment will be coming back. Next stop Calcutta. (in between there is Kaziranga for a day and North Bengal).

Meghalaya

Khasi dance near the "sacred forests" in Meghalaya

Manipur II

More Manipur in older posts

Assam

Coming back from a shoot.

Network

Despite all advertisements on TV about sms-ing from the top of Everest, or from inside Amazon, cellphone network in Northeast sadly is the worst. Our reporting lifeline: Hutch, Aircel, Airtel, Reliance, Idea.

Baseball Dreams

It's a baseball run that's crossing continents like never before. Almost unknown to the rest of India, Imphal has been nurturing baseball dreams for its 20 clubs and planning to build India's first baseball park. At the forefront is First Pitch, the US Manipur Baseball project started in 2002. They are getting top American coaches and major league players to perfect the pitch and pass on the mania. Bhanu Devi ( in picture) is one of the coaches who is travelling to New York this year. Her dream: To have players from Manipur play in Major League. In a cricket crazy nation, Manipur surely has stolen this run from the rest of India

A Time for Tea

Photographs taken near the Karbi Anglong district. We were on our way back to Guwahati, when it suddenly struck that this was a great opportunity to take just tea garden photographs.

A Bicycle and a Film

Mukut and I, on a bicycle invented by A K Das of IIT, Guwahati. Supposed to be a cheap mode of transport for rural India, this bicycle has caught the fancy of Hindi filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani. This cycle will be used in Munnabhai III. This is our exclusive ride.

With a World Champion

This is my moment of glory. I am with M C Mary Kom, Thrice World Champion, Women's Boxing, once runner up. A wonderful person and I had great fun doing the interview. The boxing pose, was her idea.

Corner of the Astro-Turf

Hockey shoot in Manipur.

MNP+

This photograph does not need a rotation correction. It was just like this. A white banner and in one corner of which was written MNP +. The Manipur Network of Positive People has been fighting discrimination and marginalisation for over a decade. Manipur has the highest number of HIV affected people in India---27,000. Often the virus spreads through intravenous drug users. Manipur's proximity to the infamous Golden Triangle route often leads to this. There is also the reason of living in a state under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act that has unnervingly quiet and dark evenings. This banner in a sense captures the battle that the MNP+ has been fighting for 10 years. It's a battle for space and a battle from one corner which rest of India unfortunately ignores.