First Friday Art Walk - Sep' 08

It was a nice drizzling evening on West Broad street right in my back yard that I realized Richmond wasn't as dead as I was thinking. Music, art and people hustling with excitement to explore what the city's and traveling artists had to offer. Some of the exhibits were put up in peoples houses. Even though overall taste wasn't exactly chique, it still brought the positive vibe of the city into lime light. There was innovation and a variety of art form. Lamps, ornements, glowing air bubbles, paintings, photography, music bands, food you name it and it was all there. It was definetly something I want to get back to. Of course we bumped into familiar faces and got reviews about exhibits ahead.
My favorite work was by Nick Kuszyk.

You can find more of the artist work on www.rrobots.com
I also liked this band and their music, though I didn't understand a word.


This whole experience reminded me of Mumbai. I would religiously every saturday visit Jahangir Art Gallery and National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in the Fort area of South Bombay. This is also called Kala Ghoda or the Art District of Mumbai. The annual Kala Ghoda Festival is the best show. It brings the vibe of being a Mumbaikar to life. It is a cultural experience for sure.

Ganesh Chaturthi - One of the many festivals during Monsoons in Mumbai

Photographer - Mukesh



Photographer - Abhijeet






Photographer - Mukesh

Monsoon in Mumbai

Photographer - Nikhil


Photographer - Ketki

Photographer - Mukesh


These are some pictures taken by my friends of Mumbai and places on outskirts of Mumbai.
Trips around some weird places on outskirts of Mumbai are a ritual during this time of year.
It is beautiful in Monsoons. I miss it.

Labor Day Weekend - At a Mall

We stopped to have dinner at P. F. Chang in a mall on our way back to hotel from Flume Gorge.
Waiting for the Chinese Bistro make space for 16 people to sit together, we roamed around in the closed mall. The only thing I could buy there at that time were the window displays. And I was sold.




Yes this was a very Colonial looking entrance of the store.
It looked like someone had ripped this from ground and relocated in this mall.
I wanted to go check inside.



I don't remember the stores name but close on the lines of Urban Outfitters.
The creative use of books to make window display was interesting. Clearly this store was for intellects who had a taste of style.








Photographer - Jeenal Shah

This was another store display close to our waiting area in the mall.
I loved the small hand painted thought blocks.
Quite an inspirational mall.

Labor Day Weekend - Cape Cod Whale Watching

Photographer - Jeenal Shah



Photographer - Dhruti Shah

It was indeed most memorable event of the trip.
After traveling for 1.5 hrs into the ocean we spotted a family of humpback whales.
Starting our trip at Provincetown Harbors we ended up in between Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, the whales' favorite feeding grounds. From what I hear the water is shallow here, plankton upon which whales feed rises closer to the surface.
The journey into the ocean was amazing in itself. The huge waves of water hitting the head of the boat would form rainbows every time it touched back into ocean. The whale family was at 10-15 feet distance from railing we were leaning on. The giant magnificent was such a delight to watch. We were actually pretty lucky because we had 3-4 sightings of whale on our entire trip back to shore. I really cannot understand why someone would want to kill them. But hey I am a vegan!

Labor Day Weekend - Flume Gorge at Franconia Notch State Park

Photographer - Jeenal Shah

Three day trip to Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
It was one of the most fun trips I have had recently. Packed with 16 strangers who had one common friend, Rakesh. Rakesh is one of my bestest school pals who came to United States to study about a month ago.
First pit stop was at Flume George. Moss-covered granite walls, past cascading waterfalls, historic covered bridges, glacial boulders formed a fantastic view.