Memories of a Geisha

Not keeping well the past couple of days, it was not very pleasant to be in bed all the time. I usually keep fit so the sudden fever, cold and cough totally caught me unawares. I utilized the time by reading when I had the strength. I just finished the "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden. It is a totally engrossing novel and very well researched. Being set in Gion district in Kyoto, it brought back memories of my visit to this part of Kyoto in August 2005.

I had a long day walking and shooting pictures as usual and since all the beautiful temples closed around 4:30 pm, I decided to see if I would be lucky to see a Geisha or an apprentice-Geisha. I had heard of the famous Geisha district of Gion and about how one might see a Geisha rushing to an engagement in Gion. When I reached this street called Hanami-koji, I felt as if I had been transported to another world altogether, devoid of flashy neon signs with beautiful traditional Japanese architecture of teahouses with paper screens and wood. I walked up and down carrying my heavy camera bag but it didn't seem that I would be lucky to see a Geisha that night.

About Hanami-koji...Shimogama-san told me - "koji means street,hana is flower,mi is seeing". Among the interesting people I met in Hanami-koji were Shimogama-san and his steady, Sukada-san who were visiting from Kobe. They were taking pictures of each other using a cell phone and seeing them in traditional yukata, I wanted to photograph them too. Both of them loved the pictures I sent them. In the picture, Sukada-san looks lovely in the light of a paper lamp hanging outside a teahouse.

I also met Yurika-san and Yuka-san who I photographed with their camera. Then, I asked if I could also take their photograph. It turned out that they were friends of Sukada-san. As I was changing to a wide-angle lens to take a picture of them, suddenly the screen-door to the teahouse opened and there stood a lovely Geisha, looking flustered to find me sitting on the door, changing a lens. I was stunned too and by the time I recovered to ask her permission to take a picture, she was gone. Uhhh....I missed it!

Anyways, I walked quite a bit more and then, I saw a Geisha and a Maiko (apprentice-Geisha) walking with a patron of theirs. Lot of young girls were excitedly trying to take a picture of them with small cell-phones and ofcourse, they missed it. The patron saw those girls and asked the Geishas to stop for a picture for them. They stopped since the patron had asked them but now, their beautiful smiles were not visible for the camera. I also took a couple of pictures of them before they walked away. As they walked, their smiles were back. One day, I'll get to photograph a smiling Geisha too.

If you have a chance, read - "Memoirs of a Geisha" - you might like it. And, if reading does not interest you, see the movie based on the novel which is out in the theaters.

Talking of theaters, let's see when I get to post the pics of the dance troupe from Osaka that I took at National Theater of Japan in Tokyo.

I love experiencing different cultures and must say, I loved Japan!

A sunny winter day on Mission Peak

It's supposed to be rainy season in San Francisco bay area. But, the rains continue to play hide-and-seek.

Saturday came and Sun was out inviting us for a not-so-leisurely walk up the mission peak in Fremont. It sure feels nice to be out again with my camera. The pond is still waiting for the rains to fill it up; it has filled up partially since my last visit two weeks back. With the cows stomping around, the texture looks cool.

And, ofcourse in the picture are my two favorite people discussing who gets to carry her big white jacket.

With the Sun slowly going down, the shadow of the first hill falls on the track, highlighting the dried stalks of grass. The two specs towards the left in the shadow area are two hikers coming up the hill to see the Sun going down. Reminds me of the lyrics of the Beatles' song - "The fool on the hill sees the sun going down...".

I want to stay for the sunset too. Everytime I hike the mission peak, I usually descend after the sun has gone down. And, I have seen some glorious sunsets and moonrises from here. But, this particular day, I could do with some food. :)

Could not decide whether I like the color or bw version more. Always, decisions...

Taking the easy way out, I am putting up both. Take your pick.

New beginnings...

Saw the photoblog of Clay Enos and figured I could also use a blog to share random photos. Thanks Clay for the idea! Many of my friends have had blogs for a long while but I never thought of using it like Clay did. Well, better late than never.

So, I look forward to sharing photos with folks much quicker than I could before on my website. :) Here's a detail of a church photographed two days back.