ankita asthana's photostream

Uploaded on Jan 29, 2012

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No-TV day in Mumbai was a good initiative by Hindustan Times. It didn’t make much of a difference in my life since I don’t watch TV anyways. Outdoor activities were conducted all over the city and I am sure many families used this time to bond. I chose this day to look into my archives and am going to share one of my projects with you today.
This is a photograph taken from a giant wheel called the ‘London Eye’ and you can get the best view of the city, Thames River and the bridges along Thames.
As I was telling you yesterday, I spent a lot of time walking along Thames River in London observing people cross over bridges. I decided to continue a project I had been doing in Ahmedabad named ‘Crossing Over’. I took a lot of photographs in London both on digital and medium format film (Hasselblad). When I looked at the result, I thought any random person with a digital camera could have taken these photographs. Finally I chose to go to the countryside and document the small bridges. I came up with a series of photographs all shot on film using a medium format camera (Hasselblad). You can view the project here. www.ankita-asthana.com/?gallery=countryside-bridges-uk

Uploaded on Jan 28, 2012

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A usual summer day in the United Kingdom looks something like this. It is almost always cloudy and it might rain anytime. People advise never to leave the house without three essentials: umbrella, sunglasses and jacket! A lot of commute happens on foot so you need to be prepared. The weather is so erratic that it can change any minute. One second a chilly wind is blowing and everyone is grabbing onto the railing to hang on. The next minute you see the clouds clearing and everyone takes off their clothes! No, I am not trying to be funny. People literally undress, apply tanning gel and sit leisurely in the parks. Within seconds you will see kids magically appear from nowhere, their parents sitting with picnic baskets and teenagers playing a rough game of football in the parks. There are plenty of parks and well maintained outdoor spaces to enjoy these activities.
This is a photograph of one of my favourite bridges, the millennium bridge. It is beautiful and I spent a lot of time observing people cross over from one side to another. More on that note tomorrow.

Uploaded on Jan 27, 2012

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In 2012, on India’s 63rd Republic Day, a day that commemorates the implementation of the constitution of India and declaration of Independence, it is ironic to note that our freedom of speech is under attack. There are eight fundamental rights currently listed in the constitution of India:
-Right to equality
-Right to freedom of expression and speech
-Right against exploitation
-Right to freedom of religion
-Cultural and educational rights
-Right to constitutional remedies
-Right to information
-Right to education
However, in 1951, when the first amendment was made to the constitution, a clause was added which modified absolute right to speech to relative rights and said that these reasonable restrictions were in the interests of the general public. Now these reasonable restrictions are being exploited by political parties and religious leaders for their own benefit and the citizen of India have to suffer in return. Their individual liberty is at stake. Are we secular enough to truly be a democracy?
India is the world’s largest democracy and yet a situation has arisen where plenty of books are being banned and online content is being screened. People who speak out loud are being hushed. To top it all, they want to ban websites like google and facebook now?! If you really want to prevent your citizens from viewing offensive content, why don’t you first put a ban on all the ridiculous election campaigns that are going on? I find the continuous lies highly offensive and distasteful!
It is ridiculous that Salman Rushdie could not attend Jaipur Literature festival because the organisers felt that his presence would be a threat to the event. Rushdie has received several death threats ever since a fatwa was issued against his controversial book ‘The Satanic Verses’. Instead of providing him with protection, he was advised not to attend the event. Whereas, when he spoke at the literature fest in 2007, his trip had gone pretty smoothly. This shows a major shift in people’s ideology in the past five years. On one hand, we are talking about being heard globally and on the other; we are preventing creative ideas to flow freely.
This is a photograph of an avid reader’s book corner. I am worried that if this trend continues, all she will get to read is fairytales. New and radical ideas to instil change towards development will never reach the reader. They will simply be reasonably restricted (= BANNED)!

Uploaded on Jan 26, 2012

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Had a very busy day today with three back to back meetings. And then got stuck in the wonderful Mumbai traffic without my camera! Hence, a short post with a short message.
This photograph is a continuation of yesterday’s post. It carries a simple message, don’t steal their childhood.