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Snehil Sethia sent me the other day an album of sixty-odd pics of the street-sights of the City of Joy.
I am no expert in photography, although in 1964 I borrowed a box-camera and walked along the Vizagh beach to the Lawson's Bay (who the devil is this Lawson?) and clicked a dozen or so pics. Those were the days of black-and-white (the world hadn't turned color yet...ask Calvin's dad) and since they used silver bromide or some other silver chemical, photography was a costly hobby. And I picked a couple and sent them to Andhra Prabha weekly. They sent me two free issues of the mag and also Rs 10 for each published pic. Dollar was then pegged @ Rs 4 (artificially) and so it works out to around Rs 300 or so today. And for Rs 600, I got a set of 12 PGWs in a DC 'Deal of the Day'.
Among the many pictures of Snehil's album the one that arrested me was this:
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Because it reminded me of Thurber's doggies. Thurber confessed to owning about 40 dogs at one time or the other and his frugal line drawings of his dogs are among the most celebrated. Their specialty is that all Thuber's dogs have human expressions, mostly of bewilderment, like Thurber himself.
The dogs in the pic above are obviously so thoughtful that I was almost asking them: "A penny for your thoughts?". One is an introvert and the other an extrovert. One is ruminating furiously and the other on the lookout. What precisely is holding the attention of the Blackie is a mystery...your guess is as good as mine. On the other hand, the Brownie is obviously hiding behind and feeling awkward about it.
Here is the cover picture of Thurber's Dogs:
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Snehil Sethia sent me the other day an album of sixty-odd pics of the street-sights of the City of Joy.
I am no expert in photography, although in 1964 I borrowed a box-camera and walked along the Vizagh beach to the Lawson's Bay (who the devil is this Lawson?) and clicked a dozen or so pics. Those were the days of black-and-white (the world hadn't turned color yet...ask Calvin's dad) and since they used silver bromide or some other silver chemical, photography was a costly hobby. And I picked a couple and sent them to Andhra Prabha weekly. They sent me two free issues of the mag and also Rs 10 for each published pic. Dollar was then pegged @ Rs 4 (artificially) and so it works out to around Rs 300 or so today. And for Rs 600, I got a set of 12 PGWs in a DC 'Deal of the Day'.
Among the many pictures of Snehil's album the one that arrested me was this:
.JPG)
Because it reminded me of Thurber's doggies. Thurber confessed to owning about 40 dogs at one time or the other and his frugal line drawings of his dogs are among the most celebrated. Their specialty is that all Thuber's dogs have human expressions, mostly of bewilderment, like Thurber himself.
The dogs in the pic above are obviously so thoughtful that I was almost asking them: "A penny for your thoughts?". One is an introvert and the other an extrovert. One is ruminating furiously and the other on the lookout. What precisely is holding the attention of the Blackie is a mystery...your guess is as good as mine. On the other hand, the Brownie is obviously hiding behind and feeling awkward about it.
Here is the cover picture of Thurber's Dogs:
Here is an advice for dog-owners from Thurber:
"...Speaking of puppies, as I was a while back, I feel that I should warn inexperienced dog owners who have discovered to their surprise and dismay a dozen puppies in a hall closet or under the floors of the barn, not to give them away. Sell them or keep them, but don't give them away. Sixty percent of persons who are given a dog for nothing bring him back sooner or later and plump him into the reluctant and unprepared lap of his former owner. The people say that they are going to Florida and can't take the dog, or that he doesn't want to go; or they point out that he eats first editions or lace curtains or spinets, or that he doesn't see eye to eye with them in the matter of housebreaking, or that he makes disparaging remarks under his breath about their friends. Anyway, they bring him back and you are stuck with him---and maybe six others. But if you charge ten or even five dollars for pups, the new owners don't dare return them. They are afraid to ask for their money back because they believe you might think they are hard up and need the five or ten dollars. Furthermore, when a mischievous puppy is returned to its former owner it invariably behaves beautifully, and the person who brought it back is likely to be regarded as an imbecile or a dog hater or both..."
Some sound advice that!
P.S. I haven't yet mastered the hi-tech of transferring a pic from an e-mail to my blogspot. I had to ask my son and the chap sat behind me and said: "left click...cut...go to desktop....paste...size it...right click...copy...paste..." or some such goofy thing in such a hurry that I can't remember and the next time I have to ask him again and he would scowl at me as if I am a nitwit....ok...let him blog a 1000 posts and I will see...but the chap never reads my blogs nor my Ishani booklets and I am still wondering which 'distillate' I should place him...maybe # 1.
P.S. I haven't yet mastered the hi-tech of transferring a pic from an e-mail to my blogspot. I had to ask my son and the chap sat behind me and said: "left click...cut...go to desktop....paste...size it...right click...copy...paste..." or some such goofy thing in such a hurry that I can't remember and the next time I have to ask him again and he would scowl at me as if I am a nitwit....ok...let him blog a 1000 posts and I will see...but the chap never reads my blogs nor my Ishani booklets and I am still wondering which 'distillate' I should place him...maybe # 1.
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