Sunset

Almost got forced into writing this one by a persuasive friend pushing me to use this covid-19 lock down creatively … so here I am getting back to my defunct blog, thanks to a novel virus and a not so novel human (by the way, both of them have a similar attribute of not being easy to dodge :))

The cobweb cleaning ceremony of the blog begins with a predefined subject given to me as homework – Sunset. My homework submission deadline was 30^th March 2020. But since I am an IT guy, I need a follow up reminder after the deadline passes to actually take up the task; so here I am posting this around the sunset time on 31^st March. Dare you miss the coincidence, a post on sunset gets published on the last evening of the current financial year (talk about symbolism). A shout out to Mr. M. Night Shyamalan to help me check if these are any signs I should pay heed to ??:) 

Okay! Okay!! Enough of the nonsensical build up … (please bear with the verbose for a little bit more, there is a treat of enthralling and dazzling sunset pictures to follow .. you surely DO NOT want to miss that :)) 

So, sunset … yea … For all the romantic, picturesque and poetic baggage, that a sunset carries; it’s almost anticlimax that the sun actually never sets!! It’s a semblance caused due to the fidgety nature of our earth that cannot sit still on its bum axis and perpetually keeps rotating giving us all a spectacle, maybe as a prize for making out alive after a hard (or hardly for few :)) fought day!! Yes, I liken it to a prize and a much coveted one, if I may call it. Now that we have the scientific facts out of the way, lets dive into the adored aspects of this “nonexistent yet accepted delusion”.

I am yet to meet a person who has not been soothed by nature’s exhibition of colour strokes on the canvas of blue which in a span of few minutes turn into yellow, then orange, then purple, then crimson, then scarlet, then pink, then gray and so on … This is one and maybe the only thing, where even the machoistic (okay it’s a slang but highly effective here) dudes admire each and every hue of the purples, reds & pinks, which otherwise look all the same to them.

Personally, sunsets have played a huge therapeutic role in my life. I have spent hundreds of evenings walking at Marine Drive while enjoying the mesmerizing view of the setting sun over the Arabian sea. Trust me when I say not even one sunset out of these hundreds has been the same or has been boring … the subtle seasonal changes of the sky colour, the birds flying into the sun, the rippling colorful reflection of sun in the wavy sea, the boats piercing the hues with its black silhouettes, kids on the parapet blowing soapy bubbles onto the sun, the gray clouds fighting with the sun during rainy season, kids playing guitar and singing “Dil toh Baccha hai ji” … I can go on and on … Plus, I sharpened most of my photography skills on the urban sunsets of Marine Drive

Now that I am a bit (read this as a lot) rusty in my writing … I guess I should take help of my other hobby (actually talent, but then I am modest :P) to back me up here. Moreover, many learned people have said – A picture speaks a thousand words … so here are some of my sunset captures from last couple of years … All of them are taken from a modest phone and presented without any filters … these are my heartfelt attempts at trying to capture the essence of the beautiful sunset moments. Let me know which one do you like the most …

p.s. these pictures are best viewed in full size on a laptop or desktop monitor ... mobile viewing can rob you a little in terms of the experience.

Stay Safe !!!

~ Hiren

1. My Favorite

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.