Getting Better Pics of Yourself

 Avoid selfies, if you want really good pics. Usually they are the worst, other things being equal. Obviously, then, you have to get someone to click you and whoever is with you.

Assuming you do, get a good background, without standing at the edge of a cliff. But check around if you can find a better spot, and go for it. 

An angle and distance are the most important, and light is the most important.. that's what photography is about..

Smile, if that looks good on you. Sometimes, a non-smiley is more appropriate for the situation, or setting.

If the pic is really important, posed is better than candid. Candid ones can go either way. Silly poses too are fine, and sometimes better than serious ones. Wear a hat, if there's one. A Vietnamese conical one is best (from experience).. an Assamese one comes next. Or a detective type one, if you want to look like Sherlock Holmes.

If the background is unique, try and get it into the pic. Enhances you in the process. If it's not, close up on you is most effective.

Think about how you will use the pic- in what size, or where on social media.. of course, you can crop. Or correct some defects, but not all.

Obituary- Take 2

 I wrote one for myself a couple of years ago. This is Take 2-

He liked to pronounce 'karaoke' the Japanese way. Not the weird American way. Liked the desi Antakshari too.

Was a lover of good food and drink- both in moderation. And an OK cook too. 

He loved his students (OK, most of them!) more than the subjects he taught. Didn't care what he taught, as long as the students-and he- enjoyed it as much as possible. Liked setting exam questions that were different. Probably because he had had to answer so many that were not.

Enjoyed teaching Golf even more than marketing, and many unsuspecting students and colleagues of his ended up learning it! Wherever there was a green patch of land available, and that included IMT Nagpur, NMIMS Bangalore and IIM Indore.

He also wrote an autobiography, and a lot of blogs besides. Created a couple of new characters, a British Lord fashioned out of Bertie Wooster, and a talking female mosquito -Anopheles.

The Younger Self

 I go back to thinking about my younger days, when I see some photos from that era.. and I have tons of them. Some memory is associated with many of the pics. In the U.S., we travelled a lot by car- gas was cheap, and we had the urge. Some pics from that era.. 

Obituary- Trial Version of Mine

He was..the tense is important. We wouldn't want him mucking around forever, would we?

We wouldn't say his life was totally wasted, maybe just a few bits and pieces,..

He did come with blessings like progressive parents, not a silver spoon though. Had to work to get a few degrees and a couple of scholarships. One that let him see the world beyond the country of his birth. One could say he made good use of it, learning some skills, and making new friends.

Now, that's one thing he gets credit for. Making friends. He made lots of them, from those he played Bridge with in childhood, to those he studied with, and among his colleagues. Amazingly, in this day and age when friendships don't last long, some of his lasted decades. Particularly with his former students and colleagues. Of course, he had to learn how to use technology, to be in touch with them (his daughters helped him out). And spend real time too, when he could meet up. He liked to travel.

One of his passions was music, and the second, writing. In a way, they kept him going in all circumstances- good, bad and ugly (yeah, there always are a few of those, and chai helps get you centred, like in his case, sometimes). Photography too. He was creative, and used those writing skills acquired through college and school to good use. Reading must have helped (he started with comics, children's stories, adult fiction, mystery mostly, and graduated to non-fiction)! And his wife and two daughters, who were a source of his energy, and peace, at the same time.

Teaching in the routine sense was futile, according to him, but experimenting with it was his interest. He managed to write a couple of original text books, and students helped him out with case studies out of their work-bless them, he used to say!

He faced a couple of black flag demonstrations during his lifetime from people who were aggrieved that they never got the Nice DP Award that he had instituted, and that became such a coveted prize.

He had a stint or two in administration too, and tried using these to build bridges with his colleagues. He was blessed with many who were happy to give their best, and make him look good. His Golf wasn't exemplary, but among friends in beautiful surroundings, he got a Hole-in-one, not once, but twice.

After Dark- Intriguing Murakami

Read a slim Murakami novel called After Dark. It is the most intriguing yet, because it involves a sort of overarching camera as one of the ' observers' of the goings on in the life of a 'sleeping beauty' who has been at it for two months or more. She is a model and also a delicate person with a lot of medical problems. Her teenaged sister is the other major actor, very much awake and aware of the stark differences between herself and her sister- in looks and likes.

Many truths about life and living appear as part of the dialogue between the sister who is awake and a casual acquaintance (male) she meets in a coffee shop, and another (female) she meets in a love hotel (where people go on a short date). It emerges that the siblings are not very close, and suffer from guilt/confusion in their own ways. Like many of his stories, this one also leaves the reader guessing, with the stories of the characters left unresolved.

Very interesting novel indeed, in his trademark style. There are some references to Chinese gangs operating rackets in Japan. Well, seems like a global phenomenon, with only the nationalities changing. But mostly, the story is about self-exploration, like most of his novels. I am an unabashed fan. This is about the eighth or ninth one I have read. The translator is an English literature prof at Harvard. Thanks to him for doing this, bringing a great author within our reach.