Surreal Cities

As many governments across the world have closed down borders and put in lockdown measures advising citizens to stay at home to fight the invisible contagion i.e. Coronavirus.

Below are some drone footage of various cities in India and across the world which are deserted and few resemble like ghost towns.

Bangalore, India

Pune, India

Mumbai, India



Delhi, India



Hyderabad, India



Guwahati, India

Cape Town, South Africa



London, UK



Italy



San Francisco, US



NYC, US



Dubai



Channel 4 - World's Biggest Cities

~ James Kingston | Don't look down ~

The risks urban climbers take to scale new heights. This documentary by Channel 4 captures the life of, James Kingston, an urban climber from the UK.

If you didn't know, James Kingston did hang atop a crane at Ulsoor Lake, Bangalore last August.

You can watch the Bangalore video here 

~ Silent killing ~

Economics PhD Sebastião Salgado only took up photography in his 30s, but the discipline became an obsession. His years-long projects beautifully capture the human side of a global story that all too often involves death, destruction or decay. Here, he tells a deeply personal story of the craft that nearly killed him, and shows breathtaking images from his latest work, Genesis, which documents the world's forgotten people and places.

~ Spidermen in Bangalore ~

A tale of two men who scaled buildings around Bangalore in August.  

Jyotiraj alias Kothirama alias Spiderman, on 17 August was detained by Cubbon Park police for climbing the 22-storey V. V. Towers & hoist the tricolour on his birthday. Though there is no video of him scaling the towers. Enjoy the video of him made by Vocativ. 

On 19 August, James Kingston known as the “English Spider-Man” posted a video of him scaling a 325-foot crane in Bangalore on a construction site without any harness and dangling one-handed over the traffic below. 

Via: Newsminute NYDailyNews

~ Food for thought ~

As Ludwig Feuerbach, the German Philosopher and Anthropologist, in 1862 wrote in an essay  "man is what he eats". That phrase holds good even after 152 years.

This TED talk by Robyn O'Brian provides some very interesting insights on how the food we intake might be the cause for various allergies

& diseases, influx of GM food over the period of time, business model of many food companies & health companies, etc. 

Most of her research & analysis might be specific to the food supplies in the US market. That shouldn't matter, it still worth watching as Urban Indians are consuming produce & food products from supermarkets that sell imported ones. Better to expand your knowledge on the food items that you include in your everyday diet.

As Robyn rightly says, "None of us can do everything, but all of us can do something. Together we can bring the change". So invest 14 minutes of your time and spread the word.

~ Speed of darkness ~

Am sure you will be intrigued to know that speed of darkness > than speed of light. How? Watch this video from Michael. I bet you would watch it more than once to get things right. 

Actually there is more to know than what we know i.e. there is more darkness than light in this world.

~ Japanese traditional way of eating Sushi ~

I had my share of discomfort during my first visit to a Sushi restaurant in the US. Here is a video on how to eat Sushi the traditional way and the mannerism associated with it. The thing about Japanese is that most of their daily habits have some kind of ritual to be performed. The video might be hilarious, but is informative. 

~ The drones are coming ~

Forget Robots, the Drones are coming. They are gonna take up a lot of different roles, just not delivery goods or disaster management or dropping bombs. They can also take your dog for a walk :)

Yesterday a Mumbai based eatery delivered pizza using a drone.

Via TOI

If thats not good then you should check out what the New York based videographer do with the drone

Via Mashable

Do share if you have come across more interesting use-cases of drones.

~ Smartphones & dumb people ~

If you haven't yet watched this movie then please do. Technology is a catalyst to make lives easier & simple. As with everything if you end up over doing a specific thing then you become an addict & need rehabilitation. 

So lookup & stare away from the display. Move away from "Always connected" in the virtual world to being with family & friends in the real world. We only have finite time to live, so enjoy it!

'Look Up' - A spoken word film for an online generation

~ Media blacks out Snowden interview ~

This past Sunday evening former NSA contractor Edward Snowden sat down for an interview with German television network ARD. The interview has been intentionally blocked from the US public, with virtually no major broadcast news outlets covering this story. In addition, the video has been taken down almost immediately every time it’s posted on YouTube.

~ Best of Instagram 2013 ~

Here is a short video of some of my Instagram photos from 2013. 

If you have a smartphone and don't use Instagram yet, you should give it a try! Do read about Craig Mod's blog on how Cameras are becoming a passé. "Goodbye, Cameras"

~ Super kid: Titus ~

You should watch this little kid do amazing shots. Just watch & enjoy!

~ Django Django ~

Have always wondered how effortlessly they do that. Obviously it takes a lot of practise to get there.

It's your fault

In the latest episode of All India Bakchod they talk about Rape & how the victim is blamed every single time. Kalki & Juhi appear in the video satire, which covers the typical clichés that are spoken about Rape.

It's Your Fault

~ Chaplin the dictator ~

The words might be from a movie script, but they hold good even today. We haven't really evolved much over the years in our political bickering & petty nationalism.

Looks like we will only be united when nature turns its fury or when we are under attack from an external force.

~ Fiat 500 Abarth Cabrio | Pure Muscle ~

From the gallery 

From the print advt 

The Richards Group has created a body painted print advt for Fiat 500 Abarth Cabrio to depict the tagline of the car - Made of pure muscle. 

Watch the video to find out how the advt was created.

~ Climate change vs Population growth vs Wealth distribution ~

Next time someone tells you developing nations are the cause for climate change, do ask them to watch the simple LEGO explanation given by the Data Scientist, Hans Rosling. He also speaks about the underlying connection between wealth distribution, population growth, child mortality & climate impact in very simple terms.

If only data could lie ;)

~ Love, no matter what ~

While love is eternal; acceptance takes time. Andrew Solomon talks about what he learnt from his project & field work. He unfolds the answer to the question,"What's the line between unconditional love and unconditional acceptance?"

~ The bike maker ~

Made by hand have published their 5th short film. This time it is about bike maker Ezra Caldwell (Fast Boy Cycles), who was diagnosed with cancer in 2008. When the cancer threatens to shatter his love of bikes, Ezra survives by documenting his illness as thoroughly as his craft.

Here are some of the bikes which I loved from his collection.

All photographs by Ezra Caldwell.

~ Best parallel parking ~

Sorry, I don't mean to offend any women here. But this video speaks volumes about parallel parking.



You have to give it to her, that she never gave up even if it took about 30 mins to park.

Via How do you parallel park?