For the next adventurous #LifeInSurat blog post we decided to follow Drashtikon (Surat Photography Artisans) on their photowalk to the famous - "Shanivari Market" (Saturday Market).

#LifeInSurat Project

Place – Shanivari Market

Explorers – Rahul Kedia & Puja Kedia with Drashtikon Surat

Photographs By - Puja Kedia

Must Visit for – Bargain Shoppers, Culture Enthusiasts, Street Photographers.

Avoid If – Agoraphobic (fear or crowds), Cleanliness Freaks, Brand Conscious.

Facebook Link – Click Here

Drashtikon (Surat Photography Artisans) is an online community of photography enthusiasts from Surat. Famous for their weekend photowalks, the group now has around 1800 followers on Facebook. A community to learn, share & explore photography.

So, the plan was made. The call time for the photowalk was 6.30 in the morning. We made it to the venue on time in spite of a little wondering around... We were greeted by the ever smiling Chittranjan and Neha at the venue. This absolutely lovely couple is the best company one can ask for on such excursions. Chittranjan with his hilarious one lines and Neha with her warm and loving smile proved to be an absolutely fabulous company for the first half of the morning. This is what the entrance to the Shanivari Market looked like when we reached -

The place where the market happens is not a street, it is not a square and it is not within a building... it is just an open space between two bridges across the river (Tapti water front between Makkai Bridge and the new Hope Bridge).

After waiting for around half an hour or so for other Drashtikonians to turn up we finally got started with our Photowalk. This is a sign board just at the entarnce of the market -

As you enter the market the first thing you should be very aware of is that walking in this market is like playing french cricket !!! Anything can get you from any direction.... Your eyes must continuously be scouting for things coming your way and legs must be continuously engaged in dodging them... Things of all sizes just wooooooh pass you as if they have an inbuilt ferrari engine !!!

When i finally got used to the 'quick-one-step-here-and-quick-second-step-there' situation 5 minutes later, i found these two guys selecting a nail paint of color matching with their t-shirts....

The visual experience of this market totally depends on who you are, why you are here and what you are here for... Just as your eyes search for a special buy, your ears listen intently to the prices being shouted by the vendors as they deftly move their hands and raise their voices to attract customers. There is something for everyone... you just need to find the needle in this haystack.

It was a lot of fun listening to the one liners from Chittu Bhai (as he is fondly called) from time to time and watching Neha in action. Chittu bhai has a way of making people around him super comfortable with his legendary sense of humor and warm persona. And the dedication with which he and Neha are there for every photowalk by Drashtikon is really commendable. This is Neha in action -

Also i adore these two guys so much that i absolutely had to do a portrait of them... so i made them pose for me :)

Shanivari Market in the mean while was also showing me its vast expanses... And i was asking myself questions like - are these registered traders ??? How many households would this market be directly or indirectly serving ??? For how long in the history has this market been sustaining itself ??? And more importantly... what is the foreseeable future of this bazaar ???

Shanivari Market

I did not get answers to any of these questions i had... But i did put these questions up, in front of Manoj. Manoj who is also an active member of Drashtikon is an authority on Surat City (Check his photo blog on Surat here. He has been an inspiration for us). We had been meaning to meet him for very long and were finally excited to discuss this #LifeInSurat Project with him at length during this photowalk. He gave us really valuable insights and we look forward to associating with him for the future posts. This is a portrait of him i clicked during the photowalk... this portrait sort of symbolises him... i am sure he will understand what i mean :)

These are a few colorful pictures i shot at the Shanivari Bazaar... pictures which try to catch the essence of what this market is all about... pictures which maybe, represent what this market stands for -

This is the final group photo that happened with Drashtikon when we returned to the starting point after wandering in the market for around two hours or so...

Group Photo With Drashtikon at Shanivari Market.

It was then the time to disperse... but i had a really good time with Drashtikonians at the photowalk and look forward to more of such opportunities in the near future. It is really great to be amongst such an enthusiastic and energetic group of people. Thank You Drashtikon and Thank You Chittu Bhai, Neha and Manoj for an absolutely amazing time at the Bazaar. Adios.

This is in continuation of Bookoholics Open Mic Part I which is posted here. Part II Continues -

The only bad part about this meet was that Pinak followed the time limit !!! We all were having such a great time listening to him. The applause which followed after his presentation in itself expressed how much we all appreciated his talk.

The podium was then shared by Jash. Jash is a dynamic go-getter, an ex-asst head boy of Xaviers, a creative person and a nature lover. He presented a hindi poem, 'E Insaan Tu Aaisa Kyu Hai??' which is a joint effort by his friend, Uday Chinai and himself.

Aaliyah, our very own in-house beauty who can boast of excellent oratory skills to match followed next… She presented a small talk on Money and the importance of it today.

Aaliyah was followed by Tanya. Tanya introduces herself as a bird who is learning to fly... a poem who wants to meet that grand ocean... She likes dancing, singing, writing, speaking & watching hard core horror movies. She recited a self composed poem.

Rohan followed Tanya to grab everyones attention... Rohan is someone who is blessed with the classic gift of gab and also knows how to utilize it to the maximum!! Besides being a lawyer, Rohan is true blue cinemaholic . Being multi- talented, he revealed himself as a poet and allowed us to have a peek into his poetic pool...

Rohan was followed by Shrey who in himself is a big surprise package. Shrey described himself as a student, a thinker, a musician and an almost photographer. Being multi-ambitioned is what he likes about himself and adjectives such as sheepish, humble, disciplined, down to earth are what do not describe him at all !!

Last speaker for the day, Hemant Sir did not need any introductions with Bookoholics. His book review of 'Are You Joking Mr Feynman' in the last Bookoholics meet was a treat for everyone present. This time he was speaking on "What One Reads" which was about the "reading" we do other than books...

This marked the end of the scheduled speakers list. The forum was then thrown open for anyone who wanted to speak to the group or comment on the given presentations. Pinak was called upon to speak on Bookoholics 2.0 which is starting with a new book circulation model for members. He was then followed by Prabhakar who had a genuine feedback to share with the group and involved everyone in a good discussion.

The meet ended with a true delight. Shrey orated "The Great Dictator" by Charlie Chaplin to the group... and all of us were just left aghast by his brilliant oratory skill. This was really the cherry on the cake. A great ending to a great meet at Bookoholics.

Shrey orating "The Great Dictator" by Charlie Chaplin

Following are some photos of the audience spell bound by the speakers during various presentation -

Then all of us were served an elaborate menu and we continued the discussions, feedbacks, conversations over the refreshments. Everyone was busy sharing ideas... giving feedbacks... appreciating speakers... relishing food & missing a few regulars who were not there for this particular meet.

And finally at the very end a few classic Bookoholics portraits were shot !!!

And so ended another meet at Bookoholics... Connecting like minded people together... providing an opportunity and a platform for members to come forward and express themselves... being a bridge between members of various age groups, various back grounds, various professions but just one common gene binding them... their love of books.