Amar Akbar Anthony: travels

Amar

I think I have been witnessing, in little visual sightings over 4 years, the rise of the Bangladeshi community in italy. In the early years, they were selling umbrellas and knick knacks on street corners, carrying everything they sold. Then I started seeing them behind the counter in semi-permanent and corner shops, and in restaurants, as waiters and chefs.

Then I saw that some of them had their own small shops, and I even found a place with Bangladeshi candidates for rival parties competing in local elections.

This year, for the first time, I saw that women had followed the men, and I saw families together - man, woman, and little children. These families were not sellling products, they were checking out things like normal family on weekend, and then to cap it all, I even saw overly ghettoised Bangladeshi teens, in expensive sneakers wandering on their own.

I feel like I have seen community evolution in high speed.

Akbar

My father just picked on any Bengali vendor whenever i was busy looking for a street on the map - one of his ways to keep himself entertained.

He would start off with - Bandhu! kaimun acchen? After the usual Bhalo and Ami-o Bhalo, there would be the usual bari kothaye and questions about Italy and waghiara waghaira, and directions - which bus to take etc.

Some would be arrogant and say their bari is Rome and dont know any other bari (bari = home), and dad would nod his head disappointingly and mutter - arrogant bastard, forgetting his roots.

Near the colloseum, dad combined an old Pakistani film dialogue into his own - Yeh woh jaga hai jahan Rome kay zaleel kuttay kharey hokar tamasha dekhtay tey. I responded - Ab Bengali kharey hotay hain!!

We bought coconut slices and fruit salad from a Bengali vendor. In the heat the taste was heavenly.

......Where you are still the judge (sadly)!!!

Khawateen-wa-Hazarat (Ladies and more ladies!) Amar ka parnam, Akbar ka salam, aur Anthony hai sab ka Bhagwan!

We are back with misfit moments, Ibn Batutish imagery of the world (Italy actually!!) - though this time the competition is between Pagal Bandar (previosuly known as Mad Monkey) and Mota Billa (Fat Cat - as the new entrant who fit into the competition with great difficutly).

Below are a collection of 36 pictures -20 for Pagal Bandar and 16 for Mota Billa. Once again, a butt scratching argument ensued over who is the better photographer.

Crazy Cat won the competition last time against Pagal Bandar, who was left scratching his head and counting his monkey nuts in wonder. FYI, CC has been travelling the world promoting the Cannon brand of camera which helped her win the competition.

We again call on our reader, fans, hatemailers and all kinds of creature (see picture above) to decide whose vacation was better? -Bandar OR Billa?

Please cast your vote by emailing us here.

We love you so

Vote for the one

whose pics you so love

if not,

then vote for the one you hate less!

XXX

PB & MB

PAGAL BANDAR

PRESENTS HIS

MARVELLOUS ITALIAN HOLIDAY:

A Monkey Foreword: I just wanted to explain how my photos were selected. Rather than focus only on the beautiful, or on 'clever' photography, many of the photos are about places, sights, experiences that I wanted to share with you - the talking statues of Rome, the worn stairs of Pisa, and so on. Some of the photos are thus very ordinary, but their subject matter is, I think, quite interesting. Enjoy.

We fly over the higher peaks of the Italian Alps, snow-capped even in May.

The Infamous Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Inside the Leaning Tower, a narrow spiral stair case goes up to the top.

The foot-steps of centuries of travellers have worn down the stairs inside the Tower, and they are significantly and visibly sunken in the middle. They are also quite slippery, as a result of all that friction and wear, and need to be climbed carefully.

The twin brothers Remus and Romulus, nursed by a wolf, are the mythological founders of Rome.

An Orange and Lemon shop at Pompeii the south of Italy, on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius.

The city of Pompeii, along with its residents, was buried under volcanic ash and rock when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 C.E. The living themselves turned to ash and dust, but modern archaelogists found that by pouring plaster into the cavities left behind, they could create moulds of Pompeii's victims in the very position they died. In great contrast to the terror visible on many of the re-created faces, this man appear to have died while sleeping peacefully. Nearly two thousand years later, his face and posture still exudes a sense of calm and serenity, in contrast to all the noise and activity around him.

These two photos are plays on a single theme - The Effect of Woman on Man. I have written more about the first photo elsewhere on the blog. The second photo, I leave to you to interpret as you wish.

It was late night, and we were somewhat lost when we came across this road. We didn't know where it led, and there was not a person in sight. But it was so intensely atmospheric, full of mystery and a promise of surprise revelations around the corner that we felt compelled to follow the road, wherever it might lead us.

These two photos are of the ceiling of Chiesa Sant Ignazio, or the Church of Saint Ignatius, in Rome. The ceiling is fascinating, painted by Andrea Pozzo and full of visual tricks to fool the eye into thinking the church ceiling is much higher than it actually is. For example, look at the two arches on the left, on top of one another. Only the one at the bottom is real - the one on top is actually painted on the ceiling.

The dormant volcano of Mount Vesuvius, top left, erupts periodically, with a major eruption approximately every two thousand years. The next major eruption is in fact expected sometime this century. As you can see in the photo above, the area around the volcano has a high urban concentration, and millions of people live in the volcano's shadow. It would take nearly a week to evacuate everybody in case of an emergency, assuming of course, that the Volcano provides a week's warning.

Say hello to Pasquino! Pasquino is a talking statue, and he is known for his love of satire, gossip, and lampooning the authorities and other important people! He's been standing in his corner passing rude comments on all that goes on in Rome and the rest of the world for five hundred years now. One of the Popes even wanted him thrown into the river for his impudence! There is a word in the English language - Pasquinade (a work of satire/lampooning posted in public) - which has its origins in Pasquino's name. Pasquino is famous!

While Pasquino is Rome's most famous talking statue, he is not the only one. There are a number of them, including Madame Lucrezia, Baboon (!), all of them together known as the Congress of the Wits. But Pasquino has always been the leader, and he is a hero for all who love free speech.

It would be nice to have our own Pasquinos in Desh.

Illegal street vendors running away with their wares (in this case, art posters) when they see the police coming. Once the police are gone, they will return. This game of cat and mouse is played out on a daily basis. Most of the vendors tend to be from Bangladesh or West Africa. Florence, Italy.