The Violet Sky and a Morning Walk

Got up at 4:00 am in the morning. The sages say that this is the best time to get up as it is the Brahmamuhurtha. After a cold water bath and some yoga, I ventured out in search of the perfect sunrise with my camera dangling around my waist. By 6:30 am, the sky suddenly burst out with colours of violet, pink and purple as the sun brought the morning to the world today.

I took some shots trying to get close to the sky and reach some sort of perfection. As I was busy capturing the colourful sky, a young man tapped me on the shoulder. “Hari om sir, you want to see the sunrise? Why don’t you come with me for a walk into the farmland around the ashram near the water canals? You will get a much better view from there.” He said with a big smile on his face. “I think I will do just that. What is your name? Do you work here in the ashram?” The man introduced himself as Ramesh Kumar and he was a co-worker at the ashram. That was it. I decided to follow him in search of the violet sky.

Ramesh took me to the back of the ashram where the rest of the staff are put up in a huge hall. From there, we meandered through into a farm by walking on a dusty road built near a canal. As I walked through the dense mist, I could see bursts of colour in the sky and as if on cue, I started taking photos of this breathtaking vision. My breath became deep and long as the sky started to dance with a hue of vibrant colours.

I kept showing my photography skills to my guide, Ramesh, who was very impressed with my skills. All the fresh air was doing wonders for my health and my lungs and I had not smoked for a week and hence, my lungs felt light. Then suddenly, the sun came out as if it was tearing through the violet silhouette like an orange ball piping up out of a silk handkerchief. I started shooting again. Oh, I so much wished to have a longer lens to get closer to the sun but, alas, I had only the 24mm to 70mm lens.

This was one hell of a morning walk. Ramesh then took me to the top of the staff quarters building on the terrace to get a much better view of the sunrise. I was then able to shoot these beautiful scenes to my heart’s content.