PEEL PARK, SALFORD

Peel Park is one of the best Parks I have been to till date. In fact, I have been to this place more than once. Its strategic layout is right beside my University and I often plan to take a long walk amongst the greenish-yellow canopies of this park. At times, it has come across  as a saviour and helped me to take shelter during rains.Many times, it has just been a serene place where I can wander around undisturbed with my thoughts to give me company. The different birds and animals that live in harmony with the natural resources of the park, has often intrigued the amateur photographer in me. At other times, I deliberately go with a frame of mind to get some good photographs out of the place- to capture the various colours and sights of Autumn and the approaching winter.

Peel Park is just like any other park and needs no special description. It functions as a beautiful ground through which the River Irwell flows. It is a regular on the list of those who have pets because on many occassions I have seen alsatians playing happily in the park or chasing a squirrel. It serves as a great picnic spot too, although I have not seen any picnics happening there. It is a great den for the morning and evening walkers to just take some time off their busy schedules and interact with nature. Peel Park also has many subjects that would interest photographers and sometimes I see some photography groups on a mission to take great photos visiting the park. 

This post curates some of the photographs that I have taken of this Park during my visits to the place.

PEEL PARK
OVERLOOKING OLD PINT POT
FROM THE MAIN ROAD

BURST OF AUTUMN COLOURS

THE DESERTED PATHWAY

PEEL PARK OVERLOOKING IRWELL

PATH TO PEEL PARK FROM UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

THE WORLD FROM BELOW 

THE WORLD FROM BELOW II

HIDE AND SEEK

THE LONELY VISITOR 

THE WORLD FROM BELOW III

THE WORLD FROM BELOW IV

THE YELLOW FOLIAGE
EDITED BY: ZISHAN ASAD

SIGHTS OF MANCHESTER CHRISTMAS MARKETS 2015

Christmas in Manchester had begun last month with the Christmas Lights Switch On about which I had earlier written on http://goo.gl/obNri9. This post highlights some of the scenes that I managed to capture in the Christmas Markets. When I wrote my last post, the markets were just being put up, but now when I write, the markets are fully functioning and people manage to find some time off from their busy schedules to visit these markets. Saturday and Sunday sees an abundance of crowd in the City Council and other adjoining areas where these makeshift markets and temporary pubs have been put up. Come rain or hail, nothing dampens the christmas spirits among the people. The markets itself cover a huge area and one needs maps to navigate if they are new to the city (like me). This is what a Christmas Market map looks like.

MARKET MAP

Let me be very honest, I have not been able to cover all the places myself. But Manchester Arndale, Deansgate and City Council have been thoroughly covered by me (not once but twice). These markets are a sensual appeal to any onlooker. From myriad hues of red, green, silver, golden, white and  pink which adorn the chirstmas trees as decors; to little brown huts which act as stalls for these markets are all appeasing to the eye. In fact, if you choose to stand in any spot and smell the surroundings, a mixture of the smoky flavour of hot sausages, savoury flaours of rainbow coloured macaroons, mulled wine and german beer hits your senses. You can hear people advertising their products, buying and selling, children requesting their parents for a certain special christmas gift and various musical instruments being played in the background.

CITY COUNCIL MARKETS

Come evening and the lights are switched on. These lights give a special feeling to the Christmas Markets. The whole area is decorated with rows of lights wrapped beautifully around the hut sheds and trees. A bunch of hanging lights also dangle from the tree branches.

There are stalls selling various things in the markets. From Fudge to macaroons; from cakes and baked breads to cheese; from drinks to special pulled pork sandwiches and mini pancakes; from christmas trees and decors to gifting items- all are found in these markets.

FUR LAMA

ANYBODY WANTS PIXIE DUST??

SNOWY, THE SNOW WHITE REINDEER

FUDGE

SAY CHEESE. . . . 

ANYONE LOVES GARDENING?

SAUSAGES 

DREAM CATCHERS 

I have not been able to make a video of the markets, but I found this video which would give you a LIVE idea of these markets .

Every time I come to these Markets, I spot something which I had not seen the last time. With so many things happening at the same time and so many sights to capture, one or two visits are not sufficient enough for these markets. I would come back with another post sooner which would highlight other parts of the markets which have been yet undiscovered by me. 

Happy Christmas in Advance ! 

HERITAGE AND LANDMARKS OF MANCHESTER

On one windy afternoon a group of around twenty five students from my University set out on a tour of some of the legendary places of this city. This post, in short describes some of the must see destinations of Manchester but every destination would be individually highlighted in later posts.

CHAPEL STREET 

Chapel Street is famous for being the first street in the city where street lights were switched on. Chapel Street today hosts the Peel Park Campus of the University of Salford.

PEEL PARK 

Some distance down from the Chapel Street is Peel Park. This park is a very pretty place to lose yourself amidst natures beauty. The colours of autumn, in full bloom, can be best experienced in the silent surroundings of this park. In fact one of the campuses of the University of Salford has been named after Peel Park.

THE CRESCENT

 Right opposite to Peel Park is The Crescent which has always been a great hangout place for the youth. Moreover, the Crescent gives special discounts to the University students.

THE BLACK HORSE HOTEL

 The Black Horse Hotel is another beautiful building standing almost entirely on its own. When I first saw the inn I was very impressed by it. In fact I had even made up my mind to go there one day and check it out; but very recently I found out that the hotel itself has closed down. Now only the building stands as a remembrance of what used to exist days ago.

ST. PHILIPS CHURCH

 Manchester is filled with churches and cathedrals. Every neighbourhood has one church of its own. This is St. Philips Church beside Peel Park. This church displays Greco-Roman architecture.

SALFORD CATHEDRAL

Two steps from the St Philips Church is the Salford Cathedral which has the aura of a mighty gothic- looking structure standing erect and high claiming its authority over the place.

CHURCH OF SACRED TRINITY

MANCHESTER CATHEDRAL

Moving further on you would find the Church of the Sacred Trinity and if you walk straight ahead you get to the Manchester Cathedral. This cathedral is said to be the Centre of the city as it is from here that the City Centre and one of the biggest shopping malls Manchester Arndale starts which later on merges with Market Street which is one of the high points of the city.

CHEETHAM LIBRARY

For those who have the slightest connection with Karl Marx, the Cheetham library would be an ideal place to visit. Not only because the membership is free but also because it was the very place where years ago Marx met his fellow companions and propagated his ideas.

CHEETHAM SCHOOL OF MUSIC

 Western music is always described by bands like Beatles, Eagles, pink Floyd, and more recently by Jackson, Madonna and the rest. But Cheetham School of Music has been imparting music to children and youth for years alike making it one of the most famous destinations of music.

VICTORIA STATION

Opposite to The Cheetham School of music is the Victoria Station Railway which connects the city to places like London, Leeds, Newcastle, York and Scotland.

SINCLAIRS PUB

 The Manchester City Council can be reached via a shortcut through the Sinclairs pub. It is said that when the city centre was being built, the Sinclairs pub was relocated to a new place brick by brick.

BEETHAM TOWER 

 A little further away from the City Council one comes to the Beetham Tower the tallest skyscraper of the city. With 47 floors tall, this building houses a hotel and is a primary landmark for those (like me) who frequently get lost in the city. The Museum of Science and Industry is built very near to this hotel.

CANAL SYSTEM

Right opposite the Museum is the Canal System of River Irwell. In fact I was told that many students take this unique arrangement as part of their studies and research work.

THE WORLD BEYOND HORIZONS

With the canal being our last point of visit, our tour came to an end. But as they say “the road goes on and on”, my journey is far from over and I would definitely try to visit all these places again and know more about their history and legends. 

An Ode to Fruits

                    "Autumn is the mellower Season,

                     and what we lose in flowers,

                     We more than gain in fruits."

                                       -Samuel Butler 

                                            

It is not that I am too fond of fruits; in fact, I am a very picky fruit eater. I might like something one day and dislike it the other day. But that did not stop me from going into the wholesale fruit markets of bara-bazaar on 11th October, even if it was to only look at the place and see the various activities going on there. Here I must acknowledge that the fruit bazaar was certainly not what I had imagined; it was even better.

On entering the fruit bazaar, apart from some shops where the people were busy in packing and loading and unloading fruits from the trucks, we were greeted by a very old goat. It must be too soon for me to say, but the goat seemed to tell me that he had seen everything that possibly went on inside the mandi (popular term for the markets) and was probably waiting for a change.

Nevertheless, what interested me was that the entire place was abuzz with various activities which appealed to one’s senses. People were busy collecting fruits that had come from the trucks. While many unloaded carton full of fruits; there were others who sat and maintained records and finances of the deal. At many corners men gathered around a table and one person howled prices on top of his voice. Not knowing what it was when I went to check, I was told by another man that it was live auction at progress and those auctioneers surely wanted me to leave them in peace.

Delving further into the market one can notice that the ground had been covered by straws and hays. These were the materials in which the fruits were brought every morning and they were just discarded on the floor. This covered the floor into layers of hays and actually one can say that the ground was hardly visible. One has to walk on the "hay" floor inside the mandi. Looking up, the entire market is surrounded by houses- two or three storeyed houses. They were so old that it felt like they might fall any moment. But I prayed that they would not, at least not while I was there.

The actual market was a colorful delight. Everywhere one looked there were stack and stacks of fruits of various colors- red juicy pomegranates, huge fat pineapples, guavas, lovely peaches, delicious dates, ripe bananas, green and black grapes and the lot. But what dominated the scenes most were the green lemons. Everywhere you look there were lemons, lemons and more lemons.

While I stopped to take the entire feel in, I realized that this is nothing but an entire colony in itself. People living in the houses had their occupations just outside their thresholds. Apart from the fruit dealers proper, there were auctioneers, truck drivers, barbers, people who owned food shops and many others.

This post would not be complete if I miss out on the reactions of the people in the mandi. It was a mostly male dominated place where I could spot an occasional sari here or there. While most of them were middle -aged, many were also young who helped their fathers or uncles in this trade. Seeing people with DSLR’s in their area they became quite thrilled and gave a variety of responses. While some willingly posed in front of the camera, some started howling at us.  Many were eagerly calling us to take their photographs and one gentleman even posed for a single shot. I was actually lucky to be able to experiment with various techniques which I had recently learned from my mentor. Though not everything came out exactly what was in my mind, nevertheless it left me satisfied, though smelling of fruits and eager to go back for some more shots.

All in all, the entire trip was worth it and made me discover a new aspect of Kolkata which I had been negligent of all this while.