Pretty Vacant Diaries 3

Too lazy and sleepy to edit this, just posting whatever I wrote on my phone in the past 3 days.

Day 3

Today was the same as most days, we come, we hang around, we shoot, we drink tea. Today was the sponsor's main show, which we'd been hounding them to get us backstage access to. Before that I was supposed to tweet like a maniac which I couldn't because the internet was shite.

We went around to designers stalls and asked them to tell us how great the sponsor was. Me like Mother India with my tripod. Nida Mehmood was nice, she gave us little patches which we could pin up, mine is a brown poppy looking flower. Some designer who looked like Shikhar Dhawan (but with a less studly mustache) told me I had nice hair, I said its only nice because I washed it.

My shoulders are dying.

We waited for half an hour to have Soha Ali Khan say 2 words for the camera, but she was nice about it. The

We miss all the shows that are actually supposed to be good.

I run into Kavi as expected and she fits right in, with the scarf tied to her head and her crop top and half jacket. We share a smoke and then its back to work for me.

We wrestle backstage access finally and barge in the makeup room and take shots. We do more product placements. I take a timelapse of the hair.

The models are sitting listening to music on their headphones, made up but still in their sneakers and jeans. Some are *gasp* eating, and *gasp* talking about mutton biryani. The lighting is so good there. They're surprised that a camera is allowed in the dressing room but we barge in there too and get our shots.

As I'm sitting in the photographer's pit with my 70-200 looking impatient, trying to fix my posture, cracking my back and singing along to Zero7, Dayanita Singh comes up and says 'Hi I'm Dayanita'. I said that I know who you are, love your photography blah blah and she says that it's good to see so many women photographers. She takes a picture of me and my big lens which is slung over my shoulder like an AK47.

Again pangas with security guys.

Day 4

Haven't written much yesterday or today.

Went to work when no one was around and there was no power.

Taking more random shots of models. One model didn't know what anarchy was and thought we were talking about anarkali ('its an Indian dress?')

Gauhar Khan blah blah.

Rehane's show started with the exact Depeche Mode song I was listening to this morning. All I ever wanted I think. At least I can sing along.

My shoulders are dying. The boisterous photographers are still chatting loudly among themselves and its still boring and cramped in the pit. Shaun is in town and Im being called out of hermithood.

Sitting in the pit for Rabbani and Rakhi and they're playing jazzy covers of songs, get lucky, should I stay or should i go, material girl.

A lady tripped at the last show, poor dear. She didn't see the ramp in front of her.

Three miss India's came to the last show and they looked like they had come to a punjabi wedding's cocktails, dressed in similar long gowns. Totally irrelevant

Rabbani Rakha had some good ones, the opening was dramatic, looked good on camera.

Ran into Dayanita Singh outside Pero. She says hello my dear I love your equipment  ( shoulder mount, everyone's been checking it out) and takes a picture again. She asks for my name and says she'll find me. I say I can't really be found on the internet since I don't have any profile so she tells me to email her. Are there a lot of women photographers in fashion now? I say more than before. There's a lady chatting away ahead of me in line with a nikon over each shoulder.  Her and a dude talk shop about flashes etc.

I can feel myself getting ill and I want a garam chai ki pyali.

There's an asshole photographer who is pissing everyone off, asking them to shift monopods and legs and asking the girls in front to move 'yeh ladkiyon ko side pe daba do'. Minor fight and everyone decides to ignore him 

There's a mustachioed young photog who has been vibin'. We always end up sitting next to each other and he gives curious looks. But I always try to get ahead of him in line, I get competitive sometimes. Someone's introduced him to another as the guy who tries to curl his mustache. The people complimenting him are trying to get him to sneak them into the show. I recognize one of the dudes as a guy who I met at a random ass conference, who has 'cum' written in hindi on his business card, those are his initials. K se khargosh and m se ma. That's his card...

Day 5

Today we go backstage again for Anita Dongre, the makeup peeps are pretty nice, Ambika Pillai asks me if my shoulder mount is heavy, I say not at all.

The models are chatting, nodding off etc. Carole Gracias has her hair in those medusa like twisters and asks not to be shot. I take a timelapse. Backstage before the show we try to take shots of details, the clothes are pretty nice.

Been in line for an hour. Photogs discussing astrology, bollywood and fashion

Woh tagdi wali mangli hai (Aishwarya)

Woh to hai hi chajje pe baithne layak (Abhishekh)

Uske sitare bahut sahi hai(Sallu)

People are wearing all colours of shit, that's not fashion, fashion is what is around you.

Kangana, shehnaz Hussain and Rahul dev have walked by.

Iss show ke baad chaho bhi toh dinner nahi milega, pani bhi nahi milega.All the other photogs are news media type uncles. They're talking about the after party.

My mustachioed competitor is trying jugaad to get in. Fuck that shit bitch, get in line. Luckily I come out ahead eventually because N went ahead with the camera and got stood in the second media line. Yes, another line after they let us in.  So I hand her the camera and she sits as my proxy till I get in. Chatting with other photogs about the stupid LED lights and who else apart from Kangana may be in the show. Neha Dhupia is sitting in the audience with some other supposedly famous chick, the photogs ask her to pose. 

The show starts with blaring electro music and disco ball robots dancing with lasers. Then darkness. Then the models appear in rectangular windows. There's a drummer and a dj. The music is louder than ever and makes our cameras vibrate. The models look like futuristic badass brides of Daft Punk. But I don't really love it. Kangana poor thing looks really nervous and gets tangled up in her dress and ladkhadaos a bunch of times. So her appearance looses all impact.

Sunil is telling me the whole story of his and his fathers life on the way back to work.

Have to wake up and reach office on time for a meeting in that fucking hellhole Gurgaon, been having to go there way too fucking much this month. 

I really want to go to the hills. Or somewhere I can just sit in a car and someone can drive for hours and watch things go by (and not Gurgaon)