Pic by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

This is the Author’s preface to poetry that will follow in 50 separate posts – With each poem of 12 lines telling a story of life on the streets as seen through the lens of an ace photographer – Keep watching this blog for more

‘LIFE ON STREETS’ a photo contest open to all who have / had  a creative streak in them was organized by http://www.newskarnataka.com, the popular online news portal brand of Spearhead Media Pvt. Ltd, my employers, from 4th of July to the 15th of August 2016.

The contest received over 300 entries. The contest was expected to capture vignettes of street life – those emotions and expressions that people experience while on the road – and it did just that from the streets of the country.  Neither the organizers nor the eminent jury consisting of three members – Yajna Acharya, Dr Akhter Husain, and Kishan Rao, all accomplished photographers in their own right, were disappointed with the outcome.

Indeed neither was I. The moment I saw the first rushes, I was thrilled, as the photographs tickled my poetic imagination and by the end of the contest, I decided that I must try to convey to you, the reader my poetic interpretation of a selection of photographs; this book is the result.

I selected at random, 50 photographs including the seven winning ones and interpreted the thoughts of the photograph’s main protagonists’ in verse. Naturally, there can be many interpretations, and this is mine.

The poems themselves are restricted to twelve lines each which I thought enough for the lead character in the photograph, be it animate or inanimate, to express himself / herself / itself.  The language is simple, easy on the mind and easy indeed on the ear as I have tried to retain the melodious character of poetry.

The poems themselves are a mixture of the poignant, profound, and simple which aids variety and keeps the reader interested till the end. The visuals support the reader’s efforts to understand the author’s interpretations. The poems are not listed in any particular order and that in itself serves to up the sense of anticipation as you turn the page.

It is your sense of joy on reading this compilation and your critical feedback at  gesson62@gmail.com that will give me the greatest satisfaction and motivate me to compile another one, time permitting.

Warm Regards

Brian Fernandes