It's Sunday morning. I am on my second cuppa tea. I flip through the newspaper to the funnies. There is the usual fare – Garfield, Doonesbury, Peanuts. Deep down, I know something is missing. How often do you see a South Asian comic strip?

Mahoot Media is here to fill that great void I know we all feel. Badmash.org, Mahoot's venture in cartooning, is clearly unique. It is a no frills web site that will bring a chuckle to you and your friends. Check it out and sign up on that site to receive the strip in your mail box. Your Sunday's won't be the same. Chai anyone?

I got this today:

Your site stats for 10/18/2003:
Your site “TIFFINBOX” received 1 new subscribers today.
It has 10 total subscribers and is ranked #666 on Bloglet.

Not one to be superstitious, but can someone please SUBSCRIBE to TiffinBox.org [use the box in the left column] and knock my insidious ranking down? Tell a friend or friends.

Thanks! :~)

From time to time, I am going to go out on a limb and recommend books that are both interesting and useful. While initially they will be about photography, I promise to research books that will interest designers and writers as well. If you are reading this and want to send in your suggestion, I would love to hear from you. Send in your suggestions to me at: seshu[at]pipalproductions[dot]com.

Here is the first of what I hope will be many books you can use:

I am a big fan of Frank Van Riper's column in Camera Works, The Washington Post's online feature about photography. His writing is lucid and his experiences as a photographer universal, such that we can all learn from him and his wife, Judith Goodman.

Last Christmas a friend gifted me Riper's book – Talking Photography – a collection of his columns that have appeared on the website.

No matter how you classify yourselves – an emerging professional or an ardent amateur – I recommend this book to you. Apart from technical “how-to's,” the author clearly describes the “why's” behind doing certain things on photo assignment. The writing is authorative, but not overwhelming or intimidating. You don't have to read it cover-to-cover. You are given the liberty of picking and choosing columns that interest you. Eventually, I suspect, you will end up reading them all. They are that good.

Much like my former post post, there is another photo exhibit that's making the rounds in the US. Scroll down below for dates and times.

Associated with the exhibit is a symposium that promises to discuss the political weight images carry (in the context of the British Raj, of course). Hot topic, in my opinion. How are South Asians perceived now has much to do with how we were photographed in the past. I am sure Vijay Prashad of The Karma of Brown Folk fame has something to say about this.

Via India New England News

19th-century Photos Show Indian Monuments Location: Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven, Conn.

Thu., Oct. 16 through Sun., Jan. 11, 2004 at the Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven, Conn.

Free and open to the public.

The Yale Center for British Art presents “Traces of India: Photography, Architecture and the Politics of Representation” – a new exhibition of more than 200 19th-century photographs of India’s monuments. Organized by the Canadian Center for Architecture, the exhibition will show major sites on Indian history and demonstrate the interpretive nature of photography of British India. On display: photographs, engravings, prints, maps, books, postcards, posters and other artifacts. A related symposium, “Representing the Raj,” on Oct. 17 and 18 will look at the photos’ political and cultural messages.

The art center is open Tue. – Sat., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sun., Noon to 5 p.m.. It is closed Mondays and major holidays.

For more info., call (203) 432-2853 or visit www.yale.edu/ycba.

I recently (as of two minutes ago) heard about this opportunity. Thanks to Jim MacMillan and the NPPA-L (the National Press Photographers Association's list serv) for spreading the word.

Please direct your enquiries about this scholarship to the appropriate folks. I am just a messenger.

$5,000 for your education!

The Ron Patel Scholarship Fund is now accepting applications for 2004. This year, the $5,000 scholarship will be awarded to a photojournalism student to advance his or her graduate or undergraduate education, according to fund president Mary Patel. Deadline is December 1, 2003.

Ron Patel was the renowned editor of the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer, and Mary Patel's husband, until his death on Jan. 7, 2000.

There are no age restrictions on this scholarship. The $5,000 check will made out to the school and the student so the winner must either be in school or about to begin.

The Philadelphia Conference is assisting with outreach and details.
Complete details are availabe online at:

http://www.philadelphiaconference.org/scholarship

Questions may be directed to: scholarship@philadelphiaconference.org