Via Reuben Abraham

High-flying billionaire and showman Sir Richard Branson spent a day with dabbawallahs.

“Apparently, Sir Richard boarded the local train from Andheri along with the dabbawallahs and travelled all the way to Churchgate. In 2nd class, no less. He then delivered food for his staff in that custom-made Virgin Atlantic dabba.”

From one Tiffinbox carrier to another – Salaam!

So, as day becomes night and night becomes day tomorrow, I'll be on a train from New Haven barreling towards Grand Central Station. Why? For the desi bloggers meetup in Manhattan of course. I am calling it Manhattan Masala, but I am sure we'll come up with something more elegant over the course of a meal and few drinks.

The venue is Bay Leaf. The time, 1.30 p.m. So far 26 of you have RSVP'd on time (deadline was March 31). Those who are emailing me today – sorry, we would love to accommodate you next year (or sooner). Space at the restaurant is really tight and we have only till 3 p.m. to meet, greet and eat.

The weather is set to be wet, so wear a poncho, carry an umbrella, do a rain dance or whatever catches your fancy. Rain or shine, we are going to be there.

As I said, the first two bloggers to get there receive a copy of Pooja Makhijani's book, Under Her Skin.

To see who is coming, you will have to surf to my site – Tiffinbox – and look in the right column under Manhattan Masala for the names of bloggers and the number of guests they are bringing. I am looking forward to putting faces to URLs. [Thanks JD!]

Via Sean Hintz – Photo Editor, ESPN.com

Do you love sports? Do you work well under tight deadlines and pressure packed situations? As Associate Photo editor, you’ll work with the Photo Imaging Group and the editorial staff to publish the most compelling images onto the internet’s most trafficked sports website. We’ll need you to have an eye for color, and photo layout, as well as have thorough knowledge of photo editing and production software. You’ll need to be able to take direction while adding your own flavor. You’ll be expected to work nights, weekends, and some holidays. The Assistant Photo Editor must be willing and able to communicate clearly with outside sources of photos, including freelancers, wire services, as well as public and private institutions.
 
Job Requirements: BA or BFA in Digital Art, newsroom experience, expert sports knowledge (current and historical)

Specific Skills – Expert knowledge of PhotoShop, Illustrator or Freehand and other related imaging software
?- Thorough grasp of digital imagery, and it’s preparation for web publishing.
– Strong Communication skills.
– Working understanding of FTP?- Ability to multi-task and work on several projects at once

Title: Assistant Photo Editor, ESPN.com?Department: ESPN.com?Location: Bristol, Connecticut
Hours: 30/week
Shift: Nights/Weekends

Please understand that there are no relocation expenses nor health benefits attached to this position. However, for those who are recent graduates, this is a great foot-in-the-door opportunity to get into an exciting world of sports news broadcasting, though there are no guarantees it will convert into a full-time position.

Interested? Please contact Sean Hintz at:
sean.m.hintz[at]espn3[dot]com with your resume/CV and your questions.

Good luck!

Kiruba Shankar is a blogger based in Chennai. He has quite a following. I check his site about once a month. More recently he was to have hosted the Bharateeya Blog Mela. That's what brought me to his site a couple of days back. Well, there I saw his announcement that he would be suspending his blog. I called it a sick April-fool's joke and so it was. Just about everyone commenting on this “last” post seemed to get a whiff of bull$&)*wafting from his site. But even people like the conservative blogger Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit.com bid him adieu – “I'm not in this place, but I understand. When it's not fun anymore, it's time to quit.”

There is a lot of burn-out in the blogging world. Some start with a few posts and the site lays dormant until it just goes away one day. What motivates me about blogging is that I am able to share with you what I have found or seen or what I have been thinking about. The blogging world is truly a marketplace of ideas (yes, gross plagiarism on my part there). As Paul Graham commands: “publish stuff online, because an audience makes you write more, and thus generate more ideas.” How true!

So, what motivates you to blog and do you feel pressured to do it every day? How close are you to burning out and what do you do to bring back some sanity to your life? Do tell. And while it may still be April Fool's Day, do be honest with your responses.

Via Sree Sreenivasan

“NYPL Digital Gallery provides access to over 275,000 images digitized from primary source and printed rarities in the collection of The New York Public Library, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints and photographs, illustrated books, printed ephemera and more.”

Free for student/non-commercial use. Cough up the moolah if you are planning on using it on a product for sale, on your website or for even a non-profit organization.

“… as the physical rights holder of this material most of which is in the public domain for copyright purposes, the Library charges a usage fee if images are to be used in any nonprofit or commercial publication, broadcast, web site, exhibition, promotional material, etc. The usage fee is not a copyright fee.”

Please read the licensing agreement before downloading anything.

Last Saturday, as I waited to board a flight from Reagan International in Washington, DC, I stepped into a bookstore to check out some magazines. My flight was at 9 p.m. and I had arrived at about 7 or so. Standing, then shifting and staring at the magazine rack stood a gentleman whom I recognized at once. But I wasn't terribly sure it was really him. Draped in what I can only call a “Sherlock Holmes” type winter coat and clutching a beige leather satchel stood a tall, lean man with wispy white. I had to be absolutely sure, so I looked down at his feet. Black and white wing-tip shoes, polished to a high sheen that would make any army captain smile with pride. The coat hung loose over a stark white double-breasted suit. Yeah, that's him, I told myself. “Er, excuse me,” I said. The man must have thought I wanted go past him and jumped back to allow me to walk by. I stuck my hand out and somewhat reluctantly asked him, “Would you happen to be Mr. Tom Wolfe?” His eyes lit up for a second and in a soft Richmond drawl said, “Yes, I am.” He looked a little surprised that he was so recognizable. Endearing, I told myself. But his hallmark white suit was a dead giveaway.

I asked him a few questions about his most recent book, I Am Charlotte Simmons. I mentioned to him that I had read a review of it in the New York Times and saw a faint grimace emerge and then quickly disappear. He joked about how President Bush liked the book and so had to be a smart man for it. Although the book has been on the best-seller list it hasn't done all that well at the cash register. As I shifted uncomfortably on my feet, the conversation naturally moved on to what he is working on now. Apparently the chronicler of American society has finally discovered immigrants. I was amused but suggested that he read Suketu Mehta‘s writing in the New York Times. He didn't quite get the first name, so I had to spell it out for him – S-U-K-E-T-U. We batted around the name of another writer with a last name Mehta – Ved Mehta – though he seemed more interested in Mr. Mehta's wife's writing.

I asked him more about his writing and how over the years he was able to secure so many wonderful interviews. Using his book, The Right Stuff, as an example, he quite candidly admitted that if you are writing about a man, you should get to know his wife even better. “Men, just lock up. The women like to talk,” he said.

Given that I am closely aligned to SAJA, I asked him if he would consider speaking at the annual convention, held at Columbia University. He said he enjoyed speaking to student audiences. I suspect a gaggle of journalists would be another story.

Mr. Wolfe spent nearly 15 minutes with me before hurrying along through security and boarding his flight back to New York city. Just before bidding goodbye, though, he asked me again to spell S-U-K-E-T-U, and so I did.

By the way, I just got word that Suketu Mehta has won the 2005 Kiriyama Prize in non-fiction writing for his book Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found. Congratulations!

Prabuddha Dasgupta, Hemant Khandelwal, Atul Kasbekar, Tarun Khiwal, Denzil Sequeira, Farrokh Chothia, Subi Samuel. All men photographing beautiful women. Why aren't women on the other side of the camera making great images? Actually, they are. And some of them got their due recently at a Lalit Kala Academi sponsored photo exhibit.

Names you will want to start memorizing: Sumiko Murgai Nanda, Nisha Kutty, Sheena Sippy, Ronika Kandhari and Asha Kochar.

Once I have website addresses for each, I'll start updating this post and more names too if you send in your recommendations [email me at tiffinbox[at]pipalproductions[dot]com.]

On March 13, 2005 Nilesh writes: “The next Blog Mela will be hosted on Kiruba's weblog.”

Small problem. Kiruba in a March 30. 2005 post Kiruba writes: “All good things must come to an end and so should this blog. I'm shutting it down. It's time to move on in life.”

Hmmm … so who is hosting the next Bharateeya Blog Mela? Is this some sick pre-April Fool's Day joke?

The 2005 Photobloggies have been announced. Nilesh Chaudhari handily won the South East Asian/Indian division for his photoblog. If you look at his site(s) you'll know why he so deserves it. Congratulations!

Adobe is teaming up with the American Society of Media Photographers to develop a comprehensive directory of photographers, first across the US and eventually across the globe. Of course, you have to become a member of the ASMP.

“The Adobe Photographers Directory will be searchable by geographic location and by photographic specialty, and it will include portfolio images. Thus, designers can quickly zero in on the best candidates for the job. And because the photographers’ experience and competence are evidenced by their membership in ASMP, designers can feel confident in the professionalism of any one they hire.”

Is Adobe expecting a 50-50 split on the $300 general membership dues and the $50 Find A Photographer fee ASMP will collect?