Winchester - Tokyo: A Reunion Of Two Cities [I] Photograph

Herewith follows the beginning of my photographic quest for this year: the search for loved ones separated by the unseen and unsparing hands of time and place… :)) Nearly a decade had sneakily slipped past without ever seeing my good Japanese friend and sister, Sachi, and her little sparkle-eyed boy, Alex, that my mind was decisively made up and that there were no two ways about it – a reunion there shall be and I would make it happen one way or another! I planted the firm resolution in my heart at the start of the year that I would once again see them but, alas and alack, it would be an accomplishment of no easy stock for I had lost all contact details thanks to the devastating loss of my old email accounts and address books of yesteryears. You see, dear reader, I knew Sachi from a time when I had no Facebook and I know she had never opened an account because the prospect of having one never appealed to her in the slightest. However, I refused to let the absence of a trail cloak and cloud my visions of a happy reunion. When I channel my energies into a goal I set to it with every pea-sized atom of my pint-sized heart and soul! Thus began an epic detective story consisting of following haphazard leads and clues, some of them took me to a dead end cul-de-sac although, that hardly posed any grand sort of bother on my nerves as it simply meant that I had to turn around and re-orient my wits and nose on an alternative trail. Finally, the glow-worm light which I had desperately sought tentatively appeared at the end of the tunnel! I had an email address in my hand and not a moment was wasted, I tell you! With swift haste, I found myself in front of the computer, tap-tap-tapping away at the keys as if my fingertips were the parched lips of a desert nomad and the buttons, glistening, akin to oases whom to travellers shimmered with the allure of thirst-quenching jewels. A telegram style message was quickly composed. I was well aware that a lengthy letter written with devotion and careful effort might boomerang back onto my face if the email did not send properly so, I preferred to err on the side of caution this time and post something whose disappearance into oblivion would not cause that much of a stir or annoyance under my skin! Within 24 hours news of the happiest kind was returned to me!!! The message had reached my friend and she had written back with no less surprise and awe as that of my own! Perhaps the magnitude of my achievement could only be described as when one, after endless hurdles and torments, finishes writing the last word in the masterpiece of their life! Might reaching the summit of a majestic mountain feel like this? I would be terribly surprised if it were anything besides! I swear I knew how to fly for a moment or two as my eyes eagerly slurped in the warm and kind expressions that had always been very much characteristic of Sachi’s style of writing and, which in turn, excellently mirrored her sincere and generous nature. I sat back in my armchair, a sigh of relief let loose off my chest and I knew exactly what had to proceed now. I was to go and visit them. Ticket and camera packed, I set off on a most scrumptious adventure over the miles, the likes of which I confidently propose no decent bourbon biscuit or prestigious Victorian sandwich cake has ever heard of! My dear friends, I shall be presenting to you in days to come a few of the fondest photographic montages I have ever had the pleasure and blessing of chronicling in the time since I have paired myself with the lens and pen. Today’s offering will have your eyes see our spark plug chap, Alex, creating a buzz and attraction in his stead because this little one is well endowed with an excellent creative licence in his pocket! Constantly poking me from the back and cracking jokes at each other, Alex and I got along like a house on fire! Poor Sachi, at times, had a hard time telling apart who the child was and who was the 36 year old teacher! The photographs in today’s collection tell the hilarious story of our time in a soap shop where I encouraged the assistants to put on a good show for our little man and, since I am a scientist who always enjoys a spectacular chemical reaction, I told them to ensure that there be plenty for the eyes to indulge in! Off they went to work – a teacher’s charm always a handy piece of kit to have – and thus, in went the ice crystals and the ‘bath bombs’ and ALAKAZAM!!! A simple stainless steel bowl transmogrified into a cauldron! How amazing is that?! Ahem ahem, sorry I tend to get carried away when a science trick goes according to the dictates of the Periodic Table!! Our second haunt that day was at the good old pottery café where Alex slapped on an apron and began painting away on a pre-made figure of a ceramic lizard! I do recall quite affectionately that he pretty much exhausted all the colours provided on the palette – and quite rightfully so for we couldn’t possibly paint a lizard in its normal scheme of colours could we, that would be an inadmissible balderdash! I provided the glass of orange juice, as you can see stood propped by the side: a signature of my Orange Vision, denoting the colour of happiness and joy at feeling blessed to be alive and present in the company of people that many assumed I had lost forever. Dear reader, it does not have to be so. If you can be courageous enough for your heart and faith to grow a mane as deep orange as a lion’s locks then watch how Destiny stands on your side - like my glass of sweetest OJ - and behold as what was once lost is found once more… Photographs & Words: © Masufa Khatun | Mazzy Khatun Photo Stories | Winter Reunion Series | 2015

Photography:Color on Other

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:31.5 W x 31.5 H x 0.4 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.