Photo Essay

MOISTURE

DYUTIMAN MUKHOPADHYAY

What was the cuckoo’s song, like no other?

That sweeps away your kingdom, like its dirt?

Oh, what song was that, like no other—

That longing, again, seized your heart?

 —Translation from the song ‘Mathura Nagarpati’, sung by Shubha Mudgal, written by Rituparno Ghosh, and composed by Debojyoti Mishra for the Hindi film Raincoat (2004; dir. Rituparno Ghosh)

 —Krishna, though crowned Lord of Mathura, remains inexorably bound to his home in Gokul, where his longing for Radha makes kingship feel empty.

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So, how was the flight?

My co-passenger sneezed –

All the way –

I think I caught a nasty cold –

I’m sensitive

– to cold.

We need to walk some distance –

[Were we talking?]

to the park – car park

– car park?

I saw a car –

A car in the grey.

So, it will be in the car –

Did you see a car?

Are you sure?

I wish I were/

I wish you were/

I hope we are…

Park?

It rained –

Are you hungry?

I’m fine

I’m fine –

Did you miss the office today?

So? What's the plan?

I think you'd better stay at […]

And then you’d go [there / somewhere? – where?]

And then you can –

However, if you want to try them, they are good.

Think it over.

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You should put your seatbelt on…

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[

This happened –

This happened?

And then what?

Will this happen?

I just don’t know what to say –

What’s going on here?!

]

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Stay in touch –

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Hey!

What happened?

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Hey!

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Moisture:

noun [U – Uncountable or singular noun: a noun that has no plural]

a liquid such as water in the form of very small drops, either in the air, in a substance, or on a surface [dictionary.cambridge.org]

— Photographs © Dyutiman Mukhopadhyay; Uttarakhand, the Himalayas; Camera: Canon IXUS 285 HS-A; May 2026.

— Text and translation: Dyutiman Mukhopadhyay.