Keeping this blog alive and holding with Marilu Pai, a man from Mangalore, India, who I found at a bowhead whale landing on the Arctic sea ice
Saturday, May 7, 2011 at 2:17PM ;)
This is Marilu Pai, origingally of Mangalore, India, but now of Barrow, Alaska, in a photo that I took somewhere near 2:00 AM this morning. Mr. Pai is a wildlife biologist and a veterinarian who just this past winter landed a job with the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management.
Although on the whole it was a very warm winter for Barrow, Mr. Pai was shocked by the cold when he arrived. Yet, he was thrilled to be here and he has toughed it out and says he is greatly enjoying his job. Come August, his family plans to leave India and join him.
"Nowhere else in the world could I get an apportunity like this," he told me. He said he loves the big, wild, open country of the Arctic Slope and the sea, and all the animals that live thereon and therein, especially the big bowhead whale.
Those ropes behind him are part of a block and tackle system that the Iñupiat whalers are using to hoist a huge bowhead, landed by the Little Kupaaq crew of Harry Brower Jr., ever so slowly out of the water and onto the ice.
Pai came out with a host of other scientists and researchers to make measurements and take samples.
He also spent many, many, very cold hours helping the whalers pull on the ropes. I do not know what the temperature was, but probably right about 0 F (-18 C), which is not too bad but there was a stiff, biting, wind behind it.
It is the whalers and the Iñupiat people of the Arctic Slope, Mr. Pai explained, who he sees himself as working for. So he wants to be low key, never pushy and he wants to help all he can.
As any reader can see, this blog is still in a barely surviving, holding pattern and it will be for a few more days yet.
I will probably wait to make my real series of blog posts from this trip to Point Hope and Barrow until May 17. This coming Friday, I must be in Tok and the Sunday thereafter in Fairbanks. The story that I will be doing in those two places is one that cannot wait until later to be posted, so I will do it immediately upon shooting and then get back to my Arctic work.
I supposed that it is possible that things could suddenly fall into place and I could post this Arctic series before I leave for Tok, but that would really surprise me.
It would be a happy surprise, though.
Reader Comments (4)
With these single photo posts I'm reminded how that when you click on them we are rewarded with a larger crisper resolution picture........The slide show format does not allow you to enlarge the pictures without losing some valuable resolution that your portraits deserve......This picture of Mr Pai and the backdrop is really intriguing, with your narrative it becomes huge.....enjoying it regardless, one photo, two photo, Lo Res, High Res.
what's going on in tok! honestly if I could I would move to tok to live. I love the little town atmosphere and the people!
Sadly.. Fairbanks is where my job is.. but if I could.. I would transfer in a MINUTE!
Happy Mothers Day to Margie..
Mr. Pai looks happy.
Your trip sounds so busy, and so fun! Looking forward to seeing and reading more about it when you get back. Wow - 2am is pretty light there in Barrow, I guess I always though it got just a little darker.
Someone from Karnataka, India in Alaska.
I will, too, visit Alaska one day, and I hope it is not too far away.