Posts
Then came the Blind girl's school..Went in not knowing what to expect..Came out with a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions..
Taken at the Blind Women's School in Pune, India.
If you ever feel that God doesn't like you or you're unlucky or whatever, you HAVE to visit a school like this. It's the power of the human spirit exemplified.
This little girl is Nabhya, looking over the shoulder of mum, Sunita, who was camera shy.They both have leprosy and need to beg for their living. Although Sunita's leprosy was advanced and no longer curable (i never saw her face,she never showed it. 'bad' she said.) Nabyha's case is still at a curable stage and I was relieved to hear that Nabhya is being treated at a free facility in Jaipur where they live. Sunita bought out her treatment card to show me, as if to emphasise that she was taking care of her daughter properly, and is a good mum. I had no doubts about that, she seemed a lovely woman.
Nabhya was gorgeous, full of curiosity and mischief, often running around mum and getting herself in to trouble. One day I saw her exploring someone's scooter, and oops- pulling it over.She was fast enough to dodge the falling bike, thankfully.
9:56 PM
/
Posted by
Unknown
/
comments (0)
Leather puppets are a popular means of rural entertainment through the ages. Leather puppet making is a craft that has carved out a niche for itself in the state. The puppets of mythological figures are used to enact shadow plays, popularly called 'Tolubommalata'.
Tolu Bommalata, the shadow puppet theatre, has been popular not only in Andhra Pradesh, but also in Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Orissa as well. While the puppets of Kerala, Maharashta, and Orissa are traditionally black and white, the Karnataka, Tamilnadu, and Andhra puppets are multi-coloured. The Andhra puppets are larger in size, with separate parts of the various limbs stitched loosely for better articulation. The earliest mass medium using coloured images, the shadow-puppet theatre has always been popular among rural folk, combining entertainment with moral instruction.
The leather puppets of Andhra Pradesh trace their origins back to around 200 B.C. They were used for shadow plays that travelled the countryside. These puppets are made of buffalo or sheep hide, they are later bleached with local paints. Gods, Horses, elephants, warriors, fruits, cows, birds, deers are the popular figures made. Dharmarao Cheruvupalli in Nellore district, Nammalakunta in Anantapur district and Narasaraopet in Guntur district are the main centres for the production of leather puppets.
A general belief is that the art of puppetry was prevalent in this part of the country even by the beginning of the Christian era. It is also believed that this art was carried from here to the South-East Asian countries where Indians had colonised.
The puppet is coloured on both sides, it can be used both ways depending upon the direction of the head required to suit a scene, especially when the character is engaged in conversation.
The Andhra puppets are the largest multi-coloured puppets in India. The usual size of a puppet ranges between 5X3 to 6X3-1/2 feet. There are even larger figures. Stories usually are depicted from Ramayana or Mahabharata.
A night shot during a Pushkar show where locals gathered for some late evening song and dance. These two guys with their colourful turbans stood out from the crowd.
This pic is taken very close to where the movie Peepli live was shot. Raisen District of Madhya Pradesh, India. a very typical setup of any Indian village shop, which apart from selling stuff, also serve as local hotspot of gossip and Information exchange about the whereabouts of everyone in the village. It also acts as local GPS, you can stop by any of these shops if you are lost and help is just a word away. If it is raining, these shops also provide temporary roof with refreshing tea. so in many way, these shops are more useful than wallmart
Jama Masjid or Jami Mosque meaning the Friday Mosque (A.D. 1571-72) as the date of its completion, with a massive entrance to the courtyard, the Buland-Darwaza
A distinguishing feature is the row of chhatri (Seen) over the sanctuary. There are three mihrabs in each of the seven bays, while the large central mihrab is covered by a dome, it is decorated with white marble inlay.
The right corner is shown with White marble building which is Tomb of Salim Chishti: A white marble encased tomb of the Sufi saint, Salim Chisti (1478–1572), within the Jama Masjid's , courtyard. It is encrusted with mother-of-pearl mosaic. Surrounding it is covered passageway for circumambulation, with carved Jalis, stone pierced screens all around with intricate geometric design.
This photo was taken in my recent to visit to Barmer in Western Rajasthan which is about 150 km from Pakistan Border. Assignment was to make a documentary on Women and child welfare. Barmer is considered as a very backward area of the state.
I had a preconceived notion about the place and its people specially women. We had to ask and shoot some uncomfortable things..like different stages in pregnancy and benefits and help they receive from hospitals and primary health center during the process.But to my surprise they were quite receptive and open to the topic.Though they were not very comfortable talking before camera but there was certainly a general awareness about their rights and keenness to know new developments in area.
Man, this place is so beautiful, you can't imagine. I walk these ghats in my dreams and always have done. Its the place I like best on Earth. My little guesthouse room overlooks this beautiful view, and in the mornings I am awakened to beautiful kirtans (Hindu mantra chants) , very early. It seems like Pushkar is on another plane, part of the astral. Alas, People suffer on the astral too. The tourists come in busloads now, and just stay for a few hours to shop in the little lanes, and holy men sell heroin on the ghats, but even those things don't den't its magic, for me anyhow.
You aren't supposed to take photo's here - that pool is the bathing ghat (communal bathroom) but everything looked so right here I had to click. The girl in the foreground holding out her washing kind of makes it for me,somehow. And the single bird flying over the buildings.
THIRA
Poothan and Thira is a ritualistic art form found in South Malabar region of Kerala, usually during the festival season of Valluvanad temples from December to May. It is usually performed once or twice a year to cleanse the entire village off evil spirits
When green meets dry and barren mountains - at Losar, Spiti Valley, Himachal,India
Labels: himachal pradesh, people, Spiti Valley
Paraipatti - countryside
Made me think a bit at Christmas time,
the stable, the lady pregnant,
who knows, she will have her baby that time ?
On the bank of River Brahmaputra... a man is crossing a small canal that leads to Brahmaputra.. Guwahati, Assam..
Labels: assam, Brahmaputra, gandak river, Gawahati, people
As a part Delhi International Arts Festival an International performance was arranged in Kamani on 12th Dec.
At the Delhi Queer Pride Parade 2010. From the look on this girl's face, she's probably trying to spot her friends in the crowd. "You're behind the what? I can't see you!"
Labels: crowd, delhi, people, queer pride
These are people who were working in a lake for constructing a resort. in the middle of lake. However there are no facilities of motor boat or anything to take this things there. These guys move the floating pipes slowly by pulling the wooden polls piled inside the lake, it takes an hr to reach the piling ship anchored on the lake
Labels: lake, LIFE IN INDIA, people
An old local farmer grazing his goats rekindled the memories of Gandhi's simplicity and the Sabarmati Ashram.
Labels: LIFE IN INDIA, rural life
I was at a traffic light and I noticed this young girl on the pavement of Mumbai. She had vessels to clean but was just sitting still.. I wondered why till I saw the headphones.
Technology a few years was a privilege but today it is a great leveller..
At Kailasanathar Temple, Kanchipuram.
- Inside garba gudi, there is a passage which goes around the huge siva linga, and its story goes like this - "There is a small passage entrance to the right of the shivalingam through which all devotees are asked to go around the lingam. Exit is small like the entrance...Entire going around can be done by walking. Crawl to get in, walk around and then crawl to get out by the left side of the lingam. This signifies that we crawl our initial days and then walk and grow and then crawl back again. This way Shiva ensures that there is no punarjanma or rebirth for the souls who completes this round."
- Temple also contains numerous panels showing lord Siva as Nataraja in various postures. This sculpture is one of them.
The third edition of Pride Parade Delhi took place in central Delhi on 28th November. Over 2000 gays and supporters participated in the parade which started from Barakhama Road and terminated at Jantar Mantar. A stage had been set up from where members of community addressed the gathering. Delhi Police had barricaded the area around the venue. Participants in the rally were wearing colorful masks. Some of them were seen without masks and hugging and kissing their partners. This parade was first after the Delhi High Court judgment revoking the controversial Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalized same sex relationship.
More pictures can be seen here
www.demotix.com/news/521739/pride-parade-2010-delhi
These people collect the fresh settled-mud from Ganges and transfer them in Kumortuli, the potter's quarter of Kolkata...
Bag Bazar area, kolkata
Hidimba Devi Temple of Manali, covered in snow.
Accroding to Mahabharata, a powerful "rākshas" (demon), Hidimb, attacked them, and in the ensuing fight, Bhima, the strongest Pandav, killed him. Bhima and Hidimb's sister, Hidimba, then got married and had a son, Ghatotkacha, (who later proved to be a great warrior in the war against Kauravas). When Bhima and his brothers returned from exile, Hidimba did not accompany him, but stayed back and did tapasyā (a combination of meditation, prayer, and penance) so as to eventually attain the status of a goddess.
It is said that this is the place where she meditated. Inside this temple their is a large stone, under which lies a mural of Hidimba Devi.
A woman carrying her grandchild : A view from Nelliampaty.
We were going back to our room after the long trek. On the way nearby my resort, I head a baby crying and when I went there, I saw an old woman carrying a crying kid. Seeing them I went near to them and showed the cam. The kid stopped crying and started looking at me. Then after playing with baby for a minute, I asked for a shot. Grandma was very happy to pose and all excited when I showed the photo. She said she is ready to pay for it, is it possible to give them a print? I said, why not, no need for any cash n all, ll give the print when I come back next time.. I am so sure that I will visit Nelliyampathy again in a few months time. I will sure visit them too and give them a print
Mysore Dusshera (Kannada: ಮೈಸೂರು ದಸರ) is the Nadahabba (state-festival) of the state of Karnataka. It is also called as Navaratri (Nava-ratri = nine-nights) and is a 10-day festival with the last day being Vijayadashami, the most auspicious day of Dasara. Dasara usually falls in the month of September or October. According to a legend, Vijayadashami denotes the victory of truth over evil and was the day when the Hindu Goddess Chamundeshwari killed the demon Mahishasura. Mahishasura is the demon from whose name; the name Mysore has been derived. The city of Mysore has a long tradition of celebrating the Dasara festival and the festivities here are an elaborate affair and attract a large audience including foreigners.
This temple is near to my house where people are celebrating Karthikai Deepam, a festival of lights celebrated in Tamilnadu. For this festival, people decorates their houses, stairs and streets with oil lamps.
This wee boy said I could take his photo but begged me not to tell his play mates where he was hiding.
The renowned Jain temple at Ranakpur is dedicated to Adinatha. Light colored marble has been used for the construction of this grand temple which occupies an area of approximately 60 x 62 meters.
The normal Kumbh Mela is celebrated every 4 years, the Ardh (half) Kumbh Mella is celebrated every six years at Haridwar and Prayag,[1] the Purna (complete) Kumbh takes place every twelve years,[2] at four places (Prayag (Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik). The Maha (great) Kumbh Mela which comes after 12 'Purna Kumbh Melas', or 144 years, is held at Allahabad.
The last Maha Kumbh Mela, held in 2001, was attended by around 60 million people, making it the largest gathering anywhere in the world in recorded history
Read more on Wikipedia.
.sitting outside a temple, catching up on the day's news in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
A sikh devotee pays his respect by lighting candles at a Gurdwara in Delhi on the eve of Diwali.
Deepavali (also spelled Devali in certain regions) or Diwali,[1] popularly known as the festival of lights, is an important five-day festival in Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, occurring between mid-October and mid-November. For Hindus, Diwali is the most important festival of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes. Deepavali is an official holiday in India,[2] Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname, Malaysia, Singapore, and Fiji.
The name Diwali is itself a contraction of the word "Deepavali" (Sanskrit: दीपावली Dīpāvalī), which translates into row of lamps.Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps (diyas, or dīpa in Sanskrit: दीप) filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil.
During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and share sweets and snacks with family members and friends. Most Indian business
communities begin the financial year on the first day of Diwali.
Read more on en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali
end of another working day - painter from the Blue City (Jodphur, India), originally uploaded by Phil Marion.
End of another working day - painter from the Blue City (Jodphur, India)
Mass production of chapattis in an Ashram which rescues destitute, sick and disabled adults and children in Ujjain, India
The whole family as come to Khavda, in order to buy what is necessary to live rice, water, clothes....
How far we are from our occidental way of life !
A shot from Gujarat.
A calm stressless village life. While the grannies are playing the ludo the mother is swinging the baby in makeshit cradle. Quiet a way of spending siesta time in a village in Anegondi. A shot from Hampi, Karnataka.
The Sattriya dance has evolved out of performances that took shape in the vast network of sattras or monasteries that were established in Assam since the sixteenth century, when the Vaishnava movement led by Shankaradeva (1449-1568) swept the land. Dramatist and composer as much as social and religious reformer, Shankaradeva was the fountainhead of this great array of performance forms, and created a corpus of songs and dance-dramas that constitute the core of the edifice. It has subsequently been built up by the service of generations of artists at the sattras, whence a theatre art of the present day has emerged in recent times. The non-monastic Sattriya dance today is mainly the preserve of the laity.
The principal dances within the gamut of Sattriya are the Sutradhari Nach, the dance of the sutradhara or conductor; Krishna or Rama Nach, the dance of Lord Krishna or Rama; and Gopi Nach, the dance of the gopis or milkmaids of Vrindavana. Some of the other dances within the fold are Rasar Nach, based on the Rasa Lila of Krishna; Yuddhar Nach, a dance of combat using bows (dhanu) and arrows, or clubs (gada); Jhumara, a group dance performed with song but without abhinaya; and Chali Nach, a dance with stress on footwork. An artificial literary idiom, which has been called the Assamese Brajabuli, being a queer mixture of Assamese, Maithili, Hindi, and other elements, is used in Sattriya with intervening Sanskrit verses. The Sattriya dance possesses a number of hastas or hand movements (called hat), choreographic patterns, distinctive costumes, and a variety of masks. The music mostly depends on the khol, a drum associated with Vaishnava devotion in eastern India, and cymbals – pati tal, bhor tal – supporting ragas and other songs. There being no order of nuns in the sattras, there were no female dancers in Sattriya. Even in village performances, female roles were taken by boys. This has changed now, with professional female dancers dominating the stage.
Characters in the dances comprising Sattriya have their own special costumes. The sutradhara is generally dressed all in white: a turban (ready-made, of cloth, sometimes of paper today, and fitted often with silvery ribbon stripes), a long-sleeved jama or shirt, and a fluffy skirt (ghuri) tied on the waist with a waist-band with flower designs on it (tangali). For ornaments he puts on silver bangles (gamkharu) studded with stones, a lace with a drum-like golden bead in the middle (matamani), dangling ear-ornaments of gold (unti), and brass anklets (nepur). The gayan-bayan singers and accompanists are similarly, but more modestly, attired. Krishna, Rama and other male characters drape the legs with dhotis and combine this with colourful embroidered jackets. The gopis and other female characters use bright skirts and shawls. For make-up, colours prepared from vegetable dyes are used, and in most cases characters can be identified by the colours they wear.
Sattriya dance is being presented by the Sattriya Kendra, Guwahati, established as part of Sangeet Natak Akademi’s programme of support to Sattriya dance and associated with the sattras. Naren Chandra Baruah, and Ghana Kanta Bora Borbayan’s group will be performing Sattriya dance. Naren Chandra Baruah, who received his training in Sattriya dance and khol-playing under Paramananda Barbayan, has performed in various prestigious festivals. He is currently teaching Sattriya dance at Mitali Kala Kendra, Guwahati, and in a school for teaching Sattriya called Nrityabhumi which was founded by him. Ghana Kanta Bora Borbayan has been trained in the Sattriya dance and music traditions of Assam by several eminent gurus. He has also received training at the Kamalabari sattra of Majuli, Assam. A teacher of eminence, Ghana Kanta Bora Borbayan has been training students in Sattriya dance and allied disciplines for many years. He has been performing and attending seminars and symposia, introducing the Sattriya art in prestigious festivals in various parts of the country. Ghana Kanta Bora Borbayan has also received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 2001 for his contribution to Sattriya dance.(Source Sangeet Natak Academy)
Engine Driver filling the tanks of the rack and pinion steam train. The Blue Train takes passangers up to the Hill Station of Ooty in India
can one sleep peacefully!
This is man stays opposite my building and he collects all the garbage around.
It amuses me as to how he manages to sleep even in scorching heat at times!
Hardwork really pays off and gives each person satisfaction in its own way!
The Pung cholom is a Manipuri dance. It is the soul of Manipuri Sankirtana music and Classical Manipuri dance. The Pung Cholom is a unique classical dance of Manipur. This dance may be performed by men or women and is usually a prelude to the Ras Lila. In this style, the dancers play the pung (a form of hand beaten drum) while they dance at the same time. Dancers need to be graceful and acrobatic at the same time. They use these acrobatic effects without breaking the rhythm or flow of music. The dance is marked by a gentle rhythm, which gradually builds up to a thunderous climax.
The traditional way of celebrating the first day of Ganesh Festival...taken Jilbya Maruti Pathak, Pune...
Cannaught place's face lift ahead of Commonwealth games 2010. Delhi. This image is turned upside down.
The devout, moments before breaking the ramadan fast. iftar at jama masjid, old delhi
from last year 2009
A stick to chase away monkeys and cows from her salesware in front of her house, seen
on the way down from the Siva Temple back to town.
Climbing is unadulterated hard labor. The only real pleasure is the satisfaction of going where no man has been before and where few can follow.
A shot from South India
i forget her name... she belongs to a fishing family.. her son collects small fishes from nearby seashore and finally she acquires the juvenile tiger-prawns from those fishes...
he is "Paresh Das", a folk-singer, sing in trains and earn his daily livelihood..
Bolpur, West Bengal
In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you. The people and circumstances around you do not make you what you are, they reveal who you are.
(Three best friends, they sit at the same spot everyday and stare, all around, all they do is just stare. Malad Western Express Highway, near Pathanwadi. 17th August, 2010.)
Happy Independence Day
Fishermen preparing to dive deep into the sea with their trusted boat late afternoon. Shankarpur beach, West Bengal, India
An indian family definitely below poverty line. They are content with their own lives. The children are not going to any school, and the world is their playground. They have only logs and leaves as toys.
It is sometimes hard to imagine that such life also exists in the very same world where we are staying.
Indian women have come a long way in claiming their rightful positions as leaders from just being the lady behind the success of Man..but parts of the country and society could still use a lot education on empowering women..
Shot during the visit to Coorg..
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)