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The Deora Haveli in Fatehpur is one of the larger havelis. We went inside and upstairs for a look. The caretakers live here now. This is one haveli that is slowly deteriorating. Parts of the inner artwork are still magnificent. I can only imagine what these villages and havelis must have been in their glory days!
The Shekhawati region played host to many wealthy merchants of India, who run some of the top business houses in the country today. The villages in this region are adorned by beautifully painted havelis. Sadly most of these magnificent havelis are in a dilapidated state because the owner families dont care about them anymore, but a few are still in good shape.
Fatehpur is one of the villages in the Shekhawati region in the Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan.
Their entire front portion of the house was destroyed by the Highways dept. Yet sitting on the veranda of the left over of what they now call as "home" these children still continue their studies...
Shot at Chandipur beach in Orissa, India. The Fisherman was returning from the sea at end of his day's work.
Our plan was to climb the nearby Lago La (3900m). It looked very close but the more we climbed the more impossible it seemed. I had had "Delhi belly" the previous day so I was extremely weak but decided not to give up and in the end I managed to reach the pass (Anita and Aron gave up midway). It was worth the effort as I saw two magnificent glaciers on the mountain on the other side.
Dhobi Ghat is a well known open air laundromat in Mumbai, India. The washers, locally known as Dhobis, work in the open to wash the clothes from Mumbai's hotels and hospitals. There are rows of open-air concrete wash pens, each fitted with its own flogging stone.
This happened at an intersection in Noida not far from New Delhi. The girl begs for money whenever there is a red light. And she picked our car and stuck to it for the entire duration of the red light. I'm guessing that her experience has taught her that foreigners are easier to compromise and the rewards are bigger.
Jallikattu is a bull taming sport played in Tamil Nadu as a part of Pongal celebrations usually on Mattu Pongal day. This is one of the oldest living ancient sports seen in the modern era. Although it sounds similar to the Spanish running of the bulls, it is quite different. In Jallikattu, the bull is not killed and the 'matadors' are not supposed to use any weapon. It is held in the villages of Tamil Nadu as a part of the village festival. There is specific breed of cattle bred for this purpose which are called by two common name, Jellicut and from the place of a big breeder Pulikulam
I'm going to miss India. The culture of India runs through my veins. The experiences; unforgettable. A kid running up to me, just to get their photo taken; priceless. Even though I have lived here for shorter than any other place ever, I have had better experiences than ever. They always say "hindsight 20/20" when people end up missing somewhere they hated to live, but I have some foresight 20/20, and I know I am going to miss everything about India. In these exact six months that I have lived here, I have made better friends than ever, taken better photos than ever, learned about Hinduism and a culture that seemed so different to ours. All of these experiences, I would never trade for anything. I have no regrets about India, except for not staying longer.
Everyone should look past the trash in the streets, and the spitting, and see that India is home to the nicest group of people on the planet, that will do anything and everything just to make you happy. Indians who we had just met a few weeks prior, would invite us to weddings, dinners, grill-outs, and gatherings. Their religion may seem ridiculous from a western point of view, but by befriending some Indians who were Hindus, and talking to them about their religion, I find it to be incredibly amazing. From proverb to proverb, they live in a better way because their religion is built on the sayings of what is right and wrong, and hospitality. They then share these with you, and rarely ever mistreat you.
Everyone should be able to experience this at least once. Unfortunately, going to see the Taj Mahal, and walking around the posh streets of Delhi doesn't get you to see the real India, but if, and when you do, you will fall in love with it just like I have.
A widow surrounded by marigold flower garlands at Calcutta's flower market.
West Bengal, India.
The Kolkata Flower Market is the eastern India's largest flower market, marigold garlands are used in Hindu festivals, to decorate the gods, and placed around visitors' necks.
I should make it a habit to carry my camera to the office... Best way to utilize free office time and to produce picture like this...
Was getting ready to capture the sunset from the amphitheater of the campus, but then saw this and my 'HDR hungry soul' forced me to click it...
A shot from Infosys chennai
The Haji Ali Dargah is a mosque and dargah (tomb) located on an islet off the coast of Worli in the Southern part of Mumbai. Near the heart of the city proper, the dargah is one of the most recognisable landmarks of Mumbai
An exquisite example of Indian Islamic architecture, associated with legends about doomed lovers, the dargah contains the tomb of Sayed Peer Haji Ali Shah Bukhari.
It commemorates nearly 2000 soldiers who died during wars fought in the period of 1914-1918. Their graves are currently located in various locations in India and Pakistan. Located nearby is another memorial dedicated to about 193 soldiers of East and West African origin. These soldiers had lost their lives during the period of 1939-1945 in various non-operational zones around the country.
In the heavily silted and polluted waters of Hooghly river, Ganges' biggest distributary, Calcutta.
World I see from here... (2000 years old Sree/Siri Sharada Preet Devi Temple, Sharada, Kashmir, Pakistan)
World I see from here... (2000 years old Sree/Siri Sharada Preet Devi Temple, Sharada, Kashmir, Pakistan), originally uploaded by Black-Z-ro.
The ancient temple of Sree Sharada. The temple is so ancient that Kashmir was earlier known as 'Sharada Peeth'. The temple is at a height of 11000 fom the sea level and is about 70 miles from Shreenagar. The length of the temple is 142 feet and width is 94.6 feet. The outer walls of the temple are 6 ft. wide and 11 ft long. And there are arches with 8 ft. height. It is a very good example of architecture. Historical proof of old Sharada Devi temple.
In a poetic work composed by Mahakavi Kalhan in the year 1148, there is a mention of Sree Sharadad Devi temple and its geographic location. Matang Sage Shandilya used to meditate in Sharada-van. Near the temple of Sree Sharada Devi, there is 'Amarkund' lake. It is believed that Sage Shandilya got the 'darshan' of Sree Sharada Devi there. In the first verse of 'Prapanchsar' composed by Adya Shankaracharya is devoted to the praise of Sree Sharada Devi.
In the year 1030, the famous Muslim historian Al-Baruni visited Kashmir. According to him, there was a wooden idol of Sree Sharada Devi in Sree Sharada Devi temple. He had compared the temple of Sree Sharada Devi with the Sun temple of Multan (that time in India, presently in Pakistan), Vishnu Chakraswamin temple at Thaneshwar and Somnath temple. Near Sree Sharada Devi temple, there used to be famous Sanskrit university.
During 16th century, Delhi was ruled by King Akbar. Abul Fazal, one of the famous 'Nava-Ratnas' in his Court, has written about Sree Sharada Devi temple that Sree Sharada Devi temple is near the banks of river Madhumati (currently Neelum river) which is full of gold particles. One can experience miracles on every eighth day of the bright fortnight of the month.
In the 14th century, the temple was attacked for the first time. After this attack, India started losing its contact with Krushnaganga and Sharada Peeth. In the 19th century, Dogra king of Kashmir restored this temple.
Many ancient holy books of Hindus were written in Kashmir. From the time of Sage Shandilya, Kashmir was renowned for Sanskrit language, literature, astronomy, astrology and jurisprudence so also as a well-known centre of arts and architecture. In the 8th century, King Lalitaditya ruled over Kashmir. During his time, Kashmir was known as the centre for studies of Hindu religion. There is a mention in the 'Sankhyayan' written by Vinayak Bhatt that in those days, Hindu students use to go to Kashmir for higher studies. In the writings of famous Chinese traveler Yuan Shuang in 7th century, it is mentioned that many saints and scholars lived in Kashmir.
Kashmir was known as Sharada Peeth due to the temple of Sree Sharada Devi. Even today, the Kashmiri script is known as 'Sharada' script. Adya Shankarachrya founded Sharada Peeth at Sharada gram in Kashmir. Sharada Peeth was as famous as the four Peethas at Shrungeri, Dwaraka, Jagannathpuri and Badrikashram founded by Shankaracharya.