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“It's beauty that captures your attention; personality which captures your heart.”, originally uploaded by Dreamzzzz.....

I thought it would be tough to communicate with people in Ladakh as I dint know their language,but I was surprised to see them speak Hindi fluently and almost everyone spoke the national language compared to other parts of India where it is treated as alien .

Its a view from the local market in Leh, Jamu and Kasmir.

Karnataka girl An old photo taken on International Women's Day, originally uploaded by ramesh_lalwani.

Delhi government on eve of International Women’s Day launched “Ladli” scheme aimed at curbing female foeticide and enhancing the social status of the girl child by promoting their education and protecting them from discrimination and deprivation.
The Government had also decided to contribute Rs.10,000 on the birth of the girl child. It would also contribute Rs.5,000 each on her admission to Class 1, Class VI, Class IX, Class X and Class XII. For availing of the scheme, the girl should have been born in Delhi on or after January 1, 2008. This would pave the way for accumulation of a deposit of up to Rs.1 lakh which would become payable to the girl child on attaining the age of 18 years and passing out of Class X.
Cheques of Rs 10000 ($250) were presented to a numbers of mothers who had come to receive the amount.
India Gate Lawns were full with yound girls and ladies enjoying cultural programmes and amusements as part of International women’s day celebrations.

Happy Hours :-) / Twilight Magic / Explore, originally uploaded by Fountain_Head.

I had this craze for catching streaks of light and that made me get up very early at around 6 in the morning during my vacation at Poovar to go searching for the 'elusive' streak of light. What I ended up doing was to shoot 100's of photos of the streak of lights on the streets of Poovar. A coconut grove in the early morning sun offers such superb plays of light that all that I had to do was to keep clicking.

I had found this 'spot' to be the ideal place to shoot streak of lights and hence went back to the same spot the next day to wait for the perfect composition. These three women were actively going towards their work when I shot this picture.

Black. Dwarka, originally uploaded by entrelec.

On the Dwarka ghats, some indian photographers make a business taking shots of the pilgrims coming for krishna.
We are not in Sicilia! The traditionnal women clothes of the area is about black and red. The women are listening the photographer , before posing, always in a very conventionnal way.
Men and women separately. Shot taken from Dwaraka, Gujrat.

E A R L Y. Mysore, originally uploaded by Claude Renault.

On january 1st, I went away from Mysore to Brindavan, a 20 km walk, with a group of 8 women Sadhus. It's still night time. Before leaving, we went to a Jain temple where they prayed before leaving.

de Wonder Drug!! n Proud Farmer!, originally uploaded by Naseer Ommer.

Allium sativum L., commonly known as Garlic, is a species in the onion family Alliaceae. Garlic has been used throughout history for both culinary and medicinal purposes. It has a characteristic pungent, spicy flavor that mellows and sweetens considerably with cooking.

Garlic is easy to grow and can be grown year-round in mild climates. In cold climates, cloves can be planted in the ground about six weeks before the soil freezes and harvested in late spring. Garlic plants are not attacked by pests.

China is the largest producer of garlic, with approximately 10.5 billion kilograms (23 billion pounds) annually, accounting for over 77% of world output. India (4.1%) and South Korea (2%) follow, with Russia (1.6%) in fourth place and the United States (where garlic is grown primarily as a cash crop in every state except for Alaska) in fifth place (1.4%).

Garlic's medicinal properties are already proved in folk medicine. The consumption of garlic n smashed or crushed form (without cooking too much) can be effective for fighting cancer & against cholesterol. It has a proven track record as a good anti oxidant. Allicin, a chemical compound present in Garlic has been an effective anti biotic and anti fungal. Apart from all these, its an excellent mosquito repellent.

In Kerala, Munnar in idukki is the only place you can find garlic farming and this beautiful lady was all happy to show n explain us about the Golden wonder.

A Meju Mishmi lady, originally uploaded by bhatto.

... enjoying her smoke. This time it was tobacco. sometimes it is opium too. The pipe is silver. It is similar to the ones used in Myanmar, Thailand and Laos.

Kashmir Tulips, originally uploaded by bhatto.

Every one wants to pose with these beautiful flowers and when there are so many of them there is no end to pitures. Even for the least vain. This lady is a nun from the Order of the Sisters of Charity.

Faces à Faces, originally uploaded by Christian Lagat.

Arjuna's Penance / Descent of the Gange - Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) - Tamil Nadu.

Bihu Dancer portrait 2, originally uploaded by ramesh_lalwani.

The Bihu dance is a folk dance from the Indian state of Assam related to the festival of Bihu. This joyous dance is performed by both young men and women, and is characterized by brisk dance steps, rapid hand movement, and a rhythmic swaying of the hips in order to represent youthful passion. Dancers wear traditionally colorful Assamese clothing.
The Bihu dance is performed in conjunction with traditional Bihu folk music, played with: the "dhol", similar to a drum; the mohor singor pepa, a pipe instrument made from a buffalo horn; the tala, a cymbal; the gogona, a reed and bamboo instrument; and the toka, a bamboo clapper. The songs (bihu geet) that accompany the dance have been handed down for many generations. The subject of the lyrics ranges from welcoming the Assamese new year to describing the daily life of a farmer.(source Wikipedia}

End of a day's work, originally uploaded by bag_lady.

Work is finished for another day, these people are going home after a long, hard day's work. Backwaters, Kerala, South India.

Woman of the World, originally uploaded by Kausthub.

Barathi was her name. The ame literally means "the one who carries responsibility". We met her during the last trip to Pondicherry and when I saw her at a distance aimed my telephoto and snapped this image.

She was confident in her stride. She was joyful in her emotion. She was sure about her destiny.

When she came closer I showed her the picture, and she was very happy. It turns out that she was carrying food to sell at the market. She had prepared it, after preparing meals for her family, getting her children ready to school, taking care of her in-laws, and also her husband. When I asked her how she managed all these responsibilities and yet was smiling, all she said was "I am so happy doing it."

I salute this woman of the world, who really walks confidently and effortlessly bearing all responsibilities.

Photographed with Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Canon EF 100-400mm F4.5-6.6 USM L Lens. Handheld.

Goubert Market #, originally uploaded by Christian Lagat.

Pondicherry - Union Territory of Pondicherry - South India.
Goubert, or Big Market. Nehru Street.
A market is often a magic place, with so many colors and smells, with his high in colour sellers and customers; So is the Poncherry market.
With its blue and yellow plastic hangings under the sun, the light is great.
Its very nice to have a stroll here, buying, talking, and taking pictures...

C O W - D U N G. Ramnagar, originally uploaded by Claude Renault.

Indian women putting up Cow Dung cakes to dry next to a mustard field in the village of Ramnagar. U.P.They use it as a fuel.

india - gujarat, originally uploaded by retlaw snellac.

Harijan or Meghwal tribal bride.

The name Harijan was given by Mahatma Gandhi to the Meghwal people. Hari means God and Jan means People. Meghwals are originally from Marwar in Rajasthan. They are experts in weaving wool and cotton and make attractive leather embroidery and wood carving.
Meghwals live all over Kutch. They always live in groups outside the village. Their houses are very clean and decorated by cowdung mud and mirrors. The men do leather work, wood carving and women do embroidery and patchwork. They live close to the Muslim families. They often borrow embroidery patterns and techniques from Muslim neighbours. They worship Ramdevpir.