The Road Toward Freedom

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“I am interested in anything about revolt, disorder, chaos-especially activity that seems to have no meaning.
It seems to me to be the road toward freedom…
Rather than starting inside, I start outside and reach the mental through the physical.”
(Jim Morrison – American singer & poet, 1943-1971)

This man was bathing before sunset in the holy waters of the Ganges at Shivala ghat in Varanasi (Benaras).
He smiled and laughed at my joke regarding his untied langot…

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Friend or Foe

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“A man’s own self is his friend. A man’s own self is his foe.”
(Bhagavad Gita)

Those two young men were having fun of a boat at Bhonsala ghat in Vanarasi (benaras).
It was at the end of an afternoon during May when the heat was almost unbearable.
They jumped into the holy waters of the Ganges and enjoyed this bath.
Those words from the Bhagavad Gita are not meant for them however it was easy to connect this image to the duality between friend and foe.

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Merit and Wisdom

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“In order for us to progress smoothly and swiftly on our spiritual path, we need the help of two things – merit and wisdom – they are like the 2 wings of a bird, lacking one will cripple our progress.
We need to accumulate merit and wisdom with joyful effort and enthusiasm.
Merit without wisdom or wisdom without merit will not help.”
(His Holiness Jigme Pema Wangchen, the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa)

This is the main door of the ancient palace in Leh, the capital of Ladakh in the Himalayan hills.
It was shot at sunset.
This palace was modelled on the Potala Palace in Lhasa (Tibet) and is the highest building in the world of his own times.
Leh has for centuries been an important stopover on trade routes along the Indus Valley between Tibet to the east, Kashmir to the west and also between India and China.
The main goods carried were salt, grain, pashm or cashmere wool, charas (cannabis resin) from the Tarim Basin, indigo, silk yarn and Banaras brocades.

Feeling Eternity

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“We feel and know that we are eternal”.
(Baruch Spinoza – Dutch Philosopher, exponent of the Rationalism, 1632-1677)

The Tomb of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq is located to the south of Tughlaqabad in New Delhi.
Built by Ghiyasuddin Tughlak during 1321-25, it is an impressive structure with red sandstone with the walls being sloppy.
Pentagonal walls enclose the tomb giving an impression of a fort.
In here sleeps not only Ghiyas-ud-din but also his wife, Makh Dumai Jahan and his second son Mahmud Khan, who died with him under the pavilion.

The mausoleum itself is very simple like a warrior’s tomb, with the same sloping red sandstone walls which are Tughlaq hallmarks.
Each wall has arched gateways decorated with latticework and white marble and the dome is entirely of white marble.
This rather severe tomb does allow itself a few inscribed panels, arch borders, latticework screens and ‘lotus-bud’ edges which decorate it.
Towards the left of the entrance, in the corridor, there is a tiny grave which is said to be that of the sultan’s favorite dog; which is not exactly a typical thing for a Muslim, who consider dogs unclean, to do.

Ghiyas ud-Din Tughluq’s (غیاث الدین تغلق) real name was Ghazi Malik, he was the founder and first ruler of the Turkic Muslim Tughluq dynasty in India, who reigned over Sultanate of Delhi (Sep, 08, 1320 – Feb, 1325).
He has been the founder of the third city of Delhi called Tughluqabad.
His mother was Hindu.
He had established himself as a great ruler.
He removed corrupt officials from his administration and reformed the judiciary and all existing police departments.
He also reduced the land revenue to 1/10 of the produce.
He was an efficient administrator and a capable military commander and introduced a number of reforms for his welfare of his subjects and suppressed revolts in distant provinces.
He restored peace and stability in the Delhi Sultanate.

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The Pavilion of Heaven

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“…I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
And the nursling of the Sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;I change, but I cannot die.
For after the rain when with never a stainThe pavilion of Heaven is bare,
And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams
Build up the blue dome of air,
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,
And out of the caverns of rain,
Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,
I arise and unbuild it again.”
(From “The Cloud” by Percy Bysshe Shelley- English Poet, 1792–1822)

This is Bir Singh Deo’s chhatri which stands on the bank of the Betwa river in Orchha, a town in Tikamgarh district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
During the rule of his ally, Mughal Emperor, Jahangir, Raja Bir Singh Deo (r. 1605-1627) became the most illustrious ruler of Orchha and erected a total of 52 forts and palaces across the region which are a reminder of its architectural glory.
The term “chhatri” means umbrella or canopy, it is a cenotaph (empty tomb) or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere.
Those memorials are basic element of Hindu as well as Mughal architecture.

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The Oilman’s Temple

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“If we want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out.
To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.”
(Mother Teresa of Calcutta – Albanian born Indian Missionary. Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979. 1910-1997)

The Telikā Mandir or “oil-man’s temple” located in the complex of Gwalior fort, in Gwalior in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, was built in the late eighth century.
Elevating to the height of 100 feet ( about 30m), Teli Ka Mandir is the tallest temple in the confines of the Fort.
The building was erected just as the Gurjara Pratihāras were asserting their power over central India.
It is actually dedicated to Lord Vishnu in the form of his mount, Garuda and this unusual image makes the circlet of the doorway.
The structure of this Rajput temple presents a perfect fusion of the northern and southern architectural styles of India.
The ‘shikhar’ (spire) of the temple is undeniably Dravidian in its style, whereas the ornamentation is done in the Nagara style (specific to North India).
Unlike other temples, Oilman’s Temple doesn’t have any ‘mandap’ or pillared hall.
The temple comprises a sanctum sanctorum accompanied by a porch and a doorway imprinted with elaborate carvings (amorous couples, coiled serpents, gods and goddesses).
The weird and wonderful arrangement of two architectural styles show how Teli Ka Mandir boasts about the heritage and rich culture of India.

“Teli Ka Mandir” sounds as an unusual term, but it has several theories behind its name.
According to one of the legends, Rashtrakuta Govinda III seized the Gwalior Fort in 794.
He handled the service of religious ceremonies and rituals to Telang Brahmins and as a result of this, the temple acquired its name.
Another legend says that oil merchants or the men of Teli Caste took the initiative of temple’s construction and due to it, the temple got its name.
The third speculation reveals that name is linked with Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh.
This revelation also approves with the synthesis of Dravidian and North Indian architectural styles.

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Scattering Cheerful Beams

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“O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart.
Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams.”
(Saint Augustine – Ancient Roman Christian Theologian and Bishop of Hippo from 396 to 430. One of the Latin Fathers of the Church. 354-430)

This picture was shot before sunset inside the Small Sas Bahu temple in Gwalior located in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.It was initially dedicated to Lord Vishnu by the King Mahipala and was built in red sandstone during the 10th century.
Lord Vishnu is also known as Sahastrabahu, the one with many hands however gradually the name changed into Sas Bahu Temple, perhaps by mispronunciation, or misinterpretation.
Lord Vishnu is supposed to be the preserver of this Universe and keeps vigilance over this earth and if there is any disobedience among men, he punishes them.
But he is also considered to be the most kind hearted among the Hindu Avatars of God, who come to help his followers under any circumstances.
The construction of this temple was completed in the year 1092 AD by the king Mahipala who shed for the success of his Kingdom and the overall prosperity.

There are two temples, which are conjointly known as the Sas Bahu Temple.
One of the temples is bigger than the other, and perhaps for that reason, one is considered as the Mother-in Law whiles the other as the Daughter-in-Law.

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One’s Own Deeds

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“Az mast ke bar mast chon digari nist “
{What ever happens to you (good or bad) is a result of your own actions (comes from within you)}
(Nāsir Khusraw – Persian poet, philosopher, Isma’ili scholar and traveler, 1004 – 1088)

Everything that we face in life is the result of our own actions not others.
This quote comes from a famous Farsi poem about an eagle hunted by an arrow which has eagle’s feathers so it can go as fast as the bird; it is used by the character of Akbar in the movie “Jodhaa Akbar”.
A part of the movie was shot in Fatehpur Sikri which is located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and built by Mughal emperor Akbar in 1570, in honour of Sufi saint Shaikh Salim Chisti.
This is a picture taken from a room of this royal palace.

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Between Zero and Infinity

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“God is the tangential point between zero and infinity”
(Alfred Jarry – French writer, 1873-1907)

This is a view of the back of Man Singh Palace in Gwalior, in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
Gwalior Fort was built in the 8th century and stands on an isolated rock overlooking the city.
It is said that the Mughal Emperor Babur (1483–1531) described it as, “The pearl in the necklace of the forts of Hind”.

Gwalior Fort also occupies a unique place in the human civilization as the place which has the first recorded use of zero ever.
Also referred as ‘Shunya’ in sanskrit, this site is of mathematical interest because of what is written on a tablet recording the establishment of a small 9th century Hindu temple on the eastern side of the plateau (marked by the ’0′ on the nineteenth century map at the left).
By accident, it records the oldest “0″ in India for which one can assign a definite date.

Gwalior occupies a strategic location in the Gird region of India, and the city and its fortress have served as the center of several of historic northern Indian kingdoms.
The Gwalior Fort has changed hands many times, from the Tomaras in the 8th century it passed on to the Mughals, then the Marathas under the Scindia’s (1754), followed briefly by Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi, Tatiya Tope and the British.

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Endless Time

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“Time is endless in thy hands, my lord.
There is none to count thy minutes.

Days and nights pass and ages bloom and fade like flowers.
Thou knowest how to wait.

Thy centuries follow each other perfecting a small wild flower.

We have no time to lose,
and having no time we must scramble for a chance.
We are too poor to be late.

And thus it is that time goes by
while I give it to every querulous man who claims it,
and thine altar is empty of all offerings to the last.

At the end of the day I hasten in fear lest thy gate be shut;
but I find that yet there is time. “
(“Endless Time” by Rabindranath Tagore- Indian Poet, Playwright and Essayist, Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, 1861–1941)

This is a window of the Jahangiri Mahal in Orchha which is located in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

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