Rummaged Souls

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“Rummaging in our souls, we often dig up something that ought to have lain there unnoticed.”
(From “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy)

Those men are ship carpenters working all day along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).

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In The Footsteps Of The Nawabs

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“My son, by all means desist from kicking the venerable and enlightened Vizier: for as a costly jewel retains its value even if hidden in a dung-hill, so old age and discretion are to be respected even in the vile persons of our subjects. 
Desist therefore, and tell us what you desire and propose.” 
(From “The Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis)

This is the entrance of the Hussainabad Picture Gallery in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.
It was built by the third Nawab of Awadh, Nawab Mohammad Ali Shah in the year 1838 as a Royal summer house.
This place houses life-size portraits of all Nawabas of Awadh providing a good insight into the grand costumes and jewelry favored by the Nawabs.

Of all the Muslim states and dependencies of the Moghul empire, Awadh had the newest royal family.
They were descended from a Persian adventurer called Sadat Khan, originally from Khurasan in Persia.
In 1732, he was made governor of the province of Awadh.
His original title was Nazim, which means Governor, but soon he was made Nawab. In 1740, the Nawab was called Wazir or vizier, which means Chief Minister, and thereafter he was known as the Nawab Wazir.
In practice, from Sadat Khan onwards, the titles had been hereditary, though in theory they were in the gift of the Moghul emperor, to whom allegiance was paid.

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24-17-12

 

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“Any active sportsman has to be very focused; you’ve got to be in the right frame of mind.
If your energy is diverted in various directions, you do not achieve the results.
I need to know when to switch on and switch off: and the rest of the things happen around that. Cricket is in the foreground, the rest is in the background.
(Sachin Tendulkar – Indian cricketer widely acknowledged as the greatest living batsman, b.1973)

On Sundays Delhiites gather at India Gate cricket Ground in New Delhi where girls, Boys or mixed teams, all dressed in white, are meeting for friendly matches.
You may bring your kit if you have and join a team, some cricketers may also share their bat, ball and wickets with you and you might even be asked to be the umpire.
Of course if you have a French background like mine all this probably won’t make much sense however it will still be a great show and a treat for your camera…

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From the Soul of Souls

 

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“What can I do, Muslims? I do not know myself.
I am neither Christian nor Jew, neither Magian nor Muslim,
I am not from east or west, not from land or sea,
not from the shafts of nature nor from the spheres of the firmament,
not of the earth, not of water, not of air, not of fire.
I am not from the highest heaven, not from this world,
not from existence, not from being.
I am not from India, not from China, not from Bulgar, not from Saqsin,
not from the realm of the two Iraqs, not from the land of Khurasan.
I am not from the world, not from beyond,
not from heaven and not from hell.
I am not from Adam, not from Eve, not from paradise and not from Ridwan.
My place is placeless, my trace is traceless,
no body, no soul, I am from the soul of souls.
I have chased out duality, lived the two worlds as one.
One I seek, one I know, one I see, one I call.
He is the first, he is the last, he is the outer, he is the inner.
Beyond He and He is I know no other.
I am drunk from the cup of love, the two worlds have escaped me.
I have no concern but carouse and rapture.
If one day in my life I spend a moment without you
from that hour and that time I would repent my life.
If one day I am given a moment in solitude with you
I will trample the two worlds underfoot and dance forever.
O Sun of Tabriz, I am so tipsy here in this world,
I have no tale to tell but tipsiness and rapture.”
(Jalal ad-Dīn Muhammad Rumi – Persian poet, jurist, theologian, and Sufi mystic, 1207–1273)

This was shot before sunset at the tomb of Mohammad Ghaus in Gwalior in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
The light and shadows were playing through the jalis (latticed screen) in the galleries surrounding the Sufi saint mazaar (tomb).
The building, built in the late 16th century in the typical Mughal style, is enclosed on all sides by delicately carved lattices over which rises a large dome.
This place is a pilgrimage centre for both the Hindus and the Muslims and make this place of devotion is a symbol of brotherhood as this is where anyone can express his faith.

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A Song, A Dream, A Whisper

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“You are the answer to every prayer I’ve offered.
You are a song, a dream, a whisper, and I don’t know how I could have lived without you for as long as I have.”
(From “The Notebook” by Nicholas Sparks)

Early in the morning this lady lit up a diya (candle) at Dasaswamedh ghat and let the holy waters of the Ganges carry away her prayer as if it was a song, a dream, a whisper…

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In Brilliant Technicolor

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“There are some parts of the world that, once visited, get into your heart and won’t go.
For me, India is such a place.
When I first visited, I was stunned by the richness of the land, by its lush beauty and exotic architecture, by its ability to overload the senses with the pure, concentrated intensity of its colors, smells, tastes, and sounds.
It was as if all my life I had been seeing the world in black and white and, when brought face-to-face with India, experienced everything re-rendered in brilliant technicolor.”
(Keith Bellows – Editor in Chief of National Geographic Traveler magazine and made a vice president of the National Geographic Society)

Colors are overpowering Varanasi (Benaras), after uploading a few pictures in black & white I always need to balance this with colorful images otherwise I would feel that I am disloyal to the city…
This lady came to wash her laundry in the Ganges, then she stretched those sarees along the ghat in order to dry them under the early sun of the dawn.

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An Auspicious Day

 

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“Engage yourself in all that is auspicious.”
(From the Sama Veda, the third of the four Vedas / sāman “melody” + veda “knowledge”)

One early morning those ladies came from far away to worship in the holy waters of the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
It was a Monday, Lord Shiva’s day and as Shiva is the God of the city it was an auspicious day for them.
After taking a deep in the river, they washed and stretched many clothes along the ghats.
By the amount of items drying under the sun, it was clear that those pilgrims had a long journey.

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Pursuit of Happiness Photography

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“I have never taken a picture for any other reason than that at that moment it made me happy to do so.”
(Jacques Henri Lartigue – French photographer and painter, 1894–1986)

One early morning those ladies came from far away to worship in the holy waters of the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
It was a Monday, Lord Shiva’s day and as Shiva is the God of the city it was an auspicious day for them.
After taking a deep in the river, they washed and stretched many clothes along the ghats.
By the amount of items drying under the sun, it was clear that those pilgrims had a long journey.

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The Bank of Karma

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“The paths to liberation are numerous, but the bank along the way is always the same, the Bank of Karma, where the liberation account of each of us is credited or debited depending on our actions.”
(From “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel)

After taking a bath in the holy waters of the Ganges, this young man was drying under the winter rising sun.
It was in front of the little akhara which stands at Panda ghat in Varanasi (Benaras) where he came to exercise before sunrise.

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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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