Jai Bharat

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“United we stand; divided we fall”
(Aesop – Ancient Greek Fabulist and Author, 620 BC-560 BC)

 

Today is India’s Independence Day (स्वतंत्रता दिवस) it is celebrated on August 15 to commemorate its independence from the British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation on that day in 1947.
Like every year it is the opportunity to thank all my Indian friends, all the people working with me and my loving Indian family who managed that I feel at home in this incredible country.
Thank you, dhanyavad, shukriya and Happy Independence Day to all of you, Indians and non Indians who love India as much as I do.
Jai Hind…Jai Bharat…!!!

 

This is a close-up of a silk sari still under the dyeing process at the upper terrace located at a few meters from Bivi Razaia Masjid, a small mosque in the chawk of Varanasi (Benaras).
(Like the yarns of this fabric it is united that we’ll fight against corruption and any kind of discrimination)

 

 

Swirl and Swing

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“I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.”
(James A. Michener – U.S. novelist and short-story writer, 1907-1997)

Anand is posing with a throw and a cushion in linen with aari embroidery fom the Red Halo collection.
This was shot with natural light at the upper terrace of our office.
RED HALO is a collection of household linen based in Benaras (Varanasi – India) providing work to people who were living with difficulties and education to children.
(Cushion and throw style “Swirls” – 100% silk – Collection RED HALO)

“Like” the RED HALO page on Facebook and join this amazing human adventure in Varanasi,www.facebook.com/redhalo.in

Join the photographer at www.facebook.com/laurent.goldstein.photography

Quietness Forever

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“And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.”
(The Holy Bible – Isaiah 32:17)

This picture was shot at sunrise from a boat along river Ganga in Varanasi (Benares).
Those precious moments are very peacefull when the Eternal city is awakening.
Anyone finds a reason to come to the ghats, some come to worship, to wash, to enjoy dawn or to take pictures.
This young man was brushing his teeth, he seemed to have found that quietness and trust forever…

 

“My India is Great”

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Happy Independance Day….!!!
I love my India…Unity in diversity…Jai Hind…!!!
Bharat Mata ki Jai…;)

Today is India’s Independence Day (स्वतंत्रता दिवस) it is celebrated on August 15 to commemorate its independence from the British rule and its birth as a sovereign nation on that day in 1947.

Indian National Anthem composed by Rabindranath Tagore, performed by AR Rahman and the most popular Indian artists:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZi3fwP09zw

This is the back of a rickshaw which was driving on Vidyasagar Setu Bridge in Kolkata (Calcutta), the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal which is also considered to be the cultural capital of India.

The Little Prince

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“To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys.
And I have no need of you.
And you, on your part, have no need of me.
To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes.
But if you tame me, then we shall need each other.
To me, you will be unique in all the world.
To you, I shall be unique in all the world…”
(From “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French writer and aviator, 1900-1944)

One Sunday evening this little boy came to meet his friends at Munsi ghat along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
Muslim teenagers enjoy coming there in order to swim during summers.
Usually on Sundays they wear their nicest white kurta with a dhoti and a topi (prayer cap) as a symbol of their faith, it gives a timeless elegance fitting the atmosphere of the Eternal city.
This little boy in white reminded me Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s famous book that I was reading when I was his age, therfore he became “The Little Prince” of Benaras in my lens for a while.

A Man of Substance

“The distinction between us and the polytheists is the turbans over our caps.”
(Those words attributed to the Prophet Muhammad are coming from a hadith in the books of Abu Dawood and Tirmidhi)

As I was walking along the Ganges I saw an old man who took a bath at Munsi ghat in Varanasi (Benaras).
Next to his garments drying under the sun there was this topi upon a piece of cloth.
The Urdu word “topi” is often translated by “a prayer cap” in English however it is more than this.
Many Muslims are wearing it in the Eternal city, they usualy wear it with traditonal clothes, as a symbol of their faith.
I also took a few pictures of that man and I followed him till he left the ghats because I liked the kind of timeless elegance which he was unconsciously showing and somehow I feel that this picture could be a portait of this man of substance.

Geometry of Feelings

“Inspiration is needed in geometry, just as much as in poetry.”
(Alexander Pushkin – Russian author, 1799-1837)

The Bhadohi district located at 45 Km from Varanasi (Benaras) is the biggest carpet manufacturing centre in India.
Well known carpets from Bhadohi cover all kind of ranges from mass market to the highest qualities, they are manufactured in various styles and designs.
This is a close-up shot in the factory of my Indian family where I always enjoy to take pictures.

A Symbol of Ancestral Memories

“The horse is an archetypal symbol which will always find ways to stir up deep and moving ancestral memories in every human being.”
(Paul Mellon – American philanthropist, thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder, 1907 – 1999)

Recently it was the wedding season in India, usually the groom comes to the ceremony riding a white mare while all the members of his family are dancing in the streets in front of him.
A few days ago I was walking in Sigra, a part of Varanasi (Benaras) and I saw this beautiful horse.

A Mass of Dust

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“A mass of dust, world’s momentary slave, Is man, in state of our old Adam made, Soon born to die, soon flourishing to fade.”
(Barnabe Barne – English poet, 1569—1609)

This is a close-up of one of those four men who were emptying plaster bags from a truck in my street in Varanasi (Benaras).
It was very dusty, although they reminded me “butoh” dancers performing with white-body makeup.
This japanese contemporary dance came after the second world war and among several things the choreography is a remembrance of the suffering of Hiroshima’s atomic bomb.
It raises the question of how is it still possible to dance after such a thing and in some ways it is easy to compare this concept of art to those workers living in dust.

The Dust of Daily Life

“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.”
(Pablo Picasso – Spanish Painter, 1881-1973)

This is a close-up of one of those four men who were emptying plaster bags from a truck in my street in Varanasi (Benaras).
It was very dusty, although they reminded me “butoh” dancers performing with white-body makeup.
This japanese contemporary dance came after the second world war and among several things the choreography is a remembrance of the suffering of Hiroshima’s atomic bomb.
It raises the question of how is it still possible to dance after such a thing and in some ways it is easy to compare this concept of art to those workers living in dust.