Gone With The Wind

“Looking back on my life, I sigh.
The caprice of youth goes with the wind, I’ve no regrets.”
(“Rooftop Soliloquy” by Roman Payne)

Sometimes in summer this young man comes to rest for a moment on the stairs of a Vishnu temple which stands under Nepali ghat.
This location allows him to keep on eye on the herd of water buffalos which he is taking care of.
Most of the time he has to jump in the holy waters of the Ganges when the cattle refuses to leave.
I often take some pictures of him and his animals and once in a while he also comes to the akhara nearby where he is training for a short while.

This is a new picture from a series of 16 published in the new issue of Mascular Magazine (from page 136 to page 145),
www.mascular.co.uk/Magazine/Issue4.Winter2013/Mascular4
(When opening this magazine be aware that there are a few pictures with “explicit content” there)

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The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.

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Body & Soul

“Eros (or call it lust if you will), is like a beautiful, magnificent Afghan Hound!
A pure white Afghan Hound commanding respect and honor!
But if you take the Afghan Hound and lock it in a small cage, shun it and look upon it badly, treat it as a pestilence and wish that it would die; that same creature of beauty will become a vile, unrepentant, dark creature of the shadows!
Untrusting, hidden in the corner, aggressive… something that will harm others and yourself!
But is this the nature of the creature, is this the fault of the creature?
Or are YOU the one who has created the monster that it has become?
And this is my philosophy: that we are both corporeal and incorporeal beings, therefore, the same amount of good intent MUST be given to both our soul and our body!”
(C. JoyBell C. – Poet, Essayist, Novelist, Philosopher and Author)

This picture was shot a few days ago at the upper terrace of my office in Varanasi (Benaras) with natural light.

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In the River of Teachings

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“The Guru is the ocean, and all His Teachings are the river. Bathing within it, glorious greatness is obtained.”
(Sri Guru Granth Sahib, or Adi Granth, the religious text of Sikhism)

This man was having a ritual bath in the holy waters of the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
It was early in the morning, the water was cold and the back lighting was providing an amazing atmosphere which can only be seen in winter.

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Being Happy

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“When all your desires are distilled you will cast just two votes: To love more and to be happy.”
(Hāfez – Persian lyric poet, 1325-1390)

This young man was bathing in the holy waters of the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
The turquoise blue shades of Lal ghat were reflecting in the sacred river, calming down the deep greens and gold of the stream…

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The Canvas of Eternity

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“You will see your life for what it really is: a small blip on the canvas of eternity.
And you will come to see clearly who you are and the ultimate purpose of your life.”
“Which is?”
“To serve, of course.”
(From “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” by Robin Sharma)

This is a picture of Anand’s brother who is a ship carpenter along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
Like his father his work is to fabricate, assemble, install and repair wooden boats which will never leave the shores of the Eternal city.

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As Brothers and Sisters

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“When we look at modern man we have to face the fact that modern man suffers from a kind of poverty of the spirit, which stands in glaring contrast to his scientific and technological abundance, we’ve learned to fly the air like birds, we’ve learned to swim the seas like fish, and yet we havent learned to walk the earth as brothers and sisters.”
(Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. – American clergyma and activist, 1929-1968)

This is a close-up of Anand’s face shot at the upper terrace which is on the top of my office in Varanasi (Benaras).
Since many seasons he is modelling for the pictures of our collections.
In a country where the “fairer is better” ideology is promoted everywhere, it is breaking a social and cultural taboo to enhance dark skin complexions like his skin.
Over forty years later, Martin Luther King’s words are still an unfortunate reality…

In those strange times where the future seems unsecure, I see people becoming scared, selfish, racist, nationalist, greedy, jalous…and my dreams of happiness and brotherhood become laughable idealism…

It was Friendship day today in India and in many Asian countries, with Anand’s smile I wish a better tomorrow to my friends and to anyone who will take the time to read those words.
Happy Friendship Day…!!!

Unrelenting Abandon

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“The pain is unrelenting; one does not abandon, even briefly, one’s bed of nails, but is attached to it wherever one goes.”
(William Styron – American Writer and Novelist, 1925-2006)

This was shot along the Ganges at Venimadhava ghat in Varanasi (Benaras) on a Sunday morning.
This man was having a traditional ayurvedic foot massage and he was in a state of unrelenting abandon…
Ayurveda is an ancient system of medicine that was developed in the Indian subcontinent hundreds of years ago.
According to the principle of Ayurveda, the human body is composed of a unique mixture of energies, called ‘dosha’.
This unique mixture differs from person to person.
person’s ‘dosha’ determines the kind of lifestyle that that person should lead, the ailments he or she will be susceptible to, the sort of food to be partaken, etc.
Thus Ayurveda bases treatment based on a person’s unique ‘dosha’.

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Being Well

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“Life is not merely to be alive, but to be well. ”
(Marcus Valerius Martialis- Latin poet from Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula), 40-103)

This was shot along the Ganges at Venimadhava ghat in Varanasi (Benaras) on a Sunday morning.
Those young men were having traditional ayurvedic massage from each other.
Ayurveda is an ancient system of medicine that was developed in the Indian subcontinent hundreds of years ago.
Ayurvedic massage therapy does not provide a complete therapeutic cure but it helps the organism to receive nitrient material from within the body and to expel toxins.
Certain ailments related to the muscles, ligaments and nervous system can be completely healed through good ayurvedic massage therapy, it is also an ideal remedy for pain.
The practisioner mostly works with the knowledge of the “marmas” or Indian pessure points.

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Applying Kohl

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“The makeup is simply an extension of the personality and colors, clothing, makeup all express something.”
(Gene Simmons – singer and musician, bassist/vocalist of Kiss, b.1949)

At Sri Hanumangarhi ghat in Varanasi (Benaras), this man was applying kājal (kohl) on his son’s eyes after they both had a bath in the holy waters of the Ganges.

kājal is the Hindi and Urdu word for Kohl.
This an ancient eye cosmetic was made by grinding galena (lead sulfide) and other ingredients.
It is still used in India by women, but also some men and children, to darken the eyelids as a very good coolant and as a protection against eye ailment and from the harsh rays of the sun.

Kohl contains lead and antimony that are toxic to bacteria carried by flies and contaminated water.
Applying it around the eyes provided some relief from conjunctivitis and other bacterial eye infections and keeps the eyes bright because the irritation from having soot in one’s eyes causes tearing so the eyes are kept continuously washed clean of contaminants, grit, and bacteria.
Some more scientific details suggest that it may produce beneficial effects in eyes in three different ways (Adsorptive, astringent and anti-infective) or directions because of the primary and natural properties of it’s major constituent, galena (lead sulphide).

Mothers apply kohl to their infants’ eyes soon after birth to enlarge their eyes and grant them better vision.
Some women also add a dot of kajal on the left side of the foreheads or under the right ear of babies and children, to protect them from “buri nazar”.
“Buri nazar” literally means “bad glance” and is comparable to the “evil eye”, although it can be interpreted as ill-wishes of people or even lustful eyes.

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Infinity Everywhere

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“When you do things from your soul, you feel a rivermoving in you, a joy.
When actions come from another section, the feelingdisappears.
Don’t let others lead you.
They may be blind or, worse, vultures.
Reach for the rope of God.
And what is that?
Putting aside self-will.
Because of willfulness people sit in jail, the trapped bird’s wings are tied, fish sizzle in the skillet.
The anger of police is willfulness.
You’ve seen a magistrate inflict visible punishment.
Now see the invisible.
If you could leave your selfishness, you would see how you’ve been torturing your soul.
We are born and live inside black water in a well.
How could we know what an open field of sunlight is?
Don’t insist on going where you think you want to go.
Ask the way to the spring.
Your living pieces will form a harmony.
There is a moving palace that floats in the air with balconies and clear water flowing through, infinity everywhere, yet contained under a single tent.”
(“Moving Water” from “The Glance: Songs of Soul-Meeting” by Jalāl ad-Dīn Rumi – Sufi mystic & poet, 1207-1273)

This man was swimming in the holy waters of the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras) when a seagull came down and joined this moment of infinity…