Several blasts in Bodhgaya

This morning on 7 July, 2013, in a terror attack, 9 bombs exploded inside the Mahabodhi temple (“Great Awakening Temple”) complex (a UNESCO World heritage site) located in Bodh-Gaya in the Indian state of Bihar which is the Buddhism’s holiest shrine.
The first blast took place inside the temple at 5:30 am, followed by eight successive explosions in the next half hour, one near the Buddha statue, one near the Mahabodhi tree and others near the Teraga monastery, injuring 5 people.
One unexploded bomb was also traced and defused.
The main temple is intact and sanitised.

This holy site is the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment.
The site of the Bodhi tree at Bodhigaya is, directly connected to the life of Buddha (566-486 BCE) and attained enlighment or perfect insight when he was meditating under this tree.
The Bodhi tree, which is to the west of the main temple is a direct continuation of original Bodhi tree under which Budha spent his first week after attaining enlighment.
According to the Jatakas, it forms the navel of the earth, and no other place can support the weight of the Buddha’s attainment.

The Intelligence Bureau of India may have alerted state officials of possible threats around 15 days prior to the bombing.
It happens “again” just before some elections in order to raise controversies and disputes which is exactly the opposite of Buddha’s teachings unless it is done in order to mark the Dalai Lama’s birthday who just turned 78 a few hours before those blasts…
Terrorism is not negotiable…Nothing justifies such things…What comes to the mind of those who do such things…???

This insanity is beyond words…I know this place which only inspires love, compassion and brotherhood…
(Last time I went there I took this picture at dawn before anyone came inside the complex)

Join the photographer at <a href=”http://www.facebook.com/laurent.goldstein.photography&#8221; rel=”nofollow”>www.facebook.com/laurent.goldstein.photography</a>

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Floating dreams

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“Guria’s floating school on the Mansarovar Ghat in Varanasi is popular among children at the ghats.
The school—a 250-square-foot- boat—has been rented for 06,000 a month.
It has 70 students on the rolls, mostly children from the boatmen community.
Singh hopes the school is successful in minimising the vulnerability of these hapless children to abuses.
The school runs for two hours from 5 p.m.
It has a computer, a television, a DVD player and a small library.
A solar panel ensures smooth supply of electricity.

“Earlier these children would not study and loiter with firangis (foreign tourists). Some of them begged, shaming our city. Thanks to this school, they utilise their time in studying now,” says Shanker Manjhi, the owner of the boat.

The students are given snacks after school—an incentive to ensure the children are regular.
“Every day I wait for evening to come here. Unlike other schools, the teacher does not beat you nor do they get angry if I ask questions many times. Once the classes are over, I wait for my candy, ” says young Vaishali.

Pawan Kumar Yadav, who teaches at the school, says, “We give them non-formal primary schooling here, so they can read and write. But our long-term aim is to make them on par with students in mainstream schools.”

(The Week – December 18, 2012)
week.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/th…
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This is a new school made by Guria on a boat along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras), it welcomes children from the ghats and allows them to have a good school level in order to maintain their schooling and to avoid ending up begging or being involved with prostitution and childlabor.

Man of the year 2011

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“My greatest strength has been my stoicism.
I do not want to sound like a pedantic.
The day you realise you are just a speck of dust, you rise above the feeling of winning and losing.
This realisation comes through an inward journey and it requires ample courage.
It is not something you can get in a departmental store.”
(Ajeet Singh – Indian Human Right activist)

Today “THE WEEK”, the largest selling English newsmagazine in India, selected Ajeet Singh to be “Man of the year 2011”.

week.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/th…
week.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/ho…

Congratulations to my friends Ajeet and to his wife Manju.
Those congratulations have to be shared with the whole Guria family and with everyone who supported this non-profit organisation through many ways…
The fight against human trafficking and prostituion is not over, together we can change…!!!
This is GURIA’s website, www.guriaindia.org

Please read the interviews and the website and be aware of the story behind all this, Ajeet Singh is a true modern hero.

This picture was shot a few weeks ago when Ajeet came for the first time to Paris during a short trip In Europe.
It was early in the morning in front of “le Château de Versailles” (Palace of Versailles) a few hours before going back to India.
Ajeet was happy, there was a smile on his face but there is a bigger one in his heart…

Picture stolen by SITI Network 2

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For the second time this year a picture of mine was illegally used without my agreement by SITI Network.
It came on SITI Varanasi TV the 16th of August 2011 at 10pm.

Whenever my work is stolen without asking, without mentioning any credit, I am suing the thieves and asking substantial damages to be given to an NGO in Varanasi.
The people in charge of this case were threatened to give up in order that this NGO keeps a good position in the medias.
Since a few days I also got rude comments under some of my pictures on several Facebook groups connected to Varanasi, on WordPress and on Flickr.
Those comments are all connected to my copyrights notice mentioned under each of my images, claiming that no picture shot in the city belongs to photographers but to the people of the city.
Nevertheless copyright is a statutory right to stop others copying or exploiting authors’ works in various other ways without permission and India accepted this international agreement known as the Berne Concention.
Therefore there is nothing to desagree as it is compulsory.

The worst is that this TV show settled by SITI was about Anna Hazare and corruption (those who understand Hindi can read what is written in the lower part of the screen).

SITI is talking about corruption but they are more corrupted…!!!

They steal, they behave like mafias and they dare to teach lessons on what is right or wrong…what a joke…!!!
I am taking this case to court and in the meantime I am calling everyone to boycott those opprtunists…BOYCOTT SITI NETWORK…!!!

Without Fear of Ridicule

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“BSP and its government in UP is against corruption and criminalisation of the politics since beginning and the part supports Anna Hazare in his campaign”
(Mayawati – Current Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, b. 1956)

This picture with statues reminding totalitarian regimes was shot at the Kashi Ram Green Eco Garden in Lucknow, the capital of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
On the left it shows Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Kumari who erected this memorial park on 120-acre of land.
She also erected number of statues of herself in many other cities and then she settled a plan for a special police force to protect them as she feared that her political opponents might demolish her work.
All this was done in order to show respect towards Dalit icons as she considers herself as one.
While watching such an expensive huge space it is easy to think that people would have prefer houses, schools and hospitals instead.

Mayawati became the first Dalit-woman chief minister of any Indian state and therefore a symbol for millions of Dalits (or “untouchables”) who were oppressed by the Hindu upper castes for centuries.
However there are allegations that she has used her status to amass a large amount of personal wealth.
Her assets run into millions of dollars with several properties to her name.
The CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) had filed a case against her for owning assets disproportionate to her known sources of income however she described the CBI investigation against her as illegal.
While the source of the funds was given as voluntary donations, CBI found at least 50 sweepers, hawkers, and rickshaw-pullers who had been asked to open bank accounts and sign blank cheques from which these funds eventually originated.
Her mega birthday bashes are major media events where she appears laden with diamonds.

Since last Tuesday a revolution started in India when Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare was jailed in Delhi as he wants tougher laws against corruption at a time of many political scandals, including murders and misuse of public money.
Anna Hazare supporters are becoming numerous, he was realesed this morning but the government is facing it’s worst problem.
It seems that Mayawati doesn’t know Fear of ridicule when last morning she decided to support Anna Hazare’s movement.

This is just an exemple in order to explain the situation in India and to show that things won’t change easily but “Rome wasn’t built in a day” so let’s hope for better tomorrows…

Stand with Anna Hazare

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”Bliss does not come from outside, it comes from inside, from serving the people.”
(Kisan Baburao Hazare known as Anna Hazare – Indian Anti-corruption activist, b.1937)

I am using this picture showing men wearing Gandhi caps along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras) as a dedication to Anna Hazare who was jailed in Delhi a few hours ago.
Those caps are commonly worn by Indian independence activists and tonight many of his supporters are wearing it as a symbol of their fight.

On August 16, 2011 Anna Hazare, an Indian social activists fighting for the noble cause of anti-corruption was arrested four hours before the planned indefinite hunger strike due to disagreement between Civil Society and UPA Government over a strong anti-corruption bill commonly called as Jan-Lokpal Billand and was sent to Tihar jail located in the west of New Delhi.
Along with Hazare, other key members of the India Against Corruption movement including Arvind Kejriwal, Shanti Bhushan, Kiran Bedi and Manish Sisodia were also detained from different locations.
It was reported that about 1,300 supporters were detained in Delhi.
Earlier Shehla Masood, Anna Hazare’s supporter and RTI activist was shot dead in Bhopal.
Anna Hazare received massive and unanticipated support from people across the country.
Tonight peaceful protest rallies and marches were held all over the country against government’s move of arresting Hazare and others.

This is an important page of the history of India which is happening now with the beginning of a new democracy.
Anna Hazare became a symbol gathering any kind of people, from any part of the country, with any religion, from any generation and any social background.

Anna Hazare is an inspiration to the whole world, he is giving a new meaning for politics and a hope for better tomorrows.
“Jai Hind…Bharat Maata Ki Jai…!!!”

www.ndtv.com/article/india/who-is-anna-hazare-96883
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Anna-Hazares-supporter-…
www.penn-olson.com/2011/04/08/petition-to-support-anna-ha…

Recovering a Stolen Childhood

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“In school whatever you’re taught about being Mother Teresa isn’t true.
In real life you get castigated.”
(Ajeet Singh – Founder and director of Guria)

 

Last night Indian TV was showing a documentary (CNN-IBN & CNBC) concerning Ajeet Singh and Guria.
Please take the time to watch this video which is a part of it

and to read the interview at www.siasat.com/english/news/ajeet-fights-against-female-t…

Guria is a Human Rights organisation settle in Varanasi (Benaras) and fighting against the sexual exploitation of women and children, particularly those forced into prostitution and trafficking.
Manju and her husband Ajeet Singh are running this non-profit organisation at great personal risk, providing shelter and hope to many children.They are modern heroes and they give a meaning to all the things I do as I support their action through my work.
Talking about them gives a recognition and provides security to the children and to everyone involved there.
Share the word in order that they keep the protection necessary to continue their lawful human rights work in safety and free from intimidation and harassment.

 

This is a portrait of a little girl who stays at Guria.
Each time I go to this place I take several pictures of the children and recently I realized that on the last pictures they look younger than last year, as if they got their stolen childhood back…

More pictures of GURIA at https://designldg.wordpress.com/category/6-human-rights-activism/guria-children-of-hope/

 

 

Terror Strikes Again in Mumbai

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This little girl smiled at me in a village located nearby Lucknow.
She could be a Hindu or a Muslim, she could also be the daughter or the sister of anyone who died or who was injured in Mumbai this evening.
Once again the same innocents suffer and once again the same butchers try to scare and spread terror in this city like in any other city in the world.
Those cowards who do those kind of things are away from God.
The people of Mumbai are amazing, they react with courage, dignity and don’t allow terror to overpower the city…they are the winners.
This is the reason why I selected the picture of an innocent child smiling in order to support my friends there.

All my thoughts are for Mumbai tonight, for those who suffer there…

This is a link in order to watch the latest news from India in English on NDTV:
www.ndtv.com/video/live​-player/channel/ndtv24x7

Alive

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“Don’t ask what the world needs.
Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
( Howard Thurman – American Theologian, Clergyman and Activist. 1900-1981)

Those little girls stay at Guria in Varanasi (Benaras) where they are trying to have a normal childhood like any other child in the world.

Guria is a Human Rights organisation fighting against the sexual exploitation of women and children, particularly those forced into prostitution and trafficking.

Manju and her husband Ajeet Singh are running this non-profit organisation at great personal risk, providing shelter and hope to many children and facing many difficulties from all those who would like to use those children as a second generation prostitution.

 There are many ways to help and give a kind of support to Guria, this is its website, http://www.guriaindia.org and you may contact Manju and Ajeet at guriaajeet@rediffmail.com

A special dedication to Yasmine Retima a who helped Guria a few months ago after watching pictures from this set on Facebook.

 

 

The Basis Of All Morality

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“Compassion is the basis of all morality.”
(Arthur Schopenhauer – German philosopher, 1788-1860)

This young boy belongs to Guria in Varanasi (Benaras).
He would like to have a normal childhood like any other child in the world.
Guria is a Human Rights organisation fighting against the sexual exploitation of women and children, particularly those forced into prostitution and trafficking.
Manju and her husband Ajeet Singh are running this non-profit organisation at great personal risk, providing shelter and hope to many children and facing many difficulties from all those who would like to use those children as a second generation prostitution.

There are many ways to help and give a kind of support to Guria, this is its website, www.guriaindia.org and you may contact Manju and Ajeet at guriaajeet@rediffmail.com

A special dedication to my friend Benu Mohanlal who filled my car one morning with clothes, toys and books for those kids as I was on my way to Varanasi.