The Power Of Celebration

“People of our time are losing the power of celebration.
Instead of celebrating we seek to be amused or entertained.
Celebration is an active state, an act of expressing reverence or appreciation.
To be entertained is a passive state–it is to receive pleasure afforded by an amusing act or a spectacle….
Celebration is a confrontation, giving attention to the transcendent meaning of one’s actions.”
(From “The Wisdom of Heschel” by Abraham Joshua Heschel)

This was shot from the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras) during the celebrations of Dev Diwali on the occasion of Kartik Poornima.
The festival of Lights is a mark of welcome to the Gods as it is believed that they descend on earth on that special day.
In the evening under the full moon reflecting in the holy waters each ghat is performing Ganga Aarti with vedic hymns chanted by priests in order to please and welcome the Gods.

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The Bride’s Fragrance

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Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.

“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”
(The Holy bible – Isaiah 61:10)

This is an intimate portrait of Sugandh shot a few seconds before she put the flower garland around my friend Rohit’s neck in order to marry him according the Indian tradition.
The shaadi (wedding) took place in Lucknow, the capital of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Sugandh, the name of this beautiful bride means fragrance in Sanskrit and during the ceremony we could feel everywhere an intense scent of happiness.

An Amalgamation of Mystery

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Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).
The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.

I took this picture during the International Tipitaka Chanting Ceremony which was standing in Bodh Gaya (बोधगया), in the Indian state of Bihar.
It was during lunch time, then there was almost no one under the Bodhi Tree which is behind the Mahabodhi Temple, the place of Gautama Buddha’s attainment of nirvana (Enlightenment).
A few monks were ready to settle the altar for the next ceremony, they started to display some compositions made of flowers with fruit and sweet offerings.
Just nearby I saw those ritual trumpets.

During ceremonies Tibetan monks only use wind and percussion instruments but always played in pairs.
The most spectacular of Tibetan ritual horns is the copper Rag-Dung trumpet.
Some stretching as long as twenty feet and they are designed in sections in order to be folded in on themselves for easy transport.
They are surprisingly easy to play, with a mouthpiece very similar to a bugle or trumpet.
Rag Dung is loud and deeply resonant, an altogether engrossing sound.
This sound has the amalgamation of mystery and produces meditative, imagination and healing power.

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