Sacred Moments

“A ritual becomes the match that lights the kindred celebration candle of sacred moments long ago… tantalizing these entombed spirits to surface again.”
(Wes Adamson)

This was shot from a boat on 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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A Second’s Encounter With Eternity

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.
And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.”
(From “Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho)

This was shot from a boat on 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.

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

© All photographs are copyrighted and all rights reserved.
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.

Stand with Anna Hazare

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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.

”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…

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)

 

 

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.

Revolutionary Behaviours

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“To be a revolutionary you have to be a human being.
You have to care about people who have no power.”
( Jane Fonda – American actress and political activist, b. in 1937)

Those kids 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, www.guriaindia.org and you may contact Manju and Ajeet at guriaajeet@rediffmail.com

A special dedication to my friend Charles Trabuchet, a French young man who came to India in order to give some time to Guria and to help those children during several months.

Pink Powder

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No quote with this picture but one simple message:
“Nowadays breast cancer can be cured if it is diagnosed in time”.
Spread the word, you can save lives.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

This picture was shot at sunrise near Assi ghat along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
I dreamt that this lady adjusting her sari after taking a bath in the holy waters was receiving pink particles in order to protect her from cancer.
Each year “Pink for October” allows me to make pictures like this.
It is a way to pay a tribute to those many women who are fighting and to those like my mother who are not there anymore.

For more information about breast cancer and what you can do to help, visit:
www.nbcam.org/
www.breastcancer.org
www.pinkforoctober.org/
www.curie.frwww.rubanrose.org

“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.

“Prayers for Leh which has lost all contact”

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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.

Sad news, there were hundreds of people killed in flash floods and thousand of houses washed away in Leh.
Over 500 people are still missing tonight (Sunday).
The cloudburst, flash floods and mudslides that hit Leh town around midnight on Friday washed away government offices, paramilitary camps and residential homes.
Among the worst hit are the Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR), many local hotels and shops.
With road and air connectivity disrupted and phone lines down, Leh has been cut off from rest of the world since Thursday night.
The disruption in communication system has affected the rescue work undertaken by the Army as well as other paramilitary personnel.
Over 6,000 army men and troopers of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) are involved in the massive relief and rescue operation and are assisting the local administration.
Airtel whose network is still operating in Leh, has issued SIM cards to the local administration for setting up helplines.

I never thought that this could happen in such a place which was a piece of heaven.
The Indus River there, called Sênggê Zangbo, the “Lion River” in Tibetan, is so narrow that I keep on wondering how such a thing is possible…
All my prayers are going to the wonderful people of Leh, I have their smiles and happiness in mind forever…

www.dailymotion.com/video/xec0tk_leh-floods-omar-visits-h…
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKbDX86klC4

This is a view of Leh, the capital of the Himalayan kingdom of Ladakh which is in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
It was shot from a terrace at Leh Palace, a former home of the royal family of Ladakh.
Leh is at an altitude of 3,524 meters (11,483 ft), it is spread over 45,110 sq. km, and comprises the main town and 12 adjacent villages..
For centuries it has been an important stopover on trade routes along the Indus Valley between Tibet to the east, Kashmir to the west and also between India and China.