View Khajuraho Stock Photos by PhotosIndia.com
Mystic. Mysterious. Saints. Dust. Heat. God Men. Snake charmers. Elephants & Tigers. BPO. IT hub. Some of the words I heard when I asked a random handful of people about India and they were all of different nationalities. Interesting! Everyone in this mini survey was above 25 and no one said ‘erotic'(The Kama Sutra, to mention just one), ‘art’ (M F Hussain, to mention just one) or ‘art erotica’.
India is the proud home of the Khajuraho temples, the ultimate guide to intimacy, carved in stone for centuries. Built between 950-1050, the construction spanned a 100 years which is obvious in the detailing and architectural styles of the various temples in the city of Khajuraho. Though it is true that erotic sculptures can be found at Khajuraho and are very much a part of the temples architectural harmony, they however are not installed inside the temple premises or near the deities. The reason for their existence lies in medieval history of that region. Khajuraho was ruled by the Chandela dynasty at the time and the rulers were followers of the ‘Tantric’ discipline. The attainment of ‘Nirvana’ (a state of perfect peace) in ‘Tantrism’ is far easier, it can be achieved by fulfilling every earthly desire. The juxtaposition lies in the fact that other Indian religions like Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism preach moderation and a control over earthly desires.
There are many resources that have information on the architectural styles and other Khajuraho specifications but few tell the reader about the deeper meaning behind such mammoth efforts. Was it simply faith driven? Where the Maharaja orders a few thousand men to build temples to appease the Gods? Some die, some toil on, in the end it is for the modern world to stand back and say “hey none of us thought of this!”
Khajuraho continues to remain a mystery because its purpose has not been interpreted as yet. Several historians have presented theories, combination of myth, legend and heresy but no one can be certain about the nature of the carvings. Some parts depict regular village life, showing potters, musicians and townspeople. Just everyday living, maybe this art being on the walls is a communication medium, like ancient advertising or the equivalent of a mass moral science lesson. The theory I liked best, mainly because its plausible was that back in those days, most young boys lived as ‘brahmachari’s’, a state every man must be in for the first 25 years of his life. They live devout, pious lives, usually in a hostel like ‘ashram’ and concentrate on learning the concepts of hard work, ‘karma’ etc. This art was their only way to learn the nuances of being a ‘householder’. Sounds to me like ancient sex education. I will leave this train of thought as it is. I just wish we could incorporate safety and self respect into these lessons and bring them into our schools today. If they could talk about it back then we can definitely talk about it right now!
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
I'm not superstitious, but ...
View Stock Images Gallery by PhotosIndia.com
We made good friends with this one model we worked with last year. Very lovely young lady, she was nice enough to keep in touch way after she received her images shot by us. We got a call from her last month saying she has a bunch of friends in town and they were all very keen to be professionally photographed. We were already riding high on our 6,000 sq. ft. studio so we asked the whole load of them to come in for auditions. So here we were sitting around waiting for everyone’s headshots to be assessed, when Manav suggested they all make a trip and shoot that. The motley mix of post-teens started discussing every possible drivable location from Delhi. They were all foreigners and from different countries too. This discussion didn’t take long to finalize into an overnight trip to Agra. The home of the Taj, the land of love and loss, the haven of a lovesick king’s biggest accomplishment. Some had seen it with their parents on a day trip, some hadn’t at all. The excitement was electric. The final list read, an Indian girl from LA, a Persian girl from Florida, an all American girl, a Scottish boy, an Estonian boy and finally a Zimbabwean boy. What an awesome bunch they made. So many nationalities and cultures of the world in this group of six. The only thing they shared in common was the age and the generation and that was glue enough to start this trip off very well.
The story I am about to tell you only goes to reinforce my crazy obsession with Lennon’s song ‘Imagine’. In my Utopian fairyland I believe that we can live without religion, without possessions and without countries, we can live like brothers and like thinking human beings. Ultimately we are all the same. I read an article by the photographer who shot the famous portrait of ‘the Afghan girl’, Steve McCurry he said to the effect that a farmer in Afghanistan is no different from a farmer in the US. I guess he meant that as people they are the same, their environments and scenarios are different but they share the same worries, the same ambitions and the same dependency on nature. Anyway, back to the story. These guys were on the road with our Art Director (part Portuguese, part Iranian), Photographer (All from the state of Bengal), Make-up Assistant (state of Punjab) and Studio Hand (I would assume Bihar). They stopped at a harmless looking vegetarian ‘dhaba’ (typical Indian roadside diner, usually very rustic). They ordered heartily and sat back and waited. Suddenly the girls started noticing dragon flies, not one, more like one million. So one of the girls got up from the table and crouched on the floor screaming for one of the knights to save her. The lovely Scottish boy got up, swatted away the dragon flies and stepped over her head to get back to the table. She shot up and said “step back over me”! That’s all she said. One by one each person on the table said “ya, my mom says you have to step back over the person if you stepped over them once.” The tempo got louder and everyone, every different person there knew that they had all heard and participated in one of the oldest ‘old wives tales’ ever. Across the cultures and borders they all grew up hearing this one ‘superstition’. The biggest deal wasn’t that they had all been told the same tale by their Scottish, Estonian, Indian, Persian, Zimbabwean mothers, it was how they all suddenly related on another level. This highly infused gene pool of people sat there, ages 19 – 35 years and said in unison – “coz then you won’t grow tall”. Across most of the globe, covering 4 continents, all these people were told the same reason too! When I heard this story, it stirred me in many ways. Are we all essentially the same? Just people. People with stories, lives, joys, pains, fun, work, family, passions, traditions, the list goes on and it goes on for all of us.
We made good friends with this one model we worked with last year. Very lovely young lady, she was nice enough to keep in touch way after she received her images shot by us. We got a call from her last month saying she has a bunch of friends in town and they were all very keen to be professionally photographed. We were already riding high on our 6,000 sq. ft. studio so we asked the whole load of them to come in for auditions. So here we were sitting around waiting for everyone’s headshots to be assessed, when Manav suggested they all make a trip and shoot that. The motley mix of post-teens started discussing every possible drivable location from Delhi. They were all foreigners and from different countries too. This discussion didn’t take long to finalize into an overnight trip to Agra. The home of the Taj, the land of love and loss, the haven of a lovesick king’s biggest accomplishment. Some had seen it with their parents on a day trip, some hadn’t at all. The excitement was electric. The final list read, an Indian girl from LA, a Persian girl from Florida, an all American girl, a Scottish boy, an Estonian boy and finally a Zimbabwean boy. What an awesome bunch they made. So many nationalities and cultures of the world in this group of six. The only thing they shared in common was the age and the generation and that was glue enough to start this trip off very well.
The story I am about to tell you only goes to reinforce my crazy obsession with Lennon’s song ‘Imagine’. In my Utopian fairyland I believe that we can live without religion, without possessions and without countries, we can live like brothers and like thinking human beings. Ultimately we are all the same. I read an article by the photographer who shot the famous portrait of ‘the Afghan girl’, Steve McCurry he said to the effect that a farmer in Afghanistan is no different from a farmer in the US. I guess he meant that as people they are the same, their environments and scenarios are different but they share the same worries, the same ambitions and the same dependency on nature. Anyway, back to the story. These guys were on the road with our Art Director (part Portuguese, part Iranian), Photographer (All from the state of Bengal), Make-up Assistant (state of Punjab) and Studio Hand (I would assume Bihar). They stopped at a harmless looking vegetarian ‘dhaba’ (typical Indian roadside diner, usually very rustic). They ordered heartily and sat back and waited. Suddenly the girls started noticing dragon flies, not one, more like one million. So one of the girls got up from the table and crouched on the floor screaming for one of the knights to save her. The lovely Scottish boy got up, swatted away the dragon flies and stepped over her head to get back to the table. She shot up and said “step back over me”! That’s all she said. One by one each person on the table said “ya, my mom says you have to step back over the person if you stepped over them once.” The tempo got louder and everyone, every different person there knew that they had all heard and participated in one of the oldest ‘old wives tales’ ever. Across the cultures and borders they all grew up hearing this one ‘superstition’. The biggest deal wasn’t that they had all been told the same tale by their Scottish, Estonian, Indian, Persian, Zimbabwean mothers, it was how they all suddenly related on another level. This highly infused gene pool of people sat there, ages 19 – 35 years and said in unison – “coz then you won’t grow tall”. Across most of the globe, covering 4 continents, all these people were told the same reason too! When I heard this story, it stirred me in many ways. Are we all essentially the same? Just people. People with stories, lives, joys, pains, fun, work, family, passions, traditions, the list goes on and it goes on for all of us.
Monday, June 18, 2007
PUSHKAR: The home of ‘Brahma’, the Creator and the Pushkar Fair
View Stock Photo Gallery by PhotosIndia.com
Pushkar is a small town in Rajasthan, it is as picturesque as any desert town can be but it has other claims to fame that make it a prominent address on the Indian map. Pushkar, literally meaning 'a lotus that has bloomed in mud', and it also home to one of the only two temples dedicated to Lord Brahma. The seat upon which Lord Brahma resides is a blue Lotus also known as ‘Pushkara’ in Sanskrit. Lord Brahma is a part of the Hindu Holy Trinity and he serves as the ‘Creator’ of mankind, the way Lord Shiva is considered the destroyer. Lord Brahma is said to be the son of the Supreme Being. He created the universe and he had several symbols associated with his persona.
Mythology states that Lord Brahma annoyed Lord Shiva during a tryst and the curse bestowed upon him was that no man on earth would worship Lord Brahma the way other deities are worshipped. Another school of thought attributed this curse to a demi God who was ignored by Lord Brahma. But it is the practicalities of modern society that have asked for a more plausible explanation. Like the one stated by Mr. Surin Usgaonkar “The true philosophical reason why Brahma is not worshiped like the other deities is as under: Worship involves faith and faith to certain degree means accepting supremacy of someone without questioning. Brahma, on the other hand, represents true knowledge. The knowledge and faith are philosophically antithetical concepts. Knowledge blooms in self-doubt, constant questioning, criticism and discussions and it lapses in faith.”
Leaving such heavy thinking aside, let’s go back to Pushkar, where this whole dialogue began. Pushkar has one of the two temples dedicated to Lord Brahma and it is here that one of the largest cultural, trading and religious fair takes place every year. ‘Pushkar Mela’ (‘mela’ literally means fair or carnival) is India’s largest cattle fair. It is a spectacular event with Rajasthani men and women in their traditional attire, ash smeared holy men and more than one lakh people, from all over Rajasthan as well as tourists from different parts of India and abroad in attendance. Apart from the people there is bevy of bulls, cows, sheep, goats, horses and camels for sale and barter. It is not just business here, this week long fair also has fabulous events and brilliant shopping stalls. There are hysterical camel races, where photographers are known to get trampled (objects in the lens appear farther than they really are!!!). Rajasthani gypsies in their vibrant colorful skirts perform dance and music recitals through the days and nights. The shopping stalls glitter all the way with handcrafted leather goods to dainty glass bangles and beautiful textiles. Craftsman from all over Rajasthan and neighboring states bring their wares out for the world to see and appreciate. At Pushkar there is something for everyone. The shopper will find his delights, the trader will get a great bargain and the tourist will see the colorful and charismatic India they were hoping to see.
‘Pushkar Fair’ is always held in the month of Kartik. It starts two days before the full moon of the month and ends a day after it. This year the fair is from 18th-24th November 2007, a tad later than usual. It is the Pushkar lake in this city that all devotional activities center around. It has 52 ghats (like cement bleachers/steps) and is the main reason for the confluence of so many people from all parts of the country and abroad. It is considered imperative to take a dip in the Pushkar Lake on the night of a full moon. According to the Puranas (meaning ‘ancient Indian tales’), a pilgrimage to Pushkar destroys all evil and washes away all sins. A person that has had a dip in the lake at Pushkar and worshipped Brahma achieves salvation. For this reason, thousands of people gather here for this great annual pilgrimage and fair. Could there be an easier way??
Mythology states that Lord Brahma annoyed Lord Shiva during a tryst and the curse bestowed upon him was that no man on earth would worship Lord Brahma the way other deities are worshipped. Another school of thought attributed this curse to a demi God who was ignored by Lord Brahma. But it is the practicalities of modern society that have asked for a more plausible explanation. Like the one stated by Mr. Surin Usgaonkar “The true philosophical reason why Brahma is not worshiped like the other deities is as under: Worship involves faith and faith to certain degree means accepting supremacy of someone without questioning. Brahma, on the other hand, represents true knowledge. The knowledge and faith are philosophically antithetical concepts. Knowledge blooms in self-doubt, constant questioning, criticism and discussions and it lapses in faith.”
Leaving such heavy thinking aside, let’s go back to Pushkar, where this whole dialogue began. Pushkar has one of the two temples dedicated to Lord Brahma and it is here that one of the largest cultural, trading and religious fair takes place every year. ‘Pushkar Mela’ (‘mela’ literally means fair or carnival) is India’s largest cattle fair. It is a spectacular event with Rajasthani men and women in their traditional attire, ash smeared holy men and more than one lakh people, from all over Rajasthan as well as tourists from different parts of India and abroad in attendance. Apart from the people there is bevy of bulls, cows, sheep, goats, horses and camels for sale and barter. It is not just business here, this week long fair also has fabulous events and brilliant shopping stalls. There are hysterical camel races, where photographers are known to get trampled (objects in the lens appear farther than they really are!!!). Rajasthani gypsies in their vibrant colorful skirts perform dance and music recitals through the days and nights. The shopping stalls glitter all the way with handcrafted leather goods to dainty glass bangles and beautiful textiles. Craftsman from all over Rajasthan and neighboring states bring their wares out for the world to see and appreciate. At Pushkar there is something for everyone. The shopper will find his delights, the trader will get a great bargain and the tourist will see the colorful and charismatic India they were hoping to see.
‘Pushkar Fair’ is always held in the month of Kartik. It starts two days before the full moon of the month and ends a day after it. This year the fair is from 18th-24th November 2007, a tad later than usual. It is the Pushkar lake in this city that all devotional activities center around. It has 52 ghats (like cement bleachers/steps) and is the main reason for the confluence of so many people from all parts of the country and abroad. It is considered imperative to take a dip in the Pushkar Lake on the night of a full moon. According to the Puranas (meaning ‘ancient Indian tales’), a pilgrimage to Pushkar destroys all evil and washes away all sins. A person that has had a dip in the lake at Pushkar and worshipped Brahma achieves salvation. For this reason, thousands of people gather here for this great annual pilgrimage and fair. Could there be an easier way??
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
