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Fresco showing two priests performing puja in front of a Shiv Lingam.
The frescos on the walls of the Tanjore (Thanjavur) Big Temple are some of the most beautiful, intricate and richest ancient paintings that i've ever seen in my life. These paintings tell stories of the origins of the temple itself and of its patrons (mainly Raja Raja Cholan). Created using plant extracts and other natural preservatives, these paintings remain vibrant and rich even today, some 1000 years later, but not much could be said about the state of the plaster and the walls over which they are painted upon.
Many of these paintings can be found along the outer corridors of the temple, while its Gopuram is said to contain even more beautiful and delicate works.
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A vendor selling the tiny floating diyas (wick lamps) to the devotees at Hai-ki-Pauri.
Photo taken at the Har-ki-pauri ghats in Haridwar.
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Giant statue of Sakyamuni at the temple in the Shey palace complex.
There are 2 statues of Sakyamuni in the palace complex. The first one located inside palace is made of gilded copper and is about 3 storeys tall. The other statue is in a temple outside the palace, nearby a group of white chortens. This seated statue of Sakyamuni is about 7.5m tall, made of copper and brass plated with gold and studded with gems and other precious stones.
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Samiti Lake Trekkers Hut and the Climp upto Zemathang and beyond.
Samiti Lake Trekkers Hut and the Climp upto Zemathang and beyond.
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Small streams flowing through the marshy wetlands of the Tsokar lake.
What sets the Tsokar lake apart from the other two, Pangong and Tsomoriri, lakes is that landscape here is composed of many different elements which are all beautiful in their own right but combine together to provide a visual extravaganza which cannot be matched anywhere else in Ladakh. We have the wetlands with numerous streams flowing through them, lust grasslands, dry salt flats and strange tiny multi-colored hillocks most probably created by the salt deposits. And also the lake itself, vast, deceptively close but actually quite far away (atleast a couple of kilometers away from the village).Read more here.
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Closeup
Taken by a friend during one of the festival ceremonies at the Sivananda kutir ashram in Uttarkashi.
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A priest offering the holy flames to the pilgrims during the Ganga Aarti ceremony at Har-Ki-Pauri in Haridwar.
A priest offering the holy flames to the pilgrims during the Ganga Aarti ceremony at Har-Ki-Pauri in Haridwar.
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Sonam Karma
"She came, a tiny thing carrying a big yellow can over her shoulders like a backpack. She was smiling at me, the biggest, the most beautiful, warm, friendly smile that i have ever encountered. I smiled back. Without exchanging a word we acknowledged each other's presence and there was a sense of familiarity between us. If there was ever a moment to be captured and remembered, then this was it. But i realized that i did not have my camera with me and at the same moment knew that the camera would've spoilt this moment, making the divide between us more obvious and apparent. She crossed the stream and walked on by. I did not see her again that day."From story : Sonam And Karma, Two Siblings With Two Different Destinies.
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Grazing sheep..
Sheep grazing on the shores of the Tsomoriri Lake
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Over a shaky bridge with unshakable faith..
A sadhu walking his dog over the Laxman Jhula bridge in Rishikesh.
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Enjoying the spectacle..
A group of tourists enjoying the sunset spectacle in Railay. The colors were amazing that evening..
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The Thukje village on the north shore of the Tsokar lake.
The Thukje village itself was more rustic than the typical Ladakhi village in central Ladakh. The houses were small, made of stones with a simple flat thatched roof. The roof of the houses were all stocked with dung patties (as opposed to dried grass in central Ladakh). Life is tough here with meagre resources and the Changpa nomads have to make to with what best they have. Their livestock.Read more here.
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My Surly LHT parked outside my tent by the roadside below Marhi. 5:46am.
My Surly LHT parked outside my tent by the roadside below Marhi. 5:46am.
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Haridwar Ghats
The Ganges flowing between the bathing ghats in Haridwar.
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Silhouette of a desert sunset..
Silhouette of Rajasthani lady and a camel standing infront of the setting sun at Pushkar. For this photo instead of going for the warm tones of the sunset i changed the white balance to a more cooler setting. Quite happy with the results.
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A group of turban clad Rajasthani men watching proceedings at the Pushkar camel fair.
A group of turban clad Rajasthani men watching proceedings at the Pushkar camel fair.
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My campsite..
"The night was pleasant without it being neither too cold nor too windy. The next morning i woke up to a beautiful sunny day and spent the morning basking in the warm sunlight. There was nobody around for miles and i felt that i had the lake all to myself. And if that wasn't enough, i spotted the mountains putting on a small welcome show for me with this beautiful subtle little rainbow.Its days like this that make you feel as if you are the luckiest person alive and i definitely felt it that morning."From Story : The Tsomoriri Trip.. A troubled trip that couldn't have gone any better..
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A view of the Stok palace with the Zanskar range and Stok Kangri in the background.
A photo of the Stok village with the Stok palace at the right and the Zanskar range in the background. The tall snowcapped peak in the background is Stok Kangri, At ~6200m tall it is one of the few trekking peaks in India. The view on top is supposedly spectacular with great vistas of the Zanskar and the Karakoram ranges including that of K2. If you compare this picture to this one  (both taken 1 day apart), you can see that the mountains of the Zanskar range are covered in snow whereas the Ladakh range was devoid of any. That is because in the Indus valley, the Zanskar range is north facing whereas the Ladakh range is south facing. The south facing mountains receive more sun and hence less snow.
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Photoshoot with the monks at the Dramtse monastery near Trashigang.
Photoshoot with the monks at the Dramtse monastery near Trashigang.
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A local changpa kid posing for picture on his donkey
"The next morning, i was by the stream again taking a few pictures and i met Karma. He was a chirpy little boy studying at the SOS school in the village. He was eager to show off the few english words he knew. The usual, "What is your name ?", "Where are you coming from ?" routine. Once he exhausted all his sentences, we kept the conversation flowing by playing the 'name that object in english' game.Soon our encounter turned in to photo shoot with Karma eager to pose for the camera. He then took me to his home and there i met the girl from the day before. Her name was Sonam and unlike her brother, she did not know a word of english or even hindi."From story :Â Sonam And Karma, Two Siblings With Two Different Destinies.
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10 bhat for a dozen bananas. Not a bad deal at the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Bangkok
The best way to attract customers in the chaos is to market effectively. Most of the vendors had clear signs mentioning the price of their products, i thought it was a brilliant move.
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Overhead view of a banana/lemon vendor at the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Bangkok
When photographing a busy scene such as this floating market, it is recommended that you keep shifting postions to capture the action from different points of view. I'am always a big fan of overhead shots and try to incorporate them wherever possible, as you can see here the overhead shot worked out pretty well.
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forbidden stands in front of the forbidden city..
These stands are put in place for the guests for the 60'th national day celebrations. During this time, the entire area will be closed off to the general public.
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The ruins of the ancient fort at Shey.
Here you can see the ruins of the ancient fort at Shey perched on top of the hill.
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Dousing the passion..
A keeper spraying water on the tigers to keep them quiet. This one was starting to get naughty.
Travels of Saravana
