If Petra is Jordan’s historical heritage, Wadi Rum is its Arabian Nights. Its in Wadi Rum where folklore meets imagination. No matter which part this small peaceful Middle-Eastern country you travel in, all reference points are invariably of the desert. Its just as well. Over thousands of centuries, the life of the Jordanians have been shaped by the deserts. Almost seventy five percent of Jordan is desert-like, much of it uninhibited. The civilization is squeezed to a narrow strip around river Jordan and the Dead Sea.
Sep 07, 2011 | Categories: Travelogues | Tags: desert middle-east, documentary photographer india, images wadi rum, indian photographers, jordan images, jordan wadi rum, photographer in India, photographers in delhi, photojournalist india, travel photographer in India, wadi rum deserts, wadi rum jordan | Leave A Comment »
When my father said he wanted to build a house in the orchards, I was surprised. What’s wrong with this one I said? We already had an orchard house. Though the house was a bit unplanned- with no attached toilets or modular kitchen, it was still beautiful. It was in the middle of our apple orchards . It was glazed on three sides and had a spacious lounging area around it. The kitchen was the old pahari-style, complete with a chulla where we burnt firewood to warm our hands and sometimes cook. The house had a huge gable with a spacious living room below it and an attic with splendid views of the apple orchard valley.
Sep 05, 2011 | Categories: Thoughts/ Articles | Tags: apple orchards himachal, documentary photographer india, himachal pradesh, himalayas himachal, house in snow, images himachal pradesh, orchard house himachal, snow himachal pradesh, snow images himachal | 42 Comments »
However a lesser known and a very interesting fact about The Golden Temple is that it receives more visitors than even The Taj Mahal -making it the most visited Monument in India. Maybe the statistics have changed over the years and if anyone has the latest statistics kindly do share.
Jul 23, 2011 | Categories: Thoughts/ Articles | Tags: darbar sahib, documentary photographer india, golden temple amritsar, golden temple photographs, gurudwara amritsar, harmandir sahib amritsar, images golden temple, jatti umra village, monument golden temple, nawaz sharif village in india, photographs harmandir sahib, sacred place of sikhs, sikhs holy shrine, sikhs place of worship | Leave A Comment »
Imagine a man thinking of making a 347 room luxurious villa for himself out of the misery of the people he is supposed to serve. Surprisingly the Maharaja is glorified to this day for this `noble’ gesture. Today Umaid Bhawan Palace is divided between a luxury hotel , a museum and the residence of the Maharajas’s successors. It still remains the largest private residence in the world.
May 07, 2011 | Categories: Travelogues | Tags: cenotaphs of mandor, colours of rajasthan, documentary photographer india, forts of rajasthan, indian forts, indian photographers, jodhpur, jodhpur eatries, jodhpur sweets, mandor, mehrangarh fort, monuments in rajasthan, omelette shop, photographer in India, photographers in delhi, photographs of jodhpur, photographs of rajasthan, photojournalist india, rajasthan, rajasthan people, rajasthan photographs, rajasthan sweets, sashi samosa shop, shri mishrilal hotel, street photography jodhpur, street photography rajasthan, streets of rajasthan, travel photographer in India, Umaid Singh Bhawan | Leave A Comment »
What do you do with at a place that has only one season? Cherrapunji the land of perpetual monsoons has the same scenery of mist , clouds, fog and the rain-washed hills no matter what time of the year you arrive here. It has already begun to rain in Shillong when I take the undulating road to Cherrapunji approx. 60 kilometers away. Thankfully by the time I reach Cherrapunji the rain has spent itself and is reduced to occasional busts of drizzle.
Apr 28, 2011 | Categories: Travelogues | Tags: caves in cherrapunji, cherrapunji, cherrapunji wettest place on earth, documentary photographer india, highest rainfall in the world, indian countryside, indian photographers, khasi hills meghalaya, khasi people, meghalaya landscape photographs, meghalaya state, north east India, north east India photographs, north eastern states of India, people of north east, photographer in India, photographers in delhi, photographs of north east India, photojournalist india, rural indian in north east, seven north east states of India, sohra meghalaya, travel photographer in India, waterfalls in cherrapunji, waterfalls in india, wettest place on earth meghalaya | Leave A Comment »
Whenever you enter a Tiger Reserve you are told – enjoy the rest of the forest and the other mammals and birds too. But that’s impossible. Everyone has eyes out only for the tiger.
Apr 21, 2011 | Categories: Travelogues | Tags: animal conservation, animal photos, animals in nature, asian mammals, bandavgarh fort, bandavgarh photographs, bandavgarh tigers, bandhavgarh national park, bandhavgarh tiger reserve, documentary photographer india, Indian animals, Indian eco-system, Indian environment and forests, Indian forests, Indian jungles, Indian national parks, Indian nature reserves, indian photographers, Indian wildlife, man animal conflict, photographer in India, photographers in delhi, photographs of animals in India, photojournalist india, preserved animal habitat, tigers in bandavgarh, travel photographer in India, wild animals in India, wildlife, wildlife in asia, wildlife in India, wildlife photographer india | Leave A Comment »
People where playing cricket everywhere. I found young boys play at the spacious backyard of St Peter’s Church in Kanyakumari as I saw them play in a small glade in Kinnaur. I saw fishermen’s children play on the sands of the Coromandal Coast as I saw scull-capped boys bat it out at a madrasa in Bhopal
Apr 03, 2011 | Categories: Photo Essays | Tags: cricket fans in india, cricket frenzy in india, cricket in india, cricket obsession in india, cricket on the streets, cricket played in india, documentary photographer india, gully cricket, gully cricket india, indian cricket, indian photographers, photographer in India, photographers in delhi, photographs of people playing cricket, photojournalist india, play cricket on streets, sport, street cricket, street cricket in india, travel photographer in India, travel photographer india | Leave A Comment »
Its not just the deer the animal loving Rajasthani’s idolize. At the Karni Mata temple 30kms short of Bikaner you encounter the wildest freak show of your life. Known as the `Rat temple’ around the world, the devout here however mean serious business. The temple run over by more than 20,000 rats are revered, fed and encouraged to crawl over your feet for good luck. This temple is definitely not for the squeamish and we beat a hasty retreat from the threshold.
Mar 26, 2011 | Categories: Travelogues | Tags: ancient cultures, ancient rituals, bikaner and jodhpur highway, bikaneri foods, colourful turbans of rajasthan, colours of rajasthan, culture of rajasthan, desert in India, desert state of India, documentary photographer india, exotic indians, god of rats, highway in rajasthan, hindu temple of rats, Indian colours, indian photographers, indian temple, jodhpur and bikaner, karni mata temple, karni rat temple, mata karni temple, photographer in India, photographers in delhi, photographs of rajasthan, photographs of rat temple bikaner, photographs of rats, photojournalist india, photos of rajasthan, rajasthan, rajasthan culture, rajasthan state, rajasthani cuisine, rajasthani dress, rajasthani food, rajasthani women, rat god, rat temple, rat temple in bikaner, traditions of rajasthan, travel photographer in India, worshiping rats in india, worshipping rodents in india | Leave A Comment »
(Whenever you meet a foreign tourist in India you inevitably get asked about Goa. I had never been to Goa and had no intention to go there until work took me there in november 2010. I am not a beach person though i have frolicked in some beaches in Malaysia and Zanzibar. In comparison Goa was a disappointment. A magazine however asked me to write a travelogue on the carnival atmosphere in Goa during the year end. I must admit i have not really written so much about my disappointment in the piece.)
Mar 11, 2011 | Categories: Travelogues | Tags: arabian sea, beach, beaches in goa, best beaches in the world, documentary photographer india, exotic beaches, goa, goa beach, goa beaches photos, goa photos, goa state, images goa, indian beaches, indian photographers, photographer in India, photographers in delhi, photographs goa, photojournalist india, tourist destination in india, tourists, travel photographer in India | 3 Comments »
Jaisalmer itself is exotic enough and the smell and feel of the
desert emanates from every street. If you have made the traditional touristy circuit
like I did- arriving first in the capital Jaipur then Jodhpur and now Jaisalmer, you
will see the colour palate of cities shifting dramatically from pink to blue to golden.
Mar 08, 2011 | Categories: Travelogues | Tags: camel man, desert photos, documentary photographer india, exotic india photographs, indian camel, indian countryside, indian desert, indian photographers, jaisalmer, jaisalmer photographs, khuri village, khuri village dunes, photographer in India, photographers in delhi, photographs of rajasthan, photographs of sand dunes, photojournalist india, photos of camel, photos rajasthan, rajasthan, rajasthan photographs, sunset in the desert, sunset photographs in rajasthan, travel photographer in India, travelling in jaisalmer, travelling in rajasthan, travelogue on rajasthan | 5 Comments »
(Click on photos to go to gallery) Pictures of the Gay Community in India. Also pictures of the Gay Pride Parades. Not all people in these pictures are homosexuals. Some of them are gay rights activists and friends and family of gays and lesbians.
Mar 07, 2011 | Categories: Photo Essays | Tags: article 377 of indian constitution, decriminalize homosexuality, documentary photographer india, gay in india, gay pride parade in india, gay pride parade in new delhi, gays and lesbains in india, homosexuality, homosexuals in india, indian photographers, lesbian girls, lesbians and gays in india, lesbians in india, life of a gay in india, middle-class homosexuals in india, photographer in India, photographers in delhi, photographs of gays and lesbians in india, photographs of lesbians, photojournalist india, queer in india, queer pride parade in india, queer pride parade in new delhi | 32 Comments »
Though monuments fascinate me, I may not have taken the trouble of travelling to some of the monuments of my own. For instance Sanchi Stupa and Udaigiri Caves in central Madhya Pradesh. They are both so far deep in this big Indian state and so far away from the nearest city , airport or railway station that I would have possibly never visited them in my life. Most history buffs don’t bother about Sanchi either unless one is a Buddhist and on a planned Buddhist itinerary around India.
Feb 05, 2011 | Categories: Media/ Books | Tags: archeological sites in india, documentary photographer india, humayun tomb photographs, images of indian monuments, indian architecture, indian monument photographer, indian monuments, indian monuments penguin books, indian monuments photos, indian photographers, khajuraho temple photographs, khajurao temple, mahabalipuram photographs, monument photography india, monuments of india, photographer in India, photographers in delhi, photographs of indian monuments, photojournalist india, photos of indian monuments, pictures of indian monuments, sanchi stupa, taj mahal photographs, travel photographer in India, world monuments india | 4 Comments »
They were in their mother’s wombs, few days old , or school going toddlers in 1984 when their fathers, uncles or siblings were butchered in the Delhi anti-Sikh riots which left almost 3000 Sikhs dead. These children were suddenly wrenched out from their snug family setup and hurled into the world of neglect, apathy and abuse.
Jan 09, 2011 | Categories: Photo Essays | Tags: 1984 anti sikh carnage, 1984 anti-sikh riots, 1984 anti-sikh riots delhi, anti-sikh pogrom, anti-sikh riots, carnage in delhi, communal riots 1984, communal riots delhi, communal riots India, documentary photographer india, ethnic riots in India, history of riots in India, indian photographers, justice for victims of 1984 riot-victims, killings in delhi, photographer in India, photographers in delhi, photojournalist india, pogrom, religious fanatics India, religious minority in India, riot-victims 1984, riot-victims India, riot-victims second generation, sikh population in India, sikhs in delhi, sikhs in India, travel photographer in India, widows colony tilak vihar | 3 Comments »