Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Men of India
What is a Man and how does this influence the people, culture and the future of the society. While in India and had the distinct pleasure to be in the presence of the strong, proud; the Men of India. More pictures coming soon...
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Agra Fort
It's been a while since I posted additional shots from my trip to India. How fitting to make an update to the Blog India series with what I consider to be one of the best kept secrets in India - Agra Fort.
The ride to the Fort was very interesting, hot, windy and filled with unexpected obstacles but our guide made sure we got there safely and with enough time to explore. Agra Fort is less than 2 kilometers from the Taj Mahal and the history dates back over 2500 years ago. The fort
is built alongside the Yamuna river and stretches almost 2.5 km. It consists of a wall built in red sandstone and several buildings inside. The wall has 2 gates, the Delhi Gate and the Amar Singh Gate.
After going through the gate you walk up this ramp and it's better to be on the side of attacking down the ramp versus someone who was trying to wage the battle uphill. The Fort was built by Shah Janan in 1628. Further you find the Royal Pavilions. It contains beautiful mosques, palaces and the Zenana Mina Bazaar. Several of the buildings are made of pure marble with beautiful carvings.
As you can tell from many of the inside shots, the Fort has seen better days but not bad for being over 2500 years old and of course it is a Fort. Taking nothing away from the Taj Mahal but Agra Fort in my opinion is every bit impressive. I hope everyone enjoys these shots and I apologize for my delay in getting these posted.
Beas
Yes that is a Swastika below and here's some information on its' context in Indian culture.
The ride to the Fort was very interesting, hot, windy and filled with unexpected obstacles but our guide made sure we got there safely and with enough time to explore. Agra Fort is less than 2 kilometers from the Taj Mahal and the history dates back over 2500 years ago. The fort
is built alongside the Yamuna river and stretches almost 2.5 km. It consists of a wall built in red sandstone and several buildings inside. The wall has 2 gates, the Delhi Gate and the Amar Singh Gate.
After going through the gate you walk up this ramp and it's better to be on the side of attacking down the ramp versus someone who was trying to wage the battle uphill. The Fort was built by Shah Janan in 1628. Further you find the Royal Pavilions. It contains beautiful mosques, palaces and the Zenana Mina Bazaar. Several of the buildings are made of pure marble with beautiful carvings.
As you can tell from many of the inside shots, the Fort has seen better days but not bad for being over 2500 years old and of course it is a Fort. Taking nothing away from the Taj Mahal but Agra Fort in my opinion is every bit impressive. I hope everyone enjoys these shots and I apologize for my delay in getting these posted.
Beas
Yes that is a Swastika below and here's some information on its' context in Indian culture.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Going to the Temple
Another unique experience while in India was my visit to the Sri Radha Krishna Temple. While I don't understand a lot about Indian religion, I respect their workshop which meant I had to be very careful with my camera work as not to offend. Thankfully two of our hosts were very good about keeping me grounded in the rules as to what not to shoot and where not to take my camera.
I have to admit that the experience was MUCH different that what I was accustom to in US based worship. The crowds of worshipers was much heavier and obviously the rituals were different. The worship temples were HUGE and much more ornate with gold, architecture and I could have stayed for hours just admiring this as well as the detailed work from the ceiling to the floors. Oh how I wish I would have smuggled my camera into this temple because words can't describe the experience. I almost missed the night shot below thinking it was too dark to capture the shot (s) without a tripod but thanks to the photography workshop I attended, I did a spot meter versus evaluative; this part is for the photographers in case you find yourself in a similar situation.
I left the temple different from whence I arrived. I got my Bindi on the forehead, was blessed by Krishna and was exposed to yet another rich aspect of the Indian culture. By the way congratulations and best wishes to Rupkumar and Preethi.
I have to admit that the experience was MUCH different that what I was accustom to in US based worship. The crowds of worshipers was much heavier and obviously the rituals were different. The worship temples were HUGE and much more ornate with gold, architecture and I could have stayed for hours just admiring this as well as the detailed work from the ceiling to the floors. Oh how I wish I would have smuggled my camera into this temple because words can't describe the experience. I almost missed the night shot below thinking it was too dark to capture the shot (s) without a tripod but thanks to the photography workshop I attended, I did a spot meter versus evaluative; this part is for the photographers in case you find yourself in a similar situation.
I left the temple different from whence I arrived. I got my Bindi on the forehead, was blessed by Krishna and was exposed to yet another rich aspect of the Indian culture. By the way congratulations and best wishes to Rupkumar and Preethi.
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