India – Chasing the Light

What always fascinates me is how the people always seem to step into their own time warp. Each ritual in Varanasi is almost a festival of samridhi and samigri. And the pathways with their narrow galis and steps leading to top stories as steep as ladder, the staircase is itself a story. Raghu Rai

Varanasi has been a cultural center of northern India for several thousand years, and is closely associated with the Ganges. Hindus believe that dying here and getting cremated along the banks of the “holy” Ganges river allows one to break the cycle of rebirth and attain salvation, making it a major center for pilgrimage. The city is known worldwide for its many ghats, embankments made in steps of stone slabs along the river bank where pilgrims perform ritual ablutions. Of particular note are the Dashashwamedh Ghat, the Panchganga Ghat, the Manikarnika Ghat and the Harishchandra Ghat, the last two being where Hindus cremate their dead and the Hindu genealogy registers are kept here. (Wikipedia)

Varanasi is a holy destination for many Indians who revere the purification qualities of the Ganges River. On daily basis, thousands of religious pilgrims bathe in the river, believing in it’s restorative nature.

You’ll notice the man in the white shirt offering to sell small candle/flower offerings that the bathers can float on the river to offer blessings to their Gods and to the sacred river.

I watched this interesting looking fellow amble along the ghat one morning. He was carrying a pillow case size sack over his shoulder along with his flute. He gradually came to a stop on a small platform on one of the mid level ghat platforms, sat down and started to play his flute while swaying slightly. So far….. nothing unusual in a place where dozens of photogenic activities are occuring on a constant basis. Then he used one hand (while still playing the flute) to open up the sack and allow these two very large cobras to emerge and rise up to the music and the swaying. Wow!

Vendors and boatsmen and boatswomen offer services all along the river; mostly taking pilgrims out on the river to view the city from the water.

As a result of its religious heritage, the city has a significant population of religious holy men (Sadhus). Some portion of these men are just donning costumes and playing the part to make a living selling portraits to photographers, but most (probably) are living ascetic lives honoring the Gods.

This Sadhu was certainly colorful and photogenic but also a little testy at times.

There are 4 to 5 million sadhus in India today and they are widely respected for their holiness. It is also thought that the austere practices of the sadhus help to burn off their karma and that of the community at large. Thus seen as benefiting society, sadhus are supported by donations from many people.

This fellow was my personal favorite of the dozen or so Sadhus I photographed. With an easy going personality and sense of humor, he was a pleasure to work with. He also demonstrated a remarkable level of physical flexibility with an easy ability to rise up and sit down without any support. His body was a pretzel!

The Ganga Aarti is held each evening on one of the most prominent ghats along the Ganges. Lasting approximatley an hour and drawing hundreds and sometimes thousands of spectators, it celebrates the centrality of the river in Hinduism. But let me turn the description over to an expert:

“Ganga is not only a river. She is truly a Divine Mother. She rushes forth from the Himalayas as the giver of life, carrying purity, bliss and liberation in Her waters. Ganga is not only water. She is nectar – the nectar of life, the nectar of liberation. She is a source of inspiration to all who lay eyes on her ceaseless, boundless, rushing current. She irrigates not only our farms, but also our hearts, minds and souls. She is the Mother Goddess – giving freely to all with no discrimination, hesitation or expectation. Her waters purify all who bathe in them, all who drink from them. In fact, She is the remover of contamination.”

“Each evening as the sun’s last rays reflect off the boundless waters of Mother Ganga, we gather for Ganga Aarti. This divine light ceremony is filled with song, prayer, ritual and a palpable sense of the divine. Aarti is the beautiful ceremony in which dias (oil lamps) are offered to God. Parmarth.Org

These ladies were undoubtedly the most decked out ladies I have ever seen. The clothing, the jewelry, the tatoos, the various piercings ……. it all worked. They were amazing and gathered astonished looks from others who without these women, would have been outfit leaders by themselves.

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Frank Binder

“In religion, India is the only millionaire….The one land that all men desire to see and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for all the shows of all the rest of the globe combined.” Mark Twain

From the jungles to the Himalayas India boasts such geographic diversity. The Thar Desert is in the north/north-western section of the country….not so far from the Pakistani border. Not as large as its African desert counterparts, but still steeped in the soulfulness that large desert expanses present, it is a playground for young Indians who delight in getting into 4-wheel vehicles and careening up and down the dunes to loud pulsating music. But somehow after the day is done and the jeeps return to their overnight stations, the quiet returns and camels and their drivers can enjoy the solitude.

These jockeys differentiate themselves sartorially from their brethren at Churchill Downs or Pimlico….but they are just as skilled. We witnessed several heats of camel racing and I can tell you the rides are hair-raising!

Nagaur, one of Rajasthan’s most charming desert towns, comes alive during the Nagaur Cattle Fair. Held in February, the Fair is one of the biggest events on the desert calendar and attracts people from rural communities all over the region. Although a quieter and more local event the famous Pushkar Fair, it attracts more participants and livestock than it’s more prominent cousin.

The Fair is a delight for photographers. Everywhere you turn there are striking looking owners sprucing up their camels with haircuts, jewelry and colorful adornment.

No part of the camel is left unadorned……as is demonstrated by this handsome rear end.

Mornings come early at the Fair. Participants and campers arise before dawn to light their campfires and make their morning tea. And even though the daytime temperatures can be quite warm, the mornings are cool and it’s always nice to warm your hands by the fire.

This guy would be a stern Father!

This owner was selling two camels and having no luck attracting buyers, but seemed of good spirits anyway.

He’s got quite the look!

Frank Binder

Shrewsbury, MA

“When I first visited India, I was stunned by its ability to overload the senses with the pure, concentrated intensity of its colors, smells, tastes, and sounds… I had been seeing the world in black & white and, when brought face-to-face with India, experienced everything re-rendered in brilliant Technicolor.” (Keith Bellows; National Geographic Society)

I made my first photographic visit to Rajasthan earlier this year and Keith Bellows’ quote above says it all. It’s a sensation a minute….women in bright saris, men with long beards and lined faces, colorful turbans, cattle roaming freely (and depositing freely!), camel herders, street urchins, Sadhus, snake charmers, local markets, massive cities, quaint villages, scooters, tuk-tuks, street vendors…..and the list goes on and on.

Sometimes I felt I was walking around inside a Van Gogh painting….splashes of color were everywhere. These two windows on this large wall were painted green and then surrounded by an outline of blue with the remainder of the wall left unpainted. Did they run out of blue?

Chasing the Light-9 — Need some Cauliflower?

Not sure why….but I was surprised by the variety and voluminous offerings of vegetables in local markets. Meat based meals were a much larger part of local diets than I anticipated but vegetables were still central to much of Indian cuisine. 30% of Indians are vegetarians with the remaining 70% consuming fish or meat as a normal part of their everyday diet.

We came across this man smoking a cigarette while he was waiting for a local bus. He noticed us raising our cameras towards him and was eager to be photographed. He smoked continuously while we all intensely snapped away trying to get the smoke “just right”.

Everything works here…..the background is sufficiently blurred, the colors pop because of the foggy soft light and the smoke adds a lot of character to the portrait.

As a developing country, India’s level of sophistication in many infrastructure arenas is wildly eclectic. In some places you’ll find the latest in computerized transportation technology and in others a way station or midpoint on the way. This man is loading his cargo from a donkey cart to a bus and somehow the juxtaposition of using a transportation mode that is at least 2,000 years old in conjunction with a modern motor vehicle informs much about India’s developing economy.

On a wandering around visit to a small village, this man invited us to his home for some tea and some Indian hospitality. This is really the raison d’être for travel. It’s always thrilling to see legendary landmarks wherever you go but connecting on a person to person basis changes your relationship to the country and its people and allows you to rise above all of the formal government to government folderol.

These kids were in the same village and it’s a common tale among photographers that if you walk down the street with a camera in a developing foreign land you will soon be followed by children wanting their photo taken. One of my favorite gimmicks is to get them all to jump up at the same time which releases any inhibitions they may have and I am able to capture a “true” moment. And of course you always get the one kid who can’t follow directions! The payoff comes when you show them the LCD image in back of the camera and they break out giggling.

I enjoy wandering around the streets or back alleys of new places and waiting for a scene, a person or moment that captures the essence of the place I’m visiting. It’s almost the opposite of a normal tourist experience where one wanders around appreciating the “big picture” and the entire landscape; where one looks for an integrated experience with a new place. I’m usually focusing on something smaller and narrower…details and scenes within the scene.

This woman was with a few friends getting into a local Tuk-Tuk. Her friends were unremarkable but she had an exotic interesting look and when she stared right back at me I snapped the shutter.

Indian cities and towns are filled with local shopkeepers and craftsmen who offer their goods and services in open air shops and small cubbies. This fellow was sharpening knives for his customers.

These ladies were available to apply a traditional Indian skin tattoo practice for their customers. It’s actually probably not a tattoo but more of a skin painting technique.

Looking closely, this clothes line contains both traditional Indian saris and shawls plus jeans and other clothing familiar to all western developed countries.

This fellow is a greeter at a local hotel and I persuaded him to pose in this scene which needed some local color.

Frank Binder

Shrewsbury, MA

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