Location : Belfast, Ireland
What did she say?
Nothing. She just took her bag and left.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
05 June 2011
03 May 2011
08 March 2011
25 February 2011
In the Gardens of Eden
Location : Goudaguda Village, Interiors of Koraput, Orissa
"Didi... You, liking, flowers??"
-Pothima, a lovely girl from the Porija tribe.
09 December 2010
Hidden Magic
"The unknown is where all the magic is. Where the surprises will be. "
- Dayanita Singh
03 November 2010
Life and Happiness
Location : Radhanagar beach, Havelock Island (Andamans)
"I seldom meet people who are truly happy..."
- Far Out
01 November 2010
Sea
Location : Radhanagar Beach, Havelock Island (Andamans)
16 September 2010
“You have to ask. And someone will tell you.”
The prospect of chance encounters and discoveries, I think, are the most exciting part of travel. I met Baichung at one such unexpected moment, while loitering around the premises of the Rumtek monastery.
The journey to the Rumtek monastery from Gangtok town was a tedious one. The roads were long, winding and often filled with potholes. But then when you reach the little hill on which Rumtek rests, a sense of calm envelops you that you quickly forgive the rough ride you’ve just had. At its gates and in its premises are gunmen from the Indian army, guarding one of Tibet’s most controversial treasures. The Black Hat crown of the Kagyu sect.
The Rumtek Monastery (aka Dharma Chakra Center) includes a beautifully structured main shrine temple and monastery with monks' quarters, where the Karmapa resides and where the most of the important relics are enshrined; a three-year retreat center; a monastic college, where the relics of the Sixteenth Karmapa are enshrined; a nunnery; stupas; a protector's shrine; institutions for the lay community; and other establishments. I had walked straight into the main temple hall after going through a rigorous check by the security guards at the entrance, looked around the courtyard and stepped out.
I was standing there, lost in thought when I felt someone’s gaze on me. What I saw when I turned around was a beautiful picture. Of Baichung, the 17 year old Kagyu monk looking out of his window, with a steady gaze and a disarming smile. I walked straight upto him and asked if I could take a picture. He obliged.
“Have you been to our Devi’s temple?” He asked me after a while.
“What Devi?”
“ Our Goddess, the White Tara. The Black Hat was created with hair strands from a thousand incarnation of our Goddess.”
“But there was no special Devi temple in the main hall. And the Black hat was closely guarded and no visitors were allowed.”
“The Devi and her manifestations are in one of the rooms in the monastery. Not in the main hall.”
“Nobody told me.”
“You have to ask. And someone will tell you,” he smiled ingratiatingly.
“So can I see it now?”
“It will be locked.”
“Oh”
“But I can take you there.”
I was happy.
Baichung took me through some narrow passages and dark corridors in the structure lining the courtyard to finally reach the Devi’s temple. It was a small room, heavily laden with sheets of silk, statues, books and an overwhelming sense of secrecy. Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the disputed head of Karmapas and (rumored to be) Dalai Lama’s favorite choice for the next heir to the Buddhist throne, was himself a refugee said to have crossed the Himalayas from Tibet at the age of 15 to escape the Chinese intervention. His picture too hung on the wall, like it did in the other worship areas of the monastery, smiling genially at his people.
“You can take a picture if you like,” Baichung was talking in a soft voice perhaps owing to the sanctity of the sacred room we were in.
“But isn’t photography prohibited in this temple?”
“Yes. People fight over nothing. I trust you. You can take a picture if you like.”
I wished there were more Baichungs in this world. Innocent, trusting and simple. I left the monastery after taking down his address so I could post him his picture.
I left without a picture of his sacred temple.
The journey to the Rumtek monastery from Gangtok town was a tedious one. The roads were long, winding and often filled with potholes. But then when you reach the little hill on which Rumtek rests, a sense of calm envelops you that you quickly forgive the rough ride you’ve just had. At its gates and in its premises are gunmen from the Indian army, guarding one of Tibet’s most controversial treasures. The Black Hat crown of the Kagyu sect.
The Rumtek Monastery (aka Dharma Chakra Center) includes a beautifully structured main shrine temple and monastery with monks' quarters, where the Karmapa resides and where the most of the important relics are enshrined; a three-year retreat center; a monastic college, where the relics of the Sixteenth Karmapa are enshrined; a nunnery; stupas; a protector's shrine; institutions for the lay community; and other establishments. I had walked straight into the main temple hall after going through a rigorous check by the security guards at the entrance, looked around the courtyard and stepped out.
I was standing there, lost in thought when I felt someone’s gaze on me. What I saw when I turned around was a beautiful picture. Of Baichung, the 17 year old Kagyu monk looking out of his window, with a steady gaze and a disarming smile. I walked straight upto him and asked if I could take a picture. He obliged.
“Have you been to our Devi’s temple?” He asked me after a while.
“What Devi?”
“ Our Goddess, the White Tara. The Black Hat was created with hair strands from a thousand incarnation of our Goddess.”
“But there was no special Devi temple in the main hall. And the Black hat was closely guarded and no visitors were allowed.”
“The Devi and her manifestations are in one of the rooms in the monastery. Not in the main hall.”
“Nobody told me.”
“You have to ask. And someone will tell you,” he smiled ingratiatingly.
“So can I see it now?”
“It will be locked.”
“Oh”
“But I can take you there.”
I was happy.
Baichung took me through some narrow passages and dark corridors in the structure lining the courtyard to finally reach the Devi’s temple. It was a small room, heavily laden with sheets of silk, statues, books and an overwhelming sense of secrecy. Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the disputed head of Karmapas and (rumored to be) Dalai Lama’s favorite choice for the next heir to the Buddhist throne, was himself a refugee said to have crossed the Himalayas from Tibet at the age of 15 to escape the Chinese intervention. His picture too hung on the wall, like it did in the other worship areas of the monastery, smiling genially at his people.
“You can take a picture if you like,” Baichung was talking in a soft voice perhaps owing to the sanctity of the sacred room we were in.
“But isn’t photography prohibited in this temple?”
“Yes. People fight over nothing. I trust you. You can take a picture if you like.”
I wished there were more Baichungs in this world. Innocent, trusting and simple. I left the monastery after taking down his address so I could post him his picture.
I left without a picture of his sacred temple.
11 September 2010
02 August 2010
27 July 2010
26 July 2010
25 July 2010
Away
"I have been to Bangalore once in my life. It was a long winding journey..."
Location : Thiksey Monastery, Leh-Ladakh
22 July 2010
Heaven is Here
They say this is Heaven. I believe them.
Location : Near the Village of Alchi, Leh-Ladakh
20 July 2010
The Man in the Mountains
"Listen carefully... the mountains are telling you something..."
Location : Near the Magnetic Hill, Leh
15 June 2010
05 June 2010
Portrait of a Honeymoon
Somebody once told me that you should let portraits be about the subjects, let the pictures be what your subject want them to be.. try removing your 'photographer self' from the picture and just be the instrument that connects your subject to your viewer. Let them say to your viewer, "Look. This is me. This is who I am. This is how I want you to see me."
I'm not very sure that I understood this at the time. But there I was, wandering around Darjeeling, looking for the perfect subject, waiting for the perfect light. The subject never came, the sun was still hiding. And then, after a long time spent staring at the clouds, along came this honeymoon couple.
I suppose monks in red robes will never cease to interest photographers (like me), looking for typical travel shots. But once in a while, you bump into people in these tourist spots for whom that particular journey, the moment and the experience will stay with them for a lifetime. And if you are lucky enough, you get to take a piece of them with you.
----------------------------------------------------------
He looked at my black-ugly-block of a camera, looked at his precious Kodak point-and-shoot camera, looked at his sweetheart, looked up at me and said smiling, "Sure!"
I clicked, smiled, and let them be.
31 May 2010
29 May 2010
Darjeeling Express
"Its not a toy. Its for real. The train can take us to a world where time cannot reach..."
-Ramblings of a demented mind. My mind.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
