Album Varanasi-Benares from Designldg

Reflections in grace and dignity

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:52:02 +0000

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This image was shot on the bank of river Ganga at Scindia ghat in Varanasi (Benaras).

At dusk I often meet seniors nearby the holy waters of the oldest living city in the world, I try to pierce their souls with my camera but I can hardly find anything as they are wrapped with their reflections.

Sometimes they look at the holy waters, just like this man and I come close.
Then I can feel their breath on their lives and in a way I can say that it gives power to my life.

I understood that this source of power is to see those elders aging in grace and dignity.

Can the goddess die?

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:53:49 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

For most of the Indians, the Ganges is not only a river, she is also a goddess, Gangamata who is part of people's lives and heritage.
It is said that bathing in “Mother Ganga” dissolves all sins, drinking her waters cures illness, and dying on her banks ensures freedom from the cycle of death and rebirth.
However remains a paradox, while Ganga is worshipped devotedly, she is also exploited without remorse.
Much of her water has been siphoned off for irrigation, toxic chemicals are dumped into her, and dams and barrages have been built on her course, causing immense damage.

Ganga is in danger of dying—but if the river dies, will the goddess die too?

Ganga was very reluctant to come down to Earth saying that she didn't want to pollute herself with the sins of humanity.
Finally she was forced to obey Lord Shiva's command.
Our endless demands on her may result one day, in her withdrawing herself and her blessings from us...and return to her home at the feet of Lord Vishnu.

Inspired by "Ganga: A Journey Down the Ganges River (Hardcover) by Julian Crandall Hollick" and by a comment from Ms Kanaka Kini.

This picture was shot in front of Scindia ghat before monsoon, this year some Banarsis told me that they never saw the holy waters as much low as this.
The river became very narrow and we could see some fragments of the mythic undercity which are usually not visible, like the top of this pillar .

Living In God's Embrace

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:22:17 +0000

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“The oldest living city in the world”.

The day before yesterday after taking photos for our new catalogue, we left the akhara which is nearby river Ganga and as I was walking through the narrow streets of Kashi, the oldest part of Varanasi (Benaras), I saw this yellow door of a little temple opened.
Inside this couple, probably a priest and a devotee, were doing a puja at the feet of Nandi (नंदी), the gate keeper of Shiva in Hindu mythology.

A statue of Nandi facing the main shrine is seen in most Shiva temples.
As the sheep is to Christianity, the cow is to Hinduism.
Lord Krishna was a cowherd, and the bull is depicted as the vehicle of Lord Shiva.
Today the cow has almost become a symbol of Hinduism.

I took a few snaps and I was trying not to disturb this moment of “spiritual intimacy”.
I could listen to the chants of young brahams from another temple nearby, some people were coming for morning worship, some others were selling them flowers and a few beggars were silently waiting along the walls.
In a way it was unreal to feel all those people living in God’s embrace but this is what makes this city so special.

It was around 8 o’clock, the city of Lights was wakening since an hour.
I was in the rush, I had to reach a main road in the chowk in order to catch a rickshaw to go back to the office.

This picture is for Marine who likes my images without stardust and swirls...

Découvrez Ravi Shankar!

Hands of Grace

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:58:35 +0000

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“The oldest living city in the world”.

Early this morning I was walking along the ghats of river Ganga in Varanasi (Benaras) and I saw a group of elder Marathi women who were bathing in the holy waters.
I sat on on the steps and took a few pictures.
Later they came nearby me with several colourful saris that they have been washing in order to get them dry.
They were helping eachother to spread them covenring the whole ghat.
They seemed to be happy, I think that it was important for them to have come all the way from Maharashtra in order to worship here.
I saw beauty in their tired bodies, I felt the grace from their hands and the dignity of those long lives.
The sun was already burning, it was becoming too hot for me and I had to leave them but I kept the colour of their souls in my mind.

The face of bereavement

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:16:27 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

Last morning I was walking next to Manikarnika ghat (the burning ghat) in Varanasi (Benaras) and I saw this man who was having his head shaved.

This is part of the death ritual for Hindus.
The death ritual lasts 12 days and during this period, the mourners are ritually unclean.
They do not go to the temple, and must cover all religious pictures and figures that they have in the house.
Family members sleep on the floor, and eat only vegetarian food.
Every morning for 11 days, the eldest son (as main mourner) receives tutelage in the ritual from the priest.
Close male relatives of the deceased may shave their heads as a mark of respect and bareavement and keep a small tail on the back in order to show their faith.
Each month during the first year after the death, a pinda rice-ball and bowl of water are offered in memory of the dead person.
Sons will hold a memorial service each year on the day of their father's death as long as they are alive.

As I don’t want to be disrespectful, I wont show any picture of the funeral pyres, besides they are not allowed, however as death is an important topic in Benaras, I’ll upload images like this in order to mention it.
A few seconds after this shot the man stood up and stepped down towards the holy waters of river Ganga.

An elephant on the road to Varanasi (Benaras)

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:43:08 +0000

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This morning we were driving back to Varanasi (Benaras) when we met this elephant on the road.

As it is my favourite animal I asked the driver to stop the car and I took a few pictures.

The tradition wants that people give some money to the haathi (elephant in Hindi) which is picking it up with his trump before giving it back to his mahout.

A mahout is a person who drives and look after an elephant.
The word mahout comes from the Hindi words mahaut and mahavat, derivatives of the Sanskrit word mahamatra, which means " having great measure."

Usually, a mahout starts very yound, usually at about ten years old, when he is assigned an elephant early in its life and they would be attached to each other for the rest of the elephant's life.

The training of a mahout is similar to a family business, passed down from one generation to the next.
The art of training an elephant is gradually becoming extinct as the job of a mahout is extremely difficult.

The Oneness of Duality

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:16:34 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

As I was walking along river Ganga in Varanasi (Benaras) I saw this man meditating in Lotus position (padmāsana).

The lotus position (पद्मासन / padmāsana) is a cross-legged sitting posture which originated in representations and meditative practices of Hinduism.
It is an established part of the Hindu Yoga tradition.
The position is said to resemble a lotus, encourage proper breathing and foster physical stability.
Famous depictions of the lotus-posture include Shiva, the meditating ascetic god of Hinduism, and the Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.
The first pictorial representation of padmasana is seen in the ancient Indian depiction of Shiva as Pashupati, Lord of Beasts, in Harrapa.

There is a sense of dignity and grandeur in this pose.
The legs are crossed with left foot on right thigh, right foot on left thigh.
Hands are placed in the lap in the form of a cosmic mudra.
The Lotus position expresses the oneness of duality.
Not two, not one.
Our body and mind are both two and one.

The layer I am using for the border frame here belongs to Angelique (Liek)
www.flickr.com/photos/liek/2430374655/in/set-72157604633907740

Alone Again (Naturally)

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:41:02 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

As I took this picture on the ghats along river Ganga in Varanasi (Benaras) there was this song of Gilbert O'Sullivan running into my mind.
I can't really explain why, maybe it was because of this baba who was looking at me with a kind of sadness or maybe I was just tired.
Anyway "Alone Again" came back suddenly and I don't think that I heard it since those first parties when I was a teenager.
Funny analogies...

"...To think that only yesterday
I was cheerful, bright and gay
Looking forward to well wouldn’t do
The role I was about to play
But as if to knock me down
Reality came around
And without so much, as a mere touch
Cut me into little pieces
Leaving me to doubt
Talk about God and His mercy
Or if He really does exist
Why did He desert me in my hour of need
I truly am indeed Alone again, naturally..."

A contre-jour

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 16:56:52 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

This was shot in a street which leads to river Ganga in Varanasi (Benaras) one early morning of last January.
I like to use the light "à contre-jour", I think it emphasizes the outlines and it gives among other things a kind of halo which allows the viewer to concentrate on the subject on the picture.

Contre-jour, is a French word for 'against daylight', refers to photographs taken when the camera is pointing directly toward the source of light.
An alternative term is backlighting.
This effect usually hides details, causes a stronger contrast between light and dark, creates silhouettes and emphasizes lines and shapes.
The sun, or other light source, is often seen as either a bright spot or as a strong glare behind the subject.
Fill light may be used to illuminate the side of the subject facing toward the camera.
(Wikipedia)

In Praise in the Fields of the Lord

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:16:10 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

My neighbour and friend Anitha invited me to join her into a Jain temple which is in the center of Varanasi (Benaras).
She oftenly comes there to pray for the people she loves and care, for her family, for her friends.
That morning I had a glance through the heavy embroidered curtain of the shrine and I couldn't help to try to keep this beautiful moment of praise with my camera.
My friend in her pink sari was saying her universal prayer, the Namokara Mantra, facing the temple altar where the idol is standing.
Later she told me that she praid for me, for my future and success in my work.
This evening my thoughs are for her, I wish her to recover quickly.

Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma (जैन धर्म), is a spiritual, religious and philosophical tradition of Indian origin dating back at least as far as the 9th century BCE but believed by Jains to stretch back many centuries into the very distant past.
A Jain is a follower of Jinas, spiritual 'victors' (Jina is Sanskrit for 'victor'), human beings who have rediscovered the dharma, become fully liberated and taught the spiritual path for the benefit of beings.
Jains follow the teachings of 24 special Jinas who are known as Tirthankars ('ford-builders').
The 24th and most recent Tirthankar, Lord Mahavira, lived in c.6th century BCE, which was a period of cultural revolution all over the world.
Socrates was born in Greece, Zoroaster in Persia, Lao‑Tse and Confucius in China and Mahavira and Bhuddha in India.
One of the main characteristics of Jain belief is the emphasis on the immediate consequences of one's physical and mental behavior.
Because Jains believe that everything is in some sense alive with many living beings possessing a soul, great care and awareness is required in going about one's business in the world.
Jainism is a religious tradition in which all life is considered to be worthy of respect and Jain teaching emphasises this equality of all life advocating the non-harming of even the smallest creatures.
Jainism encourages spiritual independence (in the sense of relying on and cultivating one's own personal wisdom) and self-control (व्रत, vratae) which is considered vital for one's spiritual development.
The goal, as with other Indian religions, is moksha which in Jainism is realization of the soul's true nature, a condition of omniscience (Kevala Jnana).
Jains are a small but influential religious minority with at least 4.2 million followers in modern India and more in growing immigrant communities all over the world.
Jains continue to sustain the ancient Shraman (श्रमण) or ascetic tradition, they have significantly influenced the religious, ethical, political and economic spheres in India for over two millennia.
The Jain community has the highest degree of literacy among all the religious communities in India, and the Jain libraries are India's oldest, they have an ancient tradition of scholarship.

On the ghats of Varanasi

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:08:21 +0000

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I was walking on the ghats of Varanasi along river Ganga when this boat came nearby with some music on.
I remembered I could make a video with my little camera which I always keep in my pocket and I decided to try to catch this moment.
The quality is not very good as I am not really used to videos so far but I find in this one something which has a kind of 70 vintage touch that I find funny.
I hope that you'll enjoy it.

Jain Hours

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:02:26 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

This was at the entrance of a Jain temple in Varanasi (Benaras).
It says:

"opening time of temple
morning: 5 o'clock to 12 afternoon
evening: 5 o'clock to 9 at night
by order
trust authority"

There I had a peaceful moment with friends, we got lost somewhere in time, between 5 o'clock and 12...

At work

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:51:26 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

In India, the word "bike" generally means motorbike, and "cycle" means bicycle.

Those bicycles are not ordinary ones.
They belong to the people who are working with me, to those men who sometimes ride for 22 Km twice a day in order to come to our workshop.
This workshop means a lot to all of us as it allows us to live but it also allows most of the people there to send their kids to school, to have a place to stay, to give to their families medical care whenever they need some.

This is a place where all religions have to be together, where there is no more caste system (jati), where we all have the same values, where
one depends on the other because there we are no more individuals but a one and only team.
Season after season we became stronger, we learned a lot from eachothers.
There we are all sharing the same values of brotherhood, of respect and of love.
Day by day I keep on learning from all of them and I love to see those bikes on the wall of my workshop every morning when I come to work there.

Tension Inside Shiva's Srhine

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 01:24:50 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

On the top of Ahilyabai Ghat along river Ganga In Varanasi (Benaras) there is a Shiva Mandir (temple) where I like to come during winter only as the monsoon floods are usually covering it in summer.

Year after year I became a friend of the music shop owner nearby who has an amazing selection of Indo-fusion CDs; he keeps an eye on my shoes whenever I want to go inside the temple.

I took this shot inside the shrine which is dedicated to Lord Shiva, the God of the city.

On the left stands a big lingam, the priest on the right wasn't happy that day but I don't know why.
As a ritual of worship Hindus offer flowers, incense and a coconut in order to show respect to their chosen Gods or Goddesses and after blessing those things the priest is normally returning back some offers to the devotees who usually take them back at home and shares them with their close ones.
On the left there is the hand of a man who was asking for his offers, after a while a lady came and gave him instead of the Pundit.

Puja consists of meditation (dhyana), austerity (tapa), chanting (mantra), scripture reading (svadhyaya), offering food (thaal) and prostrations (panchanga or ashtanga pranama, dandavat).
The individual also applies a tilaka mark on the forehead with sandalwood paste, and then a vermillion (kumkum) dot (chandlo) in its centre.
This signifies submission to the Almighty and also His Omnipresence.
The priest didn't do it neither so as I was the oldest I applied tika on my friend Rajiv's forehead and on my brother Manish's one.

We never knew what was this tension about...

Shedded Illusions of a Young Man by the Ganges

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 13:44:18 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

I met this young man one morning as I was walking along river Ganga in Varanasi (Benaras).
It was the kite festival and less people were working that day, that might be the reason why he came to the ghats early in order to wash his laundry.

He reminded me Samar, the main character of Pankaj Mishra's book," The Romantics".
This book is a variation on Flaubert's ''Sentimental Education,'' though it is not set in France during the 19th century but in India in the 1980's.
Like Flaubert's classic, ''The Romantics'' concerns the adventures of a young provincial who arrives in a big city to seek his fortune and falls in love with an unavailable woman.
Samar is looking back on his youth, those days when he had just arrived in Benares and was trying to decide what to do with his life.
At 19, Samar had never had a girlfriend, had never even flirted with a girl.
In the world he grew up in,''romantic love was looked down upon as a kind of sensual derangement that briefly affected insufficiently acculturated or Brahminized youth and then left them broken and disillusioned soon afterward.''

In ''The Romantics,'' Mr. Mishra has been exploring the clash of cultures in contemporary India.
Like Flaubert, he seems to possess a simultaneous fascination with and wariness of romanticism, and he uses that ambivalence to explore the ways in which people from different backgrounds glamorize foreign cultures, be it Americans romanticizing the mysteries of India or Indians romanticizing the freedoms of the West.
He has written a resonant and highly subtle novel (The New York Times).

After she prayed

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 03:40:53 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

This is another shot of a lady I met on the ghats along river Ganga in Varanasi (Benaras).
I saw her in praise, worshiping the holy waters of the Ganges, it was a moment of bliss, I came nearby.
There was a divine light enveloping her...
After she prayed, she turned towards me, smiled and allowed me to take a few portraits.
She seemed to enjoy the result and as she was watching herself on my tiny camera screen I could see happiness in her eyes.

Om jai Jagdish hare

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:10:02 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

"Om jai Jagdish hare" or "The universal prayer" is one of my favorite Hindu prayor, I wanted to add it to this picture that I shot on the ghats along river Ganga in varanasi (Benaras).

This is the link in order to read its lyrics abd its translation in Hindi:
premavatar.tripod.com/bhakti/ojjh.html

Here is a video with one of my favorite musical version:

This is a funny video from the movie "Khabi Khushi Khabie Gham" with this very popular prayor:

"Oh Lord of the whole Universe
Mighty Lord of the whole Universe
All Thy devotees' agonies
All Thy devotees' sorrows
Instantly Thou banisheth
Oh Lord of the whole Universe..."

What do I say to the hairdresser?

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 23:04:05 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

This picture was shot early in the morning on a ghat along river Ganga in Varanasi (Benaras) a few weeks ago.
This man is having an haircut by a young haidresser who belongs to the many street jobs in the city.
I liked the lines provided by the steps nearby and the colours which are corresponding in rhythm.

I was searching for a poem or a song to add to this picture and by chance I found the title to my image from a funny conversation about hair style problem on the net: in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080210222705AA3ysD3

Daydream Underwater

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 20:42:36 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

In this image the realm below the surface of water where the water exists only in my mind( as river Ganga never comes that high) covers Shiva's mandir, my favorite temple, at Scindia Ghat in Varanasi (Benaras).

A legend says that the man who had this temple being made ordered it after his mother asked him to.
After its construction he went back to her and told her then that this way he paid her back everything she did for him.
The mother became furious and said that nothing could ever paid a mother's love and she decided to curse the temple which started to bend like the tower of Pisa.

I managed to take this picture during winter when the holy waters are very low then I added a few fishes coming from the Trocadéro Aquarium in Paris and bubbles, because my daydreams are sparkling.

A daydream is a visionary fantasy experienced while awake, especially one of happy, pleasant thoughts, hopes, or ambitions.
Daydreaming may take the form of a train of thought, leading the daydreamer away from being aware of his immediate surroundings, and concentrating more and more on these new directions of thought.
There are numerous examples of people in creative or artistic careers, such as composers, novelists, and filmmakers, developing new ideas through daydreaming.

Down in the Depth of my Dreams

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:11:17 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

Down in the depth of my dreams, reality fades away sometimes...
This is a picture of my friend Ray Manta who is dancing in the Trocadéro Aquarium Ballet in the heart of Paris and who came to visit me in Varanasi (Benaras) recently.
We were at Scindia Ghat where stands Shiva's mandir, my favorite temple, and Ray wanted to show me his new choregraphy on which he is working for next spring.

Shiva's temple is lying partially submerged in the holy waters of river Ganga, having fallen in as a result of the sheer weight of the ghat’s construction around 150 years ago.
But there is a legend saying that the man who had this temple being made ordered it after his mother asked him to.
After its construction he went back to her and told her then that this way he paid her back everything she did for him.
The mother became furious and said that nothing could ever paid a mother's love and she decided to curse the temple which started to bend like the tower of Pisa.

In summers during monsoon the Ganges' flood are covering most of the monument and this image might be the view which fishes can enjoy then.