Docs from Designldg, tagged "animal"

Shere Khan, the King of the Jungle

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:18:47 +0000

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[as Kaa is about to eat Mowgli, Shere Khan pulls on his tail, which makes a doorbell sound]
Kaa: Ooh! Oh, now what? I'll be right down. Yes, yes, who is it?
Shere Khan: It's me. Shere Khan. I'd like a word with you, if you don't mind.
Kaa: Shere Khan, what a surprise.
Shere Khan: Yes, isn't it. I just dropped by. Now forgive me if I've interrupted anything.
Kaa: Oh no, no, nothing at all.
Shere Khan: [brandishing his claws] I thought perhaps that you were entertaining someone up there in your coils.
Kaa: Coils? Someone? Oh no, I was just curling up for my siesta.
Shere Khan: But you were singing to someone. Who is it, Kaa?
[Shere Khan grabs Kaa's throat with his paw]
Kaa: Ah, um, oh no, I was just singing, uh, to myself.
Shere Khan: Indeed.
Kaa: Yes... yes, you see I have... trouble with my sinuses.
Shere Khan: What a pity!
Kaa: Oh, you have no idea. It's simply terrible. I can't eat, I can't sleep, so I ssssssing myself to sleep. You know, self-hypnosis. Let me show you how it works.
[Kaa prepares to look in Shere Khan's eyes and try to hypnotize him]
(from the movie “The Jungle Book” - 1967)

Deep in the jungle of Bandhavgarh in the Indian state Madhya Pradesh this beautiful tiger was waiting for us, soon another one joined and both stayed with us during more than 45 minutes.

Aiming at a Complete Harmony

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:21:14 +0000

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“Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed.
Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.”
(Mahatma Gandhi - 1869-1948)

I took this picture along the Ganges in Varanasi (Benaras).
I have a special sympathy for this image which gathers people with several religions with a dog and a bird as if it was the begining of a tale.
The bodies are facing in the same direction however the faces are showing many expressions.
I feel a kind of harmony there, as if everyone was moving to the same path of life in the hands of God, accepting each others peacefully just as it should be...

Bathing with Water Buffalos

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 11:47:54 +0000

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Water buffalos enjoy bathing in the Ganges and mostly in summers when the heat
becomes unbearable in Varanasi (Benaras).
This is one more picture that I shot one evening nearby Nepali ghat along the holy waters.
Most of the time those animals refuse to go back to the ghat and then the shepherd has to be creative in order to make them leave.
Water buffalos have been domesticated however their behavior sometimes differs from cattle.
For example, most water buffaloes are not trained to be driven.
Instead, the herdsman must walk alongside or ahead of them.
They then instinctively follow.

Facing the Minotaur

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 01:07:17 +0000

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“Deucalion: My God is ready for his meat! Let us see the mouth of hell. Open the gates!
[goes towards the two virgins]
Deucalion: Do not be afraid, you spirits will lie warm in the belly of the bull, and your flesh will taste sweeter, now that it's aroused.
[yelling down the hole]
Deucalion: Come, POWERFUL ONE! Come SEE what I have brought you! COME TASTE! “
(from the movie “Minotaur” - 2006)

Because of the unbearable heat in Varanasi (Benaras), this shepherd gives his herd of water buffalos a bath in the Ganges almost every evening nearby Nepali ghat.
They enjoy the water so much that sometimes they refuse to go back and then the shepherd has to be creative in order to make them leave.

The Legendary Pashmina Goat

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:04:17 +0000

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This baby goat is a changthangi or a pashmina goat, a breed from Lakakhi Changthang raised for Cashmere wool, known as pashmina, the softest, most luxurious and the best wool in the world, once woven.
This goat survives in Ladakh at the altitude of 12000 feet where temperature drops below 40 degree centigrade and grows a thick warm fleece, a unique very thin short inner coat of hair which is the best insulation in the world and this is pashmina.
Pashmina fiber is 15 to 19 microns in diameter where as a human hair is 75 microns in diameter.
One Himalayan goat produce s 3 to 8 ounce s of pashmina per year.
The origin of Pashmina dates back to ancient civilizations and has been traced back to the times of Mahabharata.
Earlier in olden days this precious fabric was known as the “fiber for kings” and pashmina shawls found favor with emperors, kings, princes, rullers and nobles.
Kashmir was for centuries the only place the fiber could be woven into shawls, according to treaties that gave the Maharaja of Kashmir exclusive rights to Tibet's pashmina supply.
The name comes from Pashmineh, made from “pashm” which means "wool" in Persian.
Several Buddhist monks whome I met in monasteries told me that they own a few animals on the Tibetan Plateau which allow them to keep a source of income.
I took this picture near the third-highest pass in the world, the Changla pass which is at 5,425 m (17,800 ft).

Endowed with Attainments,

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 08:54:00 +0000

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The Seven Line Prayer to Padmasambhava is a famous prayer that is recited by many Tibetans daily and is said to contain the most sacred and important teachings of Dzogchen:

“HUNG - ORGYEN YUL GYI NUB JANG TSAM
In the north-west of the land of Orgyen,
PEMA GESAR DONGPO LA
In the pollen heart of a lotus flower,
YATSEN CHOK GI NGÖ DRUP NYÉ
Possesssing astonishing, supreme spiritual attainments
PEMA JUNG NÉ SHYÉ SU DRAK
You are renowned as the Lotus-born,
KHOR DU KHANDRO MANGPÖ KOR
Surrounded by a retinue of many dakinis.
KHYÉ KYI JÉ SU DAK DRUP KYI
Emulating you, I practice.
CHIN GYI LAP CHIR SHEK SU SOL
PLease come forth to bestow blessings.
GURU PEMA SIDDHI HUM”

This was shot at the upper terrace of Thiksey Gompa which is facing the Himalayan hills of Ladakh.
It was early in the morning, just after sunset, this bird was trying to find some heat and came to enjoy the first rays of light.

The Swan of my Mind

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:33:46 +0000

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“Oh! Hamsa! Being the auspicious vehicle of Goddess Saraswathi, you carry learning and art upon your shoulders.
Give us that discriminating wisdom for which you are famous, such as your proverbial ability to separate the substance of milk from water”.

Swans are revered in Hinduism, and are compared to saintly persons whose chief characteristic is to be in the world without getting attached to it, just as a swan glides on water without getting its feathers wet.
The Sanskrit word for swan is hamsa or hansa, and it is the vehicle of many deities like the goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, learning and art.
It is mentioned several times in the Vedic literature, and persons who have attained great spiritual capabilities are sometimes called Paramahamsa ("Great Swan") on account of their spiritual grace and ability to travel between various spiritual worlds.
In the Vedas, swans are said to reside in the summer at the Manasarovar Lake near the Kailash Mountain and migrate to Indian lakes for the winter. In mythology, the bird is mute and believed to possess some powers such as the ability to eat pearls.
They are also believed to be able to drink up the milk and leave the water from a saucer of milk adulterated with water.

The Great Pulse of Humanity

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Fri, 29 May 2009 19:41:26 +0000

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From Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” to Ron Fricke’s “Baraka” monkeys are used in order to deal with thematic elements of human evolution, technology and artificial intelligence.
Sometimes I feel that our “cousins” also carry the great pulse of humanity that we all share, even though they are not what we commonly call humans.
Then could the peculiar nature of humankind not be distinguished from man to other beings ?
Here in Varanasi (Benaras), monkeys are the symbol of the soul, they are also a representaion of Lord Hanuman and people worship them.
Anyway everyone is free to speculate about the philosophical meaning of Humanity...
I met this “lady monkey” early this morning as I was walking at Munsi ghat along the Ganges.
In her mouth she is keeping food for her baby.

"Oh, a rhinoceros!"

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 02:56:06 +0000

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"Jean: Oh, a rhinoceros!
Grocer's Wife: Oh, a rhinoceros! Quick, come and look; it's a rhinoceros!
Jean: It's rushing straight ahead, brushing up against the shop windows.
Grocer: Whereabouts?
Waitress: Well!
Grocer's Wife: Come and look!
Grocer: Oh, a rhinoceros!
Logician: A rhinoceros going full-tilt on the opposite pavement!"
("Rhinocéros" by Eugène Ionesco)

Rhinoceros (French original title Rhinocéros) is a play by Eugène Ionesco, written in 1959.
The play belongs to the school of drama known as the Theatre of the Absurd.
Over the course of three acts, the inhabitants of a small, provincial French town turn into rhinoceroses; ultimately the only human who does not succumb to this mass metamorphosis is the central character, Bérenger, a flustered everyman figure who is often criticized throughout the play for his drinking and tardiness.
The play is often read as a response to the sudden upsurge of Communism, Fascism and Nazism during the events preceding World War II, and explores the themes of conformity, culture, philosophy, and morality.

I was walking in Paris and by chance I saw this rhinoceros in an art gallery window located at the corner of Avenue Matignon and rue de Ponthieu.
It was wearing a bindi as if it was Indian.
I said "Oh, a rhinoceros!" just like in Ionesco's play.

On the road to Benaras

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:48:53 +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.

Pyaar Hai (Say you love me)

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:52:22 +0000

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PYAAR TO HONA HI THA (Love had to happen)

pyaar to hona hii thaa
aa.nkho.n ke raaste dil me.n samaana
dil me.n samaake nii.nde.n uRaana
baRa sa.mbhaala tha mai.n ne ise
dil to khona hii thaa
pyaar to hona hii thaa...

It was destined to be love... [lit.: Love had to happen]
slipping in along the path of the eyes,
settling into the heart and stealing your sleep.
I did my best to protect it,
but I was destined to lose my heart.
Love was destined to happen...

This song is from "PYAAR TO HONA HI THA", a famous Bollywood movie and I am adding it to this portrait of two water buffalos (Bubalus bubalis) that I always see near Mansarowar Ghat, in Varanasi (Benaras).
They like to stay together and they come here to bath in river Ganga.
Maybe they knew in another life and they met again...
I like those animals, they are very sweet and they have great expressions that I like to catch.

According to Hindu lore, the god of death Yama, rides on a water buffalo and we can oftenly see them on his statues and images.

Hanuman & Kaelash

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 22:57:34 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

As I was walking on Mehta ghat in Varanasi (Benaras) I met Kaelash with his baby monkey, Hanuman.
He was coming from river Ganga and he started to dry his laundry next to where I was sitting.
I had to wait till he stopped the pan that he was shewing in order to speak to him and he told me that his task was to take care of this little monkey who was taking him as his mother.
We spent some good time and he asked me to bring him back some bananas next time I'll come.

Hanuman (Sanskrit: हनुमत् Hanumat; nominative singular हनुमान् Hanumān), known also as 'Anjaneya' (son of Anjana), is one of the most important personalities in the Indian epic, the Ramayana.
He is a vanara who aided Lord Rama (Vishnu's seventh avatar / incarnation) in rescuing his wife, Sita from the Rakshasa king Ravana.
The monkey-god is one of the most popular idols in the Hindu pantheon and he is worshipped as a symbol of physical strength, courage, perseverance and devotion.

Monkey's mind

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 08:54:58 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

This was shot near main ghat in Varanasi (Benaras), in a little street that leads to river Ganga.

I enjoy to play with monkeys wherever I go in the city and that morning it was fun to see this group playing there.
Of course they were doing a mess with the flowers and everything they could find but since I have been reading Kipling's "Jungle book" I am always on their side even if they can be very naughty.
Anyway who can know what is in a monkey's mind...?

"There was me and my Monkey"

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 01:59:22 +0000

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"Me and my monkey
Drove in search of the sun..."
Me and My Monkey by Robbie Williams

This little monkey is enjoying the sunset from the Kirti Stambh (Tower of fame) which is a tower situated in Chittorgarh (Rajasthan, India).
The 22 metre high tower was built by a Bagherwal Jain merchant Jijaji Kathod in 12th century.
It is a seven story intricate structure and is full of figures from Jain pantheon.
It is dedicated to the first Jain Tirthankar Lord Adinath.

Kirti Stambh is in Chittorgarh Fort, a massive and majestic fort situated on a hilltop near Chittorgarh town.
It is one of the most historically significant forts not only in Rajasthan but whole of North India.
The fort stands on top a a 180m-high hill and is on about 280 hectare site.

It was funny to see this monkey who looks like one of the many figures sculpted on the monument.

Monkey see, monkey do

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 21:37:40 +0000

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This is a portrait of a gray langur.

Gray langurs are large and fairly terrestrial, inhabiting open wooded habitats and urban areas on the Indian subcontinent.
Until recently they were considered one species, Semnopithecus entellus; now seven distinct species are recognized.
When only one species was recognized, it was also called the Hanuman Langur (named after the Hindu vanara divinity Hanuman), the Common Langur and the Entellus Langur.

They are largely gray, with a black face. In Indian mythology, this is because Hanuman, a monkey warrior, burnt his hands and face trying to rescue Lord Rama's wife. Males are up to 75 cm long, and females 65 cm.

Gray langurs feed on leaves, fruit, buds and flowers.
Their diet, however, is highly seasonable, with mature leaves being eaten only as a fall-back food during the winter months.
In the summer, especially before the monsoon season, they are highly frugivorous.
They also supplement their diet with insects (up to 25% in some months), tree bark and gum.

I saw many in Rajasthan and in the Himalayan hills, they look very cute and they try all their charms in order to get sweets or fruits, but they are very naughty...However I love to play with them.
I shot this one in Chittorgarh, each time I go there it reminds me "The Bandar log" in Kipling's "Jungle book"...

The monkey & the Absolute

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 08:22:55 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

This is a picture of a monkey which was taken on the ghats of Varanasi (Benaras) along river Ganga.
The sign in the red circle is Om (Devanagari ॐ), the mystical and sacred syllable in the Dharmic religions.
Om is the symbol of the Absolute.
It is placed at the beginning of most Hindu texts as a sacred exclamation to be uttered at the beginning and end of a reading of the Vedas or previously to any prayer or mantra.

The syllable Om is first described as all-encompassing mystical entity in the Upanishads.
Today, in all Hindu art and all over India and Nepal, Om can be seen virtually everywhere, a common sign for Hinduism and its philosophy and mythology.

Aum is said to be the primordial sound that was present at the creation of the universe.
It is said to be the original sound that contains all other sounds, all words, all languages and all mantras.

This monkey looking at Om reminds me Stanley Kubrick's famous counterculture and influential film, "2001: A Space Odyssey".
The film's primary themes include: the origins of evolution; the search for one's place in the universe; and rebirth.

Kubrick said about his movie:
"They are the areas I prefer not to discuss, because they are highly subjective and will differ from viewer to viewer.
In this sense, the film becomes anything the viewer sees in it.
If the film stirs the emotions and penetrates the subconscious of the viewer, if it stimulates, however inchoately, his mythological and religious yearnings and impulses, then it has succeeded".

For many, Varanasi (Benaras) is the center of the Universe and this little monkey is just showing how much it could be true.

Gau Mata

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 09:43:53 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

Now it is time for me to show a cow in my photostream.
It is impossible to be in Varanasi (Benaras) and to forget to shoot the Gau Mata.
Gau means cow in Sanskrit and Mata means mother.

In Varanasi there are make-up artists trained in Bollywood who come during important festivals in order to decorate those beautiful animals.
The tradition wants cows to choose there make-up style among several pictures that are shown on the walls of the city hall's gardens.
If a cow blinks to a woman, that woman has to give her all the jewels she is wearing at once otherwise she will have to face awful calamities during seven years, so it is not unusual to see cows wearing somptuous hearings and bangles on the ghats.
Varanasi is also famous for its brocades and weavers must shave their cows with the patterns of those fabrics, like the Gau Mata on this picture which was shot near river Ganga last Sunday.

Salamander's delight

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:47:13 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

In summers electricity is becoming a problem in north India.
Every night it stops during several hours.
Last sunday I woke up at 5:30 because I couldn't breath, electricity was out since an half hour and there was no more AC then.
I was sweating.
The house was quiet but I couldn't sleep anymore.
Outside the sun was rising slowly.
I was looking at the window above the bed and I saw that salamander which was standing on the glass from the outside.
I tried to play with it but it was not responding to me at all.

In summers those little animals are almost everywhere and mostly near bulbs.
They are very useful as they eat insects and mostly mosquitos.

I liked its shadow and as my camera was nearby I took several pictures of this amphibian.
I could see that it was eating a kind of bug and I guess it was the best moment of its day.
I decided not to disturb it anymore and to let it finish its breakfast and I went back to bed and tried to sleep for one more hour.

Bakari

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 08:03:06 +0000

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"The oldest living city in the world".

Bakari means goat in Hindi.
This man was feeding goats in the courtyard of the people who are dying our silk yarns in Varanasi (Benaras), Uttar Pradesh.

Nilgai

nobody@ipernity.com (Designldg) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 05:15:36 +0000

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This is a close-up of a Nilgai I saw on the road from Varanasi to Allahabad.
More explanations are on the next image.