Delhi
These shots were made in Old Delhi around the mosque "Jama Masjid"
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Mar 2012
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23
Mar 2012
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Mar 2012
Jaipur
Jaipur is a huge, hectic city. Not as beautiful as Udaipur or Bundi, but the oldcity has remained some of its original beauty and the laid back charme I love so about India.
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Mar 2012
Bundi - The Rest of the Best
Today is my last day in Bundi, so I took some time to make a few more photos. Bye bye Bundi. One of the highlights of my trip through India!
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Mar 2012
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Mar 2012
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Jan 2012
Small Update
Hello from Badami.
I spent the last two weeks in lovely Hampi. I great place to lean back, relax and make holiday from travelling. This is what I did. Appart from reading a lot and practicing Yoga. I didn't make a lot of photos during that time. But I still have some photos from Mysore to share and I managed to get some good shots in Badami today. Enjoy!
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Jan 2012
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Jan 2012
The temples of Tamil Nadu
I spent the past few days exploring the temples in Madurai and Tiruchirappalli (also known as Trichy). What an awesome experience! Both cities are loud and chaotic places, but in the temples you'll find an oasis of serenity and cheerfullness. Hindu people who come here show a kind of devotion that is quite alien to me, but I did enjoy the atmosphere a lot. You'll find pilgrims, families and surprisingly few western tourists. There are places inside the temples that are off limits for non-hindus, but I could explore large areas (and the temples really are huge).
Most hindus were very welcoming and many thanked me for visiting. Odd, isn't it? I was often asked to take a photo of them, and again they thanked me, if I did so.
In Trichy I was lucky enough to arrive for a 20 day festival, that happens once a year. The Brahmins would carry around statues of hindu gods which are shown to the public only once a year. Many Indians were very eager to catch a glimpse (and take a photo with their cellphone) of these statues. There was a strange, but very enjoyable mix of devotion and cheerfulness in the air. A mix I never experienced in any other religion.
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Dec 2011
Panchanantala Slum
3 days ago I was walking around in Calcutta and got lost (yes, I'm usually doing this on purpose). I came along the AMRI Hospital which burned down just a few days before, leaving 91 dead. Just a day before I was talking with Christian Nocon this and about the people from the slum nearby who were the first people to help, and who saved a lot of lives. Talk about synchronicity...
Also by accident, I stumbled across that exact slum, which goes by the name "Panchanantala Slum". At first I hesitated to enter, so I just sat at the place where a lot of people were crossing the train lines. But after a while, and some friendly chats (as much as you can "chat" with people who barely speak English), I decided to walk in and take my camera out. And of course, the photo printer I carry with me.
It turned out to be one of the nicest, quitest, cleanest and friendliest places I've seen in Calcutta so far. I had a lot of fun with the people and especially the kids. So much fun indeed, that I returned today and stayed for about 3 hours to make photos and hand out some prints to the people.
At times I generated a lot more attention for myself than I usually like, as everybody wanted to have his photo taken and, of course, a print. Sometimes I nearly caused a riot as people were trying to get my attention. For the most part, though, it was a lot of fun and the people were very welcoming and friendly.
I heard before that slums in India are nice and friendly places, but I always found that hard to believe. Now I know, that at least this slum is a very good place to live, much better than many other "nonslums" in Calcutta. Imagine that!
