Kusti by the Hooghly | Traditional Indian Wrestling in Kolkata
Kusti is India’s traditional form of wrestling that dates back over three thousand years. But it’s much more than just the sport of wrestling. Along with it comes a strict…
India – a Land of Color
India is a land of color. Rich, saturated color. Everywhere you turn, more color, richer, more dazzling than before. For the Hindu, colors play a very important role in the…
Colorful Kerala
As you likely know, Kerala, a state on India's tropical Malabar Coast, has suffered unprecedented monsoon rains recently. Hundreds are dead, millions are displaced. The infrastructure is in shambles. But,…
Dawn at Varanasi
The sun slowly emerges through the morning haze and across the Ganges as I trudge along ancient ghats. Thus, a new day begins in timeworn Varanasi, the holiest of cities in India. As I find my way up and down and across endless ghats in near darkness, my other senses are acuter. I am aware of the creaking boatman's oar, the lapping of water against the worn steps, quiet voices murmuring - no, softly repeating mantras. A potpourri of aromas fills my nostrils like a breeze filling stillness. There’s the scent of woodsmoke from the endlessly burning funeral pyres, the ooze of life and death flowing by, and sweat.
Shave and a Haircut…50 Rupees
Much of life in India happens on the streets. Most goods and services are available along the sidewalks on busy thoroughfares, or in the shade of an ancient mango tree…
On Holy Water – a Photoessay
For the 80% of Indians who are Hindu, the River Ganges is considered sacred, her water holy. In the ancient city of Varanasi, the ghats that form the river's edge teem with pilgrims and devotees who come for a ritual dip in the Ganges in this holiest of cities. The scene is spiritual and, at the same time festive. The streets and ghats are chaotic. The sounds and smells overwhelm the senses. Yet, in spite of the masses of people, there are moments of solitude, aloneness.
Rickshaw Pullers of Calcutta
For most of us, it is difficult to watch a person being used as a beast of burden pulling another person and their belongings. It seems inhumane, all the more…
Mandawa, India
Shadow Play
We have all heard of the Golden Hour, aka the Magic Hour... that hour or so after sunrise and before sunset. During that time the sun is low in the…
“The Observer,” Kumba Mela Festival, India
A man, clutching his chillum, gazes over the throngs of devotees gathered at the world's largest religious festival, Kumba Mela, in Allahabad, India. Millions come during this holiest of Hindu religious festivals to bathe away their sins with a "Holy Dip" in the sacred River Ganges.
Morning Worship Along the Ganges
A Hindu devotee performs his morning rituals on the banks of the Ganges River in the ancient city of Varanasi. This morning liturgy includes the cleansing of the body and mind with holy water from the Mother Ganges while reciting prayers and mantras. Hindus believe that adherence to a series of daily morning and evening rituals will curry them favor in life and will purify them for their quest for communion with God.