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The monk and the tiger..
The monk Chan playing with one of the tigers at the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi, Thailand.
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The brow off a boat decorated with roses and bananas (maybe as a offering) at the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Bangkok
Sometimes it pays to isolate interesting elements into a separate frame. It put my Canon 70-200 f4L IS lens to good use on this shoot.
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A novice monk infront of a colorful painting at the colorful Chimi Lhakhang in central Bhutan.
A novice monk standing infront of a colorful painting at the Chimi Lhakhang temple in Bhutan, which has a colorful history.
The painting depicts the 'Four Harmonious Friends' locally known as Thuenpa Puen Zhi. The four friends in the picture are an elephant, a monkey, a rabbit and a pheasant. It illustrates the concept of teamwork and respect towards seniors. There are many variations of the story and you can read a few from this link. Also Chimi Lhakhang is dedicated to the most notorious monk in Bhutan, Drukpa Kinley aka 'The Divine Madman'. He is remembered for the outrageous nature of his teachings, which were administered in the most unexpected ways, often with a strong sexual overtones and inclinations. This is why the temple is popularly considered as the temple of fertility.
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Ganga Aarti ceremony at Har-Ki-Pauri, Haridwar.
Seeking blessings from the scared flames. A typical scene during the Ganga Aarti ritual which takes place every evening at Har-ki-Pauri in Haridwar. I love this picture. Watch the girl in the background taking in the blessings.
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Kanwar Yatra Pilgrims going near the Gangotri Glacier for a closer look at Gaumukh.
We were over 3800 meters high, walking a rugged mountain trail. The weather was cold and misty with a bit of rain in the air. But the pilgrims, some in their shorts & t-shirts, walking barefoot or just wearing chappals were undeterred by the terrain or the climate. They breezed through it all and focussing only on getting to Gaumukh ('Gau' - cow & 'Mukh - face), the terminus of the Gangotri Glacier and the source of the Bhagirathi river. One of the main tributaries of the mighty Ganges.
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Laying bare infront of mother nature. A Sadhu at Gaumukh, Gangotri.
A Sadhu standing in front of the Gangotri glacier at Gaumukh. The altitude is about 3400m and it could get pretty cold out there. But he is wearing just a loin cloth and a shawl for warmth.
Pretty amazing how the human body can be conditioned to cope with the elements. The umbrella serves both as a walking stick and as protection against rain.
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Silhouette of a desert sunset..
Silhouette of Rajasthani lady and a camel standing infront of the setting sun at Pushkar. For this photo instead of going for the warm tones of the sunset i changed the white balance to a more cooler setting. Quite happy with the results.
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A magical sunset scene from the Stok village in Ladakh.
Sunset is always a magical time in Ladakh with the mountain ranges throwing out various hues of yellow and orange light as the shadows slowly creep up their sides. This is a view of one such sunset from the Stok village with the Stok palace in the foreground.Photo Note: This is a perfect scenario for using a GND filter. But even with a GND (3 stop) the range between the lights and shadows was so great that i had to use 'soft' filters in Lightroom to balance the exposure.
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A lone horse grazing by the wetlands near the Tsokar lake.
Photo taken at the Thukje village.
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Sonam Karma
"She came, a tiny thing carrying a big yellow can over her shoulders like a backpack. She was smiling at me, the biggest, the most beautiful, warm, friendly smile that i have ever encountered. I smiled back. Without exchanging a word we acknowledged each other's presence and there was a sense of familiarity between us. If there was ever a moment to be captured and remembered, then this was it. But i realized that i did not have my camera with me and at the same moment knew that the camera would've spoilt this moment, making the divide between us more obvious and apparent. She crossed the stream and walked on by. I did not see her again that day."From story : Sonam And Karma, Two Siblings With Two Different Destinies.
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Oh those piercing eyes. A Ladakhi portrait in the Indus Valley.
I love the captivating eyes and the warm smiles (you'll see) of the Ladakhi/Tibetan people. This photo was taken at a restaurant in the Hymia village where i camped overnight while cycling along the Indus valley. This kid was so fascinated by me, the he(/she) sat observing me the whole time i was at the restaurant. And, I in turn was captivated as well.
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A oracle dancing in trance on a ledge at the Thiksey monastery during its annual Gustor festival
Undoubtedly the most special moment of the festival is when the Oracle appears. A chosen lama is possessed by a certain deity during the day of the festival and he goes into a trance state. The possessed lama then answers questions put forth by the people regarding the future prospects for ladakh and the local village for the coming year. He is also said to sometimes answer personal question put forth by the public but puts on a "frenzied display of anger" when asked skeptical questions designed to test himWhile in the trance state the oracle also performs astounding feats of acrobatics like dancing on the end of a ledge high up in the monastery (sometimes blindfolded) and even cutting themselves with knives (they supposedly heals the next day when the lama wakes up in the morning).
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A Tibetan woman praying at the Namgyal Monastery in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala.
A Tibetan woman praying at the Namgyal Monastery in McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala.
 The devotees offer their respect by repeatedly prostrating infront of the deity. The prostration is a ritual in itself with the body dropping to the floor and stretched full length with the arms in front. The prostration is repeated 3, 7, 21, or 108 times. And there are many wooden planks placed in the temple for this purpose.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostration_(Buddhism)
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A lone duck flying across the setting sun at Majuli, Assam.
Majuli, in Assam, is the largest river island in the world. Surrounded by the mighty Brahmaputra, the island has a total area of around 400 square km. Â But this number is changing everyday due to soil erosion. The river erodes the soil from one side of the island and deposits it on the other side. So as land is lost you can be rest assured that it is created somewhere else.
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Mao Zedong : Larger than life
A larger than life portrait of Mao Zedong hanging over a soldier guarding the entrance to the Tiananmen gate, the gate of heavenly peace.
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Swan lake at the emperor's palace.
Black swans swimming at the Old Summer palace in Beijing China. I love the perfect symmetrical reflection of the swan in the lake's waters.
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A fruit vendor at the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Bangkok
Sadly, apart from the Lychees, i cannot name any of the fruits on her boat. But i do love this picture though. Had to process this image in Lightroom to selectively add more lighting to her face. This turned out to be my favorite image from this set. Whats yours ?
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Living in the Shadow of the mighty Kanchendzonga
Photo taken near the Tumling village while on the Singalila Trek.
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Ma Ganga winding her way through the hills of Uttarkashi in Northern India.
The Ganges river, still in its infancy winding through the hills of Uttarkashi in Northern India. Uttarkashi is about 150km downriver from Gangotri glacier one of the main sources of the river. From the glacier the river thunders through the hills of Uttarkashi gradually growing in size as countless streams come join her waters. Technically here at Uttarkashi the river is not yet called the Ganges. Here it is known as Bhagirathi river. This photo was taken outside the Sivananda Kutir ashram at Netala. The hills surrounding it contain some of the greenest and prettiest villages i've seen in all of India. It is just a quietly beautiful place, well off the tourist trail.
