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Army jawans putting snow chains around the wheels of a truck to tackle the slippery roads
"It was exciting being part of the huge convoy snaking up the mountain roads. We made good progress and i was enjoying the ride.But soon we came across the snow and the whole convoy slowed down to a crawl. The temperature got colder and the convoy was getting slower by the minute. After a while the entire convoy stopped to put snow chains around the wheels of the trucks."From Story :Â Rescued again... How the Indian army helped me cross a snowed out Chang La pass for the 2nd time.
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Beautiful frescos on the walls of the Tanjore Big Temple.
The frescos on the walls of the Tanjore (Thanjavur) Big Temple are some of the most beautiful, intricate and richest ancient paintings that i've ever seen in my life. These paintings tell stories of the origins of the temple itself and of its patrons (mainly Raja Raja Cholan). Created using plant extracts and other natural preservatives, these paintings remain vibrant and rich even today, some 1000 years later, but not much could be said about the state of the plaster and the walls over which they are painted upon.
Many of these paintings can be found along the outer corridors of the temple, while its Gopuram is said to contain even more beautiful and delicate works.
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Pashmina Sheep Grazing on the shores of Tsomoriri.
Sheep grazing on the shores of the Tsomoriri Lake
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The life in a village moves so slowly, that a pan almost looks out of place in village setting. Anyways, here's a pic from my new 15-85 lens. It turned out to be better than i expected for taking pics from a moving car.
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Fresco showing two priests performing puja in front of a Shiv Lingam.
The frescos on the walls of the Tanjore (Thanjavur) Big Temple are some of the most beautiful, intricate and richest ancient paintings that i've ever seen in my life. These paintings tell stories of the origins of the temple itself and of its patrons (mainly Raja Raja Cholan). Created using plant extracts and other natural preservatives, these paintings remain vibrant and rich even today, some 1000 years later, but not much could be said about the state of the plaster and the walls over which they are painted upon.
Many of these paintings can be found along the outer corridors of the temple, while its Gopuram is said to contain even more beautiful and delicate works.
516
First light over Merak village.
The first light of the day making its way down the peaks of the Pangong range towering over the Merak village. Merak is one of the four villages on the shores of the Pangong Lake. Read more about the Pangong lake.Â
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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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Fingers of God
Sunbeams shower on the Krishna temple (Chyasim Deval) in the durbar square in Patan, Nepal. May 2007.View on Flickr
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Monks gathered to offer puja to a butter sculpture at the Hemis monastery, Ladakh.
One of the important events of the festival start after it has actually ended. A few hours after the final ceremony all the monks gather in the courtyard or in the main temple of the monastery. Here they offer pujas to the Butter sculptures and Tomas (conical cakes made of barley and butter) created as offerings for the festival. Once the puja is done they take these artifacts on a ritual procession around the monastery compound, accompanied by a lot of cheering and music from the monks.
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a view fit for a king.
A monk surveying the plains of the Ladakh's heartland sitting from his vantage point on a hill near the Shey palace.
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SOS school at Sumdo village for nomadic kids.
At sumdo village there is a school run by the SOS organization. Travelers can stay there for a small donation fee."Sumdo, along with Thukje, is most of the most rustic villages i've come across in Ladakh. It is located in the Rupshu valley high on the Changthang Plateau. The villages here are nomadic ChangPa people who rear their precious pashmina goats in the high altitude grassland slopes of the mountains surrounding them.The look of the village and of its people is more Tibetan than Ladakhi. And the village definitely has a wild feel to it.So imagine my pleasant surprise to discover that there are not one, but boarding schools here. The one in Sumdo is run by the international SOS charity organization. And 5km down the road in Puga, there is another boarding school run by the local government. While their parents are up in the mountains seeking one lush pasture after other, their kids stay back in the schools and study. The motto of these schools is "Come to Learn. Go to Serve". Very meaningful."From story :Â The story behind the portraits : A few memorable moments from Ladakh
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Leaving the plains behind.
View of the plains of India, a few minutes after being on the road climbing up to Bhutan.
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Fresco showing two priests performing puja in front of a Shiv Lingam.
The frescos on the walls of the Tanjore (Thanjavur) Big Temple are some of the most beautiful, intricate and richest ancient paintings that i've ever seen in my life. These paintings tell stories of the origins of the temple itself and of its patrons (mainly Raja Raja Cholan). Created using plant extracts and other natural preservatives, these paintings remain vibrant and rich even today, some 1000 years later, but not much could be said about the state of the plaster and the walls over which they are painted upon.
Many of these paintings can be found along the outer corridors of the temple, while its Gopuram is said to contain even more beautiful and delicate works.
356
A vendor selling the tiny floating diyas (wick lamps) to the devotees at Hai-ki-Pauri.
Photo taken at the Har-ki-pauri ghats in Haridwar.
503
Giant statue of Sakyamuni at the temple in the Shey palace complex.
There are 2 statues of Sakyamuni in the palace complex. The first one located inside palace is made of gilded copper and is about 3 storeys tall. The other statue is in a temple outside the palace, nearby a group of white chortens. This seated statue of Sakyamuni is about 7.5m tall, made of copper and brass plated with gold and studded with gems and other precious stones.
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Mountaineer Balloon Festival 2009
At the Mountaineer Balloon Festival 2009 in Morgantown, WV, USA. October 2009.View on Flickr
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Samiti Lake Trekkers Hut and the Climp upto Zemathang and beyond.
Samiti Lake Trekkers Hut and the Climp upto Zemathang and beyond.
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Small streams flowing through the marshy wetlands of the Tsokar lake.
What sets the Tsokar lake apart from the other two, Pangong and Tsomoriri, lakes is that landscape here is composed of many different elements which are all beautiful in their own right but combine together to provide a visual extravaganza which cannot be matched anywhere else in Ladakh. We have the wetlands with numerous streams flowing through them, lust grasslands, dry salt flats and strange tiny multi-colored hillocks most probably created by the salt deposits. And also the lake itself, vast, deceptively close but actually quite far away (atleast a couple of kilometers away from the village).Read more here.
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Closeup
Taken by a friend during one of the festival ceremonies at the Sivananda kutir ashram in Uttarkashi.
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Dandelion Head
The name Dandelion comes from the french phrase "dent de lion" meaning a lion's tooth--its leaves have jagged shape.
What you see in the picture is a collection of ripe fruits. The white feathers are the wings that will help the seed to travel around.
Best part of this plant is that you can derive so much from it--medicine (for jaundice, anemia, warts, even nervousness), wine, beer (Fantôme brewery), salad, honey substitute, coffee substitute, jam, soft drink, mosquito repellant, dye---just some trivia.
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CoquÃ
The tiny Coquà frog.View on Flickr
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A priest offering the holy flames to the pilgrims during the Ganga Aarti ceremony at Har-Ki-Pauri in Haridwar.
A priest offering the holy flames to the pilgrims during the Ganga Aarti ceremony at Har-Ki-Pauri in Haridwar.
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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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Grazing sheep..
Sheep grazing on the shores of the Tsomoriri Lake
