Photographic Journey of India
Lord Shiva (Shivji)
Statue of Lord Shivaji lighted up in Delhi, India on the occasion of
Maha-Shivratri. Maha-Shivratri is said to mean 'the night of Lord
Shiva'. Maha Shivratri is celebrated by Hindus all over India.
Maha Shivratri is the day Lord Shiva was married to Parvati. Hindus visit Shiva temples to pray on this auspicious day.
Another celebration for Lord Shiva is held on Shivratri which signifies the birth of Lord Shiva.
Hindus refer to Lord Shiva also by some other names. Some of the other names are 'Shankar', 'Nataraj', 'Bholenath'
Begging with a baby in hand is common on streets in India. You will often see women at street corners and traffic lights with small babies in hand begging. PLEASE DON"T give these women money.
If you give these women money you are certainly not helping the baby as these women take turns keeping small babies out in the hot sun for endless hours to appeal to the sympathy of people. For more information visit BABIES USED FOR BEGGING. More>>
The Qutub Minar in Delhi is one of the
popular attractions for tourists visiting Delhi. Some facts about the
Qutub Minar:
-
Qutub Minar is 238.8 feet high
- Has 399 steps from ground to top
- Diameter at base is 46.9 feet
- Diameter at top is 9 feet
- Cost to visit Rupees 500.
A seven meter high iron pillar stands in the courtyard of the mosque. It is said that if you can encircle it with your hands while standing with your back to it, whatever you sincerely wish for will be fulfilled.
The tower has five distinct storey's, each marked by a projecting balcony.
Qutub Minar, Delhi is the highest stone tower of India. The history of the monument says that the first storey of the Qutub Minar, Delhi was constructed by Qutub-ud-Din thereafter three more storey's were added by Iltutmish.
The Qutub Minar complex is today one of the two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Delhi. The other being Humayun's Tomb.
Fashions
In India are now popular
around the world.
Indian dress styles like shawls, Salwar suits (Indian version of pant suits) have changed in styles over the years. India offers quality workmanship and superb designs for some very trendy dresses and fashion accessories, jewelry and gifts.
Shopping in India in many places means bargaining.
Prices can vary considerably for the same item as many small shop owners price items on the fly by looking at the customer buying the product. Tourists can save money by comparison shopping.
Don't get scammed by offering a lower price as what you offer may still be too high.
Many vendors expect you to offer a lower price and hence quote abnormally high prices to start with.
For more information on shopping tips, what items to buy in India and
from where check shopping in
India.
Cheapest transportation in India. The Bicycle Rickshaw.
The majority of the drivers of rickshaws don't own their Rickshaws.
They rent them buy the day and pay the Rickshaw owners about Rupees 25 everyday from their daily earnings.
Some Rickshaw owners can own over a hundred Rickshaws and make a handsome income sitting at home while the poor drivers labor all day.
Rickshaw drivers are referred to as Rickshaw pullers by some. Bicycle Rickshaw pullers really earn their living the hard way.
They are seen in most parts of India and you will be amazed to see that they not only take passengers but also large quantities of goods.
In many parts of India, especially the smaller cities the Rickshaw is used also as a school bus. The Rickshaw drivers pick up school children from their homes and drop them to schools daily.
At times they transport about ten to twelve kids at a time.
Bullock
Cart Transportation - Modes of Transportation in India
Bulls were used in India to plough fields by Indian farmers in the past. Today bullock carts are used in India as a common mode of transportation of goods.
I took this photograph in New Delhi India. I was amazed at the ease at which the bullock cart driver moved around the heavy traffic and congested roads with his heavy cargo. Sadly many bulls used on carts appear to be undernourished. Click photographs to view larger picture.
Bullock cart transportation is cheaper than trucking when goods need to be transported locally.
Bullock carts used for transportation of goods is not restricted to the villages or smaller towns of India.
I took the two photographs of bullock carts in Delhi, India's capital
city.
Needless to say such transportation adds to the already congested roads and traffic jams sometimes take hours to clear up.
In many Indian villages and smaller cities you still get to see bullock cart races as this is an ancient tradition for many old-timers.
The term used in India for bullock carts is 'Bael Gaadi' where the word 'Bael' in the Hindi language means the Bulls and 'Gaadi' means vehicle.
Shopping
Malls - Shopping Markets in India
Shopping in India can be an adventure, you can shop in India at the most unexpected and sometimes bizarre places.
From the very best and grand shopping centers to the most unpleasant and crowded places in the world, you will find them all in India.
Photo on left is of one of the many shopping malls in India. Click photograph to view full enlarged picture.
To give you an idea here are three photographs showing the good, the bad and the ugly shopping scenes in India.
While
shopping malls are naturally the better way to shop for many and hence
the good part of shopping, here is the bad part.
A scene from the Karol Bagh market in Delhi. While I was able to find a clear spot to take a photograph this place is really packed with shoppers.
Karol bagh is considered a bargain hunters paradise by some in Delhi.
Then there is the downright ugly, where moving even is difficult leave alone space for shopping. In some shopping places there appears to be utter chaos.
Here
is a photograph of shopping places I would place in the unpleasant
category.
Shopping Frenzy! click on the photo to view full photograph. From what I gather the vendors selling on the pavement usually pay no rent except for the bribe to the policeman in the area.
Looking at the number of people I would say that if you have something to sell then India is the place to be.
With a over 200 million upper class Indians out shopping for just about anything one can imagine, the prospects are quite tempting for many entrepreneurs.
Perhaps the multi-national companies know what they
are doing when heading to India.
Selling on a pavement in New Delhi.
There are many small stalls selling assorted items mostly to foreign tourists.
Photograph shows women selling embroidered cushion covers. Price quoted for a set of four cushions Rupees 1100. Selling price for the set of cushions Rupees 400.
Prices usually high here and despite signs saying Fixed Price they bargain.
There must be hundreds of thousands of vendors who earn their living by selling on the streets of India.
There are no rents to pay or licenses to acquire for these people who set up shop on footpaths usually in areas where tourists visit.
Even though they are considered to be selling illegally according to Indian laws as they are not licensed vendors, they continue to survive as people have become accustomed to having them around.
Commuter Train in Mumbai
Mumbai's popular transportation mode are it's local trains.
These local trains carry over 6 million passengers daily.
Doors on these trains do not close as the trains move, people are packed into the coaches to such an extent during the morning and evening rush hours that they hang out from the doors.
Mumbai's local trains are said to have the highest passenger density of any railway system in the world.
Selling Bhel Puri in Mumbai.
Mumbai has a snack that is called BHEL PURI. Most street corners have people selling bhel puri.
Another famous fast food in Mumbai is called the 'VADA PAO' which is actually a potato patty and a bun, Something similar to a hamburger.
Bhel Puri is a popular fast food snack in Mumbai -
India.
It is a spicy mixture of nuts of several varieties with onions and tangy
chutneys. Sold at many roadside stores.
Traffic on a street in New Delhi.
Traffic on the roads can be really congested.
The government in Delhi is trying to keep a control on the smog created by the millions of cars now on the roads in Delhi
CNG is now commonly being used in busses and taxis. Diesel use is being discouraged.
India now has a large selection of cars and many new models are being
offered to Indian consumers by foreign car makers, many of whom have set
up manufacturing in India.
William Jefferson Clinton President, United States of America while addressing the Indian Parliament on 22.03.2000 said, "The world is divided between those who have seen the Taj and those who have not. Very soon, I hope to be on the side that has seen the Taj."
The Taj Mahal is referred to as a symbol of unending love.
There is no other monument in the world, which can match the beauty and grandeur of the Taj Mahal.
Built
by Emperor Shahjahan. Even though it was built over 360 years ago it has
not lost its romantic characteristic, which continues to attract
millions of visitors from all over the world.
Black Taj Mahal?
View of the Taj Mahal, Agra, India at night.
There are stories however that a black Taj Mahal was planned to be built
across the white Taj Mahal but Emperor Shah Jahan could not do this as
he was imprisoned by his son Aurungzeb.
Snake Charmer posing with his cobra snake.
Snakes are supposedly made to dance by snake charmers
using a musical instrument called a "bein" a type of a flute.
Snakes however cannot hear but react to the movement of the snake
charmer.
Snake Charmer
posing with his cobra snake.
Auto Rickshaw in Delhi
A scooter rickshaw in New Delhi India.
Scooter rickshaws are usually referred to as Auto Rickshaws in Delhi.
They can seat three passengers. Their rates are cheaper than taxi fares.
In the past Delhi had a severe smog problem. One of the reasons for smog were the auto rickshaws that supposedly to save on the high cost of petrol added cheaper kerosene or diesel oil to petrol to run their auto rickshaws.
Apparently the majority of auto rickshaws are not driver owned. The drivers usually rent them form the owners on daily rental basis and pay about Rupees 150 per day to the owners.
The cost of petrol for the day has to be paid by the auto rickshaw driver. After paying for the petrol and rent for the auto rickshaw the remainder is the drivers earnings.
Indian Farmer
A farmer ploughs his field using his cows to pull the plough on his field.
In many cases the poor farmer does not even own the land and pays a major part of his produce to the landowners.
Heavy agricultural machinery like tractors, harvesters etc are common
all over the world. While agricultural machinery is used in India, many
farmers still plow their fields with cows. When one realizes that many
villages have farmers with small pieces of lands and they find using
bulls and a plough the easier and cost affective way to plough their
fields.
PROSPERITY & POVERTY IN INDIA
The Taj Mahal hotel stands majestically in Mumbai India.
In another part of Mumbai a slum area where the poor live. In some areas local governments have provided alternate housing but some of these people reportedly move back to slums after a period of time.
SLUMS
& LUXURY IN INDIA
Living is slum areas many of these shacks have
electric power from power lines near by that they get illegally without
paying for electricity. Many of them have televisions and believe it or
not some even have dish antennas hooked up for television viewing.
Slum dwellers wield a power of their own and are a big voting bank for
politicians who are reluctant to take action against things like power
theft by people living in these localities.
SHOE REPAIR ON ROAD
A Cobbler sitting on the roadside doing shoe repairs is a common site in Many cities of India.
They repair almost every thing that is made of
leather.
Have a torn suitcase? take it to these guys and they repair it for
pennies.
Bus Service in Delhi
Commuters in Delhi on a public bus.
In Delhi commuters are forced to push harder than ever to get onto the city's dangerous and overcrowded busses.
Commuters often stand for hours at bus stands watching helplessly as bus
after bus goes by, without stopping as they are already full. Some
commuters simply hurl themselves at the m
oving buses in the hope of
grabbing a foothold on the buses exterior. Many are injured in doing
so.
Getting on and off a bus in Delhi during rush hours can be an adventure! a dangerous one.
INDIA GATE Presidential body guards escort a mock procession during a rehearsal for a ceremony for India's newly elected President.
(Bus and India Gate photo from The Hindustan times of India.)
Goddess Kali Temple
Some associate The Goddess Kali with death and destruction of evil.
According to popular legends, during a battle with evil forces she went on a killing spree and started killing everything in sight.
To stop her, Lord Shiva is said to have thrown himself at her feet.
Shocked at the sight of Lord Shiva at her feet she ended her killing spree. Many images of Goddess Kali show her standing with her tongue fully out with one foot on Lord Shiva's chest.
While driving from Chandigarh to Delhi on the 24 of December 2007 we drove past this Goddess Kali Temple.
Sadly I missed the opportunity to visit this Temple
due to time restraint. I could not resist taking this photograph. The
Temple is visible from the main highway and stands majestically on the
outskirts of the City of Panipat.
The black colored five story temple is one of the first temples I have
seen in India that is fully colored black.