Check out Rajasthan!
Once again I had an opportunity to write an article and publish some photos in the Italian magazine “check-out”. And once again my photo is on the cover:)))
Today on the “check-out” pages you can see my definitely favourite place – India and colours of Rajasthan.
Peacock Feather Seller from Jaisalmer
It was early in the morning when I met him sitting near the Jaisalmer fort. Wearing a vivid orange turban on his head and surrounded by peacock feathers, he was waiting for his first clients.
I asked him what the price for a peacock feather fan would be, but what I heard was definitely disapointing.
Fortunately, although I bought nothing, he didin’t mind if I took a picture.
- No problem. – he told me, when I asked him to take a photo. – I’m a very famous man.
To prove his fame, he proudly took out from his bag a kind of portfolio and among many other photos and papers he found an old issue of the German magazine “GEO” with his smiling face on the cover!
Mr Kalichran Singh is a licenced peacock feather seller and it’s possible to meet him in Jaisalmer. Probably some of you have met him already.
I have his business card, because I promised that if somebody decided to publish his photo, I would send him a copy for his portfolio.
Postcard from Korzok
India, Ladakh. Stupas in Korzok.
Tsomoriri
Tsomoriri situated at an altitude of about 4600 meters above sea level is one of the highest lakes in the world. This 20 kilometer long Himalayan lake lies between Ladakh in the north, Tibet in the east and Zanskar in the west.
Postcard from Udaipur
India, Udaipur. Lake Palace.
Little Radha
Probably many of you know who Radha is. For those who don’t recognize her: she is the childhood friend and lover of Krishna, one of the Hindu gods.
I have to admit that I’ve only known her name since yesterday when my Indian friend saw one of these pictures and let me know, that this little girl looks like a little Radha.
Probably she does;)
She is wearing a colourful dress, a lot of jewelry and many adornments on her head. But the reason for this is simpler than you would imagine. Her mother, a Rajasthani Gypsy, dressed her like a little Radha, because she wanted people visiting Jaisalmer to pay more attention to her daughter. And it worked perfectly;)
This little girl is one of the most natural children, I have ever had opportunity to take photos of. She would be able to became a famous model in future, but probably her life will be very different.
Desert Hairdresser
Yesterday, I posted here a photo of a beautiful girl living in a tiny desert village. I also mentioned that I had an opportunity to have my hair done there.
Let me introduce my young desert hairdresser:)
Princess from the Thar Desert
- My wife is the most beautiful woman in the neighborhood. – one of the men from a tiny village situated in the Thar Desert told me. He also wanted me to get to know her, but unfortunately she was very shy so she hid her face with a red scarf.
A moment later I was invited to have a glass of chai with women inhabiting a small mud hut. We were not only drinking tea, but also “talking” and they were incredibly happy when I allowed them to do my hair and put a special decoration on my forehead. I’m not sure when exactly the beautiful woman joined us.
Then, in the women’s company, she definitely felt more comfortable. She was laughing, joking with others and in the end she wanted me to take some photos.
She was beautiful indeed.
Although she didn’t live in a palace, but in an ordinary hut, she looked like a real princess.
Postcard from Pushkar
India, Pushkar. Pilgrims at Badri Ghat.
How Many Legs Does a Holy Cow Have?
Cows, considered sacred by the Hindus can be met almost everywhere in India. I became so accustomed to them, that when there were no cows in Paharganj in Delhi, I felt uncomfortable. Happily the Paharganj cows came back in the evening and everything became normal.
But before I met these cows from Delhi, I had met a lot of others – in different sizes, colors and… types;)
A tripod cow.
Postcard from Jaipur
Indie, Jaipur. Hawa Mahal.
Some Portraits from Jodhpur
I’ve been at home since yesterday.
I managed to post here some portraits from Jodhpur and l hope you’ll like them.
Bundi
The first hours in Bundi were a little bit disappointing. Probably I was too tired to appreciate the charm of this lazy town, because later it seemed more and more beautiful to me and in the end I was unhappy when I had to leave this place.
Postcard from Pushkar
India, Pushkar. Bath in the holy lake.
Portrait of a Girl Wearing a Pink Sari
I met this beautiful girl wearing a pink sari today in the evening near Ghat Badaj in Pushkar. She arrived here from a village near Udaipur with her big family (parents, sisters and cousins with their husbands and children) to take a bath in the holy water of the lake.
In the evening all of them were resting after the hot day. I was sitting nearby and fortunately we met.
She was behaving like a real model, so I have more of her photographs and I’m going to show them here in future.
Today there’s only one of them, with hope that you will like it:)
3 Postcards: Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur
After a little break I’m sending three postcards from India.
India, Jodhpur. Woman in one of streets in the old town.
Merry wives of Phyang
A man wearing a traditional hat is resting on one of the pillars of the monastery, three festively dressed grandmas are gossiping in one of the corners while young novices are playing with Chinese plastic guns. Hundreds of people are sitting around making the festival in the Phyang monastery very picturesque.
An old lady wearing a green hat, dark sunglasses and holding a cane in her hand seems to be the most friendly.
- Could I take a picture of you – I ask her*.
The old lady looks at me and with a mischievous smile, responds:
- No, no, I do not want to, but .. my friend likes pictures. Take a photo of her!**
I ask the mentioned old lady, but she seems to be even more amused than the previous grandma and she tells me:
- No, no, I do not want it either, but .. That friend of mine sitting on the right will want for sure! See how she has dressed herself up today!
Another friend points to another. I know that it will not be possible to take a picture this afternoon.
But surprisingly a few hours later I meet the grandmas again. They “known” me already and now the grandma in a green hat will let me take her picture. What an afternoon surprise! It was worth waiting!
*When I want to take a picture of someone, especially when I want to take someone’s portrait, I always try to ask for permission. I believe, that there is nothing worse than sneakily taking people’s pictures. Besides the lack of contact with the “model”, it usually makes the picture much worse than it could be, not to mention the fact that the person photographed in this way may feel like a monkey in a zoo. And probably nobody would want to feel this way. To sum up: I try to treat people as I would like to be treated by them.
**Of course, I do not understand what she says. I know only one word in the Ladakhi language. It is “jule” which means “good morning”, “goodbye”, “please” and “thank you “. So I do not understand exactly what she says, but I can read from her gestures;)
Pangong Tso’s grandfather
Grandfather Gongma lives in a tiny village situated by a Himalayan lake. The name of the village is Spangmik and it has barely a dozen houses. It is so small that it tis not worth to delivering post there – it needs to be collected from a few dozen kilometers away.
Most villagers earn money by selling their crops, however sometimes tourists rent rooms in their houses. Unfortunately not many tourists decide to stay overnight in Spangmik, many of them prefer only a one day trip to see the Pangong lake. Guests come only in summer, because winter at an altitude of over 4300 meters above the sea level is very severe.
Probably the oldest resident of Spangmik is grandfather Gongma and the years and months are passing quietly for him. He lives with his son and a daughter in law, but his two granddaughters live in Leh, the capital of Ladakh. They were sent to school there, because there’s no school in Spangmik.
Grandfather Gongma loves to sit on a bench in the front of his house and warm himself in the sun. He’s glad to see every passing day.
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