Ambassadeur Everlasting
A God for our times
The huge V's painted on the outside of the temple wall indicate that the temple is dedictaed to Lord Vishnu. Vishnu is the preserver and protector of the universe and the second god in the Hindu triumvirate (orTrimurti). The triumvirate consists of three gods who are responsible for the creation, upkeep and destruction of the world. The other two gods being Brahma and Shiva. Brahma is the creator of the universe and Shiva is the destroyer.
Stairway to Heaven
Sorry I couldn't resist the naf title. Dressed in the red and yellow saris of pilgrims they climb the stairs to one of the inner sanctums at the beautiful Brihadishwara Temple in Thanjavur. If you come here, come twice: in the morning, when the honey-hued granite asserts its dominance over the white dawn sunshine, and in the evening, when the rocks capture a hot palette of reds, oranges, yellows and pinks. What a place!
The Doctor
Sitting on her stoep the doctor bides her time waiting for patients and catches up with the recent news. Street life is always so colourful in India.
Rice for a smile
She stood everyday at the entrance to the temple, waiting for the donations from the worshipers. I would have loved to have learnt her story, why is this old lady begging at the temple, where is her family? I assume her husband had died. My Hindi may be good enough to ask questions, but certainly not Tamil and that was her only language. We gave her some rice, she gave me a big smile.
Rudraksha
And now we join the devotees of Lord Shiva and their esteemed guru for their puja. Shiva devotees have a white stripes across their forehead, often carry a trident and are adorned in one or more rows of rudraksha beads. (Shiva eye beads) Shiva Himself is commonly depicted as wearing rudraksha garlands in iconography.
In preparation
Three Brahmins prepare themselves for the morning pujas. Rice, bananas, coconut and wierook play a major part in the blessings. The mark on their forehead indicate that they are followers of Lord Vishnu.
Morning Puja
This father and his daughter made a special trip to Trichy to partake in this morning puja. Two Brahmins (in hokje 39) are preparing for the ceremony, a puja such as this would costs quite a few rupees but then it was for his expectant wife. I understood that she had lost two babies early in pregnancy and now hopefully this third we enter the world without problem. I love how the daughter in her nice dress and balaclava looks on.
Sleeping rough
I was hoping to return from my trip to New York with a new batch of phots but helaas, I return with a broken shoulder having literally hit the streets of New York. At least 6 weeks rest and the decision whether to operate will be taken this week. In the meantime............... we are in one of the main temples in Trichy, as I mentioned before people come to the temples not only to pray and worship, but the temple is also a magnet in the city to meet exchange stories and news, and often get some quiet time to sleep. this image depicts not only the beautiful stone carvings on the pillars of the temple, but also as often in India a hard life, sleeping rough.
The wood collectors
Venturing north of Ngwe Saung on a rented motorbike makes an incredible day out. Go past the Lovers Island and head along the deserted kilometers of beach, crossing a lagoon, continuing along even more kilometers of beach you will only find the occasional fisher village dotted around. These kids were collecting driftwood to take back to the village, it was getting hot and they still had far to walk. (next photo) This area was badly affected by Cyclone Nargis in 2008, the sea swept many villages away as it rushed inland followed by strong winds. Many lives were lost or devastated. Daily prayers are offered for safe keeping by the villagers to the new pagodas perched on the highest rocks at the edge of the sea.
Namaste
The two carved figures greet the two women with a namaste as they enter over the threshold of the temple. You can see that fashion does not change here in South India, the carved figurines dating back over 1000 years wear the same clothes and anklets.
Light and Shade
A detail of one of the tiled walls in the Real Alcázar.The shadows come from the opposite arches of the garden. A visit to the Real Alcázar in my opinion was the highlight in Sevilla and in March only a handful of tourists.
Camouflaged
Almost camouflaged in the temple surrounds, her green choli gives her away as she sweeps the steps after the puja worshippers have left. The priest takes a break before the next wave of worshippers arrive.
Clive's house
On this right of this Trichy street scene you see Clive's house. The once home of Robert Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, Commander-in-Chief of British India, He was a British officer and soldier of fortune who established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company in Bengal. He is credited with securing a large swath of South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan) and the wealth that followed, for the British crown. In the process he also turned himself into a multi-millionaire. Together with Warren Hastings he was one of the key early figures in the creation of British India, with all his attention focused on one prize, Bengal as it was the richest state in India, richer than Britain, at the time. He also sat as a Tory Member of Parliament in London. Clive was one of the most controversial figures in all British military history. His achievements included establishing control over much of India, and laying the foundation of the entire British Raj. For that he was vilified by his contemporaries in England, and put on trial before Parliament. Of special concern was that he amassed a personal fortune in India. Modern historians have criticised him for atrocities, for high taxes, and for the forced cultivation of crops which exacerbated famines. For all this there is a small plaque above the arch of this now school, stating that this was once his home.
Gewoon moe II
I am not sure whether this religious paraphernalia seller is tired or just enjoying the last rays of the late sun, but whatever a colourful street scene.
Gewoon moe
Dressed in her fine silk sari, her day pilgrimage had been too much for her. She rested by the beautifully carved pillars but I think she was just too tired to see it.
Arrived
Having walked barefoot some 30 kilometers these Vishnu devotees pause before the entering the Vaikunta Perumal Temple in Kanchipuram. Kanchipuram, lies 80km southwest of Chennai is it easy to reach by public transport or course by car and driver. A good hotel awaits you and an excellent restaurant serving the best southern Indian food we had during our three week trip. You will probably be the only foreigners there and will be an attraction to the locals. You will probably get invited to join one of the special ceremonies or pujas or just to drink chai and talk. You will not know what to photograph first in this photogenic town. If this doesn't sound daunting then go..............
Alone
Every day thousands of people worship at the Cholas' grand Brihadishwara Temple in Thanjavur, its busy, joyous, and overwhelming, but somewhere in the ochre courtyard he has found a place to sit and read - alone.
Weekend break
The tide was still just low enough to allow us and the locals to wade over to Snake Island. As I already said the small piece of land just off shore is home for many snakes. Why they are all here and nowhere else is a mystery, and with mysteries comes belief and superstition and therefore a small temple has been built and the snakes are honoured. The Burmese that you see here have travelled down from Yangon or Pathein for them a weekend break away from the city. They'll visit Snake Island hire a motorbike to ride along the beach to Love Island, drink coconut, eat fried fish and return. A successful weekend break.
Snake Island
From Ngwe Saung rent a motorbike with driver, (its illegal for foreigners to drive motorbikes in Burma) and go past Love Island over a few creeks and you come to the village Sumba, stop for a drink and a walk through the village and then continue to Snake Island. Named for the fact that the small island that is accepbile by foot at low tide is inundated with snakes. Apart from the kitsch snake temple that the locals have built, I saw at least 12 all the same kind, but don't ask me which kind. Black and not poisonous according to our motorbike driver/guide.
Riding into the sunse
I am sitting in front of our bungalow drinking a cold Myanmar beer, the young boys that work at Love Island with their horses carrying (Burmese) tourists are riding back to the village at sunset along the massive expanse of Ngwe Saung beach.
Beach fishing
Net fishing from the beach is commonly used in this part of Burma. Two boats go out drop the nets in a circle and then the fishermen, women and anyone on hand pulls and pulls to gather the nets in. Often men swim around the nets splashing and making noise to coax the fish in the net. It's a big operation and mostly the yield is little in comparison to the time and effort involved. Love Island sits at the point of Ngwe Saung beach.
The magic of full-moo
I always try to be somewhere special for full-moon night, even if I am here in the Netherlands I try to get out to the polder or somewhere darkish so that I can appreciate the light the moon gives. Full-moon night on the beach of Ngwe Saung is special, the moon lights the ground as it rises the palm-trees are silhouetted and later the moon turns the sea silver. Magic!
18th Street
At the foot of the old colonial terraced houses on 18th street we find the Chinese butchers. Not really my cup of tea as a vegetarian but our friend insisted that we walk the street. This area is home to the 150,000 Chinese-Burmese residents. Many families immigrated here in the late 18th century from Guangzhou, Hokkien and Yunnan, In some families only Chinese is still spoken.
The times they are a.
We are still walking with our friend through downtown Yangon, If I remember correctly this is 29th Street. At first glance nothing changes, a street market, fresh vegetables being sold, the tea shop on the street with its low plastic chairs that looks more like it should belong in a kinderschool than on the street of a capital city. But what is so very different to say 10 years ago, is the mobile telephone. Gone are the telephone shops and stalls that you used to see on almost every corner when to own a (landline) telephone cost a small fortune for the license. Telecommunication has skipped a generation, today a Chinese made smartphone is within most peoples reach and a few kyats will buy a few Gbs. And what do most people do with their smartphones, gather knowledge from the wealth of the internet, update themselves on current affairs, you may think so after living most of their lives under a restricted government. No, they WhatsApp, Facebook and play games.
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