Visit to every world heritage site is an enduring memory. An experience of being transported to a different era. On the occasion of the world heritage day, I thought of sharing photos I shot at different world heritage sites across Asia.
Categories: Travel, World Heritage
Sometimes I feel all cities have begun to look the same… I wish there was a time machine to go back a few centuries …. and uncover several layers of civilisations, ideas, architecture, culture…. and experience how life was and how it evolved…. Well one gets a glimpse of eras gone by in museums! But museums are usually cold and boring. Everything meant to be seen is almost hidden in glass boxes in poorly lit rooms. But the ancient Indian history museum […]
Categories: Heritage, Photography, Travel • Tags: council hall, deccan college, Henry St. Clair Wilkins, Heritage, pune, shivaji market, st mary's church, st. patrick's cathedral, st. xavier's church
विस्तार है अपार प्रजा दोनों पार करे हाहाकार निशब्द सदा ओ गंगा तुम… ओ गंगा बहती हो क्यों I remembered these wonderful lines from a Bhupen Hazarika song as I walked towards Dashashwamedh Ghat to witness Ganga Aarti. I am an agnostic … but the whole atmosphere around the ghats was charged with the feeling of devotion and togetherness. Caste, race, nationality, religion nothing stopped people from participating in this experience. Though it is now a bit of a commercialised […]
Categories: Ethnography, Heritage, Travel • Tags: aarti, dashashwamedh ghat, ganga, ganga aarti, ganga lahari, ganges, varanasi
A beautiful British built bridge lets you cross river Ganga near Rajghat and connects Varanasi to Ramnagar via Padaw. The bridge is an engineering marvel with two levels – the lower level is for trains and the upper level is for cars. My driver told me that the bridge has already crossed its expiry date but stands strong even today. While the bridge is extremely busy with traffic, it gives a classic vantage point to observe the river It was […]
Categories: Travel • Tags: Benares, bridge, ganga, ganges, lal khan roza, padav, rajghat, seagulls, varanasi
I had to come back to Ramnagar on the last day to take a boat ride and see the fort from a different viewpoint… Unfortunately it was hazy and not very well illuminated… which would have been the case perhaps in the evening. There was no activity in the water except for a few gulls and stray fishing boats. I tried to capture the red sandstone fort from different angles. My boatman was roving the boat slowly to allow me […]
Categories: Ethnography, Heritage, Travel • Tags: 1965, ganga, india, lal bahadur shastri, lbs, prime minister, ramnagar, river fish
Ramnagar fort is home of the Kashi Naresh, a royal family from the Bhumihar Brahmin community that ruled the state of Benares. The dynasty claims descent from lord Shiva and revered immensely even today. The fort lies on the eastern bank of the river Ganga and houses a museum. It is a majestic example of fusion of Hindu-Mughal architecture carved in sandstone. The fort is built on a high ground fairly secure from flood levels. Ramnagar today is a neighbourhood […]
Categories: Ethnography, Heritage, Travel • Tags: ganga, ganges, kashi, kashi naresh, ramnagar, ramnagar fort, varanasi
A traveller is always ready to explore… As the legendary architect Tadao Ando puts it very aptly – Traveling is like going to school. Each journey is a new experience. A very personal and unique experience. Every new trip shows us some new corner of the world and gives us a chance to reflect and see ourselves in a new perspective. I remember a business trip to Aurangabad about a year ago with Vinita Kapur, a senior anthropologist. I have been to Verul (Ellora) […]
Categories: Ethnography, Photography, Travel • Tags: assi ghat, boating in ganga, dashashwamedh ghat, ganga, ganges, ghats, majhi, sunrise, varanasi
The contemporary film viewer watches films for a larger than life experience. There is need for visual extravaganza, vibrant imagery, special effects. There is growing appetite for films that offer stunning visual experiences and distinct visual style has become a differentiating factor. A film like ‘Life of Pi’ is remembered as much for its stunning imagery as for its fantastic adaptation of a novel into cinematic form. The mainstream cinema of film industries world over is trying to maintain high […]
Categories: Design Thinking, Films • Tags: avalon, cinematography, days of heaven, design, kiarostami, life of pi, magic hour
Iran is an enigmatic country, seen by the west as an aggressive Islamic state. At the same time it is a nation with rich cultural heritage. It is a nation with a deep philosophical voice, something that is portrayed vividly by Iran’s cinema. I have seen Majid Majidi’s Baran (2001) and Abbas Kiarostami’s Ten and Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s Silence. Three very different kind of films coming from national cinema of one country. Ten made me curious about Kiarostami for his unconventional […]
Categories: Films • Tags: abbas kiarostami, taste of cherry
Fargo is a classic American movie. It is a crime drama and I am tempted to call it white noir film. Though noir literally means black this film builds the blackness of human behavior through dullness of white. It is a crime drama about greed and lack of values that control greed but the director Joel Coen uses the nothingness and lack of life in white snow to bring out this dark side of human persona rather than using a […]
या चित्रपटाचे ट्रेलर पाहिले तेव्हाच मनात उत्सुकता निर्माण झाली! आणि रिव्यू वाचून पिक्चर पाहावा की नाही हे ठरवण्यापेक्षा ट्रेलर पाहून चांगला अंदाज येतो! शिवाय सचिन कुंडलकर चा चित्रपट पाहणे म्हणजे एक हैप्पी जर्नी नाही का! पण मग लेका तू कशाला रिव्यू लिहितो आहेस असे तुम्ही विचारणे साहजिक आहे! चित्रपट हा एक अनुभव असतो! तो दोघांनी एकत्र बसून पाहिला तरी प्रत्येकाच्या मनात तो एक वेगळा अनुभव म्हणून घर करतो … पिच्क्चर पाहिला रे पाहिला के त्याबद्दल गप्पा मारायची खुमखुमी येते … […]
Categories: Films, Reviews • Tags: atul kulkrni, film review, marathi cinema, mrinal kulkarni, mrinmayee godbole, rajwade and sons, sachin khedekar, sachin kundalkar
आरक्षण हा एक वादाचा मुद्दा असतो! आणि त्याबद्दल सर्वांची मते असतात आणि ती अगदी टोकाचीच असतात … ज्यांना ते मिळालेले असते त्यांना ते सर्व सामाजिक प्रश्नांवर जालीम इलाज आहे असा ग्रह असतो … जे ओपन वाले असतात त्यांचे म्हणणे असते की जात-पात नकोच ना मग पाहिजे कशाला जात आणि पाहिजे कशाला आरक्षण! अर्थात मते फुकट मिळतात आणि ती आजूबाजूला जे दिसते किंवा आपले जे काही वैयक्तिक अनुभव असतात त्यातून बनत असतात … त्यासाठी अभ्यास करावा लागत नाही … एखाद्या विषयाचे […]
Categories: गनिमी कावा
Chinmaye