Priyanka-Varun Wedding

I have wanted to experience an Indian wedding since the first time I heard about them.  I got the chance to do that earlier this week - in the way that I love best - as a photographer.  

The Sagan Ceremony is a festival - our groom arrived in a beautiful and elaborately decorated carriage drawn by two white horses and escorted by his family.

Above is the carriage the groom will ride in 

...and these are the horses and one of the many Rajasthani musicians that lead the parade and generate the guests dancing with their energy and rhythms.  When you look at these still photos you will not hear the noise - I tell you, it is unrelenting and at least as loud as the colour.  

Everything was BIG and BOLD and in a grand way very very BEAUTIFUL and full of life (which I interpreted the dance of the groomsmen to be explicitly demonstrating).

The groom follows and witnesses the procession with two nephews.  From my reading I understand that the groom does not participate in the raucous frivolity around him but, the pull to dance is strong...

Notice in the bottom right corner of this image is a hand extending money.  I saw denominations of 10, 100 and 1,000 rupees being tossed into the air throughout the procession.  My research tells me this is for prosperity in the marriage but also in some instances it is thrown on the road to ward off evil.  

There was so much going on that I didn't understand; so many questions that I don't yet have answers to.  When Tanushree and I next get together I will be able to know so much more about what I experienced.

to be continued...

Wedding preview...

I had the pleasure of photographing an Indian wedding this week.  I met Tanushree Khandelwal, a local photographer, and she added me to her crew of photographers for a portion of the ceremonies.   I'll post more images tomorrow.

Here is Tanu's website:  http://passion4obsession.com/home/home.php

Energy Sources

I stood on a hillside in Mangar and photographed many woman transporting bundles of firewood.  The beauty of their colourful saris distracting me from some of the surrounding detail - in fact I was working on framing images to keep distracting elements from taking the focus away from these graceful women at work.  And then it hit me - right there in my viewfinder was another one of the conundrums that make up my days here.

This is what I saw.

landscape portraits

What the Eyes Say

Sugar Hi

 The people of Mangar have been so generous and open to our curiosity about them and their lifestyle.  We feel blessed by their welcoming us into their village

...and want to give something back.

When the children figured out what was in Mike's bag and that he wanted to share with them - he got mobbed...





*At 12 years old children here are full earning members of the family.

Mrs. Sharma's Arts & Crafts Museum

I've been wanting to meet Sterra Sharma since Meror told me about the part she is playing in the Mangar Village that is so close to our job-site.  This weekend I got to do that...

Sterra, born in Netherlands, has lived in India for 40 years.  She is an artist herself and patron of Indian arts & culture.  In consulting on the Arts & Crafts hotel for Mrs. Suri of Lalit Hotels, Meror and I find ourselves enrolled in Sterra's plan.

Part I:  The Blue Building

Walking down the hill into the Village of Mangar, amongst the yellow and pink and white painted buildings there is a prominent blue building in clear view. It is owned by Mrs. Sterra Sharma who has become a benifactress of this area and has a vision of reviving the Arts and Crafts of the locals here. 

She has started by renovating her building and creating a museum and guest house there.

  

The Museum has solar panels and water tanks on the roof.

Delhi is notorious for it's intermittent power supply so many public buildings and the more expensive private homes have generators, battery storage and now solar energy to supplement this resource.







The  finishing details on the museum utilize the local builder's crafts.  The doors, windows and cement forms for railings are historic decorations added as part of this renovation.

 

The ceiling too is a revived craft that will also be a part of the Lalit Hotel building at the top of the valley.  In the museum they look like this...



The barrel vaults at the hotel are larger than these.  When I was here in March (2011) I saw the workers hand troweling the ceiling panels that will complement our SIREWALLs.

Part II:  The Arts & Crafts

The beds are made locally - woven with their creation date.  This bed was made on the 13th of January, 2011.  The bundle at the foot of the bed is a folded futon mattress ready to lay out.

While we were touring the museum this beautiful woman joined us and I was impressed with her playful energy and her ability to communicate without language. 

She explained that she is the craftsperson that plastered the walls with the pattern you see behind her in this portrait.  

Her name is Santos.  

She also made the large dish for the grinding stone and clay pots for fire. 

Other crafts that will be displayed in the museum are the collection of turbans tied in different styles.  Turbans can be very large or quite modest depending upon region, culture and religion.




Jagdeesh, who was our host for the day brought us into the storeroom to show us the beginnings of the collection.  There were wooden carts with clay oxen to harness and horses and camels made with leather.  a curious and appealing material for shaping the figures.

Part III:  The Murals
Mrs. Sharma noticed a mural in this man's house and commissioned him to paint murals on the walls of the village.  He is not to paint on any of the "old" historical walls but on anything built recently - he has the freedom to paint whatever he likes.

Ugrasen ki Bauli

An historical step well (bauli) in the heart of New Delhi is located on Hailey Road near Connaught Place.  

Step wells were developed mainly to cope with seasonal fluctuations in water.  They also served a leisure purpose as pools for the aristocracy to cool themselves in the heat of summer.  This "bauli" is multi-storied with a storage cistern and water wheel to raise the water in the well to the first or second floor.

The water could be reached by descending a set of steps, each level with a series of arched niches available for poolside relaxation.

• 103 steps
• 60 meters long
• 15 meters wide

(for perspective - an olympic pool measures 50m x 25m)

I was lucky to make the acquaintance of Tanu who discovered this abandoned ruin and was instrumental in having the site designated a protected monument by the Archeological Survey of India.  

Here she is assuring the "official guide" that she will give Jerry and I a tour and his services were not needed at this time.

Tughlaqabad Fort

Gathering seeds for ayurvedic remedies

There are ruins to visit all over Delhi.

Tughlaqabad Fort was originally built in the 13th century with the help of  elephants to move the huge stones.

I was working on getting some perspective on the expanse of the walls when this fellow walked down very close beside me to show off his wonderful red bottom!

(startled me 'cause I was looking through the lens)