18-MAR-2008
Islamic dreamer, Old Delhi, India, 2008
The marble floors of the Jama Mosque make a hard bed, but Islamic faithful have been praying and sleeping on them for more than 650 years. Its billowing etched design suggests the gates of heaven itself. I used a 28mm wideangle lens and an overhead vantage point to link the body language of the prostrate man to the etching on the marble floor.
18-MAR-2008
The Might of Islam Mosque, Old Delhi, India, 2008
The ruin of India’s first mosque, built in 1193, actually evokes the more than a thousand years of varying spiritual beliefs. The mosque is a patchwork of Hindu tributes and Islamic domes and arches. Here I’ve juxtaposed a portion of an Islamic arch with part of the famous fourth-century Hindu “Iron Pillar.” Built in honor of the Hindu god Vishnu, it is a tribute to ancient Indian metallurgy. Today, it provides a roosting spot for a feathered visitor. With this one image, I attempt to symbolize the blend of historic faiths and beliefs that make India what it has become.
18-MAR-2008
Dome, Might of Islam Mosque, Old Delhi, India, 2008
Looking straight up into the ancient dome of India’s first Islamic mosque, one can readily imagine a metaphorical representation of heaven, with the sun positioned at its apex, it’s rays comprised of rings of golden bricks. This dome has been in place for over 800 years. The hall of the mosque is dark, and the ceiling appears dark and murky to the eye. By overexposing the image and using cloudy white balance to warm the image, I’ve caused changed the murkiness to golden red.
19-MAR-2008
Baha’i House of Worship, Delhi, India, 2008
Delhi’s most innovative modern structure, the Baha’i House of Worship was completed in 1986. Built of white marble, it resembles an unfurling 27-petal lotus, and is often referred to as The Lotus Temple. Followers of all faiths are invited to attend the daily service in its auditorium, which seats 1,300 people. Our tour bus stopped for a “photo-op” and we were given just five minutes to make a picture. I juxtaposed the top of the structure against its iron fence, which to me seemed to resemble a series of leaves, each bent in prayer and meditation. I am creating, in effect, a symbolic congregation for the temple.
19-MAR-2008
Shiva, Delhi, India, 2008
This huge statue of the Hindu god Shiva stands just outside of Delhi. I only show part of it, and relate it to the sky rather than its earthly surroundings. A group of small clouds drift away from its head, while a bird darts from the prongs of Shiva’s trident. I leave the face deep in shadow. By interpreting the statue in this way, I leave much to the imagination of the viewer and given the nature of the subject, that is the really the point of the picture.
29-MAR-2008
Pilgrim, Varanasi, India, 2008
Bearing a red flag, a bearded religious pilgrim completes an arduous trip on foot here in Varanasi. There is an intense atmosphere of spiritual devotion in this city, which sits on the banks of India's most sacred river, the Ganges. The city is the religious center of the world for Hindus. In this image, religious devotion seems to fall naturally into place with everyday life. Nobody gives the pilgrim a second look as he walks past. Meanwhile, the pilgrim appears as if he is momentarily waiting for us to join him on his walk.
21-MAR-2008
Sacred cow, City Palace, Jaipur, India, 2008
Cows hold an honored place in Hindu society, and roam freely in India's towns and cities, including just outside the gates of the palace where Jaipur's Maharajas still live. I made dozens of images featuring sacred cows while in India, but this was one of the few images I made of them that has spiritual significance. The white line on the pavement leads this cow towards us, while the cyclists and pedestrians walk away. Cows provide milk, dairy products, till the field, and provide fuel and fertilizer. Hindus consider them caretakers and maternal figures. They see the cow as a symbol of unselfish giving, and will not kill them. This cow is left alone to walk its own path, the path of the Sacred Cow. This image illuminates that path – glowing in the late afternoon light, this cow stands its ground, oblivious to all that is going on around it.
22-MAR-2008
Man of many colors, Jaipur, India, 2008
Most of India’s holidays are expressions of religious faith. Holi is one of them, celebrating the triumph of good over evil. It is an exuberant one day “festival of colors,” featuring uninhibited exchanges of vividly colored powders and water. There is also considerable intoxication. This man seems to have had his share of both. I had only an instant to make this shot from a moving tour bus. He sits in deep shade, lending a somber touch to an otherwise happy event.
22-MAR-2008
Meditation, Hindu Temple, Delhi, India, 2008
I watched carefully as a series of white clouds drifted over a Hindu temple topped by a statue of the meditating Garuda, the vehicle of Vishnu, and destroyer of evil. I waited for the big cloud with the tail to fill the right hand side of my frame and then made this photograph. To me, the big white cloud with the small tail symbolically represented an idea worthy of meditation and thought.
25-MAR-2008
At prayer, Abhaneri, India, 2008
A Muslim at prayer in Abhaneri, a small village in Southeastern Rajastahn. India is home to the third largest Muslim population in the world (after Indonesia and Pakistan). Yet only 13 per cent of India's population is Muslim. More than 80 percent of Indians are Hindus. Expressions of faith are part and parcel of daily life. This man is praying on the steps of an ancient reservoir built to provide a constant water supply to the village. His white costume and the sun-baked wall of the reservoir behind him starkly contrast to the wood-framed shadowed door at right. After making this image, I thought he may have chosen to pray in the hot sun because it made him feel that much closer to Allah.
28-MAR-2008
Temples, Khajuraho, India, 2008
In the 10th Century, the remote village of Khajuraho was the center of the thriving civilization of the Chandelas. In the 19th century, British archeologists excavated a group of temples here. One of them, flying a red flag, is still an active Hindu temple. The opposing diagonals of the flag and its staff add a dynamic jolt of energy to the ornate carvings that cover the ancient temples. A blend of past and present, this image underscores the continuity of Hindu beliefs.
26-MAR-2008
Tomb keeper, Fatehpur Sikri, India, 2008
The great mosque of the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri contains the tomb of Salim Chishti, a Sufi mystic. The keeper of the tomb was welcoming and very patient. In 1568, Chishti correctly predicted that the childless emperor Akbar the Great would become a father. Childless women still come to Chishti's tomb in search of a miracle, leaving small cotton threads on the screens that surround it. I did not see any women leaving threads here, but I was able to make this environmental portrait of the tomb keeper – a man who spiritually seemed very much at peace with himself. By photographing him in the half-light of the doorway, I show less of him, and thereby try to say more.