Monk’s Cham Dance / Ladakh
Just posting a video of a Cham Dance during Spituk Gustor held in winter. See more photographs of costumes of monks including Pattu Hats, Gyaser brocades and textiles in monasteries … Continue reading
Life & Death & Thanatology
The first trip to Banaras in 2016 had a spiritual purpose: to immerse the ashes of my grandma in the Gangaji. Death brought me to Banaras the first time. And … Continue reading
Blessings of Banaras – 2019
Sometimes real life is so intense that I forget to leave its shadow on the internet in the form of posts on the blog or on facebook. And then on … Continue reading
Ruins of Ladakh
Over the 10+ road trips through several naalas of Ladakh, several ruins of old buildings would zip past my car at a height or at a distance that was two … Continue reading
Floods of Ladakh
The mighty force of the Himlayas – its mountains, its glaciers & snows and its rivers – can be imagined just by seeing the scale and magnitude of its being. … Continue reading
Goatherding with Gutthu – Travelogue
Gutthu sat on my lap staring into my eyes. Was there love? Was there bonding? Was this unbroken stream of photons resulting in any emotional bonding from his side? Would … Continue reading
Himalayan Glimpses
View from the aircraft flying over the Himalayas. Awakens a thousand desires to go into each of those valleys on foot and knowing I shall never be able to do … Continue reading
The Life of an Old Thangka
Thangkas that were once in active use for worship hung in high places inside monasteries. They are exposed to butter-lamp vapors over decades.The inside of a monastery is filled with … Continue reading
One Old Lady meets Another
The paint has worn out. And there are plenty of nicks on the woodwork, each telling an unforgetable tale. Layers of old paint shed – layers of fresh paint applied … Continue reading
Long Live the Spirit of Mumbai!
Pydhonie, Mumbai, April 16, 2019. It is in the midst of the wholesale markets for everything. It is in this area that Dhirubhai Ambani began as a yarn trader. Millions … Continue reading
Memories of Nagaland
The wealth of one’s life is the memories we collect – for only these can travel with us everywhere and be summoned at a moment’s notice to light up our … Continue reading
Tears in Heaven
We never love quite as much as at the time of saying goodbye…. I loved this piece – I loved the artist who lived a hundred years ago – I … Continue reading
Art & Culture Conversations on a Cruiseship
Creating conversations on Asian Art & Culture onboard the ultra-Luxury Cruise Ship Silver Whisper as an in invited guest speaker through a series of 7 lectures over 17 days of … Continue reading
Textile Study Tour of Punjab
Preface on the minor notes about the textile study tour, Punjab, 2019
Sailing along the Mekong River Delta
On a hot summer’s day in a place called in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, we went out to see daily life and the floating markets. In a place connected … Continue reading
A Visit to The Golden Temple – Amritsar
One cannot go to Punjab and not go to the Golden Temple in Amritsar….A few photos
Conversations – The Soul of Punjab
A few photos of the grand old women and men who were young at the time of the “hallaa” … the Partition.
Over deep conversations about phulkaris, over chai & pakodas followed by parathas & butter, we bonded – discussing the culture of their youth, of their childhood homes and the culture of the time.
Divine Caring
A street photo taken just outside the Golden Temple Complex, Amritsar 7am, Early February, Temperature 14 degrees Celsius No words needed.
A Phulkari Fan from the Olden Days
Here’s another cultural remnant of the olden days in Punjab – A ceiling fan decorated with Phulkari work: The rope is used to swing the fan and is held by … Continue reading
A Charkha Spinning Wheel
Sighting of a decorated Charkha Spinning Wheel – used in a vanishing craft
Wearing her mother’s Bridal Haalvan Phulkari
A “haalvan” phulkari is done on very fine cotton cloth that is similar to mul mul. This is the first time I held one in my hand! All bridal textiles … Continue reading
