Bharat Mata Temple
Stone wall bas-relief of a Jain saint, Ellora Caves The ascetic stood in steady concentration for such a long time that creepers grew around his body and a snake, a lizard and a scorpion live on his limbs. Two girls are shown removing the plants fr
Idyll of the north: Indian farm with a simple brick house and a cow standing next to a stack of dung. The cow provides milk, urine (which has many medicinal purposes) and solid waste to be dried and burned in the winter months for warmth. The image
Waterstones Hotel in Mumbai, a view of the bar. Sleek, hip and ultramodern hotels with fast WiFi, large flat screen televisions and restaurants serving more than chick peas, lentils and curry are as much a part of India as ancient temples, mogu
Selfie at Elephanta Island:  
Pilgrims from Nepal circumambulate the stupa at Sarnath
Varanasi upstream on the Ganges River
Offering for a sunrise puja
Pilgrimage to Varanasi
Plastic containers for sale to collect water from the Ganges
Significance of the Yajñopavītam, sacred thread worn by a Brahmin Priest
Manikarnika Ghat in the morning
Washing the dead in the Ganges
Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi
The eldest son is responsible for the cremation ceremony
Brightly colored shrouds, ghee and aromatics for sale in shops behind the cremation ghats
Family of lepers begging behind the Marnikarnika Ghat
Black Sadhus : The Aghori are known to engage in post-mortem rituals, sometimes involving cannibalism. Their bodies have the markings of followers of Shiva (Shaivas), white ash from a funeral pyre, a dot of red powder is a symbol of Shiva's fe
Old Delhi on a street where painters and carpenters wait with their tools
Bicycle rickshaw ride through narrow streets in Old Delhi
Humayun's Tomb
Qutb Minar in Delhi
The Qutb Minar minaret in Old Delhi This red sandstone tower is highly revered for the quality of the ornamental horizontal inscription bands that adorn it's five sections.  Deep religious association with the Qur'an, as well as suspicion of f
Pillars of the Quwat-ul-Islam
Shrine to Rama and Hanuman in Jaipur
Red onion peddler in Jaipur
A foggy morning at the Taj Mahal
Shrine attendant in Varanasi
Man with prayer beads at Sarnath
Numbered washing stalls at the Dhobi Khana in Cochin
Man washing clothes at Dhobi Khana in Cochin
Woman ironing fabric at Dhobi Khana in Cochin
A woman waits for the wood fire in her iron to be ready to begin work
Woman on her tip-toes at the clothesline
Kathakali performance in Cochin
Kathakali actor playing female role backstage with his dresser
Male Kathakali actor as female character
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Folkdance in Kerala
Children playing in the Thirumalai Nayak Palace in Madurai
Hindu festival in Madurai
Boy with his corn cob at the Meenakshi Tiukalyanam
Food for sale at the Meenakshi Tiukalyanam
Ancient Chinese fishing nets and a modern port built by Dubai Ports World
Fisherman casting his net in the waters at Fort Cochin
Sacred area for Hindus only
Street markets in Jaipur sell flowers for the gods
Homeless family living on the streets of Jaipur selling cheerful balloons
The view from the car in Jaipur
Blue boat on the Ganges filled with new temple supplies
Evening Darshan programming
Shrine to the Goddess Durga on the ghats to the Ganges river. Durga is the female equivalent of Shiva. Like Shiva, her powers encompass destruction and preservation. Durga appears throughout the Hindu world in a myriad of manifestations. In Nepal,
The mask of Durga
The Goddess Durga with dots of sindoor (kumkuma) a vermillion paste as an act of worship in Madurai.
The Hindu Goddess Durga, ceiling polychrome painting at the Palace in Udaipur. Durga is sometimes depicted with the vahans (mounts or vehicles) the tiger and the lion. When she rides the tiger her form is more ferocious. When she is shown on the lio
Shop keeper
TukTuk in Jaipur
The glories of the age of the Rajas is in the past but many of their palaces survive as luxury hotels for tourists called Haveli.  Shapura House, is one of many former palaces in Rajasthan.
Boys compete in an kite-cutting contest held in Varanasi at Makar Sankranti.
Victorious Kites
Kites are collected as the spoils of war.
A shrine to Rama and Sita in Varanasi. Each morning the deity must be awoken to a new day. After performing a rite of purification the woman attending this shrine will wash, dry, and clothe the Rama, Sita and Hanuman votive statues. She will also pl
Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra, India The cave complex is located In an arid landscape, in a semi-circular gorge at Ajanta.  The caves were made by excavating large amounts of volcanic rock in the Deccan in the second century BCE. *Five of the Ajan
The Archeological Survey of India ongoing preservation work at the Ajanta Caves in Maharashtra, India. The day of this photograph detailed panoramic imaging of the caves was underway by the Google Earth team.
Ajanta Cave Wall Painting Cave 1: Bodhisattva Padmapani, second half of the 6th century.
Detail of Bodhisattva Padmapani Padmapani, or "the One with a lotus in his hand," is one of the divine Bodhisattvas. According to the Buddhist scriptures, Padmapani has been performing the duty of Buddha since the disappearance of Gautama, and he
Painting in Cave 1 on the left wall. Jatakas are folk tales about the former lives of the historical Buddha. Jatakas are the most common subjects of the paintings at Ajanta. This image portrays a scene from the Mahajanaka Jataka. An ascetic deliver
Damaged wall painting at Ajanta. Centuries of neglect and vandalism have taken a toll on the beautifully painted scenes from the Jatakas of the Buddha and life at court in ancient India.
Detail of mural showing an epic battle scene from the Simhala Avadana. Simhala and his fellow merchants are shipwrecked on an island inhabited by beautiful women. They find that at night the women become cannibalistic ogresses who devour men. They
Architectural columns were carved from volcanic rock and paintings of themes sacred and secular adorn the interiors of caves at Ajanta.
Facade of Cave 26, Ajanta, Maharastra, India
Interior, Caitya 19, Ajanta The lay-out is classic with a semi-circular apse. The massive and highly decorated columns support a high frieze running all around the nave which has a vaulted roof with ribs in imitation of wooden construction techniqu
Ceiling, Ajanta, Maharastra, India The painters of the cave walls were constrained by scriptural narrative subject matter for the devotional purposes of the resident monks. They were free to paint ceilings with floral motifs and intricate designs.
Parinirvana wall sculpture, Ajanta, Maharastra, India
Local popular politician in Madurai. Her image can be found on any blank wall or building. Politicians in Southern India are venerated with intense violent passion. A news report in the Bangkok Post in December 2016 published a story about a former
Jayaram Jayalalithaa's first film Vennire Aadai in 1965. The plot description is: A wealthy businessman wants his daughter to marry the psychiatrist who treated her.
Saree shop in Varanasi. Women traditionally wore various types of regional handloom sarees made of silk, cotton, ikkat, block-print, embroidery and tie-dye textiles. Most sought after brocade silk sarees. Wilipedia
The Power of the Goddess: Shakti
In smaller towns well outside cosmopolitan urban cities like Delhi and Mumbai the streets are filled with men. The daily lives of women and men are largely separate.  NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Nearly four out of five women in I
Jama Masjid courtyard in Old Delhi: Two travelers talk before the call to prayer.
Shiva as Ashtamurti, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly known as the Victoria and Albert Museum)  in Mumbai *Ashtamurti is one among the numerous names of Shiva. Shiva as Ashtamurti is existence. He is the force behind t
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Life, Look and the Saturday Evening Post were large format weekly publications featuring copious amounts of photographs on prominent display on the family coffee table in our family home.
Each temple devoted to Shiva has a shrine with a votive figure of Nandi the bull. Hindus worship the shrine by saying the word Hara, Hara into the figure's ear. Hara is one of the names of Shiva, meaning the destroyer (of sins). Leaves of the bael
Extravagant dioramas illustrate the milestones of the life of Gandhi on the second floor of the Mani Bhavan Gandhi Museum in Mumbai.
Gateway of India in Mumbai
I dream of Blue Lassi  
It might get loud:
Asifi Mosque, Bara Imambara complex, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
A view of Old Delhi from a mosque
Udaipur, India The golden age of making Indian miniatures of temple architecture lives on in highly skilled artisans employed by a thriving cottage-industry selling reproductions to tourists.
Dhvaja, or 'flag,' is the orange or red banner flown above temples, at festivals and in processions. It is a symbol of victory, signal to all that "Sanatana Dharma shall prevail." Its color betokens the sun's life-giving glow. The saffron flag is t
Granite stone is carved into idols following the rules of the Shilpa Shastra . Granite is referred to and is believed to be the uyirottam kal a living stone, hence its traditional value and its use in creating religious images.  The idol is
Elephant with nettipattam , a ceremonial forehead ornament. The nettipattam is constructed of embossed copper pieces that are stitched onto a blanket of the desired shape and size. The edges of the nettipattam are decorated with woolen tassels
A massive gopura (gate tower) in Madurai, India In a temple, the cult image is surrounded by a hierarchy of deities, with minor ones at the outer periphery, all arranged according to a scale of purity. The aim is to protect the sanctum from worldl
Gopuram detail Suthai, Stucco, is a hereditary craft practiced by the craftsman belonging to the Pilamar caste in Kakampudar. Stucco has been the traditional alternative to stone as a sculptural material. Stucco craftsman in Tamil Nadu see themsel
The Masjid-i Jahān-Numā, commonly known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi, is one of the largest mosques in India. Wikipedia
Hanumangarhi is a temple of Lord Hanuman in Ayodhya. More than 70 steps lead to the main Hanuman temple which is one of the most popular temples of Lord Hanuman in North India.It is a custom that before visiting lord Ram temple one should first pay
Ambedkar Stupa/Ambedkar Memorial Park in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Jama Masjid, Delhi, India
Rush hour in Mumbai
People identity themselves by all kinds of markers such as dress (including shawl and turban), ornaments, body markings, tattooing, flag and emblem, hair style, phallus or iconic representation of Shiva (linga), and coloring of teeth. Female dress a
Varanasi, India Shops that open to the streets may have unexpected visitors.
Hindu Gods in primetime. Shiva, Vishnu and other gods of the Hindu religion star in modern crime dramas on India television.
Azad Maidan in Mumbai
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