Penelope Gan | Photo Blog just some cl!cks by me …
Travel & Places
Jumu’ah
“When it is Friday, the angels stand at every door of the mosque and record the people in order of arrival, and when the Imam sits on the pulpit for delivering the sermon, khutba, they fold up their sheets and listen to the mention of Allah, the speech.” Prophet Muhammad (as reported by Abu Hurayrah)
Visiting Luang Phor Khoon
Wat Ban Rai shot to fame for its ‘notoriety’ for 2 reasons: Luang Phor Khoon’s willingness to embrace commercialisation, and its open door policy that recruits novice monks with colourful past, spoting body art and nicotine fixes. Known for his magical powers, Luang Phor has a large following and impressive monastery.
Dāna – Bodhisattva and the Art of Giving
Dāna (donation) is one of the central practices in early Buddhism that is said to have the effect of purifying and transforming the mind of the giver where generosity arising for the act of giving leads to being reborn in happy states. Built on interdependence between donors and renunciants, the act of dana has enabled Buddhism to survive, flourish and expand.
Theravada Buddhism Forest Monk
Buddha: Born in the forest. Enlightened in the forest. Taught in the forest. Died in the forest. 2,500 years later, the Theravada forest monks continues the practice, teachings and codes of monastic conduct expounded by Buddha in more than 200 forest monasteries throughout Thailand and the West – Europe, Australasia and North America.
Buddha’s Apprentice
The custom of sending the second male child to the monastery prevails in Tibetan influenced parts of India. These children generally fell into 3 categories: pious believers, children of poor serfs and those sent to temples to meet a quota. Although life in the monastery is difficult and dull to many young children, modern day comforts have made their presence.
Suryavarman II Sacred Angkor Wat
Built in the early 12th C as King Suryavarman II’s temple state and capital city, Angkor Wat was neglected after the 16th C only to be discovered by French explorer – Henri Mouhot – in the mid-19th C. Restoration begun in the 20th C and continues today by foreign parties despite the establishment of the Angkor World Heritage Site that provides funds to the Cambodian government.
Java’s Hindu Triad: Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva
While Vaishnavism, Saivites and Smartism differ in their views of “the Hindu triad” or the “Great Trinity” that comprise of Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Perserver and Shiva the Destroyer, the Javanese holds on to their very own beliefs and legend about the Prambanan.
Tibetan Refugees: Tibetan Rug Revival
Traditional Tibetan rug weaving industry dates back thousands of years to satisfy monastic institutions and the aristocrats’ need for khaden, but today Nepal and India are the largest producers and exporters of both Tibetan rugs and Tibetan-styled rugs. Traditional methods have given way for more cost effective and time efficient ways. Styles have evolved to suit the Western-styled homes.
Mojari Jootis Kolhapuris
These flats – Mojaris, Jootis and Kolhapuris – ‘floods’ Rajasthan, Delhi and Punjab with production dating back to the period of Kings and Queens. Unlike those produced in the heydays with real gold and silver threads and gems, these cow hide shoes are now embellished with artificial materials to suit everyone’s budget.
Stitches of Tibet
In Tibet, tailoring is a fine art made proud by the fine pieces of silk thangkas ranging from the standard two feet to the 16-storeys kyigus, hand sewn laboriously by appliqué artists for months end. However at the TRSHC, the stitches of Tibet are applied to daily practical consumption items like clothing and shoes, with some toys for sale.
The Tibetan Diaspora – 50 years on
The first exodus into India took place in 1959 in the wake of the failure of the Lhasa Uprising. Today, approximately 220,000 Tibetans are dispersed globally and Tibetan Buddhism has a following of more than the population of Tibet despite accusations of charlatanism, commercialism, power-politicking, immoral behaviour and radically different teaching across the four schools.
Hashish Children of Kullu
Raking in Rs900 crore p.a., locals alongside a nexus of expats and international smugglers have cashed in on the charas resulting in stronger enforcements from the Indian police and the Narcotics Control Bureau. Those that face the greatest lost are the children in this valley; forced into the cartels’ trap, removed from the officials’ radar.
14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is 572 years old by the Gelugpa Buddhist reckoning of reincarnation of his predecessors. An inspiration for 6 million Tibetans, and 100,000 impoverished Tibetan refugees in India and Nepal who followed his lead into exile, photos and newspaper cutting of him are found around the TRSHC.
Chaam Atsaras
Atsaras (jokers) plays an important part in Chaams as with other religious theatrical performances in the world. Aimed at entertaining spectators at intervals, more importantly the persona of Atsaras acts as a counteract to the sinister, oppressing, impressions created by the wrathful, threatening deities.
Kagyed Mahakala Chaam
Performed by monks on the same days across a few Kagyupa monasteries in Sikkim, Ladakh and Nepal in honour of the Mahakala (the Great Protector), this dance has been hosted by monasteries for more than 275 years with choreography from the 1st Karmapa based on his ability to see deities.
Chaam Masks
The big, colourful masks with grotesque expressions worn by the Dancing Lamas portrays the Lord of Death, Padmasambhava, the God of Wealth, and the protector of horses and other animals. Hand crafted by the Lamas themselves, the masks are generally made of wood and papier-mâché with a thin coat of plaster.
Chaam – Behind the Scenes
As the chaams is often about the expulsion of negative influences and exorcisms of spirits, the preparation of the chaams is in itself an elaborate ritual of days of recitations of 400 pages long of Buddhist scriptures, countless of prostrations, burning of incenses and circling of the monastery with the accompanying drones secular and religious music.
Chaam: Dorjee Lopon
Often mistaken as the most important element of any Chaam, the Dorjee Lopon, or Single Black Hat Dance is performed solo by a dancing lama who adorns the heavy but miraculous and magical black hat that transports the wearer to a particular state of manifestation. Legend has it that the Black Hat was made from the hair of female angels and offered to the 1st Karmapa.
Dancing Lamas: RolChaam
The Rol Chaam is unique to Sikkim; having been introduced by Chogyal Chgdor Namgyal in Tsuklakhang Monastery. The Rol Chaam which signifies a musical offering to the presiding deities of the locality, as well as the monastery it is performed in, is performed by 12 dancers after the recital of a one-page prayer book.
Chinese Opera Facial Makeup
Dating back to Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) Dynasties Chinese Opera face makeup plays a symbolic artistic function of expressing commendatory and derogatory connotations and that of differentiating benevolence and malevolence. Spending hours to depict the stereotypical characters they play, opera actresses and actors applies the face paint with horse-hair Chinese brushes themselves.
Malaysian Chinese Opera
Chinese Opera is now an incidental ‘performance’ limited to temple celebrations and festivals associated with the need to appease and honour deities. Stylised language, symbolism and feudal stories performed are irrelevant in today’s context, but the poliferation of gloablisation has brought new entertaintment.
Chinese Opera Musician
One of the three oldest dramatic art forms in the world, the delivery of the Chinese Opera’s beautifully written and lyrical dialogues are accompanied by melodious tunes produced by skilled musicians on traditional musical instruments like the Erhu, gong and lute.
1 of 10 Million Blind
More than 1.5% of India is blind. Of these 15 million, almost two thirds are blind due to cataract where surgery is one of the most cost effective health interventions known and most operated eye condition with highest rate of success and satisfaction. Barriers to access cataract surgery includes financial, fear, distance, lack of awareness and support, all of which are more prevalent in rural and peri-urban areas.
Women Weavers: Kully Valley
20,000 people are engaged in weaving in the Kullu Valley, majority being women affliated with cooperative society operated by women for women. With these cooperatives, women benefit not only from economies of scale but general management knowledge that cuts across the entire value-chain of the weaving industry.