Penelope Gan | Photo Blog just some cl!cks by me …
Posts Tagged ‘People’
‘Ngaben’ – Bali Cremation
The Balinese cremation or ‘ngaben’ is anything but a sombre event with hundreds of spectators, musicians and men carrying multi-tiered funeral pyre clowning around to confuse the soul from having any earthly attachments before it ascends to heaven upon the scattering of the ashes in the ocean. ‘Ngaben’ is the most expensive and extravagant rite of passage for any person.
Dar Debbagh – Tannery Gate
The primitive tanning processes applied by the tanneries in Dar Debbagh uses a lot of water and generates large quantity of effluent that is detrimental to the waterways. However, steeped with legend, century old customs and a flourishing flow of tourism dollars, the practice that dates back to antiquity is unlikely to stop.
Lives as Brahmaputra Dies
Scientist predicts that the Brahmaputra and other Himalayan rivers flowing through Northeast India will stop flowing within the next 5 decades if the soaring global warming temperature is not arrested. This will cut off one-sixth of humanity’s water source; affecting over 400 million people’s lives in China, India and Bangladesh.
all we have is the earth and sky
Over 18 million Indian children life, work, play, sleep, dream on the streets and sidewalks of Indian cities with a steady upward climb with more than 50 children escaping intolerable circumstances at home to begin new lives on their own on the streets. With least access to shelter, nourishment, health care and education, they work long hours and are constantly harassed and exploited.
Survival : Men vs. Cow
Urban poverty is a massive and growing issue, but it is often poorly understood, underestimated and unrecognised. Being the most populous city in Uttar Pradesh, Agra – the home of the grandiose Taj Mahal -has most of its 1.69 million people living under the poverty line and ‘homeless’. As resettlement projects takes place in Mumbai and Delhi, will Agra benefit from its experience?
Children Beggars
9 out of 10 homeless children do NOT beg as a way of life. Children who take to panhandling are usually victims of organised begging rackets, led by gang leaders who often present themselves as ‘benefactors’ and ‘protectors’ of homeless children that comprise of the poor, runaways and disabled. In order to reap bigger profits, thousand of these children are mutilated yearly
Raising Darchor
Projecting serenity by day and a ghostly effect under a moonlite night, the Darchor is a vertical Tibetan prayer flag raised annually during the Tuosui’ ceremony to spread good will and compassion to all. As such, they are often found high above ground levels such as rooftops and mountain passes to ensure the unobstructed wind passes over their surfaces thereby purifying the air with mantras.
Strokes of Hope
Be it traditional tantric influenced, middle-of-the-road, or avant garde art, Tibetan artist are fiercely express their identities breaking away from ‘mystics’ and ‘ethnic’ works. External influences – social, pyschological and economic changes in the world – seems to be the driving force for most, but in some cases its purely individual expression.
Save Tibet
The Tibetan Autonomous Region is the poorest Chinese region with annual per capita income of less than USD 100. Where central subsidies and investments are channelled only to the Chinese administrators and settlers, couple with fierce discrimination and oppression, Tibetans have imposed self ‘exile’ to harsh, arid and rural areas defending for themselves, their freedom, culture and religion.
9 Emperor God
During the Daoist Nine Emperor Gods Festival or Kow Ong Yah that falls on the 9th day of the 9th moon in the Chinese lunar calendar, mediums goes into deep trance and perform unbelievable feats including immersing themselves in hot oil, piercing themselves with sharp, long spears and swords, in addition to walking through fire unscathed.
Celestial Misalignment
Indian astrology is a branch of Vedic science that has been widely believed and commonly to the point of being funded by the State for research, is now wanning in popularity. Nonetheless the negative effects of marrying a Mangal Dosha, or ‘manglik’, remains a concern and movies have been resorted to to downplay this superstition.
Hayya ‘ala-Salāt at Lal Qila
At the call of the Azan (Arabic: أَذَان), Muslims around the world make haste towards prayer – Hayya ‘ala-Salāt. Salāt (Arabic: صلاة) is obligatory for all adult Muslims, and its supreme importance is indicated by its status as one of the Five Pillars of Sunni Islam. Ritualistic in nature, it is to be performed in prescribed conditions, procedure, and times; hence the use of Azan as a summon.
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)
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.
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.
The Halal Meat Butcher
The term halal (حلال ḥalāl) and haraam are applied to many facets of life but the most common uses of these terms is in reference to meat products, in particular the slaughtering method used. Whilst the prescribed method of Ḏabīḥah (ذَبِيْحَة) has been applied for centuries, debate on if its inhumane continues despite scientific evidences suggesting otherwise.
Chandi Chowk: Chaos . Cargo . Coolies
Chandi Chowk’s chocked up narrow lanes never ceases to fascinate: sea of people, knots of dangerously low cables dangling across buildings and streets, seething mass ‘traffic’, and countless of specialised bazaars that will match your imagination. Coolies who snakes their way through chaos with their laden cargo tells their story.