India Part III - Portraits from Rājasthān (राजस्थाण)

‘Bucket List’ I’ve noticed that in the last couple of years, people have been throwing these two words around on the regular. Whilst I don’t have a particular list denoting the things I should achieve/accomplish before my demise, there was one place on this earth that I knew I would one day explore with my own eyes… Rajasthan, The Land of Colours. Spielberg crudely portrayed the North of this country in the Indiana Jones franchise (see Temple of Doom). Unfortunately there aren’t any banquets here entailing spreads of monkey brains and newborn live snakes [I say unfortunately as I am keen to try anything at least once]. What you will find however, is some of the most impressive and picturesque sites in the world, not to mention the rich history that dwells within this region. I’m not only referring to the days of British India rule, but more importantly this land once set the backdrop to some of the most epic battles in ancient Hindu Mythology (see Ramayana).

From the 28th December till the 5th January I’ll be exploring the lands of Rajasthan, starting from the capital Jaipur… The Pink City. Here are a few portraits from around Jaipur. I should note that the weather hasn’t been the best [haze & rain], and so I’ve mainly been using the 35 mm and 50 mm. The 10 – 20 mm hasn’t been seeing a whole lot of action - hopefully once I reach Jodhpur, the skies will be a clearer…

India Part II - Family History X

Roots.

I guess returning back evoked a curiosity into my family's ancestry [lineage even]. Before making my way up to the Northern Kingdoms of India, where I type this now, I spent some time with my mum's aunt [who has happily taken on the role of Grandmother to us, and I couldn't be prouder]. She dropped serious knowledge on mum's side of the family, going into some detail on how my maternal grandmother and herself were raised in a family of 7 sisters and 7 brothers. My Grand-aunt was one of the youngest of the 14 siblings, and I sit here wondering how it's been for her watching them one by one slowly fade away into the path of the Sun. Your family, your culture, your heritage.. it's important.

My Grandmother. Left this world before I was born.

"When one leaves the physical body by controlling all the senses, focusing the mind on God and the bioimpulses (life forces or Prana) in the cerebrum, engaged in yogic practice, meditating on Me, and uttering 'Om' (the sacred monosyllable sound power of the Spirit) one attains the Supreme Abode (the path of the Sun)" - The Bhagavad Gītā 8.12-13

India Part I - Bengaluru

For those of you who are open to the idea of traveling to India from Perth, I highly recommend you spend the extra $300 and take Singapore airlines [PER – CHANGI, CHANGI – BANGALORE] and get there in about 10 hours. I only say this because I chose the relatively cheaper option [while still not opting for a low cost carrier] only to reach my destination some 24 hours later. My itinerary looked a little something like this: PER – KL, KL – CHANGI, CHANGI – COLOMBO, COL – BLR and I swear I was ready to smother the guy seated beside me [on the KL – COL leg] who kept sneezing, coughing and hocking up flem all over me whilst I was trying to achieve a state of slumber.  At this point, I had flashbacks of when I backpacked through SE Asia… flashbacks of when I spent almost 12 hours bunked next to another fine gentlemen, whilst travelling through Vietnam via ‘sleeper’ coach. At least this time I wasn’t attacked in my sleep.

I think the 4 hours delay in Perth ‘International’ pretty much orchestrated my mood for the 24 hours of tortuous travelling hell. I’m sorry, but it was a fucking nightmare to reach Bangalore [or should I say Bengaluru now, to be politically correct].

It’s been 10 years since I’ve been back to the motherland; however, the last time I had a real vacation or any type of enjoyment here was 1995. I returned in 1999 & 2000 to attend the cremation of both my grandfathers. Not the most ideal of circumstances to return back huh. I had mixed emotions returning back this time, but for many different reasons. Although the strongest of reasons I must admit, is the sadness I had experienced here in the past, especially since I was very close to and fond of my mum’s father. I miss our lengthy discussion on the bullshit that exists in this beautiful country, specifically the absolute idiocy of the caste system. More often than not the conversation would revolve around philosophy and life in general, whilst he sucked his life away though Benson & Hedges branded cigarettes. Deepak Chopra ain’t got shit…

But regardless of this, I am glad to be back. I’ve only been here for about 24 hours now, and after finally experiencing it through the eyes of an adult and not some unappreciative kid from the burbs’… I now have a newfound respect for this country. I type this whilst sitting in my aunt’s place in JP Nagar [Bengaluru], which I guess becomes our family home anytime anyone of us [my immediate family] comes through.  A lot has changed in 10 years. I’m going to be in India for a month, so I’m hoping to document as much as I can through some type of photo journal. I’m no writer, so I’ll try and stick to the photography side of things, albeit totally amateur… so excuse me.

No messing about, I got straight into the kitchen and cooked up some Indian style scrambled eggs (a bit of a staple for me back home). Eggs, onions, turmeric and coriander.. live for this.

Indian style masala chai. The difference is they add all the ingredients together (including the milk) and boil the heck out of it.

Chaat Masala for dinner at a local spot I remember eating at the last time I was here. Smashed a couple of my favorites: Dhai Batata Puri, Special Sev Puri and Pani Puri.. delicious.

My grandfather used to scold me for even thinking about climbing the water tank as a kid. It was the only thing on my mind.. I swear the suspect ladder was going to fail on me..