रुकसत ए दिल्ली तेरी महफिल से जाता हूँ मै..,

So after a wonderful 2 plus weeks in Delhi I am off and the line of Poet Majaaz comes to mind.

Each time I visit, I find Delhi incredibly romantic, despite all its everyday problems. Perhaps it is the ability to see past these that I am most grateful for.


Jamma Masjid is one of the places I enjoyed visiting this time (twice). Built by Shahjahan, when he moved his capital to Delhi, the Mosque is primarily an elevated courtyard - built all in red sandstone. When not being used for worship, it serves as a picnic grounds for hundreds of visiting pilgrims - from near and far, I presume. Coteries, sitting on the ground, enjoying Biryani and Kababs were a mouthwatering sight to behold in their own right - but what attracts me to this place most is the kids that run around, friendly and oblivious to the world outside. They come by, asking to be photographed, scampering to tell their parents of what happened, shy and outgoing at the same time.

At the back of the courtyard, is a 20 foot square, outlined in yellow where the food for the pigeons is laid out. In Islam, doves and the pigeon clan in general, are respected and favored because they are believed to have assisted the prophet of Islam, Muhammad in distracting his enemies outside the cave of Thaw'r in the great Hijra. People come and place grain within this yellow square and the pigeons, in turn, leave the picnicking groups alone. Evey once in a while, a loud sound or a group of rambunctious kids send the pigeons flying.

What this picture does not communicate is the rapid fire flapping of the wings as these birds take off. At a mere 5 feet distance from them I could not but help involuntarily cover my head !

There is always the one you think of all day...

...One you want to know more about. What is life like? How hard are the days? When did you eat well last? Is it enough for a living? What are your happy memories? How do you hold it together?

Today it was the Spice Woman. I saw her as I came across the corner at Chandni Chowk.

In her red shawl, with her neat bags of spices, two measures in each bag; at first she was amused to see me take a picture of her. Soon however, the paying customers deserved more attention (yes, we did buy the large measure of cloves at the end). As you can tell I spent some time with her (attracting a curious crowd) but could have gone on for much longer.

Unfortunately she refused to look up for the last shot. She had had enough.

Jai Bajrang Bali

Lord Hanuman, also known as Bajrang Bali, is known for his undying devotion to Lord Rama (an incarnation of God Vishnu and of the Hare Rama Hare Krishna fame). Every tuesday thousands of Indians (everything here is done by thousands of Indians) go to the temple to worship him. It is a short visit, but one that keeps people grounded in the religion with little investment. There are many such opportunities and people choose the ones that most appeal to them.


As is customary, the devotees purchase small offerrings to serve at the alter before they come to the temple. A portion of these are then returned to the worshippers so that they may share and eat them alike as they have been blessed. Since most of these offerings are sweet, enter the children. One always receives them in a cupped right hand, with the left hand respectfully held under it.

Of course, the photographer was distracting!

India's GDP to grow 7.1% in this recession

It is a quixotic nation. Rich among the poor with plenty in the midst of famine. The tiniest of shopkeepers has a mobile phone, but an automatic key duplicating machine? Whoever heard of that.












I found this gentleman, dressed in spotless white, the embroidered shawl around his neck, duplicating keys the old fashioned way. A pair of calipers in hand, he measured the original, marked it on his blank and then filed away. His vice, his tools and his enormous collection of blanks he carried around in his portble toolbox. All the while I was there he did not take his eyes off his work even once.













For Robert:

In India - 2009

The visit to India took an unexpected turn on the eve of the trip. Consequently the photography will most likely be restricted to the street of Delhi. The question then is to search for a theme. "Photographing faces is passe", so I am told. Light (and hence shadows), focus and perspective will have to play a bigger role - making the harsh overhead light more interesting.

This picture was made in a vegetable market as this young sadhu went about asking for alms. The b+w version of the bright yellow robe distracts less from the streak of light.

Fans of Pep Bonet might recognize the play with light.

Giving and Receiving

While a picture is most definitely worth the words in the adage, the remaining question is still "which words". Sometimes the words scream off the page - like in Eddie Adams's famous "Saigon execution", and sometimes it is left to the viewer to imagine them - like in Steve Mccurry's "Afghan Girl". And while the results of good photography are just that, for the photographer often times there is an experience behind the photograph, an experience not captured in the image, that makes an ordinary picture very memorable. Unfortunately, the viewer never gets to experience that.

This is the story of one such picture.

In Kolkata (Calcutta), on the roads alongside the main hubbub, is a hospital run by Jack Pregger. Nothing pretentious, it is a dispensary of medicine for ailments of all kinds. On the sunny side of the road is the line that forms for triage and registration, and on the other side is the tent in which the doctors see the patients. Each Saturday the lines magically appear and are gone by evening.

I decided to spend one Saturday photographing the people who visited.

Looking at the faces in line I saw mostly sad faces. Faces that are either in pain or just simply tired. Mothers with children, old men huddled around, smoking, a line of people sitting on their haunches. And while I took many pictures, the one that sticks in my mind is the one shown here - a child sitting in the lap of his mother, eating a price of bread.

I photographed them many times, trying to get different perspectives, bracketing the exposure, using black and white film, but always his eyes followed me. And when I was done, and got up to walk away, he reached out and offered me the rest of his bread!

Overwhelmed, I was struck by the irony of his willingness to share - those who have the least to their name, are often the most willing to share!

True Colors

Mention India to most people in America and it conjures up images of an unknown land, often mired with notions of Poverty, the Caste System, excessive Population, and perhaps most recently, Software! After all, that is how the media has portrayed India.

But honestly, how many of you thought 'COLOR'?

That is what India truly is. Color. Color in our Diversity, Color in our Religion, Color in our Festivals, Color in our Languages, but most noticeably, Color in our People.

I look at the picture above and am still struck by the elegance and color. A special occasion - hardly. These are probably most of the clothes she owns and the jewelry is most likely inherited. She is out carrying a tray of henna, along with the assorted tools to decorate the hands of young women - a custom that is common at Indian weddings. Some of my favourite pictures from this and other trips are viewable at my gallery.

Photography changed my perspective of India 21 years ago. As a young idealist, when I went back to India after having received a brand new education in the US, I saw what most people from the US see. Crowds, traffic, power outages and more traffic. That was in 1982. When I went back in 1985, I worked for Kodak and had discovered photography. This time I saw India through the lens. Color, character, contrast, contradiction. But always, charm. It was an amazing realization, a realization that led to peace with who I am, peace brought about by photography.


Photographing people in India is not easy. The overhead sun creates a lot of shadows and contrast. It is best to take pictures in the shade of a building or at dusk. People are usually friendly and willing to be photographed, though often curious as to why. A long lens helps isolate the subject from the background, while a conversation puts them at ease. The picture above was made with Kodak Portra 200 film, at dusk by the Ganges, in the holy city of Haridwar.


"Sitting in the Stands of the Great Cathedral, waiting for the show to begin..."

The Majesty of Bryce. Makes you rethink insignificance. It was a bright blue day, at sunrise, when I looked over the aptly named, Inspiration Point. Made me think of McCartney's words.