Speaking through pictures

Kumar’s Believe it or not

Kumar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:03:11 +0000

A test of faith or a show of strength? either ways, yes I’m sort off using the whole ripleys thing but this was one of those moments. As i was continuing my travels in India i came across this procession of self sacrifice for the Hindu Goddess Kali. The procession had over 50 people dragging cars and trucks by attaching ropes to hooks that were then hooked on to the backs of the people participating. I have seen these things a lot on T.V. and it looks a lot harder to do in person than it does on T.V. because we assume that these people are comfortable with needles so this is not really a big deal for them, but that was not the case when i saw it in person you can see the amount of strength and perseverance required for them to be able to accomplish this in their faces. But these people are determined to accomplish their task in order to achieve the blessing of the Hindu Goddess. So yeah enjoy the pictures and comments would be appreciated.

Just in case you were wondering why i have so little pictures of this event, it’s cause i just came across this while i was travelling. I cannot say that i was a part of this procession because i didn’t stop or go down the car to try to take more pictures since we were on a tight schedule. But for what it’s worth im glad i saw and took the little pics i have of the procession for me to be able to share it with you guys.

The Golden Temple

Kumar — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:31:01 +0000

Like stated in my previous post, here is my next post and it contains pictures from the 2 times i went inside the temple. one was around sunset and my other visit was next morning at around 10am. So in this post you would find pictures of one of the most holy place in for the Sikhs. But make no mistake about it people from all religions are welcomed there and if you do find the time to go there im sure you would enjoy what this place has to offer. Other than it being extremely beautiful just being around, looking at the temple and meditating or just walking around can bring a sence if peace in you. For the moment you are there it would feel like you are in a place that’s out of this world and at the same time you feel like you are a part of a bigger world and those are only some of the reasons why thousands of people are attracted to this place everyday. So yeah just check the pictures out to have a better idea of how this place is. If you ever decide to visit India this place is definately a must see. So yeah i hope you like this post, comments would be appreciated as usual.

Souvenir market outside the golden temple

Girl Checking stuff out

People at Souvenir shop

Sikh coat of arms

Punjabi Salesman

You have to clean your feet before you enter the compound as you can see none of them are wearing shoes or slippers. That’s cause like all Indian temples you arent allowed to wear footwear inside the temple.

The Golden Temple

Picture of temple compound

People waiting for the prayer

People praying by the lake

Carps in the Lake

Evening prayer time and time for the temple to shine

The Golden Temple all lit up

people appreciating the beauty of the temple

Entering the bridge to the temple

Entrance Chandelier on golden ceiling

People patiently wating in line

Temple guard

The exit lane

Another shot of the lane

Golden fence outside the temple

Picture of one of the many lamps around the temple

The actual entrance. last point before they ask you to off your camera, i could have taken shots if i really wanted. But as a sign of respect i didn’t plus you only get to view the “Guru granth” or the Sikh bible for less than 30 seconds. Operations are very organized, thats why even if there are hundreds of people in the line, it won’t take you longer than 20 minutes to get inside from way back. But thats on a normal day. Im sure thats not the case in other Holy days.

More Carps

Outside the temple

A shot of the bridge to the temple

People resting by the temple lake

People enjoying the view

Group picture, too bad im not in it. we tried but none of them could take a pic with slow shutter speed and if i took one with the flash the temple didn’t look as beautiful.

My sister Maya, my niece Diana and my cousin Tanuja waiting for the food.

This is the food hall. they serve free food here 4am to 12 midnight. everyone is allowed to eat here the food you recieve here is believed to be blessed by God. You can say it’s something like communion but you eat real food. Note thousands of people go here everyday and there is never a time here that they run out of food.

People helping wash the plates and utensils

The giant kitchen, incase you were wondering this is where they cook food for the thousands of people that come here everyday from 4am to 12 mid-night.

Another section of the food hall

Day 2

People walking on extremely hot marble. Trust me when i say it’s hot. You couldn’t stand even for one second.

People getting ready to bath in the lake

People

The water there is super cold and it tasted good too. It tasted like fancy bottled water.

Temple guards walking around with spears and swords and make no mistake about it, these are for show if someone trys to cause trouble and refuses to cooperate these keepers of peace are given the right to use their arms.

Farewell shot of the temple.

Can’t wait to go back and visit again, and like i said if you are ever around this part of India you must visit this temple. So yeah keep visiting guys more pictures from my trip to India are to follow. Feel free to comment guys as they would be highly appreciated.

Journey to Amritsar

Kumar — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:51:42 +0000

Yet again, it’s a late post. As usual i’ve been busy with college so yeah here are more pics from my trip to India. In this post i would be sharing the pictures i took in the 1000km drive to Amritsar from Jodhpur. For those familliar with the route you guys might wonder why i don’t have any pictures from the places we passed by. But yeah i have few pictures because we drove non-stop. We only stopped for food and tea. So yeah it was 30+ hours of travel. as tiring as it sounds this would have been awesome if i wasnt on a schedule. So yeah comments would be appreciated guys. good or bad! everyday is a learning experience.

Starting point. Sardarpura, Jodhpur.

so happy in the start.. they have no idea we are in for a 30+ hour drive.

Streets of ajmer

Pigeons

Bad ass ride

Streets of Ajmer

Just 678 kilometers more.

A Tata truck, for those who didn’t know Tata motors owns Jaguar and Land Rover.

Rajasthan Roads

Overloading Revamped

Uncle, Cousin, Cousin, Sister, Niece and Mom.

I should try that next time. i’ve always wondered why people like sitting on top of truck ands trains.

My niece being camera shy. Bet she was extremely tired it had been almost 18 hours since we started travelling.

So tired.

Mom and sister extremely tired.

Dhaba’s the place to eat when ur travelling in India.. It gives u a sense of where you are. The food is good. Just pick a good one before you stop. In our case our driver knew this one. So yeah we had some tea and streched our backs there.

Uncle “stretching” his back after a long drive. Im pretty sure he was asleep.

Gas Station in Punjab. Im surprised some gas stations in Punjab are better than the ones in the philippines they even had playgrounds and rooms.

My niece Dia, Enjoying the morning breeze and the play ground.

Cousin and Mom enjoying the swing after almost 20+ hours on the road.

Sorry, I couldnt resist. haha

Indian Tata cargo transport trucks.

Gas station play ground.

My niece Pari enjoying the slide.

I wonder what these bycles are doing in the gas station? hehe

The milkman’s badass ride.

Punjabi Chai

People enjoying early morning fresh air.

Overloading Reloaded

Election time. So yeah the Indian Military was everywhere.

Camel on the road.

A shot of the sign leading to the Golden temple.

Finally the outside of the structure where the lake and the Golden temple are located at.

So yeah we left at 9am and got there sunset time nextday. Keep visiting guys pictures of the Golden temple and it’s surrounding would be the content of my next post.

A quick visit to the Temple in Bheem Bharak

Kumar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:50:53 +0000

Hey guys, I know it’s been a while and the photos from my India trip are long overdue. So I’m going to resume posting pictures from my India trip. This here is “Bheem Bharak” it’s a temple for Lord Shiva and it was founded by a group of Hindu monks a long time ago, I tried finding out when but my efforts were useless because the locals said that that there was always a place of worship there. But it started because the monks needed a quiet place to worship and since then locals have been contributing to the cause and as you can see from the pictures it’s no longer an ordinary temple it’s quite big and has gone through development. But with big donations came the threat of robbers and the monks decided to take charge of the situations, the monks wouldn’t let me take pictures but then they showed me their weapons they had heavy weaponry desert eagles, high power shotguns and many other imported and note SHINY guns. But they are some of the nicest monks/sadhus I have encountered in INDIA. It was a really quick trip because it was getting dark and the temple is located near one of the major Indian military bases, so we had to leave right away but yeah here are some of the pictures I was able to take. As usual feedback would be highly appreciated.

Radar, Just shows how high risk that area is.

Sunset

Monkeys and flying crows!

More monkeys!

Entrance of the main worship area where the first monks prayed.

Navigating the cave. (note this place had no lights before, a cat directs you to the main area. There is still a cat there until today but i didn’t take a picture because i did not know it’s importance until i left the place)

The main worship area where the early monks used to pray. Now just a place to worship for anyone, people still visit because the people believed that the amount of time spent here by monks praying has made this place sacred.

Oh yes bats, i didn’t see this at first but yeah the guy told me there were bats on top and i took a picture and when it flashed all the bats flew.

Saddhu praying

A very nice statue of Lord Krishna in the temple, it’s amazing how they incorporated it to the cave. It looks like it’s lifting the whole cave with it’s pinky.

A walk in the Mandore Gardens

Kumar — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:01:16 +0000

Sorry for the late upload guys, I know some of you were waiting for my next post because I was posting really quick last week. So before you look at the pictures I would like to give you a brief history of The Mandore Gardens. Mandore was constructed around the 6th century in “Mandorva” and it was where King Nahar Rao Parihar who was a part of the Parihar dynasty ruled from. But then in 1395 AD, a Mohil princess of the Parihar rulers of Mandore married Chundaji, who was part of the Rathore clan. Keep in mind guys this was the part when the Rathore clan was becoming more powerful and stronger, so the dowry must be suitable for a strong empire. Therefore the Mandore fort or now the Mandore gardens were given to Chudanji the Rathore clan ruler as part of the dowry. So yeah the Rathore clan ruled Marwar then on from the Mandore fort. So for those who read my last two posts this is where you connect the dots.”The Mandore Fort” was the predecessor of “The Mehrangarh fort” which was the predecessor of “The Umed Palace”. So from that you can see that whenever the Rathore clan was entering a new era they showed it by ruling from a place that sent a strong message.

So yeah, now some details about the ruins left from The Mandore fort. The Mandore fort was a piece fine architecture when it was made all buildings or “chatris a.k.a. umbrellas” as the locals call them have finely carved botanical designs of Gods, plants, birds and animals. So yeah now Mandore is just a garden. The architectural relics left from the once glorious fort are available for public viewing and honestly for me it still looks beautiful. I wouldn’t even have known that these were ruins; I just thought the kings took the furniture with them when they moved. So if you are in Jodhpur for a visit a quick stop at Mandore won’t disappoint you because what more could you ask for in a desert? Mandore has all the things to make a traveller happy from lush gardens, ancient ruins and wild life. Drop by im sure won’t regret it. So yeah here are the pictures guys I hope you like what you see and I would definitely appreciate feedback. Thanks guys.

Some ice cream before i enter.

People getting some fresh air.

This tree was supposedly planted when the fort was made in the 6th century. Now thats one tree a tree hugger can’t hug. haha

Oh yes, Monkeys just chilling out.

Im guessing he is the boss.

After a short walk, here they are the ruins of an ancient kingdom.

As you can see even in ancient Marwar they loved their beloved sandstone and for a lot of people the ability to acquire and transport these stones was already a status symbol.

1400 years old but it still looks better than other new buildings made today.

An engraved sculpture of a hindu Godess.

Im guessing this would be the kings Chatri.

This place is so beautiful even the locals can’t get enough of it.

Almost every section of it has something carved on it.

A view of the dome.

The pillars and little view of the next chatri.

If i were to choose two words to describe these pillars i would choose “strong beauty”.

And that was what I saw in my walk to Mandore, so guys if you ever end up in this side of India definitely pass by Mandore it will be worth your money. So yeah I hope you liked my last 3 posts about the palaces in Jodhpur and maybe learned a thing or two about the ancient and present Jodhpur. Comments would be highly appreciated guys, Thanks.

Checking out The Mehrangarh Fort

Kumar — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 17:13:29 +0000

The Merangarh Fort, yet another jewel from Jodhpur’s royal heritage. If you have seen my previous post then you will already have an idea about The Merangarh fort. So yeah The Merangarh’s foundations were layed down on a 410ft hill in Jodhpur on May 12, 1459 by Rao Jodha the 15th Rathore ruler. Before that the Rathore Dynasty’s 1000 year old royal fort was located in Mandore, but due to the rapid growth of the size of their kingdom; they had to move because the Mandore Fort did not provide sufficient security anymore. The fort is located at the center of the city and it’s a daunting but beautiful sight that can be seen from any major road of Jodhpur. The fortress doesn’t only represent strength it represents Indian royal culture at its best, because whatever idea we have on Indian kings are based on Rajasthani kings. Mughals were outside conquerors that had their own values, beliefs and lifestyle that may have been passed down together with their power on some Indian territories from centuries, but Rajput kings were Native Indian Hindu kings. By the way I’m not saying they were the only Native kings, all I’m saying is they were the more… hmmm… glamorous ones? So that being said below I have some pictures of Mehrangarh Fort’s overwhelming architecture. so yeah take a look guys.. comments would be appreciated.

The Mighty Fortress

If this was a modern residence im assuming thats where the security guard will be.

Pigeons!

Oh yes, everyones got to love water in the desert.

Water fountain, Indian style! haha you don’t need to move your head, it gives you a cup.

How mountains are meant to be climbed. Man India is so advance you climb mountains with elevators.

The great wall of Jodhpur. locals call it the wall.

The almighty canons of the never conquered Jodhpur.

Well placed canons.

Again, plants in the desert amuse me.

A view from a far of Jaswant Thada, A moseleum where remains of some of the members of the royal family can be found.

My mom.

Look how clever they are, little holes for sticking rifles out.

A shot of the 120 foot palace wall.

Tourists having a goodtime watching the local guy teach them how to wrap a fancy turban around their head.

Palace security personel chilling and probably wondering what im going to do with his picture.

Singers outside to create a Rajasthani ambiance.

More musicians to create an ambiance around.

My sister and my two nieces.

My mom all jai ho’d up.

A humble little Mosque.

My mom with the sudden urge to make the pigeons fly.

The gathering.

And this was The Mehrangarh fort, unfortunately due to time constraints I couldn’t take pictures of the relics and artifacts inside. So anyways was this worth replacing with Umed palace? in my opinion, maybe because this fort showed the strength of the Rathore clan and this heavily fortified palace was an ideal building to keep their kingdom secure and considering the fact that despite all the sieges it has faced it was never conquered. We can safely say that yes this was important, but then centuries passed and the king had to show that Jodhpur is a city with its eyes on the future. So keeping wars and greed aside the successor of this palace the Umed palace was made by the grandfather of the current king to show that Jodhpur was ready to become a modern and peaceful society.

Quick stop at The Umed Palace.

Kumar — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:26:44 +0000

These are pictures of the palace from eyes of a tourist who didn’t check in. Yes I did say check in; this amazing palace is one of the newest palaces of India it was completed in 1943 during the time of the British raj. Yes there were kings ruling India even during the time of the British Empire, the Marwar kings had their own agenda and so did the Great Britain so Great Britain considered the Marwari kings as allies rather than foes. So yeah originally this palace was called Chittar palace because it was built on top of Chittar hill. This palace was created by thr grandfather of the present Maharaja of Jodhpur to replace the purpose of the Mehrangarh Fort and also to show that Jodhpur as the capital of the Marwar kingdoms was ready to enter the 20th century with a new look. So yeah check the pictures I took guys, comments would be appreciated!

A shot of the palace from the outside.

A shot of the dome from the outside.

I don’t know why but yeah plants in the desert amuse me.

The path to the palace

A painting reflecting the extravagant past of Jodhpur.

A shot of one of the few rooms remaining open for public viewing. (the rest are still open, but you need to check in to check them out.)

A little birdie sitting on one of the pilars.

The courtyard

A shot of the hallway

2nd shot

The kings old gold plated tea cups.

This was in a showcase, so yeah at the back are the kings polo trophies

another polo trophie

Some of the clocks from the kings exotic clock collection.

More clocks! haha

Jodhpurs coat of arms.

Another hallway

The flag of Jodhpur

The main entrance of the palace.

The best i could do against the light.

The palace security guard enjoying the breeze.

What are the odds of me seeing another baby tornado? hahaha

An evening at The Shastri Circle.

Kumar — Sun, 31 May 2009 18:21:09 +0000

To begin with I would like to confirm to all the people that yeah despite India’s current economic advances, the scope of it does not include the poorest of the poor. That in mind, what I have here is a place where the poor and the rich come and pass time together. Shastri circle is known as a park where people go for morning walks, yoga and morning exercises. But about two years ago they installed these fountains and they were an instant hit among the locals, I mean think of it, musical fountains in the middle of the desert? A sure bet by the local government. So yeah now it’s a multi-purpose park, in the morning it caters to joggers, fitness conscious people and people who just want to go out and have some fresh air. Then during the evening, it becomes an ideal spot for evening walks, dessert after dinner, family outings or even for couples who want to have a quick get away with lights and sounds. That in mind it’s a pretty good place to drop by and catch a glimpse of people having a good time despite all the economic hardships. So yeah here have a look at some pictures I took and I also have a video, oh and yes the song is in Indian.

The Statue of Lal Bahadur Shastri late Prime Minister of India and a significant figure of the indian independence movement.

Another one in blue.

A closer look of the fountains

My cousin and my niece. Yup, its true i have cousins who are older than 40.

A shot to show you how much the people appreciate this place.

Sandstone Mine in Jodhpur

Kumar — Sat, 30 May 2009 17:50:51 +0000

These are pictures of a sandstone mine located in Jodhpur and you can also see the Mehrangarh fort from a far. So moving on, If you like Indian architecture then I’m sure you must be wondering where the stone came from in the various palaces and historic places of India. So yeah this mine right here is one of many Sandstone mines in Rajasthan. Sandstone because of its natural color, its ability to survive severe weathering and of course it’s beauty is enough reason for Indians to choose it as the material of choice for their houses. Its beauty is not only appreciated in India, in recent years heavy export of the said stone to Europe has also begun.

Jodhpuri Sandstone

Road to the mine

A view of the sandstone mine.

Another shot of the mine but this time a little zoomed. the way the sandstone is extracted is amazing, it makes it look like a giant puzzle from which the pieces have been taken out. Also in this shot you can see tiny sheds the workers have made for them to take breaks in.

My very first post.

Kumar — Sat, 30 May 2009 13:09:54 +0000

Hey guys as you can see this is my first entry and I’m going to start it off with photos from my trip to India. So my flight from Manila was at around 2:20 and I got to New Delhi at around 11:10pm Indian time which is like 1:40am Manila time. Then from New Delhi I left for Jaipur right away which was another 4 hour drive in which case I arrived there at about 6:00am. Unfortunately I was in Jaipur only for one day and I was able to take few pictures. To make the long story short these are photos I took from Manila all the way to Jodhpur. So this around April 21-April 23. Enjoy!

The plane that i was about to ride.

Normal Walkalator but i liked the sign at the back that said “A new journey begins”.

Angry little girl, Haha i saw her tell the singapore airline escort her parents got her to stay away from her sight and make it look like she’s travelling alone. They could keep an eye on her but it should look like they don’t excist. Her words exactly.

Haha i was able to save one shot. As you could see the head of the cabin crew is telling me not to take pictures. But being the absolute hard headed person that i am, I continued until i finally pissed him off. hahaha so he got my camera and deleted the pictures i took inside the flight. they don’t allow it for security purposes.

Just a picture i took outside my uncles house of the park.

Picture of the park, Normally there isn’t anything interesting about these parks but then there is something special about this one. Think of how this park manages to stay green with no sprinklers in the middle of the desert at 49 degrees celcius.

Mom and sister having a little snack called “Chat”.

Sister trying to get a hold of my niece while posing for the camera.

Sugar cane juice, The best! seriously..

My Aunt’s dog in Jaipur.

Jaipur Roads

My confused little niece wondering what it is that she is doing in the middle of the desert.

My niece after being terrified by the giant truck. hahaha

Indian truck drivers gotta love their blow. haha just kidding, it says “BLOW HORN”. You are supposed to blow your horn in order to signal them to let you pass.

Some hard work.

What are the odds of me seeing a baby tornado?

What are the odds of me seeing a wild peacock right after seeing a baby tornado? haha