Category: India
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Holland in Kochi
Holland in Kochi One of the first things I saw at the 3rd edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale was a little painting of a Dutch landscape. Holland in Kochi! I immediately felt at home again. Daniele Galliano, an Italian artist, likes combing flea markets in search of paintings by anonymous Sunday painters. He dusts them…
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Ambrosia
Ambrosia According to one creation myth of ancient Mesopotamia, the gods created humankind because they were fed up of having to look after their own food. Yes, gods also need food to survive, and they want man to provide it. As we can see here, man, religious man, still acquits himself faithfully of his task.…
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The joy of sex …
The joy of sex … … is of all time. This lovely scene was immortalized in stone 1000 years ago. It is part of hundreds of erotic sculptures that adorn the ancient temples of Khajuraho (India), a Unesco World Heritage Site. Rightly so! Photo of the week: Lakshmana temple, c. 1000 AD, Khajuraho, India 2007
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A child is born
A child is born every quarter of a second. Happy Christmas. Photo of the week: Christmas, Mumbai, India 2014
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At home in Kumaon
At home in Kumaon A row of old village houses; the ground floor reserved for the animals, the people upstairs. All built, cut and painted true to tradition. But times have changed. In the background we see a glimpse of a new building, constructed with brick and cement. And so the charm and beauty of…
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Cow lifting game
Cow lifting game What to do when a cow is lying down in the middle of the path, blocking the way through and in no way willing to get up and move? Such cow stubbornness is rare but here it happened. Only combined forces – and lots of fun – could bring help. And only…
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Bhang
Bhang Yes, it grows in the wild in the Kumaon hills. I’m talking about the Cannabis sativa, the Indian hemp plant. The seeds get blown in the wind or are taken and dropped by birds and so, all of a sudden, you can have some hemp plants growing in your garden. Local farmers may –…
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Tap tap!
Tap tap! That is what you hear in the pine forest when the man who collects the resin from the trees fixes the cone back on the stem. Then he moves to the next tree, empties the cone, puts it back, tap tap, and he goes on to the next. The resin is used for…
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Like mother, like daughter
Like mother, like daughter Human life may have changed in many respects since prehistoric times, but at a certain level, the level of basic needs for the organism to survive, we are still the same, and not much different from other animals for that matter. We need food to eat, we need water to drink.…
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Lakhudiyar
Lakhudiyar Already in prehistory humans must have been enchanted by the natural beauty of the Kumaon hills. They have left their traces, as we can see for example in the rock shelter the board on the photo speaks so nicely about. Lakhudiyar can be found between present day Almora and Jageshwar. It looks as if…
