Category: Asia
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U-turn – if you can
U-turn – if you can I don’t think they can. It looks as if they are too big and the aquarium too narrow for them to turn around. They are condemned to stay floating in the water as they are : tail to tail. Photo of the week: Kyoto, Japan 2008
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The colour yellow
The colour yellow She picked a few little yellow flowers and, in a playful burst of joy, stuck them in her pierced earlobe.The little flowers glisten brightly against her tanned skin. She notices my surprised, admiring gaze and smiles. Photo of the week: Orchha, M.P., India 2009
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Bed of flowers
Bed of flowers The person for whom the bed is made is not lying on it but under it. Maybe these were his favorite flowers, maybe he was green-fingered. He would certainly be pleased to see the yellow flowerbed above his head, a little island shining between dry red earth, pebbles and dead leaves. Photo…
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Double twosome
Double twosome After years of worship venerated objects can become pretty messy. The heads of the divine couple on the left have been smeared with coloured paste day after day till their faces got completely covered. The girls (goddesses?) on the torn and faded poster have also had their share, not on but above their…
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Alluring twosome
Alluring twosome Through their gestures these heavenly nymphs draw our attention straight away to their heavy rounded breasts. The sculptor may have exaggerated a bit in his striving to let them meet the ideal of feminine beauty, but nonetheless the nymphs seem to be content with the outcome of his work. Photo of the week:…
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Reading reeds
Reading reeds A delightful tangle of lines, open triangles and dense clusters: broken reeds in the sunlit water at the end of the day. Nature’s playfulness verging on abstraction. Photo of the week: Manipur, India 2014
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Turquoise beauty
Turquoise beauty She helps out at the Jokhang – or at least, she did in 1996 when I visited the temple. I loved her sweet face and her rosy cheeks, framed by a traditional string of Tibetan turquoise stones. Her two gold-capped front teeth make her smile even more beautiful. Photo of the week: Jokhang,…
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On the roof of the world
On the roof of the world Outside, on the top floor of the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, you can see the surrounding mountains through the richly gilded roofs. With their velvety green blanket, they almost look like a film set. Photo of the week: Jokhang, Lhasa, Tibet 1996
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Guardian angel
Guardian angel She may not exactly have the angelic looks that you would expect, but I think I recognize in this painting Palden Lhamo, the protector of the Dalai Lama, of Lhasa, even of the whole of Tibet. Many deities are known in benign and in wrathful forms. And it is in their wrathful appearance…
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Jokhang
Jokhang The clouds of smoke from the burning of incense block the view of the entrance to the Jokhang, the most important sanctuary of Tibet in the heart of Lhasa. The oldest parts of the temple date from the 7th century. And still the place is buzzing with religious and social activity. Photo of the…
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