India: Distant Rising Suns

Sunrise on the Kaveri River in January 1986.

A couple of weeks ago I finally got around to watching Slumdog Millionaire, the Best Picture for 2008. It was better than expected though not anything I really want to own. I thought the screenplay was the strongest part of the film.

Anyway, as so often with karma, it just so happened I was going through some old photographs a few days before I watched Slumdog. Among them were family pictures from my college graduation, some old trips to Daytona Beach, and a bunch of photos from when I traveled to India in 1985. There were a lot of little things in Slumdog that brough back memories. I spent about 2 weeks in and around Bombay during my visit almost 25 years ago.

The photos are all fading with time so I decided to scan them in for future preservation.

I spent almost six months in India in 1985-86, mostly staying in at the Shantivanam Ashram in Tamil Nadu studying yoga. But I traveled around a bit too, mostly in southern India. A future trip was to visit the north and go into the Himalayas in Nepal. But, that hasn’t happened so far.

Anyway, here are a few pics that I feel are among the best of the batch. These were all developed in India. The quality of the prints was never that great. Many of the photos are yellowing a bit.


The pic up top is of a German acquaintance at the time whose name I have long forgotten. He would practice yoga in the pre-morning breeze along the Kaveri River where the ashram was situated. I often saw him there after I had already completed my own yoga training with Swami Mariabhakta. I came there to meditate in the sunrise, as did the German. One morning I brought my camera and didn’t meditate while he did.

Swami Mariabhakta and myself. I studied yoga with him for about 4 months.

One of my favorite pics. A man riding an elephant through an Indian town. A car attempts to get around the elephant while overhead the banner reads "Learn Computer Programming." India is a great study in contrasting eras.

Jennifer thinks this shot looks like a painting. Taken one afternoon as the Kaveri River was very low. A farmer lets his ox cool off in the water. He is splashing some on the animal's back. This could have been taken 1000 years ago.

A woman selling apples on the side of a town street. I like the composition of this shot. It is a mundane scene, which is what makes it so special.

After I watched Slumdog, I dug into my hoard of file folders on various things to find some notes and brief essays I wrote just before, during, and after my trip to India – ranging from 1985 to 1989. Reading over them I was surprised to learn how much my basic “metaphysics” or “beliefs” remain unchanged from what I wrote then – especially after my return from India in the late 1980’s. I’ll share some of the impressions I wrote during my stay in India in the next couple of posts.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Great snaps!

Why don’t you get them printed & door-delivered anywhere in India with Zoomin.com, India’s # 1 portal? Celebrate and share memories with customised Prints, Books,

Calendars T-Shirts, Posters, Cards, Gifts and more. Shipping starts @ just Rs. 25. Start now!.
Unknown said…
If you are out for genuine yoga tips ......Please Check out the blog mentioned below its really cooool !!!!!!! .... Check it out, I'm Sure you'll love it.

http://staysharpwithyoga.blogspot.com

Popular posts from this blog

Lady Chatterley's Lover: An Intensely Sexy Read

A Summary of Money, Power, and Wall Street

A Summary of United States of Secrets