[torryquine]

Sorry, I've been remiss.  Here are our belated pictures from this years trip.  I'll write some bits about it before I forget too much.  But ask questions - what do you want me to tell you about?

[AlanD]

Excellent set of photos TQ - enjoyed looking at them. Perhaps you might like to add the historical ones to the "Historic India" group on flickr where I am a moderator.

Seems like you had a great time.

Edited by AlanD, 16 April 2009 - 03:02 AM.

[Somerset]

Really great. Thanks for posting them.

[cyberhippie]

Brilliant TQ thanks for sharing and you saw elephants in the wild, lucky you something I've still not seen, not for the lack of trying though.

[Somerset]

Not to mention a tiger. Great photographs of what must have been a great trip.

[Hyderabadi]

... and a Bollywood movie shoot!

Great pictures TQ!

[kullukid]

Verrreee colourful, liked the Ganga aarti one!............compared to the Varanasi performance last yr it looks very genuine! KK

[torryquine]

Thanks all, and it WAS a great trip.  We have a better time each time we go.

Plenty of wild elephants in Corbett.  But we're lucky with wildlife.  We actually saw two tigers, the other one just flashed past with a growl!

The aarti at Haridwar was a lot less 'staged' than Varanasi, more spontaneous.  But I've never understood why so much money has to change hands in these places...  when the ghat 'wardens' tried to hit us for another 500rp "donation" I started to question what was so holy about it all.  A lot of good Indian people seem to spend so much of their earnings on getting the right priest to do the right pujas for them etc...  I don't get it, but I'm not very spiritual.

Will do Alan, and nice to see you.  You've been in India yourself recently I hear>

[Hyderabadi]

torryquine, on Apr 18 2009, 04:38 AM, said:

A lot of good Indian people seem to spend so much of their earnings on getting the right priest to do the right pujas for them etc...  I don't get it, but I'm not very spiritual.

Very true, as an Indian I don't understand that myself... recently, we had our Gruhapravesh (house warming) ceremony here in the US and I had to make a huge 'dictatorial' decision to have it performed by a priest who was not 'liked' by everyone. I'm still paying the price, sometimes...........


Seriously, I believe it is the way an individual's (priest's) pronounciation sounds or resonates. Some of the Sanskrit words (thereby mantras) can mean something completely different or even opposite if not pronounced correctly.

[torryquine]

Hyderabadi, on Apr 18 2009, 11:55 AM, said:

Seriously, I believe it is the way an individual's (priest's) pronounciation sounds or resonates. Some of the Sanskrit words (thereby mantras) can mean something completely different or even opposite if not pronounced correctly.

Oh that starts to make sense for me.  We were watching Michaels Wood's The Story of India again recently.  The first ephisode includes footage of some south Indian priests chanting in a language so old and archane, the nearest thing linguists can liken it to is birdsong.  The 'sounds' could be as important as (or more than) the words.

I still got the feeling that the more money someone was prepared to 'donate' the 'better' thier blessings would turn out.  But I guess that's just the way of the world.  And India is the most entreprenurial country I know.

[iwanttogoback]

Quote

And India is the most entreprenurial country I know.

now that is a charming and diplomatic description.