Approaching Delhi by air.
Old Delhi: From cycle-rickshaw.
Old Delhi: School bus (note book bags on top).
Old Delhi: Delhi has a population of 14 million.
Old Delhi: Imagine how bad it gets at rush hour.
Old Delhi: Chandni Chowk (that's the name of the street), laid out in 1648.
Old Delhi: Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India, completed in 1658. Muslims make up roughly 13 percent of India’s population of 1.1 billion
Old Delhi: Jama Masjid courtyard, taken from minaret. The courtyard can hold up to 25,000 people during Friday prayer.
Old Delhi: From Jama Masjid.
Old Delhi: Sara feeling overwhelmed at the spice market. The air in this area is thick with spice dust. Everyone coughs every ten seconds or so. It's impossible not to cough.
Old Delhi: Chilis at spice market.
Old Delhi: Spice market building. This building used to be a massive brothel. Now only spices are sold.
Old Delhi: Ginger drying on a roof.
Old Delhi: Sara feeling overwhelmed on roof in the spice market. We wondered if our cycle-rickshaw driver was going to kill us as he was leading us up the dark, narrow stairway to get up there, but he did not. I gave him a big tip for not killing us.
Old Delhi: Spice market.
Old Delhi: Archways of the Red Fort, the seat of the Mughal empire from the mid-17th to mid-19th century.
Old Delhi: Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audiences) at the Red Fort.
Delhi: This is the busy street I had to risk my life crossing to get to the office each day. If you look closely, you can see a building in the center of the photo. It's only about half a mile away but is almost completely obscured by the smog (or "fog," as Delhiites prefer to call it).
Delhi: The Wiley India cafeteria. Note the purple tiffin on the table.
Delhi: The contents of the tiffin. Home-cooked and delivered warm to the office for 20 rupees (about 40 cents).
Delhi: Post-lunch trip to the pan shop. This ritual should be followed everywhere.
Delhi: Mosque near the office letting out after Friday prayer. Taken from the office balcony.
Delhi: My last day at work. I'm wearing the kurta-pyjama that was presented to me by my office mates.
Delhi: The gang at the office.
Delhi: The Iron Pillar at Qutb Minar. 2,000 years after its construction, the pillar has not yet rusted. Scientist have not been able to figure out how iron of such exceptional purity could have been made using the technology of that time. It was said that if you could stand with your back to the pillar and encircle it with your arms, your wish would be granted. But now a fence keeps all away. No more wishes will be granted.
Delhi: Qutb Minar. Construction of the 73 meter high ornate tower began in 1193. It is quite impressive.
Delhi: Bangles and details of the Qutb Minar.
Delhi: I was taking pictures of the peacocks at the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, when these guys insisted that I take their picture instead. The photo they judged to be booo-teeee-ful!
Delhi: Broom vendors' bikes. So many brooms, so much sweeping, and yet still so much dust.
Delhi: Home Sweet Corporate Service Apartment.
Ahmedabad: Camel cart stuck in traffic. I took this picture before I realized how frequently camels are still used as beasts of burden in the western part of the country. Such sights soon became commonplace.
Kanpur: The industrial city with the craziest traffic I saw in India.
Kanpur: The traffic did not bother him.
Kanpur: My name in Hindi at the Kanpur railway station.
Delhi: Dinner at the home of the Sood Family.
Farmland between Delhi and Agra. Since 1997, 25,000 farmers in India have committed suicide. In the late 1980s, India's Green Revolution began to fall apart as the chemical fertilizers that had been used for the previous 20 years rendered soil infertile. Farmers who had once diversified risk by growing as many as 30 different crops in their fields were dependent upon just one. As the quality of the soil deteriorated, they faced zero yields and an inability to pay their debts.
Happy passenger between Delhi and Agra.
Agra: You knew it was coming.
Agra: Taj Mahal. It's all about the detail.
Agra: The Taj Mahal is actually much smaller than I expected.
Agra: The mosque at the Taj Mahal.
Agra: Taj Mahal detail. That's marble inlay.
Agra: That upon which one walks at the Taj Mahal.
Agra: Tea at the Gupta Family's home.
Agra: At Akbar's Mausoleum.
Haridwar: The origin of the Ganges River in the foothills of the Himalayas. One of the holiest Hindu cities, it is said that this is where Vishnu dropped some heavenly nectar and left a footprint behind.
Haridwar: Bara Bazaar, a/k/a Bizarre Bazaar.
Haridwar: Sunrise over the Ganges. It's easy to get up early there since the town's nightlife consists setting flaming offerings afloat on the river.
Haridwar: Slums on the banks of the Ganges.
Haridwar: Can you spot the foreigner?
Haridwar: Bathing ghats near Har-Ki-Pairi (Footstep of the God).
Haridwar: India is not big on sidewalks. One walks in the street. No one will run you over intentionally.
Haridwar: MONKEY MENACE! on the balcony of our hotel. This is not the same monkey that wandered into our room when we weren't paying attention. That monkey was much, much bigger. Despite my hand clapping and yelling of "Shoo! Shoo!" the monkey nonchalantly looked around for some food and then left when he was good and ready.
Haridwar: Still afraid of monkeys by the cable car leading to Mansa Devi Temple.
Jaisalmer: Jaisalmer Fort, built in 1156 by the Rajput ruler Jaisala, in western Rajasthan about 50 miles from the Pakistani border. More than 10,000 people still live within the fort. The slowly collapsing fort is on the World Monuments Watch List of 100 endangered sites worldwide. Modern plumbing combined with inadequate drainage is the culprit. The water is destroying the sandstone.
Jaisalmer: Sun setting over the Thar Desert.
Jaisalmer: Looking out of the maharaja's palace in the fort.
Jaisalmer: Alert guard in the maharaja's palace.
Jaisalmer: Taken from the fort.
Jaisalmer: This eating establishment in the fort is not a restaurant in the traditional sense. It is the roof of an old woman's house. You pass through her kitchen, where she's squatting in front of a floor-level burner, and climb the stairs to the roof. A boy of about nine or ten years of age has you write your order (Thali, Super Thali or Super Deluxe Thali) down on a pad of paper and then scampers down the stairs calling, "Oh, Nani!" About an hour later, you have a freshly made, home-cooked meal.
Jaisalmer: Patwa Ki Haveli, built in the 19th century by five Jain brothers who were jewelry merchants.
Jaisalmer: Typical street.
Jaisalmer: Within the 15th century Jain temples that are inside the fort, this is the image of Adinath. You're not supposed to take a photo of him, but with a small donation, well...anything is possible.
Sam Dunes: Near the Pakistani border.
Sam Dunes: Camel safari bullshit.
Jaisalmer: Child Beer...the kids love it.
Jodhpur: Meherangarh, the fort still run by the maharaja of Jodhpur.
Jodhpur: It's also known as The Blue City. Originally, only Brahmins painted their homes blue, but now even a Dalit could get away with it. The color is believed to act as an insect repellent.
Jodhpur: Fake Brahmins' homes.
Jodhpur: Meherangarh guard.
Jodhpur: A filthy primate blocking my view of the Blue City.
Jodhpur: That same vile beast running away after I told him he was insufficiently evolved and tried to bite him.
Outside of Jodhpur: Truckers in India like to paint their vehicles all crazy! They also have air horns that make wacky noises.
Outside of Jodhpur: Shepherd and flock, with water buffalo soaking in the background.
Outside of Jodhpur: Typical Bishnoi village. The Bishnoi are a tribal sect who choose to live out in the desert to protect the animals and trees that live there.
Bishnoi Village: For a small donation, we were able to sample some OPIUM TEA! At least he said it was opium. It may have been petrified goat shit.
Bishnoi Village: Woman cooking. This is not some kind of historical recreation. These people live here.
Bishnoi Village: Harvesting millet. Coincidentally, this photo reminds me of the French painter Millet.
Near Bishnoi Village: Woman working in field.
Bishnoi Village: Potter at work.
Bishnoi Village: The boy insisted I show the photo to the goat as well.
Bishnoi Village: Sensitive girl and goat.
Bishnoi Village: Camera-loving boy and sleeping dog.
Bishnoi Village: The women were married, indicated by the white bangles above the elbow.
Bishnoi Village: Buddies.
Bishnoi Village: We had fun.
Bishnoi Village: I let the kids play with my camera.
Outside Jodhpur: Deepak, our driver, and his son while we were eating lunch at his house. The corn meal mixed with warm buffalo milk dish was strangely satisfying.
Ranakpur: Adinath Jain Temple, built in the 15th century. The uncarved exterior of the temple contrasts with the profuse decoration inside. This symbolizes the Jain belief in the insignificance of outward forms, and the importance of a rich inner life.
Ranakpur: Interior of Jain Temple.
Ranakpur: Interior of Jain Temple. It's all marble. Jains have a lot of money until they give it all away and become monks.
Ranakpur: High priest of the temple in safron, waiting to take your money.
Ranakpur: Me with sandalwood paste, indicating that the high priest has taken my money. Consider it a receipt.
Southern Rajasthan: Squatting by the side of the road.
Southern Rajasthan: Hello! Hello! Hello!
Southern Rajasthan: The Lone Ranger.
Southern Rajasthan: Typical little roadside market.
Southern Rajasthan: Getting water.
Southern Rajasthan: Working in the field.
Southern Rajasthan: The women always seem to be working. The men always seem to be sitting around doing nothing.
Udaipur: Lake Pichola from the roof of our hotel.
Udaipur: Jag Niwas, or The Lake Palace. In years when the monsoon is not good, the lake dries up and the palace sits in the middle of a dry lake bed. It's currently a five-star hotel. But in the James Bond film Octopussy, it was an island palace inhabited by ONLY WOMEN!!!
Udaipur: Sunset over Lake Pichola.
Udaipur: Doing laundry at Lal Ghat.
Udaipur: City Palace.
Udaipur: Bathing ghat.
Udaipur: From Lake Pichola.
Udaipur: The crowd at Lal Ghat.
Udaipur: In City Palace, the lamest of all the palaces we saw. Time was killed by taking fancy photos.
What would Gandhi do? Walking stick used during The Great Salt March.
What would Gandhi think? His cremation site at Raj Ghat, Delhi.
