Genesis - soumya.org

Sounds Of Independence

6am...August 15...Munsiyari...a small corner of India... where the tarmac ends and the trekking trails to the Himalayas and Tibet begin. I woke up to the sound of distant drum beats and slogans breaking through the drone of the incessant rain. Grabbed my camera and wandered out into the mist. Through a cloudy haze appeared a group of young students...sharply dressed...chests puffed...heads held high...singing patriotic songs as they scrambled down the hill slopes on their way to the village parade...The pride I felt was an amazing start to India's 58th Independence Day...

Attarwalla

For many centuries, merchants have travelled across India trading in attars, francincense and myrrh. One afternoon I caught a glimpse of the past reflected in the crystal bottles of the attarwalla's box...

Pilgrimage Of The Kanvarias

Twice a year, Delhi sees a phenomenon of thousands of people in saffron tshirts and shorts carrying pots of Ganges water attached to a bamboo yoke (Kanvar). Thus known as Kanvarias, they walk the 200 plus kilometers from Haridwar barefoot (or wearing simple rubber flip flops) as an offering to Shiva. Over the years the kanvars have become larger and more colorful, the pilgrims younger and more boisterous and the atmosphere though religious is decidedly kitschy...