Floral nostalgia in Pondicherry
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under photography
My favorite flower
When I was a child, my father tried, with some limited success, to grow plants from his childhood in India. And so it was that bougainvillea became one of my favorite flowers. We had a small potted plant with deep red leaves, but in India (and many other semi-tropical climates) they grow in many shades and as big as small trees.
The above comes from a warm street in Pondicherry.
Tags: bougainvillea, environment, india, nostalgia, photography, plants, pondicherry
Brickmakers of Akurdi
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under photography
Family of brickmakers
India’s construction boom requires bricks. Bricks are labor intensive. They are carefully molded and dried in the sun. Then they’re intricately stacked amid charcoal, for firing in what essentially an open kiln.
Here, a family of brickmakers are getting ready to fire another batch of bricks (more photos below).
Continue reading this entry » » »
Tags: akurdi, brick, construction, emerging nations, india, journalism, photography, pune
Who needs a supermarket?
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under photography
Corner store, redefined
Most of my daily needs are met by small-time bodegas scattered throughout neighborhoods. The above shot comes from a strip of road between Darjeeling and Ghoom.
It’s like this in much of the developing world, where supermarkets and giant shopping centers are still a very new concept.
Tags: darjeeling, economy, food, ghoom, grocery, india, market, photography, shopping
Cutting an Indian rug
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under photography
Stealing the spotlight
Last night, I attended performance of Odissi, a style of classical Indian dance. It was beautiful, fantastically lit and hypnotic. As soon as the first dancers stepped on the outdoor stage, I wished for my camera, though with my banged-up shoulder I wouldn’t have been able to lift it. Continue reading this entry » » »
Tags: dance, delhi, ghungroo, india, odissi, photography, tradition
Winged desert rats
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under photography
The one in the middle is clearly giving me the stink eye
In honor of my upcoming trip to the desert state of Rajasthan, here are 2004-era pigeons from a royal courtyard in Jaipur. Though we tend to think of pigeons as diseased garbage birds, in Islam (and even in some secular segments of India) they are respected or even lucky.
Tags: culture, desert, india, photography, pigeon, rajasthan, religion, tourism, wildlife
Like a lizard in the sun
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under photography
Do you know my mother?
I am a lost little reptile of some sort, maybe a lizard, maybe a gecko, maybe a skink. I was found in Ghoom.
I’m not sure of my identity. I’ve tried contacting a herpetologist at an Indian university to identify me for myself, but no luck.
But I’m reasonably happy basking in the sun. And I’m completely unafraid of macro-focus photo shoots.
Tags: darjeeling, environment, gecko, ghoom, herpetology, india, lizard, photography, reptile, wildlife
Keep the dung fires burning
Posted by Adam Jadhav | Filed under photography
Resourceful, them Gorkhas, huh?
Dung rolled into balls and left to dry in the sun. It’s pretty common in the developing world to recycle animal waste into fuel. Or as plaster. Or flooring.
This comes from a front-step of a house in Ghoom, near Darjeeling. During the winter across northern India, poor people use these dung fuel for heating fires. They’re also used year-round for cooking.
Tags: darjeeling, dung, emerging nations, energy, fuel, ghoom, india, photography, poverty, recycling
