Picture Blog - Poras Chaudhary

[poraschaudhary]

#Repost @nytimestravel ・・・ A lone fisherman out for some early morning catches off the Jaffna peninsula, in northern Sri Lanka. Decades of war have given way to an opening of beaches, islands and more. Photo by @poraschaudhary. More at nytimes.com/travel. #jaffna #srilanka #travel

[poraschaudhary]

A beautiful view of Taj Mahal at night. If you look closely you may see small white dots in the sky, also called stars. When I first visited Taj Mahal I had very high expectations and thought its a bit over-hyped but visiting it a couple of times made me realize it really is a wonder. It grows on you, such an amazing piece of architecture. The Taj Mahal, Persian for "Crown of Palaces", is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–1658), to house the tomb of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The tomb is the centerpiece of a 42-acre complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenelated wall. #india #incredibleindia #tajmahal #taj #agra #tomb #architecture #persian #mughal #mumtazmahal (at Taj Mahal)

[poraschaudhary]

A section of women in traditional dresses, sitting in front of a background featuring modern high-rise buildings, enjoying a local festival in Ladakh. The women in the front row, dressed in their fully traditional attire, waiting for their turn to dance as they are among the participants themselves. #india #ladakh #jammukashmir #drokpa #colors

[poraschaudhary]

A section of men, watching a wrestling match in a small village near #shimla in #himachalpradesh this kind of small fairs are the only source of entertainment these people get. Almost all the people from the nearby villages participate with great zeal. #incredibleindia #india

[poraschaudhary]

Two women plucking the flowers which they would use in decoration of their headgear, its a part of their day-to-day routine but in this case they are getting ready for a festival in which they would perform traditional dance. #ladakh #jammuandkashmir #drokpa

[poraschaudhary]

Built by queen Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar of Madhya Pradesh, who was a great builder and patron of many Hindu temples which thronged Maheshwar and Indore. She also built many temples in the city of Varanasi among which are the Kashi Vishvanatha temple and the Manikarnika Ghat. In honour and memory the ghat is named after her. There is a palace and residential district inside the compound. The service court is situated in front of the palace, which continues down towards the ghat built on the Ganga river. There is also a group of religious buildings including temples and servants’ quarters, some of which are used as akhara (wrestling site). Next to the palace, a Brahmapuri made up of ten houses is built along a street running parallel to the river and protected at both ends by gates. These houses were all built at the same time, which explains the regular and symmetrical appearances of their facades. Towards the old part of the city, a gateway crowned with a noubat (kettledrum) protected the compound. #ahilyabai #varanasi #incredibleindia #india #banaras #colors #ghat

[poraschaudhary]

An old Drokpan woman standing outside her house. #ladakh #jammuandkashmir #drokpa

[poraschaudhary]

An old Drokpan woman standing outside her house. #ladakh #jammuandkashmir #drokpa

[poraschaudhary]

A Drokpan couple sitting in their kitchen-cum-drawing-room. Most of the laddakhi houses have a large kitchen where there is ample room for guests to sit, relax and have their meals and Drokpan kitchens are no different as they follow Buddhist religion. #ladakh #incredibleindia #india #drokpa #kitchen #red

[poraschaudhary]

The Flower Woman,#ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir #j&k #drokpa

[poraschaudhary]

A Laddakhi woman getting her hair made in a small village near Kargil. #ladakh #india #incredibleindia

[poraschaudhary]

Employs of Indian Railway reading the newspaper quite early in the morning near #Allahabad railway station. With 1.4 million employees, #Indian #Railway is the 8th largest employer in the world. Guess who's at no. 1? US Department of Defense. #indianrailways #meninblack (at Allahabad Junction railway station)

[poraschaudhary]

A Naga Sadhu of Juna Akhara preparing to get a haircut and getting his hair made after more than a decade. It took about a couple of hours and three men to complete the task. The old sadhu in the middle is Shri Ramanand Giri Ji Maharaj who was given to the Akhara by his parents when he was a child. #Kumbhmela #Allahabad #Mahakumbh #Naga #Sadhu

[poraschaudhary]

People waiting curiously to watch the #Naga #Sadhus of #Juna #Akhara go to Harkipauri during a shahisnan (Royal Bathing Day) in #Haridwar #Uttarakhand #Kumbhmela 2010 (at upper market HARIDWAR)

[poraschaudhary]

The pilgrims, Kumbh Mela, Allahabad.

[poraschaudhary]

The Three Pathans (Taken with instagram)

[poraschaudhary]

Glimpses of Ladakh

Ladakh is a region in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south. Ladakh, which is inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent, is one of the most sparsely populated regions in the area. Ladakh is renowned for its remote mountain beauty and culture. It is sometimes called "Little Tibet" as it has been strongly influenced by Tibetan culture. In the past Ladakh gained importance from its strategic location at the crossroads of important trade routes, but since the Chinese authorities closed the borders with Tibet and Central Asia in the 1960s, international trade has dwindled except for tourism. Since 1974 the Indian Government has successfully encouraged tourism in Ladakh.

Ladakh, India - Images by Poras Chaudhary