THROUGH MY EYES

sharing what i've seen in this world © 2018 Schwanne Photography™

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“India is the One land that all men desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would not give that glimpse for all the shows of all the rest of the globe combined.” – Mark Twain. (India, 2009)

Writings I saw on the walls of my cousin’s school.

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“We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” - T.S. Eliot. (India, 2009)

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“The music echoes in the emptiness. It reminds us of where we came from and where we’re bound.” - David Mutti Clark. (India, 2009)

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“Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf.” - Rabindranath Tagore. (India, 2009)

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We would go for walks around the local village most evenings. (India, 2009)

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“One person’s car is another person’s scenery.” - Jonathan Ive. (India, 2009)

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“All for one and one for all.” - The Three Musketeers. (India, 2009)

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“A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles.” - Washington Irving. (Rome, Italy. 2018)

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“Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflict.” - Sigmund Freud. (Kovalam, 2017)

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I like simple things, books, being alone, or with somebody who understands.

Daphne du Maurier

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“Ego vobis romae propitius ero” - (Rome, Italy, 2018)

“I shall be favorable to you at Rome.”

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“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.” - Pablo Picasso. (Florence, Italy, 2018)

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“The memories of us are like trees within a forest. I wish for all those trees to burn down. So my soul can be pure one more, so new trees can grow. Why must even the ghosts of you be so stubborn?” - Bursera Grave. (Florence, Italy, 2018)

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“If you're going to do something tonight that you'll be sorry for tomorrow morning, sleep late.” - Henny Youngman. (Florence, Italy, 2018)

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“Jana-gana-mana-adhinayaka jaya he Bharata-bhagya-vidhata...” - Indian Anthem. (Mysore, 2017)

I remember this day like it was yesterday. It was the fourth day on my road trip across South India. We were in Mysuru, the first stop was St. Philomena's Cathedral. We were walking around and I started to wander off on my own to explore the grounds. In the distance I could hear singing but I couldn’t quite make out what they were singing or where it was coming from, I thought it was the church’s choir. Then as I walked closer in its direction, the words became clearer, they were singing India’s national anthem. A rush of excitement ran through my body and I shouted back to the others to come this way. I literally ran and stumbled across, what I realised, was a school assembly. The kids were standing in rows, singing the anthem and I froze, stood there in complete awe, emotional even. 

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(Mysore, 2017). Every January, a festival known as ‘Pongol’ is celebrated in India’s southern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It lasts four days and is a thanksgiving ceremony for the rice harverst. As well as celebrating the rain, sun and farm animals, a large part of the festival gives thanks to cattle for their contributions to the harvest. To do so, they’re bathed in turmeric water which is believed to have medicinal properties, turning them yellow for at least a month. In the evening cattle owners, the public and the cattle jump over rows of fire which is a ‘purification’ ceremony. Cattle are then blessed and given a specially prepared plate of food which includes coconut, raw cane sugar and rice.

As legend goes, Lord Shiva sent his bull, Basava, to earth with a message asking people to have an oil massage and bath daily, and to eat once a month. Instead, Basava mistakenly announced Shiva has asked people to eat daily and have an oil bath once a month. Enraged, Shiva banished Basava to the earth forever, cursing he would have to plough the fields to help people produce more food. Hence, the association of this day to cattle.

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“No one knows what you have been through or what your pretty little eyes have seen, but I can reassure you ~ whatever you have conquered, it shines through your mind.” - Nikki Rowe. (Pondicherry, 2017)