Ajourneywithin: November 2005

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KOLKATA, RAJASTHAN & DELHI

Victoria memorial

Science city at Kolkata

Kolkata's sudder street views...

Jaipur "snake enchanters"

Palace at Pink city

Pushkar's holly lake & ghats on the back....

Saddhu ( holy man )

A gathering celebrating sikh festivity Guru Nanak's birthday, all I can recall from sikhs is how generous they are, cause everytime I went to one of their temples I ended up, sitting on the floor eating spicy chick peas & Chapatti among them...

NEXT ARE FACES OF GREAT INDIAN PEOPLE WHO KINDLY INVITED ME TO THEIR HOMES AND TREATED ME LIKE THEIR GUEST OF HONOR...GOD BLESS INDIA...BUT MOSTLY...GOD BLESS IT'S PEOPLE...

A birthday present...

A groom's marriage procession...

Bride's marriage procession at Pushkar...

Jamid Masjid Mosque, the largest in India & the Red Fort behind

Sihk festival at old Delhi...

Gandhi's last footprints before he was shot at Gandhi memorial in Delhi...

Rajpath

Baha'i temple at sunset, it's an interesting temple that welcomes all religions to pray, so you see muslims praying towards the Mecca... Buddhist monks... jewish, christians... a special place...

IF YOU ARE GOING TO INDIA OR ARE ALREADY IN INDIA, READ THIS...

I was walking in Pushkar's main street, when I suddenly spot a cow in the middle of a garbage deposit, eating a magazine, so I ran towards her and took it out of her mouth, but then she just turned and grabbed a plastic plate... that broke my heart and new I had to do something about it, so I made a little research and found out that cows here in Pushkar are starving and many are dying because they eat plastic bags, which is a major problem in India, and in many states plastic bags are banned, but in turistic Rajasthan, they've tried to do the same but they don't accept it saying that they don't want to make a bad impression on tourists by giving their purchased things in a paper bag or a newspaper wrap.

So I've been working in making people realize that this is our responsability, because before all the concrete on the streets, there was plenty of grass and now, there's nothing left for them, so they are eating magazines and bags instead!!, I started a donations program for grass, and if I can bring a bit of conscience in people I'll be happy...So please read this, and if you are going to India, especially to Rajasthan, it wouldn't hurt if you can take few copies of this and spread the word...

If you look around, there are many cows wandering around looking for something to eat which a lot of times they find in the hands of good-hearted Indian people, who feed them in spite their own circumstances, but unfortunately takes a lot more for them to satisfy their hunger and their big bodies so they go to mountains of trash and eat almost anything they can chew, sometimes food waste… most of the times paper and plastic.

Before cities were built, there was plenty of grass land and they used to live in their proper habitat, but now cities are basically concrete, cars, etc, and there’s NOTHING LEFT FOR THEM TO EAT, so in a way that makes us responsible for that, and there are surely some things we can do, we must do, about it…

SAY NO TO PLASTIC BAGS!! Please… they are poison for them, they painfully die because they can’t digest plastic ( who can?? ), but they don’t know it, if some food leftovers stick to the bag, it will taste like food, and is soft, so they eat it….they don’t know!!….think that with 1 plastic bag, 1 cow might die, not just die, but suffer really bad. Plastic bags also damage farmlands so discourage people from using them.

We come to this beautiful country, we enjoy traveling here so much, but we just can’t be indifferent to other beings’ suffering, can be old people, hungry cows or dogs, etc, it takes very little to help others and you can make a real difference in this beings life, if you take 10, 20 or 50 rupees from your daily budget and spend it in food, for example: vegetables and fruits for people, grass for the cows found in markets, any kind of food for hungry street dogs, ( they can’t speak, but just look into their eyes and you’ll know they need ) etc, it will be a blessing in their lives and you will soon experience the feeling of deep happiness that comes with it…

Think about it….

NEW DELHI, AGRA & MATHURA

Taj mahal at sunset time

The white color Taj, turns into a honey color at sunset

Main Krishna temple in India, Mathura

Mathura, Krishna's birthplace, is a holly town where pilgrims from India and around the world come and worship Krishna, is a really special place

Main bazaar, New Delhi

Food stall, Agra

Ayurvedic pharmacy, Agra

At the Red Fort with Ruma

Here with Paul, a very nice guy

Rickshaw driver stuck in a traffic jam...very common scenario in Delhi....

" Thali", the typical indian dish which includes a bit of different regional dishes in one plate... sooo delicious... this picture is the "before".....