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12 May 2014 -Voters standing in a queue to vote at a local polling station set up at Natinal Inter College in Varanasi [Photo: Prashanth Vishwanathan/UNDP India]
12 May 2014 - A polling officer conducts mock poll prior to actual polling at a polling booth in a primary school in Varanasi. [Photo: Prashanth Vishwanathan/UNDP India]
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Garasia woman.
Garasia, an interesting ethnic group inhabiting the Aravali foothills of remote Sabarkatha district in Gujarat has a curious history. Though a depressed class and classified as a de-notified tribe, the Garasias resembles closely with the advanced Rajput clans in many ways. Due to these, the British administration had even categorized the Garasias as a branch of Rajputs who were petty land holders. Even today amidst poverty and deep isolation I was surprised to see Garasias not only as prime agriculturalists but also holders of large chunk of lands in the remote slopes of Aravali Mountains. Their houses are widely dispersed each surround by a large farmstead.
Yet the Garasias are poor and deprived of basic services like, health, education
and safe drinking water. Farming is mostly rain fed. According to historical records, in colonial India as land became scarce both through colonial expansion and slash-and-burn agriculture Garasias became further marginalized and associated themselves with Bhils, a more primitive tribal group. The nationalist movement created further division between groups as the Rajput identity was grounded in traditional customs and their heritage as rulers.
Garasias of Sabarkatha form two distinct groups – the Garasia Rajputs and the
Garasia Bhils.
The Garasia Rajputs: In the medieval time the Rajputs from Rajasthan and surrounding plains of Gujarat had appropriated Bhil territories and in part to strengthen their rule and maintain peace, some of them married to Bhil women.
Their offspring formed a distinct caste – the Garasia Rajputs. They served as delegates between the ruling Rajputs and Bhils. The Garasia Rajputs are a lower
status caste than the Rajputs but consider themselves higher to Bhils with whom
they do not inter marry. Garasia Rajputs see themselves as tribalized Rajputs and they believe that that their Rajput ancestors moved to remote forest to avoid subjugation by a conquering group.
The Garasia Bhils: The Garasia Bhils are those who married to Bhil women and were not accepted into Garasia society because of the lower status of the Bhils. The Bhil Garasias are also called Dungri Garasias.
The Garasias live mostly in huts consisting of two/three rooms with mud wall partitions. The roofs are built of flat tiled roofs. There is a smaller hut attached to the main one meant for cattle. However, for the other animals like goats and hens there
are open air facilities. The Garasia women are known for their colourful attires and silver jewellery. Dhols (drums) and bow-arrows are also part of the material culture of the Garasias.
The huts belonging to various families are widely dispersed and there is no central place where people can meet together. I visited a few houses in the village and while interacting with the inhabitants I discovered the gender divisions - women’s responsibility include cooking, tending to cattle, milking the animals and looking after the children. The men do the physical labour such as ploughing, harvesting and building the houses. There is a strong prevalence of joint family system though there is very little unity or cooperation between the village clans.
Thiksey Gompa of Ladakh is situated at a distance of approximately 18 km from the town of Leh. One of the most beautiful monasteries of Ladakh, it belongs to the Gelukpa Order of Buddhism. Sherab Zangpo of Stod got the Thiksey Monastery built for the first time, at Stakmo. However, later Spon Paldan Sherab, the nephew of Sherab Zangpo, reconstructed the monastery in the year 1430 AD. The new monastery was sited on a hilltop, to the north of Indus River.
Thikse Monastery Ladakh houses a temple, known as Lakhang Nyerma. This temple, built by Rinchen Zangpo, the Translator, is dedicated to Goddess Dorje Chenmo. A huge temple in its time, today it stands mostly in ruins. Apart from this temple, there are a number of other sacred shrines inside the monastery complex. The monastery also has a rich collection of numerous valuable artifacts and ancient relics.
Thiksey Gompa serves as the residence of approximately eighty monks. It has been served, for quite a long time, by the successive reincarnations of the Skyabsje Khanpo Rinpoche. The monastery also plays the host to Gustor ritual, organized from the 17th to 19th day of the ninth month of the Tibetan calendar. Sacred dances also form a part of this ritual, which takes place on an annual basis.
From wiki
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Situated on the Rajpath in New Delhi, India Gate (originally called the All India War Memorial) is a monument built by Edwin Lutyens to commemorate the Indian soldiers who died in the World War I and the Afghan Wars. The foundation stone was laid on 10 February 1921 by the Duke of Connaught. The names of the soldiers who died in these wars are inscribed on the walls. It was completed in 1931. Burning under it since 1971 is the Amar Jawan Jyoti (The flame of the immortal warrior), which marks the Unknown Soldier's Tomb.
11 May 2014 - Indian elections workers are learning to use and check electronic voting machines at an Elections Commission facility before moving to a polling station in Varanasi, India.[Photo: Prashanth Vishwanathan/UNDP India]
Hodka village - Harijan or Meghwal tribal people.
The name Harijan was given by Mahatma Gandhi to the Meghwal people. Hari means God and Jan means People. Meghwals are originally from Marwar in Rajasthan. They are experts in weaving wool and cotton and make attractive leather embroidery and wood carving.
Meghwals live all over Kutch. They always live in groups outside the village. Their houses are very clean and decorated by cowdung mud and mirrors. The men do leather work, wood carving and women do embroidery and patchwork. They live close to the Muslim families. They often borrow embroidery patterns and techniques from Muslim neighbours. They worship Ramdevpir.
To sell grain in India, farmers bring their crops to a mandi, where government agencies and private millers purchase grain. However, the mandi system is not uniformly developed across all states in India.
One way FFI contributes to fortification work in India is helping understand the supply chain for wheat, rice, and wheat flour. Photo by David McKee.
A visit to the nomadic people living in the Tsomorori Lake area (near Korzok village).
Tsomomiri is the largest of the high altitude lakes to be situated entirely within India. The remote high plateau of Changthang stretches from western Tibet into eastern Ladakh.
Tourists enjoy a ride on a Shikara or traditional gondola on the World famous Nigeen lake as sunset in Srinagar,kashmir, India. Such is the beauty of the lake they decided to move the Shikara themselves to go into the interiors of the Lake.The Nigeen lake is second most beautiful lake in Srinagar, kashmir, india. Nigeen lake attracts scores of foreign tourits, every year. Kashmir is famous for its natural beauty with enchanting valleys, limpid lakes, cascading rivers, trekking in mountains and a wide variety of animals and plants. Kashmir is also considered a paradise for trekkers..
Photo.Mehraj Mir
Soumen Basu, Executive Adviser, ManpowerGroup, India at the World Economic Forum on India 2012. Copyright World Economic Forum / Photo by Benedikt von Loebell
An Indian girl enjoys the rain during a heavy downpour in Mumbai on June 6, 2008. Mumbaikars breathed a sigh of relief as the weather became cool and pleasant after spells of showers and pre-dawn rain. The monsoon season, which runs from June to September, accounts for about 80 percent of India's annual rainfall. AFP PHOTO/ Sajjad HUSSAIN
Village: Baluka, Keonjhar, Odisha, India, 6 March 2013:.Women serve mid day meal to students, at Baluka UG UP school in Keonjhar. Gayatri last september had fallen into a pot of hot rice gruel kept aside during her mid day meals. Suffering from boils all over her body she was rushed to a local medical center. Her uncle called in the students helpline and immediate financial and medical help was rushed in from the collector of Keonjhar and Cuttack. Gayatri is attending school again is also topping her class. .School Students Helpline and SAMIKSHA ( analysis) are monitoring and feedback tools, implemented by Odhisa Government for effective implementation of the Right to Education Act in Odhisa. UNICEF India/2013/Prashanth Vishwanathan.
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7 May 2014 - Virendra Kumar uses medical facilities at a First Aid center for voters at a Model polling booth at Muncipal Corporation building Shimla. [Photo: UNDP India/Prashanth Vishwanathan]
It has been two years since my last visit to India. Such trips were always for business. Yet, I tried to find time to visit the countryside around Bangalore. The Indian state of Karnataka is home to a large collection of Hoysala Dynasty temples.
My favorite temples were built by kings, queens, and a military general. The 12th century temple at Helibidu is my favorite. The stone carvings are so beautiful that if you squint your eyes, you would swear they are alive and breathing.
The large temple of Belur is nice, but too spread out for my tastes. Beautiful things are certainly there, so if you are in the Hassan region of Karnataka, it's worth paying it a visit.
Which leads me to these series of images. They are from the 13th century Hoysala temple of Somanathapura. It is a small temple that is overflowing with incredible stone carvings.
My many and continued thanks to Prakash Murthy for taking me to so many wonderful places in southern India. It was he who introduced me to the temples and sacred places of Karnataka.
Ladakhi women from Korzok village spinning wool.
Korzok village is one of the highest villages in the World: situated at 4,595 metres (15,075 ft) on the bank of Lake Tsomoriri.
Tsomomiri is the largest of the high altitude lakes to be situated entirely within India. The remote high plateau of Changthang stretches from western Tibet into eastern Ladakh.
7 May 2014 - 80 years old Santosh takes the support of her son as she walks out of Baldeya village polling booth in Shimla. Santosh had to walk over a kilometer on a hilly terrain to reach the polling station. [Photo: UNDP India/Prashanth Vishwanathan]