Instead of readers’ wildlife photos, I thought I’d post some of the pictures I took in India. But readers should continue to send me their good plant and animal snaps. (Make sure they’re good ones, okay? I hate to not put up what readers offer.)
Today we have some people pictures. You can click on the photos to enlarge them.
First, rickshaw drivers taking a break, Calcutta. Calcutta is the only place in India where I’ve seen hand-pulled rickshaws. (The rest of the country uses rickshaws fastened to a bicycle that the driver pedals.) It’s brutal work.
Ladies having a chat, Calcutta:
Incense peddler, Calcutta:
Bookseller, “Book Lane,” Calcutta:
Women resting after visiting the Victoria Memorial, Calcutta. The sari is, I think, the world’s most beautiful form of female dress.
A street urchin washing his hands:
This is how people live on the street, and there are many in Calcutta—and all over India. Generations of people live on the street, and never move. It’s heartbreaking:
A Muslim couple, unmarried, having some privacy in the gardens at the Victoria Memorial. Everywhere in India the parks are filled with couples, especially Muslims, who aren’t allowed to see each other without a chaperone. It’s such a crowded country that parks are one of the few places where a couple can be alone without nosy neighbors, relatives, or anyone else who could tell the family.
Evening socializing by the Ganges:
The locals flocking in late evening to consume panipuri, a crisp, ball of fried bread filled with delectable liquid flavored with tamarind and spices. Sadly, I can’t eat it because it contains unsafe water, but this stall was apparently famous, and the locals flocked around, eating them one by one. The vendor must keep track of who has had how many puris. The price? 6 puris for ten rupees (about 16 cents).
A small boy making a living selling coffee. (I took this photo from a car in traffic.) He does not go to school, and the laws requiring school attendance are not enforced in India. Child labor is pervasive. We asked one child serving in a south Indian cafe how much he made: it was five rupees per hour (8 cents).
People waiting for their train, Howrah Station, Calcutta. People actually live in many Indian railroad stations as they are enclosed and have toilet facilities and water. But these are travelers:
A pensive little girl:
A vendor of sweets at the annual Poush Mela celebration, Santiniketan. She’s selling crepes (fried on the spot) filled with palm jaggery: sugar made from boiling down palm sap. I had one and it was scrumptious. Another, flatter pastry was also on offer.
Musicians at the Poush Mela fair:
Woman selling saris, Santineketan:
I took about 800 photos in India. I’m not going to show them all, but there are a lot more to come. . .
Delightful pictures.
I take it the memorial is to Queen Victoria. Odd that it should still be there.
Did it again. That should be Jones.
Are you kidding? It’s a fantastic building, even though it was built by the colonials. Many of the most lovely buildings in India (not, of course, the loveliest: the many temples and mausoleums, incuding the Taj Mahal) were built by the British, and the Indians revere them. The Victoria Memorial is also a museum, filled with paintings of colonial India by both British and Indians. And there’s a cool statue of a grumpy-looking Queen Victoria out front.
Although the British did exploit India ruthlessly, and treated many Indians badly, they also built up the civil service, the roads, and so on—institutions that were simply taken over in 1947 after independence. As far as I can discern, Indians by and large don’t hate the British. In fact, they retain many of their customs, including English (one of the two official languages of India) and the “clubs” that used to serve British gentleman (now serving the Indian upper class). It’s a fascinating place. The story of how India threw out the British is an exemplar of how peaceful, nonviolent resistance can work, although it surely wouldn’t have worked in Nazi Germany.
Thanks for that. I was thinking of just a statue. As I am English by birth (Canadian by choice now) I have a bit of a conscience about the “Empire” although personally I had nothing to do with it. Of course when I went to school it was taught as nothing but good. Bringing civilization to the world! I have learned a lot since school.
Just occurred to me. We threw out the Tories in 1945 and Clement Atlee became PM. If Churchill had remained Indian independence might have been a bloody affair as he had said that he did not become first minister of the crown to give away the British empire. Or something like that.
Might have been a bloody affair? It was a bloody affair, for crying out loud. Almost half a million people were killed.
Also, Churchill did enough damage in that term alone: he had most of the responsibility for one of the least talked about humanitarian tragedies of the 20th century: the Bengal famine of the 1940s.
When informed of the severity of the famine by his concerned colleagues in the British Government, Churchill’s response was apparently to inquire if Gandhi was dead yet.
History clearly shows we didn’t throw out the British. The second world war had made it unfeasible for them to sustain the Raj. They simply decided to leave. Incidentally, every major Indian book on this period accurately describes 15th August 1947 as the day which saw ‘transfer of power’ which was also presided over by the last viceroy of India, Louis Mountbatten. That hardly looks any kind of throwing out. Furthermore, almost a week before that event, the partition of India (which resulted in one of the worst genocides of the 20th century) was being drafted by Cyril Radcliffe, a person who was singularly clueless about the geography of the region. The Indian nationalist leaders accepted the abominable plan without even a hint of resistance.
The most important factor in the “silence” of Indian leaders was Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s threat of so called “Direct Action”, a threat which he more or less carried out.
Really interesting – especially with the narratives, thank you.
Great shots prof
Beautiful clothes. What an inspiration to wear something more colorful every day.
Great people pictures. I always enjoy the bright colours people wear in India. I too like the Sari and I think it must be the most comfortable dress for women as well.
Professor Jerry Coyne is also a journalist & photographer. :). Indeed, India is rich in color. What camera do you use? Are you also armed like Steven Pinker?
Naah. In the old days of Kodachrome 64 I used to do serious photography, dragging around a huge camera bag with two Nikon bodies and six lenses when I travelled. Now I use a Panasonic Lumix point-and-shoot camera which fits in my pocket. It does do a great job, though.
Surprised to know… :))…. Yes, you did good job capturing the moments.
Why is India still the India after 200 hundreds years of colony under Englishman? Look at Hongkong. Chinese abandoned traditional dress long ago.
This is one of the advantages of modern, small digital cameras. Capturing the decisive moment. Cartier-Bresson and Robert Capa would have loved these cameras.
Very nice photos Jerry! Thanks for sharing them! I love the colors of India. And it’s about as different from Chicago as you can get!
Question for you: Were you able to avoid intestinal distress? I’ve never been able to go to South Asia without getting sick (despite very good and consistent food and water hygiene.)
Thank you for sharing this. I love seeing people from different parts of the worlds going about their day to day activities…
Oh I’m glad there are more, they’re wonderful. I loved ‘Pensive little girl’ you really captured a moment there.
“I took about 800 photos in India…. there are a lot more to come. . .”
Good!!!!! These are wonderful.
It’s worth noting that many of the estimates of the Earth’s total population carrying capacity include assumptions that everywhere would be like urban India, with both that type of population density and rampant poverty. Obviously, they demonstrate that you can survive on $0.08 / hour, and that the streets themselves provide adequate housing.
Even granting the extremely questionable notion that such conditions can scale to global extremes, why on Earth should we think that’s at all desirable?
India, of all places, needs to have free and universal birth control. Free condom dispensers on every corner, prescriptions for pharmaceutical contraception free and with the only questions asked relevant for medical history, surgeries free for any and all who want them.
Of course, that’s what the whole globe needs, too….
b&
I can only suggest, while admitting ignorance about nuance, that most Indians place a high value on producing many children. Children are a sign of wealth, & sons in particular bring in real wealth through arranged marriages. Also the children are expected to later take care of their parents.
All the more reason why it needs to be free and universal with no questions asked. That lets people mouth the party line whilst fearlessly subverting it.
I rather suspect that a significant number of Indian women have no more desire to be perpetual baby factories than their counterparts in the West. And that fair numbers of Indian men would just as soon not be part of that treadmill, either.
b&
Ai Ai Ai people.. Try and google a bit. The indian government has problems but almost every part of India has made significant reductions in birth rate, with the fertility rate being less than replacement in a lot of the country. http://www.thehindu.com/data/india-to-reach-replacement-levels-of-fertility-by-2020/article6717297.ece
It has to be noted that this is being achieved for the greater part without resorting to coercive measures like the one child restrictions. State tv was constantly advertising contraceptives when I was younger (the pill and condoms). I think they were free at state run hospitals and health centers.
That’s exactly the sort of remedy I suggested, and it’s good to know it’s working.
b&
“The sari is, I think, the world’s most beautiful form of female dress.”
I’d vote for kebaya.
Looks nowhere near as comfortable, though!
I am certainly looking forward to more pictures. These help give me a real feeling of what India must be like.
These are beautiful, Jerry. The silhouette and picture of the individual washing their hands had me returning to look at them several times.
Great pics Jerry. I presume you’re familiar that Bengalis refer to the panipuri as foochka
Yeah; I just forgot the Bengali name. They’re supposed to be better than the other versions too (but Bengalis say that about all their food!)
They do. A lot!
>>I took about 800 photos in India. I’m not going to show them all,..<<
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Sigh!
As an Indo-Canadian, I am always interested in knowing about an outsider's perspective of India (and not just limited to Slumdog Millionaire, poverty and dirt)
Thanks, Jerry, for sharing your trip with us! I’ve always wanted to see India and your photos are fascinating. Please keep them coming!
Cheers,
Mark
Thanks, Dr.C for your wonderful travelogue in photos. The saris all hung out on display make for great art, and the people pictures are touching and poignant.
The fabrics are so stunning!
Yes! I think I’d like a room draped in all these fabrics, for no other reason than to admire them!
Wow, captivating photo-log! I appreciate the explanations and opinions, too. Definitely looking forward to future installments.
Reblogged this on Shashank Patel.