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India
2006
Taj Mahal in Agra
In
the summer of 2006 I was lucky enough
to travel from North to South across India, a country of more
than one billion people, with eight major religions, and more
than one thousand dialects in at least four distinct linguistic
families. The incredible diversity of the country and my experience
there almost defy description, and I was intrigued by the depth
of global contact and influence across the subcontinent.
Whether
influenced by the thousands of years of seafaring refugees,
traders, and colonialists in the South or marked by the scars
and best hopes of Partition and Independence in the North, India's
history connects the world. Hindu pilgrims follow the Ganges
up into the Himalayas, but just west looms the Indian State
of Punjab divided from its capital by partition's border with
Pakistan. And after Partition, India dedicated itself to a dream
city of its own future, designed with global vision by American
and French architects.
Megalopolis Mumbai
floods in monsoons rains, but Mumbaikers and their skyscrapers
refused to bow to subway bombing that erupted the month before
my visit. Its Hindi film industry drowns the otherwise ubiquitous
Hollywood fare, and Mumbai relishes its cinematic cool.
The pulse
of the high tech economy pumps through Hyderabad and Bangalore
to countrysides, connecting India and the world anew.
If you have trouble with the four galleries or captions, try the static (nonflash) links.
Many thanks to Sireesha, Pavan
and their families for warm welcomes and midnight biryani.
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Pilgrims
bathe in the Ganga, Soldiers Patrol the Border, and Chandigarh
is born in the North.
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Hyderabad
fascinates with strong Muslim cultured dating back to the 16th
century, Buddha statues, and a booming high tech economy.
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Bombay
has become Mumbai, India's largest city and home to its entertainment
industries and streets waiting to be walked.
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