The Kavishwar (Poet) Dalpatram Award 2013 was won by Mr Vinod Joshi. In association with Vardhman Vikas Seva Trust, Param Pujya Bhaishree Nalinbhai Kothari of Raj Suabhag presented the award in the presence of many notable literary dignitaries including Dr Kumarpal Desai.
Technical details: Sony a850 with Minolta 70-210mm lens.
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Photos taken during the June grain distribution (anaaj vitran) by Raj Saubhag Ashram. Members of the Ashram have conducted a survey in 33 villages surrounding Sayla to identify the families struggling to make ends meet due to physical and social incapacity. The families listed in the survey receive monthly deliveries of 10-20kg of food grain (totalling almost 4 tonnes), the distribution of which is organised and supervised by Raj Saubhag volunteers in order to keep administrative costs at a minimum. Fruit, biscuits and clothing are delivered on ad hoc basis. (Adapted from the Raj Saubhag website).
Having personally witnessed and experienced the grain distribution several times over the past decade, it is truly impressive to see the dedication by which this activity has been running for many years. Volunteer OAPs aged 70+ travel from Mumbai, several hundreds of miles away, every month to devote 3-4 days of their time for the distribution in all seasons, including the 45 degree summers and the wet monsoons. Most of the recipients are met individually by the volunteers, who keep a register to ensure that benefit is received only by those most deserving. New referrals are interviewed, their homes visited and their financial position discussed with trusted persons in the local community before being awarded eligibility for the scheme. Those with little or no earning potential are favoured, and worthy persons with dependants are given larger quantities of grain. Grains are distributed at the beneficiaries homes or in a well-known location in the centre of the village (often neighbours / younger family members come to collect the grains in the latter case). Technical details: Sony a850 with Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 lens. Located in the "tourist capital of Maharashtra" (although I'm sure Mumbai has many more tourists), Aurangabad, is the Bibi ka Maqbara, a mausoleum dedicated to Aurangzeb's first wife Dilras Banu Begum. Aurangzeb was the sixth Mughal emperor, son of Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal. Although strikingly resemblant of the Taj Mahal, it was built afterwards with a substantially smaller budget, earning the moniker "poor man's Taj". Nontheless, it is still a UNESCO world heritage site and an impressive monument.
Here are some comparisons between the two: Bibi Ka Maqbara Taj Mahal Location Aurangabad, Maharashtra Agra, Uttar Pradesh Year Built 1651-1661 1632-1653 Cost 0.7m rupees 32m rupees (46x more!) Height 45m ? 171m Technical details: Sony a850 with Tokina 19-35mm lens. Here's the second cave post - the Ajanta Caves differ from the Ellora Caves (60 miles apart) for a few main reasons... the Ajanta series is much older (dating back to about 100BC), and many of the caves are richly decorated and painted, although perhaps most are on a smaller scale than those in Ellora.
Once again, here's some information from UNESCO regarding this world heritage site: The style of Ajanta has exerted a considerable influence in India and elsewhere, extending, in particular, to Java. With its two groups of monuments corresponding to two important moments in Indian history, the Ajanta cave ensemble bears exceptional testimony to the evolution of Indian art, as well as to the determining role of the Buddhist community, intellectual and religious foyers, schools and reception centres in the India of the Gupta and their immediate successors. The caves are cut into the volcanic lava of the Deccan in the forest ravines of the Sahyadri Hills and are set in beautiful sylvan surroundings. These magnificent caves containing carvings that depict the life of Buddha, and their carvings and sculptures are considered to be the beginning of classical Indian art. The 29 caves were excavated beginning around 200 BC, but they were abandoned in AD 650 in favour of Ellora. Five of the caves were temples and 24 were monasteries, thought to have been occupied by some 200 monks and artisans. The Ajanta Caves were gradually forgotten until their 'rediscovery' by a British tiger-hunting party in 1819. Some photos have captions - click or hover over to read. Technical details: Sony a850 with Tokina 19-35mm lens. This is the first of two cave posts, the Ajanta Caves tomorrow!
Adapted from the UNESCO website: The Ellora Caves are the remains of what was a collection of 34 monasteries and temples, extending over more than 2 km, were dug side by side in the wall of a high basalt cliff. Ellora, with its uninterrupted sequence of monuments dating from A.D. 600 to 1000, brings the civilization of ancient India to life. Not only is the Ellora complex a unique artistic creation and a technological exploit but, with its sanctuaries devoted to Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, it illustrates the spirit of tolerance that was characteristic of ancient India. Progressing from south to north along the cliff [as do the photos below], one discovers successively the twelve caves of the Buddhist group, which appear to be the oldest (between c. 600 and 800) and comprise monasteries and a single large temple; then the caves of the Brahmin group (c. 600 to 900) which are no doubt the best known of Ellora with the 'Cavern of the Ten Avatars' and especially the Kailasha Temple, an enormous complex; and, finally, the Jain group whose sanctuaries were created by the sect of the Digambara towards AD 800-1000. The Kailasha temple (photos 7-11 below) " is the unrivalled centerpiece of Ellora. This is designed to recall Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva – looks like a freestanding, multi-storeyed temple complex, but it was carved out of one single rock, and covers an area double the size of Parthenon in Athens. Initially the temple was covered with white plaster thus even more increasing the similarity to snow-covered Mount Kailash... The construction of this cave, claimed to be the world's largest monolithic structure, was a feat of human genius – it entailed the removal of 400,000 tonnes of rock, and took over 100 years to complete." (Wikipedia). Technical details: Sony a850 with Tokina 19-35mm lens. A few photos taken at the fruit market and along the main road in Devlali (AKA Devlali), a small hill station and town situated 100 miles north-east of Mumbai. It was home to a British Army camp, and interestingly was the source of the English word "doolally":
"It is the source of the British slang noun doolally tap, loosely meaning "camp fever", and referring to the apparent madness of men waiting for ships back to Britain after finishing their tour of duty. By the 1940s this had been widely shortened to just "doolally", an adjective meaning "mad (insane)" or "eccentric". The town was the setting for the first four series of the British sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum, set in 1945" (taken from Wikipedia). Contrastingly, the town is famous for its pleasant climate, fresh air and good water - giving rise to many sanatoriums, respite centres and temples (Hindu and Jain). Technical details: Sony a850 with Tokina 19-35mm and Minolta 70-210mm lenses. It was with great happiness that the Ashirwad Trust for the Disabled was able to open a new centre in the town of Surendranagar. This is the third centre run by Ashirwad (in addition to those at Sayla and Limbdi), and although there was day care rehabilitation being offered in near-by Joravarnagar, this new centre is larger and has greater facilities to help the great need for rehabilitating those with physical and mental difficulties. The building has been completely refurbished to meet the needs of caring for 30+ disabled children that are now enrolled, and was opened in the divine presence of Pujya Bhaishree of Raj Saubhag, as well as dignitaries in the field of disability and local minister Kiritsinh Rana (pictured below).
In association with Raj Saubhag, the Ashirwad Trust for the Disabled operates a wide and comprehensive range of services for physically and mentally challenged persons in and around Sayla. These include day care centres, community based rehabilitation, a physiotherapy centre, self help groups, vocational training, deafblind work, professional training and assistive device distribution camps. Further details can be found here. Technical details: Sony a850 with Tamron 28-75mm and Minolta 70-210mm lenses. Photos taken during visits to the buttermilk distribution centres in and around Sayla. Write-up adapted from a post on the Raj Saubhag humanitarian facebook site.
Raj Saubhag has been running a buttermilk distribution service, during the harsh summer months, since the last 37 years. Free buttermilk is distributed for approximately three months (depending on the climate and monsoon rains) to help provide relief for local people from the intense temperatures, regularly reaching a scorching 45 degrees. Below is Pujya Bhaishree Nalinbai Kothari’s address at Siddhsar Buttermilk Distribution Centre: "Indian tradition instils compassion in every human heart for the less fortunate. Even a small portion of food given in charity is highly valued. Every child is encouraged by his elders to imbibe the qualities of selfless giving and philanthropy, such that even a visit to a temple requires him to offer something to the deity. However, times are changing and values are declining. Inspite of this, towns and villages still have their places of worship either in the form of a Krishna or Mahavir temple. The faithful people with qualities like benevolence, generosity and goodwill towards fellowmen, often observe that the Lord favours them, even if they are not blessed with wealth and material superiority. Such human beings are blessed with peace of mind and contentment. Even if a person owns one rupee, he should posses a heart, kind enough to give away 2 paise (cents). The contentment that comes from a good deed is unparalleled. In places where the elders observe receding values, every effort must be taken to encourage generosity in the young. Increased kindness and thoughtfulness towards one another will add to peace and goodwill in every village, town and city of India. This year Raj Saubhag has been providing the buttermilk powder to 17 centres in 13 villages. The poor people living in these hot regions are grateful to receive free buttermilk. Very often volunteers willingly take the responsibility of adding water, arranging for the required vessels and distributing the prepared buttermilk to people in their villages in an organised way. Raj Saubhag acknowledges and applauds the efforts put in by all these volunteers and appeals for more volunteers in every village to come forward and offer this selfless service. Those, who put the suffering of others before their own needs are always blessed." Further details of Raj Saubhag's humanitarian activities can be found here. Technical details: Sony a850 with Tamron 28-75mm and Tokina 19-35mm lenses. |
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