Portraits from India

Two "sadhus," Hindu ascetics who had just arrived at Gangotri, one of four sacred pilgrimage sites in India. They invited me to have tea. Of course, I accepted!

I recently made my third trip to India, a mystifying, beautiful, and culturally rich country. This time I spent more time seeing (rather than looking at) the people that crossed my paths. One can see much of a person's soul and about his/her life by studying their eyes and faces. The following compilation is from two of the three trips.

Note: all photos are copyrighted © by the author. They cannot be legally used for any purpose without permission. If interested in obtaining any of the images, please contact me at stilesphoto@yahoo.com.

Two men (a young sadhu, left) at a town in Uttarakhand.

One of the first shopkeepers to open in Gangotri in April.

Rural Uttarakhand state.

A pedicab (pedaled rickshaw) driver in Delhi.

A side street fruit juice stall in Delhi.

Father and son at their family restaurant, rural Uttarakhand.

Wedding procession, Uttarakhand.

Taking a break in Uttarkashi

Uttarkashi

Uttarkashi

I met this guru on the road to Gangotri.

Two servers at a small diner on the road to Gangotri

On the road between Uttarkashi and Gangotri

A roadside scene, rural Uttarakhand

Young "pandits," students of Hari Krishna, at a Ganges riverside ashram.

A man from the state of Rajasthan, at an ashram in Rishikesh.

Another Rajasthani man from the same visiting group in Rishikesh.

An elderly Rajasthani woman

A young Rajasthani woman. Her expression is in stark contrast to the older Rajasthanis in her group.

Beautiful Rajasthani eyes.

This couple touched my heart. Obviously very poor, and in bad physical shape (notice the bruise on the woman's eye), they were delighted when I bought them a cup of tea.

A group of sadhus (ascetics) near the ashram in Rishikesh. They kindly allowed me to take their photo, and in return, I gave them each
20 rupees ($0.25 / 8 THB) 

A sadhu, blind in one eye.

A street vendor in Agra

Young boys with wedding celebration carts of lights. They were pushing the carts through the streets, apparently to the location of an upcoming wedding in Agra.

A family at the train station in Agra

An intense stare from a man at the Agra train station. After I showed him the photo in my camera, he managed to crack a pleased smile.

I hope you enjoyed "meeting" these people from India. If you ever get the chance to travel to the Asian subcontinent, do! Do not worry about stories you have heard, or pictures taken in the poorer parts of the big cities. India is welcoming and fascinating, with amazing architectural and geological treasures and beautiful people.