City in Blue

To the newcomer, India is a vast and overwhelming mix of colours, scents and noises. There are colours everywhere. Women wearing saris, golden jewelery in the shops and piles of spices and powders in many different neon-shades at the markets. Imigination does not halt there, even houses are painted in seemingly random colours. But than there is Jodhpur, a small city in the North of India. As if it had rained paint one day, the whole city is covered in one colour, blue. Often Jodhpur is simply refferred to as "the blue city" and the sight alone makes worth the vist.

In the Crowds

No single step is lost in thoughts. Rickshaws go past and I can feel them slightly touching my cloth. A man carrying heavy iron tubes shouts from the left, a boy on a motorbike rushes at me from the right. Loud horns everywhere, people shouting and greeting. The air the smells of smog, then of cooked food; I step in mud and then swiftly circle around a lazy cow. In the narrow streets of the cities often not a centimeter is wasted. Pedestrians mingle with bikes, rickshaws, cars and animals, all fighting their way from nowhere to somewhere. It is plain chaos and yet these roads are far safer than they seem. It is because nothing goes unnoticed, there is no single move without thought, micro-seconds of eye-contact mean whole conversations and mutual respect is the unwritten law. India without its roads would not be India. (Pictures: Delhi & Bangalore)

Desert Scenes

Deserts are magic places. One drives through bushland until all of the sudden the landscape changes and sand dunes emerge. Leaving the car behind, one makes the way up onto the first dune, excited to see what lies behind. But one arrives on the ridge just to find oneself infront of an even bigger dune. Stumbling, the feet sinking into deep sand,  one runs down and fights the way up onto the bigger dune. Every step on the steep, sliding side of the dune is exhausting, much more than one would imagine. One reaches the top almost crawling, craving for a good view. And there they are, countless more dunes stretching all the way to the horizon. One turns around to see that there is nothing but sand. For a moment it is freedom in endlessnes. Sand, sun, the self, and nothing else. But quickly it can get scary. The masses of sand seem as endless as powerful. Easily they could swallow someone as tiny and helpless as a human being, if they only wanted to. So one is left to wonder and admire the magic spell that dominates this place. (Pictures: Thar Desert, Rajasthan)

Children in the Plains

We are sitting in an open jeep, 80 kilometers outside of Jaisalmer. The road continues straight up to the horizon, left and right of us is nothing but plain land and bushes. But then we take a left and a set of grey stone houses appear out of nothing.

"This is my village", says the driver. "Come, we´ll have a chai and you will meet my kids." A moment later we sit in one of the stone houses on something that appears to be a bed. Giggling, the children of the village gather at the door, trying to catch a glimpse at their foreign visitors. They are shy at first but soon come closer. Sitting there we wonder how these people live here. Close to the border of Pakistan, surrounded by hardly arable land, with little cattle and at a safe distance from modern society. And clearly we are an attraction, a not so common change in their daily routines. The children stare at us with wide eyes, excitedly pose for pictures as they see my camera and come after the jeep, running and waving, as we speed off half and hour later. Moments like these are precious, because they give insight into a world that one normally does not see, the rural India, where still more than two-thirds of the population lives.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year 2011 from Agra!

Having travelled India throughout the last 5 weeks it is time to make a comeback on this blog. Pictures and some text of the many impressions will follow once I have more time. But since 2010 is coming to an end I'd like to wish you all a Happy New Year 2011! Today we have arrived in Agra after 9 hours of adventurous bus driving and will celebrate the evening at the Taj Mahal. The view from the hotel's rooftop is spectacular. All the best and see you again in 2011!!!

Mumbai sunset - city with a thousand faces

Beautiful Karnataka

Markets of Bangalore

Diwali 2010

Diwali is a loud, spiritual and colorful festival. It is what Christmas is for Christians. The biggest religious celebration and the time of the year when families reunite at their homes. If it had not been for the upcoming exams, the campus would have been deserted. But this year most students stayed, which allowed us to experience this unique Indian holiday with all its colours, tastes and activities.

Moments

Sometimes I find it hard to believe I am in India. When exam stress is high and I am spending nights studying boring scripts, I could well be anywhere else in the world. That is why I like taking pictures. They show what I have long gotten used to. Single moments and impressions, may they be beautiful, interesting, shocking or just utterly strange. They catch what is going on around me, not letting loose even when daily routine comes out on top. I can well leave it to these pictures to tell the story. This time the story of historic Hampi and its people.