Archive for category ‘Asia’

Pashupatinah

After crossing Bagmati river, the car stops on a little vacant field. Little Santosh , our Sherpa Nepalese guide, tells us we’ve arrived. Until we get off and put our photo equipment in place, he hurries to arrange for our entry pass at  Pashupatinah temple.  This is one of Nepal’s   sacred places, a Hindu   temple   complex   devoted to Lord Shiva , the death and resurrection deity. It is the place where the Hindus come to cremate their dead and commemorate the ones that passed, for a full year. A year after, the commemoration ends as it is believed that the spirit embodied in another living being, an inferior or superior one, depending on the life the deceased had  led: a worthy or sinful one.

Pashupatinath is one of the most significant Hindu temples of Lord Shiva, in the world. Erected in 17 th century, the temple is part of the Nepalese pagoda architecture style, and is listed on   the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Pashupatinath is the name of a local Nepalese deity that gained fame as the Lord of all Animals. Consequently, in the open courtyard where the temple stands, there’s a flourishing population of macaque monkeys and even a natural park for herbivores. Regarded as the most sacred among the temples of Lord Shiva, Hindus alone are allowed to enter the temple premises. Non-Hindu visitors are considered impure, therefore they are banned going inside the temple.

However, attending the funeral ceremonies that take place on the holy river banks, is allowed. We find ourselves walking along stalls filled with cult objects for Hindu processions, “assaulted” by   ambulant souvenir merchants, to shortly get to the heart of the temple complex,  located  on the banks of Bagmati river. It’s early morning and the funeral processions have already started on both banks of the river. Without all that hustle-bustle it doesn’t really feel like Asia. We spot a few cremation places on the right bank: upstream for upper castes, downstream for the lower castes. On the left bank (which is more abrupt) there’s some kind of a platform where all funeral ceremonies are performed. The Hindu priest, and the family of the deceased, perform a relatively simple ceremony of remembering the deceased and giving offerings to the deities for protecting the spirit.

On my first Nepalese visit back in 2007, it felt awkward to take pictures as I wasn’t familiar with the Hindu customs and the way they regard their cremation ceremonies. I couldn’t help comparing them to Romanian funerals. I admit, I find it difficult to accept that you can take feature photos at a funeral without unwillingly disturb the funeral procession. However, the Nepalese taught me that death can be looked upon with peace and detachment in both Hindu and Buddhist religions.

During the first morning hours, light falls from a grazing angle on the abrupt riverbank, wonderfully highlighting all the volume elements. On the stone terraces, small groups of priests and devotees, jostled against each other among offerings and cult object, are performing the rituals “of sacrifice”. All offerings, as the meaning of the word suggests, have vegetal origin, so the whole place is scattered with leaves coming from the tiny leaf-plates which are offered to the holy river waters. The ashes resulting the cremations is also scattered on the wholly river. The upper caste Hindus afford to use large quantities of wood for incinerations, which reduce the body to ashes. Lower caste Hindus on the other hand, don’t afford it, so it is not unusual to see half burned body parts floating on the river…an extremely shocking sight for the European eye.

As the light was favorable, I followed the only bridge across the river, in an attempt to capture the river from a better angle. The cremation ceremonies take place on the bathing steps near the river as well as upon the first two elevated platforms. On the upper, wider platform tourists can watch the funeral processions on the other side of the river as well as the ones performed on the downward platforms. The “show on display” is quite diverse and colorful, but   also quiet and dignified. As we had limited access, I used the telephoto lenses for most of the shots, which gave me enough time to observe the subjects without making them  uncomfortable.

“I work from awkwardness. By that I mean I don’t like to arrange things. If I stand in front of something, instead of arranging it, I arrange myself.”

Diane Arbus.

Culorile Tibetului

Soferului nostru, un tibetan de 28 de ani, ii place viteza. Contrar tuturor asteptarilor mele, in Tibet, soseaua asfaltata ca in palma, urca pana peste 5200 m. Masina se lanseaza greu, normal pentru un Landcruiser de 20 de ani, dar si cand o face, are unde se desfasura pe liniile drepte de pe platoul tibetan. Doar la cativa kilometri in departare se vad muntii golasi care inchid perspectiva. Reteaua de drumuri din Tibet este impresionanta gandindu-ma ca a fost construita in doar cativa ani si la o asemenea altitudine. Portiuni din “Autostrada Prieteniei” sunt inca in constructie. Traversand aceste portiuni ne dam seama de ce este in stare “tot terenul japonez”: vad de rau cu apa pana la portiere, noroi prin care se trece doar cu caminonul de santier, pante la 35 grade sau direct pe panta unui munte, fara sleauri, atunci cand soseaua este blocata pe kilometri din cauza asfaltarii. Iar cand ajunge din nou pe soseaua dreapta, soferul nostru o “calca” nu se incurca. Distantele sunt imense in Tibet, un teritoriu de 5 ori cat Franta. De la punctul de frontiera pana la muntele sfant Kailash – tinta calatoriei noastre – avem de strabatut peste 900 km. Este doar o mica parte din Tibetul de vest. O parcurgem in trei zile pentru ca ne-am rezervat timp sa ne oprim pe drum sa facem fotografii. Relieful este o combinatie de platouri – foste lacuri, acum secate – inconjurate de munti, prin care curge o retea destul de densa de rauri care-si au obarsia in ghetarii din Himalaya inalta. Din loc in loc, lacuri imense colorate straniu in turcoaz (datorita suspensiilor din apa de ghetar) isi schimba nuantele dupa cum bate soarele. In zonele udate de rauri sau in apropierea lacurilor vegetatia ierboasa este saracacioasa tipic desertica. Desi putina, aceasta sustine turmele tibetanilor care uneori te coplesesc prin numarul lor. S-a intamplat sa vedem turme imprastiate pe suprafete enorme. M-am intrebat cum reusesc pastorii sa le supravegheze pe asemenea imensitati. Sunt multe zone mlastinoase in care smarcurile suculente aduna animalele domestice si salbatice laolalta.

Versantii muntilor care inchid aceste platouri sunt complet lipsiti de sol. Subsolul este expus capriciilor naturale dar pentru ca precipitatiile sunt foarte rare degradarea nu este foarte vizibila. In schimb cromatica este naucitoare. Pe acelasi versant mineralele subsolului sunt expuse vederii si coloreaza muntele de la alb stralucitor la rosu aprins sau chiar verde. Parca toata geologia Terei si-a propus sa-si etaleze bogatia si diversitatea pe acesti versanti din Tibet.

Desi nu stie engleza, soferul s-a prins din prima cand vrem sa oprim. Dar de data aceasta aproape am strigat cand am trecut pe langa micul lac in care se oglindeau muntii portocali-rosietici din spate. Siluetele a cativa cai pascand la marginea lacului, cromatica apei si reflexiile muntilor erau parca aranjate cu mana. Imposibil de ratat un asemenea cadru. Tresarind la auzul strigatului meu soferul a franat brusc de parca cine stie ce s-ar fi intamplat. M-am jenat un pic ca am strigat asa tare dar peisajul m-a luat prin surprindere. Am sarit din masina si cu tele deja montat pe camera am mers inapoi cateva sute de metri sa fiu in pozitia cea mai buna. 200 mm nu ajungea, am mai montat convertorul de 1,4 si asa am ajuns la o focala convenabila. Dupa cateva cadre mi-am dat seama ca nu am activat stabilizatorul VR. Am reluat toate cadrele caci evident erau miscate. Am lucrat cu diafragma destul de inchisa pentru a avea o profunzime de camp cat mai mare. Vroiam claritate pe cat mai multe planuri din imagine. Din grama de a nu pierde caii nu am folosit trepiedul incercand sa am o priza cat mai buna la camera, cu coatele lipite de corp. A fost nevoie de filtru de polarizare pe care l-am rotit in asa fel incat sa existe reflexie pe suprafata apei dar totodata sa reduc lumina parazita si culorile sa fie cat mai saturate. Ca la orice subiect cu elemente in miscare (de data aceasta caii) se trag cateva zeci de cadre pentru ca niciodata nu stii daca nu cumva urmatorul nu e mai bun decat cel abea tras. Am petrecut 20-25 de minute pe margine lacului. Dupa ce caii s-au indepartat ne-am reluat locurile in Landcruiser-e iar soferul nostrun a “calcat-o” cu suta, doar nu era sa rateze tocmai aceasta linie dreapta. Am o vaga banuiala ca l-am frustrat cu atatea opriri

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