Archive for tag ‘Kathmandu’

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.

Sadhu

Pashupatinath este un loc sfant pentru hindusii din Nepal. Aici, pe malurile riului Bagmati – in capitala Nepalului, Kathmandu – se afla un mare complex de temple hinduse inchinat lui Shiva – zeul suprem a mortii si transformarii. Este locul in care vin nepalezii hindu sa-si jeleasca si incinereze mortii, pentru ca apoi cenusa lor sa o raspandeasca in apele raului sfant. In acest loc intalnesti personaje ciudate, pictate straniu pe chip. Sunt Sadhu, calugari asceti care practica yoga, meditatia, incantatia si rugaciunea. Isi dedica viata pentru atingerea eliberarii, telul suprem al vietii unui hindu. Majoritatea vin din India, dar exista si cativa Sadhu nepalezi. Printre ei unii sunt mai “turistici”, altii veritabili. Atitudinea ii diferentiaza. Pentru a intra in atmosfera de la Pashupatinath iti trebuie cateva ore bune. Pe malul drept al raului se succed ceremonii funerare care nu ma atrag. Pe stanga, unde ma aflu, un grup de calugari sadhu sunt fotografiati de turistii care trec. Ceremonialul fotografierii e simplu si expeditiv. Prima data se fac fotografii cu Sadhu, apoi turistul roaga un prieten de calatorie sa-i faca o fotografie impreuna cu Sadhu. Calugarul il accepta zambind, primeste o bancnota si o ascunde repede sub presul pe care sta. Povestea se repeta de cateva ori. Se pare ca e obisnuit cu ritualul si-l executa la fiecare turist in parte. Ma intreb cum sa ies din stereotip sa-l fac pe calugar sa nu pozeze in momentul fotografierii. Incerc sa-l fotografiez de departe fara sa ma vada. Nu imi place ce iese, asa ca ma apropii de el ii intind o hartie de 100 de rupii (cam un euro) dandu-I de inteles ca vreau sa-l fotografiez. Trag cateva cadre, doar pentru a intra in atmosfera, dupa care ma opresc si astept. Nu-mi place atitudinea si privirea calugarului. Sunt prea artificiale. Vin alti fotografi care il asalteaza. Ma retrag un pic mai in spate pentru a iesi din zona lui de atentie. Cu camera si teleobiectivul montat pe trepied il urmaresc cam o jumatate de ora pentru a-i prinde o expresie diferita de “poza” pe care o ofera fotografilor grabiti. La un moment dat ma observa ca nu am plecat si-mi arunca o privire intrigata. Trag rapid 5-6 cadre. Nu in rafala, ci declasand la mana, de cate ori mi se pare ca e momentul decisiv. Nu ma opresc decat cand apare un alt turist si atentia ii e captata de acesta. Imi strang trpiedul si plec mai departe. E OK ce am tras. Mai departe urmeaza selectia de acasa.

Prelucrarea raw-ului a insemnat o ajustare a luminozitatii in zona parului pentru o echilibrare a zonelor ceva mai intunecoase. Fiind fotografiat in contralumina exista o usoara umbrire in zona parului astfel ca tocmai textura stranie a acestuia nu era bine evidentiata. Fundalul sters din cauza campului mic de profunzime, ajuta la detasarea portretului iar suprapunerea peste un fundal inchis la culoare avantajeaza redarea parului. Care de altfel este elementul de atractie al portretului. Desfasurat, parul personajului ii ajunge pana la brau, fiind singurul posesor a unei asemenea “podoabe capilare”.

O fotografie buna nu se masoara in kilometri parcursi, viteza de deplasare, numar de cadre trase sau efortul de a ajunge la destinatie ci in timpul pe care-l investesti in cautarea si fotografierea subiectului. Niciodata nu e prea putin. Fotografiati cat de mult dar nu cat mai mult. Calitatea si nu cantitatea va face diferenta.

Parametrii de fotografiere: ISO 200, timpul de expunere; 1/200 s, diafragma 7,1, distanta focala 120 mm, full frame.

sadhu, calugar ascet

« Older posts